"Spence" An oil portrait

It's been a while since I painted a portrait.  This is from a snapshot I took of artist Chris Spencer of Locke, CA.  On this day, Spence was 'holding forth', as he often does, in front of Al the Wops.  Spence is not only a gifted artist who has made Locke his home for more than 30 years, but he is also one of those 'characters' that you run across now and then and who stay with you forever after.  I've had a lot of fun painting with Chris in Locke and the Delta and I've always enjoyed his outrageous (and insightful) take on life. 

I'd prefer to paint from life, but sometimes - often - that isn't possible.  I liked the photo and so I decided to try it.  It's a fairly large portrait - 16" x 20".   The compostion was difficult because of the hand, which I considered essential to the portrait.  It forced the head to the left of center, just the opposite of what I would normally want with the head also facing to the left.  As a result, the painting may be crowded on the left side. I'm not quite sure.  I've considered cropping closer (into a square) to see if that helps and I've tried it on Photoshop, but for now, I'll just let it sit for a week and then decide if it needs to be fixed is some way, or if it's ok as is.

Spence    oil on canvas   16" x 20"



Spence in Black and White  

Spence   Oil sketch on canvas

My Art Site: Bruce Hancock Fine Art

A great print experience!

I've never pursued the idea of selling prints of my artwork, but the concept got a significant boost the other day.  As an experiment (and at the request of two buddies) I sent off for a variety of prints using one subject photo.  I choose iPrintfromhome.com on the recommendation of a friend, and I'm glad I did. I new venue for my work might have opened up. 

My friends wanted prints of a Model A that I had done using a great old truck that I photographed at the Amador County Fair.  The painting is a small 8" x 10" oil on an Ampersand panel.  I liked the painting itself...and the color range from very dark to stark white made it a good test run candidate.  I ordered a 8x10 photo print lustre finish, a 9x12 inkjet lustre print (an upgraded process) and a 9 x 12 giclee on canvas (unstretched).  I was able to easily crop the photo of the painting on the firm's website to accommodate the slightly different size ratios.  The costs were very reasonable and the service was prompt and the prints were delivered impressively and securely packaged.  Honestly I'm blown away by the quality of the prints.  All of them are just great....and the prices for the work are very reasonable.  I'm delighted with the the whole process and the end result.  No, I'm not on the iPrintfromhome.com PR staff.  I just appreciate good work and value.  A few times I've commented on products and services that in my opinion, deliver what they promise and make the artist's life a little easier and more fun.  I'll try to do that more in the future, but for now....iPrintfromhome.com gets a California Painter Thumbs up!

Here are the sample prints l to r.  Photo print, 9 x 12 giclee (unstretched but with 3" canvas all sides for stretching. Can also be glued to a panel, of course), and the 9x12 inkjet.  

My Art Site: Bruce Hancock Fine Art

Noyo Harbor Watercolor Sketch

I'm working on an oil painting of a downtown Sacramento scene.  The focus is strong evening light on a beautiful, very old highrise with lots of deep shadows in the foreground.  I'm trying very hard to maintain the light and the shadows as the star of the painting without getting lost in architectural detail or people in the shadows.  On a couple of occasions, when I've felt the urge to began 'refining' the scene, I've stopped and broken out the watercolors.  With big brushes and washes and very little planning, I dive in.  With only a quarter sheet of watercolor paper and an hour of time at risk, it's easy to just let go.

This quick sketch took about an hour.  I used a plein air oil painting I did a year ago in Noyo Harbor at Fort Bragg, California for the subject matter.  It's obvious I'm still learning watercolor technique.  My washes are overworked and my painting approach is clearly that of an oil painter...strong and even a bit ham-handed...but I really enjoy these little sketches.  In a very short time it's done for better or worse.  I plan to try the same subject on a half sheet next...and with a bit more pre-planning.  Meanwhile, it's back to the shadows and the skyscraper.

Watercolor Study Noyo Harbor, CA   W/C on paper  approx 10"x14"

 

My Art Site: Bruce Hancock Fine Art

Morning Light on the Jackson Court House

This painting started as a plein air study and ended up being completely repainted in the studio.  My friend Howard Rees and I met in Jackson (Howard's home) and visited the old courthouse, now a museum, to paint.  We both set up in the same location where the morning light coming through the trees and skimming across the side of the building made a striking scene.  (Fortunately I took a picture as I was setting up - the one thing I did right that day!)

I made the classic mistake of 'chasing the light' which very quickly lit up the entire building as the shadows fell away.  Doing that, I lost the very thing that was so appealing earlier in the morning.  On top of that basic error, I had committed a number of drawing mistakes.  My perspective wasn't correct and I had placed the building too far to one side of the composition.  There were a number of simple drawing and relationship errors as well. In short, I had done a very poor job of planning the painting in the beginning and then compounded that mistake with lousy, rushed execution.  Normally I would have wiped the painting down to save the RayMar panel or simply set it aside to join a pile of other failed works.  But I was bothered that I had missed the target so widely on this effort and I decided to try to learn from it.

