Changed to new Blog site

I am setting up a website and have moved my blog to that location.
My new blog is at:
http://artblog.oilpastelstudio.com/

And my website is still under construction but can be found at:
http://oilpastelstudio.com/

I hope you will come visit.

Testing Subscription Service

I added a subscriptions service to this blog. What is supposed to happen is once you sign up, you get an email notice whenever I update this blog.
I just subscribed with one of my other email addresses so I'll see if it works.

Three on a Popsicle

Three on a Popsicle, 8x9” oil pastel on canvas

I have been reading a lot about edges. How when an eye focuses on something, that something is in focus with sharp edges and high contrast. But everything else is slightly blurred with soft edges between colors and shapes. And that an artist can use that to guide a viewer into the painting.
So I have tried the concept with this painting. Only my focal point has sharp edges and high contrast. Can you guess what the focal point is?

This was adapted from a WetCanvas WDE photo by bjcpaints.

Self-Portrait: End of the Day

I’ve always found that the better I know a person the harder it is to do a portrait of that person. It seems that my mind “knows” what the person looks like rather than letting my eyes “see” the person. And I end up struggling and not being able to get a likeness.

So I’m doing a self-portrait to work on this issue since I am the one person I have the most pre-conceived notions about and really truly “see” the least.

In keeping with the looser style of painting I’ve been doing lately, I just did a minimal sketch and then began laying down patches of color.
I did this from a mirror rather than a photo. If I’d used a photo, I would have gone through them until I found one that I looked good in. Instead I used the mirror and got what I got, forcing me to really look.


It does look like me a little but some of those preconceived notions did come through like the forehead is far too tall and the eyes are a bit too deep and too blue.

Also, since I was using a mirror, every time I looked at the paper and looked back up I had to reposition my model. So I think the face came out a bit narrow.

But overall for a first effort, not too bad but definitely room for improvement.


9x12” oil pastel on paper

Crayon Bridge

This was adapted from a photo taken in Binney Park in Old Greenwich Connecticut.The park was given to the town of Greenwich by the Binney family. They are the people that created Crayola Crayons.

Oil Pastel, 8x10"

The reference photo was from a WetCanvas.com WDE hosted by watercolorbill

Summer Buddies

"Summer Buddies"

Oil Pastel

6x14"

This is a piece I did for a specific purpose. The animal shelter where I got my dog is having a silent auction as part of a fundraiser. I wanted to donate a painting.

In order to get more people interested in bidding on the painting, I wanted to make it less about a specific dog and more about life with a dog. I think this fits that bill.

And a photo of my friend, companion and the reason I'm donating this painting.

First Plein Air of season

Today was almost 60degF so I wanted to try out my new ThumBox.
As soon as I got to the park and started setting up my tripod, heavy rains started. So I did some errands thinking the rain would go away quickly. When it didn’t, I said “Okay I give up” and went home. As soon as I pulled up in front of the house and got out of the car…. it stopped raining!!!
By that point I was too frustrated to go right back out. I did get out a bit later but it was chilly and the wind was blowing hard so I did not stay long.


This is oil pastel on 6x8” canvas panel. About 45 minutes. As a painting, I’m not happy with it. But as an experiment, I am.
I used the Thumbox for the first time (I’ve had it about a month so that’s a big thing). And I feel good about how much I simplified the scene.
The ThumBox is very small (which is what I wanted) but it is going to take some getting used to.

Just the Two of Us

"Just the Two of Us"
5x7" oil pastel on canvas


Painting based on a photo by Judy Buckingham. The photo was of a couple dancing at a sidewalk cafe in Argentina. I liked the movement. The image reminded me of when we're dancing well and the music is just right, I forget there are other people on the dance floor and it seems like just the two of us.

Tic-Tac-Flo

Tic-Tac-Flo
3x5" oil pastel on paper

This was tough, all white or clear and reflective.
Well, now that I've painted it, I can eat those mints!

Spoon

I wanted to do a painting from life rather than a photo. Although the weather outside is unseasonably warm (it should have been averaging around 5degF), it is still not warm enough at 30-40F for me to be comfortable standing outside for a while and painting. So...

I got a shiny, silver tablespoon out of the kitchen, put a strong light on it and started painting.

It was amazing how many colors I saw in that silver. There was the orange and white from the light, yellow reflecting off the wall, and blues reflecting off the cloth napkin.

It was a lot more interesting than I would have thought a plain spoon could be.

French windowbox

French Windowbox,
5x7" oil pastel on canvas (SOLD)

This was painted specifically for a silent auction with a French theme.
It is now framed and ready to give to the committee.

First four “Quick Starts”

I’ve decided to try making some painting “starts”.

In Kevin MacPherson's book, "How to Fill Your Oil Paintings with Light." He says:
"Pledge to do one hundred starts - simple, flat shape studies with no detail. They can be figure studies, still lifes or landscapes. Give yourself thirty minutes to cover a canvas with properly related color shapes; this will exercise your speed skills. Strive for more accurate relationships with each one. The more starts you do, the better you'll become at them. Number your starts to chart your progress."

I’ve decided to do this project so that I can gain confidence to paint on location.
I've gone out a few times to do plein air (outdoor/on location) painting and always hated what I did.
In the studio, I'm used to starting with a nice transferred drawing. And outdoors I start from a simpler, rougher initial drawing. So I'm going to try and approach these starts as if they were plein air (rough initial drawings and done quickly).Then hopefully by Spring I'll be ready and confident to go try plein air again.

QS#1 -French Windowbox (from photo by WetCanvas.com member Olga)
5x7” oil pastel on canvas
This was my first "Start"and I went a bit over time. It felt odd stopping after 30 minutes when the painting still seemed to be going well. So I kept going until it was done.
QS#2 -4x6" oil pastel on paper, 30 minutes, from photo
QS#3 -4x6" oil pastel on paper, I gave up on this after 15 minutes. This one is supposed to be a bike in the shade but there was so much depth in the scene and the bike's color was so dark that I just gave up.
QS#4 -4x7" oil pastel on paper, 25 minutes, from photo

It will be interesting to see how many I want to turn into full paintings.

A Beautiful Farewell to 2005

A Beautiful Farewell

8x10"

oil pastel on paper

Painted on New Year's Day. This was my farewell to 2005.

And since I was painting on New Year's Day, I'm hoping that is indictive of a lot of painting to come in 2006!