Lesley Spanos Art

The Hunter

Lesley Spanos — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:09:27 +0000

His prey drive is off the charts. He’ll hunt relentlessly, even in knee-deep January snows, stalking small animals until he has icicles growing on his whiskers. He’s the King of the Back Yard, but indoors, he’s just our big, cuddly boy.

Available on Artfire

The Ancient One

Lesley Spanos — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:00:15 +0000

Only Miss Lish knows the secrets behind the scars on her ancient face, and she’s not telling. At age sixteen, she has the mug of a battered boxer, nose dented and one eye in a permanent squint. Perhaps she broke her face diving for cover under a piece of furniture, or maybe her former owner accidentally shut her head in a door. I shudder to think about the pain her injuries must have caused her.

What she lacks in beauty, she makes up for with her wisdom and kindness. She came to live with us in her retirement years, after a lifetime of caring for her elderly owner. She shows her appreciation by gathering gifts at night, leaving them at the foot of my drawing table. It’s so cool to go into the studio in the morning and discover a neat pile of stuffed mice on the exact spot where I stand to paint. Fortunately, she doesn’t have access to live critters, so I don’t have to experience the horror of finding dead mice or snakes.

Blind Side

Lesley Spanos — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 22:19:50 +0000

He’s not really blind, just blinded by blinders. Trainers put all sorts of interesting contraptions on these harness race horses so they won’t get distracted by things – real or imagined – during a race. Some setups look like they were cobbled together with baling wire.

This one is posted in the Daily Paintworks Up Close Animal Challenge created by artist Taryn Day

Available on Artfire

Chomp, Chomp

Lesley Spanos — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:01:36 +0000

Artist Carol Marine says in her Daily Paintworks Horsing Around Challenge that she and her family woke up one morning while camping in Missouri to see this horse grazing near their tent. She snapped a photo of the scene, and posted it for artists to interpret.

I’m not a relaxed camper. If I heard a “chomp, chomp, chomp” from inside a tent in the early morning hours, I’d freak out. What else could it be but the Langoliers?

Available on Artfire

18

Lesley Spanos — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:27:35 +0000

The Superbowl has come to Indianapolis, and to commemorate it, I present my first football painting, ever! I’ve always longed to paint the game, but the NFL is extremely protective of their rights (as they should be), so that’s a line I’ve never crossed. I’m able to take my camera into games, so I have hundreds of tempting references I can’t use. If you’re an artist, you know how frustrating that can be. Finally, this week, I decided I’d go ahead and do a painting, just for me. I think it’s okay as long as I don’t sell it. I hope. NFL lawyers, if I’m wrong, kindly email and I’ll smash it to bits for you.

Number 18 is the Indianapolis Colts’ Peyton Manning, one of the greatest quarterbacks, ever. He’s more than just a sports celebrity to the city of Indianapolis. He’s a civic-minded hero who has done great things for our city. He won’t be playing in the Superbowl on Sunday, but he’s on everyone’s minds as he tries to regain top form after surgery on his neck. We wish you the best, Peyton, and hope to see you around Indy for many years to come.

It’s What I Eat For Breakfast

Lesley Spanos — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:41:32 +0000

The idea for painting breakfast comes from Carol Marine’s Paint Your Breakfast Challenge on Daily Paintworks. For me, breakfast is the same every morning: 4% fat cottage cheese mixed with freshly ground flax seed and a variety of oils – flax, hemp, fish, and coconut. I like the stuff, but my husband can barely choke it down, so for his sake we top it with berries.

A few in-progress images archived along the way:

Purchase on Artfire

Parisian Waitress

Lesley Spanos — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 15:44:37 +0000

I couldn’t resist painting a portrait of this lovely waitress from a photo taken by artist/photographer/traveler/blogger Lee Brown. Lee generously lends some of his travel photos to artists in the context of his ADNW painting challenges. Participants get one month to submit their interpretations of his image. There’s some cool stuff already posted. Go see it here.

I don’t know what I liked more – the quality of the light, or the shape of her hair and all those wispy tendrils. Both were tons of fun to paint.

Purchase on Zatista

Every Stroke Counts

Lesley Spanos — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 22:27:36 +0000

A little exercise never hurts. This painting exercise called the Limited Stroke Challenge was posted by artist Nancy Colella on Daily Paintworks. It’s purpose is twofold: She wanted us to use every stroke efficiently, and to remind us not to be stingy with the paint. Nancy says, “The result will be a rather abstract, simple painting with wonderful surface quality and a “effortless” feel!”

(The part about being stingy with the paint made me think about how varied the goals of artists can be. Artists who paint primarily to sell originals can pile on the paint, creating beautiful textures that beg to be touched. Artists like me, who paint with reproduction in mind, have to think about how the piece will scan, and how it will look in print. Thick, juicy strokes can look cheesy in a flat print.)

We were told to plan in advance how many strokes we thought we’d need to create the painting, then paint it in that many strokes. Hash marks keep a running tally. By definition, a stroke ends when the brush is lifted. Some people did some amazing work in under 30 or 40 strokes, but having done a few 100 stroke paintings with great difficulty, I knew my limitations! I felt it was a sufficient challenge to assign myself a maximum of 75 strokes. I went over a tiny bit, using 78, because there were some things at the end that I HAD to fix. If I’d had another 25 strokes, I could have fixed the drawing enough to be happy with it.

78 strokes from start to finish. Each stroke is recorded by a hash mark on the paper. You can see how I was falling apart at the end by how my hash marks trail off the paper. Oh, and that's tea in the cup, not coffee, because I was in the tea-drinking portion of my day. The coffee part of my day ends around noon, then I switch to fully caffeinated tea. Later, it's decaf tea. After that, wine. Maybe if I'd waited for the wine part of the day, the painting would have been looser.

UPDATE:

It was bothering me. There were things I had to fix before I could move on to the next painting. So I did. The drawing is still a little wonky, but it’s better than it was:

Available on Artfire

Sunflower Medley

Lesley Spanos — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 00:26:16 +0000

The hubby bought me sunflowers again, so I painted them. The red ones came from an Amish woman at the farmer’s market, and the yellow ones were from Fresh Market.

In other news, Liquitex added more of my acrylic paintings to their Inspire site: Bumble Bee Bop, Rivalry, Portrait of the Chicken as a Young Cockerel, and Little Big Dog. Liquitex Inspire is a beautifully designed site featuring the work of a variety of artists who use Liquitex acrylics.

Available on Artfire

Stanley Steamer – sketch

Lesley Spanos — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 18:24:43 +0000

I’d never seen a steam-powered car fired up until I saw this one. It was in the daily parade at the Indiana State Fair, it’s shiny red paint gleaming in the sun. When I looked up Stanley Steamer Motor Carriage Company on Wikipedia, I found a photo of this car in the article. Not just this model, but this actual car with the same US flag decal on the windshield, and the same owner/driver, photographed at the Indiana State Fair. Small world, eh?

I’m posting this one in Liz Wilzen’s Value Challenge on Daily Paintworks. Liz’s challenge requires us to use only four values, so I used black marker, white gouache, and a brown gouache. The light brown paper works as the fourth value. I used to like doing sketches like this in life drawing class in school, but that was a LONG time ago!

Available on Artfire

Flare

Lesley Spanos — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 23:16:34 +0000

This is a harness racing horse I saw at the State Fair a couple of years ago. It’s painted in M. Graham gouache. I love gouache! The matte surface is so velvety. I’d use it more often, if it didn’t require framing under glass.

Available on Artfire

Holiday Road

Lesley Spanos — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 22:37:01 +0000

Funny how some paintings grow on you. When I finished this one a few weeks ago, I didn’t think it was up to my standards. I was going to wipe it off and start over. But it had so freaking much paint on it. Wiping it would have created a toxic mess. So I put it aside, thinking it would be easier to deal with when dry.

Over the weeks, my revulsion mellowed. I started thinking maybe it wasn’t so bad. Maybe even I liked it a little bit. The warmth of the colors made me feel good, and the texture was pleasing. The day it was dry enough to test in a gold frame, I fell in love. Not the first time that’s happened to me…

Available on Artfire

Redear Sunfish

Lesley Spanos — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 21:56:33 +0000

This painting proves that just about any subject can be found at the State Fair if you look around enough. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has a beautiful display of fish at the Indiana State Fair. Outdoor ponds and indoor aquariums showcase native and introduced species. There’s even a catch and release fishing pond where kids can learn to fish under supervision.

What attracted me to this redear sunfish was the translucence of his fins. The light shining through them reminded me of fiber optics.

A few images taken along the way:

Available on Artfire

Chocolate Eclair

Lesley Spanos — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 00:03:09 +0000

How many starving children can be fed with one chocolate eclair? I’m listing this little painting on The Daily Paintworks Help the Children of Africa Challenge. Proceeds from the sale will be donated to World Vision to help feed drought-stricken children in Africa.

Here’s how it works:
The painting is up for auction on the Daily Paintworks site. When the seven day auction is over, the winning bidder pays me via the DPW auction website. Then I send 100% of the donation to World Vision, and a receipt as proof of donation to the buyer. Buyer gets the painting, and I get the tax deduction. I’m throwing in free shipping anywhere in the United States.

I want to make sure this painting sells because any amount is helpful, so I’m starting the auction at a low, low price of only $30!

Bid now on DPW

Goatee

Lesley Spanos — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 20:20:32 +0000

I never really thought about the source of the word “goatee,’ until I saw this guy. He had quite a nice beard, long, silky, and clean.

Here are a few shots taken along the way:

Available on Artfire

Stare Down

Lesley Spanos — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 16:49:36 +0000

Chickens scare me a little. I’m glad this one was locked safely behind bars at the State Fair. Though, if looks could kill…

Any chicken experts out there know what breed this is? When I took the photos, I thought it was a Salmon Faverolle, but when I checked my photos against images on the web, there appeared to be too much red.

Twenty Lashes

Lesley Spanos — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 22:45:18 +0000

This pig had amazing eyelashes, hence the title.

This is another ink drawing done live at the fair, with color added in the studio.

Available on Artfire

Feed Me

Lesley Spanos — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:20:12 +0000

The sign actually said, “Please hold hand flat when feeding,” but the goat’s eyes said, “Please feed me.” The key to photographing petting zoo animals is to carry a few pellets in your hand and wave them around every so often. Otherwise, you’ll be ignored. These animals have no patience for anyone not bearing a tasty treat.

This one started as a live pen and wash sketch at the fair. Later in the studio, with my memory jogged by photo references, I added color and tidied it up a bit. I like this one. I think it deserves to be painted again in a larger format. Maybe 9″ x 12″.

