Rough and Tumble - Portrait

This Painting is a portrait of three boys who are cousins. The two boys on the sides are four years old and the middle one is two. I really loved the photo of them swinging in the hammock because it captures their innocence and the joy. Hopefully they'll appreciate the painting for the same reasons when they grow up.

Another thing that I loved about this image was the color palette. The oranges in their shirts and the stripes in the hammock are very playful. Although the stripes are bright and bold, the boys outfits are the same and the colors blend with the colors of the stripes allowing the faces to become the focal point. The stripes also lead the eye from one face to the next and add to the sense of movement.

This was my first session working on the painting. I focused on covering the canvas as much as possible and also tried to work on building up the values. The challenges I found were that brightest flesh tones in the photograph look white, so I will have to change and make color compensations for that in the painting. It will take a few sessions to get the values properly. Another challenge is the darkness of their hair and eyes. It's hard to see the highlights in their eyes and the colors of their hair.
 
I'll continue posting photos of the painting to show the progress as I work on it and explain the challenges as I encounter them in the process. 

Pets.....gotta love'em

"Sadie" | 6" x 6" | Acrylic on Canvas | Private Collection

This is my latest pet portrait commission. It was an anniversary gift from a really thoughtful man to his wife. Sadie is a Lop Eared Rabbit who has been a beloved pet of theirs for all of her six years of life. What a lovable little face. She was an incredibly fun subject to paint. It just shows how much we love our little animals who make us laugh and love us no matter what life brings to the day. There is nothing like that kind of unconditional love.  We're as lucky to have them as they are to have us.

This is another example of my small 6" square "Head Shot" pet portraits. They come framed in a choice of finishes in floater frames. These frames give the illusion that the canvas is floating inside the frame. It's a nice clean way to display the portraits. The sides of the canvas and frame are 1 1/2" deep so that they can sit on a shelf or table or hung on the wall.

In November I will be teaching a class at the ArcWorks Community Art Center on Foster Street in Peabody. It will be a class for children running for about four sessions. I'll be teaching them them how to create pet portraits from photographs. If you know any children who may be interested, check the ArcWorks website or contact me for more information. I will write up more information on it as soon as it's available.

A Portrait using Multiple Photographs

"The Wildflower Trail" | Acrylic On Canvas | 40" x 30"

   This is my latest portrait commission. The subjects of the piece are two sisters. The setting is Baxter State Park where the girls love to go with their mom. The composition was created using multiple photographs taken at the park. 

   The mom and I worked together to create the composition. She wanted the girls walking through the field of flowers, but didn't have the exact pose in any of the photographs that she took. After looking through several different photos, we picked several that I could work with to come up with the layout of the painting. By combining them digitally on the computer I was able to create the composition for the piece that became my reference for the painting.

   Below are the images that I used. The heads were taken from the top photograph. The smaller girls 

body was taken from the second photo with her walking through the field. The older sister's body was taken from the second photo on the right. The bottom photo was used for the background and road.

 

June 2011

"Work In Progress"

Work In Progress seems to be the theme of the month for me. Not only was it this month's group exhibit at the Salem Art's Association Gallery, but it really describes what I would like to do with this blog. Not only do I want to use the blog to post my latest activities, but I'd like to use it as a forum that shows some of my paintings as "Works In Progress". I've been inspired by a lot of artist's blogs where they post their daily paintings. It's such a great way

to keep experimenting experimenting with different painting techniques and the perfect  to broaden my horizons and further develop my painting skills.

My first attempts at this have been with a new series of paintings on clayboard. I'm starting with a small 4" x 4" acrylic painting on clayboard. The sample below is of a zinnia that I'm going to mount on a 10" x 10" board that I've painted using techniques described below.

The colors, style and types of effects used on each piece will vary. The background boards will coordinate with the painting that is to be mounted on it making each piece a one of a kind original.

Here is a step by step process for the Fuschia Zinnia painting......

After painting the 4" x 4" clayboard with the zinnia, I trimmed it with bronze metallic paint.

I experimented with a crackle background on the small piece of wood to be sure the colors and effects I wanted to use on the background board.

I decided to apply a relief effect using modeling paste that is applied through a stencil with

a pallette knife to add a little dimension to the piece.

Once the paste dried, the board was painted with a dark shades of blues and purples. Then it was coated with crackle medium. I used a hair dryer to speed up the drying process.

Then the topcoat of a soft muted yellow/green color was applied in acrylic paint and the crackle finish appeared showing the multicolored undercoat of paint. The sides and edges of the board were painted with a bronze metallic acrylic paint to give it a finished look.

 

The final steps were trimming the paisley swashes in the bronze metallic paint and glueing the 4" x 4" acrylic painting of the fuschia zinnia in the center.

Marblehead Arts Walk

Join me at the 

Marblehead Toy Store

on May 13th thru the 15th during the

4th Annual Marblehead Arts Walk.

presented by the Marblehead Chamber of Commerce and Marblehead Arts Association

"Girls at Gooches Beach"  |  36" x 18"  |  Acrylic on Canvas

 on Friday night May 13th from 5pm until 7pm

The store will host an opening reception to kick off the Arts Walk Weekend.

on Saturday from 10:30am until 4:30pm 

and Sunday from 12pm until 3:00pm 

 I will be in the store

painting a new pet portrait!

