Blue Gift Red Bow | Oil on Canvas Paper | 12 x 9 | $30
Blue present with a bright red bow is a foray into holiday themed still life. Stay tuned for ornaments, candles, and more gifts.
Something Blue
Category: still life
Ball! Ball! Ball! Ball!
Oil on Paper | 6” x 8”
If you’ve been reading my blog for the past year, you’ll recall the familiar look of this battered tennis ball in the Ball! Ball! Ball! composition. This was done on paper, while the original was on canvass board. I definitely prefer the teeth of the canvass board because it allows for a more textured look, lending to more realism in terms of teasing out the hairs of a well used tennis ball.
The palette was simple, but I never got the clay court orange just right. I’ll have to experiment before doing it again on a larger scale. The green of the ball itself is a base of Permanent Green Light, straight out of the tube, with variations of Cadmium Yellow Light and a touch of red. The shadow side of the ball is more traditional green from Ultramarine Blue and Cadmium Yellow Deep.
Lastly, a comment on fine details. This ball doesn’t look like a tennis ball until the final white seam is added. It’s amazing how a very simple object such as this ball doesn’t come into focus until the one identifying element has been added. Without the seam, they’re all just yellow green fuzzy balls.
“Emergent”: A Brushes With Cancer Collaboration
Oil on Canvas | 40” x 30”
I’ve been working on a very exciting piece in a program called Brushes With Cancer, which “provides psycho-social support to those touched by cancer to improve the quality of life for cancer patients, their family and loved ones, through a unique art experience.”
Emergent is a collaboration with JoAnn Sackett, another participant in the BWC program, who is a cancer survivor and the inspiration for the piece. You can learn more about our pairing and the creation of this piece at our page on the Brushes With Cancer Austin event site.
It’s an honor to be involved with Brushes With Cancer and their Austin 2020 program. I hope you enjoy learning about their mission and enjoy the artwork in the links provided in this post.
Emergent Final 
Flower Study #5: Pink Rose
Pink Rose (study) | Oil on Panel | 5″ x 7″
Yes, another flower! The Pink Rose started off as a white rose, but some prodding from my wife got me to adjust to something a bit more interesting and thus the improvisation towards pink.
I’ll confess I’m not thrilled with the outcome of this small piece, but I think it’s simply a matter of style preference. The style is less realistic than I’d like, although as a drawing it works well… but it’s not a drawing, so there’s that.
The reference photo is a beautiful white rose, but in hindsight I can see that it’s flat and lacking variations in value. I didn’t figure this out until I was more or less finished with the piece, but it was a very valuable reminder that grinding through a painting isn’t always the right approach if your gut tells you something is off. I see a lot of paintings on-line that have this stylistic look, so I’m pretty sure it appeals to some folks, but, ironically, it’s not for me.
Pink Rose 
Progress 
Block In 
Reference Photo
Painting Flower Study #4: Yellow Rose
Flower Study #4: Yellow Rose 
Flower Study #3: Bouquet 
Flower Study #2: Hydrangeas 
Flower Study #1: Poppies
The 4th of a 5 part study series, Yellow Rose, came together very quickly. The gallery above shows the progression as well as the varied contrast in painting compositional styles. If you have a favorite thus far please make a comment and let me know.
Before diving into the details of the composition on the next page, I thought the history of the “Yellow Rose of Texas” and the song lyrics were really interesting to read in tandem. I typically haven’t looked into the history of my painting subjects, but having done it with something as innocuous as this yellow rose, I found it to be a curiously motivating way to start a project. I think I’ll add it to my painting process and see if it unlocks some additional artistic mojo in future compositions. And yes, I’ll try not to bore y’all along the way.
Painting Flower Study #3: Exploding Bouquet
Flower Study #1: Poppies Flower Study #2: Hydrangeas Flower Study #3: Bouquet
The Flower Study painting series continues moving forward. Now that we have 3 studies completed (click for previous posts on this series: Study #1 Poppies, Study #2 Hydrangeas), it makes sense to line them up at the start of each related post to see how things are moving along. I want to continue exploring different compositional ideas so I can make an informed decision, both with respect to my actual skills as well as artistic considerations (what looks good), before taking on a large, formal piece for the house.
