"In for the Night"

This is the type of local subject matter here in Mexico that I love so much. People and their animals in the landscape. In this painting Felix and Francisco are bringing their cows back to the coral for the night. This painting is a composite of several photos and the small studies. It took me quite a while to get just the way I wanted it, but I'm happy with the results.

A few months ago I posted a small plein air piece titled "The Open Gate" and another small painting "Open Gate II" both of which I used as reference for this piece. I reposted both of those paintings below.



"In for the Night", 18x24" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
$2,500. Framed. Available at M Gallery of Fine Art
Sarasota, FL




"Open Gate", 6x8" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
$550. Framed. Available at Windrush Gallery, Sedona, AZ




"Open Gate II", 6x8" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
Private Collection

"Don Goyo and Canelo"

Well, you met Canelo in a recent plein air piece that I did.
Goyo is the man who owns him and was nice enough to let us paint in his back yard. He is adjusting the ropes on the wooden rack that is used for tying on loads to the burro.
The day was overcast. Cool light is something I don't have a chance to paint much so it was a fun piece.


"Don Goyo and Canelo", 14x18" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009

"Curious"

This is a little studio painting that I just finished up. I wanted to keep this one loose and let it be more about the color and design than the details.



"Curious", 8x10" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
$720. Framed. Available at Galeria Gardner

Open Gate II

I painted this little 6x8 today to work out some ideas for a large painting. This one is based on the plein air piece "Open Gate" from my previous post. Sometimes I like to do a few little paintings like this to play with the design and work out how I want to translate my idea in paint before committing to a large canvas. I am using a few different photo references plus the painting done on location, and this helps get me one step away from the photos.



"Open Gate II", 6x8" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009

A few from last week.

These are three of my paintings from when Scott was here. There are a few others that I am making some adjustments on.
We had a lot of fun painting together. We also did some horseback riding and camped out one night too.


"Open Gate", 6x8" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
$500. Framed. Available at Windrush Gallery, Sedona, AZ

The open gate leads to a cattle corral. I'm going to use this one as reference for a larger painting.




"Canelo", 8x10" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009

Canelo means cinnamon in Spanish. He was tied up, but moved around constantly. We used bits of apple to lure him back into place every so often so we could paint him. The rest of the time we painted the background.




"Nopal and Tree", 8x10" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
$720. Framed. Available at Windrush Gallery, Sedona, AZ

The light hitting the cactus spines really attracted me to paint "Nopal and Tree".

"Girl on Burro"

I've been a little slow about getting paintings posted here. Thanks for sticking with me. It will probably be a week or so before I get another blog post up.

I'm going to be doing some painting with Scott Tallman Powers. We'll be painting in some very small villages around San Miguel for the next week. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun.

Here is another painting from about a week ago.I used a two different photos of this girl on her burro for reference and changed things around a bit to get the design I wanted.
I'm real happy with the way it came out.



"Girl on Burro", 8x10" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
Private Collection

"Out and About"

Thought that I would lower my vantage point on this one. I really like how the hen's head breaks the horizon line in this one instead of looking down on her.



"Out and About", 14x18" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2009
Private Collection

"Little Burro"

I changed my palette a bit on this painting and used mostly French Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna and White. Just a touch of Cad. Red and Cad. Yellow to push the mixes here and there but not very much.


"Little Burro", 11 x 14" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
Private Collection

sheep by step

Here are the step by step photos of the sheep in the painting from the last post. I was hoping that a few of you would find this interesting, so I took a few pictures along the way.
I was going to just leave out the text explaining my steps, but I added a few words at the end. I think the steps speak for themselves. Besides, they say a picture is worth a thousand words.












Frank Gardner © 2009


I picked a few sheep from different photos and painted the dark shapes to place them. Next I added the blue to continue building up the form. Then I painted in the white highlights of the backlit sheep. That is what really sharpens them up. The next step was to cut back into the forms with the background colors to adjust the shapes just a bit. I'll often over paint a shape and then come back with another color to adjust it. You can see what I mean by this best on the head of the sheep to the far right. The last photo shows the painting after I decided to wipe two of the sheep out for a better overall composition. I knew I could always paint them back in if I decided I liked it better with all five.

class demo step by step

This is a demo painting that I did for a small class back in September.
Colors were first pre mixed into about 9 or 10 main piles on my palette. That way I could compare the colors to each other and make some adjustments.

