This is a picture of my son-in-law Jeremy and his 2 best friends from high school. They went for a 120 mile bike ride on the C&O canal. They stopped beside one of the locks for a picture. I tried to work from the picture to preserve the memory for him.
Paintings can evoke emotions and memory. They can bring people back who might have passed on. They will last much longer than a photo.
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As you have probably noticed, I love to paint portraits. A portrait is so much more than a photograph. Portraits are priceless heirlooms that last for hundreds of years. Many of you have asked for information about having a portrait done. Click the link below to see details and samples of my portrait commissions.
PORTRAIT COMMISSION INFORMATION
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This is the finished product of my previous post “Frustration.” You’ll notice a strong sense of atmospheric perspective – the cornstalks are painted much larger than the barn, and they are painted much sharper while the barn is vague, giving an illusion of depth. The cornstalks on the left go off the canvas, giving a vertical anchor to the picture, while the horizon line gives a horizontal anchor. There is a strong contrast created by the organic shapes of the cornstalks, but the barn is rigid.
I need to mention that the cornstalk shapes were painted in a flowing motion. I didn’t work them hard, instead I squinted my eyes and just let emotion take over.
The painting looks much simpler than it actually was. It was worth the frustration and hard work required to complete it.
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I am lucky to know one of the most beautiful women in the world. I spent a lot of time checking out different poses we could use. We looked at different places in her home, different places on her property and ended up back in her woods next to a frozen creek.
I tried to portray her in a casual pose. Even though it was cold, I tried to paint the portrait with warm colors. My idea was to portray her feeling comfortable at her own home.
I’ve had a lot of questions about my portraits and possible commissions. In the next week or two I will put that information on the blog for those who are interested. For the others, I hope you just enjoy looking at my art for pleasure.
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This is the finished work of my nighttime car painting. You saw the progression from Work in Progress 1 to Work in Progress 2. This one actually changed because I moved the buildings on the right further towards the center of the painting. You’ll notice windows. The building in the center emphasizes the linear perspective as the lines move to the left. I’ve worked more on the cars, the lights and a few people. I’d like to mention that I was more interested in creating a “feeling” than a representation.
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This painting is of Roy Gentry and Patty Wells. Roy is the person featured in my last post. They are sitting in Hinkle’s Hamburgers in Madison, Indiana. I have used both linear and atmospheric perspective. You can see the linear perspective when you look at the angle of the tables. The atmospheric perspective shows the closer items larger than the ones further away. The chairs that are closer are painted larger than the ones further back. Note the light on the sides of the tables and chairs. This shows the direction of the light. It come in from a window you don’t see. Also note the reflections on the top of the table.
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This is a portrait of Roy Gentry. I met him a couple of weeks ago. My wife and I were walking down the street in Madison, Indiana. I looked inside a café window. I grabbed Norene and told her, “I have to paint that man!”
I went inside and talked to one of the most interesting and charming human beings I’ve ever met. He is a music historian. He is a great musician. I painted this portrait to hang in a special show about him.
Appalachian Mystic – A Celebration of Musician Roy Gentry
March 12 – April 10
Joeyg’s Restaurant & Nightclub
218 East Main Street
Madison, Indiana
The show includes music, photography, and paintings celebrating Roy Gentry’s life, which coincides with the debut of his new CD release, “Angel Land.”
I hope you like the portrait.
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