Thursday, December 31, 2009

Pink Rose Impression

Pink Rose Impression Artwork


Pink Rose Impression is my last rose artwork of 2009. It was from a reference photo I had taken in the spring so it really feels like I'm covering the year with this artwork.

It is a very beautiful pink rose flower in a water glass. Simple, charming, and elegant. A rose flower that is a beautiful memory with a touch of sepia to soften the pink and give it a romantic feel of times gone by. Nostalgia in pink. Available as a fine art print.


Pink Rose Impression by Christopher Johnson
Pink Rose Impression by Christopher Johnson


I want to also remind you that almost all my art is also available as great art gifts, cards, and stamps at Zazzle.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Mandarin Orange 1 - Mandarina 1

Mandarin oranges, mandarinas, are my favorite early winter fruit. They make me think of Christmas, and I buy many kilograms of them every year while they are fresh and in season. The only problem is that eating them is a little messier because of the seeds.

Mandarina 1 by Christopher Johnson
Mandarina 1 by Christopher Johnson


I love their tart flavor. Each juicy piece of this fruit should be cherished. In Mandarina 1, I'm celebrating its general form and beauty. Mandarins are unique and compelling. I love the perfume of the fruit as it is peeled too. It is so intoxicating.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Gloria 1 PortraitRetrato de Gloria 1

This portrait is of Gloria, Gerardo and Jonathan's mom. It is from a photo I took a few months ago. I needed a break after doing the first few portraits.   Although she's probably in her mid-fifties I think she looks more like 35-40 from my post processing.  I only went through my usual remove sun damage, minimize wrinkles, and touch-up skin routine that I always do. I didn't apply special effects.   It helps that she was already beautiful to start. I only had to remove the horrible signs of aging and fix the lighting.

Gerardo was happy and surprised when he saw it last night and he gave it his approval. I hope you like her portrait too.

If you would like a photo-portrait for you, a family member, or a friend, please let me know.  If you want it non-exclusive and will buy your print from Imagekind or Redbubble and don't have any special requests the cost is my normal artwork markup.   If you want exclusive prints of the finished work (I don't make it available for prints to others), or if you want a high-resolution jpg for making your own prints there will be an additional charge.    I can take your photos here in Mexico City or you can send several high-resolution photos by e-mail.  It would make a great Christmas or birthday gift!

Gloria 1 by Christopher Johnson
Gloria 1 by Christopher Johnson

La mamá de Gerardo y Jonathan, Gloria es una señora bonita y bueno con solo editar lo que pasa con todos con los añitos y el maltrato del sol, le quite mas o menos 15 años de edad.  La foto original tomé hace unos 2-3 meses en una fiesta. No tuvo tiempo para arreglarse y bueno  no fue necesario. De hecho prefiero editar las fotos de gente con una imagen mas natural.

Si te interesa un retrato para ti, tu pareja, un familiar o un mejor amigo,  pongamos de acuerdo para tomar las fotos aquí en Cuautitlán (en el norte de la Ciudad de México) o me puedes enviar por correo electrónico unas fotos de alta resolución.

El costo depende de como quieres el trabajo y si quieres que sea exclusivo o no.

Gerardo's mom, The photo was touched up to remove sun damage and minimize wrinkles.

Ice Cream Cone - Second Oil Painting

I was watching some of the videos in the Learn and Master painting course where Gayle was showing how to make different brush strokes and I was trying them and then I felt inspired to improvise and I wanted to paint a cone and well a cone by its self is a little too abstract so I turned it into an ice-cream cone.

I used a pale yellow,  brown, white, and blue. I mixed all of the non-white colors with white to get light shades. The ice-cream part of the painting is white with a touch of yellow. It is a little too creamy because I forgot that some of the top of the cone would get blended up.  It takes almost no color paint with white to make a light color. I'd say a "drop", but oil paint is very thick.

The cone and the background were painted with the paint thinned with solvent since I don't have medium.  I have a list of things I need to buy, but I have already gone past my original budget for the year so I hope I'll get some art sales soon!

I kept the paint on the ice-cream thicker. Not out-of-the-tube thick, but more like mayonnaise thick and I just kept adding it until it looked rich and delicious. The surface there is about 1mm higher than the rest of the painting.   I wonder if that would qualify as impasto?

Ice Cream Cone - Second Oil Painting by Christopher Johnson
Ice Cream Cone - Second Oil Painting by Christopher Johnson

Monday, November 23, 2009

Pink Centered Carnations 1 & 2 Ethereal Radiance and Contemplation

Carnations are my favorite cut flower since they are not common in gardens yet very cheap cut. They also keep nice for about 3 days.  They also come in quite a few different color combinations.  Roses are also easy to buy as cut flowers, but cut-roses seem to be inferior in quality compared to those I can find growing in parks or sidewalks.  Here are the first two in my pink centered carnation flower series. The centers are pink and the rest is white.

