I’d spent the morning with my three daughters. We had fixed breakfast over a camp stove in Brown County State Park. After we ate, we threw the Frisbee around. Our next destination was Nashville. There were a lot of fun shops and galleries to check out. By this time we were starved. We stopped at a little restaurant for lunch.
I tried to create the mood by not being too photorealistic, but more impressionistic. Jennifer, on the left, is reflected in the mirror to the left of her. Sarah checks out the menu, while Nicole enjoys visiting. I painted the window a whitish yellow and matched the same color in Jennifer’s hair, showing reflection. It continues down to the table below it. To the right on that table can be seen the reflection of the chair below it. Sarah and Nicole are lit up on their left side by the window with a shadow on the right. The painting shows the cozy warmth of being sisters together.
Filed under Oil Painting Technique by on Dec 13th, 2008. 2 Comments. 
I was with my son on Tybee Island just east of Savannah, Georgia. We had our fishing rods and were walking along the pier when I looked down at the beach below. I noticed a group of girls sunning themselves. They were all facing towards the center. I thought it really made an interesting sight. I knew I wanted to paint that scene.
The first thing I did when I drew the figures was to have some of them go off the edges of the canvas. I have found that this technique makes the scene more interesting than if they all were completely shown.
Another thing I did was to portray different skin tones. Some were pretty tan, others were lily white. The sunlit parts of their bodies had highlights, while the other sides were in shadow. If you look at the girl on the bottom right side, you will see color from the green towel reflected on her leg.
Filed under Oil Painting Technique by on Dec 6th, 2008. 4 Comments.
When I first moved to Indianapolis over ten years ago, I wanted to try painting some city scenes. There are four parks all in a row along Meridian Street downtown. I found a beautiful fountain with a sculpture of a woman playing cymbals at the top, and a group of people dancing around in a circle. Water ran from under the feet of the cymbal player and went over the sides into a bowl below. I thought it was wonderful. I especially liked the view of the War Memorial building right behind it.
I went early in the morning because I wanted the light to be just coming up and shining on the subject. I soon found that it only was good for ten or fifteen minutes and then the sun was too high. I went back on several successive days to capture the fifteen minutes. It was really tricky trying to capture the water. It moved too fast for me to get a real view, so I had to do my best. I wanted to have the painting be much further along than it did, but I started getting harassed by panhandlers. One of them shoved my easel over on the ground and then he slugged me. That was the end of my painting on scene downtown. Actually, though, I like the slightly unfinished look, anyway.
Filed under Oil Painting Technique by on Dec 3rd, 2008. 3 Comments.
My son and I have never once, that I can think of, had a disagreement. We really get along well, and have done so since he was born. I think it probably is because I always took him fishing. We’d get up early in the morning, load the canoe on top of the car, and drive up into the mountains. We had a few favorite lakes we loved to fish at. Not only did we catch several thousand trout, we had time to talk, joke, and tell stories
Here is Jared with a rainbow on his line. Note the sunlight is coming from the left side of the painting. There is a sliver of light on his arms, face, leg, and life preserver. The inside of the canoe on the right side of the painting is red, while the left side is dark. There is reflected light from the orange life jacket on his face. Small portions of the trees have sunlight on them, but the rest is in shadow.
Filed under Oil Painting Technique by on Nov 30th, 2008. 3 Comments.
In 2004 I entered a juried competition called “Art Between Cultures.” It was held at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures at Indiana University. I was selected as one of the exhibitors. I had submitted several paintings, and they chose two. This one isn’t one that was chosen, but I really like it anyway.
I had a very good friend who had small children and I asked if I could go to her home and take several pictures of them to give me inspiration. When I got there we had a hard time getting them to give me good poses. They were interested in doing other things. Finally the mother brought out a cd player and turned on the music. We told them we needed them to have a “jumping contest.” This really worked, as you can see in the painting.
My technique in bringing them to life was to emphasize the light and shadows on their faces, the shadows under them on the ground, putting wrinkles in their clothing, and making sure I had smiles on their faces.
Filed under Oil Painting Technique by on Nov 19th, 2008. 4 Comments.
Brown County Indiana is famous as an art colony. In the late 1800s a group of artists settled there. Since then, hundreds of other artists have felt that Brown County was their spiritual home. The town has a charming area with shops, restaurants, hotels and cabins. A favorite place to go is the Artist’s Colony Inn. They have a great restaurant.
One morning I was in the area. As I walked toward the Inn, a group of ladies lined up and went in for breakfast. I was intrigued by the sunlight behind them. The glow of the sun made the leaves in the trees a bright yellow, while the shadow side was blue. The buildings in the shade had a bluish tint and the others were slightly yellow from the sun.
I have tried to duplicate the feeling of that morning. I put the hanging plants and flowers in front of them to create atmospheric perspective. The flags above the woman’s head are painted small, giving the impression they are further back.
Filed under Oil Painting Technique by on Nov 17th, 2008. 3 Comments.
The first gallery that represented me in Indianapolis was 4 Star Gallery on Massachusetts Avenue. I really liked that street because it ran diagonally southwest towards downtown. At night the buildings of the city were lit up, so I loved the view. I wanted to do a painting that would give the feelings I felt.
I’ve painted the sidewalks an amber color because the streetlights give off a yellow glow. I have yellow highlights in the hair of the people. The other streetlights have a halo around them to portray the shining of the bulbs. The top of the buildings and their windows are painted white to give the image of them being lit up, and there are two red traffic lights which reflect on the cars. The tree in the top right is black except for the branches that are close to the lights, and they are lit up.
The sidewalk is drawn in with one point perspective. It is wider at the front, which gives a feeling of depth.
Filed under Oil Painting Technique by on Nov 12th, 2008. 1 Comment.
You can follow the woman right into this painting. It has atmospheric and linear perspective which gives the feeling of depth. The streetlights at the front are larger and taller than the ones further away. Leaves are hanging from a tree in the top left corner. They are higher up and larger than the trees in the background. These techniques make it appear that there is depth. Also there is linear perspective. Sidewalks and buildings are wider the closer they are to us, but narrower as they go back.
Another technique used in the painting gives the feeling of morning light. The grass on the left is painted bluish green, giving the feeling of shadow. On the right side it is yellow-green, which looks like sunlight. The large building is light on the left side, but dark bluish on the right. These things make it look like the sunlight is coming from the left.
Filed under Oil Painting Technique by on Nov 5th, 2008. 1 Comment.
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