After the painting was completely dry, I redrew the building directly on the panel with charcoal.  I paid attention to the perspective in particular.  The colors in the original plein air work were dull, particularly in the sunlit areas, including the side of the building.  I pushed the color a bit in some places....or so I thought....but interestingly it turned out much closer to the 'real thing' than I would have guessed.

In the end, I felt good that I had not given up...that instead, I found solutions and worked through the problems.  The next time I go out to paint on location, I'll have this little exercise to fall back on.

Morning Light On The Jackson Courthouse   Oil on 16" x 12" canvas panel

  


My Art Site: Bruce Hancock Fine Art

Exploring Watercolor - New Mexico Ranch House

I had a very short time to paint yesterday afternoon...a good opportunity to continue exploring watercolors while keeping it loose.  It's hard to express the sense of freedom I've enjoyed while painting these small watercolor 'experiments'.   It feels just like what the Doctor ordered.  I have been so bound up, so confused with oils lately.  The watercolors have come along at just the right time. I am aware that I am painting them like an oil painter...and missing the subtle magic inherent in w/c ....but just letting it go and seeing what happens has been a terrific feeling. 

This 1/2 sheet was done in less than an hour....including clean-up, which mercifully is almost non-existent.  I used a photograph and oil painting I had done of an abandoned ranch house on the Acoma Reservation in New Mexico simply because both were right there when I decided I had an hour to "play."  I'm still very much re-learning watercolor process and technique, but for this sketch, I tried not to think too much.  One or two minutes of object placement with a pencil was all that went into the planning.  After that it was placing color with one of those wonderful razor sharp flats...whether that was the right brush or not!  Many mistakes and just a whole lot of FUN!

New Mexico Ranch House   watercolor approx.  14 x 20

My Art Site: Bruce Hancock Fine Art

Early Morning in Noyo Harbor - Plein Air

I've painted in Noyo Harbor at Fort Bragg California a number of times now.  There is so much great subject matter there that I can't resist, even though  finding places out of the way isn't always easy.  The light in the harbor can be difficult at times also.  It is surrounded by cliffs and high hills so that it is in shade early and late in the day.  At times I've found myself wishing for some light on the subject.  At other times, like the morning I painted this study, the light is very intense, almost blinding.

On this day I set up at the very mouth of the harbor, looking into it from a distance. Even though it was about 10 am in the morning, the sun was just reaching the harbor basin.  The low light streaming in from the left created a bright reflection on the morning mist that blocked most of the buildings and boats in the inner harbor from view.  There were intense reflections in the water as well.  I was hesitant at first to try to paint the scene because it was difficult to see into the harbor at all, but it was very striking and I couldn't resist trying.  As I painted the mist lifted and a few more of the distant structures became visible.  I omitted some for simplicity and barely suggested others, letting the light dominate.

This was a quick attempt to capture some of the feeling of that morning light.

Early Morning in Noyo Harbor   Oil on canvas panel   8" x 16"

My Art Site: Bruce Hancock Fine Art

Mendocino Again....in WATERCOLOR?!!

During my recent trip to Ft. Bragg and Mendocino, only one of the group, Judy, used watercolors.  It was interesting to see her daily paintings.  Some 40 years ago, I did paint in watercolor, learning from books by John Pike and Charles Reid and other fine painters, and I've always liked it.  My artist friend Howard Rees paints in both oil and watercolor.  In fact, he does quite a few watercolor workshops which are very popular.  Howard and I have frequently discussed watercolor and he has encouraged me to give it another try. I've resisted a little bit, thinking that it would be an unnecessary  'detour', but each time I see his watercolor work, I'm tempted. 

Recently I found two books on pencil drawing the head and the figure  and I've been doing some of the beginning 'lessons' on drawing the head again(more on that in another post).  For some reason, drawing with the pencil made me think about watercolors and Judy's nice work from Ft. Bragg.  I have a small kit of watercolor paints and brushes and a few sheets of watercolor paper gathering dust in the studio, and I couldn't resist any longer.

Yesterday, I found the reference photo I took of the buildings along Main Street in Mendocino, dug up the watercolor stuff and did my first watercolors in several decades**.   What a lot of fun.  It's so incredibly different than painting in oils.  In some ways, it feels like sketching...very immediate and quick.  The colors are so bright and clean too...except where I overworked them!  Many forgotten lessons and techniques came back to me as I painted...most of them only after I had done it wrong!  Anyway, here's my watercolor attempt at some of the same buildings I painted in oil in Mendocino (previous post).  I can't wait to do some more!

Main Street, Mendocino   Watercolor approx. 11" x 15"

 
(**Well, that's not entirely true.  I took two watercolor workshops about two years ago.  One was a two-day workshop and the other, mercifully, only one day.  If anything, they dampened my enthusiasm rather than energized me.  I had purchased some new w/c supplies for the workshops, but packed them up afterward.  Fortunately they were still there yesterday, waiting and raring to go for a fresh start!)  



My Art Site: Bruce Hancock Fine Art