Painting A Square Format

The monthly 3rd Thursday was held last night in downtown Orlando. I was asked to submit up to five pieces measuring 12 inches by 12 inches each. Last night was the first time I saw all three of my paintings together. It’s a series that came together kind of accidentally. (See previous post.) In the image they are a little out of order but it still works. I used a flash on #1 that was actually completed in 2007 and thought that picture would turn out the worst! Usually when you use a flash on a painting it is bad. But this time I wish I’d used it on all three. Nevertheless, I think you can see the final two okay in these quick shots. When I brought the paintings for hanging I was unaware (or forgot) that all pieces had to be priced at $200 US. Normally, I would price each one at $125. However, all three can be bought for $400 as a set. After I upload the high-res versions to ArtWanted next month I think I will have some coffee mugs and mouse pads made of one of these. The square format should suit those products perfectly!! I love painting in a square format. I have some more ideas for horse paintings in that format. Plus, squares always fit together so if you wanted to start a collection I would recommend them because you can fit all sorts of different sizes together, side-by-side or on top of one another on a wall and they they’ll fit like a puzzle. Events: Dec. 1-31 Steinway Piano Gallery in Altamonte Springs, Florida Dec. 18-Jan 14 AKA Lounge "12x12" in Orlando, Florida Feb. 12 HITS Ocala Equine Art Reception, Ocala, Florida

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I'm Like A Ghost

The end of the year is approaching fast. I finished a series last weekend and delivered the final painting for the 12x12 show at the AKA Lounge in downtown Orlando. The series is of three paintings. They are all done in watercolor but on canvas. Each painting is $200 US or $400 for all three. They have been sprayed with a UV coating to protect the painted image from both water and sunlight. I did the first one for last year’s 12x12 show that was held at the Metro Gallery. Since then I finished #2 of 3 around May 2008. I only have a picture right now of the first painting (#1) in the series. I got the idea for the series when I needed #1 for the Freedom Ride art exhibit fundraiser that was held at the end of May 2008. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a hold of the painting in time so had to paint a second one. I cannot paint the same thing twice (unless I have to) so I decided that from the two reference photos I could do a small series of three paintings. The first one, as you can see, it is of two horses staring out of their horse trailer looking away from the viewer. The second one has one of the horses looking at the viewer while the other one is still looking away. The third one has both horses looking at the viewer. I haven’t seen all three together – ever! Hopefully, Chris Johnson, curator of the AKA show, was able to put them up side-by-side. I requested it but he could not guarantee their placement depending on other paintings in the show, etc. That’s okay with me. I’ll get pictures of them Thursday night to put in this blog. I took two photos on film *years* ago at a dressage workshop. I wasn’t riding so had plenty of time to walk around and take pictures. That’s what I do at horse shows and events. I’m like a ghost. That’s what someone told me one time at a local show. Events: Dec. 1-31 Steinway Piano Gallery Opening in Altamonte Springs, Florida Dec. 18 AKA Lounge "12x12" Opening in Orlando, Florida 6 to 9pm Feb. 12 HITS Ocala Equine Art Reception, Ocala, Florida

Storm and Me and Fantasy

Here I am with Storm. He is one of Herrmann's Lipizzan stallions. They were at Freedom Ride Saturday and Sunday to do two shows. Unfortunately, the Sunday show had to be cancelled due to bad weather. But they will return on Sunday, December 21 at 2:30 pm! I'll be there!

I took LOTS of pictures for new paintings and drawings. My newest idea is a series of paintings of these beautiful horses in or near their stalls. I have a commission to complete first for a returning customer (Thank you, Angie!) and then I will begin the new year with my new series. They will all be oil paintings on canvas and a minimum of 16x20 inches in size. Although, some might be a square dimension. We'll just have to wait and see!

