Daily painting practice- Self promoting - art on the radio

I will be experiencing something new tomorrow at 5:35 PM cst. I will be on a local radio station here in Omaha, (KFAB),  talking about my print of the Rosenblatt stadium on the Tom Becka Show. (you can listen live on the internet)

 I find one of the hardest things about being an artist is the occasional need to self promote but this sounds like it may be fun. I get to talk art and baseball at the same time. I'll let you know how it  goes.

Daily Painting Practice - Rosenblatt Stadium Print -Baseball painting

Rosenblatt Stadium Print
by Omaha Artist Peter Yesis

image size 18"x24" with 2 inch border

print on watercolor paper
$125.00 plus shipping

Finally Available! The Omaha landmark, home of the College World Series for over 50 years,  will soon to be replaced with a new stadium. Here is my attempt to honor the memories of all those who have loved the old ball park and hate to see her go.

Daily Painting Practice - Starts and Finishes

I love Nova Scotia. I could paint there for several lifetimes. Living in Omaha, Nebraska is quite a world away from Nova Scotia, but I can go there anytime by sitting in my studio and painting.

Here is a new painting I am just beginning to work on.
When I start adding more color, the boats seem to take on their own personality. It's almost like painting people.

click on the painting to enlarge the image

Last Days at Rosenblatt Stadium
36"x48"
oil on canvas

Speaking of painting people... I finally finished my tribute to Rosenblatt Stadium. No wonder I needed to escape to Nova Scotia. This baseball painting may be the longest I have ever worked on a single painting.

My next adventure is to explore how to make prints of it.... Wait , that means I'm not done with it yet!!

daily painting practice- Still working on the Rosenblatt Baseball Stadium

Yep, still working on the Omaha Rosenblatt Stadium painting. The painting that keeps on going , going, going...

I have changed the foreground quite a bit since I last showed this to you. Go back (here) and you'll see how it use to be. I decided to use my artistic license and remove the fence that was in the foreground. I also changed the people in the front.

click on the picture to enlarge the image

Last Days at Rosenblatt - work in progress
36"x48"
oil on canvas

Here's a larger version. I still have about 10% more to go. Will I ever finish?

Daily Painting Practice - Baseball stadium Continues

The baseball stadium painting continues. I need to finish soon and get on with some fresh paintings. Paintings can get stale if I work on them too much.
Something I really enjoy is dissecting a painting. I like figuring out what makes a painting work and how to make it better. This painting is all about light and angles. I deliberately make some angles work more for me than others. The sky is painted at an angle to bring the viewers eye into the field. The shadow angles on the far left make an arrow shape that points our eyes towards the right, and the light on the right side brings you back to the center. Even though I am not set on the details of the people in the bottom right corner. I know they have a curve that sweeps the viewer's eye back into the painting. I am also contemplating another boy with a cap in the front. His cap will point toward the pitcher.

I think a successful painting is like a well produced play on Broadway. Each share these key ingredients:
A strong center of interest. ( The Star of the show)
Good Composition. (A strong supporting cast)
Good use of light. ( Drama/mood)
An interesting narrative. (The audience must relate emotionally to the story)
Above is some more diagnosis. The Center of interest is in the cross hairs of some useful lines in the composition. The narrative directly relates to the center of interest. Did the batter hit the ball or miss it? The line of the pitch takes the viewer across the painting, the vertical poles on the right side stops the viewer. The supporting characters at the bottom of the painting help bring the attention back to the action and the shadow line ( in yellow) stops the viewer again forcing your eyes back to the pitcher.

Here's another trick to use when you need to examine changes to the composition. I wasn't sure the fence in the foreground was at the best angle. It was correct as far as real life but for the composition I was thinking of maybe changing it to go parallel with the grass. Anyway, one way to try it out is to take a photo of your work and use a photo editing program to see what it looks like. I think it takes away from the picture so I won't change it.

Here are the progress shots up to the present. This is where I left off.
I added the steel work under the main structure and started filling in the crowd.
The crowd is nearly all filled in and I removed the figure from the center in the blue hat. I like the space better now.

Rosenblatt Baseball Stadium - Work In Progress

click on the photo to enlarge the image

The fence detail is coming along. I added the field lights. Still, lots to do. What do you think? Will I finish before the College World Series begins?

Daily painting practice- Continuing the baseball painting

The epic painting continues! OK, maybe I'm being a bit dramatic, but drama is what you need when painting a baseball game. If you think watching baseball is slow going , try painting it! I have the sky 90% complete (because that was the easiest part) and I have the guys in the dugout about the same. I removed the camera guy in the bottom left corner. I think the final detailing of the fence will work well enough.

The crowd is slowly coming along. I needed some inspiration for painting large crowds...

click on image to enlarge painting

So I checked out a few crowd paintings by Ilya Repin. This one is called The Annual Memorial Meeting Near the Wall of the Communards in the Cemetery of Père-Lachaise in Paris. The title almost has as many characters as people.

