The Artist Exposed, or, How I'm Finally Gettin' Serious About Makin' Art.

I'm baaaack!

2008-12-01T11:25:00.009-05:00

Left: Study for "Winter Hay"
Pastel on Art Spectrum Colourfix paper
11x14"

Below right: "Tangerine Still Life"
Pastel on Art Spectrum Colourfix paper
8x10"

Man, I've been away from this blog for much too long! Hoping to correct that from here on out, as this kid is getting capital-P prolific, drawing and painting-wise. I've done some things, which I will post here over the next day or so, and I've got a whole list of projects I'm working on now, or starting over the next week -- let along the coming months. It's a pretty ambitious itinerary, and, well... you'll just have to stick with me to see what's coming.

My apologies to anyone who's wondered why I haven't been posting to the blog. What with the recent elections and what not, you could say I just got sidetracked. In any event, I'm back on the track now, and will be running like a freight train, with respect to this "makin' art" thing.

Stay tuned! This is where it starts to get goooood.

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs

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Never thought I'd be painting... bluebirds???

2008-08-26T11:26:00.009-04:00

"Bluebird Couple"
Oil on Masonite
16x12"

I love the song, "Bluebird," by Australian songbird Kasey Chambers. Come to think of it, I dig that other song of the same name by Buffalo Springfield. However, it wasn't a song that inspired me to paint this rather decorative piece. I looked out on our back deck recently and spied a fat little bluebird perched atop the railing, looking 'round as though he owned the place. He's the first bluebird I've seen since we moved into this house a year ago.

Still, I didn't have the idea just then to try painting one -- or two, as it turned out -- of these fascinating lil' critters. A day or so later, I was browsing throughThe Ultimate Guide to Painting from Photographs (James Markle and Layne Vanover, editors; North Light, Cincinnati). The book discusses ways to combine muiltiple photo reference images into new, original compositions, and I wanted to do something like that. There's a whole section on painting birds in this manner. One demonstration in particular inspired me to try the decorative approach you see here.

I worked from two separate images of the birds found on the World Wide Web. In both instances, I flipped the original images using Photoshop. From the Web, I also learned that bluebirds enjoy honeysuckle berries, so I found a number of images of these, finally settling on one that was useful in creating my own set of branches, leaves and berries.

It was a bit of a trick getting the final composition drawn the way I wanted it onto tracing paper, then transferring it, using graphite paper, onto the masonite board, which I'd previously covered with three coats of white gesso. Atop the gesso coats I'd applied a coat of Folk Art linen-colored acrylic paint (by Plaid), atop which, while still wet, I used a sponge roller to work in a few globs of Folk Art white acrylic, to get the mottled effect.

Seems the easiest part was actually painting the birds, berries, branches -- and leaves!

This was a fun project, and I'm quite pleased with the results, if still a little surprised that I've actually tried something like this: my first foray into wildlife art! I will certainly have to give it another go before long.

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs

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I paint a genuine "movie star"... and revisit a lovely Italian Garden from my childhood

2008-08-17T15:45:00.009-04:00

The last week was a productive one. I attended my first open studio, where I began this view (in pastel on 12x16" Canson paper) of the Britons Arms Coffee House and Restaurant and adjacent gardens, which are located in the Elm Hill area of Norwich, in Norfolk, England. I've been by here a few times since 2004. Elm Hill is one of the oldest streets in Norwich. Largely rebuilt after the great fire of 1507, it still retains its Tudor character to the present day. The narrow cobbled streets are flanked either side by genuine Tudor houses, some of which are now pretty little shops. It’s a rather startling fact that there are more Tudor houses in Elm Hill than in the whole of the City of London. Here's a photo of the Britons Arms from the front side.

I didn't know this until just now, but the Britons Arms plays a part in the 2007 Neil Gaiman fantasy film, Stardust, for which it was converted into the "Slaughtered Prince Inn." In fact, a whole portion of Elm Hill was transformed into a town in the fictional Kingdom of Stormhold. Read all about it and see a photo of the transformed Britons Arms here.

The second view (also in pastel on Canson paper) is the upper level of the lovely Italian Garden at Maymont Park, overlooking the James River in Richmond Virginia.

