My first painting of 2014. This work was done on a panel with two thick coats of acrylic modeling paste applied with a pallet knife. I used a 3″ short nap roller to lay in the sky, water and basic tree shapes. The painting was completed using no brushes, only a pallet knife and tooth pick. I like the rough surface texture and will experiment with this process over the next group of paintings.
Grape Islands,Lake Massabesic, NH. 2014. 20 X16 inches.
I tried another painting of the butternut squash. I flipped the drawing and added a dark green tablecloth. You can see the first painting in the post below.
Butternuts #2, 2012
Acrylic on canvas board
14 X 11
Art in Action will feature 20 artists working in various mediums at Mack’s Apple Farm Stand at 230 Mammoth Road (Route 128), Londonderry, NH. The date is Saturday May 15th, and Sunday May 16th. The hours are 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM both days.
I will have several of my newest paintings there, and will be demonstrating my painting methods. I will also have an ongoing slide presentation so you can see most of my work and other painting processes. This is an inside show, and weather won’t be a concern. Stop by and see the excellent work all of these artists create.
Posted in Events, Painting Process
Tagged art show, Londonderry New Hampshire, Painting
I started a new painting this week with an idea in my mind of a classic still life of a bowl of fruit set on a table. I began with a 24 X 20 canvas that was prepared by rolling on three coats of gesso, letting each coat dry overnight and lightly sanding each coat. I had imagined the layout for a few days. I started by lightly sketching in the main elements with Raw Sienna and lots of water, leaving areas of almost pure white where the strongest sunshine would fall. I was going to place an antique map in a frame in the upper right corner, so I sketched this in, too. The initial sketch was loosely painted and set up the contrasting areas of light and dark.
I followed this up with Burnt Sienna to strengthen the contrast of light and dark. I then went a little further with a wash of Naphthol Crimson (any deep red would do here,) where the deepest shadow would be. There were a couple of brush strokes that looked like a stack of plates to the left of the bowl of fruit. I strengthened that idea by indicating the stack of plates with a few quick strokes of paint.
I always let a painting like this “cook”. Later in the evening, I sat the painting beside the television and frequently stared at it. The loose brush strokes in the “map” began to resolve into a reflection of a couple of children standing around some object. You would be seeing the reflection of the group on the other side of the room, behind you. I wanted to add a chair at the end of the table so I am borrowing a chair with lion heads at the top of the side rails from a Vermeer painting as a tribute to one of my favorite artists. I also added a basket under the table to break up this void.
I have a working title of “Reflections” for this painting for now. It’s a lot of fun, and quite liberating to develop a painting without a source to work from. I’m thinking of dark and subdued colors with a green and gold striped Victorian wall paper; and silver bowl and gold-rimmed plates sitting on a deep mahogany table. Bright sunlight will fall on the wall, bowl of fruit and the tabletop.
Stay tuned for more photos.
I just updated the good work all of the artists in the class at Ingram’s Senior Services completed. They are producing a lot of excellent and varied work. Go to the Student Works page to see the rest of the eight works completed by the class.
Bob H. Cardinal. March, 2011.
I will be demonstrating at the Greater Salem Artists 25th Annual show and sale on April 9th, 2011. Hope to see you there.
My second Native American Dancer is complete. I don’t have a title for this work yet, as I want to find out the dancer’s name and tribe affiliation. This was a challenging work because of the size (36″ X 48″), and the amount of detail involved. I took the original photo and removed the unwanted background clutter of people, tents, and sound systems on my Photoshop Elements program. I cloned the grass over these items so the focus would be on the dancer.
I worked from two 8 X 10 photos and enlargements of some details like the bead work, hands and moccasins to get it right. A lot of thought went into the layout, color selection and the order of attack to build the dancer from the background to the front. I layered all of the details one on top of another. I went with a typical New England forested background with a grassy field. I will be adding a series of progress photos on my “Painting Progress” page in a couple of weeks. I tracked the hours it took to do this work, and ended up with a total of 87 hours! A fun painting to do.
Joanne K. and Nancy S. are making good progress on their paintings. Joanne has completed the far distance, and is working on the middle distance, reflections and foreground water. She will add some foreground shore and birch trees next.
Nancy S. is closing in on completing her painting. Next, she will add more detail on and around the two shacks and the rocks in the foreground. Nice work on both paintings!
Jim S. completed his Ireland farm painting today. Jim has completed his second class session and already signed up for the next opening. Dave G. completed his sail boat painting and it came out very good. Dave has already signed up for the next class opening, also.
Upcoming Events
Painting Demonstration at Mann’s Apple Orchards
Mann Apple Orchard, 27 Pleasant Valley Street, Methuen, MA, is holding their annual Customer Appreciation Week from Monday, August 30th through Sunday, September 5th.
I will be doing a painting demonstration on Saturday, September 4th from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. I will also have several paintings and fine art note cards available for purchase.
Fine Art by Don Whittemore 