Daily Painting Practice - Practice Demonstration

Tuesday Night I am giving a talk and Demo at the Bellevue Artists Association. The talk is about Daily Painters, blogging and selling on Ebay. THe Demo is how I do a typical daily painting practice piece. The speaking part I will work on tomorrow. I have only done this demo /talk thing once before so I need a little practice to help me organize what it is I am going to do.

I thought I would demo how I used to paint when I started my daily painting practice blog.
For those of you who have read this blog for a long time, you may remember how I use to show the set up and the progress shot at the same time. Here's a look at the composition in abstract shapes of light and dark. If it holds your attention here you should be good to go.
I went back to the wipe off method I used for a while. This is fun but I get so much paint on me. I hope they enjoy watching me cover the canvas more than how I cover myself.
Something strange and mystical starting happening to my painting of the pear. I wasn't paying attention to the drawing side of things and didn't notice what was happening until I was finished...

click on the image to enlarge the painting

The Magical Floating Pear
original mistake by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on canvas board

The pear looks like it is starting to float away. I was so engrossed in laying in the thick paint I never went back to check the position of the pear. This was a good lesson for tomorrow. Maybe I'll bring it along and show them. You never learn more than when you make a mistake....still, it looks pretty,floating in the air that way.

Daily Painting Practice-On the Inside Corner -Baseball No.2

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On The Inside Corner
original by Peter Yesis
6"x6"
oil on canvas board
SOLD

I couldn't think of a good name... I started with Baseball No.2 or it could have been: Strike Two or Ball Two or Ball in a Box. But On the Inside Corner was the only one I liked.

I kept this one a little looser than the first, also used thicker paint. I was more interested in the light than I was in the detail. Some of the best practice pieces come when you don't care about detail. They always end up having more feeling to them.

Daily Painting Practice- Breakfast Tip

There are times when I think I should go back to doing my daily painting practice the way I did when I started. I used to set up one item, use my shadow box and paint away. I will be doing just that next Tuesday when I give a demo at the Bellevue Artists Association. Sometimes keeping it simple is a good thing...
...But on the other hand, I got bored doing just one item at a time, so I added one item to the compositions, then another and soon I was composing more and more difficult things for my daily paintings. This is getting out of control!
You know my Van Gogh obsession has gone too far when I sit at a diner eating breakfast and start arranging compositions at the table. I ask my self, "What would Vincent do?"

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Breakfast Tip
original by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on canvas board
SOLD

I am not sure what the waitress thought or the other people that were eating, but when inspiration calls, an artist must reply. Still, I think maybe I should go back to painting an apple... just an apple....what would Vincent do?

Daily Painting Practice- Baking Bread

One of my wife's favorite things to do (other than manage my art) is baking bread. So, when she went crazy in the kitchen baking biscuits and bread I sat at the table waiting for the first sample. (my role as taste tester). The sun was very strong that day and caught the corner of the stove. "That would make a great painting." I said. See how easy it is to find something to paint.
Every time I paint something on the stove I think of Van Gogh. I don't know why but this always happens. Once I have Van Gogh on my mind it's all over. My style changes... I get a crazy look in my eyes as I paint. This can be fun and very disturbing at the same time.

click on the image to enlarge the painting

Baking Bread
original by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on canvas board

That honey jar has done its fair share of posing for me. I think it has been in at least 4 or 5 paintings now, same with the tea pot. I haven't grown tired of painting them yet, so I am sure they will end up in many more pictures.

Daily Painting Practice- Snow Melt

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Snow Melt
original by Peter Yesis
9"x12"
oil on canvas board

One last painting of the outdoors before spring. This is the lane right next to my house. That is our white picket fence and you can see the roof of our (little blue shed) I painted last year. Hopefully this is the last of the snow. I am ready for some warmer days and some spring green. And soon flowers!

