My wife, I and the four legged kids (Molly & Pepper) embarked on a short trip to Lancaster County to visit with my cousin and her family. We have such a fantastic time whenever we are together. It's nice living relatively close to them (roughly a 2 hour drive), so that when we are in need of some laughs and good times, we can just hop in the car and pay a visit. If we remain invited for future visits.. we do tend to get a little crazy from time to time. Who doesn't?
Molly and Pepper poised by the bags showing that they are ready to get going. They get so excited to get in the car for the trip to Lancaster Pennsylvania!
The Pup's settled in, on the back porch (they LOVE being on the back porch) of their home away from home.
I took a picture of a neighbor's home just off the front side of my cousins property, looking off into the hills of Lancaster County. That picture of a cool, brisk, orange-yellow sunrise, inspired me to create an oil painting from it. That oil painting was given to my cousin, who absolutely loves it.
This is the photo I took (on the left) and the painting I created from it (on the right). I called it, appropriatly, 'Lancaster County Morning'. She had it framed and recently expressed interest in having another one painted. This time she asked for a winter scene. The same frame, same general scene of the neighbor's home, but this time with snow on the ground.
Came from a few different places. For one, I love the view from their property, especially in the morning hours of first light. The sun pops up over those Lancaster hills with passion and beauty.
I enjoy watching it rise as I sip my coffee, walk through the crisp air, and tend to the dogs as they do what dogs do (sniff, sniff, pee, pee, poo, poo). haha.. hey! It's what they do!
I also took inspiration from the last painting I created (pictured at the beginning of this post). I wanted to keep the general form the same. I added and omitted a few things and changed the scene to my liking.
The last bit of inspiration came in the form of another picture (seen below). My cousin took this one and asked if I could paint something similar to it. Of course I would make a few changes and brighten up the colors a little in my rendition.
I have my inspiration and photo for reference, my supplies, a deadline, and an excitement to get started. Like so many other paintings before this one, I started with a very light pencil sketch of the scene on a 5.5" by 7.5" piece of paper. Since I need this painting to be dry by the weekend, I am sort of glad I chose paper to paint the scene on.
I have my paper, pencil, sharpie, and coffee ready to go!
This is the finished light pencil sketch. I only spent about a minute or two on it. Just enough to rough in the ideas I had before I applied the dark sharpie sketch.
After finishing the pencil sketch, I applied some darker lines to the drawing. I know that these lines are most likely going to show through the paint, depending on how thick I apply it. That's sort of the idea anyhow, to have some of those lines remain visible.
Now I am ready to start painting! For this painting I am only going to utilize four colors; Black, White, Purple and A shade of yellow. That's it!
So.. Here We GO! The first bit is applied..
I start with the background, the sky, and move forward from there. I layer in the color as I go, trying not to cover up my drawing beyond visibility. If I do, I can always trace the tree out with a metal tracing tool or the pencil.
With the sky pretty much roughed in and blended, I move forward to the structure. I start with the snow covered areas first. I didn't waste a lot of time creating all of the details, when this can be done last.
I am now working on a few details of the structure. Not too much detail will be present in this painting. I just want to add enough to give the idea of certain elements. I try to remember to peak at the other painting I painted and keep them relatively similar in style and structure. After all, they will be framed and on the wall next to one another.
Things really begin to fill in, now that I am well into creating this painting. I only have a little bit of bare, white paper left to paint in.
I am finally ready for a few highlights. I place those into the painting in key areas where I think light may be reflecting off of the snows surface.
The final touches are done! I added my signature and THOUGHT I was finished.. I didn't like that the farm buildings on the horizon of the painting stood out like a sore thumb. They stood out way too much for my liking. I had to change this, so I repainted the area and am so glad I did.
Before and After photos of the change to the horizon. A small change, but one that was needed.
That I found the time to paint something, that I did it in under 3 hours, and that it came out pretty stinking good (given my level of talent, of course). What made me feel even better, was the look on my cousins face when she looked at it for the first time. She's either really good at lying or she was truly happy with her new painting. I am choosing the latter because to me it made the weekend trip all that more special.
One last photo that sums up the entire creative process above.
If your interested in the post that featured the sister painting to this one, 'Lancaster County Morning', it can be found here:
'Lancaster County Morning'
and ends in a sunset, the same way we
open our eyes to see the light,
and close them to hear the dark.
You have no control over
how your story begins or ends.
But by now, you should know that
all things have an ending.
Every spark returns to darkness.
Every sound returns to silence.
And every flower returns to sleep
with the earth.
The journey of the sun
and moon is predictable.
But yours,
is your ultimate
ART.”
― Suzy Kassem ~ Heartwork
My art work incorporates a wide variety of subject matter, including landscape, seascape, cityscape, and still life images. My works are the product of a continuing process of exploration through which I seek to portray personal and visionary interpretations of my surroundings. My paintings are impressions of places and events from everyday life, an interpretation of my imagination, and personal responses to what I see and feel on a daily basis. More recently I have invested generous amounts of time into my landscape painting. I am surrounded by natural and man made beauty, which inherently presents itself in the tri-state area, and almost demands that I paint it.
Not everything is art. Art is not everything, but it comes close. Art is everywhere and all the time. Art makes you experience the beauty of the world, the people in it, and the places we call home. Art itself is so influential that it can tell stories, show feelings, and express passion or fury. Art exists in addition to language; expression of sensations and thoughts, revealing a way of thinking too subtle and delicate for words.
For me art requires love, honesty and perseverance. In return, it reveals some personal, non-analyzable, and creative untamed passion. For the public, art with its magnificent beauty, improves mood and health and builds better human beings and communities. It engages the intellect, softens the heart, strengthens the soul and frees the spirit.
Or
If you don't see the piece in either shop, It may still be drying. Let me know and I can upload it as soon as possible to be available. Or you can always make me an offer (in HBD, Hive or any other crypto) in the comments section of this post. If we agree on a price, I will then ship the painting to you. (shipping costs will be determined by your location).
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