Available on Artfire

The Buzz

Lesley Spanos — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 22:08:12 +0000

It seems like months since these happy little bees rolled into the state fairgrounds on the back of a truck, but really, it was just over two weeks ago. My husband was over at fairgrounds as the carnival rides were arriving for the fair, and snapped some photos of the unassembled Bumble Bee Bop ride – the cutest ride in the world – knowing I’d jump at the chance to paint it. I got to work on it right away, but then the Fair started, and I put it aside as I went into information gathering mode. I only get eighteen days to gather reference material for the rest of the year, so I have to make the most of it. I shot – and organized – thousands of photos and hours of video. I sketched, and took notes for my book. Sometimes I just sat and soaked up the atmosphere. I love the fair.

Last Saturday morning, the weather was gorgeous and moods were light. Someone was playing classic rock from the ’70s over the PA system, and people were singing to themselves. Bye, bye, Miss American Pie, and welcome to the Hotel California. I saw one woman dancing in the street, and I swear, if the rest of us felt we could sing and dance we would’ve joined her in an impromptu performance. I watched weiner dog races, a pole vaulting demonstration, and the Governor’s wife as she lead a fitness walk around the grounds. It was one of the best mornings ever at the fair.

That evening, everything changed. Just before Sugarland went onstage for their show, the roof at the main concert stage collapsed in a sudden freak storm, killing 5 6 people and injuring dozens. I had planned to be there that night, but after long back-to-back photo sessions the night before and that morning, I was exhausted, and after a few days at the fair, the cupboard was bare. So instead of going to the fair, I went to the supermarket. On my way out of the store, I was caught in the storm, and I can say firsthand that the wind was utterly freakish. It came out of nowhere, and was strong enough to rock my Jeep. It wasn’t a storm, but a hammer blow from the sky.

The fair was cancelled Sunday, so all we could do was watch the sad news on television. Monday, the fair reopened, but I didn’t go. I had planned to shoot the rodeo that day, but every event scheduled for the grandstand – the rodeo, concerts, harness racing, demolition derby, and fireworks – was cancelled. So I worked on the Bumble Bee Bop painting. I thought the bees would lift my mood, but really, I was annoyed at them for being so cheerful. That’s probably why it took me so long to finish them.

This week I’ve been forced to think about what my State Fair USA project is about. I thought it was all fun, rides, cute animals, and junk food, but maybe I need to dig deeper than that. Someone on the news called the State Fair a “family reunion in Indiana’s back yard.” As a non-native observer, I’d never thought of it that way. Now I feel the need to work more relationships into my paintings.

Here are some shots from yesterday. Due to the ongoing investigation, the roof has not been moved, so it’s a constant reminder of the tragedy.

The band Sugarland lost all their gear in the accident, and had to leave their trailers behind. Thursday they were able to retrieve some of it, but this trailer remained. Their logo and graphics are the best, ever.

Two tragedies: The Pepsi Coliseum looms over the broken stage at the Indiana state fairgrounds. During an Ice Capades performance in 1963, a propane explosion killed 74 people in the Coliseum. On the plus side, The Beatles performed in both locations.

A growing memorial under the grandstand.

For Luck

Lesley Spanos — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 23:19:52 +0000

Thought I’d try a more subdued palette for these water lilies. These plants were part of an indoor Japanese garden at the Indiana State Fair last year. Further proof that I can find just about any subject at the fair.

Speaking of my state fair, it opens next week. I keep a running list of subjects I still need to photograph and paint for my book. Number one on my list this year is Dachshund racing! I crave doing a painting of them. Dock diving dogs are another one I’d love to paint. I’m imagining a painting of a flying dog in mid-air, nothing but sky behind him. Hope I can position myself so I can shoot some good references.

Back to the lilies, here are a few images captured along the way:

Cherries and Blue Cheese

Lesley Spanos — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 19:18:24 +0000

This was my lunch a couple of days ago – a small wedge of Castello-Rosenborg Danish Blue Cheese and some ripe cherries. It was a miserably hot day when I took my plate outside to photograph it, which made the cheese get all melty. Mmmm!

These cherries are painted larger than life. Here are some images taken along the way:

Wisteria

Lesley Spanos — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 20:01:49 +0000

Another one for the “The Color Of Music Challenge” I’m hosting on Daily Paintworks this week. I am so impressed by what the artists have posted so far. Really cool paintings, and I love the stories.

The music I’ve used is my favorite song of all time, “Wisteria.” I could get married, buried, and everything in between to that song. It’s also from “The Garden” by Michael Nesmith. (Yeah, he used to be a Monkee.) It features some goose-bump inducing guitar work by John Jorgenson.

I wanted to demonstrate that there’s no right or wrong way to do this challenge, so I did a 180 degree turn from the water lilies and painted what I call a rhythmic abstraction. This is where I put the music on repeat, and let my brush flow with the sounds. It’s almost like tracing the blade of a figure skating dancing to the song. Wisteria is about a journey up a mountain on a path filled with imagined perils. Jason’s emotions range from confusion and fear to eventual enlightenment. So I chose dark colors for the scary part, and light for the… well… enlightenment. The most literal thing I did was trace a path to the top inspired by the guitar. All those little squiggles were done in time to the music. It’s not great art, but it sure was fun!

Life Becoming

Lesley Spanos — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 07:03:54 +0000

This week I’m hosting the painting challenge on Daily Paintworks. It’s called “The Color Of Music,” and you’re invited to play along! The idea is to paint a favorite piece of music, converting sound to pigment.

My song choice, “Life Becoming,” comes from a long-time favorite album by Michael Nesmith called “The Garden.” This mostly instrumental album comes boxed with a short novel. The idea is to play the music while reading the book, allowing the written word to sync with the music. Sounds weird, but if you’re a visually-minded person, it’s almost like watching a movie in your mind. The album provides the script and soundtrack, and the user is free to create whatever mind-pictures they want. Be your own cinematographer. I like that.

As an artist, I also appreciate that the book is illustrated with paintings by Monet, and loosely suggests his efforts to bring water to his garden in Giverny. The main character is named Jason, and he’s not a painter, but the garden described is definitely Monet’s.

“Life Becoming” is the final “scene” in the story. Jason has returned home after his quest to discover that his once-dry yard is now a beautiful garden. Monet’s garden. He walks down the rose-arbor allée to the lily pond, where he is greeted by the woman he loves. They stand silently on the Japanese bridge, gazing over the peaceful lily pond. The music is repetitive and graceful, almost circular, so painting a series of repeating round shapes – lily pads – was a natural choice. The two lilies represent the man and the woman.

Summer Yellow

Lesley Spanos — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 01:51:55 +0000

This pretty sunflower and its five friends currently reside on my work table, thanks to my wonderful husband. Usually I paint from printouts or my monitor, but this one was painted from life thanks to the impending demise of my computer. Poor thing has been overheating and locking up every few minutes and generally making my life miserable. Tomorrow I’ll send it over the electronic rainbow bridge and set up its replacement. Then I can finally get some work done!

Available on Artfire

Dusk on the Midway

Lesley Spanos — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:52:12 +0000

Dusk is my favorite time to photograph the midway. As blue skies deepen, the lights begin to sparkle. The hot, humid day gives way to cooling breezes, and the grandstand pulses to the beat of an American Idol. There’s a little extra excitement in the air. We’re going to have some fun tonight!

This is my first experience using Ampersand Aquabord. (Not a misspelling. Ampersand calls all their boards “‘bord.”) As the name implies, this surface designed for water media. I picked up some on sale, thinking if I hated it I could always use it to mount prints or paper. But I liked it. With some more experience, I think I could do some cool things on this surface. The gesso is absorbent, like paper, so I used that to my advantage for the initial soft washes (first image, below). When the background was dry, I sealed it with binder medium so the “bord” wouldn’t be quite so absorbent as I painted subsequent layers. I’m not ready to give up my beloved Gessobord, but it’s nice to have options.

Some paintings gradually come into focus as elements are layered into the scene. This is one of them. I’ve watched this carnival being built from the asphalt up, and I’ve painted it in much the same way. Here are a few images I saved along the way:

Available on Zatista

Stripes, and Stars

Lesley Spanos — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:34:04 +0000

Every year I pass this colorful little tent at my state fair, and have the same “gotta paint this” reaction. So I photograph it, and file it away. This 4th of July weekend seemed like the perfect time to finally get it done.

I’m experimenting here in painting on a metallic gold-toned surface. I was reluctant to cover up all that pretty gold! Also trying out my new favorite blue, indanthrene blue, in the sky. Here are a few images from along the way:

Available on Zatista

Crinkle Fries

Lesley Spanos — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:08:15 +0000

Here’s another painting of something I can’t eat. I loved these things when I still ate white potatoes.

These days I have a new love – sweet potato fries! OMG, they are so good! Much tastier than white potato fries, and they barely raise my blood sugar. I serve them with a garlicky dipping sauce made with Greek yogurt. Yum!

A few images from along the way:

Purchase on Zatista

Caramel Apple, No Nuts

Lesley Spanos — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 15:48:35 +0000

Ten years ago this week, I gave up sugar forever. So I’ll celebrate by painting apples covered in caramelized sugar. I used to love these things! Ate a lot of them as a kid growing up next to a ten acre apple orchard. My mom would melt Kraft caramels in a double boiler with a little cream, then dip the crisp fresh apples in it. Yum! The taste of Autumn. No nuts for me, though.

Here are a few images captured along the way:

Available on Zatista

Voyeur

Lesley Spanos — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 04:37:52 +0000

This piece was created for the Daily Paintworks Balance Challenge hosted by Cathleen Rehfeld. Here are Cathleen’s guidelines for the challenge:

The challenge is to create a stack of something that is balanced, in many ways. Literally balancing things on top of other things, and balance in color, color compliments, neutrals and bright color, composition, negative/positive space, and then paint it!

I think I strained my mind thinking too much! But it was fun to shop for fruits with character, then slice, stack, and photograph them. It reminded me of product photography in school.

Like Moths

Lesley Spanos — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 22:29:32 +0000

Like moths to a flame, they gather. This is another image from the Indiana State Fair balloon glow.

The unusual flat-bottomed shape of this hot air balloon hints at its purpose. It’s a promotional balloon shaped like a giant can of Pepsi.

This painting is available on Zatista, where I’m starting to list some of my originals. I like Zatista. They’re selective. They sell nothing but original wall art. Their artists are screened by a review board, so the quality is good. The site is small enough to be browsable, but large enough so you can find what you need. For buyers, the main difference is that now you won’t need a PayPal account to purchase my art. Any major credit card will do. Zatista handles the paperwork, and I’ll still be fulfilling the orders myself.

Here are some images taken along the way:

Available on Zatista

Firefly Glow

Lesley Spanos — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 03:32:52 +0000

"Firefly Glow" by Lesley Spanos. Acrylic on Arches watercolor paper, 4 x 6.

