To Finish Up 2016...

...and to begin 2017, my studio is traveling with me in Athens, GA. Wherever this New Years finds you, I hope it filled with love and laughter, knowing that God has great things in store for you 2017!

Finishing Off The Transfer Sketches...

...gets these three little paintings started.

Finished, Framed...

...and probably already on its way to a new home: ul 122 (head full of doubt/road full of promise) oil on panel 4x4" 2016.

To Finish Off A Painting...

...I have mixed up three glazes. Because it is a simpler, straightforward glaze, I thought I would share how I do it. This small painting is mostly cast in shadow, with a bright burst of sunlight through the center and casting off the far tree line. So, most of the painting is very cool in color temperature. I used Phthalo Blue straight from the tube for the cool blue glaze to coat everything that is in shadow. For the warm glaze (middle cup), I used Indian Yellow. Both are modern, transparent colors which have super high tinting strengths.

In other words, a little goes a long way. I mix them with a little Galkyd Lite that is thinned with about 30% Gamsol on the palette to break up the oil paint, then drop the resulting mixture into a cup, slowly adding the Galkyd/Gamsol mixture until they are thin enough to add a color tint, but still be quite transparent. I use clean old sable brushes, in this case #6 & #4 rounds, to apply the glazes. But before I glaze the painting, I test the glazes on the color strip (which contains the paint I used in in the final layer on the right 2/3), which now has tinted the right 1/3 of the strip. You may be able to see how the glazes make the colors pop just a little bit, but they definitely get that "wet" look to them after a glaze. Finally, the last (nearest) cup, simply has the Galkyd Lite/Gamsol mix with no color added to coat the sky. I liked the sky, and although I would usually add a little opaque paint to create a haze, in this case I left it clear to simply unify the entire surface (make the whole thing shiny). Also, by glazing the entire painting, there is an isolation layer between the paint layer and what will be the final layer, a matte varnish. The matte varnish will make the surface non-reflective and natural looking, and also serve as a removable protection layer form scratches, dust and other airborne particulate matter. Hope this helps you to finish off your paintings too! 

The Next Painting...

...stretches across the easel and then some. 

Three Panoramic Photographs...

...have returned from a show and need a new home. Each are roughly 30" wide in their frames, and include a free upgrade to museum quality glass. $300

If This Painting Has Dried Enough...

...I will paint the final center swatch of marsh grass in today.

Honeymooning in western Virginia...

...I got to walk through some amazing spaces with the woman I love. And by this point, I barely have to say anything when I slam on the brakes, pull off the road, and go trapping through some underbrush to take a picture like the first one below. Thanks for being an understanding and patient partner my love!

A View Of My Palette...

...and of the fern painting in progress. Only the lower right corner remains to be painted in this second layer of paint, but with my camera's short depth of field, it looks almost complete!

One Fern Down...

...but how many do go?

The Latest...

...painting is finished: ul 106 (reckoning) oil on panel 8x8" $2500

Pardoned From Painting Purgatory...

...where paintings go to think about how bad they are, this little 8x8" painting is back on the easel. The background trees are complete, the middle ground undergrowth is coming in nicely, and the foreground trees will be saved for last to make them pop. I'm happily back at work on this one!

The First Layer...

...of this painting felt like snapping jigsaw puzzle pieces into place, one fern at a time. Now with it completed, I can stare at it on my easel and figure out how to make the next layer smoother and more lifelike. For now, I am just happy where it is headed.

Next Up...

...a 12x12" painting for a group show at RLS in October. This is the black and white reference photo used to trace shapes onto the panel.

After Finishing A Painting...

...I usually have a bit of paint left over. I save some (balled up on the glass to the left) for touch ups until the painting is varnished. The rest I use to paint my jar lids, here using the lily pad colors. It is a nice way to say goodbye to colors I've been looking at for months.

Almost Done!

There is still about a foot of painting off camera to the right that has yet to be completed, but I am definitely getting close!

Three Photos...

...from my twelve state trip are in the early stages of editing. Photoshop does a great job of stitching these together (each image below is anywhere from 20 to 38 individual photographs) and if I decide to publish them, I will continue to edit each and fine tune the details (for example, straighten each horizon into a curve).

