I got some new black paint. I don't use black paint very much. Here is an image of a rough idea sketch for a small acrylic painting using more of the black paint for a change of pace.
Digital painting idea created with Infinite Painter at 3000 x 3000 px on my Galaxy Tab S7 tablet.
Here is the finished acrylic painting.
Acrylic on cradled wood panel, 10 x 10 inches (25.4 x 25.4 cm), November 2021
At least that is what I thought. I had been working on a digital painting in Infinite Painter and when I came back to it a few days later I discovered when I opened the project that all the layers were blank. No color just a white canvas. The only existence of the work I had done was in the preview in the project library. I thought I was going to have to start over. There must be a workaround.
That workaround to get my lost work back was to take a screen shot of the preview, crop it using Snapseed, then import it back into the original project as a layer. So all is not totally lost and I’m back in business.
The screen shot of the project preview before cropping.
The project after the cropped screen shot was imported and worked on.
I wanted to try a different technique to create the Rock. I cut smaller shapes from the larger Rock shape then I painted the reverse side of a piece and quickly laid the piece on the surface and lightly tapped it down then pulled it off before it could dry. I added more paint to the pulled off piece and laid it back down. This gave me a mottled and uneven texture. The paint is a blend of gray blue, white, and a little black acrylic paint.
To see the finished painting click here to go to the recent works page.
A series of photos of a recent Morro Rock painting in process. I usually get so caught up in the work that I don't remember to stop and take pictures to record the progress of working on a piece. Here is the closest I've gotten to a complete photographic record.
I use acrylic paint. For masking I use cut paper stencils and FROGTAPE. I use old plastic cards to spread and scrape paint with the occasional use of a small brush. And I use sanding blocks to smooth the surface of paint applications when they are dry.
First I laid down two rough color fields. I used a piece of paper cut to the shape of Morro Rock as a paint barrier. I used a plastic card to scrape and spread the paint.
Using the reverse or negative piece of the cut paper stencil I laid down a rough field of blue.
On top of the lighter blue green I laid down a dark teal color allowing some of the color underneath show through scratches.
I put some white paint over part of the right side of the painting and some dark blue under the rock shape. After every application of paint I use an old sanding block to smooth the paint and get it ready for the next application of paint.
And now for some blue sky color.
I added some pink and light blue green to the day side of the Rock and water and a little purple on the night side.
A little brown under the purple and some red magenta, teal, yellow, and some neutral colors on the sky blue.
The finished painting with a little purple on the day side of the Rock and signed at the lower right. I used some letter and numbers dies to stamp my initials and year. Then I spread a little paint into the stamp indentations and wipe off the excess on the surface with a wet piece of tissue.
Another Coast Hills work where I'm using some different textures, color blocks and abstract shapes.
I set out to make the second one more abstract but succeed quite like I intended. Nevertheless I'm pleased with the results.
The first version even though the colors are still more abstract.
A slightly more stylized second version with more painterly texture. I didn’t succeed at making this one as abstract as I intended it to be. However I like the textures.
I decided to try a different subject instead of my usual coastal theme. I happened upon an interesting fire hydrant not far from where I live on my home a few months ago and decided to use it in a digital work. The birds were not in the original image I took with my trusty OnePlus phone camera. The birds are from another image I took on a visit to Cayucos so I did use something from the coast.
Big Yeller with a blue bowler, 3000 x 3000 px, Infinite Painter on a Galaxy S7 tablet.
I think this is my first digital drawing. It was created on my first Galaxy tablet. I used the Sketchbook Pro for Android app. The scene is a view across the street from my doctor office. I was waiting for an appointment to start and decided to do something creative while waiting.
Here is how I make a Cayucos Lattice piece. It starts out digitally on a Galaxy tablet as a sketch. The sketch is opened in Inkscape to be drawn as an outline filled with black. After the drawing is completed it is saved as either an svg or dxf file to send to the laser cutter. I have used Custom Laser Specialty and Critical Laser in Lindon Utah and am currently looking for another outfit closer to home in the Salt Lake City area.
The ideas sketch was created with Infinite Painter on a Galaxy tablet.
The image was then brought into Inkscape where it was placed in the background and an outline drawing was traced over the drawing. I use the pen tool in Inkscape to draw the outline.
Here is the final outline with a black fill so I can see what the final design looks like. I then converted the svg file to a dxf file to send to a laser cutter establishment to cut from .5 inch plywood. This one was sent to Critical Laser in Lindon Utah where it was cut on a large industrial laser. Some of the larger pieces I had cut were out of a 4x8 foot sheet of .75 inch plywood which Critical Laser could easily handle.