A new exhibit just popped into my schedule last week. The Central Florida Watercolor Society is having a showing at the Steinway Piano Gallery in Altamonte Springs, Florida. (That's still considered Orlando for those of you from out of town.) http://www.steinwayorlando.com/

I did a special painting just for the show called "Fantasy". It is *big* -- from memory I think framed it is 25x30 inches. The painting itself is only 18x24. I priced it at $350.00 US for its introductory appearance. This gallery takes no commissions so I am able to offer it at this low price for this first show. Here is a list of my current and upcoming events:

Nov. 20 - Dec. 17 AKA Lounge "Unify"

Dec. 6 Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge, Orlando, Florida 1 to 8pm Plein Air Painting

Dec. 11 Steinway Piano Gallery Opening in Altamonte Springs, Florida 6 to 9pm

Dec. 18 AKA Lounge "12x12" Opening in Orlando, Florida 6 to 9pm

Feb. 12 HITS Ocala Equine Art Reception, Ocala, Florida

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3rd Thursday for November 2008

The Unity show is officially open now at the AKA in downtown Orlando. I've inserted two pictures of my drawings that are on the wall. Sorry they are cockeyed (crooked). They are on a well-lit wall but set high up around another painting done by the feature artist, Bob Gardner. I enjoyed meeting him last night and talking about art and life in general along with Sandra Monday, another local artist.

Next weekend Herrmann's Lipizzans will be doing two shows at Freedom Ride here in Orlando. I have tickets for both days and plan to "hang out" all day both days at the barn. Last year I got a lot of great reference photos of this beautiful breed. One has already been made into a painting. (See blog post below "Things Happening" -- which should have been titled "Things are Happening" but I was in a hurry and don't feel like fixing it now!)

TITLE: Dog Unity - Dogs are happy to work with humans or together. But when humans aren't around, enterprising hounds enjoy a good challenge!

TITLE: Principle of Cooperation - Bears can climb a tree, but this mom is teaching her cubs something more important - how to cooperate and work as a team. Even if it does mean a bit of a headache!

TITLE: Unity - Cat Stile - Cats use the staring technique to achieve goals. By combining their fixed gazes they will succeed - when a human eventually arrives to assist. Each watercolor drawing is approximately 11x14 framed for $125 US.

Upcoming Events:

Nov. 20 AKA Lounge "Unify" Opening in Orlando, Florida. The show is there until Dec. 17, 2008 Feb. 12 HITS Ocala Equine Art Reception, Ocala, Florida

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College Park Paint Out

The day was beautiful! A little chilly towards the late afternoon (especially in the shade!) I did this nice little 11x14 acrylic of one of the historical homes. This bungalow was built in the 1950's. The lady who lives there is a Feng Shui expert. The light on the porch is always on to light the way home. (Feng Shui experts out there help me out if I got that wrong!)

The painting is for sale. Framed it is $250.00 US and unframed $125.00.

Upcoming Events:

Nov. 20 AKA Lounge "Unify" Opening in Orlando, Florida. The show is there until Dec. 17, 2008

Feb. 12 HITS Ocala Equine Art Reception, Ocala, Florida

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Fall Goings On (Things Happening)

A new show and event coming up! Sorry I've been incomunicado lately, but that's life! I don't live on the computer. I'd rather be out painting! And I've been caring for a loved one who is doing MUCH better now so expect more here later. In the meantime, I have taken a little extra moment to add one of my newest studio paintings titled "Ready and Waiting" of a Lipizzan in the crossties at Freedom Ride. It is an 18x24 oil framed and ready to hang in your home or office! $800 +shipping/handling Nov. 16 College Park Tour of Homes Plein Air. I'll be at 1320 Shady Lane Drive painting all day Nov. 10 AKA Lounge "Unify" Orlando, Florida. The show is there until Dec. 17, 2008 You can see my entire blog here. If you need to email me directly, please click here.

