Author Archives: donaldrw

Chicken Update #2

Posted on May 27, 2010 | 1 comment

I finished the layout and under-painting on the chickens, and started with the foreground dirt and the chicken on the left.  That one is a Rhode Island Red.  I put a grasshopper in his beak as a neat detail.  I am trying to get the soft, fluffy look of the feathers, and some action in the placement of the birds.

Look at the tail of this bird, and you can see how I added successive strokes of color on top of the blue/green under-painting, gradually building up the mass of the feathers.  This area still needs some color and shadow adjustments to finish it off.

These were very lively birds and I needed to use the “action” setting on the digital camera when taking a long shot.  I also got some great close-up photos, and want to do a portrait of one of the birds next.  I’ll add another photo when the second chicken is complete.  Stay tuned.

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Blue and Green Chickens. Really.

Posted on May 24, 2010 | Leave a comment

I began another painting Sunday evening.  A family in the neighborhood sells fresh eggs, and they were kind enough to let me take photographs of the chickens.  I had been thinking about this painting for a while, and all I needed were photos of the birds.  This is the first step in the process.  As always, I begin the under-painting with a complementary color.

I’ll post updates as this painting progresses. Oh, the eggs were wonderful!  Stay tuned.

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Greater Salem Artists Association Spring Art Show

Posted on May 22, 2010 | 1 comment

This is a photo of me working at the Greater Salem Artists Association 24th Annual show at the Woodbury School.  I won a 3rd place ribbon for Apples in Sunshine, and the painting also won a ribbon for “People’s Choice”.  A good day overall!


I had a constant stream of folks at my display, and I ended up painting on my demonstration piece for about 30 minutes.  I spent the rest of the day interacting with fellow artists and visitors to the show.  I want to thank all of you for coming to the show, and for your generous support.

My next show will be held by the Art Institute Group of the Merrimack Valley and will be held on Saturday, June 12 and Sunday, June 13th at Mann Orchards in Methuen, MA.  I hope you all can make this show.  More information to follow.

Don

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Latest Student Work Photos Added

Posted on May 18, 2010 | Leave a comment

I added the photos of the work the students did this week.  You can see full size photos on the Student Works page.

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Cilantro Peppers, a Work in Progress

Posted on May 4, 2010 | Leave a comment

My painting of the Cilantro peppers is coming along well.  These three photos show the progress and changes I made as I worked out the final design.  I’m combining three photographs I took of peppers, string beans and eggplant.  I’m adding a dose of imagination with the surrounding items.  The basket is challenging and I like how the various textures are working out.

I decided to place all of this on an old blue door for a bit of visual interest.  This is painted on a very smooth canvas with a succession of washes and glazes, sanding it down between paint applications.  I hope to finish this painting as part of the demonstration I will be doing at the Spring Fling Art Show and Sale on May 15th. See the Events page for more details.

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Student Painting Update

Posted on May 4, 2010 | Leave a comment

Here is an update of the good work the students are doing.

Deb T. has started another painting of a bird. Dave G. is working on a bold, bright clown. Jim S. has started another dog painting.  Bob H. has a good start on his second painting, a covered bridge. Nancy S. is closing in on her painting of two girls.

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Spring Fling Art Show and Sale

Posted on April 28, 2010 | 2 comments

Just completed this apple painting:

Apples in Sunlight, 2010
Acrylic on canvas
24″ X 16″

Upcoming Event!

Spring Fling Art Show and Sale
The Greater Salem Artists Association
Original works by local artists and students

Saturday, May 15, 2010; 10AM – 4 PM
Free admission
Woodbury School, 206 Main Street, Salem, New Hampshire

Art Demonstrations by Jim Collins and Don Whittemore

  • Live Music
  • Raffles
  • Cookie Sales

I will be unveiling six new paintings and demonstrating my painting methods during the show.

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Two New Paintings Started

Posted on April 19, 2010 | 2 comments

Here is the apple photo and the under painting for Apples in Sunlight.  Stay tuned for weekly updates on this and a second painting of cilantro hot peppers, also in the works.

We visited Mann’s Apple Orchard, Methuen, MA last week, and I took a bunch of photos of the produce for sale.  There were a couple of good shots in the two dozen photos I took that I thought would make good paintings.  There was a dormer in the roof of the barn, and a single shaft of sunlight was hitting a group of baskets of apples on a table.  The photo had strong sunlight on the apples, and deep shadows around the edge.  This framed the baskets of apples perfectly.  I started this painting on the 15th, and will continue the work and update the page in the Painting Process soon.

The second good shot was a great big bunch of cilantro hot peppers.  They were a riot of orange, yellow and reds, accented with some nice green peppers.  I am working on a study of this photo to work out some process details, and I will add this work to the Painting Process page once the canvas has been prepared.  Here is a photo as a teaser:

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Five New Photos of the Sir Edward Hawke Added

Posted on April 9, 2010 | 1 comment

I have been working on the running rigging and it’s about 90% complete.  I added five new photos to the bottom of the Ship Model page.  Here is a view of the base of the main mast showing some of the running rigging in place.

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More New Student Work Added

Posted on April 7, 2010 | Leave a comment

Emerging artists Jim S., Deb T., Tom L., Bob H., Dave G., and Roland M. have their work in progress added to the Student Works page.  The class size is at eight folks and the paint is flying onto the canvas in grand fashion.  Here are thumbnails of the work done by these folks this week.  Check out these and other photos on the Student Works page.

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