Thursday, December 24, 2009

Portrait Challenge






This year's portrait challenge has produced some amazing works again...look here. I started out strong with my first attempt, and pretty much fiddled it to death. After about 8 hours work, yes that's a lot of fiddling, I wiped it completely clean, and started again. I took my time re-drawing, and finished it in one go. (Good thing she's not hard to look at...ha!) I wanted a better likeness, but at least it feels like something that I'd had in mind. Hope this lovely young lady likes it. She supplied a very interesting photo which I thank her for.

oil on masonite 

9" x 12"

Merry Christmas everyone.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Tabby


Tabby is a beautiful little cat residing at D'Arcy's Animal Rescue in Winnipeg. She is one of many looking for a new home, and hopefully this portrait will help raise a few dollars for their cause.

8" x 8" 

oil on canvas board

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Airport Travelers


This is a re-post of the same painting...different photo. The first one was quite subdued and didn't represent very well.

I want to thank everyone again, publicly this time, for their marvelous warmth and support of my courageous wife Rose. Last evening her doctor called to say that the bone biopsy he performed came back negative...Negatory!!! Wow, what a relief for both of us. I'm not planning to turn this into Rose's health blog, but again, I wanted to thank everyone and pass on some great news. She still has a long way to go, but the fight is on one front, not two or ten. In my joy, I painted this current DSFDF challenge which I loved...probably my favorite next to last year's portrait exchange. Painted to the sounds of U2 and the flavors of a fine merlot, this came together quite smoothly with only a couple of drawing changes at the beginning. It's unusual for me to have thoughts other than painting when working on a piece, but the welcome distraction was a bonus, in that I probably kept a few more details out of this.

oil on canvas board 

12 "x 9"

$395

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

City Roof View


This challenge from Karin was really hard to get to for me. My wife Rose was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma, and we've been dealing with that for the last couple of months. She had her first chemo treatment on Monday ( 8 1/2 hrs)and is doing fine, all things considered. She is so brave and strong. I stayed home with her for the second day today, and was urged to do this painting and get some normality back in our lives. We are very optimistic that the outcome of all this will be positive and mark the days till the end of the treatments. I must admit, I've lost a lot of drive for the time being with regards to painting and blogging, but hope to rekindle my interest with this latest submission. 

 oil on masonite 

 5" x 7"

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Thank You Karin


When I read Karin's post, it was hard to believe a year had passed. The first thing that popped into my head was what a wonderful opportunity to pay tribute to this auspicious occasion and the great lady responsible for it. This marked the beginning of some great new relationships, growth and accomplishment as an artist and the most fun I've ever had painting. Happy anniversary everyone.

oil on masonite 

4 1/2" x 6"

Monday, August 24, 2009

Her New Bag


This is from a photo I took a few months ago in Germany. This lovely young lady walked by our 7th floor hotel room deep in thought, probably on her way to work. The colours in her face and arm did not photograph well, and I think I will have to concentrate more on using cleaner colours with more positive brush strokes. The camera seems to pick up all these little weaknesses. I'll be away again, and will try to correct this, but thought I'd post it anyway.

oil on masonite 

8" x 10 1/2"

NFS

Sunday, August 9, 2009

San Fran


This week's challenge showed a lot of detail and the consensus appears to be that it was difficult. I too found it challenging and only started enjoying the painting after some drawing issues were solved. With this perspective and a long dipping street, it is easy to lose the depth and elevation changes creating a bowling alley. The many wires and cables were also a potential problem, but a beautiful area of interest, so I decided to include as few as possible to tell the story. (Note here...this is me trying to sound like an artist...ha!). Check out all the other versions at DSFDF

oil on masonite 

 6 1/2" x 8"

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Paul and Anna


This is a portrait of my cousin Paul and his wonderful wife Anna. When we visited them earlier this year for the very first time, their warmth and hospitality was limitless, and we definitely were made to feel part of their family. We couldn't have felt more welcomed. The setting here is their favorite restaurant where we ate outside on a shaded patio on a beautiful sunny afternoon. We will never forget that day, and by painting the moment, it is forever in my mind, and after I mail it to them, hopefully theirs as well. We hope to visit them again soon, in Augsburg, Germany.

