New painting -step by step.

This is a new piece I completed a few months ago.  It is an older idea that I started in 2008 that had to be delayed because of my accident I was unable to complete this until now.

It is titled...

BitTorrent #7 "Interventio, The story of Calypso" 

48x36 oil on linen

2010

With each work of art that i create i start with an academic study of my subject matter. In this case the story of Calypso from greek mythology.  I tried to read everything i could about her, the people that wrote about her and why, what was going on in the area the writers were living in, and what was the social view of live in general or the weltanschau at the time.  

For this piece i studied the painting "Calypso" oil on canvas 1869, by Karl Ernest Rodolphe Heinrich Salem Lehmann.  I Work at the Minneapolis Institute of arts as a gallery guard part time and over the past 5 years I have had the chance to truly observe this painting.  

After I feel satisfied with my study work (which i do because i just enjoy it), I then start to sketch out the composition.  Abstracting my study drawings until I find a composition that represents the subject-matter and in this case, the oil painting I was taking my inspiration from. 

Here are a few iphone pictures of the process on canvas...

To the finished oil painting...

  

Artwork of the month: American landscape.

There was an exhibit of paintings owned by local Minneapolis collectors at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts early in 2009.  For the most part I found the exhibit okay, but the idea of celebrating the wealthy was as distasteful as citrus after brushing your teeth.  Out of that revelry for the rich and their possessions I came to admire a brilliant example of expressionistic realism.

Last week I was surprised to find out the MIA purchased the painting in the exhibit that I felt was the best in show.  And here I believed that I would never see it again.

Theodore Robinson

American, 1852-1896

"Farm among hills, Giverny"

1887

Oil on canvas

"I must beware of the photo, get what I can of it and then go."

-Theodore Robinson


oh, the exhibit was titled "nobel dreams & simple pleasures..."
...wow what jerks.

My paint palette

I have been working with a new palette, or at least a new set of oil colors.  I prefer to work with Old holland oil paints, but recently i found a company called Williamsburg that creates oil colors at the same quality as the old Liquitex oils from the 70's.

The new colors have inspired me to reinvestigate my ides of mixing and preparing oils.  I decided to start out with a classic layout of the colors.  Starting with the Atelier stye of laying out ones palette in the form of the color wheel.  It makes mixing easy for any artist.

Then from there I just start the mixing and add colors as I need them...

It is a simple, and later on ill edit this post with some of my literature on oil color and mixing.

Artwork of the month: Immaculate Madonna.

Every now and then a work of art truly inspires me, or I just like it so I talk about it.  

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts has been purchasing a great deal of quality works as of late.  One of the best acquisitions lately has been the "Immaculate Madonna" by Giacomo Antonio Ponsonelli.  It was purchased by Eike Schmidt, the curator of the decorative arts and sculpture.  Here is a link to a pretty cool video about the work.

This sculpture was recently acquired by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts at a bargain price, but that is another story.  I love this sculpture, it is truly a masterwork.  Now I can spend as much time as I want observing it, and someday if I feel inclined to do so, create my interpretation of it for today.

Giacomo Antonio Ponsonelli

Italian, 1654-1735

"Immaculate Madonna"

1710, marble


Go to the MIA and take a look at this...
...it is worth the time.

Starting over after the accident.

I have not worked on this blog for a long time. 

In 2009 I was hit by a car.  It was very serious, I suffered a traumatic brain injury that has changed my life completely. When I say it has changed my life, I truly mean every aspect of my life. 

My professional career as an artist suffered as a result of the accident.  Normally, over the last 12 years I have always had a rotating collection of oil paintings.  I would always have at least five new works, three or more that I was working on, and three or more that were leaving the studio door in sales.  I was able to keep that up because I was able to paint all of the time, every spare moment that I had I painted. 

As a result of my recovery time my remaining works were sold without me being able to create replacements.  

