January already Website and Workshop

The Christmas portrait and painting rush is over and now its time to get down and get organized. Taking care of the business. Updating our client and collector list. We moved the website to another hosting company and the names to another name registrar.




We will be updating the paintings on our portrait website. Most of the work we did the last three months were given as gifts, so we didn't want to ruin any suprizes by posting the images on our website.

We have added a couple of videos and a downloadable brochure on choosing a portrait artist. I am also posting paintings on my 1hundredpaintings blog:
http://www.1hundredpaintings.blogspot.com

WORKSHOPS
More workshops this year:
http://www.portraitsnc.com/whatsnew.html
I will be leading workshops in Wake Forest and Theresa and I will be conductiong seminars in "art as a profession, how to make a living" at the Jerry's Artarama store in Raleigh.

Off to the studio...

Varnishing Oil Paintings

The photo below is a detail from one of Theresa's portrait paintings. It is a 32 x 48 oil painting of a woman and four horses. She finished it this past summer and we have been displaying it at shows ever since. A couple of weeks ago, between shows, I got the chance to varnish the painting. This is not polyurethane or a varnish you get at the hardware store. Picture varnish is an entirely different animal. First, it is clear. Second, while it protects the painting, it is delicate compared to modern wood varnishes. Third, it is reversible. It can be removed at a later date without damaging the painting.

What it does do it take the painting to another level. The darks become richer and the lights pop out. Think of the difference between a car with a beautiful shiny paint job and one painted with flat grey primer.

Look at the difference between the horse's head on the right and the one on the left. The fence board really shows the difference between the dull unvarnished and the varnished side. Note the girl hair, the side on her left has been varnished the right side not.

Working on a Series of Paintings

Here is an ongoing series of paintings of a woman leading two horses out to pasture. So far, three different size paintings have been finished.These paintings are based a fews photos I took in the middle of portrait painting reference photo session. Actually, that does make sense, I was with my wife, portrait artist, Theresa Brown,we taking photos for her to use as reference in painting a portrait that she was commissioned to do of a woman and her horse at Chadale Farm in Cary, NC.

We had finished one session and Theresa and the client were reviewing the photos, so I prowled around with the camera. I almost missed the trio below, fumbling around trying to change lenses. I think that I was able to get about five shots.

The first painting of the series is a small thumbnail, 3 x 5 on panel, to explore the color and light and placement of the figures on the canvas. Sorry to tell you that it is already sold.

Here is a larger small study, 4 x 6 on canvas.

This is the largest painting of the series so far, 9 x 12 oil on canvas. You can see I have gone back to the first study for reference, but placed them more definitely in a location.

What's next? I am not sure. I might do an even larger, 16 x 20 or 18 x 24. It's really a lot of fun, So many variables to work with. Location of figures in the landscape and within the painting. The interaction of the woman and the horses. The amount of detail. The color of the late afternoon -evening light.

Or I might stay with this one and possibly publish prints of it and work on another series. I have already had a request for a similar painting with a blonde instead of a brunette.

The painting above is available for sale, $425. shipping included. Go to: http://www.smfilarsky.com/Recent-Paintings.html

Behind the Scenes

As I was removing duplicate image files from my backup hard drive, I came across a couple of photos of "works in progress" Here are three paintings in various stages. Unfortunately, it seems that after I take a photo and start painting again, I get caught up in the process. The next thing you know, I have finished the painting with no photos of intermediate steps.

These three paintings show different stages in the creation of a painting.

Layout of the subject

Above and below show two different approaches to a painting. In the painting of the three corgis, I have gone directly to the subjects, while in the painting of the two jack russells, I worked on the background along with the subjects. The first method stems from my watercolor portraits. With watercolor it can be very difficult make corrections, so when working on a portrait it is important to get the likeness of the subject down before spending time on the background, clothing etc. Oil gives a bit more leeway since wiping off and repainting passages are much easier.

Here are the finished paintings.

Yogi at Blowing Rock, 9 x 12 oil

Three Corgis, 12 x 16 oil

Two Jacks, 8 x 10 oil

Painting a Series, Developing

Here are two recent paintings I based on smaller 4 x 6 "thumbnail" paintings. Both of the smaller paintings are part of my One Hundred Paintings Blog

Farm near Unionville

8 x 10 Oil on Canvas

This is the "thumbnail painting"

Farm near Unionville, PA. I came across this farm driving around Unionville and Doe Run PA near Kennetsquare and Chadds Ford. I had left the Devon Horse Show one afternoon to paint and take photos. I had been painting down the road (still am not happy with that painting, but I may make another stab at it)and was back driving when I saw this barn in my rearview mirror. Quick U-turn (the Honda Fit has its advantages over the Ford E-350 SuperDuty Van!) and some photos.

Jack on Plaid

8 x 10 Oil on Canvas

The "thumbnail" for Jack on Plaid

Speaking of the One Hundred Paintings Project, I have now started Phase Two, Second Hundred Paintings. The blog will still be the same, http://www.1hundredpaintings.blogspot.com but I will allow myself to paint different sizes, both larger and smaller.

You can sign up for Email notices about new blog posts at the blog

Off to College

One thing we notice painting portraits - Time keeps moving. This painting is of a girl leading her horse to the barn before heading off to college.

This 9 x 12 oil painting is a commission. In the photographs I worked from she was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Unfortunately, the colors get lost between painting, digital camera and computer monitor.

Back to Blowing Rock - Josie

No, it's not a bear. It's Josie. Josie is a dog, a Newfoundland. A big shaggy Newfoundland who has become a feature of the Blowing Rock Horse Show. Her owner is Doug Beach, horse show board member and owner of Twigs Restaurant in Blowing Rock. We took Josie to the top of "the Hill" to include the pine trees and view of the showgrounds. I worked from a number of photographs, some in sepia tone, some black and white and some in color.

Josie

8 x 10 Oil on Canvas