World Wide Paint Out 2008

The temperatures are coming down in Florida so all the plein air painters start going out! I just found out about a World Wide Paint Out (http://ipap.homestead.com/paintout.html) event in Barberville, Florida. Plein air artists are invited to paint all weekend at the Pioneer Settlement for the Creative Arts, Corner of Rt. 40 and CR 3. You can see me and/or my work at the following shows/events: Pioneer Settlement for the Creative Arts, September 6 & 7, 2008 in Barberville, Florida (http://www.pioneersettlement.org/) "The Divine Equine" Benefit for the Bakas Equestrian Center Horses for the Handicapped, July 25 to Sep. 25, 2008 at Great Art & Frame, Tampa, Florida (http://greatartandframe.com/events) Java Lava Coffee Shop, Aug. 6 to Sep. 3, 2008, Orlando, Florida (http://www.javalavacoffeeshops.com/) You can see my entire blog here. If you need to email me directly, please click here.

UPCOMING SHOWS JULY TO SEPTEMBER

Got a little behind posting again, but it’ll be worth the wait. I can’t post any pictures right now, but I have some shows coming up. I have decided to put a list of all upcoming and ongoing shows at the end of each blog I post. That way my schedule is always available – even if I can’t get to my Calendar webpage to update it as often as I should! And as quick as my schedule has been changing lately this is probably the best idea anyway! I did not expect to be so busy during the hot summer months. Things should pick up even more come fall when cooler weather arrives so keep checking the end of my posts for any updates or last-minute additions to my event schedule. In future posts I will be catching up on what’s been going on the past few months including the results of the Freedom Ride fundraiser, a new place in the Central Florida area to view fantastic art in Lake Mary and more. SEE ME AT THE FOLLOWING SHOWS/EVENTS: Cosmopolitan Title, June 20 to August 22, 2008, Lake Mary, Florida (http://www.syglen-artreps.com/cosmogallery.html) “The Divine Equine” Benefit for the Bakas Equestrian Center Horses for the Handicapped, July 25 to Sep. 25, 2008 at Great Art & Frame, Tampa, Florida (http://greatartandframe.com/events) Java Lava Coffee Shop, Aug. 6 to Sep. 3, 2008, Orlando, Florida (http://www.javalavacoffeeshops.com) You can see my entire blog here. If you need to email me directly, please click here.

AWARD FROM OSCEOLA CENTER FOR THE ARTS

My drawing “2 Horses of Rothenburg” got an Honorable Mention ribbon! I am very happy and pleased. You can see the drawing with the ribbon and an admirer as it hangs right now in the Osceola Center for the Arts gallery.

This event came up rather suddenly for me. A friend encouraged me to get involved with the Osceola Center for the Arts in Kissimmee, Florida. I’m glad I did! Everyone is friendly and the facility is very nice! Their gallery just received a donation for a new free-standing wall which allowed them to take 20 additional artworks for their 2008 Annual Juried Show. In October, they are having their annual drawing show which I will enter. I’ve had a drawing in mind for about two years which will go along with the drawing I entered in this 2008 Juried show.

"2 Horses of Rothenburg" is an 18x24 pencil drawing on paper. It has been professionally framed. If you like it very much but cannot afford the price for the original that is okay! A print can be purchased for $2.95 for the smallest. I’m thinking of putting this one on a t-shirt or a tote. That is also available for anyone to purchase through Artwanted.com. Just click on the picture to see a list of all the choices.

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Lake Eola Heights Garden Tour 2008

I was honored to spend a great afternoon with friendly people painting a scene in their private garden. You see the result to the right. The turnout for the event was tremendous. There were many visitors. I found a relatively shady spot to paint from and proceeded to paint one of the nicest features of the garden.

I look forward to the next Lake Eola Heights Garden Tour in 2010!

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THE GARDEN TOURS ARE HAPPENING

April is a busy month for the Central Florida Plein Air Artists. This past weekend on Saturday, April 5, the Winter Park Historical Association held their annual garden tour. I was very happy to volunteer to work our table at the check-in area. The day started out with typical Florida weather with sunny skies and a slight breeze. Other tables were populated by butterflies, bats and bees. What I mean is that people were there to talk about these little creatures which help pollinate flowers and other plants. People were able release butterflies called “Painted Ladies”. I did not get a chance to visit the bat representative. However, the bee person was there very early like me to get set up for the days event. I did a little painting sketch while working at the table and I gave it to one of the nearby home owners because it was of her back yard. She and her daughter were very happy. Hopefully, I can have the picture online for you to see very soon. They were kind enough to allow me to park my car nearby in their private driveway.

