Daily Painting Practice- tangerines and Rembrandt? Stories behind the painting

 Tangerines and Cut Glass

work in progress
8"x10"

oil on panel

I love a good mystery. And lately I have been listening to ( Librivox.org.) audio books on the web, while I paint in the studio. Last week was Sherlock Holmes.

There isn't a great story that goes with this painting, but to me, it might be fun to try and create a good mystery around the title "The Mystery of the Tangerines and Cut Glass".

My hero with dramatic light has always been Rembrandt. He is a great orchestrator of light. A great story teller. You can't help but be drawn to the areas he wants you to look at in his paintings. But I never imagined there could be a mystery in one of them.

I love to watch videos or documentaries about great artists. Especially, when they explore the conditions the artist was painting under or explain what every day life was like for people during that time period. Here are two documentaries looking at the same painting by Rembrandt, "The Nightwatch". But, like my days in engineering,(If you ask two engineers to solve a problem you will get twenty three different solutions) you will see that art historians can weave different stories from the same painting.

The first one is a clip (about 9 minutes) from a great series on Rembrandt by Simon Schama (click here to watch) This is the more conventional interpretation with a creative way to discuss the painting.

The other is actually a short movie/documentary (1hr 40 min.) and the best art movie/mystery I have ever seen called Rembrandt's J'accuse, (click here to view)
Which do you believe is the real story behind the painting?

Daily Painting Practice - Tangerines and cut glass - work in progress

I know we are all trying to manage financing these days. Artists are no different when it comes to trying to save cash...(has it ever been any different?)

Tangerines and cut glass. The tangerines from the supermarket  and the cut glass from the  thrift store. Total cost about $4.00. Not a bad investment for a daily  painting practice piece.  They to go together well. Here's the progress  shots

Tangerines and Cut Glass

work in progress

8"x10"

oil on panel

Off to a good start!

Daily Painting Practice - Progress with Still Life

Change  is a good thing. I believe that holds true in  life (still or not), painting and for blogs. So I have changed the layout of the blog ( I think my third in 5 years). Speaking of changes, I have changed the design on the plate in this still life 4 times. I am close to calling it the final design but nowhere near the final phase of painting. Much to do yet.

Work in Progress- Still Life with Orange

20"x20"

oil on canvas

This has been a week of changes in the studio. I changed the music website I use to listen to music while painting. My daughter-in-law suggested I try( Pandora Radio). I must say it is  excellent. I highly recommend it for any artist in need of   a change to the studio routine. You choose the artist or song and they custom build a radio station for you.  I have my Micheal Buble/ Frank Sinatra station, my Randy Travis/George Jones station, of course the Ella Fitzgerald station and  my newest, a classical  Joshua Bell station.

This is not me juggling oranges...  just  using  this one  to get a better feel for the texture. Frank Sinatra singing "Come Fly with Me" in the background.... Life (still or not) is good.

Daily painting practice - Making progress on the still life

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Summer Still Life - Work in Progress
14"x18"
oil on canvas

I finished teaching my oil painting class at the Joslyn Art Museum. By the last class you could really see the improvement everyone had made. ... ( And they still enjoy painting!). Since they have done so well I figure I should move along on my still life. Here is the latest stage. Still adding color but trying to control the values.

In my class I talked about picking the star of the composition and making sure everything else played a supporting role to the star. To me, the star of this show is the cantaloupe. Even though it sits behind the grapes ( and the grapes are trying hard to upstage the star) I feel the grapes offer the support of contrast as they go back into the rich color of the melon. The apple doesn't take away any of the spot light and the brass bowl does a good job as the backdrop. It works well as a neutral tone to help set off the orange.
Thinking of your composition as a Broadway stage play with stars ad supporting characters is a great way to check that your painting will still hold interest long after you are finished

Daily Painting Practice -Intermission

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Intermission
original by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on masonite
(Click Here to Bid on EBay)

Sorry about the shortage of posts. I have been painting though, just not blogging. This painting is a version of a composition I have been thinking of redoing on a larger canvas. I wanted to test the color and play with the wood too see if I could get a good texture. I am pleased with both so I will put this on my list.

Daily Painting Practice - Sweet Pair

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Sweet Pair
original by Peter Yesis
5"x7"
oil on canvas board

Sorry, no progress photos today. I am in a rush packing for my trip to the (American Plains Artists) show in Midland, Texas. I am flying down staying for the opening and flying back. I'll be taking a break from posting for a week but I'll be back again soon.

Daily Painting Practice - A Bold Assembly

I should have lowered the painting to make it easier to compare. For the moment just tilt your head. I let this under painting dry overnight before adding the color the next day.
That's better ...my neck was getting sore.....At this point the only part I liked was the plum. The red was driving me crazy....I was silently using a colorful vocabulary to compliment my palette.
The glazed porcelain was an added challenge.

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A Bold Assembly
original by Peter Yesis
8"x8"
oil on masonite

The reflective table surface is actually the back of a piece of masonite I purchased from the art store with the cellophane wrapper still on it.

Daily Painting Practice - Poached Egg and Porcelain

More experimenting. Blick Art has new panels to play with and I am continuing to try out my new medium. Make sure you click on the images to get a closer look at the stages of development.
I really wanted to concentrate on the background this time and not do my typical...go back into it after the painting is complete.
Eggs may be my new fun thing to paint. They are the best thing for practicing values.
Before I started this painting I remembered seeing a website for the National Gallery of Art in Washington that talked about Vermeer's proportions and compositions. Here is the (link). It is incredible to think he put so much thought into his work. I don't think I will ever get to that point.
I am more of an organic fly by the seat of my pants composer.
Though, I found it kind of funny that this is how my drawing lined up. Purely by accident! Just eyeballing the composition and sitting down to draw... I wonder what Vermeer would have said...Beginners luck. He would be right.