oil on masonite 

10 1/2" x 7 1/2"

NFS

Saturday, July 25, 2009

In Full Stride


This was a fun little figure study done from a photo I took earlier this year from a seventh floor window. I must of clicked fifty pictures of various people walking, riding and jogging, so there are a few more of these in my future. I am working on an idea for a large scale piece along these lines.

oil on masonite 

9 1/2" x 7 1/2"

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Waiting


This was a great figurative challenge from DSFDF that I finished about a week ago. I painted this outside on my deck in the brilliant sunshine, effectively making this my first plein air painting with an asterisk. I used a reference photo instead of what lay before me, so I'm thinkin' this probably does not qualify...but it sure was fun painting outside. 
 
oil on canvas panel 

8" x 10"

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Rower



Another submission just under the wire. I started this a couple of weeks ago and just didn't get to it until now. While I was painting, I was wondering how many other people thought about Paula Villanova while they were working on their pieces. There is a definite resemblence to Paula in her dark shades as she appears in her avatar don't you think? 

oil on masonite 

8" x 6 1/2"

Saturday, June 27, 2009

On The Catwalk



This cute little critter is looking for a home and this painting will go to the D'Arcy Animal Rescue Center to help raise some funds. The shelter has a large number of cats at the moment, so hopefully some will find new homes soon. 

oil on masonite 

5" x 8"

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Fresh Harvest


Well I just got this finished under the bell...I"d hate to miss a challenge, but getting to these challenges is sometimes becoming a challenge in itself. I have to apologize for the lackluster performance on commenting on some of the great submissions. This week's contributions to DSFDF were again, fabulous. 

oil on masonite 

6 1/2" x 8"

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Pennsylvania Farm




This week's DSFDF challenge was a black and white photo of this tranquil rural scene which could be almost anywhere. I just got back at painting this morning and it felt great, as I really miss my time at the easel and of course on the computer doing a little blogging. 

oil on masonite 

8" x 6"

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Madison Avenue, NYC




Madison Ave. was a great photo that really inspired me, so I decided to up the scale, and try it on a black background. Karin paints this way, and when Cheryl Anderson said that she had tried it, I decided to give it a go myself, and really liked the dark ground. I've been blocking in with thinner dark paint, and then using medium values, establishing forms and shapes. This way the blocking is done with the medium to dark tones...kind of saves a step. I have to say though, I like both methods. 

 oil on masonite 

12" x 16"

NFS

Friday, May 1, 2009

Melissa





This gorgeous young lady calls me Dad and occasionally Daddy, which usually means something is up...ha! This is my first ACEO and it was a lot of fun to do, especially since I had such an interesting subject. Now I just need to get a better photo of her sister to complete the set. I probably would never have done anything this small, if not for the grandmaster of ACEO, Akiko Watanabe. So thanks for the nudge Akiko, I've now tried something new yet again.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Stand By Me




This painting was inspired by a video link that Joanne Giesbrecht posted on her blog a few days ago. I found it so moving that I felt compelled to paint this amazing street artist, Roger Ridley from Santa Monica, Calif., who starts it all off. Thanks Joanne. There are several other fabulous performers that some of you may feel the urge to immortalize. I can see about 82 more potential paintings here. Crank it up and enjoy...and thanks for standing by me. http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741

oil on masonite 

8" x 6"

A Companion of Diana


This painting was intended as an exercise in drawing by Karin Jurick, and was again something not many of us would choose to do. I pretty much had it done a couple of weeks ago, but wasn't happy with the background and decided to look at it for awhile, and then settled on this. I kind of reverted back to my old thinner style of painting, but did all the drawing with paint as I have now started doing. 

 oil on canvas board 

 9" x 12"

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Melosia


Melosia is an older girl (8 yrs.) who is very laid back, although she looks like she would like to lick you to death...ha! She loves to be petted and is anxiously waiting for a new home. She is currently at D'Arcy's A.R.C. animal rescue center in Winnipeg. If anyone would like to adopt Melosia or purchase this painting, please contact the shelter and they will name the price with all proceeds going to them.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Leaving The Scene


This is the second painting from the 16th floor (daughter's new condo...yea)! Got a great tip from Liz regarding shadows in that they should never be as dark as the solid object, so I had to try this immediately, and am way happier with the results. Edward Burton had also told me that the shadows should lighten as they recede. Thanks to both of these great artists.

