Demonstration For El Campo Art Association

This is as far as I got with the portrait demonstration for the El Campo Art Association last weekend.  We had a great time.  The group actively participated with me as I painted.  I also brought some other materials and tools of the trade in which we spent quite a bit of time discussing.  The art submitted in the show competition was exceptional.  I liked all of it.

Unfortunately, I didn't finish the portrait during the demonstation but was able to demonstrate enough technique to show what the basic steps for painting a portrait consists of.  I will continue to work on this painting to make corrections and add layers until it is finished.

Let us pray before we paint,
Jimmie

This is an oil portrait of my lovely wife Carolyn.  It is painted on a 14x11 stretched canvas.  I plan to paint another one on a 20x16 if I can get her to sit for me rather than use a cropped photo for reference.  I know absolutely nothing about how a woman combs their hair.  I just tried to go with the flow I saw in a couple of photos and hope for a soft realistic look.  She is ok with it, that is what counts.  As you would expect, I spent extra time on this one.  The blouse and jewelery were done more impressionistically.  I did go back and brighten the eye lights a bit more after this photo was taken.  I hope you enjoy the painting of my lady.

Let us pray before we paint,
Jimmie

Work In Progress, Oil Painting of Damon

I got this far today on a 14x11 work in progress of my grandson Damon.   The work was wet on wet and needs a bit of drying time before finishing.  This is one of two that I will be using Saturday for a demonstration session at the EL Campo Art Association show.  It will be open to the public from 2pm to 6pm at the Civic Center on North Hwy 71.  I will be painting in the room next to the art exhibit.  I will start another painting of Damon in another pose to show a start and use this one to show a finish.  Anyway,  thats the plan.  LOL  I hope you like the progress on this one.

Let us pray before we paint,
Jimmie Bartlett

Memorial Portrait Finished of SnoJo McCall

I finished the portrait of my wifes's sister, Snojo McCall.  The painting is in oil on a 14x11 inch stretched canvas.  I tried to capture her liveliness in this painting.

SnoJo McCall that passed away four years ago.  Snojo is a Christian and was a very dynamic person as she made an impact upon all who knew her.  She tutored and encouraged students to learn to read and created a special program for those needing help in learning to read.  After her death, the B.F. Terry High Scholl of Rosenberg, Texas kept the program going and in her honor named it the Sno McCall Project.  Sno's reading program is still at work today.

I hope you like the painting.

Jimmie

Portrait of Sarafin, 12x12 Oils

I made more progress on the portrait of Sarafin today than I thought I would.  This was a fun on to work on as I wanted to keep the mood of the painting upbeat to match his personality.  The painting was done alla prima  and I hope he will like it.

Let us pray before we paint,
Jimmie

Portrait of My Grandson

The portrait of Dane is finished.  The final tuneups do not show up significantly on this photo, maybe that is just as well.  By request, his curly hair in front was put in.  And, some skin tone shadows were fixed.  I like the way he came out.  I plan to paint him again, maybe for graduation.  Thanks for looking.

Let us pray before we paint,
Jimmie

Work In Progress, Portrait of My Grandson

This is an update of the progress of the painting I am currently working on.  Portraits are so neat to work on.  So much to learn.  There are many small differences in people's faces that make us all unique.

I am getting closer to finishing him.  Right now I am zeroing in on making the eyes and lips as accurate as I can get them.  Also a few areas on the face need work to correct my mistakes and correct values of the skin tones.  I don't like the left chin shadow.  Gotta fix that.  I like the back ground and will probably leave the t-shirt as is.  Comments are welcome.  What do you think of this?

Tomorrow, God willing, another day in the studio.

Jimmie

Work In Progress, WIP Portrait Study of My Grandson

I thought you might like to see a couple of stages of a work in progress.  This is an oil portrait on a 14x11 canvas that I started a couple of weeks ago and have been working on it in intervals with other paintings.  After sketching an outline lightly with pencil on the canvas, I used a thin mixture of burnt umber and turpenoid to build a grisaille monotone image using a large filbert.  I call it a rough in.  This is the first time I did a grisaille to this degree.  Usually, just outline the main features and hair, then start painting.  Building the monotone was fun and familiarizes the painter with the image features. It also provides foundation to yield a likeness quickly when the paint is applied.  I am still working the painting with layers of flesh tones and improving errors on the features.  I call these opportunities.  I see one already in  the lips.  It's easier to see errors sometimes when the photos are lined up side by side.  This is an easy correction I can do next session.

I will post the finished painting, hopefully soon.

Jimmie

Countryside Church, Original Palette Knife Oil Painting

This is one of my first attempts using a pallet knife to paint with.  Countryside Church is 14x18 on stretched canvas and heavily textured.  I used a palette knife to spread paint for the sky and then used a blender brush to smooth the sky somewhat.  The rest of the painting is entirely done with the knife.  I got real excited when I saw how smoothing the sky in the background really made the rest of the textured painting pop forward.  Email jimmie@jimmiesart.com to check availability/purchase via secure transaction using online PayPal. 

jimmie@jimmiesart.com

The Light House, An Original Oil Palette Knife Painting, Alla Prima

I painted this little scene today in about 3 hours on a 6x8 inch gesso'd masonite board with a palette knives.  This is no particular light house, just a derivative from my mind.  It reminds me of the lights of harbors that I saw when I was in the navy.

I wanted to try the knife on a small piece of work and this came to mind.  I had some paint left on my pallet from this weeks work, so I used what I had plus a bit more white.  I used the larger knife to spread out the sky and water to establish the horizon and switched to small knife for the detailing.  6x8 inches is a small area for me to paint, much less using stiff knives.  Although the small knife blade is the same thickness as the larger knives, it felt stiff due to it's short length and was harder to control.  Had more tendency to cut through the layers enstead of floating and blending.  I switched back to the larger knife whenever I could.  After I thought I was finished with the painting, I realized there were no birds in it!  We can't have a seascape without birds, so one more trip back to the easel for the birds.

It is going to take longer for this painting to dry because it is layered with thick textures, so I will not post it on ebay or take it to shows until it is ready to handle.  It is for sale.  Email me at jimmie@jimmiesart.com to check for availability.

The light houses guided lost ships to safe harbors.  Jesus Christ is my guiding light.

Jimmie