Take Great Joy

Take Great Joy

9X12, Oil on Panel

Available

Another Arkansas painting completed prior to the move but not signed.  From the Arlie Moore Camping Area at DeGray Lake in Clarke County.

18-019

The Balance of Power

The Balance of Power

9X12, Oil on Aluminum Panel

Available

It has been quite a while since I have posted anything here.  There is a somewhat good reason for that.  At this point, I'm not sure what to do with this blog because, well, I have relocated to Colorado!  I don't think I'm going to take on painting something from each county in Colorado so changing the name of this to "Painting Colorado" doesn't make much sense.  Maybe I'll just leave it as it is??

Well anyway, my first painting posted since April is another one from Arkansas which was actually finished before moving, just not signed.

This is from a place near Russellville, AR which locals used to all The Sweet Spot but is now called the Oita Coal Company mountain bike trail.

One Small Step At A Time Study 2

One Small Step At A Time, Study 2

6X8, Oil on Panel

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything!  I basically took the entire month of March off. 

This was from a painting trip taken I think 5 year ago of my son wading in a creek.  My hope is to make a large panting of this scene.  Study #1 was of the entire scene.  I will upload that one at a later time.  For this one, I really wanted to focus on the figure and fix many issues from study #1.  This still isn't perfect but it is a huge stride over the first attempt.

Counting Study #1 as 14 of 15, this one would be #15 of 50.  I still think I can make the 50 this year even with the March hiatus.

Killing Time with Ghosts

"Killing Time with Ghosts"

9X12, Oil on Panel

From the ghost town of Rush, AR.

#12 of 50

The Back Forty

"The Back Forty"

18X24, Oil on Panel

This one is another repaint of an older painting.  The original version of this was completed in 2009 and was shown at a gallery in North Little Rock called Ketz during it's brief life.  The original version is still in my possession and will now either be destroyed or put into deep freeze.  The image was a complete fabrication from my imagination, cobbling together a variety of motifs from the Ozark Mountains.

#8 of 50

A Study of Aluminum Panels for Painting, Part 2

In Part 1 of this study, I discussed the rationale for wanting to try aluminum panels and discussed preparations for use.  Here in Part 2, I will discuss the priming and first experience with usage of the aluminum panels.

If you will recall, after cleaning the 3 little panels, I did a test of trying to apply a wash right on the unprimed aluminum.  Not surprisingly, there was little to no adherence so I wiped that panel clean and applied straight lead white paint as a primer of sorts.  The other two panels got my normal acrylic gesso.

Normally, on my wood panels, I use 3 coats of acrylic gesso to get a satisfactorily white surface.  The aluminum panels required 4 minimum.  For some background, I do not sand between coats.  I like the natural brushmarks and do not feel a flat surface is necessary for how I work.

3 panels ready for paint.  Note the upper left one, this is the one which was primed with lead white paint.  It only got one coat and will painted on just like this.

A fellow artist I know from the great white north of Finland had some wonderful photos of some snow and fog which I wanted to paint so I chose one of these small panels just for that purpose.  I gave it a nice wash of pink and then proceeded to paint.  I really did not note any differences in working on this surface versus a wooden panel.  The paint seemed to move similarly, which is what one would expect, both surfaces being relatively smooth compared to canvas or linen even.  All in all, I am quite happy with the result.

Next time...weight concerns.

The Things Between Darkness and Light

The Things Between Darkness and Light

30X40, Oil on Canvas

Here is the large version of the study I posted a while back.  This piece again made me question ever working on canvas again.  I just do not like the brush feel of the surface.

#7 of 50

Yggdrasil, The Tree of Life

Yggdrasil

9X12, Oil on Panel

The tree of life.  From Cleburne County, north of Quitman, Arkansas.

#3 of 50

A Study of Mountains and Sunset

A Study of Mountains and Sunset

6X8, Oil on Panel

Available

Here is my first of 2018!  This is a little sunset study of the vista above Marshall, Arkansas.  I took the photo for this over Thanksgiving.  A 30X40 version of this scene is in works right now.

#1 of 50

More Not-Goals for 2018

So as I discussed in my 2017 year-in-review post, I thought last year was pretty successful.  It marked a solid turn-around from the slump that occurred in my life after the death of my wife in the summer of 2014.  She was my cheer leader and did a whole lot for me, both in terms of spreading my art with shameless promotion and also with encouragement.  She knew and understood what I was working towards, style-wise.  She followed the work of artists I admired to understand what made me like them.  Even though, she herself never pursued art in any way, she learned a lot about it in order to better understand what drove me and help me to better myself.  That is a rare thing to have.

So while I have not fully recovered, I have had some help in dealing and learning how to keep moving forward.  And I hope to continue this trend into 2018.

One huge goal I managed to accomplish in 2017 was getting my work into a third gallery.  It is a beautiful space in a quaint downtown in a small town in southern Arkansas.  The owner seems to be a wonderful person and I look forward to working with him to provide work of interest to this area.  However, I remain realistic about the prospects here.  Art is not a priority in the town in which this gallery is located.  Because of this, I will set my primary "not-goal" of 2018 to pursue a fourth gallery.  I will put some focus into a gallery in a larger city outside of Arkansas.  However, I will also be willing to find another gallery in-state if it is in a decent sized town or a town with a good art community, Hot Springs would be ideal.

1.   Get into a 4th gallery!  As discussed above, I will be looking for some very specific criteria here.  Either in a city modest sized or larger city out of state or an Arkansas city that should experience some relatively high traffic volume.  There are not many cities in Arkansas which fit this criteria so I should be able eliminate possibilities rather quickly.