It was the day before Easter when I made the photo this is based on. You're looking across some of the parterres, or geometrically patterned flower beds comprising the main level of the Italian garden, toward the pergola, a structure consisting of parallel rusticated granite colonnades supporting a trellis-work roof on which two species of wisteria are trained.

It had been the better part of forty-seven years since I last visited this park. My first eight years of childhood were spent in Richmond, and Maymont is one of the more vivid memories of those early days before 1961, when my family moved to New York state. (We returned to the South in 1968).

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs

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Second portrait try (my wife won't let me post the first!)

2008-08-11T13:51:00.005-04:00

"What Would 007 Do?"
Pastel on Canson tinted paper
12x16"

I've been wanting to try my hand at people for the longest time, and portraits, specifically. "But what if I can't get a likeness?" I ask, and a hundred self-doubts and excuses keep me from trying. But no more!

Yesterday, I sat down with my wife and did a drawing, in pastel, of her. Darned if it didn't work out quite well... extremely well, in fact, except for one aspect: the mouth! Oh it was close, but no ceegar. Something was not right about it, which is why she won't let me post it here, alas.

I was so encouraged by the overall sucess of the portrait, however, that I resolved to try another human subject, though, for practice purposes only, from a photograph this time. And a famous person at that. Stumbled upon this particular image I've not seen until today, so I whipped out a pastel rendition within a couple of hours. Tried to keep things loose, y'know? I'm extremely pleased with the likeness, though it's kind of hard to miss with this guy's oh-so-distinctive features.

Whadday'all think?

I'll sit my wife down for another very soon, and hopefully will be able to share the next one!

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs

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Three U.S. States, all in one painting!

2008-08-09T10:57:00.010-04:00

"Maryland Heights, Looking toward Virginia"
Pastel on Art Spectrum Colourfix Paper
11x14"

Yikes! It's been a month since my last posting here. Sorry for the delay, folks. I've actually worked on some paintings, but the other two, while great learning experiences, were not so successful, in my judgement. I like this one quite a bit, however, and hope you will as well.

I was looking over photos from our late-June trip to Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the Virginias, and found a shot taken from the heights above Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. With a little judicious cropping, I had what seemed a good point of departure for the painting you see here. You're actually looking at three states: the foreground where you are "standing ," so to speak," is West Virginia -- specifically, somewhere on Shenedndoah Street, in Harpers Ferry, proper. The elevation on the left is Maryland Heights, which is, of course, in Maryland. The more distant landscape is Virginia. Connecting all three is the Potomac River. Though you can't see it, the Shenendoah River flows into the Potomac just to the right of the scene.

Oh, and if you're wondering why there's a little "doorway" in the side of the mountain, that's a railroad tunnel. Just so you know.

It will probably be a while before I get back to this most lovely -- and historical -- place, but get there I will, one of these days. When that day comes, it will certainly be in the Autumn.

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs

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Our recent spontaneous journey through Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the Virginias

2008-07-08T12:21:00.015-04:00

Left: "Gettysburg Path"
Pastel on Canson paper
8x10"

Below: "Shenendoah Valley View"
Pastel on Art Spectrum Colourfix paper
11x14"

Man, I've really been out of the swing of things the last month or so. Long story short: some medical issues made it difficult to spend time at the easel. Be that as it may... I HAVE over the last couple of weeks gotten back drawing and painting. Not putting it all up here now, but thought I would share my two most recent pastel pieces.

The first is a relatively quick drawing from a trip Sarah and I took a couple of weeks ago, back to -- where else? -- Pennsylvania. We first visited a place called State College, in the very center of the Commonwealth. It's the Home of Penn State University, and the best little totally happening place you'll find out in the middle of nowhere. The painting, however, doesn't depict anything remotely like State College. On the way back, we crossed part of the Alleghenies down to Harrisburg, on over to York, and then west to our favorite destination: Gettysburg! (Third visit in seven months!) Only stayed a few hours this time. The above is a view from the southwestern part of the battlefield, looking east toward the Round Tops.

Later that day, we drove down to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, which may be the subject of another painting very soon. Also visited the nearby Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Maryland. When we finally drove home, through the ever-beautiful Shenendoah Valley of Virginia, I got this second view near the town of Front Royal. Incredible as it seems, this scene is looking out from a McDonald's parking lot! Anyway, I think I've done a very decent job with the pastels on this one. Got a way to go, technique-wise, but I feel I'm heading in the right direction. What do you think?

