Corner- The Skillet

Here is another oil painting from my favorite diner here in Spartanburg, SC. Best grits in the world.

The inspiration for this painting came while I was waiting on someone to meet me for breakfast. The morning sun was coming through the window and I was struck by the sight. This is something I've probably seen many times but because I wasn't in a rush I noticed the simple beauty of light and venetian blinds!

I'm finally able to veralize what I'm after when I choose subjects to paint. My goal as a painter is to help people see the beauty of the mediocre and hopefully evoke a sense of wonder at something they have seen a million times - me included.

Happy drawing and painting!

Poe's Summer Night by Isabel Forbes

Hope you enjoy my first attempt at creating a video with a little narrative. Poe's is one of my favorite restaurants so I enjoy the process of painting it - I can almost taste their delicious hamburgers and blue cheese cole slaw as I paint this.

As I state in the video, I start out with a value block in then continue to define my shapes until the painting feels complete.

Happy drawing & painting!

Sullivan's Island Cottage - Ion Street

Thumbnail drawing

Block in

Refining the block in...

more refining...

The finished painting.

I love visiting Sullivan's Island, SC. The town has done a great job of keeping big development under control. If you walk or ride a bicycle around the neighborhoods you can see lots of quaint cottages/bungalows. I'm looking forward to the Spring so I can actually be there to paint some of the great scenes on the spot (en plain air).

Above you can see the process of this new painting, "Sullivan's Island Cottage. I start out with my "Thumbnail Drawing". This small sketch works like a road map. I've hear many an artist say, getting value right is more important that getting colors right. Colors are more of a personal decision - values are needed in order for a painting to "read".

This painting can be seen at the Sandpiper Gallery on Sullivan's Island.

Happy drawing & painting!

Shem Creek Shrimpboat

"Days End on Shem Creek", 9x12, oil on canvas panel

Shem Creek in Mt. Pleasant, SC is a wealth of great painting subjects. Sort of feels like stepping back in time. More and more technology is taking over alot of handwork so it is really fascinating to see fishermen mend shrimp nets, separate the days catch, clean fish and weight out fresh catch to sell. I always like to stop by Wando Shrimp Co. to buy some shrimp and fish to bring back to Spartanburg.

This painting is currently available at Sandpiper Gallery on Sullivan's Island, SC.

This is a place I will return to paint over and over!

Happy drawing & painting.... & Happy Holidays.

Inside the Skillet Restaurant

One of my favorite subjects... the skillet!

This image shows my studio setup. You can see the monitor to the right of me and I use that as my reference for the painting. I've come to prefer painting from the monitor as opposed to using a photograph or print out because the light is better in the photo on the monitor. I can also use Photoshop to "look" into shadows that would normally just go black in a photograph.

Should have the painting complete by next week to post. Check back to see it!

Happy drawing & painting!

Beyond the Line - Drawing for Painters Workshop

March 18, 2010 I'll be teaching a one day class about called "Beyond the Line - Drawing for Painters". The idea behind this class is to show painters why I think it is important to draw a "thumbnail" drawing before I begin a painting.

The drawing in picture #1 really is more about determining my values. This will help me to push back areas I think aren't important and make sure I'm clear about my center of attention. A lot of time is spent with the painting so why not take 30 minutes and to get my head wrapped around what I'm about to tackle. I don't always draw a value sketch and when I don't I seem to fight with my painting more.

The picture #2 is my finished 11x14 oil painting on my easel. I really had some fun with this because many issues were thought out first. Give it a try and see how a value drawing can support your painting.

My one day workshop is March 18, 2010 at Burton Gallery & Emporium in Clarkesville, GA 706-947-1351.

The building in my painting is the Sea Biscuit on the Isle of Palms, SC. The food is wonderful, but it is a small place and if you don't get there early plan on waiting.

You can see this finished painting at the Sandpiper Gallery on Sullivan's Island, SC.

Happy drawing & painting!

My New Drawing Tool - the Iphone

Digital drawing 2"x3.5"

Digital drawing 2"x3.5"

The ultimate thumbnail drawing.... these two drawings were done on my Iphone's 2"x3.5" screen using the application "Brushes". I attended a local life drawing group at the Hub-Bub showroom and decided to experiment with my Iphone.

I read about the Iphone application "Brushes" this summer in the New Yorker. Read the article here. This article spurred me on to get it a try. With no "How to" manual in hand it did require a lot of trial and error. The undo option does help tremendously with the experimentation. I did find a User's guide while write this blog entry so stay tuned for some more experiments.

The screen on the Iphone is 2"x3.5" (the size of a business card) so I use a stylus instead of my finger because it is so hard to see what I'm doing with my finger in the way.

Check this cool video of the process of drawing the first figure.