"Twinkling"

"Twinkling"
8" by 8"
Oils on Gessoed Panel

A Loving Reminder

I have found that painting a portrait of a person I love is invaluable. Not only because I end up with a keepsake and record of at least one way I see that person, maybe even a portfolio piece, but because it always reminds me not to get too attached to photo reference. When I know and love a person, I have seen them in almost every possible lighting and expression, I have that visual knowledge to draw upon. Using that knowledge of a face or person I know well shows me that no matter how good the photo reference, it can't give me that full understanding to work with. Painting a loved one is a reminder not to be complacent when creating a likeness.

Finding Personality

So, how does this apply to portraits of people I don't know, or at least not as well? You might assume that knowing the difference in the painting experience might be disheartening to me when I approach a more distant subject, but in fact it helps me remember that I am not copying a photograph, but capturing something indescribable in other ways through my art. One way I can do that is just by having more than one photograph to work from, so I can see different aspects of that person. If I have met the person in real life I can think of my impression of them and how the light changed their face. And, lastly, I can pick up on some detail of expression that the photograph shows me, but play it up or find my interpretation of a bit of who they are through that detail and unravel it in my work.

"Twinkling"

In case you are wondering, the photo above is a likeness of my beautiful Mom. The paint is still wet, as this painting is freshly completed today. I'll get a nice, clear straight on photo of this painting after it dries. For now, I hope you enjoy this glimpse into my process.


P.S. If you are interested in commissioning a portrait, pepper me with questions at ambergoulet@yahoo.com.

Whole Piece #100!

I did it! I made it to Whole Piece #100 just yesterday. Now to prep everything for the big journey to Grand Rapids  (In just under 2 weeks!) for ArtPrize. I hope you can visit my series during ArtPrize 2014 at its venue Westminster Presbyterian Church.

"Whole Piece #100"
5" by 7"
Oils on Panel

P.S. I couldn't hold myself to just 100 paintings in the series, so today I completed #101 and I can't wait to share it.

"Yeah, I'm a Capybara," Daily Painting #12

"Yeah, I'm a Capybara," Available in Auction (click here) 

5" by 7" Oil on Panel

Thinking About Capybaras

I've always enjoyed capybaras. I was quite impressed the first time I learned the world's largest rodent with its rounded sloping body, the capybara, was on average between 75 and 150 pounds. And then of course they reminded me of one of my favorite children's book creatures from my childhood the Wumps of The Wump World.

In recent years they put in an exhibit for capybaras at the San Diego Zoo and I could get a full dose every visit. They have such relaxed confidence with their solid bodies taking up space without any qualms. The goal of this painting and the fun of it was to try to capture that attitude. I'm guessing I'll be painting some of these guys again. (BTW, their profiles are wholly amusing in shape, I must paint a profile in the future.)

Process

I didn't manage to paint this guy in just one day as this was the one painting I managed to get done during the move, but instead in two short sessions that equaled the amount of time I usually spend on a daily painting. That bit of drying time allowed me to have two layers of palette knife work, and to layer brushwork and texture throughout. It was gratifying to play with my interest in surface texture further on a daily painting as I have been focusing on texture in my larger long term pieces.

Perhaps I'll share some angled photos of this painting and others soon so that you all can see the physical texture as if you were seeing the paintings in person.

In the Plans

An old giraffe, another bird, and something colorful.

"All Light and Exuberance," Daily Painting #8

"All Light and Exuberance," Available (Click Here),

 6" by 6" Oils on Panel

Inspiration

I had a great desire to paint color. Glorious color! It is another gray day in the summer which is quite odd in my experience so the outdoors was not going to provide that for me. Off the trellis these came happily up to sit in the bright diffused light from my large window and many studio lights.

Process

I was so happy about the color I spent some time
prepping my palette, so that only pure fresh pigment would be mixed for the most vibrancy. I mixed a good amount of color ahead of time just for the joy of it.  I enjoyed playing with the patterning in the small thick glass container that I rested the roses in and set them atop an art book to broaden the color palette.

I am happier for painting this today.

An Outing and Painting Prep

Tomorrow I go to a local Obon Festival. There will be taiko drumming (Taiko drums are large drums arranged theatrically so that those beating them can perform a sort of dance as they create music. The drums are large and their sound pleasantly reverberates in the listeners ribcage.) There will be traditional Japanese folk dancing, which anyone can participate in, and every year I dance, so I look like less of a fool every year as pick up bits of the movements. Oh and the food is scrummy! I recommend the pancakes filled with sweet beans. Hopefully I can get some reference photos to use for my next couple of paintings!

A Plein Air Painting in Acrylics

The Reason
I had some extra acrylic paint left on my palette, and I thought rather than waste it I'd spend some late afternoon time, in cloudy weather, out on the back deck painting. It was a great chance, and probably the last for the season, to capture a cooler diffused light.

How it Went
This is the first plein air painting I've done in acrylics. I didn't use the open acrylics, so drying time was something to consider. But, it was a fluke couple cool cloudy days so they didn't dry instantly. I think, for me, it is a pretty good effort painting directly in acrylics.

My Plans
I plan to keep doing these quick plein air pieces, to improve my quick direct painting skills. Next time I think I'll choose a view with a few less trees, so I can do a bit more designing. Perhaps I'll pull out my oils. :)

New Techniques in Painting

This is basically an exercise. After seeing some paintings in a local gallery and visiting the beach on a regular basis recently I decided to test out some new technique ideas. The paintings I had looked at were oils, and this is an acrylic painting so I had to modify the techniques for the medium. I'm pretty happy with what I learned from the process.

I hope you enjoy this!

Chickety Chickens: Those Images

The Reason
Alrighty, this is a present painting. My Mom loves chickens, now I'm pretty sure she has never met one in person but an image of a chicken makes her feel glee. She has for ages pointed out needle points in antique shops of chickens, to exclaim at the site of a plate with a chickeny flourish on it, and appreciate any painting that involves a chicken.

For this amount of time I've tried to dissuade her of buying anything with a chicken image, for those chicken engraved items that she will like when the chicken high has worn off. (To be fair to my Mom she really does have beautiful taste and is herself an artist. ;))


The Hidden Motive
Now of course, I'm feeding her addiction and indulging my desire to paint. ;) This painting is an amalgam of a couple of photos and is still very much in progress. I sketched directly with my brush and have continued to build up the painting from there.

This is the first time I've tried "open" acrylics which have a much longer drying time. They aren't oils, but they do let you paint a bit more like oils. I'm still not totally used to this in between medium, but I'm enjoying trying it out. :) Perhaps I'll start using this new product in my main mixed media style.

I hope you enjoy the imagery!

Update: I'll be posting the final imagery soon.