Sail Away by Terry Honstead

This is a painting that I started a long time ago.  I was not sure how to finish it so it just sat there.  I think I am done with it now.  I added some golds to the sky and water and finished up with my collage leaves.  The land was done before.  I used paint that I had painted on parchment paper and then pealed off to use after it had dried.  It was fun putting the many colors together to form rocks, dirt, and tree stump.  If you are interested, you may reach me at:   honstead@paulbunyan.net.

"Yellow Ranunculus"

Click here to bid

"Yellow Ranunculus"

10 x 8 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

"Beach Memories"by Jonathan Aller

Click here to bid

"Beach Memories"

6 x 6 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

Have been out of the loop for a bit but have been really busy with other projects which I hope to share with you guys soon.  Hope you enjoy my new alla prima!

Behind Her Back by Terry Honstead

This was a fun picture to paint.  I got it from an old photograph that was black and white.  To me, these women seem to be snickering about the girl in the backless dress.  Apparently those were not the norm around there in those days!  I wonder what all these ladies would think about today's dress?  Well, actually they are probably still around and not liking it much at all!  (Just a guess!)  If you would like to see more of my work, check out:   terry-honstead.artistwebsites.com, or email me at:  honstead@paulbunyan.net.

"Green Vase" by Jonathan Aller

Click here to bid

"Green Vase"

6 x 6 in 

Oil on Canvas Panel

Today I saw this vase around the house and saw how much I liked the way it looks on these wooden panels.  There's no particular explanation why I chose to paint this just the sole purpose of getting inspired by what I saw at that moment.  It's great being able to pick up the brush and just paint what you see, I was not planning to paint today but I did see this vase and how the light was hitting it and just had to.  There's beauty in everything we see I know it sounds cheesy but its very true, it can be the most mundane thing and it still has some beauty to it.  It just matters how one perceives what he or she is looking at.  

You can see the making of this painting at:

http://www.jonaller.blogspot.com

Many Minis by Terry Honstead

I thought I would post these pics that I have done because they are all so similar (except for one).  They are all 5 x 7 and in the same style  and colors.  I guess it is pretty obvious what colors I like to use!!  If anyone if interested in anything like this they can contact me at:   honstead@paulbunyan.net

"Ranunculus" by Jonathan Aller

Click here to bid

"Ranunculus"

8 x 10 in 

Oil on Canvas Panel

I haven't painted flowers in a while and wanted to paint these, I gave these ranunculus to my girlfriend and decided after a couple days that I needed to paint their beauty.  I've been busy painting larger paintings and producing ball point pen drawings so it was nice to change the pace to these alla prima's.  After not painting alla prima's for a while it was tough to get started and find a rhythm, after half way through it started to click and come back to me.  I really do miss painting these guys on a daily basis but at the same time I like devoting most of my time to my larger more personal work.  The sole purpose of these alla prima paintings is for practice and try to understand the oils as best as I can.  Painting flowers are a bit different than painting a regular object in a still life, first flowers move by the hour and second their form is far more intricate and complicated.  I found painting flowers you have to simplify their shape as much as you can and towards the end of the painting stages thats where you can get complicated with the rendering.  Overall it's a joy and pleasure to paint a beautiful subject matter as this.

I started with the usual dry brush approach by just applying a bit of raw umber on the brush and using no mediums.  When the drawing is completed I then stated the background and after the general statement of the flowers and vase.  At this stage I just lay in a thin layer of paint which creates a nice surface for the oils in the later stages.  I am also concerned of the movement of light at this stage, big form modeling if you will.  I used ultramarine blue, naples yellow and titanium white for the background.  For the roses I mainly used quinacridone magenta for the initial stages, and for the leaves and vase I used viridian and naples yellow.  I usually don't lay out my colors all at once because I like the keep the paints fresh in every section I work in, I do know with certain colors you are able to get away with that instead of having a dry look towards the end of the painting.