Pandemic
Pandemic | Oil | 5″ x 7″ Panel
This week’s composition is going to be auctioned off for charity to support the Central Texas Food Bank, which needs donations to support the growing demand generated by the Coronavirus pandemic. Despite the lighthearted nature of this painting, which is intended to inject some humor (at nobody’s expense) into a bleak situation, the Coronavirus is a serious challenge for the world that needs leadership and creativity to overcome. Details regarding the auction and how to participate are at the end of this post.
I’ve enjoyed working on more still life this year and I’m starting to get a better feel for various objects. The use of toilet paper and a beer can struck me as an interesting challenge because they are so contrasting in their own composition. In fact, if you really think about it, beer and tp have quite a strong relationship despite their contrasting structure, but that discussion is for another day.
When I started this piece we had recently returned from a couple of trips to various grocery stores to stock up on supplies and at the very least, secure a couple weeks worth of toilet paper, beer, and wine. Priorities, right? Local news coverage continued to highlight hoarding and runs on tp (sorry, just can’t help myself), at which point my nervous laughter and need to find something positive in all the bad news led to the idea (hard to call any of this “inspiration”) for this composition. At the very least it gave me an outlet through art and a chuckle at the madness the world sometimes throws our way. I hope you get a guilty giggle from this piece too, but if the work is offensive in any way, please accept my heartfelt apologies as my goal was well intended. And ultimately, the related auction of this piece will provide a donation that will feed many people in need during this serious time.
Final Close Up 
Final Framed 
Progression 
Rough In Sketch 
Reference Photo – TP and Austin Beerworks Fire Eagle IPA
Special Art Auction Details
This week’s composition is going to be auctioned off for charity to support the Central Texas Food Bank, which needs donations to support the growing demand generated by the pandemic.
Auction Overview
- Artwork is called Pandemic. My Austin friends will recognize the beer can, but for the uninitiated, it’s Austin Beerworks’ Fire Eagle IPA. The source of the toilet paper, however, is uncertain.
- This is original artwork, completed March 18th, 2020. The painting is done in oil on a 5″ x 7″ wood panel. The artwork is being sold framed.
- The auction is being done as an Event on my Facebook art page, “Impasto”. Direct link to the Event is here.
- 100% of the winning bid will go directly to the aforementioned charity, Central Texas Food Bank. The winning bidder will receive a copy of the receipt from me showing the donation was made in full.
- No shipping fees if sent to a United States address. International shipping rates will apply.
- Letter of authenticity will be included (proves provenance and confirmation of original artwork).
- Winning bid must pay via PayPal, Venmo or check. Artwork will be shipped upon processed payment.
If you want to participate in the auction, follow these simple steps:
- Go to my Impasto Facebook page here, and navigate to the Events section, or navigate directly to the Event here; look for the event called “Special Art Auction Benefitting Central Texas Food Bank”. The About section of the Event will reiterate these auction guidelines and information about the artwork. Go the Discussion section to place bids via the Comments section.
- BIDS MUST BE MADE IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OF THE EVENT.
- The opening bid must be at least $50. Bidding must be done in no less than $5 increments, which means your bid must be at least $5 more than the previous high bid listed. Of course you can feel free to make incremental bids much higher than only $5!
- The comments should sort old to new, so scroll to the bottom of the comments to see the latest high bid. WARNING – sometimes Facebook gets a mind of it’s own and the comment sorting logic gets whacky, so just make sure you pay attention.
- Bidding opens at 12Pm CDST, Saturday, March 21, 2020. Bidding will close at 5pm CDST, Friday, March 27, 2020.
- Winning bidder will be notified Friday, March 27th, 2020.
Flowers: Head Spinning Hydrangeas
My inspiration for this study was a recent piece from Laurel Daniel called Blooming Hydrangeas. Laurel is an exceptional plein air painter in Austin, Texas, but she clearly has a wide array of skills that spills into still life.
This study is #2 in the flower series to hone my skills to the point that I can compose a large piece. The first post Flowers: A Poppy Wrestling Match lays out the initial terms and conditions of this latest challenge.
The reference photo isn’t very good in terms of lighting, but it works really well as a baseline for a virtual sea of hydrangeas. There were also some very tricky (for me) leafy green areas that required a lot of eye squinting and virtual massing of greens to get it right.
