Cast Drawing in Graphite by Sight Size Method -Bust of Michelangelo

Here is my first cast drawing using the sight size method.  The drawing is in pencil and took me three days to complete.  Most drawing casts intended for that purpose are rather pricey, but I found some inexpensive sculptures at a company called Design Toscono http://www.designtoscano.com/ They had gray accents, but a can of matte white spray paint fixed that.  I bought three casts for less than $150.  This is a bust of Michelangelo.  I also bought one of Julius Caesar and a small bust of Venus de Milo.  I will post cast drawings as I complete them.

THE WARMTH OF THE SUN - finished painting

My studio painting for the 2011 Grand Canyon Celebration of Art is finished!  This is a view from an overlook on the West Rim drive at which I painted last year.  The Kaibab Limestone Rocks are so warm and bright, lit from behind by the late afternoon sun. I first became aware of this spot a few years ago when I saw a painting Curt Walters had done from here.  I now think of the overlook as the "Curt Walters Overlook".  If you are at the Grand Canyon, it is the second overlook past Mohave Point on the West Rim.

Snapshot of a painting in progress part 3

Here is an updated photo of my painting as of this evening.  Still have some work, but it is coming along nicely.

Snapshots of a painting in progress part 2

 Here is step two of the 50 by 22 inch painting which I am calling "The Warmth of the Sun".  This is the block-in stage.  I should not have to make any major corrections from now on, only minor ones.

Below is the 19 by 8.5 inch preliminary study.  Notice that, having been very happy with the study, I have stayed very close to it in the initial block-in.

Snapshots of a painting in progress

I have just begun work on a major piece - my studio painting for the 2011 Grand Canyon Celebration of Art.  I plan to post images as I progress.  This first image is the beginning of the block-in in acrylic with the preliminary painting leaning against the canvas .  The preliminary painting is 19 by 8.25 inches.  The canvas is 50 by 22 inches.

Painting Sunsets, part 2

Here is the painting I described in my previous entry on sunsets.  Actually, this is a sunrise over Yellowstone Lake.  As I mentioned in the first post, I had been studying paintings by JMW Turner before I painted this.  It is 20 by 16 inches, acrylic on canvas.

Artistic goals

I ask myself on occasion what my goal is, as an artist.  Do I want to be wealthy (haha), famous, award-winning? Or what?  I always seem to come back to the same answer: I want to produce the best paintings I can and continue to raise the bar so that this year's body of work is better than last year's and next year's will be better still.  To some extent I am able to judge my success based on feedback from my fellow artists, friends, collectors and galleries. But in the long run, I must be my own judge.  I have to be the one who sees room for improvement.  I have to be the one to seek out new skills, new ideas, and new subject matter.  I am the one who has to practice until I get it right.  I have to be the one to take the risk of painting something new or ground-breaking.  And in the end, I have to be the one who likes the result.