Pink Centered Carnations 1 - Ethereal Radiance by Christopher Johnson
Pink Centered Carnations 1 - Ethereal Radiance by Christopher Johnson


Pink Centered Carnations 2 - Contemplation by Christopher Johnson
Pink Centered Carnations 2 - Contemplation by Christopher Johnson

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Winter Pine Tree - Acrylic PaintingPino en el invierno - Acrilico

This was my second attempt at painting with acrylic paints and my first 6x8 (inches) with acrylic paint. It was done in layers over three days. I guess I spent about 3-4 hours on it. I imagine someone with experience could have done it much faster.

Winter Pine Tree - Acrylic Painting by Christopher Johnson
Winter Pine Tree - Acrylic Painting by Christopher Johnson


On the second day I was very unhappy with it and almost painted it over with white to start from zero.  I am happy to say that I resisted and I really like the results. I hope you like it too.  It is supposed to look like a pine tree with the light from behind and a subdued sky which fades to white. Since it is supposed to be a Christmas like cold climate winter scene, the ground is white to represent a heavy cover of snow. Would you like to learn to paint?

First Oil Painting

About a week ago, I first tried acrylic painting with a small bookmark.  As I expected, I really didn't like how the paint was dry in only about 3 minutes so I had no time to mix and blend.  A day or two later,  I spent a while (at least a half an hour) starting my first oil painting on a 6x8 inch pressboard wood rectangle that I had already painted a couple layers of white acrylic. It is a simple tree on a green hill with a cloudy light blue sky.

Tree on Hill - First Oil Painting by Christopher Johnson
Tree on Hill - First Oil Painting by Christopher Johnson


I only used blue, green, and white as colors at first. I mixed both green and blue with white to get lighter shades and painted the upper part blue and the lower green and blended the green up in stronger thinner strokes.  I then mixed some more white with the blue and made parts of the upper part lighter.

A few hours later, I decided to paint a tree. You'll probably see many tree paintings because I always loved to draw trees even though mine were never realistic.  Oil painting has the opposite problem it takes many days for it to dry so while you have time to mix and blend on the support, working in layers could take weeks to finish a complex painting.   This painting took about 5 days to dry.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

The Painting Course Arrived

I'm very excited today because my Learn and master Painting course arrived just a few hours ago.  I asked in a blog post for feedback on this course and what it offers.  While I agree that a course isn't absolutely necessary and while several friends offered to answer questions (thank  you Facebook friends! I'll still ask questions.), I really didn't want to be constantly asking more than one question a day and a little voice kept asking me if I was really messing up this last week since I got some very basic supplies.  I got just the course not the kit including paints and brushes.

Learn-and-Master-Painting-Box-Cover

Impressive elegant presentation


I haven't yet started viewing the course videos, but just opening the box was amazing. If the course is as good as the packaging, I'll be off to a great start in developing my oil painting skills.

The box acts like a binder with a flap that folds over the top right. The flap seems to be felt lined. When the flap is lifted the top folds open to the left and there is a pocket with the lesson book.  The DVDs are all in plastic sleeves. The inside back cover says what the course contains and how to get started (watch the introduction video).

Learn-and-Master-Painting-Box-Open

Quality Lesson book


The lesson book for Learn & Master Painting is in full color with great photos to help explain everything.   My biggest question during the last few days was how to organize the palette, mix colors on it, and how to clean brushes and store paints and solvents.  The book actually covered Those topics on five pages at the beginning of the lesson book.  I might have been able to find that information online, but not all together and not with all those great photos so I could see what was being explained.

Painting course packaging summary


The packaging is both elegant and practical. I can see that a lot of care was put into the design yet it is very practical because it can be folded back up and kept on a shelf in the amount of space a photo album or art book would take.  The biggest problem I've had with multi-disk/multi-CD collections was that some would always get lost. I really admire the designer who didn't cut costs and thought about the user taking the painting course.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

White Morning Glory 1

Morning glory flowers are not easy for me to edit so I was very happy with how quickly I was able to edit this morning glory photo I had taken a couple blocks away in late October. Since I had taken the morning glory photos, the city went through and cut all the wild flowers back to short-grass level. This shows you how important it is take your camera with you even to places you go regularly. You never know when it will be gone.

White Morning Glory 1


White Morning Glory 1 - Love Eternal by Christopher Johnson
White Morning Glory 1 - Love Eternal by Christopher Johnson

Thursday, November 12, 2009

First Painting - Purple Tulip Bookmark

You know that until now I've only posted photography, photo-art, and other digital abstract artwork including one drawn with a tablet, but I've decided to learn how to paint. Painting is as valid a form of art as my photography, drawing and other visual art. It uses very different skills.   I'm going to include in posts my attempts at painting and I hope you'll see progress as I add new works or studies in different topics.  If I do a study from a book or course, I'll mention it otherwise you can assume that I was just experimenting.
Feel free to login and comment on them and give me ideas. Remember that I'm new to painting not art so I am not familiar with painting terms and techniques or steps.