Never in my life have I painted outdoors at night with only a headlamp for light. This isn’t the best painting ever, but I am patting myself on the back for even trying it.

Our back yard is registered as a firefly habitat with the Museum of Science (Boston) Firefly Watch. They’re working with researchers from Tufts University and Fitchburg State College to study why firefly populations are dwindling. Anyone with fireflies can participate. It’s fun, easy, and only takes a few minutes of time once a week. I’ve learned a lot, like how to spot a male courting a female.

One of the assignments is to count how many fireflies you see in a ten second period. Hah! They must be kidding! We don’t have countable fireflies. We have huge numbers of them. (We keep them happy by mowing infrequently, and never using lawn chemicals.) There are at least twenty visible at any given moment in our yard. They’re like twinkle lights on holiday trees.

So I had this bright idea – take notes visually, since our firefly population is more easily described using density rather than numbers. Here’s the problem, though: Observers are instructed to use blue lights while taking notes, because fireflies can’t see blue light. Ever tried to do a blue painting under blue light? Can’t see a thing!

Glow

Lesley Spanos — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:31:56 +0000

My state fair features – weather permitting – a hot air balloon race, with a balloon glow on the racetrack infield the evening before. Before this night, I’d seen balloon glows from a distance, but this was the first time I’d ever walked through one. I was awestruck. What a difference it made, being under these fire-breathing giants, hearing them roar and feeling the heat from the flames. Photographers bumped into each other as they maneuvered with eyes glued upward. I managed to get a few shots for reference later in the studio.

That was almost five years ago, and now I’ve finally gotten around to doing my first balloon painting. I thought I’d bitten off more than I could chew, with all the crazy patterns and little people on a 5″ x 7″ surface, but I finally got through it. Here are a few images taken along the way:

Rivalry

Lesley Spanos — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 00:07:43 +0000

Their trappings are bright and colorful, yet their faces are frozen in eternal screams. I can hear them when I paint them. Yet in all my hours photographing carousels, I’ve never seen a child shy away from them.

This is a warmup sketch for a larger painting. Lately my painting has been too timid and still, so my goal was to forget the preliminary drawing, throw some paint around, and have faith that in the end it would work.

Here are some photos taken along the way:

Available on Zatista

Ragdoll Princess

Lesley Spanos — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 19:07:45 +0000

Some girls just know they’re beautiful. She goes by the call name “LB,” and she’s one of the prettiest cats I’ve ever seen.

Gift Worthy

Lesley Spanos — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 18:09:23 +0000

Confession: I’ve always wanted to paint a gift wrapped up in shiny ribbons, but it’s an iconic subject for some artists, and therefore one I stay away from. If you want to see what I mean, check out Karen Appleton’s work. Or Carol Marine, who does awesome bowage. (My word.) When Carol offered The Gift Challenge on Daily Paintworks, I jumped in, because everyone will be doing bows this week so it won’t look like I’m copying someone else.

My usual package wrapping MO is to tie a ribbon around flowers in season, or dried flowers and grasses if it’s winter. I threw the gold ribbon on top so I could paint some reflections. I wanted to do a cute little square box, but couldn’t find such a box anywhere in the house. Until I stumbled on this little gem. If you ever saw the episode of Seinfeld called The Sponge, you can guess both the contents of the box, and the source of the title.

Bid at Daily Paintworks

A few images taken along the way:

tuyi

Bumble Bee Bop

Lesley Spanos — Mon, 30 May 2011 23:31:29 +0000

Bumble Bee Bop. I love that name! It sounds like something adult bees do to make baby bees. It’s actually a kiddie ride found in carnivals and small amusement parks. Those goofy, cheerful bees have been calling to my paintbrushes for some time now.

If you want to see photos of this painting in progress, hit the “read more” button.

Here are a few images taken along the way:

tyiuyo

Bronc

Lesley Spanos — Sun, 29 May 2011 19:10:10 +0000

This bronc in a holding pen at the State Fair rodeo caught my eye. He stood with his head held high, watching the action in the arena. His long mane caught the last rays of light from the setting sun. He was magnificent.

Here are a few images taken along the way:

Purchase on Artfire, $125

Shades

Lesley Spanos — Sat, 28 May 2011 02:37:28 +0000

After a week of painting pets, we’re back to the State Fair. This bronc rider had the rodeo in his eyes, or at least in his mirrored sunglasses.

Here are some photos taken along the way:

Available on Artfire, $125

Three Way

Lesley Spanos — Wed, 25 May 2011 20:42:32 +0000

The two on the right were obviously roommates. I’d been following them around the local farmer’s market with my camera, amused by the big dog/small dog combo, when the third dog was introduced to them. Much sniffing ensued, numbers were exchanged, and everyone went home satisfied.

Purchase on Artfire, $125

Little Big Dog

Lesley Spanos — Mon, 23 May 2011 00:49:09 +0000

I love little dogs like this. So full of joy, and supremely confident. It’s like they don’t know how small they are. Even when they approach my big dog, who towers over them by a good twenty inches.

Little Meow Meow

Lesley Spanos — Sat, 21 May 2011 11:49:27 +0000

This little cutie comes from the Daily Paintworks Whole Cat & Kaboodle challenge presented by artist Dreama Tolle Perry. I’ve had the urge to paint a cat lately (that’s one thing I don’t see at the State Fair), so I had fun with it. I like how the cat in Dreama’s reference photo was sitting on a red upholstered chair, which threw some nice warm tones on the kitten.

Purchase on Artfire $125

Blue Angels

Lesley Spanos — Wed, 18 May 2011 21:30:41 +0000

I swear that if 100 photographers at 100 different air shows pointed their lenses at the US Navy’s Blue Angels demonstration team, 50 of them would come up with a shot similar to mine, and some would be so much alike you’d have to overlay them to tell the difference. This seems to be the iconic view of the Blue Angels in diamond formation, and the similarity between photos is a tribute to the precision of this team. As a photographer, I am happy when I can stop the action and see details I missed as these jets flew over at hundreds of miles per hour. It pleases me to no end to clearly see the helmets of the pilots in the cockpits.

But that’s photography. When I put on my painter’s apron, I need to interpret images differently. To quote Maverick, “I feel the need… the need for speed!” My photo is static. Those planes could be models hanging from a child’s bedroom ceiling. What I need to paint is what I experienced that day. I want to look at that painting and hear those jets going over me. So I pushed beyond the photo, asking myself what cues indicate movement. I blurred vertical lines a bit. I chose a wide format and jammed the noses of the aircraft right up to the left edge of the painting, like they were flying by so fast they almost flew out of the frame. The sky was painted in bold horizontal strokes. I was relieved when my contrails turned out better than I anticipated, because there had to be something of interest in all that empty space.

As a side note, I knew I’d be painting the Blue Angels this week. Just thought I’d be using fresh photos for reference. The team was due to perform at the Mount Comfort air show this past weekend, but they were rained out. I’ve been considering doing an air show series, and hated missing an opportunity to photograph them again. But I took solace in the fact that they flew right over my house on Thursday, twice! In a way, it’s more cool to have them visit me on my turf than it is to see them on theirs.

"Blue Angels, 2009 Mt. Comfort Air Show" photograph by Lesley Spanos

Purchase on Artfire $135

The Palladium

Lesley Spanos — Tue, 17 May 2011 19:10:50 +0000

This is the newly built Palladium, a 1600 seat concert hall in Carmel-by-the-Interstate, Indiana. Those of you who remember your art history might notice its resemblance to Andrea Palladio’s (1508-1580) La Rotunda. Palladio was also influential in the field of theater design as the architect of the Olympic Theater, which still stands in Vicenza. The Palladium combines aspects of both designs. It’s a graceful monument to the arts built of limestone, tile, marble, and plaster.

Last week I attended a PBS taping of a Micheal Feinstein special there, and felt inspired to paint it. My husband provided a photo taken on his iphone.

The interior of The Palladium

Climber Boy

Lesley Spanos — Sun, 15 May 2011 14:20:29 +0000

Earlier I painted a girl climbing the rock wall at the State Fair. Here’s her male counterpart. I like how boldly he attacked the wall.

Big Guy

Lesley Spanos — Wed, 11 May 2011 02:21:49 +0000

After spending so much time painting the carousel horses, I thought it would be fun to find a real horse in a similar pose and paint it. Scrolling through my State Fair photo archives, I found a shot of this giant fellow. Ah, yes, I remember him. He was magnificent, prancing, straining against the bit, almost bursting out of his skin. I shoved his nose right up against the left margin of the composition, which is usually a no-no, but in this case I did it to show his size and his eagerness to move forward.

I wish I could include sound effects in a painting. The sound these big guys make when they walk on pavement is amazing.

By a Nose

Lesley Spanos — Sun, 08 May 2011 01:15:02 +0000

I began this painting on Kentucky Derby day in honor of all horses who run in circles. I didn’t expect it to be a three-day painting! The details really grabbed me.

This painting is available on the Daily Paintworks auction. Auction ends next Monday, and I’m starting it at a low price of $100.

Here are some images taken along the way:

Bid on Auction

Me, 3

Lesley Spanos — Fri, 06 May 2011 15:02:30 +0000

When my husband saw this painting in the studio last night, he asked, “Why do you always look so serious in your self portraits?”

Thinking about my last post – “I always look a little POed in self portraits” – I replied with another question: “Did you read that in my blog?”

“No, I just saw the painting and wondered why.”

He’s right. I do look stern, and it bothers me. Am I really that sour all the time? I tried to explain my dilemma, which stems from how I shoot my reference photos:

“I shoot the photos in a mirror so I can see what what the light is doing. When I took that photo, I was crouching on the kitchen floor, trying to get a beam of light to hit my eye just right. I had to move around like a sumo wrestler to get it where I wanted it, and this was while I was holding the mirror in one hand, and trying to focus and shoot with the other. So, yeah, I was a little tense.”

“Couldn’t you put the camera on a tripod?”

Good question. “Well, I could, except I don’t have the remote shutter release for this camera. Plus, I was bouncing all over the place because the light was changing so fast, so I needed the camera to move with me.”

I think he understood at that point that this was a problem he couldn’t solve.

As for me, I’m just relieved that he thinks I look grumpy in the photos, because that means I really don’t look that way all the time.

Available on Artfire

Me, 2

Lesley Spanos — Wed, 04 May 2011 02:54:41 +0000

I always look a little POed in self portraits. Not sure why, because I have every opportunity to soften the features. Plus, I’m wearing my favorite sweater, one with lots of fringe that always makes me happy.

Me, 2011

Lesley Spanos — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 00:17:33 +0000

Other than my hair being a mess, today seemed like a good day for a self portrait. My new Alzo Digital color corrected studio bulbs arrived, and I was eager to try them on painting from life. I haven’t been using daylight bulbs, and I really should, especially when I’m color correcting images for print work. The light from the bulbs looked too blue in the room at first, but once I started painting, I loved them. Mixing color was effortless when I wasn’t fighting the light.