The next and final garden tour before the hot, summer months arrive is on April 20 at Eola Heights in downtown Orlando. They only have this tour every two years so it is very special. Hopefully you can come! If not, I will post a painting of one of the gardens for you to enjoy.

IT'S GARDEN TOURS TIME!

I’ve been gone from my blog for awhile, but there wasn’t much going on anyway that you would be interested in. I got a few paintings done for some workshops I will be teaching starting April 12. And spring is always busy when you are a plein air painter. On April 5 the Winter Park Historical Association is having their 4^th Annual Garden Tour. Then on April 20 the Eola Heights Garden Tour, which is only held every two years, will be on Sunday from 12-4pm. Check out my Events page on my website if you want more information.

And everything is well underway for the Horses & Healing equine art benefit for Freedom Ride on May 29. I’m learning the ropes from Mindy Colton who has done these types of events before.

PAINTING IN THE RAIN

Last week I forgot to note that the Central Florida Plein Air Artists met at Mead Gardens in Winter Park, Florida, for our weekly paint out and a demo by Sally Cummings Shisler. It was a cold (for Florida) and rainy day but being plein air artists we took it all in stride. We all donned our raincoats and used umbrellas to watch while Sally painted entirely with palette and putty knives! We’ll be meeting at Langford Park in February and CFWS will be joining us for a fun day spent outdoors painting!

CFWS is the Central Florida Watercolor Society. We met on Sunday, February 3, to see a demonstration by Steve Rogers. Amazingly, he almost completed an entire 28 x 40 painting in less than two hours! His colors are vibrant and he is a very funny guy. By funny I mean he said amusing things once-in-awhile and we all laughed. For example, he explained that a lot of retired architects like to take his workshops because they want to loosen up. That generated much laughter and many chuckles considering we have quite a few retired architects as members! Steve is teaching a workshop this week. Unfortunately, I cannot attend. But I am sure I will hear about it at our next meeting.

For more information: Steve Rogers Sally Cummings Shisler Central Florida Plein Air Artists Central Florida Watercolor Society

MORE PHOTOS FROM A TRIP TO UKRAINE

Here are three more photos I took at the Pirogovo Open Air Museum near Kiev, Ukraine. This set contains the last of my Windmills series. I have other photos but these 5 are the best. Lastly I uploaded a floral photo I took while walking around the museum. Aren't they pretty? If anyone knows what kind of flower they are please let me know! You can see my entire blog here. If you need to email me directly, please click here.

PAINTING WITH JERRY YARNELL

Last week I spent two wonderful days in an acrylic painting workshop with Jerry Yarnell. We worked on a more advanced piece called “Time of Rebirth” with lots of green trees and a small river with lots of little waterfalls. He also critiqued a lot of my work. Everything had the same basic problem – not enough value changes from the background to the foreground. 

I had so engrained the lesson that when I attended the opening of a watercolor show at the Gallery at Metro I saw the same problem in almost everybody’s painting. The error glared at me from each one except my own. But that is just because it is a painting with no background of two civil war horses tied to a picket line (rope). I purposely chose not to include any background to focus all attention on the horses and their gear. This also allowed the detailing in the tack to show off to the best advantage. I had to find some pictures of similar tack used by other re-enactors to get the detail as close as possible to reality. There is no impressionism in this painting.

Going back to values in a painting, there should be at least three (minimum) from background, mid to front. For a more dramatic effect there should be at least five to six value changes from the back to the front. Getting more than six into a painting is very difficult but would be well worth the effort as long as you already have a good composition. That is what I will be working on achieving in my landscape paintings. If you are interested in learning to paint I highly recommend starting with Jerry. He has been painting and teaching in acrylic oil and watercolor for over 30 years. He is very accessible and accommodating to every age and painting style.