Once the big form modeling was complete I then started to just concentrate on individual sections, I choose the first left roses to paint.  First I stated the darker values with their specific shapes, the colors I used were quinacridone magenta and ultramarine blue for the darker values.  Once the darker shapes were complete I moved on to the lighter shapes and stated their specific forms.  I used titanium white mixed with quinacridone magenta for the highlights and lighter values.  I repeated the same process with the middle set of flowers

As you can see its the same process when stating the lighter values after the darks are complete.  It usually flows nicely when you complete each stage well,  there are at times were you do have to go back and adjust certain things to get the overall value or paint quality right, just depends on how the look of the object your painting.  I repeated the same process with the third set of flowers on the right side of the painting.

Once the flowers are complete I moved onto the vase and stating the middle to darker values, the colors I used for this stage were viridian, and ultramarine blue.  This area is a good lesson in not painting every hair on a dog to get the point across that theirs a lot going on, as long as you paint a representation of the form and whats going then your find getting away with it.  If I was to paint every single strand of stem and leaf then it would start to come out bland.  You have to choose your battle and see what information is important to leave in their when you paint, what will help you'r painting out if you were to leave that out or push it more in order to get the message across.  Remember your the director of this frame you can choose what the viewer see's and feels.

I finished the painting by stating the small stems poking out of the flowers.  I hope you guys enjoyed this one, I know I did and hope to do more in the near future.  Thanks for stopping by and viewing!

Behind Her Back

I saw this old photo and just had to paint it.  I am putting all my own colors into it since it was an old black and white photo.  I can just picture the scene in my mind!  That backless dress is quite the "giggle maker"!!!

I know this isn't done yet, and I usually only publish on here when I am done with a painting, but it has been so long since I have posted anything!  I just got back from a nice long vacation in FL and am now able to get back into painting!  I took a lot of pictures while I was on vacation so I will have plenty of material to choose from!

Only a couple of weeks left now until the Artists of Minnesota Spring Show.  That is always so much fun!  I can hardly wait!  It is in Hutchinson, MN this year.  I encourage all of you to come and see it.  There are so many wonderful artists in the show and it is always a great one to see!  The dates at May 5th and 6th.

"Mixed Tomatoes II" by Jonathan Aller

Click here to bid

"Mixed Tomatoes II"

8 x 10 in 

Oil on Canvas Panel

I wanted to continue the play on colors with these delicious tomatoes, I especially wanted to have an array of colors with an interesting composition.  The textures in their skin is extremely subtle along with their color shifts.  I felt for the most part I was painting mini balloons, never painted balloons before and now have an idea on how to do so.  With this painting I wanted to revisit big form modeling and implore that idea further.  I've stressed in previous posts about the importance of big form modeling and with this posting I'll do the same.  Playing with so many elements at once is challenging but delightful after seeing its completion from start to finish.

You can see the making of this painting on my blog:

http://www.jonaller.blogspot.com

"Mixed Tomatoes" by Jonathan Aller

Click here to bid

"Mixed Tomatoes"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I'm finally back after such a long hiatus, I've been working on larger paintings and also ball point pen drawings.  I've decided to slow down a bit with these alla prima's and concentrate a bit more on my personal art work.  I felt as if these alla prima's started to become my identity as an artist and their sole purpose from the beginning is to just be practice paintings, in which they are.  I'm diving into larger more allegorical paintings, which means they do take longer to produce and I will not be devoting as much time to these alla prima's.  It's hard to not paint these little guys every day but I have to force myself in order to really produce a body of work that truly speaks as to who I am as an artist.  I plan to still produce one or two a week of these alla prima paintings after all I do love painting them and learn so much every time I finish one.  

On a side note I'll be teaching again this week coming up on the 22nd of March figure drawing at the Bloomington Art Center.  You can check out their site here and sign up for my class!

epiphany - contemporary abstract painting by Sue Kemnitz

epiphany - prepainting
Acrylic on textured canvas • 6"x6" • $95
To purchase, click here.

This little gem is a "pre-painting" for a substantially larger painting. Ever receive an idea or strategy that you knew came from a higher authority? Receive it, write it down and run with it! God's on it and in it!
 

Design Studios Inc. • RevivalArtists.com
Contemporary Fine Art International • International Abstract Artists

Click here to visit my blog. Ramblings about my recent trip to Haiti are on it.

Benji - Portrait of a Dog

Benji

6x8 Oil on Linen

©2012 Deb Kirkeeide

This little guy is a commission I recently finished. He's such an adorable little dog.

