Art Stuff of Jeremiah J White

The Eyeballing Game

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 07:05:00 +0000

There's a really nifty game online called "The Eyeballing Game." The game is just what it sounds like; you "eyeball" distances, angles, and locations based on existing lines, locations, or circles. It's aimed at woodworkers, but I think that it achieves an unintended success of being a good mental calibration tool for artists. Accuracy in drawing is all about being able to judge spacial relationships. With this game, it's a bit like exercise for that part of the brain.

http://woodgears.ca/eyeball

Self-portrait (WIP)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:24:00 +0000

As I mentioned before, I'm working on a self-portrait. I've wanted to do one each year, but turns out I really didn't like that idea after all. I also haven't really liked many of the self-portraits I have done, so that also probably plays into why it no longer sounds appealing. Who wants to look at themselves that much anyway? I feel better about the approach on this one. It's fairly simple, small, and yet communicates what I want it to.

This photo was taken right after the initial wash in of color. This lets me establish solid boundaries and also gives me a better idea of where I'll be going color wise. It also serves as a base for making layers above it more rich. This is one of the funner and more gratifying stages since it's accomplished in 1-2 sittings and it moves much faster than the underlying drawing did.

The next stage here is closer to the color I eventually want, but it's still more of a supportive layer at this point. Things are exaggerated and uneven. Areas such as around the eyebrows and other hair areas will be scumbled into to make them look more natural. Yet another William Bouguereau inspired technique (for example, his portrait of Gabrielle Cot.) In this stage, I'm also trying to give myself an idea of the background, which will be pretty simple.

This painting also marked the beginning of the use of a new oil painting medium after toying around with some other recipes that came close to what I wanted, but needed much tweaking. The medium I've concocted is basically half stand oil and half safflower oil with a drier added. It's lovely to work with. It's smooth and fluid and gives me much better control over the paint. I'll post the details of this medium in a subsequent post.

I'll try and post more WIP photos of this painting later as well.

Girl (Megan) Against a Wall - WIP

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 09:04:00 +0000

Here's a painting I've been working on off and on since the middle of last year. It's pretty small, considering the composition. It's only 16" x 20" on an MDF panel, gessoed many times. It's also a painting where I took a more serious approach to oil mediums. The medium used in this one is mostly 1/3 stand oil with 2/3 odorless mineral spirits. The initial layers were painted with mostly pure linseed oil which yellowed pretty quickly (which is why I began seeking out a similar, yet better medium.)

With this painting, I decided to do more work in progress photos of what I work on. I've tried to take photos at every significant stage on the piece. Subsequent pieces have had quite a few WIP photos as well (which I will post soon.) I want to show more of these WIPs so people interested can see how I work. The photos here start with the initial base layer of paint over the preliminary drawing. The preliminary drawing takes quite some time and I think the frustrations from that have kept me from taking more photos during or right after that stage. I need to take more photos during that stage since it's the foundation of my pieces. Anyway, after the block in and many measurements, I erase most of that and have an almost paint-by-numbers style drawing so laying in paint is much more solid and planned. I started doing this during my watercolor days, far before my oil days, and have been depending on a solid preliminary drawing more in the past few years.

This painting stars Megan as the model once again. It's in somewhat of a William Bouguereau style. I used similar techniques and composition. I'll say right away that I'm nowhere close to Bouguereau's skill, so don't think I'm trying to claim that. It is, however, the best way to learn from masters that one might admire. I started with a very thin, transparent layer of paint underneath, which establishes color boundaries and also enriches the layers that follow. The next layers become more opaque and give more of an idea of what the painting will look like in the end. Layers are the name of the game here. Even though each looks completely opaque, really, they each show a bit of the underlying layer. I do this in my charcoal and graphite drawings as well (I'll show that later.)

Also, please forgive the crappy photos. They were done quickly, since taking WIP photos haven't been perfected yet in my practice. Some have incorrect color balances, some are skewed a bit, and most have too many reflective imperfections. It's mostly to just give you a good idea of the stages.

I hope that explains enough. If not, please let me know.

Derelict blogger, sorry.

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 08:25:00 +0000

My web presence has been sparse lately. I plan on changing that.

Expect more to come very soon.

General art website updates

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 07:33:00 +0000

This has been a busy summer filled with dizzying highs and spell bounding lows. As mentioned before, I'm now working on a smaller scale to try and produce more work in the detail I want so I can make the most of the little time I have. So far it's been a (small) success.

Another small success is updating my website (JeremiahJWhite.com). I finally got around to posting more of my artwork on it since the redesign. I'm hoping to have many more updates in the future as I complete more small work.

If any of you will be in the Fort Collins downtown area on August 18th and 19th, be sure to look for my tent and stop in to say hi. I'll be displaying a variety of work for the annual Creative Abilities show which will be part of a larger event happening that weekend.

Solo Exhibition

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Fri, 18 May 2007 03:17:00 +0000

The Artists Lair Presents
Jeremiah J White
A Solo Exhibition of Original Paintings and Drawings
May 26th, 2007 - June 3rd, 2007

Opening Reception May 26th, 2007 5pm - 8pm
JeremiahWhite.com ~ (719) 271-2325

If you're free that night, I'd love to see you there.