Then I blocked in the main shapes in Step 1 to show my students how to quickly build up the masses first with no modeling.
The goal was to just paint a flat shape of each pre mixed color.
We were all painting from the same photo and compared as we went along.



"Rooster and Hens" Step 1, Frank Gardner © 2008


Step 2. Once the canvas was pretty well covered, I started to adjust the shapes to get a more accurate drawing.
The focal point is around the rooster, so I started adding smaller shapes there first to define that area.
The hen in the back is not in the focal area, so I left that one rather vague. The silhouette is what describes to the viewer what it is.



"Rooster and Hens" Step 2, Frank Gardner © 2008


Step 3. I wanted to maintain simple shapes throughout the painting without breaking them up too much. I tried to add just enough detail to the alfalfa on the ground so you can tell that there is something there.
I was working all over the painting at once trying to unify the design without overworking any one area.



"Rooster and Hens", 10" x 8" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2008
Finished Painting
Private Collection


One thing that I like to do often is have a few brush strokes of a light value break into a darker mass, and in the same area, put a few strokes of a darker color into a light mass. I think that helps in the transitions from one mass to another. You can see it well around the rooster's head with the green in light and shadow. Those strokes are similar in size to the blue and orange on the tail feathers. There are also two similar strokes of dark green by the rooster's front leg or behind the hen's tail. Similar sized strokes like that help move the eye from one spot to the other. adding vitality to the painting. For this painting I wanted to keep your eye popping around a bit, kind of like the action of the rooster and hens pecking around in the alfalfa.

Election Day - FINALLY

Today is election day In the US and I have been following for too long.
I am like a moth to a flame with the whole thing. I try and read or watch as much of it as I can.
More than is good for my blood pressure I'm sure.

I hate to mix politics and my blog, so I will spare you and not go into any of that.
We all need to live together after the results are tallied, so whatever the outcome, here's to a better future for ALL of us.

Today is a beautiful day here, sunny and warm, so I decided to head out to paint just to try and take my mind off the whole election thing for a few hours.

So I'm driving along looking for something to paint, and this guy caught my eye.
You know I love painting donkeys, but this one said something special to me.
I hustled my gear out of the car and he stayed still long enough for me to get this quick sketch.




"True Blue", 8" x 10" oil on board, Frank Gardner © 2008
Private Collection


Glad I could relax and take my mind off the politics thing.
I needed that!
Now back to tracking the progress of the day.


Funny how these guys are getting around. Have a peek at Christine's blog to see more.
Jennifer also has a donkey posted.
and Paula has a donkey on her blog.
Elizabeth likes donkeys too.
Paula Villanova has added an independent donkey.

if you decide to join in and post your own donkey of a different color.
( or an elephant I suppose)
Drop me an email and i'll gladly add a link to your post.

One Year of My Paint Box

Today is the one year anniversary of My Paint Box.
I didn't know what to expect when I started this blog on Oct. 30th, 2007.
Now, one year later, blogging seems to come naturally to me.

I want to thank everyone who visits. Especially those who take the time to leave a comment. That way I know you are out there. Knowing that there are readers makes the whole blogging experience much more rewarding.

I'd like to share this new painting with you as a special thanks. I really like how it came out.
This one is hot off the easel. Well, actually, it is still on the easel.
I may change the title one I have time to think about it a bit.


"The Family Business", 18" x 24" oil on canvas, Frank Gardner © 2008
$2,300. Framed. Available at Galeria Gardner


One of the reasons that I started writing the blog was a line from the Kevin Macpherson book "Landscape Painting Inside and Out" where he suggested writing about your art as a way to take it one step further.
Blogging seemed like a good way to write about my art and share what I wrote instead of having it on scraps of paper strewn around my studio. It gives a sort of accountability for what I paint and write knowing that someone is looking and reading. The feedback and discussion can be real insightful sometimes.

