Morning Calm - Finished

Morning Calm, 24"x18", oil on board

I finished this commission yesterday in one final session. I am very happy with it and will deliver it in a few weeks when it's dry. Following a few details...

Gestern abend malte ich diesen Auftrag fertig. Ich bin sehr zufrieden mit dem Endresultat. Werde es in ein paar Wochen den Kunden ueberliefern. Ein paar Detail Photos unten...

Pat's Hat - Terry Webb

Hello everybody,

today I am going to do something different and feature one of my good artist friends, Terry Webb. She is a very talented artist from New Smyrna Beach who does very colorful nature and wildlife paintings in lots of media. Please take a look at her website here.

Recently she has added another website where she sells hats that feature a lovely embroidered turtle based on one of her paintings. It was inspired by a personal issue with cancer, please read her touching story here and get the details about purchasing. Terry says: "I will be donating 10% of the profits for each hat sold on this site directly to people faced with the financial burden of needing cancer treatment. Helping people to afford groceries, medication, paying bills etc. is the plan."

Morning Calm

Today I attacked the second painting, a commission, that has been sitting on my easel since before the new year. I worked almost 3 hours on this, since it was a bit too chilly and way too cloudy to go out doing plein air, as I had originally planned. I am very satisfied with how far I got today. Following are some of the first steps.

Heute fing ich das zweite Gemaelde (einen Malauftrag) an, das seit Jahreswende auf meiner Staffelei sitzt. Ich wollte eigentlich draussen plein air malen, doch es war ein bisschen kuehl, und zu bedeckt. Ich bin sehr zufrieden mit dem Ergebnis meiner 3 Stunden intensivster Malerei. Hier sind die ersten Schritte.

I started with several blue hues for the sky, brushed in white with some red for the clouds to give it some warmth, and then developed the main shadows. I left off with the small boat in the middle almost finished, the other boats' main bodies are done, but the detailed roping and masts are just indicated. I don't like to paint the sky/background first, and then the main subjects, because it always looks pasted on. I rather "interweave" the colors, so they blend and smudge into each other. That makes the background and foreground one cohesive unit, not two different subjects. That's why I started the tackle right away today, so I could blend it somewhat into the sky that was still wet. This is where I stand tonight, see below.

Ich fing mit verschiedenen Blautoenen an, malte dann die Wolken mit Weiss und etwas Rot, um sie aufzuwaermen, und dann die Hauptschatten. Ich hoerte auf, als das mittlere, kleine Boot ziemich fertig war. So sieht das Gemaelde heute abend aus. Noch viel zu tun!

This commission, which is 24"x18", is from a photo I took on a glorious morning. I have painted this scene here in Port Orange many times on location - those shrimp boats take on a different character with each different weather condition. Below are the plein air scenes from last year:

Diesen Auftrag (45cm x 61cm) male ich von einem Photo, das ich an einem herrlichen Morgen geschossen hatte. Die Szene von hier in Port Orange habe ich schon oefters gemalt an Ort und Stelle - diese Shrimp-Boote nehmen mit jeder Wetterlage einen verschiedenen Charakter an. Hier sind die Plein Air Gemaelde vom letzten Jahr.

It really helps painting the same scene many times, and doing it plein air also helps to interpret a photo much better, which usually doesn't show shadows correctly, and gives only limited information regarding colors in general.

Es hilf sehr, dieselbe Szene oefters zu malen, und vor allem, live to malen (an Ort und Stelle), denn ein Photo gibt doch sehr limitierte Information ueber Schatten und Farben.

2011 First Painting: My Dog Gunner

Happy New Year again!

My first painting in 2011 is one I started in the summer of last year ;-(

Well, it's finally finished, our dog Gunner, a mix of Hound and German Pointer. He's almost 3 years old, and rescued him from the Humane Society about 2 years ago. He can sit like royalty as shown, whenever he's not jumping around like crazy LOL.

Nochmal alles Gute im Neuen Jahr!

Mein erstes Gemaelde ist eines, das ich im Sommer letzten Jahres angefangen habe. Nun, es ist endlich fertig, unser Hund Gunner, eine Mischung von Hound/Greyhound und Vorstehhund. Er ist fast 3 Jahre alt, und wir haben ihn vor 2 Jahren aus dem Tierheim geholt. Er kann wie ein Koenig wie gezeigt sitzen, wenn er mal echt stillsitzt, was nicht oft passiert haha...

Underpainting in burnt sienna/acrylic June 2010

Untermalung in gebrannter Sienna Juni 2010

Added color in oils last night

Gestern abend in Oelfarben weitergemalt

"Gunner" 11"x14" oil on panel

And here the model and his portrait

Und hier Gunner in seiner Pracht vor seinem Portrait