I bought my sample paints both oil and acrylic earlier this week and this morning I bought three sheets of a kind of press-board wood at the lumber store in Tultitlán so now I have wood to paint on in four sizes starting with 6x8.  I also asked for the scraps. This work was in a scrap piece which I used for a bookmark for my neighbor who likes to read.



This is supposed to look like a purple tulip drawn in acrylic using purple, green, yellow, white, and black. I used the white and black to make lighter and darker shades and the yellow to make the green different shades.

I found the experience to be interesting. I was frustrated with the paint drying in about 3 minutes yet there were moments I wanted to add a new layer and misguessed the time. I  really need to watch the time while I work.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Pink Chrysanthemums 3 and 4

Trying to see what else I could do with those pretty mauve-pink chrysanthemum flowers, I came up with these two. #3 was just featured at Redbubble this morning in the "in the pink" group which shows you how you never know what people will like.   My favorite is Pink Chrysanthemums 2 from the previous post.

Pink Chrysanthemums 3


Pink Chrysanthemums 3 by Christopher Johnson
Pink Chrysanthemums 3 by Christopher Johnson

Pink Chrysanthemums 4


Pink Chrysanthemums 4 by Christopher Johnson
Pink Chrysanthemums 4 by Christopher Johnson

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Pink Chrysanthemums 2

Here is the second mauve-pink chrysanthemum artwork in the series from today's flowers. This one has a painterly impressionistic look. I'm very happy with it.

Pink Chrysanthemums 2


Pink Chrysanthemums 2 by Christopher Johnson
Pink Chrysanthemums 2 by Christopher Johnson

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Learn and Master Painting Course

I normally don't include posts about specific products since I have the shop page, but I'd really appreciate the feedback from the painting experts here about this home study system for learning how to paint. Quite a few of you know from Facebook that I am very interested in learning how to paint and I've started saving up for supplies. I don't have any painting supplies at all and I am not aware of any painters living nearby who would let me observe them work. Yes, I'm sure there are painters in Mexico City, but it is a huge place.

Painting Learning System and Supply Kit

This kit comes with 20 DVDs with videos of a painter showing how she does it, color theory, setting up the work area, using reference photos, brushwork technique, etc.  and it comes with brushes and oil paint of the "Winsor and Newton" brand. The DVDs divide the painting into lessons and there are tasks to carryout.  I watched a video clip on the sales site on using the palette to get light/dark variations with yellow and it was cool.    What do you think, is "Learn & Master Painting" worth it? The price for the complete kit was $349 with an option to buy it in several payments. Click on the link to check the current price.


Saturday, October 24, 2009

Creamy Yellow Rose

While people up north are getting autumn temperatures and colorful leaves, the weather is is only just starting to cool off as we start to enter the dry season.  While I wish I could get photos of snow and leaves for holiday themed artwork, I also enjoy having some flowers all year long.  In cold climates there is a burst of flowers in a few short months while in warm climates you have them all year but not quite so many at a time. Every plant has its season.

While walking back from the bank yesterday through Tultitlán and then Cuautitlán, I took a few photos of flowering trees and plants.  I almost missed this rose flower from a very tall shrub growing over a wall. The flower was above me in the light so as photos are judged, it was very bad lighting, but I thought it was very pretty so I took the photo anyway in hopes of turning it into art.

Creamy Yellow Rose


Creamy Yellow Rose by Christopher Johnson
Creamy Yellow Rose by Christopher Johnson

Creamy Yellow Rose 2


Creamy Yellow Rose 2 by Christopher Johnson
Creamy Yellow Rose 2 by Christopher Johnson

Creamy Yellow Rose - Divinity


Creamy Yellow Rose - Divinity by Christopher Johnson
Creamy Yellow Rose - Divinity by Christopher Johnson

Friday, October 16, 2009

Large Yellow Wildflowers 3, 4, and 5Flores Silvestres Grandes y Amarillas 3, 4 y 5

Here are the next three in the large yellow wildflower series of the beautiful large sunflower-like flowers which started blooming around the first of October in the now-naturalized park in northern Mexico City.  This just shows you how important it is to visit natural and nature-taken-over areas frequently because the changes can be huge. It is hard to imagine that it is the same place where I took my Agave photos in the winter.  It looked so desolate then, but now at the end of the rainy season it is just full of green foliage and flowers.

Large Yellow Wildflowers 3


Large Yellow Wildflowers 3 by Christopher Johnson
Large Yellow Wildflowers 3 by Christopher Johnson

Large Yellow Wildflowers 4


Large Yellow Wildflowers 4 by Christopher Johnson
Large Yellow Wildflowers 4 by Christopher Johnson

Large Yellow Wildflowers 5


Large Yellow Wildflowers 5 by Christopher Johnson
Large Yellow Wildflowers 5 by Christopher Johnson

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Large Yellow Wildflowers 1 and 2Flores Silvestres Grandes y Amarillas 1 y 2

Today was a busy day editing two artworks. Although the second one might look like it came from the camera, that is not the case.  These large yellow wildflowers look like small sunflowers, but they weren't turning with the sun so I'll have to assume that they're not sunflowers.  I have a few more great photos of them to post-process.