I intend to rebuild my collection, and then open sales up again.  I will be taking commissions and continuing with my commercial works during this rebuild of my studio collection. I will need some time, as I work slower than before.  

Before the accident...

I worked full time and very often worked overtime. I was never working less than 40 hours a week.  I went to college part time and maintained a 4.0 grade average.  I also was working on my oil paintings daily and maintaining a professional career in the arts as a professional artist. 

My average daily schedule was...

Wake up about 5:30 or 6am, get ready for my day and then start working on my oil paintings.  I worked on my paintings until 7am when I had to leave for work.  I worked a full 8 hour day. On school days I went to class then came home and did my study work until about 12 or 1am. On days I didn't have class I went right out to the studio and painted until about 12pm or 1am.  Then I was right back up at 5:30 again.

On my 2 days off (if I had not signed up for overtime which I did on a regular basis) I worked in the studio all day from 7 or 8 am until about 2am. 

I didn't go out more than once or twice a month and when I did I had a pretty good time. 

I also rode my bike everywhere and I was in fantastic shape. 

I had lived this very busy life for 12 years straight.  It was who I was and I loved it. 

This is my life after the accident...

First off, I was out of work for a year and four months.  The entire time I was completely unable to paint.  I first started back to work 4 days a week but had to reduce to my work hours to three days according to my doctor.

I can't paint for very long, and I am unable to work on paintings for very long because I live with a bad headache every day.  When I say a bad headache every day, I mean it. 

I have been on 15 different kinds of drugs to help with my headaches. Nothing works. 

I'm tired all the time.  Not just tired, exhausted. 

I can't ride my bike for several reasons, the #1 reason being if I exert myself I'll get a migraine headache that lasts an entire day. 

So needless to say, it will take me longer to create a new set of oil paintings as I cannot work fast and my responsibilities commercially are pretty heavy.  Eventually things will return to normal for me.  I will keep posting as I complete work.

-Adam

hospital update.

Hi this is Athena,

Adam was hit by a car that ran a red light while the driver was talking on her cellphone this week.  He was ridding his bike and he had a bike helmet on that we think saved his life.  He is hurt pretty badly and we aren't sure what is going to happen next.

All upcoming events, exhibitions and commissions will be put on hold until Adam recovers from his injuries.

Thanks for your understanding.
Athena (his love)

(This post was copied from an email sent to Adams mailing list in 2009.)

Artwork of the month: Berthe Morisot.

I have paused periodically in front of this paining for the last 6 years.  I don't find it to be a masterwork, nor do I see it as a great stride within an ism.  As far as the subject matter of this work goes, hello boring.  I do however truly admire the painterly brushstrokes, their precision in intent, and the way dark under light under dark is executed.  

You can see this painting at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  

Berthe Morisot

French, 1841-1895

"the Artist's daughter, Julie, with her Nanny"

1884, oil on canvas

"Real painters understand with a brush in their hand."
-Berthe Morisot

Artwork of the month: Willem de Kooning.

I discovered Willem de Kooning in 1992 browsing through a book store.  Immediately I found myself admiring his philosophical originality within his works.  He outlived his contemporaries, the living hard and fast generation of artists that burned life out.  Although he completely rejected movements, de Kooning was the best out of the abstract expressionists.  His work was original,


There is so much on the net about Willlem de Kooning that I decided not to go too deep into his life, but express what inspired me about his work.


This is the one that started my admiration of his work.  Compositionally it is impeccable, and as to his color selections I could see that de Kooning was ahead of his peers.  This painting transformed how i view abstract works.

Willem de Kooning
"Seated Woman"
1040, oil and charcoal on masonite


As we take a look at his portfolio we see that de Kooning's career is a long climb back to peace of mind.  Looking chronologically at his works we can see the passionate beginning, the decent into some form of madness, and the slow and steady climb back to peace of mind.  I can say that because I know him through his work.  