oil on masonite 

8" x 9"

Monday, April 6, 2009

Under Surveilance


This is from a photo I took yesterday from the 16th floor of a condo my daughter is trying to buy. (hope she gets it, love the perspective) I guess artist types have a little voyeur in them...300mm lens...ha!

oil on masonite 

 5 3/4" x 7"

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Sheenu



I've decided to branch out and try and help a couple of other shelters in Winnipeg that aren't as well funded. This is Sheenu, a lovely Newfoundland cross who is currently residing at D'Arcy A.R.C. (animal rescue center) and she is looking for a new home. Not much else on her except that she is about 2 years old and looks to have a great disposition. I painted this portrait while listening to Black Joe Lewis, a killer new band whose guitarist just happens to be Camille Larue Olsen's nephew. You can see his fabulous portrait on Camille's blog). Some great tracks on this...it must have spun through about 3 times on my itunes while I was painting, but it didn't matter, because it doesn't get old fast. Check it out if you like some good clean sounding blues/rock music. oil on masonite 5 3/4" x 7"

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Nala



For my first cat portrait ...ever, I chose a photograph which I took of Nala when I visited the Humane Society on Tuesday. She is a young female domestic cat looking to be adopted. Without a Karin challenge this week, I may do a couple more shelter animal portraits or start a new larger piece. Haven't decided yet, but I'm feelin' itchy to paint something. We got snow again yesterday, ( happy April Fools Day, only problem is...I'm NOT kidding), so I've been putting off trying my first plein air painting. Apparently this is something one can do in the snow, but that seems a little hard core for me right now. Hope everyone is staying motivated and getting some great work done.
oil on masonite 5 3/4" x 7"

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Bruno


Well, instead of watching a movie tonight, I spent a couple of hours getting to know Bruno here a little better. He is a handsome German Shepard mix and is looking for a forever home here in Winnipeg. This was from one of the shelters own photos, (they got someone over there who can shoot.) I hope to drop the first two off this week, as I think they will finally be dry enough.

oil on masonite 

 7" x 5 3/4"

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Rua Augusto, Lisbon


The Rua Augusto is a very famous pedestrian only street in Lisbon, that is not only notable for it's beautiful 18th century architecture and sculpture, but it's everyday bustling activity. A visitor to this wonderful and historic city would be remiss if they didn't visit this Portuguese treasure. Definitely a highlight of our trip there six years ago, I am very pleased to have completed this painting as a permanent reminder of that fabulous moment in time. 

oil on canvas 

72" x 48"

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

At The Beach



What a great photo Karin supplied this week. I loved all of the main figures in the photo, so I decided not to crop, but to put 'em all in. I found a very sharp #6 flat brush and as soon as I tried it, I loved it, but knew that it would be extremely hard not to noodle. I guess I ended up somewhere in between. The blues did not come out in this photo, so I'm thinking it's time to visit R. Garriott's blog and get the skinny on a photoshop program. 

 12" x 6" 

 oil on masonite

NFS

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Rocky


Here is another poor guy waiting to be adopted. His name is Rocky and he is a Husky mix. Handsome looking devil isn't he? 

 6" x 6" 

oil on masonite

Duke


This is my first painting for Art For Shelter Animals. Duke presently resides at the Winnipeg Humane Society and is looking for a new home. He is a Doberman / Bloodhound cross and definitely has those sad sad eyes. Let's hope he finds a good home. 

6" x 6" 

 oil on masonite

Friday, March 20, 2009


I decided to get involved and donate some paintings to the local animal shelter. I got this terrific idea from visiting Sheila Tajima and Carrie Jacobsen's blogs. These generous ladies have created the Art For Shelter Animals blog and I think it is fantastic. I am posting this painting of a little house horse that I encountered a few weeks ago. He was walking with his owner (I'm not sure if that is the right word here) and looked so magnificent in the morning sunlight, that I couldn't resist taking a photo. I know he isn't looking for a home, but I loved his strength and purpose and perhaps that may symbolize in some way what we are all trying to do here. 