They were very interesting because they only started to bloom about the beginning of October, before that I took photos of other wildflowers.

Large Yellow Wildflowers 1


Large Yellow Wildflowers 1 by Christopher Johnson
Large Yellow Wildflowers 1 by Christopher Johnson

Large Yellow Wildflowers 2


Large Yellow Wildflowers 2 by Christopher Johnson
Large Yellow Wildflowers 2 by Christopher Johnson

Large Yellow Wildflowers 2 Antiqued


Large Yellow Wildflowers 2 Antiqued by Christopher Johnson
Large Yellow Wildflowers 2 Antiqued by Christopher Johnson

Pink and White Carnations 2 Claveles Rosas y Blancas 2

Pink and White Carnations 2 is from the same batch of photos I made the first, but as you have probably noticed, I don't like making cookie-cutter artwork.  I post-process each photo separately. Sometimes they look similar and sometimes they don't. While art galleries may not like truly original artwork, I find this to be much less boring.

In this artwork, I decided to enhance the lines and colors present as well as enhance the white in the white flower which in the original photo had a bit too much yellow-green highlights.  I did darken the background a little and reduced the light coming from the window to the left.

Pink and White Carnations 2


Pink and White Carnations 2 by Christopher Johnson
Pink and White Carnations 2 by Christopher Johnson

Monday, October 12, 2009

Riding in the Desert

Riding in the desert and riding in the desert antiqued is a "simple" digital collage of two images one of a rodeo scene and another of mountains with water in front.  Most people seem to prefer the simplicity of the sepia version and perhaps they don't like the fantasy element of the blue mountains in the first version.  After combining the two I had to fill in the gaps with fake desert soil and then worked on the effects to add the canvas texture and quite a lot of burn and dodge on the horse and on the first row of mountains.  I decided against adding desert plants because it would take me many hours more to add them.
Some might not like the intensity of color in the original which i could have reduced by partially applying sepia over the color, but the horse was a very strong red-brown in the reference photo and I just didn't feel right in changing him to a boring common brown.

Riding in the Desert


Riding in the Desert by Christopher Johnson

Riding in the Desert Antiqued


Riding in the Desert Antiqued by Christopher Johnson

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Old Crypt in Green and Gold

There was a post in WetCanvas, an art forum, where someone shared their photo of a crypt (yes, just that) and asked for others to make their own version and we could do what we want with it so I added it to one of my favorite, but reworked backgrounds and I found another photo with steps and started playing with the image so it went from a crypt in a cemetery on a sunny day to an ancient crypt in the woods with light filtering down through the trees.  The only thing I'd still like to add is a ghost or perhaps a vampire.  I'd have to admit that my version went to an extreme.

The most difficult part was deciding on how much light to include and where. Just moving the lighting a little completely changes the focus and mood. I loved the light in the distance in the original background, but I had to lighten the tomb especially the door to make it show up yet not enough to make it cheerful.   I finally felt satisfied when I make the background trees in the middle appear a little closer and I brought the light almost to the ground which at least to me justified the extra light on the door.

Old Crypt


Old Crypt by Christopher Johnson

Old Crypt in Autumn


Old Crypt in Autumn by Christopher Johnson

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Life is too short to be petty

I've worked very hard at adding community features for quite a few months (some of which I've later seen added to my ex-friend's site.  yes, a friend, unfriended me after making some obscure comments on her site.) and I would really like to see Artists get away from small-mindedness and competition and go to growing  COMMUNITY.

I opened up VisualArtGifts to the visual art community because I saw a need that was not being fulfilled to get seen and promoted. Many people in art site forums would ask what to do and how to get traffic to their art sales pages because there art work wasn't being seen and currently available art sites were not fulfilling that need.

I've added some free software and other software which I coded myself. Yes, many hours and days and in a sense months of hard work and testing.   I didn't get any ideas from any friend art sites. I have been testing my most recent software addition ever since Buddypress was in Alpha (extremely early test version) about a year ago.   I had only delayed to use it because it was very unstable and in general didn't work right until recent changes fixed the most important bugs.

It is time to help instead of harm, to BUILD COMMUNITY instead of breaking them down through rumor and unfounded accusations.  I want to challenge art community and art site owners to join and become part of a greater visual artist promoting community.  There are thousands of visual artists in the world and millions of Internet users, so it is time for us to grow up and be friends and promote each other without letting personal jealously take hold. Visual artists need to promote their art, get seen, and make sales.