I loved them even more when I discovered that all I had to do to get a perfect photo indoors was match the color temp on my camera with color temp of the bulbs. Perfect shot the first time, with no color correction needed in Photoshop. Why, oh why didn’t I get these bulbs sooner?

Photo taken in studio. No color correction applied! Perfect!

Clutches

Lesley Spanos — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 15:43:02 +0000

There’s a little game I like to play to challenge myself when painting people. As I work on the initial composition, I ask myself “How much information can I eliminate, and still tell this person’s story?” This forces me to narrow my focus, and hone in on what drew me to the scene in the first place.

In this case, I liked how the woman held her clutch purse while perching delicately behind her wheat-bellied partner. Showing their faces would not have enhanced that story, so… off with their heads! That’s how we see things, anyway – in bits and pieces, not everything all at once.

This painting is from my State Fair USA series. I photographed this couple as they arrived at the fair. After some research, I think this might be a Yamaha Royal Star Venture from the early 2000s. Any experts out there who can verify this?

Ribbons

Lesley Spanos — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 11:22:22 +0000

One of my favorite times to wander the fairgrounds is early morning, before the crowds arrive. Just after sunrise, the world is a painter’s delight, all pink and yellow with delicate lavender shadows.

Most of the activity is in the barn area. Stalls are cleaned, their occupants taken out for exercise, and feed tubs are filled. Peaceful munching is punctuated by the clickity clack of hooves on asphalt. Soapy cattle and horses line the wash racks, getting primped for the show ring.

The horse show starts early. Not a bad thing, when the day is headed toward hot and humid. When I saw this big guy, he’d just come out of the show ring, his handler clutching a red ribbon. I loved the yellow ribbons woven into his mane and tail.

Available on Artfire

News: I am delighted to be chosen as the Be Indypendent Artist of the Week. Even happier that they chose “Portrait of the Rooster as a Young Cockerel” to represent my art on their site. That’s one of my recent favorites.

Pacer

Lesley Spanos — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 21:28:01 +0000

Watching harness racing at the state fair is like stepping back in time one hundred years. Makes me feel like I should be wearing a long dress and corset and singing Camptown Races.

The Indiana Pacers basketball team is named after these horses. In the early days of the team, they played in the arena at the fairgrounds, right next to the harness track.

Available on Artfire

Jersey Girl

Lesley Spanos — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 00:56:24 +0000

Found this pretty lady in the dairy barn at the Indiana State Fair. The barn has huge (frosted? dirty?) windows all along the western exposure, which let in a soft, filtered light when the sun is low in the sky. The light produced has a peaceful, ethereal quality which is nice for shooting photographic references for using in the studio later for painting.

For the purposes of the Daily Paintworks Color Challenge this painting was done in a complementary color scheme of blue and orange.

Here are a few images taken along the way:

Red Tulips, Green Leaves

Lesley Spanos — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 19:21:53 +0000

Soon, our tulips will be gone, so it was time to paint them. When the light shines through them, they look like glowing lanterns.

I tried a couple of new things this time:

One, a cradled wood panel by American Easel. They’re very well made, and don’t need to be framed. I used GAC 100 as a clear barrier so I could still see the wood as I painted. I wanted to leave the wood sides natural (varnished), but they looked unfinished, so they got a coat of black paint.

Two, I finally pulled out the Golden Open acrylics that have been sitting unused in my paint cabinet. Not sure yet if I like them, but one use isn’t a fair trial. Sometimes the texture felt like oils, but as it started to dry, it got sticky, and I didn’t like that. Some of the thicker paint took two days to dry! That’s a good thing if you want to rework, but a bad thing if you want to get it on the scanner and post it right away. The M. Graham oils I use with their walnut alkyd dry faster!

Here are some images captured along the way:

Sunflower Memories

Lesley Spanos — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 05:09:50 +0000

My husband is so cool. Even though we have a yard full of flowers, he brought home sunflowers because we didn’t have any flowers in the house. I painted them because there’s no better way to commit a sight to memory.

See my Artfire storefront for purchasing information.

Portrait of the Chicken as a Young Cockerel

Lesley Spanos — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 19:50:03 +0000

This dashing young fellow looked like he was posing for a formal portrait, so I ignored his striking tail feathers and zoomed in on his face. I’d never painted chickens before this week, but now I wonder what took me so long. They are noble creatures. I feel a little guilty that we’re having chicken for dinner…

The painting was created for the Daily Paintworks Chicken Challenge, hosted by Carol Marine. There’s an amazing assortment of poultry by the artists!

From my State Fair, USA series.

Giclees Available on Artfire

The Protector

Lesley Spanos — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 00:12:33 +0000

He’s as fierce as a bald eagle when the nest is threatened.

I found this white rooster standing guard over his family at the Indiana State Fair.

Climber Girl

Lesley Spanos — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 21:24:48 +0000

Back in the ’80s, every fair had bungee jumping. In recent years, bungees have been replaced by rock walls. This one was presented by Jeep as part of their Rocks & Road touring exhibit. It’s a good first time climbing experience for kids, and hopefully will be the start of a lifelong sport for some.

1938 Chevy Sedan

Lesley Spanos — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:02:10 +0000

Saw this two-toned 1938 Chevy sedan at a car show, and knew I’d paint it someday. Tom and Marla, I love your car!

Spurred On

Lesley Spanos — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 02:24:52 +0000

It was almost sunset when this white horse burst out of the chute at the State Fair rodeo with a cowboy clinging to his back. The only way to paint it was to throw caution to the wind and just go for it, just like that horse and rider.

Pssst! Don’t tell the rodeo guys, but I am rooting for the horse to win.

This painting may be purchased from my Artfire storefront.

Krembo

Lesley Spanos — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:31:41 +0000

Here’s another one from the Blue Monkey Sideshow. This is Krembo, the Master of Cermonies, a dashing and authentic figure with his Wild Bill Hickok beard and hair. If you want to see Krembo and all the Monkey Men in action, check out their video below:

Pretty cool, huh?

Here are a few images taken along the way:

Snoozin’

Lesley Spanos — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:22:08 +0000

It was a hot and humid August day at the Indiana State Fair. This pig raised a lazy eyelid when he heard my camera, then went back to sleep. I guess when you’re on display from early morning until late at night, you need to be able to catch a nap whenever you can. What I loved about this guy was how it looked like he’d fallen asleep mid-step, his butt hanging on the edge of his feed trough.

What’s in the Fridge?

Lesley Spanos — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 23:03:34 +0000

What’s in the fridge? Nothing but seawater and decay, if your house has been swept away by a tsunami. No growler of Barley Island beer for the hubby, no Perrier for me, no cherry jam (his), no shirataki noodles (mine). No carefully preserved first crocus of Spring in a brandy snifter. There’s something about standing in the glow of an open refrigerator door, browsing for something good to eat, that says “home” to me. I never think about how that simple act says the electricity works, the food is safe to eat, and there’s a roof over my head.

“Home” is the theme of the Help Japan Challenge over at the awesome Daily Paintworks site. Artists from all over the world are auctioning their paintings of “home” to raise money for tsunami victims. There’s some great work posted with low starting bids.

Bidding on my “What’s in the Fridge” (direct link) ends March 28, 2011, at 9:00 PM. I started it a low, low price of $50 to encourage bidding. I’ll donate free shipping anywhere in the world. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this painting will be donated to Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support, a coalition of three Japanese no-kill animal rescues.

Modern Abe

Lesley Spanos — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 13:25:05 +0000

Another Daily Paintworks weekly challenge, this time offered by Raymond Logan. For the Lincoln Challenge Raymond supplied us with a black and white photo of Mr. Lincoln that we’ve seen a thousand times. We had the option of painting in black and white, or color. Since I often paint color from black and white photos (it helps keep my values in line), I naturally chose color.

I stared into Abe’s face, trying to get a feel for who he was. Something beyond the “Honest Abe” of our elementary school textbooks and the “Gay? Abe?” of modern times. Thinking about this tuxedoed man’s love of theatre, I started wondering how he might look if he were alive today, attending a show.

His skin would be a bit smoother, not because he’d have work done, but because Modern Abe would spend less time in the sun and have access to milder soaps and better skin care products. I think Original Abe was probably a smoker, which wreaks havoc on the skin, especially the forehead. That wasn’t just the weight of the world creasing his brow, but also good old Kentucky tobacco. Chances are that Modern Abe would be a non-smoker. Original Abe’s hair was a wild mess, coarse, dry, and looking a bit unkempt even in a formal portrait. Modern Abe’s hair would still look a bit wild, but in a sexier way, carefully choreographed by his stylist . In a designer tux, he wouldn’t look like a “scarecrow,” but slim and elegant, like Obama. Modern Abe would still look like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, but he’d also be a dashing figure. Sexy, even.

Kitchenaid

Lesley Spanos — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 12:26:06 +0000

The good folks over at Daily Paintworks have started offering weekly art challenges. Some of my absolute favorite artists on the net are in DPW, so it’s a real treat to get the opportunity to participate. Each week is like a mini-lesson from a master artist. This week’s challenge is the One Color per Stroke Challenge, offered by Carol Marine. I have drooled over her work for ages, admiring her ability to simplify complex areas into just one or two supremely confident and dead-on accurate strokes. Anything that offers more insight into her technique is a must-do.

Working one stroke at a time isn’t easy for someone like me. My way is to tweak the paint until it looks right. My brain screamed, “It’s too hard!” but I pushed on. I think the lesson here is to slow down and OBSERVE. I felt like I was painting at a snail’s pace, yet the painting actually came together quicker than usual because I didn’t keep fussing with it forever.

BTW, this mixer, oddly enough, is another State Fair image. Yes, you really can paint just about anything at the fair! I like strolling through the food concession stands early in the morning before they open, photographing kitchen stuff like this through the glass. This red mixer was stunning in the early morning sunlight next to a bowl of lemons.

Sideshow

Lesley Spanos — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:57:14 +0000

A new one from my State Fair USA series. These sword-swallowing, bed-of-nails-laying, walking-on-broken-glass,swinging-paint-cans-from-nipples guys are from the Blue Monkey Sideshow, based in Indianapolis. It’s a fun show and they create an authentic vibe with their costuming and some really cool painted drops. Painting them was great fun, and I’m sure they’ll be on my drawing board again sometime in the near future.

Here are a few images taken along the way:

After toning the surface, I roughed in a sketch with pastel…

… then defined it further with waterproof marker. Once the marker lines were in, I rubbed off the pastel.

Starting to rough in the faces with thin layers of paint. At this point I’m not trying to get a likeness, just something that looks rounded and human.