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Poached Egg and Porcelain
original by Peter Yesis
8"x8"
oil on masonite
SOLD

Daily Painting Practice - Plum Shades

Another day another color combination to play with.
The plums really stand out against this old piece of pottery.
The thing that is giving me the most trouble is how much detail to show in the pottery. Too much and it comes forward and takes away from the plums.
I thought I had it at this point but there were a number of things that bothered me. The foreground for example... don't like it.... take it out!

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Plum Shades
original by Peter Yesis
6"x6"
oil on canvas board

I also put a layer of background color on a ran it into the shadow side of the pottery. Then went back in to bring out some texture. It has a real southwest feel to it. Don't you think?

Daily Painting Practice - Porcelain Whites

Thank God I have a studio in the basement. Nice and cool down here. It was a miserable hot and humid day today. The kind of humidity that when you walk outside you feel like you are wearing a set of damp clothes.

Another day to experiment. I purchased some Gamblin Neo Megilip medium. I think it is supposed to be a Maroger medium replacement. It looked interesting at the Blick art store so I bought a small jar and gave it a try.....(I have no idea what I am doing). I started with a toned board and grayish monotone underpainting. The medium gets very tacky very fast.
I kept picking up paint from the under painting as I tried to add layers. Perhaps this would have worked better as a two day painting. After a lunch break the painting looked like it was almost dry... but that was just a trick. They should call this trick the artist medium. I made the mistake of using a brush that was damp with turps....oops! off came the paint...when will I learn?

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Porcelain Whites
original by Peter Yesis
9"x12"
oil on masonite
SOLD

Though I struggled with the new medium I enjoyed the way it held the color of the paint. I certainly will continue to practice with it though I think they need to give a new name, Neo Meglip,... sounds like a period of history when small dinosaurs ran around.

Daily Painting Practice - Lemon Lime

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Lemon Lime
original by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on canvas board

Another quick and fun painting to reward myself for a good painting day. Actually maybe not so quick. About two hours. I deliberately bought the lemon and lime when I went food shopping last week just for a daily painting. One problem when combining food shopping with still life prop buying.... the budget goes out the window if I get carried away. I was tempted to buy a dozen radishes , pomegranates, watermelon, strawberries, organic carrots with the greens still on them and so on. Of course buying them all at once is even a bigger mistake. They always rot before I get a chance to paint them. This just happened with the Easter Lily I bought last week. The blooms feel off yesterday. Now I have to plant it and wait until next year for another chance.

Daily Painting Practice - Late Afternoon

I started this with the old paint that was left on the palette. I think the limited number of colors helped me get off to a good start. I really liked the gray muted feel at this point.
Then I went right for the brilliant color of the apple. What a risk taker! ( Thank God it worked)
The green splash on the apple really helps to give the viewer's eyes a place to rest. I should have named it Rest Stop.

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

This morning my wife and I took a tour of several garden supply stores. Of course we only went to...look. (And came back with some broccoli, oregano, pansies and a white Easter lily).
So, I spent the rest of the morning getting my hands dirty on the garden planting the broccoli. There is nothing like sinking your hands in warm soil. Last week I put the spinach seeds in and the peas went in yesterday, so we are off to a good start. After gardening it felt good to just sit down in the studio and do a quick painting practice piece. By the time I finished it was late afternoon....I missed lunch.....That apple isn't going to last long.

Daily Painting Practice - Yesterday's Snack

OK, maybe I didn't exercise for an hour ( see yesterday's post) It was more like twenty minutes. Today is a new day and besides it is 60 degrees and sunny today not 40 and raining.... I know, what a weak excuse.
I thought in keeping with my new schedule and to show myself I can be disciplined and consistent. Today's painting should show a connection with yesterday. So, I am painting yesterday's diet part two.

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Yesterday's Snack
original by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on canvas board
SOLD

As soon as I post this I swear I'm out the door for an hour of brisk walking and exercise.... then a new snack when I get home.

Daily Painting Practice - An Apple a Day

My demo and talk at the Bellevue Artists Association went very well Tuesday night. I counted about 20-23 people. It was a lot of fun and I met some wonderful folks. I did forget my camera. Sorry no pictures. Thanks to artist (Kathy Jureck) for inviting me. I basically did the same painting as my practice one the other day. Only difference was I had about 1/2 hour to do it. Can you say "speed painting!"
I started another new schedule for myself. I desperately need to exercise and eat better. (more discipline wouldn't hurt)...So my new regimen is to do my Daily Practice Painting then exercise for an hour,(huh) then work on my studio pieces...... what are the chances I'll keep this up for more than a day? Maybe I should start a new blog... Daily Exercise and Eating Right Practice.

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An Apple A Day
original by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on canvas board
SOLD

To start the new discipline off on the right foot I painted my snack for the day. See, I've already started...I took a bite.

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- 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- 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.

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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- A Quiet Morning - Work in Progress

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A Quiet Morning - Work in Progress
12"x 16"
oil on canvas

I know I haven't posted in a while but things have been very busy - crazy busy! I thought at least I owed you all a look at one of the studio paintings I've been working on. This one is 92.5% complete and I am very pleased with it so far. The fruit is some of the best I have done to date. I need to clean up some detail in the cloth and the whole painting will get a glaze or two to tie the atmosphere together.

Daily Painting Practice- Fruit Bowl

Another chance to work on the color of oranges (actually they are tangerines).
I like this composition. The fruit is packed into a space that catches the light in a warm inviting way for the viewer.

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Fruit Bowl
6"x6"
oil on canvas board

I am really enjoying painting in orange... now I should quit while I'm ahead.