Two of my recent paintings

[WFMartin]

I used the flower as a demo for a private lesson in glazing, for one of my painting students. The old mill is from a photo that I got off of "Paint My Photo" site.

I plan to enter both of them in the Glendale Art Competition at the end of this week.

Let's see if I still remember how to load an image onto this site..........

"Somewhere In History"...16" x 20" Oil on Canvas Panel

My other entry:

" A Rose Is A Rose".......16" x 20" Oil on Stretched Canvas

Truth is, I haven't been painting much lately. Having placed my wife of 63 years in a memory care facility nearly a year ago has sorta' taken the wind out of my sails, so to speak. This Christmas season has been a bit tough, but I've managed to maintain some semblance of my outside interests. My friend, and I did manage to become "sidewalk musicians", and to play some Christmas music at the park in downtown Glendale, this last month.

But, sadly, my painting hobby has diminished a bit. I think I will need to force myself to get back into it rather soon, just to help maintain my sanity, and composure.

I realize that these two are not among my best work, but it is all I have to enter the upcoming Glendale Show.

(Can someone please delete that stupid "attachment" for me? It occurred while trying to remember how to load an image.)

 

[Donna T]

You may not think these are your best but I think they’re both skillfully done and more than worthy of entering in a show. I like the variety of greens in the old mill and the rose is so luminous! I’m sorry about all the hardships of the last year; I know they take a toll on our art spirits. Best of luck with the show and I hope the new year finds you painting more often.

 

[Hermes2020]

Of the two, the rose resonates with me, so I would like some guidance from you. I've had a strange, sudden inclination to do some still life paintings of flowers. Do you paint them from photos? If from life, are there any tricks to prolong their life, or must one just work damn fast? You you use a lighting rig to ensure constant light and shade, or natural window light?

Am I overthinking it too much (as usual) and should I try to get out of my analytical mode?

 

[Artyczar]

Sorry Bill, I removed the wrong image and now it's gone. Can you send it to me in a private message or to ayin@esart.com and I'll fix it? Sorry for the inconvenience--but remember, you have up to 90 minutes to edit your posts after you post them, and we do not usually delete anything.

 

[WFMartin]

Of the two, the rose resonates with me, so I would like some guidance from you. I've had a strange, sudden inclination to do some still life paintings of flowers. Do you paint them from photos? If from life, are there any tricks to prolong their life, or must one just work damn fast? You you use a lighting rig to ensure constant light and shade, or natural window light?

Am I overthinking it too much (as usual) and should I try to get out of my analytical mode?

Hermese 2020,

I actually have given many lessons of my process for painting flowers, and most still-life paintings. I work from a photo, and I use a process of glazing, utilizing many, very thin layers of paint, applied over a very detailed, gray (grisaille) underpainting. The process is a lengthy one, and it is often discouraging to those who would rather slam out a painting in 6 or 8 hours.

A typical length of time for a painting such as this, using my method, would likely be somewhere between 30, and 80 hours of actual painting time. This may seem like a ridiculously long time, but back in the days when I was doing this sort of painting routinely, I had as many as 3 or 4 paintings in progress at any one time, allowing me to paint upon a dry surface nearly all the time. As a result, I could crank out about as many paintings in a given time span as many more direct painters, who painted one at a time.

You can see (and read) about my process in this article that has been in Art Graphica for many years: http://www.artgraphica.net/free-art-lessons/oil-painting/photorealism-painting-in-oils.html

My methods, and especially my materials have changed, and evolved over time, after this article, but I would be pleased to offer you as much instruction, and guidance toward learning my glazing process as you might care to receive.

The glazing medium that I use is one that I invented for my process, and it is available (bottled, and ready to use) from "The Art Treehouse". But, you don't need to purchase "my medium", per se'.......If you are interested, I shall provide you with my recipe for it, with all the ingredients listed, and their proportions. I DO purchase all my ingredients from "The Art Treehouse", though.

And, thanks, Arty........I have already sent you my image via your email address.

 

[snoball]

Both are lovely Bill and I want to say that I am so sorry about your wife. Also sorry that you've lost your mojo, I know it is hard to be motivated when things are depressing. I hope it comes back very soon.

 

[P. Barrie]

Bil, Good to see your work and to hear from you. Good luck with the competition. Keep painting!

 

[ams]

Both paintings are lovely. Thank you for sharing them. Good luck with the show.

I'm sorry about your wife. I think you're right that continuing your art will help.

 

[john]

Sorry about your wife Bill.

Beautiful paintings.

 

[Hermes2020]

Thank you for your detailed reply, Bill. Looking at my paintings, especially the recent concrete ones, you would probably never guess that I follow those steps almost exactly:

1. I was a bit hesitant about the use of photos, since I have never done that.

2. I typically lay down a grisaille ground in many key areas, then use transparent glazes to get an stained glass effect. I believe that people like Caravaggio and other Old Masters used that technique. My favourite medium for glazing is Winsor & Newton Liquin Light.

3. Your comments about the speed of this technique also sound familiar. I use oil and alkyd paints exclusively, so I am used to slow progress and often work on several paintings at the same time. Thank you for the link to your article. What you describe sounds very much like my work flow.

4. I can see now that the main difference between us is that your paintings depict objects like flowers, while mine do not. Mine are in themselves the things they represent, so could be called self-referential.

Thank you for your offer of help. If and when I try my hand at still life paintings, I will definitely make use of your guidance.

 

[Hawkmoth]

Charming paintings. Your handling of light and colour on the rose is really excellent.
It's such a shame but so understandable that difficult changes in your life have dampened your artistic creativity. I think the music in the park sounds wonderful though, and I hope that in 2022 you can continue to adjust to new circumstances, and rediscover your enjoyment in painting.

 

[Artyczar]

Sorry for the delay in fixing your post Bill. Hope it looks better now.

 

[KreativeK]

Bill, your work just glows! I’m saddened by the situation you’re in as regarding your wife. Prayers for you both.

 

[Artyczar]

These two paintings are superb and sometimes we need to get out of our head, and then move on. I do it all the time--the being in my head part. I need the advice that I'm giving here when that happens. These are not subpar compared to all your other pieces, they are as amazing as all your other works, so I don't see what you see. It could be that because you are feeling down about other aspects in your life right now, you are looking at these with depressed perspective, which is completely understandable. I do this too. The only cure it seems is to keep working, if only as a way to distract from life's miseries sometimes. It can bring about joy, and it can distract from sadness. It can even do both at the same time, as you probably well know. All we can do is our best to cope, and it's also okay to feel our feelings of grief and loss too. I hope you can do things to care for yourself as well.

 

[WFMartin]

Thanks, Arty,.......You did an EXCELLENT job of editing my images!! Yes, I believe I'll get back into doing some more painting, and I may soon have a private student, which usually serves to inspire me somewhat.

And, thanks to ALL for your kind comments and support !

 

[16ga]

Both paintings are great but I especially like the mill. I agree with Arty that they're far from subpar.
Hopefully things will improve for you and your wife this year and you can get back into painting more.

 

[WFMartin]

Just learned today that the flower painting was juried into the show. The Mill was rejected. It is a really tough show. Still may sell one of them!

 

[Artyczar]

Congratulations Bill! I'm sure you will sell both without a doubt--the Mill too eventually in one way or another.

 

[Donna T]

That’s great news! Congratulations!

 

[Katie]

I always enjoy looking at your work and when I saw your post I felt a rush of pleasure and anticipation. Both are lovely. Sorry to hear the sad news. Please keep painting because it will keep your mind focused on other things.