Still Doing Design

Although the majority of my work is painting, I still maintain one graphic design client, Long Beach Transit-- a mutually rewarding relationship since 1984. Occasionally I will take on other design assignments. Recently a friend from high school approached me to design a CD package for a collection of songs he wrote and recorded.

Jeffry Leland Johnson is a police commander with the LBPD. He has a beautiful voice and has written an eclectic collection of songs. The title song, "I'm An American" was written in response to the 911 aftermath. The CD includes 13 original songs and provide a wide variety of styles and sounds, ranging from blues to rock, from easy listening to a country flavor.

I had the honor of designing the CD package, tray insert and song booklet. I used a number of photos I took last summer when I was obsessed with American flags. Who knew they would end up decorating Jeff's proud project?

And on Sunday this article appeared in the Long Beach Press Telegram:

http://www.presstelegram.com/columnists/ci_8988163

Jeff is generously donating the proceeds to two non-profits; the Long Beach Bar Foundation, Shortstop Program for at-risk youth, and the Long Beach Police Officers Association, Widows and Orphans Fund. The purchase is tax deductible.

I highly recommend this CD for anyone in the police, fire dept., public service or the military-- or anyone who loves this country!

CDs can be purchased online at:

www.lbpoa.org (online store)

by calling the Long Beach Police Officers Assn. at 562-426-1201

or the LB Bar Foundation at 562-981-7525.

Surf & Sand Wedding

Last Saturday I painted a wedding at the Surf & Sand Resort in Laguna Beach, a beautiful spot to exchange nuptials. The glass wall on the terrace allows you to see the ocean all the way around. The sun was sparkling on the water with seagulls drifting on the breeze overhead. This was indeed, my largest wedding party so far!

http://www.surfandsandresort.com/

KWG's Gogh-Van

As much as I loved my classic 1986 VW "Scooby Doo" Vanagon-- it was time for an upgrade. I found a newer model-- the VW Eurovan which is ideally suited for my business and lifestyle. Not to mention highly visable! I love the color turquoise, and these days the roads are full of white, silver and black vehicles.... but not much color.




I designed window graphics to advertise my custom fine art services. My friend Albert (who also happens to be an incredible blues musician) owns the Sign-A-Rama shop on 7th Street in Long Beach, and he printed my graphics onto special window film.




It is the same stuff buses use. On the outside there is lovely advertisement. From the inside you can see through the window just like regular window tint. They did a great job, don't you think?





First journey out last night, I received a call on my cell phone. "Hi. I'm driving behind this van that says Artist for Hire... Can you tell me about your live event painting?"

I'm not kidding!!





I selected the paintings mostly because they are among my favorites, or in the case of the horse-- ones I thought would generate more orders of the same (pet portraits are easier than people).

As for the rear-view mirror trinkets-- I've streamlined. I'm allowing myself only one.

Gotta maintain a professional image!






Matches nicely, I think.

Butterflies and Poppies Finished

Here is is finished painting. I decided not to post the interim pictures because my flash made such a glare on the wet paint. I'm happy with this one.

The month is over for the current "Master of the Month" which I've been doing all the van Gogh study for. But I will carry on in the VVG tradition...

However I am departing slightly with a series of mixed media pieces inspired by black & white photos I took on one of my trips to France. I have printed the photos on canvas, and now I am painting over certain areas, leaving specific parts of the picture in black & white.

It is a study in contrasts. I will post this new work in my next entry.

Butterflies and Poppies

This is one of Van Gogh's lesser-known paintings, and I just love it. He used a much thinner paint application than he normally did-- the only impasto (thick) areas are in the butterfly wings and flower petals. Also, much of the raw canvas shows through. I really like the simplicity of this painting and the way the black strokes look almost like calligraphy. Vincent was greatly influenced by Japanese art, which was very popular during the late 1880's.



Here are the steps I take to attempt to make an exact copy of a master's painting:



1. Print out the original proportional to my canvas size (20"x16"), in this case it required (4) 8.5"x11" prints taped together.








2. Cover the entire back with a layer of charcoal. This will serve as my "carbon."








3. Trace over the print, which is taped to the front of my toned canvas. I must be careful not to let any part of my hand rest to avoid smudges of charcoal. The outline of the painting is now transferred to the canvas. Van Gogh toned his canvas with an earth color which is typical for artists to do. I used a mixture of burnt sienna and sap green to tone my canvas (a week ago to let it dry). This shows a close-up of the drawing.







4. As usual-- every source has a different color palette. It is impossible to tell which one is the accurate portrayal of the original. I would have to see it with my own eyes. I'm using the picture from my book, "Van Gogh: The Complete Paintings II" which is part of a 2-book set; a catalog of Vincent's entire body of works he painted. The color palette leans more toward yellow than green and I like the warmth of this version.








Now-- to the easel I go!



The painting is in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and I would love to see it up close and personal. Maybe someday...

Still Gogh-ing...

I've always loved this painting. I bought a framed print at the Getty and it hangs in my bedroom. Since we are still studying Vincent van Gogh, I prepared some 16"x 20" masonite boards for more practice in his style. I am also trying to work "alla prima" (all at once), thus as fast as possible. It is said that the way to paint like van Gogh is, "a stroke laid is a stroke stayed," meaning no blending! Put the paint down on the canvas and move on, with short, rapid broken lines van Gogh used to express his love for nature.


Here's my version:






No study of van Gogh would be complete without a sunflower painting. Vincent wrote in a letter to his brother in January of 1989, "You know, the sunflower is mine, in a way." He also wrote, "In 100 years the world will know the value of my art far exceeds the cost of paint and canvas." Little did he know just how valuable his art would be-- with one of his sunflower paintings selling for nearly 89 million dollars-- one hundred years later!


This is one of his first attempts at sunflowers, painted in Paris late in the summer of 1887:






My version is on a 16" x 20" gessoed masonite board, so I had to adjust the composition since it is not proportional to the original. I applied gesso to the rough side in order to capture the quality of his paintings, many of which were painted on coarse, raw canvas:





Another very fun exercise I did, was a portrait exchange with another artist on wetcanvas.com, Graham, who is also doing Vincent's paintings. He sent me a photo with his ear bandaged, taken in his studio with his own paintings and easel behind him. In return, his is doing a portrait of me.


Here is Vincent's self-portrait with bandaged ear, painted in January 1889 after the infamous incident of self-mutilation after his fight with Paul Gaugin... What were they fighting about? Their differing views of painting methods and styles. Gaugin was a neat-nik, Vincent a sloppy guy. Talk about taking things waaaaaaaaaaaay too seriously!





And my portrait of Graham, with bandaged ear:





Graham lives in Canada. Without the internet-- I would not be able to "paint with" such a vast number of talented artists from around the world!

ISES Event at Fox Sports Grille

ISES is the International Special Events Society. The February mixer of the Orange County chapter was held at Fox Sports Grille at the Irvine Spectrum. Wow! What a great venue! I'd never been there before, but I will be back. We were upstairs, surrounded by a plethora of big screen TVs broadcasting all kinds of sports games, overlooking the bright green double-arched bar below. Great color and fantastic energy for a live event artist to paint by!! Fabulous folks and fantastic food, too...