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs

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A Tranquil View From the Beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains

2008-05-14T08:28:00.010-04:00

Left: "Blue Ridge Morning"
Pastel on Ampersand Board
11x14"

Below: "Peonies"
Pastel on Canson paper
14x16"

Finally shifting into gear, with two new images done all in the space of a few days... and another, large format oil painting underway. I climb ever-so-slowly – but surely – along that steep learning curve.

The first image is one I've wanted to do for many months: a typical scene from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Specifically, this view is in the proximity of Todd, NC (a town you can read about on the Blue Ridge Blog, as well as in the New York Times, of all places! Todd is located in the extreme northwest corner of North Carolina, in Ashe County.

The support is a green-tinted 11x14-inch Ampersand Pastel Board – which was a random choice, but the right one, I think, for this subject. I'm quite taken by this view, and since I've needed for many months to come up with something to fill a space on our living room wall, I've begun working up a much larger version in oils.

The second image is my very first attempt at a floral, and a rapidly done one at that. It's executed from life with semi-soft and soft pastels on a creme-colored Canson paper; probably not the best choice, as I brushed on a bit of isopropyl alcohol here and there, which tends to buckle the paper somewhat. But it was all in fun, as well as in the interest of experimentation. For a first attempt – a glorified sketch, really – I'm actually rather pleased. You should probably count on more florals to come!

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs

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A Cotswold (Pastel) Pastoral (Say that five times real fast!)

2008-04-24T19:11:00.026-04:00

Afternoon on the Wold
Pastel
16x11"

The weekend weather in North Carolina hasn't been so great for the last month. My plans to get out for some on location sketching and photo taking keeps getting bumped by gray skies and rain. Now they're calling for rain again this weekend.

So, I've been having to work from old photographs -- in this case, one that my wife Sarah took a couple of years ago on her way from Norwich to Cheltenham, when she was visiting friends and family in the U.K. It was late afternoon, and she was approaching Cheltenham (in the Cotswolds region of England, a lovely place famous for, among other things, its yellowish stone), when she saw this view and stopped to capture it.

I think this is the third painting in a row that I've attempted to represent stone. I also think I'm getting better at doing trees and foilage. But what I most like, surprisingly, are the little sprigs of weeds sticking up here and there on the hillside. It's amazing what a few squiggles and dabs of pigment can suggest.

The sheep were fun... though trying to work on such a small, relatively precise figures using semi-bulky pieces of broken pastel, was at times nerve-wracking. As relaxing and as meditative as pastel painting can be, one frequently feels as though one hovers on the edge of disaster!

But, yeah... I think I'm finally starting to "get" this pastel thing, somewhat. What do you think?

Oh, by the way, I took a very big step last weekend, and attended my first meeting of the Pastel Society of North Carolina. For next month's meeting, I think I'll take something along for critique!

You do have put it out there eventually, don'tcha?

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs

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It really was the "end of the line" (in 1863): My latest painting!

2008-04-17T19:42:00.009-04:00

Thought I'd never get to posting here again. It's just been that kind of month. Nevertheless, I have been working on my pastel painting when the opportunity permits, and what I've posted here is by no means the extent of my output.

I'm so mindful of still being such a tyro in this medium. But I've been reading up, learning from the work of many good artists on WetCanvas. And, last weekend, I was quite fortunate to attend a pastel demo given by Raleigh artist Lori White. Lori was very generous with her time and expertise, and I came away from the session feeling I'd learned some really good stuff, and was more'n ready to put it to use.

I'm also looking into some workshops this Summer and early Fall, and have been hitting some of the local galleries in the meantime.

So, anyway... the first image here is a very historic one: Little Round Top at the southern end of Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania. You are looking from the position occupied by the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment on July 2nd, 1863. Forming the extreme left flank of the beleaguered Union Army line, the 20th Maine, commanded by Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, had withstood relentless attacks by Alabama Confederates. Having run out of ammunition and facing yet another attack, the men of the 20th managed to hold their ground only after a daring bayonet charge down this hill. This event, one of the most pivotal of the entire Civil War, was depicted wonderfully in the film Gettysburg (with Jeff Daniels as Col. Chamberlain).

