Rainy Days

There is something about wet streets that fascinates me. This painting was part of a show last year in which I had several rainy day paintings. All of them sold, including this one. I guess that tells you what people like.

The one thing that rainy day painting taught me is to be observant as a neutral observer. Rain slicked streets and objects are patchworks of color. Sure there is a logic to the reflections, but you can only paint it accurately if you can stop the part of your mind that says, "this is a car," and you then put in your symbol for a car. Think of what you see as a collection of marks on a canvas that is your eye. It is not a car, it is a slab of grey over a bit of very dark blue with a hint of red in a grey box. Just put down the right color in the right place, and you will go a long way towards a serviceable image.

Sounds easy, right? Well, do as I've done and practice for 35 years and you can get pretty good at it. Or, you may be a natural. Let's hope so!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Old Vine Zin" SOLD

Image
My favorite wine, old vine zin. Nothing beats sitting on the jasmine covered porch as the sun sets looking out into the park, eating  cheese with a glass of my favorite wine. This painting continues my series of libations, branching off into vino. Painted on a 5 x 7" board in oil, this beautiful and luscious work is perfect setting in a small display easel without a frame.  SOLD
Read more

Ford Fairlane on Douglas Ave.

Image
Ford Douglas. 30x24. Oil on linen. $1760--SOLD. This painting was one of the hits of the Diver Studio show and sold recently. I really like the combination of realism and sketchy impressionistic techniques which give it a real depth. Most beginning painters feel the need to render each and every part of the painting at the same level of detail. This is always a mistake. The star of the show is the focal point. All else must be subservient to that star. The Ford in this painting is rendered in near photorealism, a technique that is not that hard; whereas, a sketchier rendering is far more difficult because it must look natural and it must convey the sense of the objects in the painting without falling into the uncanny valley. Sounds like an old horror film, doesn't it? The concept of the uncanny valley is that on a sliding scale from completely abstract to exactly realistic, on the side of exact realism there is an area where just being slightly off in drawing or values causes
Read more

Art Makes Me Happy

Image
Mead's Corner 16x20 Oil on linen. $640--SOLD Is that too simplistic? Art makes me happy? Who cares. I produce art that is original, striking, interesting, and in the tradition of realists such as Hopper and Rembrandt and Courbet. The mere process of painting causes such happiness in my heart that I often think it may be a controlled substance! After peering over my shoulder, I see no drug sniffing dogs and I continue with my bliss. I've been at it since I was 16, producing plein air paintings, portraits, and even the occasional abstract. I've had only three shows in my life. The first was at the Wichita Art Museum. Strange that. I've always managed to sell my art directly. I'd start to build up an inventory in order to seek placement in a gallery and suddenly they would start marching out the door in the hands of happy buyers. A great problem to have. Grant 20x24 Oil on linen. SOLD My portraits have been a staple for me. I love doing them and seem to have
Read more