Thursday, December 15, 2022
Art Gripes #4: AI-Generated Garbage
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
MVIS Closing Reception: September 30th
The 2022 Missouri Valley Impressionist Society Juried Exhibition will be having its closing reception this Friday, September 30th.
This year's MVIS Exhibition was hosted by the Cathy Kline Fine Art Gallery in Parkville, MO, and opened August 2nd.
Details for the closing reception:
Friday, September 30th, 5:00 - 7:00pm
Cathy Kline Fine Art Gallery
8701 NW River Park Drive, Parkville, Missouri
For those of you in the greater Kansas City area, I hope you will have this final chance to see the show! My two paintings (pictured below) are still available for purchase through the gallery, and will be available directly from me if they do not sell at the show. Please contact me at ryandelgadoart@gmail.com to inquire!
Water And Spirit oil on linen, 16x20", $2850 |
Arise, My Soul, Arise oil on linen, 11x14", $1000 |
Thursday, July 14, 2022
11th Annual MVIS National Juried Exhibition: August 2 - September 30, 2022
The Missouri Valley Impressionist Society's 11th Annual Juried Exhibition will be held August 2nd through September 30th at the Cathy Kline Fine Art Gallery in Parkville, Missouri.
And yours truly will have two paintings showing and available for purchase! I was so happy that I finally joined the MVIS back in October 2021. I was just in time with my new membership to enter the 10th Annual show, which took place at the beautiful Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art in St. Joseph, Missouri. I am really excited for this next show to happen, and I hope you will check it out!
11th Annual MVIS Juried Exhibition
August 2nd - September 30th, 2022
Opening Reception: Saturday, August 6th, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Cathy Kline Fine Art Gallery
8701 NW River Park Dr.
Parkville, Missouri
Water And Spirit oil on linen, 16x20" Available at Cathy Kline Fine Art Gallery, August 2 - September 30, 2022 |
Arise, My Soul, Arise oil on linen, 11x14" Available at Cathy Kline Fine Art Gallery, August 2 - September 30, 2022 |
Saturday, July 9, 2022
"Elements of Landscape Painting: Trees" Now Available on Gumroad
My latest instructional video Elements of Landscape Painting: Trees is now available for purchase and download from Gumroad! Check out the preview below, and please visit my Gumroad link to get the full length video: https://ryandelgado.gumroad.com/l/trees
Elements of Landscape Painting: Trees
Without question, one of the most common elements to a landscape painting is a tree. They're everywhere! Whether they are distant groups of trees or individual ones in the foreground of our composition, chances are if we're painting a landscape, there's going to be a tree somewhere.
In this video, artist Ryan Delgado demonstrates his approach to painting an individual tree in the foreground starting with the initial toning of the canvas, followed by the block-in stage, and the build up of alla prima applications of color. But he's not stopping there! In addition to the tree itself, Ryan addresses other surrounding elements of the landscape that give the tree context and allow for a more convincing representation of nature, including a second tree in the middle background, the distant trees in the far background, the sky peeking through the leaves and branches, and the lay of the land. Painting trees is all about identifying shapes and the skill of careful observation of color and value, and those are the two most valueable lessons of this demonstration.
Friday, June 17, 2022
2022 Stems Plein Air
Cottontail Lake oil on panel, 8x10" |
Friday, May 20, 2022
YouTube Video: How To See Like An Artist
Here is my latest video on YouTube, "How To See Like An Artist".
There is something different about how artists look at things compared to how non-artists look at them. We have to train our eyes to look at a subject in a completely different way in order to understand how to translate that 3-dimensional object onto a 2-dimensional surface, and make it look 3-dimensional. Artists are illusionists in a way. Our sole objective is to make something appear as something that it isn't. So what is it that we are looking at when we draw or paint a subject? Or rather, how are we looking at it?
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Art Gripes #3: Virtual Art Shows
I hate virtual art shows. They suck.
So two years ago when all the covid stuff started emerging, everyone started to realize how do-able life was through virtual/streaming/remote media. Kids were forced to go to school online (effectively doing away with snow days, that's gotta suck), people started working online from home, churches started streaming their services if they hadn't already been doing that, and galleries and art shows started this little thing called a virtual art show.
And it sucked. At least for me it did.
I don't know, maybe some artists found virtual/online art shows to be okay. But I hated them just like I hated everything else that was being replaced with its online version. But whatever, I understood at the time why we were doing it.
