Entry 4

After this post, I probably will have two more posts and this painting will be finished. I am almost done with the middle section of the painting and next will only have the foreground to work on. It is a slow process. Just painting the chair in the center of the painting took me over an hour. Compared to a landscape painting of the same size, I would have easily completed 2-3 paintings by now. It is easy to understand why an artist would expect a higher price for a painting such as this compared to something that takes much less time. One of the things I have noticed is that my photos never look as good as the real painting. Now, this actually is a benefit, because when I have sold paintings on Ebay, the customers are always happier when they receive the original paintings then what they saw on Ebay. It can work to your advantage, but it is still a good idea to try to achieve the best photo possible. One trick is to never use the flash when taking the photo as this puts a glare right on the center of the painting.

Entry 3

An update on the painting. It has been challenging and has already taken many hours. I still have work to do on the two faces at the table, but I think one more layer adding tone will do. Here might be a useful tip: oils are very forgiving and if you are not happy with a spot, change it. I have reworked the old man's face several times and I think on my next post you will see the difference between this one and the current one. Another important point is when you are dealing with structures, the angles have to be true. Your eye will tell you if something is not right or level and you should use that to correct your painting. Finally, I am not one to make a painting too realistic but add some impressionistic elements. I mean that's what cameras are for right, if you want a photograph--this is a painting.
The next phase will be to complete the young girl's hair and then start filling in the rest. Other than that, it is progressing along somewhat slowly.

How to do a detailed oil painting: Entry 2

Here in the second entry, I have completed most of the background painting. I always work a painting from the top down, no exceptions. Related to this, I also paint from the top right corner working towards the left, as I am left-handed and this ensures that I will not smear freshly painted regions with my left palm. You can also see that the painting has been covered with a THIN layer of transparent iron oxide. Many artists will use brunt umber instead, and this is an excellent alternative. You can see that I'm about ready to begin painting the grandpa and child. This is a critical part of the painting as they represent the focal point. I will begin by doing what is called the imprimatura layer. This consists of titanium white, yellow ochre, ultramarine blue and ivory black. The color should be a olive hue.

How to do a detailed oil painting: Entry 1

I decided to do something different and post a series of blogs on how I do a detailed oil painting entitled "Lunch with Grandpa". This approach will be different from my approach of doing a typical landscape. I will try to post updates of this painting as often as possible. But, this type of painting takes many, many hours and probably will take me a couple of months to complete. So...be patient! STEP 1: composition. This is a critical step as your oil painting will only be as good as your initial composition. Try to be as detailed as possible. It is OK to use technology such as a projector, as many artists use this approach to make sure perspective is correct. Now, another important consideration for a detailed painting with people is the type of canvas to use. I prefer in this case to use a cardboard panel, because they are very smooth and therefore easier to do your composition and to paint detail. For a landscape, this is usually not the case and one can use a stretched cotton canvas. For most of my landscapes I may only spend about 30 minutes more or less on the composition. This particular composition took me numerous hours as every square inch has to be accounted for. The next step once you have the drawing complete is I like to spray it with fixative so that the pencil rendering does not smear. Once dried, I then will apply a very thin layer of transparent iron oxide. In fact, I do this step for every painting I do, as it ensures a nice coverage of paint on the entire canvas. Anyways, I would recommend covering your canvas in this way always. OK, my next post probably will include some of the background painting once it is done.

Sleigh Ride

The second painting in my Christmas series, entitled "Sleigh Ride". This painting measures 16" x 20" oil painting and depicts a scene that could take place in any neighborhood. This painting will probably mark the end of my landscapes for awhile. Because selling on Ebay has been very slow, I am going to do a different type of painting next, which will probably take a long time to complete. So, this may be my last post in some time. A lot of the paintings that are currently posted are still available to be purchased.

To Santa's Workshop

My first of two Christmas paintings that I will be doing this year. This is an oil 16x20 oil painting on a stretched canvas. My inspiration was a scene in movie I recently saw with my children, "The Chronicles of Narnia". When the children first come out of the wardrobe closet into the forest, they stumble upon a lit lamp in the forest. I saw that and thought it was a surreal scene that was very effective. I decided to incorporate that idea in this painting and include a Christmas tree. My first title for this painting was "To Santa's Hideaway" to try to illustrate that even Santa has to get away :). But, my wife came up with the current title and I liked that better. Anyways, I will be putting this painting on Ebay on Sunday, the 6th of December.