Starting to refine the faces a little…

…and even more…

…and even more.

Now that the faces have some dimension, I start the process of trying to make each look like the character I’m portraying. Notice how the guy with the shaved head has gotten a personality and longer, less squishy face since the last step?

A few more details and I’m finally done.

Gotta love a guy who wears a dog collar with a tie.

Scrambled

Lesley Spanos — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:19:19 +0000

Still working on my State Fair series, and loving it! My latest painting in the series is taken from a photo I took last summer of people riding the Scrambler after dark. I love how the guy on the left looks like he’s going to hurl at any moment. I used to feel the same way when I rode those things. That’s why I don’t do it anymore.

Here are some images taken along the way:

I started with a loose marker sketch over a toned background. At this point I thought the guy on the left looked like a caveman in a Geico commercial.

Adding paint as sparingly as possible. My goal was to use the toned ground for the lighter shadows and just hit the middle tones and highlights with paint.

I can’t believe how little paint I put on the left side of the ride car, yet it looks really good. That’s my favorite part of the painting.

Painting the girl’s face made me a little nervous, because I have never done well with teeth and open mouths. Or faces, for that matter. So I pulled from my mind a vision of a work I spent some time memorizing in the Met a few years ago – Degas’ Singer In Green. I just kept telling myself to channel Degas as I layered with dry-brushed acrylic. It actually sort of worked, in the sense that it’s easier to imitate someone when you’re feeling unsure.

Next came the guy on the right. His head was at a tough angle to draw, plus I had to do more teeth. Looks a bit like chef Mario Batali, doesn’t he?

The final stage was about texture and lighting. I wanted to suggest hair on the arms and legs of the guys, so I used a few directional strokes and was pleased with the results.

The darkest darks and lightest lights were added last. And voila, we’re done!

State Fair, USA: New Series & Blog

Lesley Spanos — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 17:06:00 +0000

Lately I’ve been feeling that my painting efforts aren’t focused enough. I bounce around from one painting challenge to another, learning from each, but I’m not accomplishing much beyond that. I feel the need to do more. I need to focus my efforts on something that’s 100% me, and when it’s over, have something more to speak for the experience than just a bunch of unrelated paintings gleaned from other people’s photos and experiences.

So I’ve started a series of paintings I call State Fair, USA based on three years worth of reference photos taken at my local state fair. Literally thousands of photos. Through September, I’ll be posting new paintings almost daily to the State Fair USA blog , so please check it out if you want to follow along.

The State Fair blog is more geared toward the non-artist. I’ve come to think of this blog – Lesley Spanos Art Studio – as the artist blog, since most of my subscribers are my fellow artists. This blog won’t close – I’ll still be posting occasional step-by-step and challenge paintings here.

The Sate Fair series is my first attempt at almost-daily painting, and I’m amazed by how difficult it is. Kudos to those of you who are daily painters. You have earned a new level of respect from me!

You can subscribe to the new blog here:
Subscribe to State Fair USA via email or reader

When Ducks Gossip

Lesley Spanos — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:46:58 +0000

These little rubber duckies in the Duck Pond game seemed to be sharing secrets.

Carnies look at you a little weird when you photograph their ducks for too long. I’m thinking next time I need to placate them by spending some money on their games.

Here are a few images captured along the way:

Usually I’d tint the entire board a darker color then paint over it, but some of the yellows I use don’t cover dark colors well. To keep my yellows pure and bright, I needed to define the yellow spots early, and paint the dark water around them.

I’m working in layers, building up the transparent yellows gradually. I wish I hadn’t used that dark grey marker for the drawing… it’s really had to cover with paint.

I’m still learning how to paint water. I tried to keep my strokes loose and calligraphic.

The final layers were glazes thinned with medium, used to push the yellows in either a warmer (duck sides) or cooler (duck tops) direction.

Giclee Prints Available on Artfire

The Merry Jester

Lesley Spanos — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:25:14 +0000

This is the image that got me interested in doing a State Fair series. I love how the carving sparkles. My favorite time to photograph an outdoor carousel is around sunset. That’s when it comes to life, when it’s just dark enough for the glow of the bulbs to be visible, yet there’s still enough daylight to give it form. This time of day sets me up for a pleasing mix of complementary colors, from the the cool reflected colors of the sky to the warmth of the electric lights.

Here’s a shot taken in the morning:

See how flat and uninteresting the molded carvings look when the light is less than ideal?

Here are some images taken along the way:

After tinting the board with reds, I blocked in the masses with paint instead of drawing lines. Sometimes you just need to dive right in to the paint.

I refined as much of the drawing as I could with the brush before picking up a pen.

The face is the hardest part, so I decided to knock it out first. I would love to know who the artist used as a model. He looks a lot like entertainer/’80s talk show host John Davidson to me.

Acrylics are ideal for paintings like this because they dry quickly, allowing me to draw the intricate carvings directly over the paint minutes after it’s applied. I wouldn’t be able to do that with oils. Because my markers are water soluble, I can wipe off mistakes quickly with a wet paper towel.

The sky looked more like paint than sky, so I redid it. The key to getting a sky you can look through is using a variety of colors. In this case, it was violets, greens, and yellows. Anything but blue.

The bulbs on the carousel have a swirly pattern in the glass, so when I applied the paint I swirled it like the frosting on top of a cupcake. It doesn’t show in the scan, but I like the way it looks in real life.

Adding the final carvings. I’m so glad I chose acrylics for this piece so I could quickly build up these layers. I’m intentionally leaving some areas loose. I usually want my paint to look like paint, suggesting a surface rather than tightly mimicking it.

I thought the carvings at the bottom would be hard, but they were actually kind of fun. It was just a matter of laying in a mid-tone, followed by darks, then highlights.

This one was so much fun, I might need to do it again, larger.

Pop-Up Showers

Lesley Spanos — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 00:07:08 +0000

The local weather people like to forecast “pop-up showers.” Cracks me up every time I hear it. I’m reminded of the old “Pop-up Videos” on VH1. This painting shows the aftermath of one of these brief Midwestern storms at the Indiana State Fair a couple of years ago.

Dogs

Lesley Spanos — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:26:51 +0000

It was early morning at the State Fair, and the food vendors were setting up for the day. This brightly colored hot dog booth glowed in the sunlight. My favorite part was the giant graphic hot dog with mustard displayed on the skirt of the booth.

Here are a few shots taken along the way:

Sign backgrounds go on first…

Then the scary part – the lettering. I tried to go slowly, then fixed my mistakes with the background color.

Whew! Adding those final details was a bit nerve-wracking. In an effort to keep from overworking today’s painting, I told myself I couldn’t stop for dinner until this one was done. That provided the incentive I needed to finish quickly. Now I am off to enjoy my reward, grilled chicken and summer squash fresh from the garden.

Midway Through

Lesley Spanos — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 23:16:28 +0000

My first attempt at painting the lights of the midway.

Candy Apple Reds

Lesley Spanos — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:21:37 +0000

One of the things I’ll be painting this summer is Fair Food. My diet is very controlled so I’m painting things I’d never dream of putting in my mouth. Like these candied apples, which to me are pretty but deadly. Does anyone really eat these things? When I was a kid, we thought the caramel ones were good, but the red candied apples usually got tossed after a bite or two.

Up Stairs

Lesley Spanos — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 04:59:37 +0000

As I was leaving the fair via the infield tunnel, I spotted some nice clouds at the top of the stairs. I don’t even think I noticed the lady with the balloon animal at the time.

Morning Tram

Lesley Spanos — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 23:02:28 +0000

Another in my State Fair Series. It was the bit of sunlight on her shoe and leg that made me want to paint this image.

Three Sheep

Lesley Spanos — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 23:44:36 +0000

The biggest challenge here? Trying to get three naked sheep butts to not look too disgusting.

Meander

Lesley Spanos — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:55:40 +0000

This week Bill Guffey’s Virtual Paintout explores the islands of Hawaii. It was hard to narrow it down to one image out of the fourteen I chose, but eventually I settled on this beach scene in Hau’ula, Hawaii, on the northeast shore of Oahu:
View Larger Map

If I could go for a walk on a beach like that every morning, I could give up caffeine…

No. 1059

Lesley Spanos — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:39:29 +0000

Trolley No. 1059 was built in 1948 and acquired by San Francisco in 1992 to become part of their historic streetcar collection. Though it served in Philadelphia, the car is painted to represent the Boston Elevated Railway Co..

Our location is on the Embarcadero at a stop near the Ferry Building, with the Bay Bridge in the background:
View Larger Map

Pretty, eh?

This week my goal was to not murder the paint by working it to death, so I limited myself to only one hour. Got finished in only 50 minutes. Yay! I’d love to have a bigger version of this one for my wall, so I might try it again when I have a big birch panel on hand.

Many thanks to Lee Brown for providing yet another spectacular HDR photo for his A Day Not Wasted June challenge. His process removes most of the “bad” stuff artists encounter when painting from photographic references, like dead shadows and blown out highlights. His photos are so lifelike it’s almost like painting on location.

Available on Artfire

90 on the last 10

Lesley Spanos — Thu, 27 May 2010 23:49:51 +0000

Is it just me, or do other artists spend 90% of their studio time working on the last 10% of the painting? If I painted for ten hours, the piece would look almost finished after one hour. I could slap it into a frame and most people wouldn’t notice it wasn’t “finished.” They might even admire my bold approach and my loose and casual brushstrokes.

Ten minutes in and having fun. Love that lemon!

At thirty minutes. "Hey, this is EASY! Even the metal parts."

One hour into the painting. "Cool. Another thirty minutes on this, then I can get some yard work done and still have time to relax."

The yard work didn’t happen, nor did the open beer in the back yard while listening to Indy 500 cars buzz by at the distant Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (When the wind is right they sound like a swarm of dive-bombing wasps from my house. Locally they black out the race on TV to boost attendance, so we can’t watch it live on TV like the rest of the country.)

Nope, I spent another nine hours on my feet working on the painting, my artist’s insecurity constantly pushing me into fixing “problems” and finessing little details that may or may not enhance the finished work.

In other words, wasted time. Most of that time was spent on the two roses in the upper left. Yes, the roses were a tiny bit better in the end, but not four-hours-on-a-holiday-weekend better:

Finished painting at ten hours.

I don’t know why roses are so hard for me. When I look at the structure of a rose blossom my brain scrambles the signal and I paint the visual equivalent of gibberish. It’s like I’m looking at it but not seeing it. I was using acrylics but finally had to break out the oils so I’d have more blending time. I’ll still probably go back when the paint is dry and add a glaze over the rose on the right to knock it back into the shadows more.

Ironically, this was painted for the A Day Not Wasted May challenge. Lee provided artists with a well-planned and executed reference photo. (See how he shot it here.) Lee invited us to use just parts of his extensive still life setup, and it seems most of us zeroed on in the same composition using the apple, lemon, and jug. My original square composition cut out the dreaded roses, but then I noticed that several people had already done that one, so I went rectangular and added the roses to the top.

