Check This Out!

OMG I am soo proud of this students' work- Maria Nino and her blog.  Please Check Out Her Blog--Her Photography is Outstanding!!!

Leaf Painting Auction SOLD!

This set of leaf paintings are available now at auction starting at $5 dollars at Daily Paintworks!

Underpainting and Glazing to create Form

Grisaille is a term for a painting executed entirely in shades of grey or of another neutral greyish color.  Traditionally is has been done as a classical under-painting technique.  

Our fruit under-painting before glazing will start something like this. 

Here is why!

Notice how realistic the finished pear is!  Here is  are the traditional elements of design used to describe this process.

Light is the first Element of creating Form in classic art.  True gradation and Value differences is the second step.


1. The first step in creating your Grisaille painting is to work in Adobe Photoshop CS6 on a simple fruit photograph to make your high key, middle key and low key value examples.   Start by opening your fruit photograph in Photoshop and changing the mode to gray-scale, then the size to 4 x 3 inches.

2.   Pull down image to adjust and Posterize, don't go any higher in levels than what looks simple to paint!

3.   You can also use filter to cut out to play with the values.  Save your finished sample by pulling file to save for web.  It is already small so you can choose maximum.

4.  Make three versions  of the image by adjusting the value of the photograph using image- adjust levels, or brightness contrast.    Under file, print, print the three images. 

5.  Chose the image to paint that will be the most successful for the colors that you want in your painting.High key should be used for lighter colored glazes and low key could be good for darker colors.  Yellow is light, it is at the top of your color wheel, and red / green is halfway down so mid value would be good, and blues and purples are at the bottom of the range so a low key under-painting would be good for this panting. 

Teddy Bear Rocks

This image is from my Mr. Theodore Bear, Teddy Bear Book but changed to a rock star.  Maybe Mr. Bear has a new book in him!  This was edited in Adobe Photoshop.

What is Art?

• Educator's view -- If you make art only from the wrist down, it is not art, it is design.
• Museum's view -- Art is an intellectual, philosophical and spiritual endeavor.
• Critic's view -- About 95 percent of contemporary art is frivolous and will not stand the test of contemporary culture.
• Collector's view -- Art that is worth something in the future that reflects the beliefs of the culture but still appeals to me is worth adding to my collection.
• Artist's view-- Worry about the above beliefs is like the tail wagging the dog.  Art making should be meaningful to me. 

 Art VRS Culture

• The link between high art and contemporary culture was challenged by Marcel Duchamp with his ready made art pieces.

Where are you in this with your work?  Takashi Murakami challenges this with contemporary theory of "super flat". The theory posits that there is a legacy of flat, 2-dimensional imagery which has existed throughout Japanese art history and continues today in manga and anime. This style differentiates itself from the western approach in its emphasis on surface and use of flat planes of color. Superflat also served as a commentary on post-war Japanese society in which, Murakami argues, differences in social class and popular taste have ‘flattened,’ producing a culture with little distinction between ‘high’ and ‘low’ art.  How does your work fit in the culture of Texas" or are you attempting to make art from the wrist down?

Scratchboard Frames

Owls ,10 x 14 claybord and Acrylic on Wood.

Eagles, 18 x 18 claybord, ink and acrylic on wood

Adele Bow-Wow Bear

Please Check out my print for sake of this puppy painting at My Art Pal- www.ArtPal.com/profkenglish .

Pekingese Waiting for Madame Butterfly

From Renoir's "Box at the Opera", a new painting for Dr. Bear.

Trying to calm down after a stressful day, doing something to smile about may help.  This is one of two paintings I completed for grounddogs day, February second. Please see my first of the evening, a painting of my one of my favorite girls, Cuppy,on the Dogwalk.

Klimp Appropriation Speaks Out

One of my favorite  artists is Gustav Klimt.  When I appropriated and changed this painting to a puppy picture it was one of the more difficult  paintings to work on.  This is my chihuahua year old pup that I currently have after losing my fifteen year old Angelina.  The head and neck had to be the right size for the head of the painting and in addition the arms and paws have to look right.  I am not completely happy with this part but I believe that it is okay as a video.  I work on this for several three to four hour sessions in Adobe Photoshop CS6.