24th of July parade mural

My thanks to the Parker 1st ward and a special thanks to the Frisby family for inviting me to do this mural. It was a good thing for me. It turned out awesome as you can see. Enjoy everyone!

24th of July Parade Float

Forgive me for not posting very often. Difficulties in life have been extreme...but here is some good news that is positive!

Today was the 24th of July Parade. I had the privileged of  working on a float this year! It was really fun and it made first place too!!! The part I worked on was a replica 10"x7" section of the Vietnam Wall Memorial that was built. It rotated around with a flag on the other side. On the other end was the Ellis Island base with the Statue of Liberty atop it. Between the two were costumed immigrants waving to the crowd. I dont' have photos unfortunately, but when I get some I will post them. The concept was to have soldiers painted on the wall from WWI, WWII, Vietnam, and The Iraq War. There were 70 names roughly of soldiers from Fremont County that had given their lives in those 4 wars that were placed on the bottom where I made the soldiers fade down into black.

We looked at a painting from Lee Teter for inspiration. In that painting there is a man standing in front of the Vietnam memorial with soldiers looking back through it at him. It is a very touching image. For our project we placed the names of all the soldiers from Fremont County who had given their lives in those 4 wars. I painted the 4 soldiers standing there. No one was there to stand on the float like in Lee Teters painting, but we figured with it rotating, it would make someone sick. Anyway, I painted them in basic black and white kind of like they were fading in. Then I painted the Irag War soldier with his face and hands in color almost as a symbol that the war is still alive and going. Not sure if that was what anyone else thought, but who knows.

All in all, I enjoyed painting it. I was nervous because I was using acrylic and I haven't painted with acrylic in a while. I used a simple dry-brushing technique and it really pulled together when you stood back from it. Everyone loved it. I didn't make it to the parade, but I heard that it got a real applause. :) which makes me happy. They want to work out a way to donate it to the Veterans hall there in Fremont county. But otherwise, there is a possibility it will be in another parade this year.....updates on that later.

Again, sorry I didn't have a photo. I'll get one soon. The extreme life changes have taken their toll on heart and mind. Happy 24th of July Pioneers! May we all remember our forefathers, our kindred who fought for us, and the value of our freedoms!

Commission Finished

Last year my fathers boss was willing to give me a commission to paint a portrait of his wife. I really struggled getting the right information from his boss since he is on the move a lot. :) I myself ended up being pretty worked up about it, and caused myself undo stress about it. It was such a relief to finally complete this painting. Not only for his boss, but for my father....and for his integrity. Dad was the one who asked his boss I think, so, my only regret is that I didn't finish painting it until after dad passed away. I know he pleased and contented that I finished the painting. And his boss liked it very much. Anyway, here is posted the oil painting I did on 16x20 canvas. It took roughly 26-30 hours to paint, and about 8-10 hours to merge elements of photos, digitally paint, and combine a composition that was acceptable as reference to paint from.

My thanks to my fathers boss,

And my thanks and relief to my dad...I kept my word and finished.

Enjoy everyone!

Dad is finally painted. This one is for Charlan. Oil on 12x16 board canvas. 16-20 hours. Yes it took longer than I expected, but hey, it's my dad. The one thing that was most difficult was that his unfinished image was staring back at me for a few months. :) It is good to have it completed. The first attempt at his face was disastrous. I had the tones of his face too pale....and that needed to be fixed. So, without further ado, here is the painting.

Love you dad.

Here is an update. Just another sketch. My little Shannon and I were doodling in church...yes doodling, and my scribble brought these results after I spent some time looking at it. I finished it that night. It was fun.
The latest update for also involves reinventing my business and my business sense. I have two friends rooting for me. This has also happened during a somewhat difficult time after my father passed away. It was a very sacred time in life when family came together and life moved out of the way....and after that is when I realized how much of life I was missing, or how too much of life was fighting for my attention. I have been working on choosing between "good, better, and best" as much as I can. I have appreciated the support and help from friends and family after my fathers passing, as well as with my business decisions and direction. Artists struggle on many fronts. I don't even think of myself as the typical artist...but artists are as varied as any other people. School is on the edge as well....and I hope to pull it from drowning waters at the same time as my business. I am currently finishing a portrait of my father as well. I may or may not post it here after I finish it. That is up to my sister Charlan who I am painting it for. I will however post this image that me and my son Taylor did that next Sunday in church. We love you Grandpa.

Module 6

By now you all should know that I am in school again. My masters degree is in illustration as it was for my bachelors degree. I am currently in a painting class called 'situation and environment'. Which is a great class. This post is for the 6th module or assignment. I have been about 2 weeks late as of the last two weeks. Getting the loan money it, paying bills that were 3 months due in some cases, and signing a new 3 month lease (EXPENSIVE) and otherwise expanding my office to accommodate more of a studio capability. That means expanding so it fits more than just my computer work. Plus I really like having floor space to breathe in. Anyway, here is the assignment which emphasized fabric and fur. Enjoy, later.

Lemons

So, here is an old Lemon I painted back in 2004. I learned in this assignment that what we paint is its own color as well as the color of what is around it. In this case, the Lemon is also orange and blue, or 'yellow-orange' and 'green' you could say. It was a fascinating study for me. Enjoy.

(P.S., this lemon was a plaster sculpture painted pure yellow...so real lemons would have even more nuances of color to handle. But this was simplified)

Finished Late

Well, this one is finished, but I didn't get it finalized until 4 hours after the deadline.....which is still sad honestly. However, I feel really good about this one. The professor commented about the left calf being off, but otherwise I got a B+ after being late. Not bad. But I love fabrics like this. The assignment reminds me of artists painting snow or even lemons. Most people think of a white sheet as being just white and black, or of a lemon  being yellow and black. The truth is, that sure white is used for the sheet, but I didn't use any black at all, only reds, browns, blues, greens, and yellows. Snow is the same. A lemon on the other hand...well, I'll post the lemon after this, and you can look and see for yourself if a lemon is just yellow....or also many colors. :D Enjoy everyone. Later.

late and unfinished is sad

So, this is the example of what happens when I don't get my homework done on time. a good start, but lots of correction needed and a finish obviously.

And here we have the latest homework assignment for my masters program finished. Wait, I forgot the Signature!!! Yeah, I'll be getting that on there soon :D 12x16 canvas. Enjoy