Seaside Fantasy (Video Replay)

I recently posted a digital drawing that I made on my iPad with the Procreate app. I decided to see if I could make the drawing  using Procreate's texture pens.  As you draw, the program captures a stroke-by-stroke video, and I here it is.

Dad in Uniform (Rescued Photo)

Memorial Day is to honor those who died in the war, so let me say at once that my father DID return from World War II. But I am posting this today to honor those who weren't as fortunate.  This among my father's photos, sent to me a few years ago by my cousin Rori. The photo was well worn, so I did a little retouching and digital editing in Painter.  The photographer was  J. Raoul Turner, who apparently took all the important photos until my uncle Ike Fitterman (dba Jay Phillips Studio) moved to Pueblo.  I love the 1940's embellishment on the cardboard frame. My parents met in Pueblo, Colorado, where my father was stationed.  They married shortly before he left to go overseas to do his bit against the Nazis.  The signature on this photo says, "To Ruth, With love, Hy".    When I saw this, I thought about all the signed pictures my parents exchanged before my Dad left. This brought to mind a quotation that I mentioned a few years ago on Memorial Day.  Here is the quotation by Ronald Reagan, cited by Al Franken : "They gave up two lives. The one they were living and the one they would have lived. When they died, they gave up their chance to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers. . .".  Looking at this signed photo makes me think that my father was very aware of everything he was risking as left for Europe.  Unlike many others, he did return, and as I said a few years ago, "My own life, my own family, resulted from that fact."   I am also grateful for the efforts of those who fought in World War II, many of whom did not make it back.  

Seaside Fantasy (Digital Drawing on Procreate)

Life has been very busy lately!  I have a big art project that I will be starting soon, but meanwhile, I have been doing some quick drawings on my iPad, working from my imagination.  I have been using Procreate for several years, but seeing  Procreate videos on Instagram has convinced me to try to learn more.  Here I decided to do the entire drawing using different texture brushes to make the clouds, ocean, and foliage.  Procreate captures a video replay as you draw, and I plan to post that soon.

Russell Orchards (Pink Fantasy), Oil Bar Painting as of May 11, 2022

Here is my oil bar painting as it looked on May 11, 2022.  I added detail and contrast, and rechecked  all the horizontal lines to make sure they were behaving.  I made a lot of small changes, but finally it was time to take a photo so I could submit this painting to a local art show here in Beverly.  (May 11th was the submission deadline.)  To be continued. . . .

Russell Orchards (Pink Fantasy), Oil Bar Painting as of May 10, 2022

Here is my latest painting as it looked on May 10.  My focus that day was getting all the horizontal lines to behave. I also worked on the stone walls and the water.  To be continued. . .

Russell Orchards (Pink Fantasy), Oil Bar Painting as of May 9, 2022

Here is my oil bar painting as it looked on May 9, 2022.  Most of my work that day was on the pink flowers around the pond.  I turned the canvas and my photo reference upside-down, and worked on the shapes of the flowers. That helped (almost always does).  I also worked on the stone wall and the pond.  Still struggling with a stubborn horizontal line that won't behave, though.  To be continued. . .

Russell Orchards (Pink Fantasy), Oil Bar Painting as of May 7, 2022

Here is the painting I have been working on. What is new here: I added definition to the trees and shrubs, especially on the left part of the canvas.  Using my photo reference, I started working on the pink and green shapes in the foreground.  That one pesky horizontal line is still a problem.  To be continued. . . 

Russell Orchards (Pink Fantasy), Oil Bar Painting as of May 6, 2022

Here is the oil bar painting I have been working on, as it looked on May 6, 2022.  I added color to the sky and the pond. I also worked on refining some of the shapes and lines.

Russell Orchards (Pink Fantasy), Oil Bar Painting as of May 5, 2022

Here is the painting I have been working on, as it looked on May 5th at the end of the day.  This is based on a photo that I took back in 2005 of the pond at Russell Orchards in Ipswich.  (My photo reference was posted here recently.) This is oil bar on canvas, 20 x 20 inches. You may notice I was having trouble getting that stone wall next to the pond to hold still and behave itself. The struggle continued for a some time. . . .

"Rio Rita, Brazilian Bacalhau", now in Marblehead

This morning, I drove to Marblehead, MA, to deliver my codfish project, "Rio Rita, Brazilian Bacalhau", for the Codfish Auction to benefit Marblehead Festival of Art.  Rita will have her picture taken and will be posted on the auction website in a week or two. (You can bid from anywhere.)  I will let you know when the auction goes online.  I hope Rio Rita will find a good home.

Mothers' Day Bouquet 2022 (with Prisma filter)

Mothers Day Bouquet 2022 (Edited photo)

On Friday, I received an early Mothers Day bouquet.  I took pictures right away to share with family.  Later, I had time to edit the photo, mainly to crop and simplify the background, and here it is.

Pink Fantasy at Russell Orchard (Edited Painting Reference)

Here is my photo, now digitally altered to be used as a painting reference.  I cropped the original to get it into a square format, and as I did so, the position of the pond changed so that it went across the image.  I also used Painter's cut-and-paste tools to rearrange some trees, and to make sure those pink flowers went all the way across the canvas.  Then I printed out a copy and started painting. . . .

Pink Fantasy at Russell Orchard Pond (Inspiration for Painting)

This week I decided to paint a local scene -- possibly to enter in an upcoming art show, if I can get it finished by the deadline (which is fast approaching).  I looked at a lot of photos, but when I found this one, it made me want to paint right away! I took this photo in 2005 at Russell's Orchard in Ipswich.  This is a scene around the pond there, and those hot pink wetland plants bloom in August here in Massachusetts. I have an ongoing series of New England landscapes painted in oil bar.  The paintings in that  series are all 20 x 20, so before I could use this as a painting reference, I needed to crop it into a square format.  I thought I that while I was at it, I would edit the image in Painter and change a few details to improve the composition.  To be continued. . .

Rio Rita, Brazilian Bacalhau

Over the past few days, I have been working on this project, a decorated wooden codfish that will be part of the annual Codfish Auction, to benefit Marblehead Festival of Art.  I have made a few minor changes to the pattern, fixed tiny air bubbles and cracks, painted the back and sides with silver acrylic paint, and today, attached the hanging hardware.  I put Rita up on my wall just to make sure she would hang correctly.  And then I took this picture, which shows how she looks as a 3-D object.  The folks in Marblehead will probably take her "official photo" for the website, but this is a pretty good representation of how she looks.  I will be taking Rita to Marblehead soon, and I will miss her. 

Rio Rita, Brazilian Bacalhau (As of May 1, 2022)

I am decorating a wooden codfish cutout as part of the annual Codfish Auction, held annually to benefit Marblehead Festival of Art.  This year, my codfish has a Brazilian theme.  I decided to replace the characteristic scales and striped markings of a fish with the iconic pattern of black and white stones seen on the promenades of Rio beaches.  This is how my project looked yesterday.  The pattern is now complete, although I may make minor corrections.  Next steps: to paint the sides and back with silver paint.