Foreground and Middle Ground

I did this painting yesterday. I am studying the way a good painting is constructed. A good painting has a foreground, middle ground and background. The idea is to try to create the illusion of depth. This is trying to show early morning in Aix on a hot summers day. Click on image to see a larger view.

This painting I did almost Three years ago. I have a foreground, the road, taking your eye into the painting to the front of the barn in the middle ground. That is what painters must do, move the viewers eye through the painting to places they want you to go.

Island Day.

I did this painting as a demonstration for my watercolor class this last Semester. I taught Oil Painting and Watercolor. I did it fast. I spent a year in Hawaii when I was younger. I like the island in the background.

More Paintings

Below are my latest paintings. I am striving to try to portray light. The Paris painting I just finished this morning. It is 15" x 22" unframed. If you are interested in purchasing any of these paintings, contact me at ken@kenharris.com. The French Cafe painting I may do again and maybe add some figures on the right and try to work minimally with a little more contrast in the umbrellas.

Digital Diversions

I have been trying to keep up with technology by doing digital art. That is, I have been painting on a computer using a pen tool on a tablet or drawing directly on a tablet computer. Above is a painting I did in a computer program called "Painter Elements". It is a painting I did from a memory of walking from the Eiffel Tower to the Arch of Triumph in Paris. I used the smearing acrylic paint brush tool. One thing I like about digital art is I don't have to set up all my paints before I begin. And as long as the computer works I don't run out of paint. The cool thing also is that once I make the painting I can quickly come up with different versions or approaches to the subject. The key to making a good digital painting is knowing how to make a good painting using traditional mediums like watercolor, oil or acrylic. Actually the key to making a good digital piece is understanding the the principles of what makes a good painting. The computer is just a medium. So don't throw away your pencil. Click on image to see a larger version.

Below is another treatment of the same painting. On the menu in the paint program was an option that said "wood cut". I clicked on that option and the filter digitally created the linoleum cut print. Kind of cool. Either of these two Paris images are for sale for $20 US dollars plus $4 shipping. They measure 10" x 12.5". Contact me at ken@kenharris.com.

This "pen and Ink" Drawing I did with My Wacom tablet in Painter Essentials. It is a copy of an etching by Albrecht Dürer. It was a good study.

Also below is a sample of a "profile study" I did from the Artist magazine. An artist gave a demonstration of how to paint a portrait that was back lit. I drew this directly onto the screen of my Motion Computing tablet PC with a computer pen. At the bottom is another "tablet" drawing I did in a waiting room of my health care provider. I finished it up in photshop later. I have learned a lot by copying these exercises in art books or of the old masters. Mary Cassat thought it was invaluable to go to a museum set up your easel and copy the work of the old masters. I recently went to a small Picasso exhibit in LA. Even though I am not a fan of Picasso, I noted and learned something from how he did his brush work. 

2012 Watercolor Appointment Calendar Now Selling

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Sample Page

My new 2012 Appointment Calendar featuring some of my art that is on this blog is now for sale. This year I am giving a 13th month (January 2013) for free. It makes a great Christmas gift. The calendar measures 11" x 17" when hanging on the wall. The squares for writing your daily appointments measure 1 3/8" x 1 3/8" The calendar sells for $12. Add $4 shipping in the USA and $2 for each additional calendar. Quantity discounts are now available for those who have a lot of Christmas cheer or for those who want to give out to clients and vendors as a Christmas gift. We can even put the name of your company and contact information on the bottom of the page of each month. To order your calendar  or to inquire about quantity discounts. click on my email address below.
ken@kenharris.com

Acrylic

Huntington Beach Sunset

This is an acrylic painting I have done recently. Acrylic is an interesting medium. You have to work fast because the paint dries fast. The upside is if you make a mistake wait for the paint to dry, which isn't long, and then repaint over your mistake. This was painted on a 8' x 10' piece of plywood I had primed with with acrylic gesso.

Still Life

The Image above I painted with the class I am teaching at Vanguard University of Southern California. It is a still life made up of elements from my house. A Fiesta Ware pitcher, a pear and a chili and an orange from my yard. The painting is based on a painting by the Spanish painter, Francisco Zurburan (see image below). You can learn a lot as an artist by taking a painting you like from a master and copy the style into one of your own compositions. See link to learn more about him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_de_Zurbarán

Lemons by Francisco Zurbaran

New Daze

A few of these paintings I have done recently. The first is of Three roses in our back yard. I painted these early one morning before going to my day job as a graphic designer. I loosely put down color and then started peppering the paper with salt. Lots of salt. It added some texture. I'm going to try it again soon.

The schooner I did atop a 5 story building adjacent to Newport Harbor. I don't like heights. The only way I kept myself from freaking out was to concentrate on the painting. The Horse at Santa Rosa Road in San Luis Opispo County I did a while ago. I did it from a photo I took when I was there years ago. The next painting I did just recently at my brother-in-laws family farm in Dixon, Cailfornia. I saw these two old gum trees in the late morning and just decided to paint them. I took a lunch break and then sat in a green plastic patio chair and painted. It was like going back in time a bit. The weather was beautiful. Not hot. Not cold. It was peacefully quiet. Not something I hear everyday.

The next Painting I started on location as well in New Hampshire. I was standing by the creek and it was starting to rain. I used this painting as a demonstration at a Christian high school and finished it when I got back to California. The final painting I painted at a local historic park near where I live. It is an old California farm water tower minus the water tank and windmill which should be on the roof.