Landscape #2 I'm definitely in a sky mood tonight!

Landscape #3

Landscape #4

Landscape #5

Wow!

I just have to know. How long do these take you?

Landscape #6

Landscape #7

Landscape #8 Whew! I'm done for now. Dang, it takes longer to post 'em than paint 'em with my old 56K modem.

I can paint at least one per day - oftentimes more and still work on my portraits.

I've spent years not being able to EVER paint a landscape (not even one - not even in art school). For some reason or other, just now, they seem to have hit a critical mass and are flowing out of the end of my brush almost faster than I can paint. Most of the scenes are remembered but some are inspired by my old photos.

I wish portraits would come as fast as these do.

HELLO?????

As for getting rid of them Karin, I think I know a few people here that you could send them too! ;)

Oh, and thank you for opening up an opportunity for people to show something other than their portraits, I think it's been fun.

It is fun to see what others do besides portraiture. I think that because I have been focused on portraits for so long, I couldn't let go of the need to "get a likeness" in everything I tried to paint.

I finally was able to wrap my mind around the concept that in landscape painting, the literal doesn't matter a hoot as long as you can grab the feeling of it. I suspect that when this little landscape habit has run its course, my portrait style will change and mature a bit...but I'll still "get a likeness" in that no matter what.

Karen,

You mentioned Ebay, have you seen this site for marketing art work?

http://www.paintingsdirect.com/index.html

Thank you for posting these, Karin! There's a saying in writing circles, "show, don't tell." That's exactly what you're doing here, and I am inspired by your workload.

I see several I'd buy. Have you thought of possible markets? How about designer showcase homes?

Hawaiian orchids
 

Here's my contribution. I did this about a year ago, before I started painting. It's soft pastel, and I hated doing it. I got bored with the flowers and was so relieved when it was done! I don't think I'm a still life person. Landscapes are different though, I'll try to post some.

Karin, I think you may be over your "block". Geez, don't hold back or anything! They're great.

Jean

Thanks Karin, those are absolutely wonderful and inspirational. I should take your lead and do a few small ones too but it seemed that I broke loose yesterday on one of my 36 x 40" canvases, doing a landscape of filtering light through many trees, on a lighted path and an old gentleman with a cane in the foreground, back to us, walking toward the light at the end. As a matter of fact, "Light At The End" is my title.

My point being that a much smaller one may have sufficed. Does anyone there or you Karin, ever seem to just let go and paint even in a completely different style than usual? That's what seemed to happen to me after painting commissioned work. This large one was so fun (not to say the others aren't) but so fresh and quite loosely painted compared to my "tight" way of painting. I had a great time with music filling the air, brush flying and not a care in the world. Felt great.

Mike, I checked out your tip on the online marketing and here is an excerpt from their reply: I don't qualify as I am on SOG and intend to stay there. However, I think that PaintingsDIRECT may be good for those who do not have a website and wish to sell their work. Thanks. Sure, I do it all the time. But somehow it still looks like "my work" - even those landscapes.

Karen,

Yikes! I never got as far as the fine print.

A non toxic medium


A lot of discussion has suggested the benefits gained by painting different subjects in addition to portraits and, as Sargent and Homer did, painting in media other than their main choice for portraits. Some posts have suggested the benefits of "just letting go" and allowing for some experiment and spontaneity. It seems like common sense to do so but we seem to forget long after our Art instructors put us through those exercises for good reason.

I am posting some working sketches that I used for a large exterior church mural that was executed in 1" ceramic tile. Nothing more complicated than a diagonal cut of that tile was allowed and the palette was glazed and unglazed ceramic tile in a range of colors from light earth tones to bright accents including gold and silver metallic. I hope you can see that the renderings are on a graph paper with each square representing 1".

You can easily see that this would not be anyone's medium of choice for portraiture. I post them because the nearly four years of this type of mural design taught me a lot about pattern, design, and story telling without the convenience associated with our traditional painting materials. (No room for highlights, reflected light, or blending.)

I guess my point is that we are enriched by being diverse in our range of appreciation and skill and it often occurs to me when I am blocking out a portrait composition that I am also drawing on my experience as a ceramic tile mural designer.

Since we're all having so much fun, here is a little 8x10 sketch I made a few years ago. I call these "dear little paintings." (plein air from life, 45 minutes. Henry Henche and Hawthorne called them "mud heads".)

Peggy

Peggy, it's beautiful! Very fresh looking.