My work will be on display
and for sale at the shop during the event.

I'll be showing sample pet portraits along with children's photo collages
that are printed on canvas as well as original paintings.

First Birthday Photo Collage  | 14" x 11" | Printed on Archival Canvas with Archival Inks

Spend the day visiting local Marblehead artist's studios,

participating shops and Bed and Breakfasts throughout Marblehead who are hosting local artists and see other artist's painting en plein air around the town.

For more information and a printable map
of participating artists and businesses visit

http://marbleheadchamber.org/marbleheadartwalk45.html

Theater brings art to life! 

"Sisters by the Sea" | 30" x 40" | Acrylic on canvas

My portraits and photo collages
will be on display in the lobby of  

THE SALEM THEATER COMPANY
at 90 Lafayette Street in Salem, MA
from May 12th thru June 4th
while the theater company is performing the play  

Painting Churches

Written by Tina Howe

Directed by Janet Neely

Set on Beacon Hill, retired and famed poet Gardner Church and his wife Fanny are
preparing to move permanently to their summer cottage on Cape Cod.  Gardner slips in
and out of senility, as Fanny valiantly tries to keep them both afloat.  Their daughter,
Mags – a painter on the verge of artistic celebrity – has come home to help them with the move and, she hopes, to paint her parents’ portrait, to come to terms with them
and they with her.

Featuring: 

Hazel Grenham, Brian Casey and Katie Donovan

Thursday - Saturday

7:30 p.m.

Sunday

5:00 p.m

for more information and to purchase tickets visit
http://salemtheatre.com/on_stage.htm

Portrait of my parents in progress.

This is a preview of a portrait of my parents that I am
currently working on. The final piece will be on display
at the Salem Theater Company event in May.

Family Heritage Photo Collage | 24" x 18" | Printed on Archival Canvas with Archival Inks

You can view more collages at

www.heirloomphotocollages.com

"On Crumb Patrol" Portrait of Greeley the Bulldog

What I loved about this image to begin with aside from the absolutely adorable wrinkled face of Greeley was the angle that the photo was taken.  Because the shot was taken down on the floor at Greeley’s level, the viewer is brought right into his world. He has a slight look of guilt on his face as if he’s pretending to be completely innocent of wrong doing. That along with the knowledge that most dogs live for food, gave me the inspiration for the title and the desire to take this on as a pet portrait.

This photo of Greeley that was used as the reference for the painted portrait.

 The natural wood tones from the table along with terra cotta and olive colors in the tiles and wall blend nicely with the dogs coloring. I could see beautiful color combinations of oranges, blues, olives and purples throughout and that enticed me. The floor tiles and legs of the table create nice angles and lines leading your eye right to the subject. All of those factors combined with the geometric shapes of this adorable wrinkly bulldog convinced me that this would be a strong enough composition to make a successful painting.

"On Crumb Patrol"  |  Acrylic on Canvas  |  16" x 12"  |  Bulldog

I heard an inspirational quote today that really struck a chord in me. I was reminded that disappointment and discouragement don't mean that you've reached the end of the road. It's just a good time to refocus and review where you're going and which path you're taking to get there. 

 

 

  When no one else seems to have faith in you or even worse, when you start loosing faith in yourself,  try to look at things in a different way and don't quit. There is something to be said for being stubborn. When it's channeled in the right direction it can become a positive attribute like perserverance.

New Day.....New Blog!

HAPPY SPRING!

As they say, it's a time for rebirth and new beginnings.

It seemed like the perfect time to make a commitment to start a new blog.

Being cooped up inside for this incredibly long winter, gave me plenty of time

to ponder the direction of my art business. After two full years of hard work,

experimentation, financial and social sacrifice, I've finally realized that of

all my creative dreams and endeavors, the one thing that I can't give up is

 PAINTING! 

In celebration of that 

I will dedicate by new blog to that topic.

Here is an idea of what you will find on my blog.

• Photos and descriptions of my latest projects
• Videos or step my step instructions on techniques
• Writing on topics about painting such as Inspiration, composition, etc.
• Experiments with new painting techniques

In 2011

I plan to focus mainly on portraits of all kinds and small scale paintings that are

more affordable to the average consumer. I'll be selling my work mostly at festivals,
juried art shows, at local businesses that display and sell artist's work and online as well.
My schedule and information on all events will be posted here on my blog.

My Latest Pet Portrait

I was inspired to paint this portrait because of the dramatic light on Luke's face and along his back.
The reflection in the water grounds the piece while the vibrant colors and strong contrast
created by the late afternoon sun help define the composition.  I hoped to illustrate
the slow paced relaxed feeling that Luke was conveying to me
as he cooled off in the water.

"Chilling Out" | Acrylic on Canvas | 16" x 16" | American Cocker Spaniel


You can view more Pet Portraits at www.jancondon.com

This is the photograph that was used as a reference for "Chilling Out"