The second image you see here is a view of the old market, looking from above, in Norwich, Norfolk, East Anglia, where I have been a few times. It was a rather ambitious project, considering I didn't have much of a pastel assortment when I started it, but I persevered (like the 20th Maine) until the picture was finished. Not great, but still pretty cool, if I do say.

Can't wait to get on the next painting. Coming up: An English Pastoral... with sheep and ever'thang!

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs

Something psorta psychedelic for a change!

2008-03-28T11:22:00.009-04:00

This isn't "art", per se, in the sense that it's not a painting or a drawing. (I'll be posting some new ones very soon, in fact). But it's definitely art-related.

I thought I'd share the latest poster I've just finished for an annual event that's coming up before you know it: The Eighth Annual Millstock Music & Arts Faire, in downtown Clayton, North Carolina. (If you want pics, here's a blurb and some photos from last year's festival).

I've been doing these posters (plus the tee-shirts) from the beginning, way back in 2000. (Hey, I actually won an award for the last poster, which you can read about and see here.) More recently, the designs are heading in a decidedly psychedelic direction... but then, I've always been a huge fan of those types of posters from the 1960's. And the music too! (If you haven't heard Technicolor Web of Sound yet, you really need to tune in, turn on and blow your mind with some of the most trippin' sixties sounds on the Web! This is the "good stuff," man.)

The best way to describe Millstock is just as they've done it on the Millstock MySpace page:

Millstock started as a lark, eight years ago, by several friends sitting around The Coffee Mill, in downtown Clayton. It was going to be a celebration of Woodstock: of local music and art, of community, friends, of people supporting live music and the talents of artists, of peace.

We, The Coffee Mill, thought we could pull it off once. But then, people had such a great time they encouraged us to do it again and then again and then...well, you get the picture: here we are eight years later!

It grew to the point that the Clayton Visual Arts Council joined forces, a few years ago, with The Coffee Mill and The FlipSide to make the event even bigger and better. The Town of Clayton, and the Downtown Development Association have joined in, and now Millstock is truly a COMMUNITY EVENT: A CELEBRATION OF MUSIC & ART in Downtown Clayton.

June 7th: 10:00a.m. to 6:00p.m.

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs

A Winter scene in less than 24 hours!

2008-03-10T19:59:00.007-04:00

"Gettysburg Winter"
Pastel on Mi-Tientes Paper
11x14"

Here's the final version of the winter scene, from the sketch I posted here a few days ago. I started work on this one last Saturday at 2:00 p.m. In less than 24 hours I had finished it, and even procured a nice double-matte and frame, the better to get this image on my living room wall.

Hey, at Sarah's request, I even printed a few 5x7 greeting cards with this image on the front! These didn't come out badly, either, and are already on their way to select family members and friends. (Made a card from the Norfolk Poppies oil painting, too. That one really looks fine as a 5x7!)

As I've said here previously, I'm very much enjoying working with pastels. Two more drawings are in the works (sidetracked, alas, by this scene). One is an English urban view, which I am close to completing very soon.

The other is yet another scene from Gettysburg, my favorite place in the world. It's an autumn view I got last November on the south slope of the famed Little Round Top, where... well... I'll get into that when I post the painting. I've already done one version, but that's only a study. I'll begin the full-blown pastel painting -- in an impressionist style -- directly, and should (Lord willing) have it finished soon thereafter.

Speaking of Gettysburg, Sarah and I are planning yet another trip there over Easter weekend. Don't know what the weather will be like in Southern Pennsylvania at the end of March, but I hope it will be pleasant and spring-like, and present a good opportunity or two for gathering sketches and photos. Our living room wall certainly requires a Gettysburg Spring scene, to balance the winter one pictured here.

OK, OK... so enough blathering. Right now, I have some floral sketches to make. Promised the wife, you know. ;-)

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs

Just a simple sketch, but... I think I'm on to something here!

2008-03-03T16:20:00.005-05:00

If it's been a while since my last post, it's not for being unproductive.

In fact, I've logged quite a few hours at the old drawing table, trying to get the hang of those pastels I started messing with recently. So much so, in fact, that it's kind of superceded the oil painting I was working on. I will get back to that soon. I have to get back to it.

But for now, I am growing ever more fascinated with the potential of pastels, and, two weekends and three trips to my friendly neighborhood art supply dealer later, my pastel painting gear has gone from virtually nothing to quite... um... sufficient. I have even snagged a couple of very good books on the subject. I've got to say, this new found passion for pastels was utterly unexpected, but I absolutely get off on working with them!