I did not fathom the scope of the blogging community when I started My Paint Box.
My Paint Box has expanded beyond just writing about my art, and has become a group of friends.
I have "met" a lot of great artists and great people over the past year through my blog and by reading and commenting on other's blogs. People that I probably would never have met otherwise. Not just painters, but illustrators, writers, photographers, and just plain old bloggers and blog readers. My world has certainly expanded a bit because of all of you.
My virtual friends.
I joke sometimes that you all probably don't exist and your comments are just computer generated responses to my ramblings. Like a bizarre version of "The Truman Show" or something.

Luckily, I have met some of you, own some of your art, received signed and doodled copies of latest books from others, and have plans to meet a few others before long. Hmmm. didn't they insert characters into "The Truman Show" to keep him believing?

Well, either way it has been fun.
So...
"Good morning, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!"
Jim Carey from "The Truman Show".

"Taking Out the Goats II"

This one was finished up a few months ago, but I never got around to posting it.
I did a 14" x 18" version of this, but in that one, the guy has a blue shirt. I wondered how it would look if I changed it to red.
I'll post the blue shirt one below too, in case you don't want to click over to compare them.



"Taking Out the Goats II", 24" x 30" oil on canvas, Frank Gardner © 2008
$3,400. Framed. Available at Galeria Gardner


Below is a detail of how I massed the most of the goats into one big shape. The silhouette tells the story along with a few single goats along the edges.


Detail of "Taking Out the Goats II" Frank Gardner © 2008


The first one.

"Taking out the Goats" , 14" x 18" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2007

"Heading Home"

After a long day of plowing his fields, this guy and his team of horses is heading home.
He puts the plow up on an old tire and it drags along behind the team. I thought that was pretty clever.



"Heading Home", 8" x 10" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2008
$720. Framed. Available at Galeria Gardner

I always have my camera with me when I go out painting but on this day I was caught without it. My daughter was in a school play that day and my wife had the camera. I was teaching a class and luckily Jane had her camera and took a few shots for me. I don't often paint from someone else's photos but I loved this shot and she was nice enough to let me borrow it for a painting.
Thanks Jane!

"Quiet Passing"

This family with their animals passed by so quietly that I barely knew they were there.
The area is one of my favorite places to go paint. It is very quiet and peaceful, but there is always ambient noise going on in the background. Mexican countryside noise like mooing cows, barking dogs, a radio off in the distance or a passing train. It gets me in the mood to paint.



"Quiet Passing", 11" x 14" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2008
Private Collection


As a side note. This is my 100th blog post on "My Paint Box".
Thanks for being part of it with me.
Your comments count so much and make me keep going.
I have seen a saying on a few blogs that I have visited that says
" Your Comments Feed My Blog".
It is very true.

"Mother Hen" and my palette

It has been a very rainy week here. I am working on several paintings in the studio. Here is one of them.
I was challenged by the subject being all in shadow. There was not a strong pattern of light and shadow to work with.



"Mother Hen", 11" x 14" oil on board, Frank Gardner © 2008
Private Collection


I enjoy seeing other artists palettes and the way they set them up.
I have shown my Open Box M setup on this blog before, but I dont think that I have shown this larger palette. The mixing surface is about 15" x 15". I use it on a table top in my studio or I can sit it on the drawer of my french easel.

Below is a photo of one of my home made palettes and how I have my paint arranged. I like to line up the colors along the left hand side. Since I am right handed, it is the easiest layout for me to grab paint with my palette knife. I always line my colors up from darkest to lightest. My little pile of phthalo blue is off to the upper right, out of the way, so it does not contaminate any of my other colors. There was not any on my palette when I shot this photo, but you can see the stain where it goes.
When I use liquin, I make a little pile of it at the bottom right.

The two sides are hinged and fold in to cover my extra paint for transport, and to keep it from drying out as fast. I keep my brushes on the tray on the right hand side and paint rags on the left hand side.