But here's my gripe: It's mid-2022 now, and I will confidently say that this covid business is over. It's done. It took me two years to finally come down with the virus, but I did. I got over it, and now I'm healthy again. And I know a lot of other people have been through it too. So I say the damage is done, and I think the worst of it is done and is behind us. I don't believe for one second that it will get worse than it already has been previously. So there is no reason that we cannot do live in-person things now. But believe it or not, there are still galleries and art organizations that refuse to host in-person shows! Still! Give me a break!
It's not just the mass fear that frustrates me. It's the nature of the virtual art show that frustrates me. Because unless you're a gallery that has been accustomed to having online shows for several years, and have had success with it, there is no way that you're going to be able to do it on the fly during a pandemic and be successful with it. And by successful, I mean being able to attract clients and collectors to your online show, and sell just as much if not more than you would an in-person show. And again, I get it... at the time in 2020 it was what galleries had to do. But we don't have to anymore!
And if you're an artist, it doesn't do you any good to enter these online shows. Because if the gallery or organization has little to no experience conducting online shows, how on earth can you expect to sell your work through said show? Or for that matter, even get a good amount of "exposure"? Because we all know how much good that does. I only wish exposure was currency. I would seriously love to see the website analytics for these online shows that I've entered. I want to know how much online traffic these virtual shows get.
I mean really, I kid you not... I have entered online art shows that EVEN I FORGOT that I was in! Because after you've done your part in posting the link to the show on your social media and told people to check it out (as if they couldn't just look at your painting on your social media feed), you then pretty much forget all about it. NO ONE is going to click on that link when they've already seen your painting on your social media or website! The only reason they would click on the link is if there is a way to buy the painting through that show's website.
Come to think of it, if you're an artist and you want to sell your work online, why would you even enter your work into a virtual show anyway when you'd probably have better luck selling your work on your own through your own website or social media? Seriously, putting your work in an online show just creates a third party... a middle man that doesn't even need to be there! And furthermore, that middle man is going to take a cut of your sale! I've honestly not sold very many paintings online in the past two years. But I've sold more than zero, which is exactly how many I've sold through online shows hosted by a gallery!
Obviously this is all just my opinion. But I really honestly just think virtual art shows are pointless. My ultimate goal is to sell, and if I'm going to do that online, I'd rather do it myself directly with clients and collectors than to have a middle man involved. I've heard art marketing people say that virtual art shows are the way of the future, but at the end of the day, I really believe people who are seriously interested in fine art are far more interested in seeing a physical piece of art in person with their own eyes. There is no comparison. And with that, I could rant about NFTs, but don't even get me started!
Anyway, if you'd like to see my ongoing virtual solo art show, just visit my website: https://www.ryandelgadoart.com
Monday, May 2, 2022
Elements of Landscape Painting: Clouds, Instructional video now available
Hello everyone!
It's finally here! My first instructional video, "Elements of Landscape Painting: Clouds" is now available for purchase and download. Here is the link for purchase:
https://ryandelgado.gumroad.com/l/clouds
This is the first in this series of Elements of Landscape Painting videos that I will be releasing. I am planning several others in this series including Trees, Streams and Waterfalls, Sunsets, and Rocks and Boulders. Hopefully they will not take as long as this first video on Clouds has taken to complete and release.
In this video, I am simply demonstrating and narrating my process of painting clouds for a landscape. Since clouds take on so many different forms and colors and appearances, my goal for this video was to talk mainly about principles of painting clouds that will be applicable to any context, whether you are painting from a photo reference or from nature. The video is geared toward anyone interested in oil painting, from beginner to advanced. My objective is to simply share what I know, and hopefully share something that will be useful and helpful for anyone interested in this topic.
Check out my preview below. The full video is priced at only $12, and is available in 1080p quality and is about 57 minutes total runtime.
Monday, March 21, 2022
Art Gripes #2 - Gallery Commissions: How Much Is Too Much?
Thursday, March 10, 2022
I Still Got It
It has dawned on me that I have pretty much done exclusively landscape painting for the past year. I think the last figurative/portrait work that I did in oil was a small painting called Still #3:
I have a pretty good record of my work on my Instagram page (@ryandelgadoart). And as it turns out, this painting is indeed the last portrait painting I did, completed and posted on Instagram on February 18, 2021.
I will say that I've been feeling the itch to get back into figurative painting again. Or at least to do a figurative piece to satisfy that itch so that I can focus again on landscape work, because I'm loving it so much. But my worry has been that I'm going to be horribly rusty at figurative painting since I haven't done any in just over a year. I've hardly done any figurative sketching either. What if I've forgotten how to paint the figure??!
