"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.

"Sock Monkey"

"Sock Monkey", 6" x 8" oil on board, 2008
Not For Sale

This is my second still life. I guess I can call it a series now. I don't usually take many commissions, but since "Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse" I have gotten a few requests that I just can't turn down. For the most part, I find that kids who are not actually "paying" for a painting are pretty easy to please.

There were a few issues with lighting that I struggled with. I don't usually paint at night so I don't have good lights. I just used one 60 watt bulb to light the monkey, the painting and my palette. The light from an incandescent bulb is pretty warm. That makes the paint look warmer than it really is. I adjusted pretty well for that, and the colors are actually pretty accurate when I look at it this morning. I had a hard time seeing into my values while I was painting it though. A good challenge I guess.

A still life set up like Carol Marine's is what I need to get for these.

I have added a few close ups as well. I've found that some people like scrolling on a large image to see details and others do not. I prefer to post an image that is closer to the size of the original on these small ones. Details are cool because they give you that feeling of getting up close to check out the brushwork.



detail 1



detail 2

"Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse"

"Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse", 6" x 8" oil on board, 2008
Not For Sale

One goal of mine for the new year was to do some art that would push my comfort zone a bit. I have been putting it off long enough. Today I decided to shake it up.
I have not painted a still life in years. That was a good start, but I wanted to step outside of the box even further and go with a little girl subject.
Our daughter Erin will be five on Tuesday, so I decided to paint a still life of one of her stuffed animals as a present for her. The victim was a horse that her Grandparents gave her when she was little. I got a bunch of good hugs and kisses, and she says she really likes it.
There are a lot of blogging artists, that I really admire, painting still lives these days. I was inspired to try my brush on a few.
Some of my favorites right now are: J Matt Miller, Jason Waskey, Carol Marine, Qiang Huang, Aaron Lifferth, Duane Keiser, Michael Naples, and Simon Andrews.