The Artists Lair
2766 Janitell Rd
Colorado Springs, CO 80906
(719) 576-5247
www.artistslair.net

Angel Statue

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 17:40:00 +0000

Here's a small drawing I've been meaning to post

Graphite on Paper
6.5" x 9.5"
2006

Flowers in Clear Glass Vase

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 17:33:00 +0000

Here's a new one that I've neglected to post

Oil on Hardboard
14" x 18"
2006

The General's Portrait

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 04:46:00 +0000

The General's portrait is finished and I'm showing it here first. I'll have it on my official websites soon enough, but here are the goods.

I took photos of other completed paintings, but this is the only one I have time to show for now. Keep an eye out for a couple more paintings, if you're interested.

Wash your hands!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 19:53:00 +0000

If you've painted with oils before, you know that getting that paint off of your hands can be a pain. I've tried a lot of different things. The abrasive hand cleaners like Fast Orange/Gojo work well, but if you wash with it everyday, you'll probably wear several layers of skin off in the process (trust me, I've been there.) Special artist's soaps are usually more expensive then they're worth.

Anyway, I've found that the best way to get oil paint off of your hands (or things like motor oil or grease) is by washing your hands with baby oil. The baby oil (which is just scented mineral oil) dilutes the quicker drying oils of the paint and keeps it from staying in the little cracks and crevices of your skin. It also helps wash away paint thinner from your skin. What's also good about baby oil is that it's relatively safe to use (mineral oil can be swallowed as a laxative, if you so desire, though I prefer to use it on my hands) and also inexpensive.

The nice thing about using mineral oil to clean other hard to wash oils from your skin is that it can be easily washed away with dish soap or liquid hand soaps. So, basically, you pour the baby oil on your hands, rub them together until the paint is removed from your skin, and then wash the remaining baby oil from your hands with soap.

Useful software

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 19:34:00 +0000

If you need to organize your thoughts, you might want to try a program called FreeMind. It's a free mind mapping program that can really help unclutter your head.

Return to normalcy.

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 23:10:00 +0000

Holidays are over. Routines can go back to normal and painting can take place on a more consistent and regular basis. Although the holidays interfered with my normal habits, I still managed to get further on a portrait then I had anticipated. After working on the General's portrait, I tend to work much faster then I used to.

Speaking of habits; I need to get into the habit of better journaling my progress, work, and environment with photos. This blog is a good example. I've been known to go on with more words then most people, including myself, would care to read without the occasional visual reference. Besides, I'm much more visual and I like having photos to go along with my ideas, thoughts, and memories.

Happy New Year.

Still here

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 17:45:00 +0000

Hey guys,
Sorry I haven't posted a new blog in a while. We've just finished moving into our new place. Packing, moving, unpacking, and everything in between made painting or even drawing anything significant almost impossible. The good news is that I have a much better studio now. My new studio has a window, ventilation, better lighting, and heat! My previous studio didn't have those things, which meant I couldn't paint for very long without being overwhelmed by fumes, heat, or the bitter cold of winter.

Right now, I'm finishing up 3 paintings and starting a new portrait that had to be put off for a while. Now that I have the chance and better means to go about it, I'm going to be painting and drawing like mad. Expect to see more work here soon.

Another thing that's being changed is my primary website, JeremiahWhite.com. It'll have more of my newer finished work with a cleaner format. I'll make a post when it goes live.

Update on the General's portrait

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 04:58:00 +0000

I've been working hard yet not showing people the results of what I'm doing. Great marketing strategy, eh? Anyway, I finally took pictures (mediocre pictures) of my current portrait. For now, I'm just going to show the face rather then the entire portrait because there probably won't be too much more work to go before I'm done with it. The photos will be a lot better, too.

I have more to post, just not much time, space, or energy to actually do so. There is more to come, though!

More on materials: Graphite Pencils

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 19:54:00 +0000

Here comes another post that will likely only interest some artists...

For a long time, I would use mostly wooden pencils. They were cheaper and more available in various hardnesses. I still like wooden pencils, but mostly just when I need the feel and action of a wooden pencil. The problems with them seem to keep them from being practical. They break pretty easily, for one. Mostly, it's the lead. If you break the tip and need to sharpen it again, you'd better have an electric sharpener nearby. If you're on the go, breaking a tip can be frustrating. Trying to use a typical hand sharpener is messy and annoying. Then, keeping it sharp can be messy, which isn't very acceptable in some situations.

Now a days, I use good ol' mechanical pencils. They're more durable and can take more abuse. My pencils usually go with me wherever I go, stored away in my backpack. Many a wooden pencil has met their doom in my backpacks. They also stay sharp! If you break the lead, you just click the button a couple of times and you're ready to go. They're also much cleaner then wooden pencils. They cost a bit more then wooden pencils, but in the long run, they end up being much cheaper.