PICTURES OF UKRAINE

I am falling into the habit of only adding three new works to my ArtWanted.com gallery at a time. This seems to be a good amount of work to talk about briefly in a blog without boring anyone to death. When I am out with my camera it is usually just used for taking reference pictures for future projects. However, once in awhile, there is a gem. Because the pictures were not taken for the sole purpose of selling them as prints, I did not use the best digital format (RAW) so the largest print one can purchase is usually only around 11x14 inches. But I hope you enjoy them anyway and if you *really* like them please take a moment and consider purchasing a small version for less than $1.95 USD. This is a steal for most overseas collectors when one considers the exchange rate in today's market. These photos including "Windmill With Storm Cloud" were taken during a trip to Ukraine to visit my brother. They have an open air museum called the Pirogovo. It is located about 30 minutes outside of the capital city of Kiev. Except for the first day I was there it rained every day. Fortunately, this made for very unique and interesting skies. "Windmill With UFO" is interesting because I have absolutely no clue what the little blur is behind the windmill on the left. I thought of fixing the picture in Photoshop but I do not like to mess with the photos very much and decided to leave it. I cannot explain the blur. I think it is just a bug. But who knows? "Windmill In A Field of Yellow Flowers" turned out beautifully with purply-looking clouds. I think this is an illusion because the flowers are such a bright yellow. I know the colors are correct because there is just a bit of blue sky showing behind the clouds in the upper right corner. You can see my entire blog here. If you need to email me directly, please click here.

JUST START

Sometimes just getting started takes an extreme effort.  For my art, it's easier if my supplies are already out and set up.  Preparation can take so long that by the time you actually begin work it is time to stop.  I'm not sure there is anything to learn here except that in order to get to the finish one must first start.  Once you have the momentum going it is easier to take the next step and continue.

That reminds me of one of my favorite characters in a book.  His name is Miles.  In the first few novels he is constantly saying "Forward momentum!"  Of course this gets him into a lot of trouble and in order to get out of trouble he must keep the momentum going or he will die, or someone else will die -- in other words, something very bad will happen.

So keep this as a reminder to just get started and let the momentum carry you through to the end -- or the beginning -- of every endeavor.

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PRINTS AND PRODUCTS NOW AVAILABLE

Finally, I have started uploading the larger files so I can offer small to large prints of my work as well as some on canvas! Also, and this is great: You can order my artwork on products such as coffee mugs, mouse pads, coasters, t-shirts, etc. That is so cool! This year I will be ordering some of my own stuff to wear during paint outs and maybe even some gallery openings! I have started by offering prints of horse artwork that has been sold so the original is no longer available. These images have been on Art Wanted for a couple of months but unavailable as prints – until now! If you have any questions about the artwork please contact me. For questions about ordering prints please first try Art Wanted directly as they are located in Iowa and I am in Florida. Here are some introductions to other prints I can now offer for sale: The painting "Dionisio" was named after a wonderful guy at a Walmart somewhere between Orlando and Leesburg on Highway 441. One rainy, windy morning I was on my way to the Leesburg Center for the Arts Back At The Ranch paintout event when I stopped to get some gas. As I walked back to my car I saw that one of the rear tires was half flat! OMG! It’s only 7am in the morning! What could be open where I could get immediate assistance? Some people told me that just up the road there is a Walmart. I race up there (so to speak) and pull in. I pulled in rather close and not in the line. But I explained that I didn’t know how long my tire would hold up and I wanted to get as close to the service area as possible. A man named Dionisio helped me and did not charge me anything to plug the hole in my tire. I gave him $5 anyway and went on my merry way to the paintout. So this painting is named after him. "Serenity" is named thus because I love the serene look that I captured on this horse’s face as he stood in his stall at the Disney’s Grand Cypress Equestrian Center during a horse show there a couple of years ago. His face says it all. This highly detailed drawing has been very popular as a print. It is titled "2 Horses of Rothenburg" because it is done from a photo I took while in Germany. The original 16x20 is very high-priced due to the amount of time and skill involved in its creation and the framing was done by a frameshop (not just me in my studio). I must confess that pencil in black and white is my favorite medium. This drawing was much fun to do and I enjoy sharing it with other people! You can see my entire blog here. If you need to email me directly, please click here.