The Biggest Painting Ever - (For Me)

 That Sure Is A Big Painting 

Ok, I'm not trying for the Guinness Book of Records,

but this is the biggest thing I've ever painted.

Sit down while I tell you about it.

I was was hunting and stalking a store for deals late last year that would rival the #Meateater Steven Rinella when I came across not one but three 36" x 36" gallery wrapped stretched canvases.  I crouched low so as not to be detected by other stalking painter shoppers.  I had my prey in my sites and soon I was the victor walking out of that store.

These canvases were huge and I had doubts I could get them in my car, but I did.

I brought them home and then they stared at me for several months as I contemplated what should go on something that huge.

I finally got ideas for two of them I thought I could execute so after the first of the year and while I was teaching a months' of private lessons to people and creating my new Beginner's Painting Club, I painted huge painting #1.

Maybe I should name it that.

I've been working on paintings with lots of dramatic skies recently so I wanted this bad boy to be reflective of that.

Click

HERE for a short video of how it evolved.

It is currently in the Community Art Center of Switzerland County, Vevay, Indiana.

Click HERE to get all the details.  

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Let's paint together real soon.  

 

Yes! We Actually Painted Wine Glasses

 Painting Actual Wine Glasses

In February at Eagle Creek Vineyard tasting room a great group of creatives came together to paint on wine glasses.  

Everyone painted 2 wine glasses.

We painted flowers that you could see the centers of by looking into the glass.  It is an interesting process and you have to keep reminding yourself to look into the glass to see how it looks.  

We had a fun family join us for the first time and 

I think they really enjoyed the class.

Painting the stems is an aspect of the class 

where people really let go and let their creativity shine.

Here's the inside of Jeff's glass

Everyone selected their own colors to use 

and we had none of them alike.  

Dave's 2 glasses were different. 

Jaclyn's glasses were a light pink and then she did 2 for her mom who couldn't come because she was quarantined.

Those 2 were a deeper pink and they were gorgeous but I forgot to take a pic of them.

 

Eden was our youngest painter and she 

really got into making her glasses her own.

This was a fun group that really let their creativity shine.

We took the masks off for a few seconds to snap this pic.

Everyone took their wine glasses home with instructions to bake them in their oven to set the paint.

Before you paint, wash your glass and then wipe off with alcohol.  Paint using craft paint for glass.  When you're finished put your glasses in a cold oven and then turn the oven on to 325 degrees.  Once it comes up to temp, set the timer for an hour.  After that hour, turn the oven off and let the glasses cool down inside the oven.  Do not take the glasses out until the oven is completely cool.

The glasses are supposed to be top rack dishwasher safe after that, but I'm not certain about it and I don't think I'd put them in there.  

They are safe to drink out of because the paint is on the outside of the glass and safe to wash carefully.

Our next class at Eagle Creek Vineyard in Warsaw, KY will be Tuesday, April 13 at 6 p.m. EST.  

Eagle Creek is a great place for people to come together to paint, enjoy each other's company and taste their wide selection of wines.  Click HERE to visit their site.

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I'll be teaching a live class Friday, February 19, 11:00 a.m. EST on my Painting With Acrylics 101.com Facebook page.

Click Here to go to the page.  

Like the page and receive the notifications so you don't miss the live class on Friday.

It is in conjunction with my new membership site I'll be releasing that day, the Beginner's Painting Club.

The Beginner's Painting Club was created with the beginner painter in mind or for someone who wants to improve their painting skills but aren't quite sure how to do that.

Click HERE to learn more about the Beginner's Painting Club.

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Thanks for stopping by and let's paint together soon.

Painting Tulips in A Jar

 Painting Tulips in a Jar

That was the goal last week at Eagle Creek Vineyard Tasting Room in Warsaw, KY as our monthly group got together and painted spring flowers in a Ball blue jar.  

This group is always so much fun on the 2nd Tuesday of the month as we come together for a painting class and a wine tasting.  

They are all so intent.  

Fun is the name of the game.

We're just about to get it.

These ladies truly know how to have fun.  

Eagle Creek Vineyard is locally owned and operated

and the tasting room is located on

 Main Street in Warsaw, KY. 

Click HERE to go to their Facebook page.

Click HERE to go to their website.  

Watch their website for the monthly class.  

February 9 we will be painting 2 wine glasses.

Actually glasses, not a canvas painting.  

This should be loads of fun.

Thanks for stopping by today.

If you're interested in learning how to paint, you really should check out my website at https://www.paintingwithacrylics101.com

for single subject classes, a full blown beginning art course, a free daisy painting class and a free blog.  

So much goodness in one spot.

Also, coming in the future will be the Beginners Painting Club.

A monthly membership where you will always have access to a minimum of 6 art concept classes, an elements of a painting section where you can learn the parts of landscape, seascape, floral and still life art and then you can put them together however you want.  There will also always be a minimum of 2 complete painting classes.  

Subscribe to the blog to get the scoop when it's going live.  

Have a great day and

Let's Paint Together Real Soon!

Kayaking Commission

 Kayaking Commission

One of my very best supporters, 

we'll call her Missy,

contacted me around Thanksgiving and asked if I could paint a commission for her husband for Christmas.  

I was thrilled that she asked.

So thrilled I said YES!

I have a basic contract I send out for all commissions and even though we've been friends for well over 20 years, I sent it to her as well, so we both knew what to expect.

She sent me a beautiful photo of a sunset on a river or a lake, with one kayaker in it and asked me if I could put another in it also.

The first one was her husband and she wanted me to add her in the painting.

She sent me photos of them in their boats so I could get a feel of the colors, the types of paddles, clothing and hats they usually wore.  

Next, I did a pencil sketch of the scene.

I start with this sketch and if we agree I'm the right person for the job, we move forward.

My process is to keep a client involved in the creativity of the piece all along the way so they know exactly what they are getting.  I can fix things much earlier in the process than be ready to deliver the work and find out I went totally in the wrong direction.  

Missy liked the feel of the sketch even though the boats were wrong, the perspective is what we were looking for at this point.  

This is the first sketch in acrylic paint on the canvas. 

I'm looking to get the perspective of the distance and the size

of the boats correct.  

You will see almost none of this in the final painting.

The clouds were dramatic in the photo as was the sun, 

so they went in first.

Refining the clouds, the sun and beginning to add in water and reflections.  Still haven't don't anything with the trees.

Toned down the sunset a little, started adding the trees, and 

putting the boats in. 

Getting more color and definition on the boats, 

and trying to get a glassy effect on the water.  

Here's a closer look at the kayakers.

Here's an even closer look.  

I usually send the client a time-lapse video of the work progressing and a close-up video of the finished painting, just so there are no surprises for either of us.

Sometimes in doing commissions, the artist is trying to get a vision of something out of someone elses head.

Not always an easy task.  

But so far, my method has worked well for me.

If you would like to commission a painting we should talk.

My contact info is in the Contact Me tab (pretty sharp, huh?) 

on the front page of this blog.  

If you email, put the word commission or whatever you want to talk about in the subject line.  

Click HERE to view all my available art.  

Thanks so much for stopping by today.

Hope you enjoyed this post.