So yesterday, I grabbed a small piece of canvas and taped it to a board. A very, very small piece of canvas. 4.5x7.5" to be exact. And I did a small underpainting of a figure just to see if I still could. And it turned out suprisingly well:
Now, bear in mind that this is a really really little painting. And technically, it's a drawing. But with paint. I only used burnt umber and a small round brush that, over the years, has eroded into a very thin, long pointed brush that almost feels more like a drawing utensil than a brush. That's how I was able to get such a crisp contour of the figure. But in spite of its size and the fact that it's been a whole year, I'm quite please and elated. I was honestly afraid that I would forget how to draw. Figurative and portrait painting is no easy task, and is not for the faint of heart or the impatient. Well, I might be the exception to the latter. My impatience is rivaled only by my perfectionism.
The big question is, can I do this on a larger scale? As in, and actual painting on an actual canvas. It remains to be seen. This little painted drawing turned out nicely, but would it work out as well on, say, a 24x18", or dare I say it a 36x24"? Can painting really be like riding a bike, where you can just jump on and ride away, even if it's been ages since you last did it? Doubtful. I can already see the trouble that lies ahead. The frustration. The failed attempts. Starting over and then failing again, and then starting over again. And possibly scrapping ideas altogether and trying something else. Been there. Done that.
The thing is, I've still got it. And I know I do. But I don't want anyone to be mistaken here... I fail at paintings a LOT. All artists do. And the ones who say otherwise are lying. Art is messy... not just in terms of the messy paints, charcoal, clay, and other materials. I'm talking about the process. What you see hanging up in a gallery or art show, with its gorgeous frame, glowing vibrant colors, its clean drawing with sharp, flawless precision, and above all else its beauty and heart... Well before it got to that point, it was probably a mess. And believe me, if you aren't an artist yourself, you wouldn't dare want to know what that mess looks like underneath the finished product. It's like a food item that you like well enough without knowing what the ingredients are, and not wanting to know either. Like crab rangoon, for instance. Please, don't ruin it for me. I don't want to know what's in it. Just let me enjoy it.
So before I was able to get the drawing of the figure above to the point of its completion, there were about 90-120 minutes of fiddling with it. I've said before that painting is simply a process of constantly correcting mistakes for several hours at a time.
Okay, so I'm exaggerating a little. Maybe not every mark you make on your canvas is a mistake that needs correcting. In fact, as your painting progresses, hopefully the fewer mistakes you're making at that point. It's called the art of fine tuning. Adjustments are made so that the bad marks become good ones.
The processes of painting, drawing, and sculpting are a lot like the process of life itself. The hope is that you learn from the failures more so than your successes, and that you don't keep repeating the same mistakes as before. I hate when I fail paintings. But I suppose I have those failed paintings to thank for all the successful ones. I have to look back every now and again at where I was years ago versus where I am now, and be thankful. But also know that my progression is not finished. I've always said that one of the best things about being an artist is that you are never at your best. You will never reach as far as you can go, and consequently have no further progress to make. Michelangelo is noted for saying,
"Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish."
So yeah, I still got it. But there's still more to get.
Monday, January 31, 2022
YouTube Video: How To Clean Brushes Without Solvent
Today I posted a new video on YouTube on how I clean my oil painting brushes without the use of mineral spirits or solvents of any kind.
I started doing this about 2 years ago because I simply wanted to significantly reduce the amount of mineral spirits that I use in my studio. Mineral spirits, such as Gamsol that I use, aren't necessarily a bad thing and they can be used safely as long as you have decent ventilation in your studio. But I honestly hate using it as a brush cleaner. Not just for my health and safety, but for the brush's health as well. I use a lot of natural hair brushes such as hog and sable, which need care and conditioning in order to maintain their longevity. So I started using a different approach, using different materials for cleaning my brushes. Today, I only use Gamsol very minimally as a painting medium mixed with walnut oil during my underpainting stage.
Check out the brush-cleaning video below!
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Art Gripes: The Dumbest Art Show Rule Ever
This is sort of a rant. No, scratch that. It is most definitely a rant, but I believe it is a constructive one. And it goes out to every gallery and organization that ever puts on an art show or contest. Listen up, because there is a rule/stipulation/criterion/whatever that you need to permanently strike from your eligibility requirements for shows. It is unquestionably one of the, if not THE, stupidest rule of any art show.