Daily Painting Practice- Baseball

Spring must be close because I had the itch to paint a baseball. I have wanted to paint this baseball ( another thrift store treasure) for a few months but never felt ready for the challenge, until now.
There are so many subtle colors in a baseball. It is very much like painting skin.
The hardest parts for me is getting the texture to have the right feel and determining where to place the correct level of detail. As you know, I don't like to put the same level of detail across the painting. I think I mentioned this in the last posting of the grapes. I am practicing how to keep the viewer's attention where I want it in a composition but at the same time trying to control the pace the viewer's eyes move around. Who would think that so much thought could go into a simple painting of a baseball?

click on image to enlarge the painting

Baseball
original by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on canvas board
SOLD

I could probably do a baseball painting everyday of the season. I could show it in a different light and different composition each time. It is an amazing prop. I call it amazing because it is such a simple device. You can't get simpler, just a sphere with some red stitching. But every baseball carries a story. Like the skin on a persons face, you can read its history.

This was a fun yet challenging in its simplicity. Everything a daily painting practice piece should be.

Daily Painting Practice- Grapes

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Grapes
original by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on canvas
SOLD

This was fun but took me a bit longer than a usual daily practice painting. I think the effort was worth it though. The trick in this composition was not to paint all the grapes with the same level of detail or color. The subtle variations in light falling across the grapes needed to be expressed by having the top left grapes be the star of the show and the lower grapes playing a supportive role. Otherwise the painting might have felt very static.... There is nothing worse than a static painting... leaves you with a shock.

Daily Painting Practice- Rembrandt's Pipe - Work in Progress

Back in early February, I posted this painting in its early stage and since I didn't have a new daily painting to post today, I thought I would update you on the progress (the slow progress) I have made.

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Rembrandt's Pipe - work in progress
original by Peter Yesis
12"x16"
oil on canvas

I don't have a daily painting today because I was traveling this past weekend to Kansas City. I am thrilled to have new gallery representation with the (Rice Gallery) in Overland Park, Kansas. I met with Peggy Rice (owner) and Seth Smith (manager and fellow artist). What wonderful people to talk to about art and the business of art. I am very excited. They picked 7 pieces, so if you are in the Kansas City area be sure to stop by ( I think it is the best gallery in the KC area).
This painting is about 80% complete. The fun of the detail work is about to start.

Daily Painting Practice- Peony, Pears and Rose

This is a good example of how I can control the light using my shadow box. By twisting the box the angle of the light and shadows change.
Starting with greater contrast between the lights and the darks makes for a more dramatic composition. Adding drama to a composition is a good way to break out of old boring habits. There is nothing worse than looking at a still life arrangement that has no life in it at all.

click on the image to enlarge the painting

Peony, Pears and Rose
original by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on canvas board
SOLD

The rose is the star of this scene with the others playing a supporting role. To me, the rose seems to be playing to the crowd, like a great stage actor holding the pose and soaking up all the attention from the audience.

Daily Painting Practice- Just Before It Snows

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Just Before It Snows
original by Peter Yesis
6"x8"
oil on canvas board

The temperature was up to 55 degrees the other morning. Then it took a nose dive and the sky became winter gray again. I swear my bones could feel the snow coming. Winter is holding on but that doesn't discourage my wife /gardener from starting her vegetable seeds indoors. Planting seeds indoors in the winter is proof of an eternal optimist.

Daily Painting Practice- Nap Time- A Study

You know you have a good model when they can hold a pose for hours.
He never moved... even though I was stepping all over arranging and rearranging the toys and books.
I even changed the blanket several times. This only made him move his hand... which actually was an improvement for the composition.

click on the image to enlarge the painting

Nap Time
color study
8"x10"
oil on canvas board

It is nice to have a model that changes shape every few weeks. I can't wait to see what the next stage brings. This is a study for a larger painting so I don't feel bad about selling it. Of course if it sells, I may have a start to his college fund. He may ask for payment when he is older.