A News Paper and Me! Ill be damned!!

I want a send a big thank you to Paul Mitros & Bethany Mitros for the work they did. Having this piece in the Collingswood "The Retrospect" done on me. Also, a big thanks for everyone's support so I could come this far.

Second Saturday In Collingswood

I will be at “Second Saturday” in Collingswood. I will be at 756 Haddon Avenue in Collingswood. Come see me and some new art, and cards! I will be with several other street vendors from 5pm to 9pm. I hope to see you there! For more information on Collingswood Second Saturday, go tohttp://www.collingswood.com/arts/second-saturday

The Price is Right

Not too long ago I was asked to make a simple portrait of the great Vincent Price (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993). For those of you who don't know this man is, what is wrong with you!? Seriously, take a minute and learn about this actor and art enthusiast. I promise you won't be disappointed.

We chose the older Price from Edward Scissorhands "1990". As we have done with most projects we started with simple pencil lines on Strathmore Watercolor paper.

After that it was taking the time to add layers of diluted ink. I had hoped to get the tonal value to give him a really distinguished look. Then I added a few more pencil lines for depth. Then, a bit prematurely, added white chalk for the extra brightness for the shining areas.

After that it was a matter of adding layers of gouache for skin tones. For all of you who don't know what gouaches is, it's a transparent water color. It allows you to see the tonal value of the ink work. With a layer of clear coat and signature I was done!

Recreating Art For Private Commission Last Part

Here we are in the final phase of recreating art for a private commission. First, I had to show the client what I decided to do with the sky and overall background. Their overall feeling was that it would not work with the style of décor that they had put together in their home. With the realization that this painting was going to pull the room together, we decided to go back the original dark sky colors of "American White Pelican."  

Along with that change, it was time to add additional layers of color to the foreground and pelican. Making small strokes of gray in the head and neck of the pelican helps break up the white. My hope was to add another layer of detail and realism. You will also notice black lines in the bill and feet.

Once all was said and done, the client gave me the go-ahead to add a layer of glaze to the painting. For that, I used a 2-inch brush and Golden polymer medium "Gloss". Then the medium was mixed with water to make a milky solution. To be sure this would do what I needed it to do, I decided to test this glaze out on an old canvas.



 The glaze worked as well as I felt it should. With that information, I slowly started making long strokes across the canvas. When the first coat was dry, I repeated this step but in the opposite direction. I used three coats of glaze and allowed for proper drying time. With that, "Also American White Pelican" was finished.

I would like to thank my friends Lyric Prince (http://www.lyricprince.com/) and Don Stephens (www.facebook.com/deesteezepro). Without the help of these two fantastic artists, I may have not gotten through this project with any kind of confidence.

So I present to you "Also American White Pelican". Thanks for reading!!







Recreating Art For Private Commissions Part 3

So it's been some time since I posted about the Audubon commission I was asked to do. I'm pleased to announce I'm in the final stages of painting. I also hope the client will be pleased with the changes that were made. More on that in part 4! For now let's go over what's been happening since December 2nd. 

The first thing was to lay down the first layers of paint in the foreground and background. If you look close, you can see how the warm gray paint coat is still showing through.

 

 Next was the same step with pelican. I hoped to get the colors and lines well enough established to not have to change too much later on. 

It seems silly now, but I decided to be a little drastic with this background. The client had not wanted the same dark colors as the original painting. So through some thinking we decided it would be interesting to try something new. As it turns out the client felt it was better to go back to the original style colors after all. More on that in part 4!

New Commissions

Here is a 11in x 14in pencil portrait I was commissioned to do it before the start of the year. It is always fun to do new portraits. Estimates for commissions are available upon request.