This is a gripe I have had for a long time. The reason this particular rule is so stupid and pointless is because it is arbitrary and completely irrelevant to the eligibility of an artwork for a competitive show, and I have yet to hear a good reason for its existence. Here it is:
"Eligible artwork must be current, and is to have been completed within the last 3 years."
First of all, unless an artist signs his work with the year of completion included (which I will admit I do), how on earth is such a rule enforced when going through the jurying process? Do these shows and galleries actually have someone on the jury designated for checking artist websites and social media to see when they completed each work, based on when it was posted online? No, the answer is they do not. Because what a colossal waste of time that would be. And what if they do have such a check in place, but can't determine based on anything what year the artwork was completed? What then, is the artwork disqualified because they can't determine a date of completion? Do they contact the artist to ask them, "Hey, if you wouldn't mind, could you tell us what year you painted this piece?"
NO! They don't do any of that! So why have such a dumb, unenforcible stipulation in place?
But secondly, why is this a rule to begin with? The present year is 2022 a.d., so what exactly is it about a painting that was completed in 2018 that is ineligible for a show this year, when it was eligible last year? What makes it "not current"? And why does it even matter anyway? Does a painting lose its relevance after just 3 years? These aren't iphones! Why do art shows equate timeless works of painting or sculpture that will last for generations like they're a PC that only has Windows 7, and not Windows 10? By the way, is Windows 10 even "current" right now, or is there a newer version yet? I frankly don't know and I don't care, because my laptop was brand new in 2016 and still runs perfectly. So why, then, is any painting that I did in 2018 or earlier ineligible at this point for any competitive show that I want to enter? There is no reason, is there? Not a good one, anyway.
Third, and the most arbitrary part of all... Who decided that 3 years is the difference between what is current or not current? And whoever it was, what authority does this person have to declare such a thing? Again, we're talking about artwork here. Art is timeless. At least, it should be. If Leonardo da Vinci came back to life and wanted to enter the Mona Lisa into an art competition, are the so-called "judges" going to deny him that entry? It sounds like a petty argument, but is it?
Let's try something. Below are two paintings that I completed within a year of each other, but one of them is ineligible for any art competition that includes the stupid 3-year rule. I've blocked out my signature since, as I mentioned, I typically include the year of completion with it. Take a guess as to which of these two paintings is no longer eligible for any art competitions at this point:
Now answer these questions: Should it matter at all which of these two paintings was completed in 2018, and which one was completed in 2019? If you were on a jury, would you be judging either one of these two paintings based on the year? Would you seriously look at either one of these paintings and say to yourself, "Wow this is really nice. Too bad it's more than 3 years old."
My guess is, no. It does not. And you would not.
So to all fine art organizations/galleries/shows, drop this dumb rule. We're worth more than that, and so is our work.
End of rant.
Sunday, January 2, 2022
News From The Studio 1/2/22
Hello friends!
We're 2 days into 2022 and I'm already working toward getting things accomplished that I've set out to do. I just hope the momentum can remain consistent, and that this isn't just a "new year high" that I'm feeling right now. That's how it is sometimes. We get so excited and sometimes we even get a great start to those new goals before they eventually go downhill and we're back to where we were before. Motivation dwindles, energy tanks, and it's back to the regularly scheduled programming. Let's hope that doesn't happen!
So, here is what's new in the last week:
- I finished my final painting of 2021 on December 31st. It is still untitled, but is oil on linen and measures 12x24". It will be available soon on my website:
- Oh yeah, speaking of... I have a new website now! Please visit https://www.ryandelgadoart.com to see my available works, and sign up for my newsletter where you'll be able to see my new works, both finished and in progress, before I post them anywhere else. This blog is also linked on my website and I will still be posting content here, and will be less news and updates, as that content will go in the newsletter now, and be more commentary and critical thinking-type content regarding not only my own work, but the art world in general. Stay tuned for more of what's to come here on the blog!
- Another project that I alluded to in my previous blog entry "What's To Come in '22" is another online-based project that I'm pretty excited to work on. In addition to getting new video content on YouTube soon, I am working on creating full-length instructional videos that will be available for digital download and purchase at an affordable price for anyone to enjoy. Whether you are a professional painter, a beginner, or just like to paint as a hobby, I am hoping to create simple tutorials on how to paint different objects or elements for a landscape such as clouds and skies, trees, rocks, waterfalls and streams, etc. The plan is for each video to be around 45 minutes, and be priced at around $15. Again, stay tuned for that, and sign up for my newsletter at https://www.ryandelgadoart.com/email-newsletter to be in the know about their development and release!