Big Cedar Paint Out

This was my entry for the Quick Draw contest at the Big Cedar paint out. We started at 5:00 PM and had to finish at 6:30 PM. It is a 5” x 7” oil painting on panel.

Back to the studio

The Big Cedar Paint out was awesome. After painting outside it is hard to get motivated to paint inside but I have work to do, so I decided to warm up with a quick sketch of Jason Sacran working during the paint out. He is a very talented artist and the winner of the Artist Choice award.

Moving ahead with this painting

I have the composition worked out but not shown here. Here is a sketch of the knight done in the size it will appear on the painting. It was developed using the sketch below for reference. The model used the cardboard helmet and sword I made as props for this project. By turning the figure in the finished sketch a little more towards the viewer and having the arms reach forward a little from the body I have added more rhythm to the pose, and finishing it with knightly attire as if he were standing in a breeze.

Templar Knight

Sometimes working on a commissioned painting can be a challenge. If the client has a vision you must be able to see that vision as well. Because I love realism this project requires that I gather information from research, my imagination, the creation of some props, and other client supplied references. The idea here is to create a painting with the theme of the Templar knights.

Hulston Mill Civil War Days

Giving Orders

The Reenactment 4

The Reenactment 3

The Reenactment 2

“The Chaplain”

reenactment "AT Ease"

The Reenactment 1

Multi-tasking

Oil painting on 6” x 6” Gesso primed Masonite panel. If you are interested in buying this painting click the buy now button below. The price is only $50.00 + sipping.

The Boathouse

This is my first Plein air painting with the SPA (Springfield Plein Air) for the 2011 season. The SPA opens the season with a potluck lunch at Lake Springfield in the boathouse. There’s an art contest and lots of enthusiasm to get out and paint. I sat my easel up and painted for about an hour (not long enough) then headed in to eat.

deconstruct

Painting from start to finish, the sketch, the under painting, the first color block in, and the final adjustments.

Brushy Bob

The Bull Rider

Cowboys Pray

I have been painting on small masonite panels primed with gesso. I like the texture and because I’m preparing my own panels I can make it smooth or rough. I am also painting looser and with thicker paint allowing the brush work to show. I know a lot of artist work in this manner, but it is a new endeavor for me.

Civil War Painting #1

This is the first of a series of paintings I will be doing this year to commemorate the 150th year anniversary of The Battle at Wilson’s Creek.

Lost Edge

I love dimly lit still-lifes where the edge can get lost in shadow. This is only a small sketch 2 ¼” x 3”. I used a shadow box that I made for small still-life painting. I made a small hole in the top so that I could control the amount of light. For this sketch I covered the hole so that the only light source was the reflected light coming from the walls of the studio.

In the studio

This is only some of the preliminary work that I have done for the development of a very special painting. Planning is the key to being able to paint well, if I have to figure out how it is going to layout as I’m standing at the easel, it just doesn’t work for me.

The Civil War

About 15 years ago I took some photos of a reenactment of The Battle of Wilson’s Creek. I have been doing some sketches and working on some paintings to commemorate the 150 year anniversary of the battle; on August 10, 1861 it was the first major battles fought west of the Mississippi river.