In spite of all my whining, a day is not wasted if a lesson is learned. So once again I’m reminded to STOP FUSSING WITH THE PAINT. Overworking the paint is my biggest sin. I need to learn to lay the paint, leave it, and go have a beer.

Hey! Google!

Lesley Spanos — Fri, 21 May 2010 18:27:36 +0000

This month’s Virtual Paintout is in the Czech Republic. Finding a subject was difficult for me, until I came across this guy mugging for the Google Street Views camera. I liked him. Here he is on Street Views:
View Larger Map

I’ve seen collections of images of girls baring their chests for the Google cameras, but haven’t come across that yet while roaming the virtual streets.

Here are a few images taken along the way:

Gran Canaria Highway

Lesley Spanos — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:19:55 +0000

This one almost ended up in the dumpster. It’s another piece I started for Bill Guffey’s Virtual Paintout, but things didn’t go the way I planned.

This time we’re on the island of Gran Canaria, one of Spain’s Canary Islands:

View Larger Map

Such a beautiful place! I want to be on that road driving a convertible with the wind whipping my hair.

Here are a few shots taken along the way:

I like the look of taped edges on a gouache, so I began by masking off the margins with clear packing tape. The tape needs to be burnished thoroughly so the pigment won’t bleed through.

Since I can’t draw a straight line, much less paint one (see last painting), I’ve indicated the water line in pencil.

Color is blocked in quickly.

Starting to refine and add some detail.

This was the finished piece when I packed up my paints for the day. It wasn’t working for me, and I was ready to toss it in the trash and chalk it up to experience.

This morning when I came into the studio, that big empty space in the middle was staring at me, and I realized what it needed – a car! Duh! Just because it’s not in the shot doesn’t mean I can’t pull one up from another Street View, right? So I traveled a little further up the virtual highway and found this one:
View Larger Map

I have a hard time drawing cars and it looks a bit wonky, but it improves the composition enough so I don’t hate the painting so much anymore. A few more adjustments, like greying the highway, and it’s done. Yay!

Tenerife Overlook

Lesley Spanos — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:00:03 +0000

Every month I tell myself I should participate in Bill Guffey’s Virtual Paintout, but I never get past the planning stage. Google’s Street View is too addicting. I get caught up in wandering the virtual streets looking for the perfect painting location, always sure there’s a slightly better angle or view just around the corner. I keep going like a cartoon donkey following a carrot on a stick and never choose a spot. For the current Canary Islands challenge I decided to bypass information overload and just pick a spot and paint. Since I love the ocean – and frankly, didn’t want to struggle with buildings and perspective – I restricted my search to a random five mile stretch on the southern coast of the island of Tenrife.

Here’s my chosen location:
View Larger Map

Google uses a pod-like cluster of cameras on top of a mast on the roof of the car, so the view is much higher than normal eye level for anyone but an oversized NBA athlete. In addition, the images are taken through wide angle lenses and stitched together, so the photos are distorted in odd ways, and sometimes bits are missing. When drawing from Google Stree View, we can either make the most of the quirky distorted look, or try to get rid of it.

I don’t like my paintings to look like they were copied from photos, so I try to get rid of the distortion. Easier said than done. I try to imagine I’m there and paint from the image in my mind, rather than copy the digital image in front of me. To help with that process, I put the photo behind me on the computer screen across the room, and glanced at it as little as possible. It worked for everything but the car.

Not much in-progress work to show this week. The acrylic paint was drying fast (the painting took less than two hours) and there was no time to shoot. I started with the standard red underpainting, which you can see in the car area. My favorite spot in the painting is the area in the water below the sun where the red shows through.

Sedona Morning

Lesley Spanos — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:37:50 +0000

What’s that wretched creaking sound? Must be my rusty painting skills! It seems like all my creative focus lately has been on planning paintings, rather than actually painting. But then along comes a good art challenge, and like the challenge whore I am, I can’t help but play along. This one is hosted by Lee Brown on his A Day Not Wasted blog. An artist and photographer himself, Lee is providing some drool-worthy HDR photos that are an absolute pleasure to work from. No dead shadows in his work! Go see his Sedona Sunrise Challenge yourself for some great visual treats, and play along, if you’re so inclined.

This one didn’t exactly fall off the brushes, but at least I finished something. Here are a few photos taken along the way:

Starting with a loose brush sketch over a red ground. When I sketch with a brush, I use an angled flat, which makes good lines as well as filling in large areas quickly. With the paint, I tried to approximate the tone of the deepest shadows.

As the painting progresses, I try to let bits of the red show through. Easier said than done.

Here’s where I wish I’d stopped. I prefer the painting at this stage because it’s looser, warmer, and the values are closer together. But, as usual, I thought it needed to be more finished…

…so I tightened up the details and added more light and contrast. Now it looks more like 10am than sunrise.

I really loved how those twigs in the foreground caught the light in the reference photo, but I was having a devil of a time painting them with a brush, so I scratched them out with an exacto knife. I had to really dig in to get down to clean gesso. It was an okay experiment, but next time I’ll make the lines more “lost and found” rather than continuous, ’cause that’s how twigs catch the light.

Many thanks to Lee Brown for a fun challenge!

Travelin’ Shoes

Lesley Spanos — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:26:18 +0000

This Different Strokes airport travelers challenge reminded me of Elvin Biship’s song, “Travelin’ Shoes,” which I put on repeat as I painted. These days the lyric should be, “gotta put on my (easy on easy off no metal shank) travelin’ shoes.” Nothing like some good foot stomping butt swinging music to make the hours fly by in the studio.

I loved the drama of Karin’s high contrast airport photo, but for my purposes it was a bit too dark. I couldn’t see the feet in the shadows, and I was having a hard time imagining what they might look like from that perspective. Also couldn’t see the colors in the darker cast shadows. So I lightened the reference photo in Photoshop.

Here’s a quick explanation of the hows and whys of lightening shadows:

It’s difficult to capture the full range of light and dark in a single photo. If you expose the light parts correctly, the shadows might get get too dark. Expose the shadows so they glow, and the highlights burn out. As an example, I took four photos of plants on my kitchen windowsill.

In the first, the meter reading came from the impatiens on the right. They look okay, but everything else is too light. The coleus leaves on the left are disappearing in a white glare.

The second photo was exposed so the coleus on the left would look good. But now everything else is too dark! We can barely see the impatiens in the shadows.

The third photo uses the camera’s automatic settings, averaging the lights and darks to arrive at something in-between. I’d love to be Goldilocks and be able to say this one is “just right,” but it’s not. The lights are too light, and the darks are too dark. These are some of the same auto-exposure issues I saw in the airport photo.

The fourth was taken with a flash. The colors are much closer to what I was seeing in real life, but the shadows are off because the main light source is from the front. I won’t paint from flash photos anymore, because it’s almost impossible to make the painting look like anything but a copy of a flash photo. Not good, when my goal is to make everything I paint look like it was painted from life.

Ideally, when taking reference photos I bracket the exposures, so I have good shots of both the light and dark areas. If I use a tripod, I can take it a step further and use HDR software to combine multiple images into one. Often that’s not possible, so what do we do when we have only one dark photo to work from? Here’s my quick Photoshop solution:

These are both photo #2, but in the second version I’ve lightened the shadows in Photoshop. This can be done using levels, or with the “lighten shadows” slider. It’s a quick, easy fix that selectively brings light back into the shadows without destroying detail in the lighter areas. This image is the closest to what I saw in real life. Gosh, I really need to scrub down that kitchen wall.

Here’s the same effect used on Karin’s photo:

Lightening the reference made the feet and shadow colors more visible, though I must admit I still had to fake the shape of the feet (and they still don’t look right).

Now, on to the painting. These are a few images I took along the way:

The acrylic underpainting loosely suggests where the light and shadow areas will be.

The sketch began with pastel pencil, so I could easily wipe off my mistakes and start over. I knew I’d be making a LOT of mistakes on this one.

Once the drawing was as good as I could get it, I started reinforcing some of my pastel lines with acrylic paint so I wouldn’t accidentally wipe off all my hard work.

More detail in acrylic. I was going to switch to oils before now because I thought it would be impossible to create a soft transition from light to shadow with acrylics. Not so – my test transition was nicely fuzzy – so I kept going with the acrylics.

I paid special attention to the lower left corner, where several floor sections intersect in the middle of a shadow. Getting the values and colors right in that area were the key to creating the illusion of a shadowed terrazzo floor.

I gave the floor depth by making the speckles in the foreground bigger and brighter, fading them out as they receded into the background. Also it gets bluer as it recedes, just like a landscape.

One of the last details was to give the woman Captain’s stripes on her sleeve. I liked the idea of black heels and power.

Here’s a little Elvin Bishop, if you care to listen to my painting soundtrack:

The View

Lesley Spanos — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:58:39 +0000

My answer to Karin Jurick‘s Different Strokes City Rooftops challenge. Thank you, Karin, for another versatile reference photo. The shot was taken from her hotel room in San Francisco, which reminded of Gerry Beckley’s (America) “View From The Hotel” series of photographs. He shoots the view from every hotel on tour, even if it’s just a parking lot, then catalogs everything by date on his website. Very cool. These kind of shots remind me that it’s the more mundane views from our travels that are often the most interesting in retrospect.

This was a fun painting to tackle. Here are a few shots taken along the way:

First I laid down an undercoat of acrylic in greyed purple-ish tones found in one of the buildings in the background. (It’s also the color of my bedroom.) Most of the foreground buildings will be yellow, so setting up a complementary color scheme early will hopefully keep the colors harmonious.

A loose drawing in grey marker went over the top of the acrylic. Even though this won’t be an abstract, I’m looking for shapes that would be pleasing and balanced if abstracted.

These next few shots were taken in the studio at night with little color correction, so they look warmer than they actually are.

Next I start to apply the oil paint with a 1″ slant brush. Usually I try not to premix my paints much, but on this one I am because the colors are so delicate, and the values are so important. I’m even using a value card to get those values right.

Here’s a color I love: Naples yellow! Mixed with titanium white, it’s like creamy sunshine. It makes me happy just looking at it. I don’t use yellow ochre. Though many artists use it successfully, it’s dull and heavy in my hands.

Finally, I get to paint the metal thingies on the roof! I love painting metal. I’ve taken some artistic license and made them shinier than galvanized steel, more like stainless, just ’cause I love painting shiny things

Oopsy, some of those horizontal lines aren’t very horizontal – gotta fix that!

The final piece, shot outdoors and color balanced so it’s as accurate as possible. (Though I was kinda loving the red tones.)