Jim, I can see how that ceramic tile work would force an artist to focus on the large masses and values in a face. A lot of benefit in having to deal with that kind of discipline, I would imagine.

Peggy and Jean, those are beautiful! Oh, this is fun. And Jim, I think murals are wonderful forms of art. I remember you mentioning you had experience with them somewhere.

Now, stupid question 101, Karin. Where did you get all those frames? Are they jpeg images you just put your digital photos into or are they part of your stash? I remember you said you always deliver your work framed so you can work some of the color of the portrait into the actual frame color.

Beth, this is where I get my frames: http://www.jfmenterprises.net/

JFM is where I get my frames as well. You need to purchase wholesale, however. Declaring yourself a business and getting a tax number is the only way you will be able to buy frames from them.

Peggy

I also get my frames from JFM, thanks to a previous recommendation from Karin.

A word of caution, though. Their prices are great but there are some errors on their site. I've had a couple of experiences where the frames were not the width they stated on the website. Contact them directly before you order to confirm the details of the frames you want.

Also, as you might have guessed, shipping costs can get very high. Order as many frames at once as you think you will need for a while.

All the frames they have sent me have been very nice and I have saved hundreds of dollars compared to buying similar custom frames at a retail shop.

I have ordered through one frame catalog (Graphix?) and was totally blown away by how "cheap" the quality was of the craftsmanship, so am rather gun shy now. But then again I have paid hundreds of dollars for some pretty questionable ones too.

Stupid question 102

Yes, your tax number is your vendor

The View From Somewhere
 

I've really enjoyed seeing all these posts! Here's an example in the "Far Out" portrait category. It's constructed of 1/2" Corian done intarsia style. The size is about 27"h x 21"w x 4" thick. Done on a planet with three moons??

After Midnight
 

Of course it shows best in the dead of night.

John,

This is very different but also very interesting. Would you share how you created this and what led you to this unconventional approach?

Karin,

I think your landscape paintings are very exciting, especially the the ones with the big sky/cloud themes! There is no need for rolling green hills or mountains. A blue sky with sunshine can be a bit startling. I don't think I would try a beach scene.

Meet Big Red
 

Here's my contribution to landscape art. I had to take a break from portraits after my last one and have some "fun". My husband and I often go for long rides in the country. We pack a lunch of fruit and cheese, a thermos of coffee, the dog, and just drive. We never know where we're going, or where we'll end up. I've gotten hundreds of photos of interesting sites, animals, and scenery along the way.

This guy was just begging to be photographed. We actually drove up the farmer's driveway so I could get this picture. Longhorn steers are not very common in Wisconsin, especially in such a setting.

(I know Cynthia, no animals, couldn't help myself!)

Jean

Sauce still life
 

First sauce experiment... this stuff is lush.

Of course we shouldn't focus on portraiture 100% of the time, and I think the popularity of this thread shows that the artists here have all sorts of muses.

But I remain grateful that this site's focus is portraiture.

Apples on Silk - Portrait of Apples!
 

Ok, so maybe not a traditional portrait, but hey, thanks for looking anyway!

The pic blows out the cut apple a bit and darkens the details in the shadow areas.

11x15 inches oil on panel

Gorgeous, Michael! I particularly like the fabric.

Thank you, Michele.

Michael, my eight-year-old daughter just saw your painting and said, "I can feel the silk, I can smell the apples and I can taste them, too!"

Michael, the fabric is wonderful, the rest is too! You can certainly see you are an accomplished student of Bill Whitakers!

Congrats!:thumbsup:

Very nice still life, Michael.

Nice job Michael, what was your color palette for the apples?

Michele:

Tell your daughter, she made my whole day! :)

Beth:

Without doubt, my time with Bill was a life changing experience. I am so grateful that he took the time with me. I never lifted a brush in his presence, but watching him work and just being around him made so many things click in my head.

Mike:

The apples were done with cad red light, yellow ochre, raw umber, sap green, and white. I mixed a red row of values and painted the each apple and then added the ochre, umber, green and white wet into wet. I actually painted the apples in one pass which for me was a miracle!

My landscape paintings
 

Since this is the only "off subject" thread legitimately in this Portrait Forum, I thought I'd post my brand new, all landscape website at: http://www.Oilpnt.com/

Since Cynthia was so busy at the time, I asked Craig Butterworth to design this landscape web site for me and I think that he did a really nice job of it. I welcome feedback on this. Thanks.