Lets Promote Art, Share Art, Grow Art and build communities because the need still exists and participating in just one site (even one which now also gives links - you're welcome to use this idea, I'm not complaining, it was a good idea that I didn't see any other art site do before VisualArtGifts )  is not enough.  As visual artists we need to promote our artwork on multiple sites because each one will get different results in Google and each site has different readers.  Being in Facebook or just having a blog isn't enough either.  Marketing visual art is very hard work and even harder if  we try to pull whoever is working hard down to our level.  Instead lets help each other up to the next level!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Art Discipline or the Rise of the Phoenix -part one

A long time ago, 2001 I think it was, Mrs Elsa Clarke, one of my lecturers for design studio told us on our very first day of class  that an artist was always hungry; an artist was never satisfied with learning this or achieving that but was always looking beyond to the next level; always seeking to challenge himself. Always seeking to grow.

Those words stayed with me and I have to admit they became my mantra and opening segue when talking to my new class of students every year. Yes I make sure and say that she told it to us and yes when she first said it she told us who told  her but I don't remember that part and anyway that's not what's important. The words stayed with me because I  realised just how profound and accurate they were when I made the decision to become a professional artist.

People who purchase or view  art sometimes live in this bubble which informs them -rather erroneously - that making art is 'easy' and artists sit around all day. They don't need to research or think or plan or anything because  paintings just fall from the sky like manna from heaven.What they do is 'easy'; making art is an easy job. This is then passed on to the wee ones who come in expecting to just sit back and allow artistic success to  fall on them.  Maybe that's our fault. We are good at what we do so we make it look effortless.

Well in this blog post, my mission will be to dispel  all those myths. I can do it in one statement:

ART IS DOWNRIGHT HARD!


I'll spare some time to explain and I'll even do a follow-up with an artist who has experienced some measure of success and who is in a position to share thoughts on the subject.

It takes discipline to make art. I put that word in bold because it is so easily discounted. It takes long hours of research, planning and re-planning (did I just make up a word?) Now don't get me wrong I'm not trying to spoil the romance for those of you who are just coming into this noble profession but rather enhance it. There are some times when you'll pick up the brush and a painting will almost literally fall on your canvas  and you treasure those moments because you can get a really great feeling especially if it's a good painting but that's the exception and not the rule. The rule is research. The rule is make sure and observe all the elements of art: line, shape, colour, value, texture, space and the principles of harmony, balance, rhythm, contrast, emphasis, unity. Not to mention composition and perspective and a solid drawing if that's what you do and good knowledge of your tools and how to manipulate them to enhance your work. The rule is start over if you are not achieving the goals or if it just plain sucks. The rule is make the complex compositions appear simple; uncomplicated.

Artists worth their salt study constantly; reading good art books and attending workshops. They put in long hours at their easel and develop thick coats to ward off attacks by errant art critics, both knowledgeable and otherwise. They are ever changing, ever growing.

In addition to the long painting hours artists do their own marketing and must also deal with the let down that comes from rejections and harsh critiques and continue producing and going back for more. Today's artist is a creatively genius,  computer savvy marketing exec.  (Please note that the art still comes first)

[caption id="attachment_1183" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Anthony Gonzalez, Student (Trinidad & Tobago)The Creative War: Rise of the Phoenix; 17x14; markers and paint on paper"]Anthony Gonzalez, Student (Trinidad & Tobago)The Creative War: Rise of the Phoenix; 17x14; markers and paint on paper[/caption]

I can illustrate a true artist in this sense (Hopefully you will get the idea from my poetic imagery) As she paints her masterpiece, she divests part of herself unto the canvas. With sweat pouring down her brow she wages war against faulty composition and makes sure her colours are playing nicely with each other. If she's a plein aire painter, she must also wage war against the elements as she feverishly tries to get everything down before the light changes and if she's an abstract artist she must chase the ghosts and phantoms and dreams that drive her to create while still observing the artistic elements and principles. Finally she sees the 'end' in sight and at the final stroke of the brush, she hesitantly signs her name, still wondering if she is truly finished ( She may pass by it tomorrow and see something that needs 'fixing' and pick up the brush again).

That painting marks the end of that part of herself that she has given to that piece of art; that piece of history. Tomorrow she will rise again, like the mythical phoenix, reborn, renewed; a new idea to conceive, and a new landscape to forge; a new 'ghost' to conquer.

It takes discipline and determination to become an artist. Sweat, tears and a hard skin.  Talent is important and necessary but it must also be coupled with hard work. The saying "Hard work reaps rewards" is just as important for making art. And that's the romance.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Grapefruit 1Toronja 1

It is important as an artist to use what is available to us not just what we'd like. Since I ate a grapefruit a couple days ago, I obviously took some photos of it first. I really love the pink-red of the fruit's flesh and the yellow rind.

Grapefruit 1


Grapefruit 1

Grapefruit 1 Vintage


Grapefruit 1 Vintage

Little White Wildflowers 4 and 5Flores Silvestres Blancas 4 y 5

I feel quite happy with the results of these last two artworks in the white wildflower series. I hope they'll one day make a collector happy.

