Merry Christmas...

...Colin's Mom & Dad! Your son must love you a lot, for he has traded his time and considerable skills for my time and skills as a painter to paint your saw.


The process won't be quick, so please be patient, but you can follow the making of your painting on this blog!


Here I'm giving it a light sand by hand to add a little tooth back in after going over it with an orbital sander and using solution to remove as much rust as possible.


Then I roll out oil ground paying close attention to cover all the edges. This will dry in a few days, then I'll flip it and do the other side, completely sealing it in the repetition of this month long process.


But tonight I get to smile at the blank surface of this uniquely shaped painting, imagining all the things it may be, and I hope you share my excitement for this unique gift!

- jb boyd

Happy Birthday Mom!

I so glad you chose a late but original present over on time and generic, because this flower will never go bad. Here is the reference photo taped over the panel.


With charcoal spread over the back of the photo, I've traced the needed shapes. A simple line drawing is the result.


To build values of light and dark, I use burnt sienna and burnt umber which will do the trick and dry quickly.


I used a little bit of yellow too, forgetting that it does not dry quickly, and have been waiting a week for it to dry. Errr.


I was hoping to have it finished and photographed for you today, but instead check back in to the blog to see it grow, knowing the entire time that I love you and thank you, for everything you have helped me to be!

- jb

Couple Of Progress Shots...

...are the pictorial subject of this post.


You can clearly see the charcoal scribbles on the orangey-pink panel left from the transfer process which the lowest image was used for.


This first layer of paint is the process of blocking in shapes, establishing big lights and darks in tone.


Some artists would call this painting complete, as from a few steps back (or in a low resolution photo) the illusion of space is successful.


But I want to pack as much as possible in this little painting. I want an illusion of atmosphere that sticks when your nose is practically touching it.


So this painting goes to the drying wall (to hang out with "us 22 (eternal life)" which is now complete) and most likely will be put aside for a time until I have the time to paint the next layer.

- jb boyd

The Final Layer...

...goes on tonight. Well, sort of. Sort of because hopefully it will get a varnish in a year or so, and I might put a clear transparent coat on tomorrow night, but tonight I have three tasks.


Clean up the dark greens in the water, smooth the transition in the sky, and add flecks of sea foam to soften the edge along the crashing wave. And then it will be done (sort of)!


- jb boyd

Small Paintings Are...

...such a delight. The wall is big enough to keep all the reference material, a day's work is actual progress, and I don't feel pugilistic in using little brushes.


Thinking about it now, I probably should have painted this under-layer in a simple monotone of burnt sienna or even sap green, given that the values of tonality will define this painting, but this will do too.

- jb boyd

Two Views...

...of a completed first layer. Now that I have a road map of what the painting will look like, I can plan out where it needs to go.


But for now it will go to the big wall to dry, and yet stay in my sight line so I can make those decisions while I work on another.


- jb boyd

When I Travel...

...I make sure to take the scenic route. I've seen a large swath of this country in this manner, but over this Thanksgiving, I found a new corner to which I will return.


Even better, I got a photo on the first trip! Who knows if it will make it to a painted form, but I simply adore the rolling hillsides covered in young winter wheat.

- jb boyd

The First Neglected Painting...

...is a small commission of a fiery sunset.


The top image is the reference photo.


The middle pink panel is the painting surface.


And the bottom image is a photo that I have used to trace the main shapes onto the panel.


All the prep was done a long time ago, so it's nice to pick it off the storage wall and get working!

- jb boyd

Is It Still Spring Cleaning...

...if it happens between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Either way, it is one of those rare times my studio walls are empty of any project(s), so out comes the house paint and spackle to hide the holes, paint spatters, crushed bugs, and smudges from my dirty feet on the walls that accumulate from painting to painting.


I have a bunch of long neglected small paintings and unfinished studies to work on the small wall, but I'm wondering what big project should go on the big wall.


And I'm loving having now clean brushes. These are the work horses of my arsenal. But I am most excited about a spray paint face lift for my mixing tables.


The grey now under the glass creates a neutral tone to judge mixed paints against. Hopefully this will eliminate the surprises when it looks great on the palette but is way off on the painting.

- jb boyd