I don’t know what time of day Karin took her photo, but I’ve been trying to portray the pale lemony light of early morning in San Francisco, with a bit of fog hovering in the distance.

If I’d been doing this image purely as a cityscape, I think I would have left off some of the fussier details, like the metal bands (probably an earthquake retrofit) on the building on the right. But in an abstract state of mind, I sought out and emphasized repeating shapes and rhythms, and those bands gave me an opportunity for a nice vertical rhythm. I tried to hit every number between one and six when I chose how many items to put in each group of images. Maybe it’s just me, but I believe this creates a rhythm which is pleasing in a Sesame Street kind of way.

Chocolate, Vanilla, Chocolate

Lesley Spanos — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:10:17 +0000

Our Different Strokes From Different Folks challenge subject this week is cupcakes. Now, I love cupcakes, even if I don’t eat them. In fact, I firmly believe that some of the most exciting things happening in the arts these days are taking place in cupcake world. If you want to see what I mean, take a look at one of my favorite blogs, Cupcakes Take The Cake. Such creativity! We painters find it hard to do anything that hasn’t been done before, but the cupcake artists are giddy with exploring new territory every day. Or maybe it’s just a sugar high.

Karin’s reference photo was reminiscent of a Wayne Thiebaud painting. He’s one of my absolute favorite artists of all time, so to try to copy him would be a sacrilege. I’d fall terribly short of my goal and embarrass myself. Like this:

But I had to try. This first attempt was done with a lot of modeling paste in the “frosting.” I thought I could shape it to look like 3-d, but it was a lot harder than I expected. I mean, do I let the frosting cast its own shadows and light the painting just right when it’s done, or do I paint the shadows in in addition to the texture so if the lighting isn’t just right they will still show? I can’t remember how Thiebaud did it. I just know that mine looked lame no matter what I did to it, and it was impossible to photograph the texture.

So, that’s the tosser.

My second attempt was more traditional, with little texture, and shadows painted in. The hardest part was getting all those little confetti quins the right color in both light and shadow.

Here are a few images taken along the way:

Happy one year anniversary to all Strokers!

First Carousel

Lesley Spanos — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 02:57:26 +0000

I’ve gone from being indifferent to carousels to slightly obsessed in just one week. I took tons of photographs of a couple of different merry-go-rounds at the Indiana State Fair, and I’m sure I’ll be painting more of these fiberglass steeds in the future.

Here’s video of the same carousel I painted:

Looks ordinary during the day, but at night it’s full of sparkle and reflections.

Here are a few images taken along the way:

Telegraph Hill

Lesley Spanos — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:10:34 +0000

This was one of those crazy weeks when I thought I’d never get anything done for the current Different Strokes From Different Folks challenge hosted by Karin Jurick. My first mistake was forgetting to seal the paper before I started painting in oils. The paper sucked all the oils out of the paint and it felt like Play-Doh under my brush. I should’ve just started over, but I kept torturing myself with it. Here’s where it was when I abandoned it:

It didn’t totally suck – the light was okay in parts of it – but I didn’t like how tentative it looked. It was obvious I was unsure of myself and was adding detail just because I didn’t know what else to do.

I needed to loosen up, and it was too early in the day for wine, so I turned on some music, got out my acrylics, out and did a quickie:

Not pretty, but it got me out of that paint-every-detail mindset so I could move on. I started wondering how much detail I could omit and still have it read as a street on a hill. Using the same colors I used in the first painting, I painted this:

I almost left it like that, but I thought it needed a couple more identifying elements:

Hopefully now it looks more like city streets than a canyon.

I tried a new technique to get the telephone pole straight: I dipped the edge a piece of cardboard in paint and stamped it on.

This is going to be one of those paintings people either like, or will say “WTF?”

Just in case any of you artists are still working on this challenge and need a street view of some of the finer details, here’s the location:
View Larger Map

This is actually a block closer than Karin’s view, at the 3-way intersection at the bottom of the hill. I know that view well – Karin was probably next to the San Francisco Art Institute when she took the reference photo. There’s a cable car line that goes from Taylor to Columbus in this intersection, so painting in a cable car wouldn’t be out of the question. (I thought about it…) Just around the corner on Columbus, you’ll see the world famous Bimbo’s 365 Club. Up at the top of Telegraph Hill a couple of blocks over is Coit Tower, which has some really cool murals in it.

Waiting

Lesley Spanos — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 23:35:17 +0000

This is the latest from Karin Jurick’s Different Strokes From Different Folks challenge. Though I know this was a figure challenge, what really attracted my eye was the chair on the left. I loved the contrast of textures, the shiny metal and smooth leather. So I copped out and beheaded the poor man so he wouldn’t detract from that beautiful chair.

Here are a few images taken along the way:

Winter Glow

Lesley Spanos — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:03:33 +0000

A little practice piece from the weekend. It’s been a couple of months since I’ve had my oils out, so I needed to use them before I forgot how. Snow has always been hard for me, so last winter I took a lot of color notes. Those notes really helped! I must remember to do that more often.

Chicago Lifeguard

Lesley Spanos — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:58:25 +0000

Here’s the latest challenge from Karin Jurick’s Different Strokes From Different Folks. This time we’re painting a floating lifeguard on Lake Michigan. I wonder what it’s like out there, isolated on that little boat for hours at a time? Is it a fun way to spend the summer, or the world’s more boring job?

Here are some images taken along the way. I spent too much time watching the Michael Jackson memorial on TV, so no time left for commentary today:

Stones

Lesley Spanos — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:06:11 +0000

I’ve become a Challenge Whore. I’ve taken hundreds of photos I could use as reference, yet I roam the net at night, searching for something different to paint. It’s not that I’m bored with my own photos. It just seems that I get into a rut when I get to choose every subject. Sometimes I need an assignment to force myself to break the mold and learn how to solve new problems. Often the photos posted in these challenges are things I’d never paint in a million years. For example, quaint little country lanes and old stone barns are far outside my personal experience and so NOT ME. So I had to try it.

This challenge was found in the Landscape forum on Wet Canvas. Thanks to the photographer, Yorky, for sharing this photo with the artists.

Here are some images captured along the way:

Since I’m not comfortable with architectural elements, I spent a little extra time on the drawing.

Talk about the “ugly stage”! Diving in with watery gouache and some bright color for the underpainting. Bright yellows and reds work best for me underneath foliage. It keeps the greens looking more natural. All the colors of Fall are always present in foliage. They’re just masked by green chlorophyll. It’s my job to expose them.

See how dull it looks now that I’ve added some greyed greens on top? But the underpainting is still there, influencing the paint in subtle ways.

I actually liked how the bush on the left turned out…

… so why’d I have to go and mess with it some more? That’s the story of my life as an artist – I never know when to stop. Uggh. It was looking so bad so I had to wipe it off with a wet paper towel. That’s the great thing about gouache – you can erase! On the down side, because it remains water soluble you have to work really fast if you want to keep previous layers from lifting. You get only one chance to lay down a good stroke.

The photo reference was taken on an overcast day, but I found myself adding some sunlight.

Fixed the bush, sharpened up the details, and we’re done! Now on to that Lake Michigan rower that Karin posted last week on DSFDF…

Concertgoers

Lesley Spanos — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:43:52 +0000

When I saw this beautiful couple at the opening concert of the Symphony On The Prairie season, I knew I had to paint them. In honor of the Grateful Dead theme that night, he wore tie-dye, while she had a ’60s vibe going. Her loose, flowing pants were a colorful floral print (which I didn’t dare attempt in paint). There was color everywhere, yet it all coordinated somehow.

Here are some shots taken along the way:

The drawing done in light grey pen.

Starting to add some transparent color. At this stage I had no idea where I’m going with this one. My light grey lines were already starting to disappear under the paint, so I reinforced them with strokes of red. Cool.

I wondered if I could leave it just like this… but decided to forge on.

I tried to keep as much of the green undertones exposed as possible. For example, the green on his cheek is entirely the green of the underpainting.

The blanket had tons of pattern and color, but I needed to simplify it so it wouldn’t attract all the attention.

Finished!

Here are some detail shots:

My flesh tones usually suck, so I challenged myself to keep the flesh tones fresh and reflective while using a minimum of detail. I reminded myself to use lots of green:

Loved the colors in the chair:

Sweet Georgia Grown

Lesley Spanos — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:26:42 +0000

Sometimes the paint flows, and sometimes it doesn’t. This was one of those weeks when the paint was not my friend. When I saw the reference photo on Karin Jurick’s Different Strokes From Different Folks painting challenge, I thought it would be an easy assigment after the complicated Amish farm scene. I thought I could blow through it in three hours or less.

Oh, silly me.

Here are a few images taken along the way:

The drawing in pen. Not worried about being neat, because most of it will be covered with paint eventually.

Starting to put some transparent color down, keeping it sloppy. All the veges get a coat of cad yellow before I layer on the other colors. Reds and greens have a nice glow when painted over yellow.

The colors in the onions looked pretty good in this step.

But I couldn’t keep it fresh as I added more detail. There must be twenty layers of paint on those onions, every one of them an attempt to “fix” the previous layer. Instead of getting better, things got progressively worse as the acrylic paint piled on. I find it hard to mix light colors in acrylics, because they dry so much darker and yellower than they look on the palette. It’s like painting blind because I have to guess how it will look when it’s dry. Oils would have been a better choice.

In the end, I didn’t finish the onions… I simply gave up on them.

The upside is that they have plenty of texture.

I learned a lot about tomatoes. Not having painted tomatoes much, I assumed they were red, but as I worked, I discovered oranges, fushias, and green. Lots of green especially on the stem end.

The corn silks didn’t turn out well (OMG, did you see Karin’s silks? Such flow!), but I was happy with the husks. I barely did anything to them – I spent maybe twenty minutes total – yet they look okay. I love it when that happens.

The finished piece. Or is it? I’m still playing with cropping. Since the corn silks didn’t turn out well, the right side of the painting is dead, so I’ll probably cut it off.

As always, thanks for stopping by for another episode of “As The Paint Turns.”

She Brings Lemonade

Lesley Spanos — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:50:56 +0000

She brings lemonade for her man, and water for the horses. Is it any different than when I bring my husband a beer while he’s working on his Jeep on a hot day?

This is another painting for Karin Jurick’s Different Strokes From Different Folks painting challenge. This time we’re in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. I’ve never been to Lancaster County, but my ancestral roots run deep there. I’m only a couple of generations removed from making quilts instead of paintings.

A few images captured along the way:

My photo of a farmer and horses laid over Karin's photo.

I’ve got to admit that empty landscapes don’t hold my interest. Maybe because I’m a city girl, they seem sad and lonely, like empty stage sets waiting for the actors to bring them to life. That’s not to say that I don’t appreciate other artist’s landscapes – some painters do fabulous things with dirt and sky! I just feel that if I want to enjoy this painting, I need to add some people. Amish people.

