Value Drawing, Cone, Ball and Hexagon

Here is a recently completed value study done at the Hein Academy, where I've been attending since Oct. 2008. I'm getting virtually no painting done these days, spending 4-6 hours per day, five days a week at the academy.

Mount Timpanogos Painting Update

Mount Timpangogosm as seen from Heber

8" X 18", oil on board

For the past 11 months, I have been enrolled in an art Academy in Salt Lake City, the Jeff Hein Academy. During this whole period I have only done drawing and, more recently, value, at the academy. There has been little time to paint. Still, I have had the opportunity to sit in on one of Jeff's painting workshops, and also listened to critiques and conversations he had with other artists, who are farther ahead in the curriculum than I, about painting. Just from these conversations and observations (as well as my own value studies in black and white) I have already learned a lot that seems to have helped me with my painting. This weekend I went back into the painting above to apply some of what I feel I've learned, albeit somewhat as an aside to my daily studies at the academy. I think it is much improved.

Below is the original version of the painting right after coming home from a plein air painting session with a friend. It is not refined and the photograph isn't a good one. Still, I think one can see the increased sensitivity to color and value that I've already developed. It is exciting to see that the hours I've already put in at the academy (approximately 20-24 hours per week) are having an impact.

Hand Drawings

It's been a long time since I've posted new work. I've been spending 4-6 hours per day at the art academy (Jeff Hein Academy) where I've been enrolled since Oct. 2008. During that time, I've been drawing, mainly from plaster casts. I will post some of those drawings soon, as an illustration of the kind of work I'm doing there. These drawings, however, are of hands (my own), small exercises I've been doing at home to prepare for a new painting which will involve not only normal still life but also some images of hands.

Sieve

This is the last of a tryptich (see last two entries for the other two).

Can Opener

Corkscrew

Finally back to painting. Oct. 1st I became a student at the Hein Academy of Art, where I will finally get some formal art training, something I've always wanted to do. It looks like it's going to be a great experience. Jeff Hein (you can look him up on the internet) is a very fine young Utah artist whose work is contemporary realism. I expect to become better at drawing and to refine my painting skills, without fundamentally changing my style. In the meantime, I am painting three or four mornings a week to keep my hand fresh, while my afternoons at the academy focus primarily on drawing at the moment.

Even the Little Brown Bird......Final

Here is my solution as to how to display this multi-panel painting. It was accepted into the Utah Arts Council tri-annual show, "Utah '08: Painting & Sculpture". The panels are mounted on a wood grid, made by me. When you use a non-conventional format like a multi-panel painting, you have to be creative as to how to display it. It's asking a lot of the organizers of a show to place nails in the wall in just the right configuration to satisfy your design! Best to do it for them.

Even the Little Brown Bird......

Finally, this is the multi-panel painting I've been working on for so long. Submitted it for a Utah-wide show. We'll see whether it gets in the show.

Total dimensions: 36"H X 42"W

Shoulders and Necklace

8" X 8"

Another installment for my nine-panel painting. Within a few days I'll be able to publish the whole thing.

Black Cropped Pants

Another panel for my multi-panel painting almost done. I'm feeling obliged to post paintings to my blog, even though I'm no longer on a schedule to produce daily paintings. This one reflects a second day of work on the painting. It, again, may undergo some adjustments later. I found it very hard to work with black (or, dark darks). It wasn't so much finding the variations on black that worked, but the application of the paint itself. It was very hard to paint the darkest darks into the painting without accidentally lightening them too much with the surrounding lighter shades. Every painting is another lesson learned.

Sandalled Feet

Doing "more serious" paintings, i.e. paintings that I spend more than a single day on, as with my daily paintings, is reminding me of how much I enjoy finishing off a painting. This one may not be quite done, but I've spent two days on it, now. I like the much greater control I have putting down a second layer of paint over the first one. This is one of the paintings for my larger grouping of paintings (including the flowered dress and the green sweater).

8" X 8"

Flowered Dress - Third Day

I wasn't happy enough to post the "second day" version of this painting. For once I was smart enough to hold off on publishing my latest effort until I had a chance to evaluate it with the benefit of time having passed. This is close to, if not, the final version. Of course, I need to see it with the other six more or less finished panels of this work to feel confident it's where I finally want it. I have until Sept. 25th to finish the whole work.

Green Sweater - Third Day

I'm happier with today's effort. There are still a couple of details that need to be worked on, but this is better. Back to the dress tomorrow, or on to another of the panels.

Green Sweater - Second Day

I had a tough time yesterday with this painting. I covered the surface with Liquin, and then wiped it down before painting, a practice I've not had trouble with before, but this time made the second pass at the painting very difficult. The paintbrushes just seemed to drag across the surface and I couldn't put down a nice flow of paint. i felt like I had very little control over the brushes' application of the paint. I'll post it anyway, but I don't think there is much noticeable difference between the first day and this one. I'll go into it again without the Liquin and see how it works for me.

Green Sweater - First Day

First pass at a second panel for the new multi-panel painting. 13 1/2" X 10".