The top two have great promise, a pine stand from the Gulf Coast up top and a bayou off Lake Pontchartrain below. The last panorama is probably the prettiest truck stop I have ever had the pleasure of visiting.

And there are two more photographs that will most likely become paintings, but as the best paintings somewhat oddly come from rather plain photos, I've decided not to include them here. But by this winter they should be making an appearance!

Twelve states...

...in twelve days and my summer travels are over. There are few things better than getting off the highway and getting into new scenery. Here I am in a pine forest off 30A along the Gulf Coast. The edited panoramas are to follow, after finishing off some serious editing sessions.

In Small Sections...

...the lily painting is starting to look finished! But only in sections...

There Are Only...

...a few select things that make me happier than the feel of new brushes, and Raphael Kolinsky Red Sable 862's could be the absolute finest brushes on the planet. Then again, they are all I use, so I might be missing something!

Take Five Colors...

...off the palette, then add 11 more to paint the reflections in the water, and it looks like I am going to need more brushes to finish this painting!

The Little Brushes...

...are coming out for finishing up this painting for tomorrow night's opening of "Remnants" at RLS.

A View From Last Week...

...the first layer is compete and the second is about to go in.

My Latest Painting...

...took me far longer than expected to finish. I probably started it about two years ago, but it spent a long period in painting purgatory, and got pushed aside several times for other projects. Because I was so frustrated at at times with its progress, it has rarely appeared on the blog. But the last glaze layer really helped create that nighttime atmosphere, so now I can say, finished! ua 5 (january wedding) oil on panel 4 x 12" 2016 $2,5000

This Is A Progression...

...of a little painting (4x4") that I am working on. With the first layer complete, I'll sand it down and refine it in the next layer of paint. 

There Are Four Paintings...

...in different stages of process, on my easel tonight. 

I've Set Aside Painting Lilies...

...to make time for my "remnants" painting, a group show next month at RLS. Nature reclaiming manmade structures is the theme, and while most of that action is below the waterline and unseen in this paintings, the outriggers of a sunken shrimp boat can be seen in this preliminary line drawing.

The One Question...

...almost everybody asks when they see my studio set up is, "What are all the nickels for?" If I am in a joking mood, I say that they are for my otherwise neglected 401k. But in reality, they are an integral part of my process. To get the clarity of color that realism demands, I assign a brush to each color of mixed paint. I break down colors into spectrums, ranges, or families you might say, mixing them up before I paint instead of continually mixing them on the pallet. Once I have a color range established (mixed), I assign a brush to each variant of that color. Sometimes these variants of color are very small, so when I paint on the painting, they get mixed with another color, but keep a supply of original color in their hosel (or inner core of brush strands). So I wipe them off with a rag to get rid of the mixed paint on the outside, and then return them to their assigned color. This can be problematic though when colors next to each other are so similar. So I have pieces of tape on the handle of each brush. They correspond with the tape on the nickels.

This means that a brush with tan masking tape is at least four steps away from the next tan masking taped brush, so hopefully the colors have changed enough in those steps to delineate which brush belongs to which color. Often I end up with many brushes in my non painting hand, so this is a quick way to get them back to their proper color. It is simply a way to avoid cleaning the individual brush with thinner after every few strokes, and keeps the studio free of OMS fumes. But the most important part is that by wiping the brush off after I use it and return it to its defined color, when I go to use it next, I know EXACTLY what color is going to come out of it when I add it to the painting, and free of thinner, how the paint will behave. It keeps the colors sharp when I want them to be and gives me confidence in each stroke to know how the color will mix with what is already on the painting. It is a little tedious, and a lot OCD, but it works, so I use it. 

I hope that answers a question you may never have had, and thanks for reading this blog! -jb. 

Twenty Four Colors...

...for twenty four brushes equals a whole mess of painted water lilies.

Finishing Off The First Layer...

...was a bit like completing a jigsaw puzzle. 

Painting in the negative spaces first helped me to find the lilies shapes, and with that information I could carve out the rest of the painting. 

Now I have had the painting sitting on the top of my easel for over a month, so I can decide where this painting wants to go in the next layer.