4 and 5 are both painterly with enhanced highlights and shadows with tonal contrast and some sharpening. It is also very interesting that it is much easier to do painterly artworks than works using other effects which highlight lines or form. I'd be interested in seeing if that is the case for other visual artists.


Little White Wildflowers 4


Little White Wildflowers 4

Little White Wildflowers 5


Little White Wildflowers 5

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Little White Wildflowers 2 and 3Flores Silvestres Blancas 2 y 3

These two artworks were from the same photo session here in the "studio".  I again went for a painterly look because I wanted to keep them very soft and gentle almost delicate. I made the effect in the second one much more subtler than the third one because the painterly look made the flower petal edges so indistinct that it was difficult to view so I mixed some of the original back.  In the third version, I added extra highlights to the petal ridges and did some darkening around the edges. I like both of them for very different reasons. I think a collector might enjoy having prints of all three.

Little White Wildflowers 2


Little White Wildflowers 2

Little White Wildflowers 3


Little White Wildflowers 3

Monday, September 21, 2009

TrophyTrofeo

This pose makes me think of achievement or victory so I decided to make him look like a trophy figurine without the stand or label. I was surprised to discover that it didn't take many layers to achieve the look I wanted of a glowing abstract male trophy.

Trophy


Trophy

IntrospectionIntrospección

This work is trying to show the model in a more innocent reflective pose. I'm very tempted to make another version with angel's wings. Here he is contemplating life in a pure state as if he was sitting on peaceful clouds.

Introspection


Introspection

Followed Artwork

I took a series of different pose photos a couple evenings ago for use in a work however the lighting was poor so I didn't feel these would work for that purpose so instead I'm using them with different effects. It was good practice.

Followed


Followed

This first in the series is Followed.  I was surprised to find a distinct shadow behind him so I enhanced it a little. I find it quite disturbing yet thought provoking.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Little Yellow Wildflowers 1 Low-keyFlores Silvestres Amarillas 1

This yellow wildflower was pretty, but it is on a very sharp plant covered in tiny spines or thorns.  I gave it a low-key painterly look full of shadows and highlights with a canvas texture.

Little Yellow Wildflowers 1 Low-key


little Yellow Wildflowers 1 Low-Key

Little White Wildflowers 1Flores Silvestres Blancas 1

I took photos of some more wildflowers that I picked a couple weeks ago. I'd rather take the photos there, but the recent rains have flooded the park's paths and also the last time I spent more than 30 minutes in the park, one of the loser neighbors called the police inventing that I was doing some activity that anyone with good eyesight would know immediately that I wasn't doing that.

These little white wild flowers started blooming around the end of August.

Little White Wildflowers 1


Little White Wildflowers 1

Friday, September 18, 2009

Resolution for Fractals

Resolution for Fractals

When a fractal image is inserted into another program for changes/resizing, etc. the resolution can change a lot thereby affecting the quality of the image.

 When you are creating the original image, make sure the file is large enough so that you can make changes within the original program and also, you can set the correct resolution and image quality. If you do these things prior to putting the image into another program, you should not have any problem.  I learned this the hard way when a printer refused to enlarge my art saying my images became too distorted at larger sizes.  I had been in the habit of creating images in Chaoscope, then transferring them to Paint Shop Pro to add color and texture and make further modifications.

Always use anti-alias to minimize distortion and save your file in a lossless format as opposed to lossy.  A few lossless extensions are png, bmp, gif, tiff or psd.  Lossy extensions mean that you lose image data (resolution) every time you upsize it and that data cannot be recovered.  JPEG is a common lossy format although it is often used for final prints as it requires less file space.  Resizing is not a problem with all fractals programs and there is software out there that promise to resize your image to any proportions without loss of resolution.  Genuine Fractal is a plug-in for Photoshop that promises to do this.

 Apophysis is another fractal program I use frequently. It has straightforward menus for sizing and rendering at a desired quality but some printers (printing companies) can be fussy about these designs also.  So it pays to just take that extra time and take a few staps to make sure your submitted image is of the highest quality possible.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Collecting fine art is an inspiring and stimulating pastime, not just for the wealthy. There are many kinds of art to choose from, as the definition of  what art actually is differs from person to person. It doesn’t matter what form it takes, the choice is yours in what you like and how much your budget is.

Original Art vs.  Art Prints


As an artist going to college in New York, it has been apparent to me that some who appreciate art may disrespect others for their differing tastes in art. For example, there are those who only buy originals, and never prints. For enjoyment purposes, an original isn’t necessary to own if the price is out of your budget. Prints are a great way to own framed art that looks lovely on your wall, as an original would, at a fraction of the price. Ok, you won’t have the same texture to the painting (the surface of an original can show texture and dimension, whereas a print won’t). But, a well printed piece of artwork is not settling by all means. My walls are graced with the art prints of other artists, bought fairly inexpensively online, at art fairs and galleries. They are tasteful and not cheap looking.