"Queen of Hearts"
1943,

"Woman"
1949,

"Untitled XII"
1983,

"Untitled #2"

"Art never seems to make me peaceful or pure."
-Willem de Kooning

Artwork of the month: The Death of Germanicus.

There are parts of human history that I obsess one simply because they reveal a portion of truth about the nature of mankind, as to what we are capable of.  I like to paint these important events in history, repurpose them and link them compositionally to a historical work of art about the same event.  Nicolas poussin did the same thing here.  

Poussin took the history of Germanicus's murder and used as a compositional model a sarcophagus from Rome.  Brilliant conceptual, compositional oil painting; Albeit there are so few that can and will connect the dots to read this painting as it was intended to be read by Poussin.  

This oil painting is a Masterwork example of compositional oil painting.  Go spend some time reading its imagery at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Nicolas Poussin

French, 1594-1655

"The death of Germanicus"

1627, oil on canvas

Germanicus was murdered out of envy and fear...

...fear always has and always will destroy mankind's future.

3.8.1_Improvisation

Since I have been working on improvisational oil paintings as late, I thought that I would post some of my older writing on the subject.  As I paint I write; I write about my thoughts on my own work and experiences.  So some of it might make sense, other parts your just going to have to say "good lord whats wrong with him" and move on to the next section that makes sense to you.  As all of my writings on oil painting was written in the moment, some of it is always going to change over time.

3.8.1  Improvisation.


     The improvisational oil painting is completely honest work, in that it cannot lie, because it does not go through an editing process.  That is not to say the editing process is a lie, but to elaborate on the dependance of immediacy and reaction of the improvisational oil painting.  Improvisations of any kind are the first thought, line, brushstroke, or action, expressed by reacting to one’s environment and creative process.  The improvisation is honest because it is the first unedited reactions to both environment and the work itself.
     The improvisational works an artist completes exposes the work of his character, sense of being, and mastery of the relationship between himself and his chosen medium.  Improvisation is the finest means to tutor the student of oil paintings natural ability for composition as its practice teaches him to be bold, balanced, and visually organized immediately.  Improvisational oil painting instills in the artist the foresight to see bold compositions as they are being revealed in the moment.  Personally for the oil painter improvisation is an unconscious method toward a logical and complete understanding of one’s disposition, finally revealing to the artist the implications following his thoughts.  


     The improvisational oil painting should be completed in a short amount of time.  Timed improvisational study is a good starting point for the student of oil painting.  Timed study, a method of improvisation, is a necessary stage of development in teaching an artist to be immediately resolved.  Set a time limit to work within, such as five or ten minutes, then increase the amount of time allowed for each study as you progress to one hour.  During a timed study the artist cant truly edit for lack of time, and must just simply react to the subject-matter.  This process should cover the course of a few months while increasing the complexity of the subject-matter.  
     The student of oil painting will start with representation, then progress gradually into abstraction of each subject. To be able to render realistic subject-matter improvisationally is a necessity or prerequisite before beginning abstraction. The abstract improvisation becomes a personal experience where once completed, is retrospective to the oil painter, as it was to me. 
     It is not just the act of painting an improvisational work of art; it is the acts of repetitive improvisational thoughts which allow the abstract oil painter to trust their own intuitive nature.  As time progresses the oil painter will transform at ease with his first thoughts and strengthen those initial ideas learned from the practice of improvisational works.  The abstract improvisational oil painting ends up being about paint, and is considered an expressionist work.
     The abstract oil painter should study improvisation all his life.  However, he must not confuse his improvisational works for complete works of art.  Although each improvisational painting may be a great work of art, the improvisation is an incomplete idea that has yet to go through the discipline of editing and should not be its own ends. Although there are works intended for instilling control through immediacy, an improvisational oil painting finds its usefulness merely is in its act of doing, and leads one to new ideas, a deeper understanding of composition, and the resolution of the complicated relationship an artist has with his medium.