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Brothers In Arms - A Family Thing

This is a painting of a father and his 3 sons, all in the military, at different times in their lives. The oldest son, on the right, died young in action. The father, third from right, was painted from a blown up 1 1/2"x 1" slightly blurry, black and white photo. The painting was a composite of different photos of the men and the military equipment that each used. I changed the lighting of 3 of the people in order to give the painting a more cohesive look with the light all coming from one direction onto the people and equipment. I put the flag enveloping the men to stress the patriotism and sacrifices the family has made for our country. This is a 22"x28" oil painting.

MORE FAMILY HEIRLOOM OIL PAINTINGS ARE ON THE WAY SOON!

It's really important these days, with families moving across the country to be where the jobs are and relatives spreading across the entire map, not only keep your family history alive, but to pass it on to future generations so the stories will remain strong long after we're gone. Stories are awesome, but, stories with pictures are so much better and a picture is worth a thousand words, so what better way to pass on a piece of your history than to do it with a quality work of art?
Right now I'm working on 2 more heirloom paintings and will share the results with you as soon they're completed and the customer gives their ok.

LATEST FAMILY HEIRLOOM PAINTING

This is my latest commissioned "family history" portrait painting. This oil painting is of the customer herself,in the foreground, years ago. Behind her on the left is her deceased husband in uniform is saluting a half mast flag in honor of a family member who had passed on. On the right are her parents in their wedding dress standing in front of a 1947 Fleetwood, Chev. In the Center, behind this beautiful woman,is a glimpse of her old family home, the water collection tank they had way back then, a field of the cotton that they used to pick, and their old Farmall tractor. Now, I'm working on another commission of a family bringing a load of cotton into a one of Geronimo's old gins.

COSTS OF CREATING A PAINTING

Several days ago a woman was telling me and another person that she'd had a show at a local hangout and sold quite a bit of her art (photography). I was surprised because art doesn't normally sell well in our town - unless it's marked down to $20 or less. This woman suggested that if I had a show there, marked my paintings $20. each, then I'd probably sell between 6 to 10 pieces and come home with $120 - $200 for the show - like that was a good thing! I had to hold my jaw to keep it from dropping to the floor. I put in a good 8 hours or more on each little 8"x10" painting - and even more time depending on subject and details. The cheapest canvas you can get is about $3. You have to prime your canvas - that's about $21. for 2 qts. Each tiny 1.25 fl, oz. tube of paint ranges anywhere from $6. and on up per tube. Then there's brushes and the more you pay for one the better and easier your work goes, but say you got a $6. cheap kids pack. Of course you need either Gamsol or medium if you're working on oils to thin out or layer your paint. That's $7. to $15.per small bottle. Then there's mineral spirits to thin your paint or rinse your brushes ($21.) and brush cleaner ($12.) to get out the tough stuff. If you're putting on a frame you'll pay about $15. at half price at Hobby Lobby and LOTS more at frame places, unless you go for a photo frame and then people look at your work like it's "cute". To make a living at painting you have to factor in marketing, office supplies, the fuel it took to get your materials, the electric for your lights and heat, etc. What about all the education that it takes to get to the point where you can sell your work? Now,minimum wage is $7.25 an hour - that not accounting for the years you've studied art(your promotions), but just straight out of the "box". Looking only at labor: $7.25 x 8 hours = $56. and none of the materials costs have not been factored in yet. Can you see why an original 8"x10" oil (or acrylic or watercolor, etc) painting should never be sold that low? An artist ruins the value of their work by pricing it too low and it's very, very hard to get it up to where it should be when you've underpriced your work. Hence the term "starving artist". I have to say that all last Summer I advertised 8"x10" single portraits of pets or people for only $40. Why did I do that? It was a promotional device to get people to notice and buy. There was a problem with that. The price was so low, that people didn't think they'd be getting quality work. Let's remember to factor in all the expenses and time invested before sticking a price on our work.

COMPLETED- Little church E. of Seguin, Tx.

Ok, this is the completed painting that was started on-location a couple of weeks ago. Do you know the area?

PLEIN AIR PAINTING

An artist friend of mine and I have been talking about going plein air painting (that's painting outside on the site) since last Fall. Well, Monday we did it. We arrived at the chosen spot about 9:am and painted until 1:30, went to lunch, then got to our 2nd site at about 2:45 and painted until a little after 6:pm. I had attempted plein air painting twice before but couldn't stand the heat or the bugs and hung it up after about an hour. This time it was fun! Probably had something to do with having a buddy to talk to while painting. Somehow you don't notice the bugs or the heat nearly as much as when you're out painting alone. My blond haired "California girl", friend faired pretty well, but I ended up rather crispy (b in a few places. Note to self" Take sun block and a hat next time!!! It was a great day and I came home so inspired with painting outdoors that the next day I talked my mom into driving up the road a little way from our house, where there's 2 huge, beautiful, oak trees with a field of gold flowers behind them, and the two of us painted. It was great! Painting outside straight from nature is supposed to help you make better color choices and help you learn to paint better and I think that's true. My first painting Monday morning turned out looking like a pastel - without my realizing what I'd done. I stepped back and took a look at my friend's artwork and it looked like it came straight out of the field that we were painting - her colors were so true. Of course I had to sit back down and start adjusting my colors to the reality of what we were looking at, but the difference of what I had thought I'd painted and what I really did was pretty amazing. That was a lesson in painting from life right there. Posted today is the 2nd painting from Monday (that's right, I'm not showing the first one) with a little over 3 hours into it. It still needs to be finished up- more details such as the leaves on the trees in front of the church, etc., but this is what it looks like at this point.

A PORTRAIT IN HISTORY

About a month ago a gentleman commissioned a portrait from me. He had black and white photos of his parents and wanted them painted in color, using his own skin tones and the variations in the black and white photos as the basis and wanted his father wearing his military hat- which he was not wearing in the photo. The gentleman also wanted to show that his family came from Mexico, but had moved to the U.S. and that a direct decendant of his had fought at the Alamo and wanted the date on the flag waving over the Alamo. It was tricky getting all of that onto the painting without having too much. All the portraits that I've painted up until now have been in acrylic paints. This was my first oil portrait and I have to say that the wait time between the layers of oil paint just about drove me crazy. Ok, so, here are the black and white photos and also the finished painting - that was delivered last week. What do you think?

SPRING AND DEATH

Spring has sprung here in beautiful Texas once again! It's warm breeze is blowing outside, the sap is flowing, and flowers are bursting up everywhere, but this week has been a sad one. A young friend of my grandson passed away from a freak accident and his death has affected our entire community as though sandpaper has been scratched across our hearts. My grandson, and many other kids, can't believe that their friend is really gone. They are shocked that such a tragic accident could even happen to someone they know and we adults are reminded once again how fragile life is. Please pray for the family of this young boy.