Yes, I realize I'm a bad bad boy who doesn't update this often enough anymore.  I have many many new pieces that I've not uploaded pictures of.  There are a couple on display at the pub that I haven't even taken pictures of yet!  My pastel works are coming along very well and I'm extremely happy with that medium.  It really suits my impetuous nature, my need to do things rather immediately lest they be forgotten in the heat of a new inspiration.  I think this month alone I've completed about 5 pieces.  I'll try to follow up with pictures soon.  I also have a few pictures of the opening at Mike McGovern's I'd like to post.  Maybe I'll get around to that soon.

 

I have to put together my application for another show up in Pennsylvania before the end of the month.  I forgot about it until just this very moment.

 

Yesterday, we put together a studio space in a spare bedroom upstairs.  I have lots of wall space to hang curing canvases and pastel pieces in progress or waiting to be framed.  My only concern about it is that I'll feel isolated and not be willing to work there very often.  We'll see how it goes.

 

I'll be adding some new folks to my list of other artists on Spaces.  Check them out too!

Well, my wife just called and told me that I recieved acceptance into my first juried show!  It is a fairly large art fair-type gathering.  I'm pretty excited about it.  This is a huge week, I have to go set up for my month-long solo exhibition Wednesday night and then open it on Thursday.  I have a league championship hockey game tonight too.  So, I'll be out very late because we also like to a parking lot cook out after final games.  So far this season I have 5 goals and 3 assits in I believe 12 games.

 

On recent art work, I have 3 completed pieces that I haven't uploaded pictures of yet.  I decided to diversify and do some more flowers (fuschias again).  All of these are small at 11X14 but they were really fun to do.  I've also begun to experiment with pastels.  So far, I really like them.  I only have a very small set so my pieces are fairly limited in depth.

Finally!  Here is the finished product of Alexander Ovechkin.  The piece is 22X28.  I'm very impressed with myself on this one.

Wow, I've really gotten lazy about posting new entries here.  I really should probably post more shorter ones.

 

Anyway, I'm working on a 14X18 of Jarome Iginla.  He plays for the Calgary Flames for those of you who don't actually follow NHL hockey.  I'm currently wearing the same number as him, 12.  I'm nowhere near as successful in finding the back of the net, though.  I'd say I'm about 70% complete with this one on an hour effort basis.  I've put in about 5 hours total so far.

 

I'm nursing a torn rotator cuff in my left shoulder.  I have real problems with these.

I completed Ovechkin.  There were still some things I might have done but it needed to be put aside.  I may go back and touch those up at a later time.  I also started and completed a study of a bird, a blue fronted amazon.  I think it turned out well.  I'll post some pictures in fairly short order.

 

Also got the Setanta sports channel on Directv!! Awesome! Rugby...lots of rugby...

My Ovechkin painting is frustrating me some.  It's a combination of factors: it's taking me much longer than it really should and I'm not having enough opportunities to work on it.  I have several more projects I want to work on but I'm closing in this one and it's hard to start something else when I'm not having to wait on layers to dry.  I put in about 2 hours Monday night and I still feel I have about 5 more to go to "complete" it.  I'm approaching 30 hours invested on this piece now and it really should not have taken this long.  I overworked the jersey early on and I'm paying for it now with too many layers to retone the darks.  I may force in a half hour or so tonight before my own hockey game just so I can keep moving forward.  My son has a tournament this weekend and Sunday is completely shot (one game at 6:00 AM!?!?!? and possibly as many as 3 games that day.)  I should be able to put forth some effort Friday night and Saturday morning.  I HAVE to finish this by the end of next week so I can get it in my April show.

 

I was hoping to do a series of rookie phenoms with Sydney Crosby up next but I don't see it happening.  I'll give it my best but I doubt I'll do many hockey paintings during the summer after the season is over.

 

 

I realize I've not posted anything for about a week now so, here goes, a rather bland posting where I say how many hours I have left on this painting or that painting....

 

Ovechkin needs about 5 or so hours over 3 sessions.  The only area left to detail out is the right sleeve of the jersey.  Everything after that is thin glazing to give extra highlights or deepen shadows.  I guess I've probably put in about 25 hours on this one so far.  It's been a real challenge.

 

The church painting, well, what can I say, I really am not liking it.  I could probably finish it in about 2 hours or less but I'm having trouble setting my mind to task since I'm not at all satisfied.  The style and techniques are not really typical of me so that's what's at issue.  I'm quite certain that many people will fall in love with it, though.