I sealed the whole thing with a few coats of tung oil to protect it, and it has a nice patina of oil paint building up on it. It is nice to have all the wood well sealed incase I get caught out in the rain.

"Taking it Slow"

Trying to stay simple here with a focus on the guy on the donkey and a few of the cows nearest to him. I think that if a few details are given, the eye fills in the blanks on the rest.


"Taking it Slow", 8" x 16" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2008
Private Collection

Meet Camino

Recently I was asked to paint a commission.
The first thing that I usually say when someone asks if I paint commissions is, "hmmmm, well... sometimes... It depends on what it is."
The second thing I say is, "It might take a while."
After exchanging a few emails and speaking with the clients at my gallery, we decided to meet at their place so we could further discuss what they were interested in having me paint.

I have been working on several paintings since our meeting and full time since I returned from my painting trip. I wanted to wait before posting any of them here until I had met with my clients to view the progress.
One painting was to be of their horse, Camino. He is a beautiful horse. I got to know him and we had a long photo shoot. Deciding how to portray him in one painting was hard. I decided to start with a few small paintings to get the hang of painting him.
I went for a simple design on these two with three main values. Light, mid tone and dark.


"Camino", 6" x 8" oil on board, Frank Gardner © 2008
Private Collection


"Camino and Thomas", 6" x 8" oil on board, Frank Gardner © 2008
Not For Sale


Today was the first time they had seen what I had been painting. I need to have everything finished and signed before I leave for vacation next week, so I shared the paintings with them today to see if I was on the right track and to get their feedback. They really liked what I had done.

My client spoke of how much she enjoys her rides on Camino. One of the workers where she boards her horse and the ranch dogs always join her. I wanted to capture that companionship in a painting.
It is not so much a portrait of Camino like the top two. It's more of the overall feeling of the ride, the company, and the location.



"Good Company", 14" x 18" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2008
Private Collection

These three were among the paintings I brought out to show them today. They kept "Camino" and "Good Company".
"Camino and Thomas" has made its way into my daughter's growing art collection.

I have more to share with you. I'll try and get another post up tomorrow. Thanks for looking.

"Hard at Work II"

You may remember this composition from Another Grab Bag Palette. This one is the same design, larger canvas, and back to my normal palette.



"Hard at Work II", 14" x 18" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2008
Private Collection

What I was really missing in that grab bag was yellow. Now I was able to paint the yellow flowers along the back and the yellow bag. The first version really helped me get the design and drawing down. Working in series is always a good way for me to stay loose. I knew I had the other, so I was able to take some chances on this one. I did not feel like I needed to get into too much detail.



Detail, "Hard at Work II" , Frank Gardner © 2008



Detail, "Hard at Work II" , Frank Gardner © 2008

How Long Did it Take You to Paint That?

Last week I was able to get lots of quality painting time in the studio. There are some larger canvases in the works and a few small ones. I took a break from blogging so I could concentrate on the paintings and do some family stuff this weekend.



"Another Dusty Road", 30" x 40" Oil on Canvas
Frank Gardner © 2008
Private Collection


I have been working on this painting off and on for about a year and a half. That is about as long as I have ever worked on one piece. I had done a 14" x 18" painting of this scene two years ago and thought that it would make a great larger painting. This one started out strong and then I ran into some trouble. I moved some things around a bit, struggled with the light, etc. etc...It just wasn't looking how I could see it in my mind.
I decided to set it aside for a while and just live with it in different spots around our house. It has been back up in the studio several times over the past 18 months. Sometimes it came back downstairs looking worse than when it went up. Other times it came down looking better, but still needing a little work. After the talk about finish in my last few posts, I decided it was time to wrap this one up.
The first painting sold right away, so I did not have it around while painting the large one.



"Dusty Road", 14" x 18" Oil on Board, Frank Gardner © 2006
Private Collection


It is hard to keep a painting looking fresh when you need to keep making adjustments to get things looking how you want. I think that just walking away from this one once in a while kept me from overworking it. It is in a frame now and looks good. I may need to tweak just a few things now that I see it down at the gallery and posted here.
I like certain things about the small version better and some things about the larger one better.
The jury is still out on this one.