Architect to Abstract Painter in One Stroke
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Newspaper article about my switch from architecture to abstract painting.
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Vlog
Living on the Edge
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In my most recent abstract painting workshop I noticed that the students had difficulty understanding edges and how to manipulate them, so I thought I might offer up some pointers on the subject.
Read MoreGo Beyond Painting What You See
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Which of the above images do you find more appealing? The idea for the painting on the left sprang from the existing building shown on the right. Had I painted the building just as it is, the painting would have been dreadful - gray, drab, and uninteresting. Since I have no desire to paint in a realistic style I am free to interpret and create a scene of my choosing based on the bones of an existing place.
Read MorePainting Without Fear
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If you are a painter, do you paint without fear? Without fear of results? Without fear of mistakes? without fear of peer pressure? Without fear of failure?
Over my years as an artist I have taught many classes and workshops. The single most numbing factor I see affecting people's ability to paint is fear. They fear they aren't good enough in front of their peers. They fear making mistakes. We all make mistakes while painting, it is part of our growth process. If we don't fail, we won't learn to improve. Who cares if we make mistakes? It is just paint, paper and canvas right?
Read MorePainting Out LOUD!
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I Paint Out Loud! Bold colors, expressive brushwork, large shapes, very little detail and large canvases. I attack the painting (before it has a chance to attack me) and let it know who's boss. I take control as soon as I get a new canvas by adding a coat of thick gesso in the same manner that I apply paint. This marks the canvas with my hand and forms a nice underlying texture for my painting.
Read MoreDe-Mystifying Abstract Paintings
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Last week in my gallery at the First Friday Gallery Hop a young fellow said to me: "I just don't GET abstract paintings." At the time I wasn't sure how to respond to the comment. After some thought on the subject I decided to illustrate parallels between my more representational work and my abstract work in hopes it will provide some understanding for those who may not GET abstract painting.
Read MoreArt: Emotional or Intellectual Connection
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Often I get tired of receiving messages. We all have to deal with thousands of messages each day: advertisements in newspapers, magazines, billboards, television, and radio; email messages, text messages, voice messages, subliminal messages, telephone messages, etc. When I look at art, the last thing I want to have to do is decipher some sort of hidden message. I want artwork to calm my soul and refresh my senses. I want to forget the messages of the world and look at the beauty of a painting that stirs my emotion - not necessarily my intellect.
Read MoreValue Studies: The Artist's Essential Tool
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In a previous article entitled "Add Value(s) to Your Paintings" I touched on the importance of value studies as a tool that artists should utilize to better their work. Here I will explain in more detail why value studies are an essential tool for planning a painting.
Read MoreGet Your Paintings Into Shape
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One of the most difficult things to learn as one begins a journey in painting is to think of the world as a combination of flat shapes rather than realistic objects. Objects and three-dimensional "things" in the real world must be translated into flat, interconnected "shapes" when one designs compositions for paintings on a two-dimensional plain of paper or canvas. This difference in "seeing" is often challenging for amateur artists. Students generally have to draw and paint awhile before this notion sinks in. Understanding shapes is a basic necessity in learning how to compose a good work of art.
Read MoreDon't "Photo-Copy" Your Next Painting
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As artists we sometimes get into a rut using photographs from which to create our work. Photographs are easy because the image they contain is right in front of us. I find that nearly all beginning students completely rely on the image in the photograph as their composition - this is what I refer to as "photo-copying". This is not necessarily their fault because no one has ever taught them about the principles of design and how to utilize those principles to develop a composition. The design of the painting is really more important than the production quality of the finished work. The design is as much the "art" of a piece as the production.
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