Daily Sketch by California Artist

Swept off her feet :) 

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Making A Quality Oil Painting

This is my basic process for making a quality oil painting.

I try to incorporate this sentence into my art:

Make my art tell a story, fill it with drama, never be literal and at the end just make it work.

1. Nice large gallery wrap canvas (at least 16×20 inches) Canvases
2. Professional Oil Paints 
3. Quality Brushes (bristles don’t fall off of good brushes as much as the cheap ones) Brushes
4. Old Clean Rag
5. Odorless acetone (trust me this is a must if working inside)
6. pick a subject (photograph, plain air, straight from your head)
7. look to have good balance on the composition
8. the balance continues as you pick colors for your piece
9. the balance continues as you pick the brush strokes
10. the balance continues as you add details and accents to make the viewer move around the painting

Armandoartist is an affiliate of Dick Blick Art Materials a small commission is made on any sale to help pay for this website.

Plein Air Painting in Palos Verdes

I hiked over to the Palos Verdes trails next to the Donald Trump Golf Course and began my very first Plein air painting experience. I got down to the shore and started right away. I had about 2 hours of sunlight and needed every minute of it.

 

Here is where I got set-up.

 

So with my oil paints and turpentine I began since I was fighting the sunset.

I started with a little bit of paint to kinda draw out where things were at in the space.

Here is more progress.

So I really wanted to capture the open sky and then i focused on truly representing the water vs land dynamic I witnessed.

I was going pretty fast to really capture the moment. keep in mind i had never done any painting outdoor so it was weird to have to give up some of the controls that come with being indoors.

So the above image is how far I got in the hour or so I was there.

Below is the painting back in my studio(living room) I almost considered leaving it as is to truly represent that experience of plein air painting, but i didn’t i still felt i could get more out of it. well instead of going back to the location I began working more layers of paint into it the following day.

Next day progress.

I added some details with the palette knife.

and more close ups

I took these images at night, better images are below.

Some yellowing on these images but not on the painting.

TADA! Done!

It was a great experience and I will be going back again for sure. If you like this painting and are interested in purchasing please visit my website to purchase.

 

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Dad dies of lung cancer

Drawing I made back in 2008.

Available through eBay Auction
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Koi Fishes Pond Vibrant Colorful

I always wanted to paint Koi fish because of the beautiful colors. I like to paint with bright paints and this just fit my taste. I made each fish have its own personality and a unique perspective. Fishes are living creatures that I tried to respect their essence and really capture their souls.
Title: Koi Tumble

Signed: Yes & Comes with Certificate of Authenticity

Size: 20 inches tall by 16 inches wide

Material: Oil on Stretched Canvas