Tag Archive for 'painting'

Ohio Falls Bridge Painting, Part II

Published
by
Phil
on /2008/February/24/
in painting
. 2 Comments

Ohio Falls Bridge Painting, Part II

Okay, I was not able to work on this all week. I only had time today to put on a little more wash, and begin blocking out some of the patterns on the bridge structure. At this rate, it might take me seven weeks. But hey, I’m enjoying it!

Oh, this Part II in a series. It’s a painting I am doing from a photograph I took of the Ohio Falls Bridge, also known as the Fourteenth Street Bridge, on December 26, 2007. I will post more photographs as the painting progresses. Part I was done exactly one week ago.

I am starting on this by doing thin washes and mostly working from the top down. At this point, I am just using a lot of burnt umber, some yellow ochre, raw sienna, cerulean blue, french ultramarine and Permalba. I am mixing it with Turpenoid, which I do not like only because I cannot smell it. I would actually rather work with something I can smell. That way, I know if I am inhaling too much of it.

Today I brought the painting and easel in from my garage to my living room and painted for a couple hours, taking my time. Then I sealed up my palettes (a couple of Chinet paper plates) with some Press’n Seal and moved it all back out into the garage. Most of the paint I had from many years ago was no longer usable, but the brushes have held up well. If “real life” work is not too much of a killer this week, I hope to do some more work on this throughout the week. That way, when it comes to posting Part III next week, there will be more to look at!

Ohio Falls Bridge Painting, Part I

Published
by
Phil
on /2008/February/17/
in painting and photography
. 2 Comments

Ohio Falls Bridge Painting, Part I

This is the beginning of the first painting I have done in a very long time. It was the number one goal I mentioned in an earlier post on my goals for the year to create a painting to hang over my mantel by the beginning of spring, so today I started it. I decided to use a photo I took on December 26, 2007 of the Ohio Falls Bridge, also known as the Fourteenth Street Bridge, at the Falls of the Ohio.

The canvas size is 36 x 24 inches, and I am working in oils. For the first step, I created a very light pencil drawing, and chose some rudimentary colors for a very thin wash. I will build up more color, detail and paint as the painting progresses, and post photos here of the progress. It’s great to be painting again. It may not be much to look at now, but hopefully by the time I am done with it, it will be. Regardless, the joy is in the doing. Oh, and reading my fellow blogger Michelle’s wonderful articles on her landscape painting has been very inspirational to me this time around. She is a fantastic artist. So thanks, Michelle!

Here is the original photo I took:

Ohio Falls Bridge

If you want to read more about the bridge, you can click this Wikipedia link.

 

Remembering Nelson

Published
by
Phil
on /2008/January/12/
in life
. 0 Comments

Nelson passed away today, January 12, 2008. He was not mine, but a very much loved dog of two very good friends of mine. I had the pleasure of taking care of Nelson and his brothers when my friends would go out of town. He became a friend, and it was my privilege to see to him those few times.

A few years back, I painted this picture. But it doesn’t really do him justice. There are photos of him here, here, and here.

This is a poem that his “mom” Linda wrote today:

Nelson

You were the perfect dog
That no one wanted
How fortunate, for us
With stringy ears, spotted tongue
And a quirky grin, we called
You ‘thumper,’ for the sound of your tail
Beating on the floor for our attention.

With the gentlest soul
You never begged, jumped,
Destroyed anything, or barked without reason
In your timid way,
You quivered through thunderstorms
And skulked away from the camera
That you feared so much.
We joked that maybe you feared
Our photos would steal your soul.

But there were those other times
When you enjoyed life
With reckless abandon
Head out the car window, snorting,
Fur blowing in the breeze.
Drinking water enthusiastically,
Letting it pour out the sides
Of your mouth when you
Lifted your head.

How terrible to find that
Someone once hurt you,
Filled your body with buckshot
Before you became ours.
Hopefully, from the moment
We laid eyes on you,
You knew those days were over
You knew you’d be fed, held,
Touched, walked, and loved so fully
Until that last moment, that moment today
When your life slipped peacefully
Away from us, into sleep.