 

Not much else to tell...oh yeah, scored two goals the other night!  I'm back on pace for a 15 point season, yeah!

Well, the date of my exhibition has been set for the month of April.  I have space for 6-8 paintings at Mike McGovern's Pub in Baltimore.  It is a beautiful little Irish themed pub in a neighborhood in the process of redevelopment.  Please visit the website and if you're ever in Baltimore, go for a visit!

 

Now, I'm afraid I have a conundrum.  I'm not really sure what I'd like to show.  I know that my landscapes tend to please a wider audience but I don't feel they are as technically sound as my more recent sports work.  The audience at McGovern's is a fairly wide array with many being sports fans but just as many not really caring.  So, for that reason, I'd like to request of my viewing audience here: What do you think would be best to show?  If you would be so kind, give me 2 pieces you think would work for this type of exhibition.  Many thanks in advance!

We got about the only real snow of the whole season along the mid-atlantic region Saturday.  Out where we live, we got about 12 inches but I heard of folks who got more like 18 inches +.  We managed to get to the grocery while the snow whipped about Saturday afternoon.  Now, we're not panic shoppers so we weren't stocking up for the end of civilization like so many other people do around here.  We genuinely needed to buy groceries.  All of the panic-striken masses had ravaged the store on Friday so it was about normal in terms of number of people there.  We were amazed to still find milk on the shelves!  With the cupboards laden, I proceeded to tear into some canvas.  The Alexander Ovechkin piece is moving along well with jersey and face fully blocked in.  The Capitals logo, gloves and helmet still need to be blocked in though.  The face is rather well built and I'm going to let it rest for a bit as I decide if I've done a decent job or not in making it look like him.  I started another 14X18 canvas that is based upon a small local rural church.  I originally had planned to stay faithful to the actual location but found it lacking in compositional elements so I embellished the scene liberally.  Anyone local who knows the church will recognize that aspect although it is in a completely different surrounding.

 

I've been having some mild issues with my turps thinned ground washes.  They just aren't drying like they should be.  Granted, I've used a much thicker wash than typical so I have lots of vibrancy in the finished piece but the wash on the Ovechkin is still not completly dry even after 1 week.  Very strange.

At last!  Here is the finished product.  Peter Forsberg of the Philadelphia Flyers jumps on a loose puck at the blue line.  He'd better get his head up if he doesn't want to be layed out on the ice by a defenseman!  Dangerous business crossing the blue line with your head down, staring at the puck.

 

 

Here's my recently completed panorama of Eagle Crater as seen from the Opportunity rover.  The actual panorama was taken over Sols 58-60, a full 2 months after landing.  The rover spent the first 2 months on Mars investigating the bedrock seen behind the lander.

I finished the Mars painting last night.  I'm fairly pleased with it.  I'll post a pic of it as soon as my lazy butt gets around to making one.  I promise I won't take TOO long.

 

My Peter Forsberg/hockey painting is really taking shape quickly.  It's only 14X18 so it's one of the smaller canvases I've worked on recently.  All of the base tone layers are down except for the hockey stick and the puck on the ice.  I've put one frottie layer on the ice and dasher boards.  The ice looks great if I might brag.  I'll do one more glaze of Payne's Grey for shadowing effects and then a final frottie.  The dasher boards I think need a slightly thicker frottie layer before I add the advertisements and seam covers.  2 or 3 more nights of work and this will be done.

 

I need to find some pictures of Alexandre Ovechkin so I can begin some sketches for my next painting.  I'm going to work on a larger canvas this time.

Many of the paintings you see in the gallery are for sale.  All of my originals are oil on canvas or Belgian Linen.  At this time, I am only offering prints from the giclee process on canvas, no lithographs.  Giclees offer a much better print product, preserving the colors and brushwork much better than lithographs.  Also, they appreciate in value along with the original piece and are a much better investment for the collector.  In some cases, I will hand embellish the giclee prints, further increasing their value.  In this process, I will take each and every print.  All giclee prints will be shipped unstretched and have a certificate of authenticity.  I will only ship prints unstretched because the expense of shipping a stretched canvas in adequate containers with insurance will outweigh the expense the collector must incur to have it stretched upon reciept.  I will sell the unframed originals online but due to the expense of shipping, I truly suggest you consider a print or come to an exhibition where you can pick the piece up.  Here is a brief list of some of the pieces I currently have available.