I have an awful lot to learn, though, as far as technique and all that, but hey, I still have an awful lot to learn about this "making art" thing in general. One step at a time, right? The journey's the thing... just like the play.

So anyway, last week I started a pastel experiment that quickly turned into a rather involved project. I have just about finished it and plan to post it shortly. I also have done a landscape (in one session!) that I will get up here just as quickly as I can photograph it.

But in the meantime, I'm quite excited about this little sketch I've just made. It's a rural winter scene based on a photograph I found, but I've taken some compositional liberties. It's just a quickie, really, done with nothing but a standard #2 pencil. It's not even that great a drawing, technically speaking. But I see some serious potential for a more developed pastel painting, so this is what I'm going to be up to for a few days.

As always, results will be be posted as soon as they are in. Thanks so much for taking the time to visit me.

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs

An attempt at watercolor from early in the century

2008-02-20T19:28:00.011-05:00

I've finally gotten around to photographing a watercolor painting I did in January of 2003... five years ago! Thought it would be a good idea to post it here.

The subject is a small automotive garage on a street corner near downtown Selma, North Carolina.

Perhaps one of these days, I'll give watercolors another go, though they strike me as extremely difficult. But that's just my inexperience talking. First, however, I'd like to do a little more fooling around with pastels.

Hope to get my oil painting done by the weekend, as well. Alas, time has been a little tight these days.

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs

Experimenting with pastels for the first time

2008-02-17T18:29:00.017-05:00

Left: "Near Taneytown Road, Gettysburg," pastel on charcoal paper

I'd hoped to finish the teapot still life this weekend. Saturday afternoon for three hours I worked concentratedly to that end, but alas, got bogged down with rendering the blue velvet drapery, and by the end of that time, thought it best to leave the painting for yet another session.

By early evening, I felt adventurous, wanting to try something different. I dug out that set of never-used pastel crayons I mentioned in an earlier post, and a pad of charcoal paper.

Working from a photograph taken last Autumn on a trip to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, I tried my hand at using pastels, which, in fact, I have little to no experience with. Undaunted, I set to work in the spirit of experimentation and discovery. Three hours later, I had managed to produce what you see here.

The pastel work is rough, showing all the marks of a beginner. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to have come this far with a first effort. I learned a lot, including the fact I really like working with pastels. I'll definitely try them again, though I'll work on a larger scale next time. But first I'll have to head back to Jerry's Art-a-Rama to purchase yet more supplies. Some thinner pastel "pencils" would be handy things to have.

But sheesh, I was already at Jerry's only yesterday, spending money on more brushes, new canvases, and a frame for the Norfolk poppies picture... which now looks quite smart hanging on our living room wall.

It's a money intensive pursuit, this drawing and painting business. And I have yet to purchase a proper easel, among other items! Yeah, that tax rebate we're supposed to get somewhere down the line is looking better all the time.

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs

Houseguests, the flu, and all that keeps a painter from his easel

2008-02-13T13:23:00.011-05:00

It's not like I'm inundated with visits to this blog (yet), though there has been some traffic, thanks to my Web friends and a few folks over at WetCanvas. It's no great surprise; one doesn't just "build it and they'll come," no matter what the baseball guy says. It takes good old Promo Grease™ to get those visitors and comments. And while I've done a modicum of promo, I'll have to do a lot more before this little corner of the blogosphere has anything like a line waiting to get in.

It's also not like I have great body of work. The whole point here is that I'm just starting out -- or re-starting out -- on the "makin' art" path. Accumulating a great body of (hopefully improving, ever more dazzling) work is going to take time, as all good things do. Heck, learning my way around this blogging thing is using up enough time that could go into drawing and painting... but what can I say? Blogging's cool, too, and worth learning to do.

For now, just want to tell my faithful subscribed readers (all two or three of ya.. heh-heh) that, if I haven't posted any new work for the last few days, it's because time has been somewhat scarce. We've had visitors in from Australia over the weekend, and I've also been recovering from a bout with the flu. Thankfully, I'm feeling much better now, and raring to get back to the work at hand. The "silver teapot" still life is needing finishing, as does the wine, baggete and fruit-in-a-basket image I'd started a couple of weeks ago.