The cut plywood being worked on using acrylic paint. The paint was brushed on and scraped and spread with old plastic cards.
The finished piece with hanging gear attached on the back.
In an attempt to break out of an artistic slump I’ve gotten myself into I tried creating a flash cut paper project today. The idea was to quickly put together a piece as fast as I could while trying not to think to deeply about the outcome. I started off with a basic idea from a photo I have hanging on the wall above my work table. I quickly gathered acrylic painted papers in various colors then I cut them quickly into shapes using knife and scissors. I used YES paste to glue the pieces down on top of a light blue base field. Here is the result.
Cut acrylic painted paper pasted on heavy paper with YES Paste. 5 x 5 inches (12.7 x 12.7 cm).
I have been avoiding pictures with straight lines such as buildings and houses so I thought it was time to try making a picture with the Cayucos pier in it. I’m not sure this one works so well but at least I gave it a go. Here is the result so far.
This digital painting is based on a photo I took one misty morning. It is 3000 x 3000 pixels created with Infinite Painter on a Galaxy S7 tablet.
I was recently looking at some pictures I have taken over the years of Morro Rock in Morro Bay, California and after reading a couple of books about Morro Bay I decided it was time to do a painting of the rock and bay. Here is a sneak peek at how it’s going so far. There is still lots to do with the foreground under the rock and a little bit more to do with the rock itself.
I’m using paints with matte/flat and satin finishes. I have been using paint with matte/flat finish for years now and Behr has discontinued their sample container of said paint. They are now only producing sample with satin finish. I was rather disappointed when I found out but now that I have been working with it I think I’m starting to like it more and more.
Morro Rock at Morro Bay, 12 x 9 inches, Behr paints with matte/flat and satin finishes. I am using stencils to create the rock.
The finished painting.
I recently created some more postcards showing various works to send to people. The motivation for creating these card is partly self promotion and partly just for fun. Who doesn’t like to get something in the post that isn’t a bill or an ad for a company.
I use “Copy That” a copy shop located in American Fork, Utah to laser print the cards on card stock.
6 x 4 inch post cards color laser copied on card stock by “Copy That” in American Fork. The reverse side of each card is printed with a return address, stamp box, and address and message divider line.
This time I decided to use Behr straight Deep Base as a glue since it dries transparent.
Acrylic painted newspaper glued to blotter paper with acrylic medium and YES Paste.
I’ve started working with newspaper that has been painted with Behr interior/exterior paint which I then use to cut shapes out of. I glue the pieces of cut paper to a paper support using YES Paste and acrylic paint. I actually started moving in this direction in December 2020 and finished the first work the last day of 2020.
A stack of newspaper that has been painted with Behr Interior/Exterior paint. I used an old plastic gift card to spread the paint.
A piece of painted newspaper pasted to a piece of stiff Alexis Bristol paper. This will be the background of a piece shown in the following image. “YES Paste” was applied to the back of the color paper using a plastic gift card to get a smooth coating.
A nearly finished piece waiting for a title.
A bit more work to do on current work in progress that is almost finished. I have been using wax paper to lay down on the freshly pasted shapes and then use a brayer to press the pieces flat.
I’m working on “2 fer 1 No. 3” and here are some progress pictures. The pieces of tissue paper are drying before being glued to the panel.
Sections of painted tissue paper waiting to dry.
The panel has been marked and is ready for the painted tissue paper pieces to be glued to it.
I finished my first 2 fer 1 work this evening. It is meant to be displayed on a flat surface so each side can be viewed. For example it could even be displayed on a desk, shelf or fireplace mantle and flipped around now and then to change the view to add variety to an atmosphere.
One side is an abstract tissue paper painting created with pieces of acrylic painted tissue paper glued to MDF panel then gloss varnished. The flip side is an assemblage created with wood, acrylic paint, plaster and part of a twig. It is signed and dated on the bottom and initialed and dated on one of the sides using metal letter punches.
Tissue paper painting side.
Assemblage side with title.
I started working on some small “two for one” painting/assemblage pieces. One side is a painting and the other side is an assemblage. The painting side of this first one is finished and I will build the scene for the assemblage side when I figure out what to do. These are not hung but are intended to be displayed on a counter or desk or other flat surface so both sides can be viewed.
The painting side.
The assemblage side. Where a scene will be assembled.
I'm getting ready to start another tissue paper painting so I pulled all the scraps of painted tissue paper out to see what colors are already available. Most of these pieces will work well for the small paintings I have in mind to do.
Scraps of colors I have on hand.
This one started out with this design and then I changed it to another design which I decided I didn’t like so I went with this original design by painting over what I had done.
Currently not signed.