 

Gaining the Blue Line  - 14 X 18 Oil on Belgian Linen Original $400, Hand Embellished Giclee $175

Todd Heap - 24 X 18 Oil on Canvas Original $400, Hand Embellished Giclee $200

Antrim Hurling - 16 X 20 Oil on Canvas Original $400, Hand Embellished Giclee $160

$50 from the sale of Antrim Hurling will be donated to the Baltimore Gaelic Athletic Association.

Through the Line - 14 X 18 Oil on Canvas Original $250, Hand Embellished Giclee $90

Laying it Out - 14 X 18 Oil on Canvas Original $175, Giclee $90

 

Commissions are also accepted.  Please email me and we can discuss specifics.

 

If you are interested in something that is not listed there, I would be more than happy to discuss price of the original or even to have a single print made up for you without passing the entire cost of scanning the image on.  The scanning of the original can be a fairly sizable investment which must be made up over time by multiple sales of prints but I am willing to take a small loss on a single print as it enables me to recoup at least a portion of my expense in scanning a piece I would not normally have invested in. Please also visit my ArtMajeur site here.

 

Thanks!

 

John

 

I found this site yesterday and was quickly impressed by what I saw and made my own place there.  I like it because I have most all of the blogging type features available here but most everyone on that site is an artist of some fashion so I can get feedback on my various pieces individually and not get tunnel vision thinking only one type of my work is worthy of working on.  I've not uploaded all of my work onto there yet but I'll get there eventually.  Please check it out! Saturn's Eye on DeviantArt

I've transferred my full size sketch onto the canvas and hopefully I'll have time to put in most of the ground tonight.  As I was preparing to transfer, I realized that my subject was too far on the left of the page and thusly, none of him was going to be near enough to the golden mean points.  So, I moved him over to be just a bit more centered and now his head and upper body are just right.  By adding the blue line, I made a nice path for the eye to follow to the puck and on to the blade of the stick which brings the eye right up to the upper torso.  I plan to lead the viewer around into the background with a few splashes of orange in the dimly lit crowd and then back to the subject with well placed wear marks along the dasher boards to break up the advertising as well as skate blade marks on the ice surface.

 

My Mars painting is coming along but I'm worried about the color depth I have to work with.  I think I may have to introduce yellow ochre to the pallet.  I was hoping to keep it to only about 5 colors in the working pallet but I need some more richness and I think that will do it.  This one is going to set aside for a few days while I think about it some more.

So, I've definitely decided to move some hockey to the front of the queue.  I think some of the difficulties I was having with the initial stages of the Peyton Manning painting stem from my overall lack of passion for American football.

 

I began some basic composition sketches the other night.  My first piece is going to be one of my favorite power forwards, Peter Forsberg of the Philadelphia Flyers.  Now, I detest the Flyers, but, Forsberg is just too great a player to let something like him currently playing for a team I don't like get in my way.  Chances are, he's going to finish his career in Philadelphia.  After this one is complete, I think I will do a short series on some of the great rookies of this current season.  Of course, this will include Alexander Ovechkin and Sydney Crosby.  Marek Svatos of the Avalanche is firmly in third place in rookie scoring so he may round out the rookie series if I have the patience to complete 3 paintings of rookies.

Here are my two newest paintings.  The painting of the skateboarder was begun about 15 years ago.  It was a real sense of accomplishment to finish it even if I'm not 100% happy with it.  I love the color play in Antrim hurling but I think maybe I should have spent more time on it.  I took a lot of liberties with jersey.  The actual jerseys have white patches with green striping on the sleeves as well as green striping on the collar.  I left it out to focus attention more on the sliotar balanced on the bas of the hurley to demonstrate the level of skill required to play this sport.  I thought I had taken lots of good pictures of it during the full process but then when I went back and reviewed it, turns out I only took pictures during the very early stages and not during the real painting effort.

 

I have a very odd canvas on the easel right now.  It's 12X36 and I've decided to do a panorama taken by one of the Mars rovers.  I've always wanted to paint space themes.  Hopefully I can pull it off well.

 

I'm also composing a painting of Peyton Manning.  As it stands right now, he's at the line changing the play with an audible.  So far, it's been a bit of a struggle.  I think I'm going to begin composing my first hockey painting and maybe get it in the queue before the Manning painting.