 9" x 12" 

 oil on canvasboard

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Made in the USA



Here's my submission for this week's DSFDF. I am really enjoying the diversity of subjects that Karin is giving us. I mean, who is going to go out of their way to paint sushi. There was some great creativity amongst the artists this week, not here though. I just wanted to do something representational in a loosely painted kind of way. 

 8" x 8" oil on masonite ( gesso and acrylic underpainting)

Monday, March 2, 2009

Bad Hair Day



This week's challenge was one of patience and perseverance, and Karin won out ( with her computer issues), and so did a whole bunch of us with our paintings. Computer problems can drive me to drink, say bad words or make me want to practice my axe throwing (at the bad computer). Definitely one of the more frustrating things in modern day life is a malfunctioning or non functioning electronic device. So with that out of the way, I am happy to report that this painting is done. Not one that inspired, but I am glad that I stretched a little here and in the end enjoyed creating something out of ... well, what I thought was nothing. It was one of those do what you think you cannot challenges. Thanks again Karin. 

10" x 8" 

oil on canvas panel

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Construction Zone


This is my second painting after attending Liz's workshop, and I have to say that I love the new process. This was done alla prima and completed in approximately four hours. Using this new method, I was able to sketch, wipe and sketch about five times in a matter of minutes to arrive at a composition that I thought was pleasing. The freedom and "nimbleness" are exhilarating. Prior to this, I used to draw in paint and then kind of colour inside the lines. Well, I exaggerate a little here, but compared to the old style, I finally feel like a painter. I took this photo a few years ago in the Dominican and at the time was barely dabbling in art, but shadows and light were beginning to interest me as I'm sure they do most artists. Unfortunately, I've been away for a couple of weeks and will be leaving again shortly, so painting is on the back burner for a while longer. Can hardly wait to get back at it in earnest, and blogging, which I really enjoy, has to take a back seat for now. I really need to get a laptop!
oil on 9" x 12" canvas board

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Queen of the Street


This challenge is my first painting after the workshop, and I tried to utilize all that I learned in Vancouver, but alas, mission unaccomplished, but not impossible. What I learned is making sense and I can hardly wait to paint, but I'll be away for awhile so regrettably, I'll have to put painting on hold for awhile. After being inspired by Adebanji, I have started drawing, and it's kind of fun. I'm just a little shy about the doing it in public part, but it's coming. So that's what I'll have to be satisfied with...drawing, and that's probably the best thing I could be doing. Drawing skills are so critical to creating a good painting that I have decided to push myself here. There I said it out loud, and it kind of sounds like a resolution or something...ha!...so I am officially committed.
oil on RayMar panel 9" x 11 1/2"

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

OUR WORKSHOP GROUP

Here's a picture of the graduating class of '09. Home coming queen Liz is the very shy one with the perfect teeth, (sort of sitting in the middle). Then we had Lynn, Lucy, Louise on the far right,(are you beginning to see a pattern here?), Ilona (Loney) and me Larry or Laverne and Last,( that would be Pat in the white...ha!) She was the last to arrive. What a great group we had, with everyone enjoying themselves and leaving all the richer and more inspired for having attended. And by the way, these girls can paint. We can never thank you enough Liz, and I hope we can all do it again some time.

Liz's Amazing 15 Minute Demo









This photo demo is worth more than a million or two of my words. I couldn't describe what we were trying to do nearly as well as what's shown in this sequence. ENJOY!!! Thanks Liz.

Liz's Excellent Workshop




Some examples of my ten to twenty minute paintings.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Painting Workshop


I've just returned from beautiful Vancouver, B.C. and Liz Wiltzen's three day workshop. The main focus was to learn to paint alla prima in a loose and painterly fashion, and to create interest and excitement in our work. This was my first ever workshop, and I must say, that it was all and more than I had hoped for. Liz instructed and inspired all six of us to reach out and stretch ourselves artistically. She is a very engaging, professional and giving person who can flat out paint. Upon seeing her work which is absolutely beautiful, one cannot help but want to emulate in some way what they are seeing. The woman is a star!