2.  Start making my own frames! My online frame supplier of choice has discontinued more and more of my favorite styles of frames.  I really cannot afford to have a local company make my frames.  I bought a very nice used miter saw about 10 years ago and have yet to put it to use.  All I need is a corner pinner and I'm ready to start trying this.  I will target having this going before April.

3.  Make 60 blog posts...yes, I'm going to try for this again. It's totally achievable, especially if I blog more about works in progress or process related things.  No problem, lol.

4.  Complete 50 paintings...yes, I'm going to try to do this again too!

5.  Hang in 3 national shows.  I bested my goal of 2 last year so let's go for an improvement.  I would like for 2 of these to be outside of Arkansas.

6.  Line up a solo show for either end of 2018 or 2019.  Most likely this will be in 2019 because most galleries and arts centers will have already booked 2018.

I think you can see a theme beginning to develop here.  I am aiming for 2018 to be a year to establish footholds as a more regional artist with goals tied to out of state venues.

Gather Us Upon The Mountain

"Gather Us Upon The Mountain"

8X10, Oil on Panel

Available

This is a complete, from scratch, remake of a painting I did way back in 2009.  There were, of course, a few changes.  It is based upon a view of a place called Red Rock Point in Newton County Arkansas.  I have several other of these old paintings that I think have a lot of possibility and need be executed again.  Once the new version is complete, the old one will be destroyed.

A Risen Sentinel

"A Risen Sentinel"

20X20, Oil on Panel

This was derived from a photo I took behind my workplace one evening several years ago.

Spire of the South

Spire of the South

6X8, Oil on Panel

Available

So you're painting along and you've spent about 2 hours on something new and you're just about to close up the session.  You've got all the bones of the design in place.  All you have left in the next and maybe last session is the muscles, the light, and some jazz.  But then you see it... holy shit, how did I make THAT BIG of a screw up!

Then you sit, and sit, and sit wondering, pondering the choices, the solutions, all the options.  All the while, it whispers in the back of your mind, "Do I even bother to fix it??"

Well, did I?

Calhoun County Courthouse, Hampton, Arkansas.

#28 of 50

Up Church Hill

Up Church Hill

9X12, Oil on Panel

Available

This one was completed quite some time ago but I never catalogued it except with some in-process photos on Facebook.  So I'm going to go ahead and count it on this year's tally of paintings.  From a criterium race several years ago in Little Rock.

#22 of 50

The Separation of Earth and Sky

The Separation of Earth and Sky

8X12, Oil on Panel

Available

Full moon rise from the top of Pinnacle Mountain outside Little Rock.

#19 of 50

Narrow But Not Straight

Narrow But Not Straight

11X14, Oil on Panel

Boxley Valley in Newton County near the Buffalo National River.

#17 of 50.

Mid Year Review

Ok, so yeah, it's past mid-year but not by a whole lot.  I have never done a mid-year review before so maybe this would be a good practice for me.

Just in the last month or so, I have been witness to some very liberating events.  Some anchors that had been dragging me down have been cut free.  Through the fog, I can see some paths coming into focus with some real important choices to make.  But for now, I can say that I feel more energized about my art and it's future than I have in a long time.  I'm sure this current wave of feelings helps to inspire me to do this review.

1.  Get into another gallery

• COMPLETE!
• Frame of Mind, Camden, AR

2.  Make 60 blog posts

• Currently at 27
• Just a bit off pace but not too far, this can be made up

3.  Complete 50 paintings

• Currently at 15 of 50 (published)
• Actual at about 20 of 50 (several yet to be photoed and uploaded)
• This one is problematic, may not be able to achieve this at this point

4.  Hang in 2 national shows

• COMPLETE!
• Art at the Center in Overland Park, KS
• South Arkansas Art Center Juried show in El Dorado, AR

5.  Hang in 4 local or regional shows

• 0 of 4
• At this point, I'm not sure there are 4 local or regional shows available

I am definitely off pace in some areas but I've accomplished the biggest goals already.  The 50 paintings goal would be a really good one to make but at the end of the day, 30 high quality  paintings would be better than 50 with several of lesser quality.  It hasn't helped that I spent almost 3 months doing nothing in the studio.  That was a rough time but I hope I'm over it.  The local or regional shows are good but nationals are better and I think I have solid chances of getting into at least one more.  There is also a Regional I intend to submit for that I have solid hopes of making.  I will take another national or two and a regional over 4 local shows. 

Portals to Light

Portals to Light

6X8, Mixed Media on Panel

SOLD

This is a little plein air piece that has been sitting around for quite some time.  I was never terribly happy with the result in the field.  There were a lot of things I DID like about it but it was never really connecting with me.  I knew what it was too and had even written about it before here.  I started this with Golden Opens and it was one of my first attempts at using those.  I was a little bit frustrated that I was unable to make a nice deep dark with them at the time.  I later purchased some new colors so I could get deeper darks but then found myself unhappy with the consistency of the paint and not able to work it like I would have liked.

Regardless, I may still take the Golden Opens with me in a couple of weeks when I travel to Denmark!

Anyway, enjoy this one because I really like the result after the rework with oils in the studio.

#15 of 50

New Gallery Representation

I am very pleased to announce that my work can now be found at Frame of Mind Gallery in Camden, Arkansas.  It is very cool to forge new relationships and this one is particularly interesting since the gallery owners also fellow mountain bikers!  While down there, I got lots of pictures of Camden to work from and even ventured out to White Oak Lake State Park to do some painting.

I have only ever been to Camden one other time in my life and that was about 30 years ago so it was basically like having never been there.  I must admit that we did not even make it to the Ouachita River front area of town.  That will have to be for another trip, perhaps sometime before the holidays when the weather is cooler.

Murmured in Dreams

Murmured in Dreams

9X12, Oil on Panel

Available

Near Steel Creek on the Buffalo River, Newton County.

#14 of 50