I use Photoshop to layer images together so I have only a single reference to work from. I was envisioning a farmer working the fields, and luckily I had photos I’d taken of a man with some horses at the state fair last summer. With a little makeover he might pass for Amish, so I traveled to Google Land to look for tips on clothes, hats, and beards. A lot of their fabrics are blue or purple – I wonder what kind of dye they’re using? Must be a natural plant dye. My guy’s going to get a nice purple shirt, because I love purple.

This time I’m painting on a bright yellow/orange/red background. The yellows will help the transparent greens to glow, and the complementary red and orange will help tone down the greens.

Blocking in the colors. I’m trying hard NOT to cover all that orange. I need some peeking through for interest.

Here I’ve added the Amish women.

The horizontal lines in the field have been changed to sweeping curves to show the woman’s path. Also, I’m hoping it helps show that we’re on a hill.

I don’t know why, but this exhausted me! Nothing seemed to go right, and I really struggled with the horses and the man. By the time I got to painting the landscape details, I realized I was out of time. Karin’s deadline for the DSFDF challenge is in a couple of hours, so I’m calling it done and submitting it. Maybe later I’ll go back and fix a couple of things, like the man’s shirt and hat.

New Mexico Adobe

Lesley Spanos — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:14:50 +0000

I can’t seem to get enough of these art challenges. They so neatly answer the question of “what should I paint next,” while forcing me to explore subjects I wouldn’t normally choose. This painting is my answer to the Wet Canvas Southwest and Western Art forum challenge for May. The photo of an old adobe outside the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico was kindly provided by Diane Cutter. (Check out Diane’s really cool woodcut of Karin Jurick’s dog Jack! It was completed after the deadline, so it didn’t get posted on the DSFDF blog.)

Here are a few images taken along the way:

I toned the canvas with shades of yellow and red acrylic, then sketched in some rough guidelines with ink.

Here I’ve started painting in oils, keeping with the orange theme. I make a mental note to myself to keep the shadows warm and the light cool.

If you’ve been following my blog, you already know that I’m an indecisive painter. I don’t start with a plan, and I don’t know what looks “right” until I see it. I’m the artist equivalent of the woman who tries on two dozen different outfits (some several times) before choosing one, or moves the living room furniture repeatedly to see what feels right. My paintings have to try on a few looks before I know which one I can live with.

For starters, I’ve tried painting what I saw in the reference photo, a series of white clouds. I liked the sky in the photo, but my version lacks punch. Really, it’s about as interesting as a bag of cotton balls. I paint it out and try…

…a simple cloudless sky. Which is even more boring than the previous version. You’d think it would be easy to do a sky like this, and it probably is for many artists. Not me. Mine has that awful chalky look (in spite of using zinc white), and I can’t get the color right. I wish I had a tube of cerulean blue.

So, in frustration, I paint it out again…

…and slash in the hint of a distant storm. Hey, I like that! It makes the foreground pop. Okay, it’s a keeper.

See that mesa to the right? I like how it turned out, too!

And now it’s gone. I almost wish I hadn’t painted those trees over it. Parts of the mesa where supposed to peek through the leaves, but I got a little heavy handed with the foliage.

Then again, maybe it’s better this way. The composition was a little odd before, with a mesa on either side and a house in the middle. Now it has more of a diagonal flow.

Originally I wanted to paint a couple of saddled horses under the tree to give it that old west look, but I chickened out. I think I’ll just sign it and move on before I ruin it!

Madison Avenue

Lesley Spanos — Thu, 14 May 2009 19:00:46 +0000

Here’s another painting for Karin Jurick’s Different Strokes From Different Folks painting challenge.

View Larger Map

Karen tells us that our location is the corner of Madison Avenue and 39th Street in New York City. This is useful information, because it allows me to look it up in Google Maps using Street View.

I can’t paint from a photo unless I can imagine myself inside the scene, and Google Street View helps me do that. I can see what’s behind me, up, down, on the next block, etc. I can even see that beyond that red awning there’s a McDonald’s in case I want some virtual high octane coffee while I paint. Photos are never as good as being there, but Street View is the next best thing. (BTW, if you haven’t seen it yet, check out Bill Guffey’s Virtual Paintout challenge. They paint – with Google’s blessings – from Google Street Views.)

By looking at the Google map, I can see that we’re facing north, and the time of day is probably – as I’d guessed – morning. That will help me make my color choices. Coincidentally, the Google Street View image looks like it was taken about the same time of day that Karin took her photo.

For comparison, I’ve also included Karin’s original reference photo. It’s the same scene, the same size, yet see how different these two images are? Photos DO lie! Always. Neither of these photos is completely accurate. The Google image was taken with a series of wide angle lenses, creating all sorts of distortion and making distances appear much longer than they really are. My guess is that Karin’s was taken with a bit of a telephoto, compressing distances unnaturally. The truth can be found somewhere between these two images.

If I had time, I could try to correct the distortion by drawing the buildings using perspective. But I’m in a rush, and more attracted to the cars than the skyline (I like colorful shiny things!), so I’ll focus just on the lower right corner of the reference for my painting.

Here are a few photos I took along the way:

Hmmm… what color to tone the background? Well, the tail lights are my favorite part of this photo, so let’s try “tail light color.”

The background toning is acrylic. From here on out, I’ll be using oils. I didn’t want to get too fussy, so I’m drawing directly on the panel with a brush and Mars Black oil color.

(Note: The next few in-progress images are were taken in the studio with a camera at night, and I didn’t take the time to color correct them well. Too much red, too little blue.)

The painting progresses, and I can’t make up my mind about the figure on the street corner…

A woman striking a “casual” pose?

A businessman on his way to work?

An indistinct cluster of people?

Yeah, I think I’ll go with that last one.

This final image was done on the scanner and color-corrected so it’s truer to the original painting.

Just Plane Sketching

Lesley Spanos — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:49:03 +0000

Nothing special here, just a little gouache sketch from recent travels to prove that I’m still alive. This was what I saw outside the window as I ate lunch in a small airport. The plane was gleaming in the early afternoon sun, and the palm fronds were swaying in a hot breeze. It was all very exotic. I didn’t even begin to do the scene justice, but by painting it, I’ve fixed it in my memory forever.

Boogie Fever, Part One

Lesley Spanos — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:38:53 +0000

I’ve long admired artist Karin Jurick’s paintings of people relaxing on the beach, so how cool is it to get to paint from one of her beach photos, with her blessing? That was our assignment for weeks 27-28 on Karin’s Different Strokes From Different Folks online painting challenge.

It’s mega cool, yes, but also intimidating. If there was one contemporary I wish I could paint like, it’s Karin. Her colors are rich and pleasing, like comfort food for the eyes. Her brushstrokes have that confident, casual look I long for in my own work. Her narrative demonstrates a keen sense of observation and a quirky sense of humor which takes a pretty picture to the next level and makes it Art. She’s building a solid body of work, and I fully expect her work will hang on museum walls some day. Man oh man, why didn’t I buy something when her paintings first showed up on eBay, when they were more affordable?

Because I like Karin’s work so much, I have to dig deep each time I participate in her challenge to find myself. The last thing I want to do on her blog is a cheap imitation of her work, from her photo! I think it’s a dilemma most of the participating artists share. It’s like being a contestant on American Idol, trying to put your own spin on an iconic song. It’s damn hard, but if you can pull it off, you’re a better artist for it. Even if you can’t pull it off, you’re still a better artist for it, because you were true to yourself. That’s a big reason why I keep doing these challenges – it forces me to listen to my own voice.

That, and it makes me stretch my abilities by painting stuff I normally wouldn’t paint. Like those people on the beach – I love to paint surf, but I have never included a person in a seascape. Never! So it’s Challenge Time!

Here are a few shots I took along the way:

The painting begins with a waterproof pen drawing on paper.

This time I toned the paper after doing the drawing, using transparent washes of acrylic paint. Why? I dunno. Just felt like it.

The rest of the painting was done using M. Graham gouache. My palette consisted of:

burnt umber
phthalo blue
ultramarine blue
dioxazine purple
cadmium red
quinacridone rose
cadmium yellow light
zinc white
titanium white

Oils might have been easier and more effective, but I needed a good workout in gouache. Gouache is tricky, because you need to work quickly, and you can’t put on too many layers before it turns to mud.

Waves are well within my comfort zone. People aren’t! So the beach background fell off the paintbrushes effortlessly, and within twenty minutes, it was done. Then I spent the next two hours struggling with the figures.

Having painted a few waves in my lifetime, I think the main thing I need to keep reminding myself is to let them flow. Because when you let the paint do its thing, all sorts of happy accidents happen that make it look more convincing. Labor over a wave for hours, and it looks contrived, like those frozen in time paintings of waves where every little droplet is defined. (You know the ones I mean… usually there’s light shining through the wave right where it’s starting to break.) I like to paint waves as I see them, churning and violent and random. Today’s waves started as dark humps with lots of brown mixed in, because they’re dirty with sand. Then I made a pass with a lighter color, using a circular, rolling motion to imitate the motion of the breaking wave. The cool thing about gouache is that it remains water soluble even after it dries, so as I painted the undercolor was picked up by the lighter paint, mixing with it and creating multiple tones in between. I finished the wave with a pass of thicker white mixed with a tiny bit of red. The red makes the white pop against the complementary blue-greens of the water.

That’s me smiling at my favorite happy accident in the painting.

Starting to mess with the figures (and yes, they are a mess)…

…and the (butt) end result. I’m not really happy with the figures, or with my gouache technique here. I didn’t know what colors to use or how to define the planes on a human body with paint so I fussed with them too much. Gouache strokes should look confident. Lay them down once, and move on! Mine are unsure. You can see me searching for the right answer. That’s why I need to practice in gouache a LOT more.

But there are some things happening here that make me happy. I like the bits of underpainting showing through, and I wish there were more of them. I like the looseness of the sky and the rough indication of clouds. I like the lack of hard edges around the figures, though I could have used a few hard edges here and there. I like the girl’s hair, another happy accident.

The foreground is a big part of the painting and it needed something to define it and bring it forward… so I added sand texture and pebbles. I flicked some light color on with a brush, then added burnt umber shadows to each speck. Fun.

What color is wet sand? Well, it’s darker than dry sand, and reflects a LOT of sky color. The wetter it is, the more sky it reflects. So I guess sand is a dirty brown mixture of sea color and sky color.

Here’s the finished piece. I was getting ready to send it in to Karin, but I have a few free hours to paint today (after I subtract Earth Hour), and there are more figures in the reference photo calling to me. I could just stop here, but in my head I hear Thelma’s last words to Louise – “Let’s keep goin’!” I’m thinking it’s diptych, or even triptych time!