Outback 1 and 2 

​Getting a feel for the  grab bag of John Lovett's techniques, really trying to carry the eye up to the focus with light washes, scratchy charcoal lines with ink coming together with the strongest contrast between lights and darks and between complementary colors. Suggestions only of ravines, fences, sagebrush, keep the imagination engaged. The flat blue gouache of the sky nicely sets off the orange and red roofs. And promotes a little of that dry, desert feeling of the Australian outback.

I tried a white roof in the Outback 2 to connect a little more of the lower part of the picture whiteness with the upper, and with a small rectangle of white gesso as well: keeps the imagination guessing what this might be. Proportion is minimized in both paintings. (The blue margin of the sky and the lower left hand shadow  in outback 2 is somewhat distorted by the photographic technique - the lower left corner is actually very white in Outback 2.) Dimensions listed are of the outer edge of the Arches 140 cold pressed paper. 

Again, to those who might be interested, these WILL be FOR SALE very soon :-) 

Outback 1 

Outback 2

See ya'll soon!

Farmers Market

Old trucks! Everyone paints em :-) Wanted to take it out of the typical sunk-in-the-mud-off-in-the-field setting. Give it a Joe Sbukvic styled cityscape where you tip the paper up as you let the background pigment flow down the paper taking it's own pathway down. Add a few marks that might pass for balconies, a little white gesso that might pass for windows ands spread a little more interest into the upper right side of the picture. For me it was my first attempt at this type of background: and it really works! And it wasn't that hard. Very gratifying. Will incorporate this more.

And like the other postings, this WILL be for sale soon! Again, as will all the other paintings you see in this blog. I finally spent the time to get the Pay-pal stuff working....and I think it is :-) 

I'll be getting much more consistent in getting paintings up. Just watch ;-) 

Warmly, 

Jeff

Farmers Market

Groovy Flower Pot #3

​In the process of uploading the entire series of a dozen (maybe more -- I forget :-). Dividing up the paper  -- Arches 140 lb cold pressed -- into equal sections and pretty much painting them all at the same time. I find this way I don't get hung up on getting one "just right". I love bright colors (because well, I have trouble seeing close shades) I also enjoy getting a feeling of 3 dimensions. I waste less paint this way too. This is acrylic, 6 x 18 inches, unframed with collage, on 140 cold pressed Arches paper that's gessoed and primed before any painting begins. 

Each picture seems to have a "sweet spot" for pasting in black and white collage pieces. I make those up in a draw program or just Photoshop and print them out on the home printer in B and W. Keeping a true black in the picture also ensures a range of tones. Without a true black the picture can get a little weak. Need that contrast :-) Anyway, see the previous couple blogs for more notes on these. (ie the "Groovy Flower Pot series".) Till next time! 

Groovy Flower Pot #3
6 x 18 inches

And here's what's coming: the "Disco Dancer Series". I love figure drawing and the same way the Groovy Flower Pot series was painted, I painted these. Here's a preview. PS these are all 6 x 9 inches and I'm testing out an new color scheme. (I stumbled on the green and for me, it really worked. ) 

Preview of "Disco Dancers"

Again, these are marked "Not For Sale", but that's temporary until I get the software setup....right now I'd rather just paint :-).  

Groovy Flower Pot #2

Groovy Flower Pot #2. 

Quick note again: All these paintings WILL be for sale as soon as I get this software / Paypal set up and mastered - and of course a battery of paintings up :-) 

I actually am doing these in a series: start with 18 x 24 inch Arches #140 lb cold pressed water color paper, gesso it, let it dry. Once dry slap on and loosely spread Pyrrole orange. let dry. Divide paper evenly into 4 parts vertically (narrow and tall). Loosely paint an outline usually in white gesso, layer on small collage pieces. Follow a working color combination, work all 4 paintings at a time ( in fact I had two sheets of arches with 4 paintings each going at at time here). THEN, negative paint until we got a ...Groovy Flower Pot :-)

I follow the Burridge motto of "try to make something I've never seem before". So even though they're all similar, they'll all be very individual...as you'll see if you're following here. My favorite part of doing this painting is throwing on the watered down gesso at the very end. (final layer.)

Also must say even though these are loose, it's not at the expense of relying on developed drawing skills: look at the imagined vanishing point both at the ellipse at the top and at the base. (speaking of drawing, you might pick up some skills ay another of my websites here: http://www.youcandraw.com/ )

till next time! 

Warmly, 

Jeff

Painting #3: Smoky Farm Fields, and 2 Cool Techniques

Smoky Farm Fields

Smoky Farm Fields. Watercolor and gouache with Derwent water 
soluble pencil, charcoal pencil. Painted on Arches 140 lb cold 
press paper, 12 and 1/8 x 16 and 1/8 inch. There is a 3/4 inch white border 
around the entire page. 

Fun parts of painting this: using another fantastic John Lovett 
technique of using an old fashioned dip fountain pen, loaded with 
burnt sienna ink, then before it drys using a fine water spray and
watching it just do whatever it wants in the most amazing ways. 
Works especially well for getting that old weathered look on walls,
buildings and boats. 

But of course the obvious center stage trick
here is the blue snow blasts or rain blasts or leaves, I still can't
figure out what they are -- I just love the effect. 


How to do it? 

Mix a tiny bit of ultramarine blue or phthalo blue  in either gouache 
or gesso, add enough water then let the drops fly on your paper
by carefully aiming on (or not) where you might like them. You 
can then tease them around with a rough old glue brush, or 
spray water directly at a part of them or around and let water
and time do the rest. Awesome technique. Thank you 
John Lovett!

What? Two Blogs in one day? I'm getting manic :-)

Painting # 2, Tide Is Out

Tide Is Out

watercolor and gouche

Tide is out. Watercolor and gouche with Derwent water soluble

pencil, charcoal pencil. Painted on Arches 140 lb cold press paper,
12 and 1/8 x 16 and 1/8 inch. There is a 3/4 inch white border 
around the entire page. 

Fun parts of painting this: using the John Lovett technique of
pouring on the dark sky and using a hake brush to really smooth
out those margins, leaving an area of white to lead your eye down

to and through the focal point. Small use of white gouche to spark 

up highlights and the fencing. Pencil work is loose! Gotta stay

loose :-) Sometimes easier said than done. 

Just want to reiterate folks, as I upload a whole bunch of paintings and learn the Paypal software, all paintings available for sale will be remarked as "for sale". Might take me a little time as I build the library. 

Groovy Flower Pot #1

Mainly acrylic, there is a light use of collage here ( see if you can find it :-) , Archival UV Polymer gloss varnish finish on Arches 140 cold pressed paper, 4 x 18 inches, unframed. I've been inspired and have been influenced in part by Bob Burridge. I had the honor of taking a class with Mr. Burridge June 2015 at Dillmans Bay Resort in northern Wisconsin. Though this is right out of the imagination you can see his influence in this series. Bright colors and composition are struggles for me (I'm colorblind - bright colors help) and so getting carried away by "bob-land" techniques makes each painting, well, an adventure. Learning that with acrylics you have so many options - like letting the painting dry and go back - teaches me to let go and let the process take over. A big step :-) 

Groovy Flower Pot #1

      Groovy Flower Pot #1


At the moment this painting is not for sale since this is a test and my first upload. It WILL be for sale soon. NOTE tiny tear of right upper corner, less than 1 cm (look in magnified viewed and you can see it).