Almost

I thought I'd be finished with the Paint-In painting by now, but I had to re-work a few elements.

As you can see in the picture on the left, I added five bighorn sheep to the painting. I think they turned out OK (although it's actually harder for me to paint small images of critters than it is to paint larger ones). That is, until I realized I painted them a little TOO small compared to the ocotillo on the top of the hill at left and the creosote bush that's below it. Those made the bighorns look like miniatures!

So I "pruned" the ocotillo and bush (compare with the picture on the right), touched up the sky somewhat, which is not yet finished. Today I hope to downsize the ocotillo, and I already took care of the creosote bush.

So hopefully my NEXT picture of the painting will show it finished!

Full Color Vs. Infrared

Today I had business to take care of in Palm Desert, and I visited the area that I'm currently painting -- you may recognize the "Paint-In" view even with the minor changes I've made. I was looking for some different angles than those I've already photographed, and I also wanted to make some infrared pictures in addition to the full-color pix.

It's hard to describe the excitement I feel at how easy it is to do what I've done today. When I shot film, I had to use two cameras -- one for the color shots and one for the infrared pictures. (Or, if two cameras weren't available, I had to make a choice between which kind of images I needed the most). No loading and unloading the infrared film into/from the camera in total darkness. No exposure bracketing. All I do is mount the camera on a tripod, then take the color pictures with a polarizing filter and switching to an IR filter for the ... well, you can guess! I can quickly see the results -- another plus.

I'm not sure if I'll ever attempt to make money with the infrared pictures. But in the meantime, any time I go out shooting the landscape, the IR filter will come with me. Compared to the "good ol' days," infrared photography is fast -- and easy!

Work in Progress III

This should be the last picture of how the "Paint-In" painting is coming along.

Most of the landscape aspects of the piece are almost finished -- still a few more rocks, little shrubs and wildflowers to add. Plus, I just finished blocking-in five desert bighorn sheep which are native to these mountains.

I hope I can finish this work tonight, but I may need to give it an additional day just to make sure I have all the elements that I want in there.

(By the way, sorry for the uneven lighting on the painting these last few posts -- obviously, I'm just going for the "quick and dirty" pictures right now!)

I plan on stopping by this area this week once again. I partly want to see how the wildflowers are doing in the low desert, and I'd like to try and shoot some photographs of the hills from different angles as well as find some clear views of the canyon (Deep Canyon, it's called) that appears in the middle of the painting. And, who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and run into some o' them bighorn sheep, too!

But in spite of driving around all over creation this week looking for flowers, I'd sure like to finish this project tonight!

Buying Art to Match the Furniture

We artists endure several unpleasant aspects of being artists. One of these is hearing comments like this one from potential buyers: "We love it, but it's the wrong color/doesn't go with the furniture or drapes or cat or whatever." Most artists like to think we're creating work that will touch peoples' hearts and make their lives a little better or more meaningful as a result of having seen the works. Owning the art, of course, is even better.

So acquiring art just to "tie everything together," as they say on the TV home decorating programs, has a discouraging effect on those of us who work so hard to make meaningful one-of-a-kind products.

One of the gallery employees I worked with once told me of a married couple who came into the gallery some years ago. Both were looking at a large painting I made of a stormy desert scene with a golden eagle flying across the landscape. The overall color was blue, with yellow flowers along the bottom of the painting. The man appeared absolutely transfixed by my painting. But the wife gently reminded him that they didn't have blue in their color scheme. So they moved on to look for something else.

The painting obviously touched the man in a special way; perhaps it moved the woman as well. But it was the "wrong" color -- and they walked away from it. (It sold a few weeks later to someone else).

Years ago, I took some interior design classes in college. One comment the instructor made always stuck in my head: when you're ready to decorate a room, buy the furniture and other items first, then buy the paint you will use on the walls. The reasoning is obvious -- fabrics, draperies, blinds and other items come in a limited variety of colors. Paint comes in many hues and shades, and can even be mixed to match a sample you bring in. So it's easier to match paint to the furniture than vice versa.

I would add to that wisdom: buy your artwork first, then the furniture, THEN the wall paint. Original art is one of a kind -- the colors it has are all that there are.

Unfortunately, so many people buy the art last. I say: big mistake! They have the entire process reversed.

If all this makes sense to you, that's great. You will end up with art you truly love AND a great-looking room to put the art in!

Work in Progress, II

(The "Smackdown" was "Work in Progress, Part I"!!)

I managed to do a little more on the "Paint-In" painting yesterday. The hillside on the right is nearly finished. Today I'll add some ocotillos and some scrub that occurs in this area, then I can continue with the hill on the left. (I'll need that for the bighorn sheep that are going to appear later on in the painting -- gotta keep them critters fed!)

The Desert in a Gallery in the Desert

I happened to check the Website for one of the galleries I'm in. The owner has a photo of the front window with two of MY paintings sitting there for all to see! (The paintings in question are shown to the right of the gallery picture).

(Click here for the gallery's Website; MY Website is, of course, http://www/southwestspaces.com or http://www.desert-paintings.com

I wonder how many people have seen my paintings while strolling by the gallery?

Paint-In Smackdown Results

(Well, maybe "smackdown" doesn't quite explain it!)

Anyway, after the final painting session at the gallery last Saturday, I brought the piece home to the studio where I'll finish the image, varnish it and return it to the gallery (which, by the way, is here). The snapshot shows pretty much what the painting looked like at that point. After catching up on some other things the past few days, I finally resumed work on the painting.

(Say, have you ever noticed artists work on their art but musicians play music?)

To be continued...