I usually have a range of mechanical pencils on hand. Below is what my normal graphite kit will consist of:

Lead Sizes: .3mm, .5mm, .9mm
Lead Hardnesses: 2H, H, F, HB, B, 2B, 4B (in some widths)

.3mm mechanical pencils are the hardest to find in most stores. If they do have them, they're usually kind of expensive. I ordered them in bulk off the internet and it saved me a lot of money. .5mm and .9mm are generally easy to find at nearly any office supply store.

Soon, I want to post photos and an explanation of my mobile drawing kit. I finally have one that works well for me (after much trial and error). Hopefully, it'll help somebody avoid the mistakes I've made.

My Palette

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 08:02:00 +0000

One question I hear a lot of artists ask other artists is what kind of palette they use. This topic can be very interesting for some, and very, very boring for others. You've been warned.

Palette can mean the wooden doohicky you put the paint on, or it can mean the type of colors you prefer. Artist street lingo, I suppose. In a way it is kind of a "street" thing, in that artists sometimes look at other artists palettes like rival gang colors. You can't use this color, this brand, and it has to be laid out just so. I just use what I like in a way I prefer to use it. Some may judge me for it, some may gain ideas or tips from the way I do things. If it's the latter, I'll be flattered (hooray for rhymes!).

First off is a picture of the three palettes I use. I use several palettes because I want to keep my color schemes or mixtures separate. For example, if I have the perfect mix of color on one (or mostly warm colors), I'll go to a different palette that I can mix a different range of colors, such as cool colors. There's also times where I have to cover a large area with one range of color so I have to mix just a few paints but need a large area to mix it and get the tones I want.

Right now, I'm using smaller palettes because it's easier to swap them around without knocking things over (I have a small studio space so this happens a lot). I also sit for the majority of my painting so they often sit on my lap, which makes the shape insignificant. Generally, I use the rounder palette more frequently and if I have to hold one if I'm standing, this one is more comfortable.

As far as laying my color on the palette... I tend to just put the colors I need at the time in places I find it most comfortable for me. No, I don't lay down every paint I have in a perfect color spectrum. It's organized from right to left in my head, so it's organized that way on my palette. The order I use most often is white, black, browns, blues, greens, reds, yellows. The green and red will change places sometimes, though.

Now to the colors. I have a lot of different hues, but I often use just a few. It's important to have anything you need at hand, so I do stock up on a variety of colors. This is what I use most, based on it's color range:

Blacks and Whites
Ivory Black
Titanium White

Browns
Raw Umber
Raw Sienna
Burnt Sienna (this will sometimes be my red, too)

Blues
French Ultramarine
Prussian Blue
Cerulean Blue

Reds
Cadmium Red Deep

Yellows
Yellow Ochre (used more then cad yellow)
Cadmium Yellow

Green
Sap Green

To me, that's a very expanded list. Most of the time my palette consists of mainly Raw Umber, Black, White and just minor additions of one of the primaries. It always seems to look like I use the primaries more, but I really don't.

Oh yeah, and the plastic drawers are a life saver for organizing paint. It's much better then keeping them in a big heap and scrambling through it turning the labels toward you to find what you need. Just make sure you get strong drawers that can withstand some weight in them without coming off. The top drawer on the left is where my most used paint is, the one below it is for second most used paints. The rest of the drawers hold extras of my most used tubes or paint that I rarely use but keep around for when I need them.

Hope this helps answer some questions or even gives you some ideas that you can put toward your painting methods.

-Jeremiah White

The General's portrait

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 08:50:00 +0000

Currently, I'm working on the General's portrait. It's one of my more detailed portraits so it's taking longer then I had originally hoped. I think that it'll turn out to be worth the extra time. The light at the end of the tunnel is starting to appear and it makes me excited.

Pictures of it's current state will hopefully be available this weekend.

After that's finished, it'll be time to work on the Doctor's portrait. That one will be a lot of fun. It'll be delicate, yet expressive and loose (at least I'll try as hard as I can to make it that way).

Ballet Slippers

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 18:32:00 +0000

Title: Ballet Slippers
Medium: Oil on Panel
Size: 8.5" X 11"
Price: $550

This is one of the first in my upcoming series of smaller paintings. I enjoyed painting the iridescent fabric and how it reflected the light. Another fun part to paint was the folds in the fabric that the slippers are laying on. I suppose most artists would try and iron the cloth first before setting up a still life.

Self Portrait

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 18:29:00 +0000

Title: Self Portrait
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Size: 24" X 48"
Price: $3,000

When I decided to do a self portrait, I wanted it to be pretty basic and honest. It had to be a real reflection of myself. No fancy lighting or flattering angles, no complex or beautiful setting, no classy clothes, just basic stuff. I used just the lighting from a cloudy fall day and the driveway as a setting. My clothing choice was just something I would go out to the store in on a cold day.

Skull

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 18:26:00 +0000

Title: Skull
Medium: Charcoal on Paper
Size: 9" X 12"
Price: $250

Art Supplies

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah J White) — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 21:15:00 +0000

I must admit, one of the best things about being an artist is the art supplies.
I could spend hours just walking up and down the ailes staring at all of their wares. Erasers, pencils, brushes, solvents, paper, and just about everything else.