I'm also rather hot to begin a new landscape I've been thinking about, and I've got some pastels I'd like to play with... not to mention these neat-o watercolor pencils that have been lying there, tempting me terribly.

So I appreciate your patience, my loyal "fans," with my seeming unproductivity. I am getting back to work, and will be posting some new stuff before you know it. Keep the faith... and thanks ever so much for being interested.

Oh, and all you lovers out there: Happy Valentine's Day! Sarah and I are having our 2nd wedding anniversary on Feb. 18th, so don't be surprised if some flowers find their way into a painting before long!

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs

Casting out those demons of self-consciousness

2008-02-08T17:15:00.002-05:00

Image: February Still Life Project for WetCanvas! (Oil on Canvas, 6 x 6")

I must admit, there's something to be said for not being shy, just doing it, and putting yourself out there.

That's what I'm doing with this blog, and that's what I've finally done over on WetCanvas!, a killer-diller artist's community that bills itself as "Cyber Living for Artists," and really has it going on.

There are many forums on WetCanvas!, with discussions on the many aspects of painting and visual creation, from landscape painting to wildlife illustration, and everything in between. There is also a cornicopia of how-to articles on everything an artist could ever want to know (or so it seems). In fact, there are so many darned resources on WC, I couldn't even begin to mention them all, so my advice is for you to just click on over and have a look around for yourself.

Anyway, one of the forums I peruse regularly at WC is all about still life painting. And one of the "sticky features" of that forum is a monthly still life challenge. The moderator posts a set of reference images, and you sign up to create a painting using one of the images. Well, I decided a few days ago to just do it, and signed up to make a still life painting. What you see here is the result of that little exercise. I have just posted it on the February Project section of the Still Life forum.

Being such a small canvas (6 x 6"), it didn't take me very long to create this (about five hours, all told). It was kind of fun to try my hand at a small scale painting, though if I want to do more like it in the future, I will definitely need to buy some brushes for the purpose. This image took two sessions, for a total of about five hours.

Anyway, it's quite a good feeling to post my work in an online artists community, and enjoy feedback from my peers. I've already received a handful of positive comments, which does wonders for casting out those demons of self-consciousness, which would have me wait until I am "good enough" before I'll let other artists see my work.

OK, so... it's back to work on two other still life projects that I have in progress. The teapot I mentioned before is coming along nicely. I've also worked a bit more on the wine bottle, baggette and fruit, and hope to call it a wrap on that one soon. I'll post 'em here the minute they are ready, so check back with me in a while. I'll see ya then!

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs

My first landscape paintings in oil

2008-02-06T09:31:00.001-05:00

As I promised, here are the first paintings I've produced after a many year's absence from the craft.

I did the first (oil on canvas, 11 x 14") a few months ago, after purchasing my paint set and some extra new brushes (at a very good price, I might add!). Unfortunately, I had to work from a photograph which my wife Sara took during our visit to Frankfurt, Oberursel and Kronberg, Germany last Summer. I say "unfortunately," because of the limitations of painting from photographs. Many landscape painters will say there's something about actually painting from life -- being out there with the subject, or in it -- that makes all the difference. I used to do a bit of plein air painting back in the day, and I can only concur that it's the way to go.

Not having an easel or even a notion of where to find an immediate subject (plus the weather being so dreadfully hot and humid), I opted for the photograph my first time out. Speaking of photographs, the quality of this one leaves a bit to be desired, in my opinion. Bear with me, however. I'm just figuring out how to photograph paintings. I plan to get a new, much better camera in the near future. This will not only allow me to get better reproductions of paintings, but also high-quality, crystal clear subject reference photos, rich in light, shadow and color.

The other image (oil on canvas, 16 x 20") took me only a few sessions within the space of a week, and was completed at the beginning of February. Again, I used a photograph I had taken near the Sandringham Royal estate, close to the northwest coast of Norfolk, in East Anglia. It had been raining intermittently that afternoon, but finally the sun popped out and I was fortunate to capture this wonderful, typically East Anglian scene.

For a second attempt, this picture was an interesting exercise. I am especially pleased with the foliage. I doubt the image here does justice to the detail, but I got some good strokes in, and don't feel I had to work too hard at obtaining a good effect. Also, I had fun painting the poppies.

