While I do not paint on a frequent basis, this section is included to offer insight on my creative thought process, and demonstrate detail orientation, technical skills, and artistic 'eye'/vision.
Coffee (2020)
The coffee mug & spoon was the first large-scale (24" x 36") acrylic painting I had full creative control over, and my vision was to completely saturate my reference picture's colors with metallic paints, while maintaining a complementary orange-blue contrast. In addition to the spoon, the table itself is metal. The plate and mug appear white from afar, but up close are composed of numerous reflections of scattered light. I really wanted to experiment, explore, and discover just how much color I could pull out of these shadows and reflections in order to see my vision through.
As you can see in the last two images below, the final product appears entirely different in its coloring: in one image it appears darker, moodier, and more streaky in general. But, in the image where I am standing next to the painting, the bright direct sunlight allows the colors to really pop and come alive, creating new hues entirely. This is due to the nature of metallic paints; varying lighting and angles will have you discovering something new each time you glance at it - an idea I greatly value, in both art and life in general.
reference photo
early stages, blocking out main areas with color
more loose color blocking
some color correcting and almost no more visible underpainting layer
time to add detail!
final product, taken with flash
final product, taken in daylight (no flash)
Buddha (2020)
For this commission, I was requested to do a painting of a statue that is very meaningful to my client, for their new home. I knew I needed to capture the thoughtful, meditative disposition of the Buddha. Painting the smooth, cascading ripples from folds in the cloth rendered me in a meditative state of my own, and if you look closely, you can see a bright aura emanating from the Buddha in the finished piece. Total time: 20 hours.
the statue
early stages
mapping out the statue's ripples
blocking main areas of smooth color
time to clean everything up and add detail
final product, 24" x 36"
me, happy about completing my first commissioned oil painting.
Fruit (2021)
Something about a metal spoon and a porcelain dish was calling my name again. There were a handful of aspects of the finished coffee painting that I didn't love (fellow artists, I know you can relate), so I challenged myself to do a second painting in this shadows & reflections series. When I saw the bowl of fruit my friend had posted online, I immediately wanted to paint it: the clarity of the lighting, the shadows filled with colors, and shimmery reflections bouncing around the bowl were exactly what I could've hoped for. If the coffee painting was winter, with cool, darker blues and a cozy mug, I wanted this one to scream summer. I thought it would be interesting to experiment with gouache - a flat, matte paint - and layer the metallic acrylics on top and in more exact locations (rather than metallic on 95% of the canvas). More specifically, I wanted the background to be matte (except for two places), in order for the fruit & inside of the bowl to jump off the canvas and invite the viewer in. Total time: 33 hours.
reference photo
early stages, quick color blocks and shadow mapping
a bit more clarity of object and color placement
deepening the shadow areas
sense of background added, more detail in the light & shadows
highlights!
who knew a single blueberry could have so many shades of blue?
i may or may not have hidden smiley faces in the blueberries.
the window's silhouette demonstrates how the metallic paints appear in daylight vs. in shadow
the final product
Honorable Mention: '2 Yellow Flowers' Study (2019)
Below is a study of the artist Carol Marine's '2 Yellow Flowers.' During a college course, we were assigned the task of recreating an artist's painting, emphasizing the importance of brush placement, color usage, etc. Painting this glass jar was what really sparked my interest in the exploration of light & reflections through the medium of paint, hence the honorable mention. Total time: roughly 15 hours.
early stages of emulating Marine's '2 Yellow Flowers'
color pop in 3....
2......
1!
close up (1/2)
close up (2/2)
