Progression of my latest painting

On my September 29th post I began a new painting based on my computer sketches. Here are the various stages that I went through before completing it.


I last showed the painting with the first overall color background painted in. Through the paint I can still see the drawing that I did originally.


There's Laura off to the side watching me at work.


I start to add color and fill in the various shapes.


I continue to add and change colors as the painting starts to come together.


The finished painting is titled NUDE THINKING ABOUT GETTING DRESSED. I went through many changes of colors and values before the painting was finished. I don't just copy my computer sketches when painting these images, but only use them as a starting point. This is the ninth painting in this series.

Cartoons about the fine art business

Here are a few more cartoons from my book ART THERAPY. These were all created on a Mac G4 using the program Photoshop 5.0. I first did the basic drawings with a marker on layout paper and scanned them into the computer where I added the type and color. The computer is a fabulous medium which I have been experimenting with for several years and the possibilities it offers artists continue to amaze me.

Some of my promotion brochures

The computer is not only a great art medium, it enables you to have your very own print shop for creating promotional brochures and other related material.


Above are a few of the brochures that I send out promoting my sculpture.


This is one of the brochures promoting my new painting series. I send these out and also leave a stack of them at Craig's gallery. Most everyone that visits the gallery takes one with them. I also leave them at other art centers, it's very important to promote yourself. Recently I received a call from the new director of an art center in a nearby city. She was cleaning out some drawers and found a few of my promotion brochures and decided to call me. She wanted to come over to see my work and this resulted in her offering me an exhibition. The date hasn't been set as yet, but I will be showing my new acrylic paintings which are based on computer sketches.

Digital prints of masks

I have carved a series of wooden masks, below are examples of a few. On September 16th I posted a lot of them on my other blog in case you'd like to see more.




Above is one of the acrylic painting done based on the masks. My intention was to exhibit the carvings and paintings together.


I do a lot of experimentation on the computer and decided to create a few masks digitally.










It was a fun project as I am always amazed at what can be created using this amazing medium. If you'd like to see more of my acrylic mask paintings they will be posted on my other blog tomorrow.

Starting another painting

Here are three new compositions of abstract figure studies for my new painting series which were created on the computer.






I decided to do a painting based on the above sketch, I like the color as well as the composition.


Again, I begin by doing a simple, basic drawing on the canvas using a #7 cool grey Design Art marker pen.


On the 30 x 30" canvas I brush in the background with acrylic paint. The drawing shows through enough for me to be able to see the shapes. On the next post I will show the progression of the painting.

DECONSTRUCTED NUDE finished

This is the eighth in my new series of acrylic paintings based on studies done on the computer. Here I'm continuing working on this painting that I started in the previous post. At this point I am adding the yellow color which I have toned down considerably from my original sketch that's taped alongside my painting.


I changed the grey tone at the top of the painting and added the two lighter rectangular shapes in the lower section.


After a few hours of changing color tones and adding more shapes the painting is finished and ready to drop off at the Craig Smith Gallery in Harbert, Michigan. If you are ever in the area, drop by to see Craig's gallery, it's a great place with 4000 square feet of space with lots of great art. Chicagoans often visit the gallery and also come to Craig's frequent parties, he's located only 78 miles from the Windy City. Many Chicago residents have second homes in Harbor Country and spend weekends here. Lots of good dining is also available in this particular area.

Starting another painting in my new series based on computer sketches

With my computer sketch taped to my drawing board I use a proportion wheel to scale up my image on the blank canvas. I do the drawing with a Design Art Marker. Incidentally, the canvas is 30 x 30 inches.


Then I begin painting by brushing a coat of acrylic paint on the canvas. I've decided to change the color and make the background a brighter orange. I often change colors from the sketch during the painting process. I haven't lost my basic drawing as when the paint dries it still shows through. In the lower left corner of the photo you can see my cat Laura lounging nearby in a small basket.


Here is a closeup of laura, she is always around while I'm working as are Jpeg and Tiff.


After the background is dry I start to block in some of the color areas. I've decided to mute the tone on the yellow shapes. This will probably take three or four days to complete if everything goes well. If I get stuck on how to proceed I often stop working and start a new painting. At a certain point I find that it's a good idea to get away from a painting, then I usually come back to it with a fresh viewpoint. In the next posts I'll show how I progress on this piece.