More Commissions

These five make a set with "Nicho" from the previous post.

My clients are moving and wanted a set of four little paintings that would remind them of their house.
I tried to paint scenes that were meaningful to them, but I also wanted them to be good paintings in themselves.

With commissions, I often like to offer a choice to my clients. I am a little more comfortable if they get to choose what they like. I realize that I don't always hit them out of the park, so it gives them an option to get what they want, instead of just accepting what I paint first. So I painted six.

They liked them all.


"Arrival", 8" x 10" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2008
Private Collection



"White Roses", 8" x 10" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2008
Private Collection



"Interior Courtyard", 8" x 10" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2008
Private Collection



"Kitchen Window", 8" x 10" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2008
Private Collection



"The Bench", 8" x 10" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2008
Private Collection

"Nicho" quick demo

My idea called for a special color to tone my canvas.
I took some leftover paint from one painting, added to it a bit to adjust it, and toned a linen panel with it.
It dried for a day, then I marked out my drawing lightly with vine charcoal.
Started painting with the lights this time.
Had my mid tone already.
Then added details only in the center of interest.


"Nicho" start, 10" x 8", Frank Gardner © 2008



"Nicho", 10" x 8" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2008
Private Collection

I kind of like how it looks in the top photo as a finished painting itself, but it did not fit well in the series like that.

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.

"Church View"

You may have figured out where this wall that I have been painting the figures is, if you looked at one of the first posts on My Paint Box. It is at the end of this side street in Atotonilco.

In this painting, and this one, I wanted the figures to stand out against the simple design of the street and walls, so the church is left out. In "Church View", the church is the subject, not just the figure. There is a little more detail in this painting than in the sketch. I wanted to emphasize the beautiful design of the church, however a lot of the detail is still suggested.
This painting is based on a plein air piece that I did during my last workshop.


"Church View ", 11" x 14" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2008
Private Collection


Plein air sketch, 8" x 10" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2008

I was happy with most of the painting done on location, but the design was rushed, and ended up being too cramped at the top. I had to squash down the main dome of the church to make it fit. Otherwise it would have run off the top of the panel just a bit, and that would not have worked design wise either. I thought about trying to fix this plein air, but it just could not be adjusted. It was easier to re visit the idea in a new painting. The sketch will not be for sale. It is one of those that are just a learning experience, good for use in the studio. Some of the proportions I corrected with the help of a photo. The values were off in the photo, so I followed the sketch on that.

"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

"Last in Line" 24 x 30

"Last in Line", 24" x 30" oil on canvas, 2008
Private Collection

This is the larger version of "Last in Line" 14 x 18, that I posted in November. I have had this finished for a while but I had not posted it.
I will not be able to post many new paintings this week. Most of my energy will be going into teaching my plein air workshop here in San Miguel. I went out painting yesterday and the weather was great. I'll post what I came up with at a later date. We should have sunny skies in the high 80's all week. Great painting weather.



Detail "Last in Line"

More "Morning Vista" Series

I have not finished any new paintings in the last few days so I am posting these two small paintings that I did last month. ( Actually, I did three others as well.)
You may have seen my previous post on the "Morning Vista" series. I revisited the same view of San Miguel with a slightly different take on the color and composition. My goal was to try and capture the light effect looking into the sun as it came up above the hills behind town. These are on small boards which made it easier to not get caught up in the details of the scene. I just wanted to think in terms of color.


"Morning Vista, Into the Sun", 6" x8" oil on board, 2007
Private Collection


"Morning Vista, Radiant Light", 6" x 8" oil on board, 2007
Private Collection

James Gurney describes this light effect well in a post on his blog Gurney Journey.
Looking toward or into the sun is something that pops up again and again in my paintings. With enough practice I hope to be able to get better at it.
In the top painting I reversed the standard cool colors recede principal and put my warmer colors where the sunlight is starting to break into the scene and the cooler colors are in the foreground. In the second painting the sun is a little higher so the light has radiated out into the whole view.

"Valley View"

"Valley View", 8" x 16" oil on linen, 2008
$930. Framed, Available at Galeria Gardner

This is the second small painting in this series that I talked about in my last post " Into the Valley".
In this one I wanted a broader view of the valley and mountains beyond. To force myself to work quickly and deliberately, I gave myself a limited amount of time to complete the painting. Details were kept to a minimum. I worked for about two hours before it was time to go get Erin from school. That was my time limit.
In the afternoon, I returned to the studio with a fresh eye and pulled a few things together for about another half hour or so.



"Valley View" detail

"Into the Valley"

"Into the Valley", 11" x 14" oil on linen , 2008
$950. Framed, Available at Galeria Gardner

I have worked two days on this painting and it is time to stop.
For now at least.
My plan is to do a few small paintings along these lines. I think that this will make a nice larger painting, but I want to work with a couple of different compositions first and then go from there. I consider this a sketch for a larger painting, but also a finished painting in itself.
I like the opposition of lines in this one. I tried to emphasize the different directions of the hills and lines in the fields. I left the sky out completely. I am thinking that I will do another that pans back a bit to show a little sky.
Often, I will do a series of a few small pieces that might lead up to a larger painting. One of my reasons that I like to work this way is to be able to try a few different things without having to cram all of my ideas into one painting. It REALLY frustrates me when I overwork a painting. Once you go too far, you can never really recapture the freshness that was lost. I know this from having done it so many times. Working on a few versions of a piece can sometimes free me from feeling that I need to get it ALL just right. I can show a little restraint knowing that I can try it a little differently on a separate canvas. Another way that I try to keep myself from overworking a painting is to try and stop when I "THINK" it is about 90% "FINISHED". I'll set the painting aside for a while and come back to it with fresh eyes. Usually I will find that what I "THOUGHT" was the remaining 10% is not really necessary.
Does that make sense?

