This painting is done on a 36x36 square gallery wrapped canvas coated with a layer of thick gesso to add texture.

This painting is different than many that I do because it begins with a yellow base, which I typically don't use. I begin the painting by laying in varying colors of yellow with a bit of pink. I want the overall chroma of the piece to be yellow (warm). The painting is a Tetrad (two sets of complementary colors) of yellow/violet and red/green.

Most all artists I know have been approached by a local charitable organization to donate a painting to an auction fundraising event. The organization is trained to tell you the following: a. You will get lots of exposure for your art career, and b. The donation is tax deductible. Neither of these is actually true. It is not likely that you will get much or any exposure from the event.

A friend of mine died recently and he had a profound impact on my life. James Howard Fox (Jim) was the most amazing architect that I ever met or had the opportunity to work for. Jim's ability to see and develop 3 dimensional space was like nothing I have ever seen. He was also a master of developing renderings of his designs that captured the look and feel of the finished product and it's environment. Jim had the unique opportunity to do the thing he loved to do the way he wanted to do it. He knew what his voice was in this world and refined it for more than 50 years creating an incredibly consistent body of work. He was true to himself.

This post is a continuation from last week showing the painting of the second painting in the "Calypso" series. This piece is different in that it is painted on raw canvas - that is canvas with no gesso primer added to the surface. Painting on raw canvas is much like painting with watercolor.

One of the greatest things about painting with no pre-planning is that what is going to happen is unknown when you begin a painting. There is real power in Not Knowing what will happen, but trusting that using your skill and experience you will find your way.

The title of this post is quote attributed to the star tennis player Arthur Ashe. I think it has many applications to life in general, but more specifically for artists and art making. We all begin our art journey with different life experiences and that can give us a place to start - where we are.

I work with arts organizations all across the United States and 99% of them are simply wonderful to work with, and I appreciate them very much. I enjoy working with them in hosting my workshops. 

Watching other artists paint is often very educational. That's the reason workshop instructors paint demonstration paintings during workshops; sometimes to show specific techniques or illustrate concepts outlined in group discussions. Students say that often it is one of the highlights of the day.

If you think that being an artist in 2017 is just about making the art, it isn't. There are so many demands on your time that if you spend all of your time in the studio making art, then you won't be able to sell it to make a living.

I hope you enjoy watching this painting videos as much as I did making it! The colors and the music really get me going.