Technically speaking I wanted to figure out the brush and related strokes needed to replicate that pillowy look of this type of hydrangea. At first I started with a round #2 brush, but due to the very short strokes, it quickly looked to “dotty” so I pivoted to a #2 flat synthetic. That proved to be problematic because I couldn’t load up enough paint to mix the wet-into-wet properly. Final solution was a #2 flat bristle paired with frequent wiping of the brush after every couple of strokes.
The other technique that proved helpful was ensuring that the values of the base and edges of the hydrangeas were very dark so the layering effect of the field of flowers was apparent. Without that distinction it was going to look like a singular massive flower blanket. Yuk! Lastly, to give subtle differences between all these white flowers, I used variations of blue hues in the gray and white mixtures. It seems to have worked pretty well.
When you look at the completed study in the gallery below, step back a few feet to get the proper effect. Hopefully you get the feel of an expansive field of flowers!
Hydrangeas Reference Photo Hydrangeas | Oil on 5″x7″ Canvas Board
PB&K
Say hello to PB&K the latest addition to the Dog Toys series, although it might be more appropriate to start a new sub-category called “Cheeky Still Life”.
The Kong was done with a painting knife to give it the subtle texture of a well worn, go-to Fido favorite. As any dog lover would attest, especially the big chewers, a peanut butter stuffed Kong is a great source of entertainment… and protein. Even the most hearty chewers have trouble putting a dent in one of these rubber wonders, but they do lose their sheen and get a roughed up look over time. By contrast, the (creamy) peanut butter and the remainder of the composition is all impasto-free brushwork.
Ultimately, the intent of the composition is to make every dog parent look, nod, and laugh at the reality of what we’re all willing to do for our lovable canine companions.
- Oil on canvas paper, 8″x10″
- Palette knife and an array of brushes (rounds and flats)
- Key colors
- Peanut Butter – Yellow Ochre, Naples Yellow
- Kong – Ivory Black + Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna + Ultramarine Blue
PB&K Final 
Kong Detail 
PB Detail 
Progression 
Block In 
Setup
Happy Hour – Shaken
It’s happy hour time again! Before moving forward, it’s time to reveal the name of the cocktail from the Happy Hour – Roosevelt post from a few weeks ago… the Sazerac! It’s a great drink and the next time you’re in New Orleans I highly recommend a visit to The Roosevelt for the original recipe.
This latest addition to the series should be much easier for you to figure out, although it wasn’t necessarily easier to paint. Happy Hour – Shaken is an iconic cocktail indeed and something that James Bond fans will recognize instantly, although 007 preferred a stirred version.
This cocktail is a top choice in my household – even the dogs like it! Well, they probably would love it, but they just get to have the ice cubes after the drink has been strained. Yes, it’s hilarious – they hear the shaker, come running to the bar, and proceed to sit (without a command mind you) until I’m done, at which point they each get a piece of ice. They are, without a doubt, very lovable booze hounds.
Back to the painting…
I’m very happy with the outcome and feel like the repeated efforts on this Happy Hour series is starting to show demonstrable improvements in the artwork. This was a challenge on 2 fronts. First, the ongoing challenge of glassware in a still life has been tricky to refine, but I finally figured out the right value scheme to make it work – the solution for me was simply being more aggressive with the darker values. Secondly, I lacked experience painting truly reflective metal in still life compositions. Again, a more concerted approach with the darker values made a difference, but more importantly was simply waving the wand of artistic patience and working through the various reflected elements.
A few additional observations and details about the composition:
- Reference Photo: As you can tell the shaker is not exactly the same as what’s in the photo. I used a reference photo blending technique, using the real shaker as my primary source, but simplifying the object by looking at other photos and paintings on-line that were, quite frankly, better cocktail shakers.
- Brush and Knife: The vast majority of the piece is done with a Flat #4 and Round #2 brush, but the olives are all knife work. They are the focal point of the composition, and as such I wanted them to have some more texture and a reflective quality of their own.
- Size: This is more than twice the size of previous Happy Hour series pieces, 8″x10″ vs 5″x7″ boards. Usually when I go bigger, the work is harder technically, but this time it seemed easier. Like I said, progress.
I haven’t figured out what the next cocktail in the series will be, but I’m leaning towards something with a shaker. Cheers!
Cheers!
Art Bern 