Being new to the blogosphere, I’ve been doing a little research and reading a bunch of “how-to” articles. Some of the stuff was on blog etiquette, and don’t you know there are some rules for the blogger. One of the cardinal rules of a good blogger is to not be a shameless self-promoter. Well, I’m afraid I’ll have to break this rule just a tad while I’m new and can get away with it. But hey, I set out to do a blog about art including paintings and darn it, that’s what I aim to do.
These paintings are all my own work, you can view the entire gallery here. They are all in oil on canvas, my favorite medium. They are currently not for sale but if someone were to make me an offer I couldn’t refuse… They say Vincent van Gogh sold only one painting in his life, and at that rate old Vincent’s got one up on me. But I’m no van Gogh, of course. I admire the master, and try to emulate him. Speaking of this site’s namesake, the first picture I’ll show was painted by me but is actually a reproduction of one of van Gogh’s myriad auto-portraits.
My sister gave me the frame for Christmas one year and I knew right away which picture it was going to frame. Wherever I live there will always be this portrait of Vincent van Gogh on my wall. This self-portrait he dedicated to Paul Gauguin who lived with him for a short period in 1888. This famous clashing friendship would result in many beautiful canvases that they believed furthered their cause. The original is now housed in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University Art Museums.
It was very fun to paint, as is any van Gogh. For someone just starting out in oils its very beneficial to copy some of the famous artists that you like. This way you can find your own style, while gaining valuable brush stroke experience without having to worry about your own composition. Van Goghs are particularly easy to recreate because of the expressive brushwork which you can match stroke by stroke. Actual blending is not required, as the Impressionistic style blends in the viewer’s eyes a few feet from the painting. Painting his beard was fun, using a little bit of orange hues and burnt sienna, which follows suit in his jacket.
Every painting is a practice. Each time I put brush to canvas I learn something new and hopefully gain from the experience. No matter how many years I paint there will always be some new technique or style to master. This next one was probably the first time I used any real depth and minded the composition as a whole. It’s actually one of my favorite pieces. It is a portrait of the family cat.
I love the depth and expression and I haven’t really matched it since. The way the tail curls inward really gives it a nice 3d presence. The colors are true to life I believe, she is a black cat with all kinds of colors going on on her back. Another reason this one is a favorite not only for me but amongst my family members is the personality. It matches 100%. It’s almost as if someone came up behind her and she just doesn’t want to have anything to do with the individual. She’s not a mean cat but she does get moody, and I think you can see the expression on her face in this picture and say, “yep, that’s her.”
The next picture I painted in response to a tragedy which occurred not too far from me in rural Pennsylvania in Lancaster County on October 2, 2006. A man went into a school and held hostages resulting in the deaths of five girls before he eventually turned the gun on himself. The event was devastating and caused me much emotion. I hope the emotion shows in the painting.
I was inspired by the media of the event showing the Amish community reacting to the massacre. The symmetry is purposeful, hopefully adding to the tension. I could’ve left out the police line at the bottom but for me it definitely completes the canvas, as a blatant and bright barrier just as in real life.
In this work I experimented and accomplished several things. I particularly did some nice color mixing if I might say so myself. I used beautiful Naples Yellow in the hat, and showed some light effect on it. The greens in the picture are actually mostly from an olive green mixture of Mars Black and Cadmium Yellow, the sky blue was made from my favorite blue Cerulean, and the nice looking flesh came from mixtures involving Grumbacher Flesh Tint. I hoped to attain a certain psychological effect on the shadows of his face, which a more astute observer might find are reversed, physically perhaps from some light reflecting from below his hat.
These, ladies and gentlemen are just a few of my works and I may showcase some others, particularly as I paint them. Like I said before, if you are interested, eventually you will be able to see the bulk of my paintings in a photo album.
In the upcoming posts I plan on showing some of my sculpture which, combined with some of my paintings, start off the blog properly I think. In time I will write about some particularly famous paintings I enjoy and would like to share with you. I will also travel personally to several museums and exhibits and do a little journalism. Maybe I can share something you wouldn’t have known. Maybe you can give me some of your own insight.