If you have a special pet you would like a painting of I would love to do this for you. For more information please contact me or go here.

For more paintings please check out my website and blog

Grandma'garden in wc by Patricia Kness

Grandma's Garden by Patricia Kness in watercolor
8x10
I often do watercolor sketches from the oil paintings I am working on at the time. I did this as a demo for my watercolor class.
For sale $50.00
email me kness2pl@mchsi.com
See more of my work on my website www.patriciakness.com

Thank you for viewing my work.

"Senior" by Jonathan Aller

Contact me if interested in purchasing

"Senior"

8 x 6 in 

Ball Point Pen

I've always loved drawing it was my introduction into this crazy art world and always find refuge when I need to escape it all.  I especially love drawing in ball point pen rather than any other medium, there's something about its permanent quality that attracts me and motivates me to fully concentrate with every mark I make.    I saw this picture in a publication a while ago and was immediately drawing to the simplification of tones and beautiful textures in the skin.  Not really into politics to make this drawing a political statement, just wanted to try to render it the best that I can.  Needless to say this is not an alla prima drawing, it took more than a day to complete I actually did not jot down the specifics on how long it took, it did take me a while though.  I hope you enjoyed this one!  

Detail.  

Red Bird by Terry Honstead

This 12 x 12 in. Mixed Media painting is for sale (along with others) at http://www.cfai.co/ ,or you may contact me at: honstead@paulbunyan.net.  Red Bird is all about color and texture and was a lot of fun to paint.

Reflections by Patricia Kness

Reflections

OIL 9x12  $125.00

Painted as a demo for my begonning oil class.

to purchase email me at kness2pl@mchsi.com

to see more of my work: www.patriciakness.com

Flowers Near the Window, landscape, Gardens, Original by Joni Finnegan

About this Painting: Landscape, Gardens, Oil Painting, Joni Finnegan Mn artist
Media: Oil on Artist Panel
Size: 8x10 Price: $300
How to Purchase: Website
or email me finnridge@hotmail.com
rden landscape Oil painting, flowers near the window
The winter sun is flooding my art studio ignoring the outdoor chill of this January day in the midwest. I am surrounded with the results of a month with no distractions. Fresh Paintings are drying in every corner, my journal is filled with new sketches and several canvases are in various stages of painting. I need to order more supplies but just dont want to take time away from this artistic flow. I do know that it's time I started sharing some of my new inspirations. These are all drawn from my reference photos taken thru the years, I have them conveniantly scrolling on my screen, whatever did we do before this world of digital photography. This particular painting is garden inspired, isnt it nice to know eventually warm weather returns?
Brush and pallete knife painted.

"Uvas" by Jonathan Aller

Click here to bid

"Uvas"

6 x 6 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

These grapes were so much fun to paint, I've mentioned before that I love painting textures and these grapes and wooden board delivered.  I tried my best to get a great picture without the grain of the canvas coming through and this is the best I can do.  Normally you cannot see the grains when looking at the painting but the way the natural light was hitting the canvas the camera picked up more than usual.  I also mentioned in other posts that one my idols in painting is Norman Rockwell, I just love all his paintings.  The way he painted light and texture is purely amazing, over the weekend I was studying a lot of his paintings I just can't get enough.  I saw one of his books at this great book store and its huge!  I think I might buy the book the quality and reproductions are great, seeing the paintings with its texture is purely delicious.  I find that bigger the book the better the quality is and one is able to observe in an intimate level.  As you can tell my addiction to books is beyond help, I find they teach us so much if we observe properly to what the artist is communicating. 

Grandma's Pallet by Patricia Kness

Grandma's Pallet oil 36x30 $5600.
I found an old photo left to me by my mother.  On the back it said "Grandma Clemens"
Doing a little research I discovered she was my great grand mother. I felt a connection to her as I painted this.   
For sale
Email me at kness2pl@mchsi.com
to see more of my work: www patriciakness.com

Onions in watercolor by Patricia Kness

Onions in watercolor
5x7 matted unframed $125.00

email:kness2ol@mchsi.com
See more of my work: www.patriciakness.com