Framing Art


When you find a print or original that you like, you can either frame it yourself or have someone else do it for you. Frames come in a huge price range, from the lower priced metal frames to the ornate, hand carved wooden frames that can cost big bucks. Using a mat, which is a way of framing the picture inside the frame using illustration board or papers, can set off or detract from your print. For those who don’t know framing, take your picture and have it framed first, then watch how they offer you various mats and frame styles. Take your time and choose what color combination of mat, frame and artwork would look tasteful and appropriate in your home. For a clean, contemporary look, a good type is the inexpensive but still elegant Nielsen brushed metal frame. They come in many colors, but black or bronze are safe to start with. When selling my artwork in galleries, I use bronze ones because they make my art look good, and don’t cost a fortune. After all, many people who buy art in galleries have the art re-framed after they buy it, to match their home décor. If wood is more your style, there are some lovely, natural, stained wood frames. My preference is cherry or mahogany for my home, because they have a deep, rich reddish color that looks elegant. The style you choose is up to you, just remember that you’ll be living with it for awhile, and so think of what you want to see on your wall for an extended period of time. You can re-frame later, of course, but to save money, choose something that you’ll be happy with so that won’t be necessary later.

Enrich Your Environment


Whether you like prints, originals or other forms of art, enjoy whatever you choose. To me, the purpose of art is to enrich our surroundings, add beauty to a room and convey a mood or interest. Everyone has their own views, so go with what stirs your emotions or interest. Have a budget in mind and stick to it, as most art is for personal use, not for investment. If you buy the work of someone famous, the piece may have value but who knows what tomorrow will bring. So, first and foremost, go with what interests you. That way, if reselling it isn’t going to give you much (if any) profit later, it will still make your wall look beautiful, As a professional artist, I want my clients to love their purchases, and be happy that they own whatever they bought from me. Other artists want you to be happy too. Art is for enjoying, so don’t be afraid to try collecting. Chances are, you’ll be hooked once you do.Collecting fine art is an inspiring and stimulating hobby for everyone, not just for the rich or famous. There are many forms of art to choose from, as the definition to what art actually is differs from person to person. It doesn’t matter what form it takes, the choice is yours in what is attractive and how much your spending limit will be.

As an artist going to college in New York, it has been apparent to me that some aficionados of art may look down on others for their differing tastes in art. For example, there are those who only buy originals, and never prints. For enjoyment purposes, an original isn’t necessary to own if the price is out of your budget. Prints are a great way to own framed art that looks lovely on your wall, as an original would, at a fraction of the price. Ok, you won’t have the same texture to the painting (the surface of an original can show texture and dimension, whereas a print won’t). But, a well printed piece of artwork is not settling by all means. My walls are graced with the art prints of other artists, bought fairly inexpensively online, at art fairs and galleries. They are tasteful and not cheap looking.

When you find a print or original that you like, you can either frame it yourself or have someone else do it for you. Frames come in a huge price range, from the lower priced metal frames to the ornate, hand carved wooden frames that can cost big bucks. Using a mat, which is a way of framing the picture inside the frame using illustration board or papers, can set off or detract from your print. For those who don’t know framing, take your picture and have it framed first, then watch how they offer you various mats and frame styles. Take your time and choose what color combination of mat, frame and artwork would look tasteful and appropriate in your home. For a clean, contemporary look, a good type is the inexpensive but still elegant Nielsen brushed metal frame. They come in many colors, but black or bronze are safe to start with. When selling my artwork in galleries, I use bronze ones because they make my art look good, and don’t cost a fortune. After all, many people who buy art in galleries have the art re-framed after they buy it, to match their home décor. If wood is more your style, there are some lovely, natural, stained wood frames. My preference is cherry or mahogany for my home, because they have a deep, rich reddish color that looks elegant. The style you choose is up to you, just remember that you’ll be living with it for awhile, and so think of what you want to see on your wall for an extended period of time. You can re-frame later, of course, but to save money, choose something that you’ll be happy with so that won’t be necessary later.

Whether you like prints, originals or other forms of art, enjoy whatever you choose. To me, the purpose of art is to enrich our surroundings, add beauty to a room and convey a mood or interest. Everyone has their own views, so go with what stirs your emotions or interest. Have a budget in mind and stick to it, as most art is for personal use, not for investment. If you buy the work of someone famous, the piece may have value but who knows what tomorrow will bring. So, first and foremost, go with what interests you. That way, if reselling it isn’t going to give you much (if any) profit later, it will still make your wall look beautiful, As a professional artist, I want my clients to love their purchases, and be happy that they own whatever they bought from me. Other artists want you to be happy too. Art is for enjoying, so don’t be afraid to try collecting. Chances are, you’ll be hooked once you do.

Matching Words and Images – A simple guide to writing descriptions for your images

Why bother?