So there you are... my first attempts, for what they're worth. I am currently working on a still life with teapot, mandarin oranges and a small blue and white Chinese vase... going to get to that in just a moment, so will have something to report on that before long.

I truly appreciate your interest.

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs

A very productive week as I try still life painting

2008-02-03T19:05:00.001-05:00

It's been a busy weekend. Went to Jerry's Art-A-Rama yesterday to buy yet another canvas and a few other supplies. While there, checked out the frames and framing material they offer. Found a really neat, rather ornate 11x14" silver and black frame for the amazing price of only about 15 bucks. It was the last of its kind, I suppose a clearance item. Sarah and I thought it would be perfect for a new still life painting I've been planning, featuring a 1908 Sterling silver British tea pot. While out and about, we needed to buy some silver polish in order to remove a pretty heavy coat of tarnish from the pot, which has been hidden away in a drawer for quite a few years.

We also visited Mobley's Framing & Gallery to view some of the paintings on display, and see what they have in the way of framing materials and services.

I have been pretty regular about painting these last couple of weeks. Started on my first attempt at a still life last Sunday, and worked on it again twice during the week. It's nothing very elaborate -- just a wine bottle, a half-bagette, a small basket and some bits of fruit, but one has to start somewhere. Here it is, still in progress:

I've decided to let the paint dry before I add new layers, so have been thinking about that teapot still life in the meantime. One thing I had done yesterday in preparation for this new painting, is set up a still life "staging area," using an old corrugated cardboard box I had left over from our move last Summer. I learned about this from an article on WetCanvas!, which is the most comprehensive on-line artist's community I have found on the Web. After cutting some flaps in the left and right side of the box, and cutting the top so I can either open or close it, it is possible for me to control the lighting (using a couple of directional lamps) of whatever objects I objects I wish to set up for painting. It's a pretty nifty contraption, and cost me nothing to make.

What did cost me was another trip out to an office supply store this morning to purchase yet another lamp, as I only had one available for this purpose, and I need at least two sources of light. Luckily, I found a decent lamp for not much money, and once I got home with it, I was able to stage the teapot, a small chinese vase with some (regrettably artificial) cherry blossoms, and a couple of tangerines. Here is what the set-up looks like, more or less:

Pretty cool, huh? I'll have to experiment to really get the hang of this staging and lighting thing, but it's nice to have a place and a method for doing it.

There are so many things I want to try: landscapes (I have done two already, which I'll publish next time), some portraiture, and even a semi-abstract thing or two. But for the time being, the still life is not hard to set up, and I can work on one in a reasonable amount of time. I have already made a good start on this one, and will publish the finished painting as soon as it's ready.

So, that was my weekend. I'll post my first two finished landscapes very soon. Stay tuned.

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs

First Post!

2008-02-01T13:00:00.001-05:00

Whew! I found myself in the posting space a lot sooner than I'd expected to be. Now I'll have to go back and reset the template. Oh well, there's something to be said for jumping right in, eh?

So... here I am, on BlogSpot at long last. I've been blogging for about a year over at Zaadz , which is now part of Gaia.com. My Gaia/Zaadz page (with link to that blog) is here to be viewed, if you're so inclined. I blather on there as the spirit moves about whatever is on my mind.

On this blog, however, I hope to document my journey as a "born again artist." What I mean by that is not that I'm doing Christian art or what-have-you, but that I have only recently rediscovered a love for painting and drawing that I had, regrettably, misplaced for very many years. Why that happened is -- well -- a story to tell, and perhaps I will do so in a future installment.

For the time being, I'll simply declare my intention to share my experiences -- and my work -- as an artist getting his groove back. I'll post whatever seems relevant to those experiences: thoughts, books, other artist's influences, exhibitions I'm visiting, classes I'm taking... you name it; I'll try to share it here.

And that will, of course, include whatever images I'm working on. I'll post my first (very recent) attempts at oil painting here very soon, and, over time, this page will showcase what I hope to be an extensive -- and steadily improving -- body of work.

It's not a little scarey just putting one's self out there in this way, exposing one's art, blemishes and all... but the idea intrigues me all the same. In any event, the deed is done, the die is cast. Let's do this thing.

I am grateful for any interest that finds its way here, and look forward to discovering new friends, teachers, mentors as my artistic journey unfolds.

More to come...

Copyright ©2008 by Rick Koobs