On day one, we started by reviewing several of Liz's paintings where she discussed composition, colour/values and process. What created interest and why. Then we watched her do a couple of demos where she demonstrated with a few deft strokes how she wanted us to proceed with thirty second paint sketches of a live model. After the buzzer went, we wiped the 9" x 12" raymar linen panels which she had given us, and got ready for the next attempt. This went on for the next two and a half days with time limits increasing to one, two, five, ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty and sixty minutes. Liz would do demos every so often, and walk around offering words of advice and encouragement.

The whole idea of these quick paintings was to learn how to get it down and not let the drawings within get too "precious". We basically drew figures with thin paint in the thirty second drills just trying to realize angles and proportions. As time limits increased, we blocked in the figures and started including background shapes. At this point we would have nothing but a large shape with no inside defining lines. Then we would start to add colours, using thicker paint as we layered, sculpting with our paints, rediscovering our edges. As the painting developed, we would add highlights to show direction of light and give it shape and life. We were encouraged to lose our edges and find them again three or four times to create depth and interest. Hard edges for the most part were a no no. All of these exercises were eventually tiring, but so much fun. Liz also impressed upon us how important it is to have lots of paint on our palettes. When you run low on paint, you tend to take shortcuts, and ultimately fall short of doing the best job possible.

By day three, I think we all had made some amazing progress thanks to our fearless leader, but as our confidence grew, our paintings again began to become more detailed, so Liz had us go back to the thirty second to five minute drills. My fifty minute painting is at the top of this post. I wasn't too happy with the colour and highlights, but the proportions and feel of the pose are not too bad.

I would also like to acknowledge our fabulous models Wanda and Helene for offering up so many amazing poses and outfits, and virtually turning into granite until the buzzer went.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Lisbon in progress



Before I leave for Liz's workshop, I thought I would post an update photo of the Lisbon painting (48" x 72") that, yes, I'm STILL working on. This has been a long process of painting, looking, tweaking, painting then looking, looking and more looking. I feel good about it so far, and don't think there are any major changes to be made, but a lot of tune-ups. All you great artists out there, any helpful comments to help make this piece as good as it can be, would be appreciated. Email me if you like. vschwarz18@gmail.com I'm still working on the foreground, couple on the left, guy on right, tables, chairs and shadows. Thanks everyone!

Friday, January 16, 2009

The Lovely Grace Eichi


I was paging through Dominique Eichi's very interesting blog and came across this wonderful photo of her friend Grace. I emailed Dominique to ask permission to reference her photo, but because her web site is under construction (still worth viewing), I'm not sure she got the message. Sorry Dominique, I was inspired, couldn't wait (always been my downfall), so I painted away yesterday, and now all I can say is, if you like it, I'll be very happy to mail it as my gift to you. I just listed my email on my profile page if you want to forward your address. What a beautiful girl Grace is, (I think she is a chocolate lab). It was a good bit of fun painting her.

oil on masonite 

 8" x 8"

Monday, January 12, 2009

Jefferson Memorial



Another new experience courtesy of DSFDF. Painting a night scene is something I have been thinking about for awhile, so it was neat to see this challenge come up. Karin's tips were very useful, as I started on a black surface for the first time and worked to light. I really liked it and found drawing with white paint an interesting alternative from the burnt umber which I usually use. With this change, I didn't have to cover dark, hard lines and found that this piece came together really quite quickly. All told, approximately 2 1 /2 hours...fast for me. Even with my new camera, photography is still an issue. It's all about the lighting!

oil on masonite 

 8" x 6 1/2"

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

When it comes to making blog entries, I am not much of a writer, but I felt it would be okay to mention that I am going to attend a three day workshop starting Jan.22 in Vancouver with Liz Wiltzen. I am very excited about this for several reasons. First and foremost, Liz is an absolutely amazing artist whose work speaks for itself. I've never attended a workshop, so this is like grade one or two of my art education. Having just started with oils, I don't have a lot of bad habits yet, so I look forward to learning a ton from her. She was influenced by Kim English among others, who is a wizard at handling light and painting with an economy of strokes and details. Liz incorporates a lot of this in her own work and teachings. We will be painting from live models alla prima, which I understand is starting and finishing a piece in one go. It's all about painting quickly, wiping it off and doing it again and again. She wants us to see less details. (without my glasses that's easy). Anyway, it should be a fabulous experience. There are spots available if anyone is interested...just check Liz's site. Cheers