“A picture is worth a thousand words” they say, and I would whole-heartedly agree.  But the question remains – Which thousand words?
For those of us with photos and other art in Products or Print on Demand services, the description can make the difference between a lucrative website and a real dud.  Descriptions which evoke an emotion are ideal, because they can make a strong connection with the visitor to your site, and increase the chances that they will actually click on that little shopping cart, making the move from “browser” to “buyer”.
Many artists have difficulty writing these evocative, descriptive phrases and sentences.  So here is a three-part guide for those of us who are verbally or compositionally challenged.

Step 1:  Making a list, checking it twice.

You are (presumably) an artist.  Your purpose in creating art is to connect with your audience, and to draw an emotional response from them.  So go back and look at your artwork and ask yourself, “What emotion or emotions am I trying to communicate here?  How does this image make ME feel?  How might someone else perceive it?”    Make a short list.  Consider simple, “surface” kinds of impressions, and also deeper meanings.  Also consider opposites.  For example, a picture of a black bird on a white background may be “spooky” to one person, be about contrasts in nature to someone else, and to another will speak of the hope for mankind in goodness and light overcoming evil.

Step 2:  Variety is the spice of life.

Now get out your thesaurus.  A good on-line one is http://thesaurus.reference.com/ which gives opposites as well.  Add to your list.  Look through your list and select five or six of the words that are most elegant or poetic, and most evocative of the dominant emotion in your image.  Try to emphasize the positive, although some images are intended to examine darker subjects.  Save your list so you can use it to add to your keywords.

Step 3:  Boiling it down

Now take your list and use it to compose one or two sentences incorporating your words.  Don’t worry too much about proper sentence construction, but pay attention to spelling.  Make it personal and draw the reader in with words like “I”, “we”, “share”, “common”, “together”, “world”, “mankind”.  Where possible, make it immediate by using verb-forms in the present tense:  “I am”, instead of “I was”.  Use first or second person; avoid third person, as it is emotionally distant.  Read your description out loud while looking at the image, and see if there is a connection between the two.  If you feel it misses the point of the image (you are, after all, the artist), then try switching some of the words around, or add more adjectives, or trade some of the list words for others.  Don’t be afraid to scrap it and start again.

Extra Benefits

With a little practice, this process can be quite effective and rewarding.  One good thing about taking the time to write good descriptions is that once they are done and saved, you can quickly copy-and-paste them anytime you use those same images in a new site or album, so it is definitely worth the effort.  It will really save you time in the long run.  Just try not to make it too long – definitely not a thousand words!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Color Theory



 Color Theory can be easily explained with a color wheel. Every artist, especially beginning painters, should have a color wheel. This helps reduce error in mixing paints and ingrains the primary, secondary and tertiary colors in your mind through repetition of reference. Many experienced painters can eyeball paint colors and come up with a perfect match in the new mix. Many of us that have this ability have it BECAUSE of the repetition of mixing and many are born with the talent and develop it further. First, we'll talk about primary colors. Red, Blue, and Yellow. With these three colors, you can make all of the secondary colors. If you mix red and blue, you get violet. If you mix red and yellow, you get orange. If you mix blue and yellow, you get green. Thus, the secondary colors are violet, orange, and green. Of course, if you are mixing a secondary color and have more of a lighter hue than a darker, then the resulting value will be lighter. This is just logic. For example, take a large amount of yellow and a small amount of blue. This gives you a VERY light green. Thus it follows that the reverse would be true, i.e. lots of blue and very little yellow gives you a blue-green that is more blue in hue. Spend a day with some cheap acrylics and paper plates, mixing colors, and seeing what you get. If you find a color you really like and want to use, use your palette and try to match it based on the sample you made and mix a larger quantity. if you can't get to it right away, use your spray bottle to spritz the paint and the saran wrap you should keep handy for covering the paint, and cover it. Try to get back to it within a few hours, or it may dry up on you. Once you feel you are firmly grounded in mixing colors (and it takes many people a while to feel confident with it), then you can introduce gessos, because you will then learn that the color you were working with will change depending on the amount of gesso and water you've got incorporated into the mix. My next blog entry will be about using these additives in your acrylic paints and the differences they make in your medium. Until then, get a color wheel, some cheap acrylics and play. Play with color, play with learning fundamentals, and have fun.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

White Oleander Flowers with a Bee 1

I took a few photos of this shrub in bloom while walking the other day. I didn't get a photo of the bee's head. I think it was trying to hide from me.

White Oleander with a Bee 1 Painterly


Single White Oleander with Bee 1 Painterly

White Oleander with a Bee 1


Single White Oleander with Bee 1

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Today's portrait of Gerardo is from a photo I took of him while we were waiting for a ride to a new house party. The background was not very attractive so I wanted to really cover that up. I decided to first experiment with a painterly version and then I made a regular portrait with some of the previous background and then I made the sepia version.

Gerardo Waiting 1


Gerardo Waiting 1

Gerardo Waiting 1 Antiqued


Gerardo Waiting 1 Antiqued

Gerardo Waiting 1 Painterly


Gerardo Waiting 1 Painterly