Today was an important milestone in the creation of this mural. I've completed 95% of the main composition by adding a few more leaf structures and the trunks of two palms. There will be one more palm trunk to the right and that will be created tomorrow. Then I'll be ready to paint the sunlit-filled [...]
It's a small world and I think everybody alive today in this country has been effected by the tragic events of 10 years ago. Almost everybody knows someone who lost a loved one or who survived by what seems like sheer luck. I know two people who directly lost either friends or family on September [...]
I'm surrounded by my work daily. I cannot escape it and that's probably a good thing for an artist. It forces me to examine and contemplate my creations. This is a moment in my front gallery studio where my reverse painted glass chandelier bowls reflect off my baby grand. The chandelier bowl in the foreground [...]
The central section of this painting needs more leaves! This is a great time in the process to develop this area further. The leaves act as filler and also create lines of energy and interest in the overall composition. This makes the shapes and direction of the leaves important. You can compare this image to [...]
It's now time to add tropical flowers to the upper tier of the painting. I have begun to block in yellow for two different types of heliconia flowers, seen in the upper right and the upper left. The general colors of the flowers that I will paint today will be yellow, red and pink. I [...]
Here is a pic of what my working palate looks like. I mix my colors freely, utilizing the various tones that naturally combine on the palate as the paint is mixed. Color is very exciting and inspirational to artists. As young as age 15 I can remember being excited to put down the first blocks [...]
Now for the fun part—let's paint! STEP 1: I have chosen to begin this mural with the birds of paradise. They compose a large section of this mural and I'm going to use the leaves and dramatic shapes of this exotic South African flower to ground this piece. The image on the left shows my [...]
How did this concept materialize? To make a long story short, I worked with interior designers who liked my tropical flower paintings. They specified the size (roughly 9'x12') for this project. I then presented three different concepts that were mocked-up in Photoshop and one was chosen. I then refined the chosen concept in my studio [...]
Primer, also commonly referred to as Gesso, is fundamental to an oil painting. It provides the ground for the paint to stick to the surface. Priming a canvas requires several coats of thin layers of primer. What is an artist primer? For those of you who are unfamiliar with artist terms, Wikipedia explains the concept [...]
Warning: this is an anti-mini painting...contrary to the name of my painting blog which has chronicled my Mini Master island paintings since 2006, both here and on my former Blogger blog. This is the next step. The canvas is up and is ready to be primed. Pinning the canvas to the wall was a two-person [...]
Warning: this is an anti-mini painting...contrary to the name of my painting blog which has chronicled my Mini Master island paintings since 2006, both here and on my former Blogger blog. I'd like to share the process of creating a large Oil Mural. This will be an intense and large project and will consume a [...]
Painting paradise in oil is what I do best. Here is yet another painting in my series about the Waimea Plantation Cottages. It is a small oil painting. Most of these small oils sell through my spring and summer art festivals in California. They remind my collectors of their homes in the islands and of [...]