"Light from Above" Plein Air

Untitled Plein Air, 11" x 14" oil on linen 2006

These are two paintings done on location at the same spot on different days. The top piece is more about the fields, trees and what is going on across the fields, so I pushed the sky way up to the top of the canvas. I like the way that this painting turned out, but I have kept it in the studio to use as reference. I have had a larger version or two of this scene on my mind for a while.

The painting below was the inspiration for "Light from Above", yesterday's post. The effect of the sunlight coming through the clouds did not last long. I thought that the sky in the plein air was less dramatic than I had remembered, so I reworked the idea in the studio from memory and using the sketch. In the 11" x 14" studio version I added some darker colors to the surrounding sky and ground to really make the light coming through the clouds pop the way it was on that afternoon. The fields of alfalfa were really amazing looking, so I worked that color a bit too to try and get it right. You can also see that I moved the trees around some to suit my needs. They are spaced more like they are in the top painting.


"Light from Above" plein air, 8" x 10", 2007

"Light from Above"

"Light from Above", 11" x 14" oil on linen, 2007
Private Collection

I did not get to paint much today, but this is a new painting that I just finished up. It is a studio piece based on an 8x10 plein air painting.
I don't often feature the sky in my landscapes, but the sky on this particular afternoon was extra special so I gave it center stage and two thirds of my composition.
I paint this view often, there is something about it that attracts me. There is a slightly elevated spot where I can look down onto the fields a bit as they spread out in front of me toward those trees. There is a brick maker's place over there and always some animals, but that was not the focus of this painting. I'll post some other paintings of this spot on another day.
I like this one a lot.
What do you think?

"Arms Full of Corn Stalks"

"Arms Full of Stalks", 8" x 10" oil on linen, 2007
$720. Framed, Available at Galeria Gardner

This is a small painting from today. I have been using the first painting from my last post as reference for two other 8x10's
I wanted this one to be more about the man carrying the load of corn stalks, so I limited the amount of tree that is visible.
I have been working up a few different ideas to see which direction I would like to go with a larger painting. A lot of my color notes in this one are pulled from the 8x10 plein air of this tree.
I have been slow about posting lately because it is the time of year that I try and take a break from painting, shift gears a little, and catch up with a few projects that need doing around the house. I will try and get photos posted of the other paintings tomorrow.

From Plein Air Sketch to Studio Painting

Many times I will use a plein air painting as the starting point for a larger studio piece.



"San Miguel Viejo Sketch", 6" x 8" oil on board, 2006
$500. Framed, Available at Galeria Gardner


That is the case with this series of a man plowing a corn field by an old church here in San Miguel. I go to this location to paint a lot. It is close to my house and there is always something interesting to paint there whether it be the church, workers in a field or a few animals grazing nearby.
On this occasion I was painting a small sketch of the chapel while this gentleman plowed his field. He would pass into my view and I kept thinking what a great painting that image would make. I snapped a few photos as he plowed and later worked up some ideas for a larger studio painting.
In the 6" x 8" study I was just trying to get the simple value pattern down with some fairly accurate color.



"Man Plowing", 11" x 14" oil on board, 2006
$950. Framed. Available at Galeria Gardner


Later, in the studio, I used my plein air sketch and some photos to come up with an interesting composition for a larger piece. I'll often work out my idea on a small scale before committing the idea to a large canvas. Once I worked out the placement of the man and his team of horses I was ready to move on to the larger painting.



"Man Plowing Field", 30" x 40" oil on canvas, 2007
$4,700. Framed, Available at Galeria Gardner


Once I have worked out my plan, I can attack the larger piece with more confidence. The focus of the large painting is the team of horses. That is where most of my attention is focused. The chapel is softened so it will take it's place in the background. I liked the way that the tree branches worked in the middle painting so I used that in the large painting as well. It kind of lets you know where I am standing. It clarifies the shadow in the foreground and balances all of the action in the lower half of the painting.

"Morning Vista"

"Morning Vista", 48" x 60" oil on canvas, 2007 Private Collection.

This is the latest in a series of paintings that I have done based on a smaller painting of San Miguel that I did on location. This one is a studio painting. I loved the way the town was back lit, fusing the hillside and buildings into a few simple masses. This one is a commission that I will deliver next week.



"Morning Vista, San Miguel", 11" x 14" , oil on board, 2006 Private Collection

This is the first in the series, done on location.



"Morning Vista, San Miguel", 30" x 40" , oil on canvas, 2006 Private Collection

The second painting in the series. Painted in the studio. I wanted to explore this idea on a larger scale. There is more detail added to the silhouette of the town. I also adjusted the road in the foreground to give a sense of where I was standing.



"Summer Morning", 30" x 24" , oil on canvas, 2007
Private Collection

This is the thrid painting of the series. This is also a studio piece. I wanted to try this in a vertical composition to see how it would change the feel of the painting.