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Here's another. Krestny Khod (Religious Procession) in Kursk Gubernia. This guy was a master painter of crowd scenes. You can go to (this website) called Olga's Gallery to see more

click on the image to enlarge the painting

I am using a palette knife when I want to lay the paint on thick. I used it in the sky , the grass and on the glistening white uniforms. My main goal now is to block in the rest of the crowd then go back and add some detail strokes to make the front rows stand out a bit. Several hundred figures started ...several thousand to go! I hope I finish before the season starts.

Daily Painting Practice- Rosenblatt Stadium Progress

What have I gotten myself into? Just how do you start a painting with roughly 5000 figures in it ...and outdoors on top of that?
I thought my approach or, "How do I do this?", would make an interesting post.
Ok, first idea, make sure I have the architecture mapped out to give me some road marks and some boundaries.
Second, start thinking lights and darks.
Next, rough in the players on the field to help with the scale and distance.

click on the image to enlarge for details

All I am thinking about at this point is getting some color down. A big question keeps repeating in my head..."How much detail do I need to show the crowd?" ...and do I paint from back to front or front to back?" .... maybe I should stick to still life painting.

click on the image to enlarge for details

I decide to work with the figures in the dugout and the front rows first. Hopefully this will give me an idea of when to stop drawing individuals as I go back into the crowd. I even count the number of figures sitting in the first row and the number of rows going back....just to give me an idea. I need some way to keep the approach somewhat organized.

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I darken the back of the dugout and start painting individual figures. I start with just three tones, a dark, a mid-tone, and a light gray.

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After I am satisfied with the progress of the figures, I add some color which begins to draw some interest to the individuals.
Baseball has so many components. One of my favorites is watching the crowd. I will need to give each figure its own flare and emotion in order to capture the feeling of sitting there with them......I can't believe I am attempting this.

Daily Painting Practice - Playing at Rosenblatt

Warning: This is a long winded blog. If you have other things to do, read this later.

First a little background. Omaha hosts the College World Series for a week every year in a lovely older stadium called Rosenblatt Stadium. It is a bit of Americana. A big controversy brewed in Omaha over the last year because they are going to build a new stadium in the downtown area over the next 3 years and knock this one down. I hope they design the new one as close as possible to this old one...except for the bathrooms and vending areas, those need to be demolished.
So here is the continuation of the story I mentioned in my last post. I drove over to the stadium early on Tuesday morning to buy a ticket and take more reference photos ...this time with fully charged batteries...two sets!

At 10:00 AM, the line for tickets was half way around the stadium so I turned to leave. I didn't want to spend all day waiting. As I turned, I bumped into a wonderful man selling one ticket. What a break, no waiting! I bought it and drove home. I had no idea where the seat was but I had one.....

This photo was taken from my seat. It doesn't get any better. The man I bought the ticket from has had series tickets and the same seats since the 1960's. I sat next to him and his lovely wife. In fact, I met several nice people around me, all of them had tickets for the same seats for years...some even handed down through the generations. The man on my left had been going to the series since the beginning ( that's 60 years!) I can see why there is so much nostalgia for this old stadium. They hate to see it go....except for the bathrooms.

I was able to sneak down to field level and get a bunch of good shots.
I love the choreography of baseball. It would make a great ballet.

click on the image to enlarge the painting

Playing at Rosenblatt
original by Peter Yesis
5"x7"
oil on masonite

I had a great time, met a bunch of terrific people took a bunch of photos. I have a lot of new ideas for paintings. I would like to capture the feeling of what it means to play and watch the game at Rosenblatt stadium before they knock it down. I guess I have my work cut out for me over the next 3 years.

Daily Painting Practice - Game Day College World Series Study

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Game Day College World Series
original by Peter Yesis
5"x7"
oil on masonite

Every year Omaha hosts the NCAA College World Series. It has been doing this for about 60 years. Yesterday was the first day I have ever gone. My wife was given tickets to the LSU, North Carolina game. We thought that it may inspire some painting ideas. I grabbed my camera and off we went. I snapped 3 or 4 pictures and... the batteries died! What a bummer! LSU and North Carolina have great team colors and the crowd must have been a sell out .

I painted this in a very loose impressionistic manner. It makes a great study for a larger work. I need more references, I have so many ideas for paintings I can't wait. I left this morning to try and buy tickets for tonight's game... Its very late now so ...More of that adventure tomorrow.

Daily Painting Practice - Playing Right Field

I am sorry for not posting all last week. I have been a bit more than under the weather and it has taken me a while to be able to sit and paint again. The good news is while I was inside fighting some strange biological bug, the weather has been beautiful for dandelions. Wet and warm and then cool nights. These plants grow so fast. I don't think this one was even an inch tall last week.
I came up with this idea when I went on one of my ..."step outside you might feel better in the sun" moments. My walk consisted of 10 steps outside. The idea was great...but I wasn't. The painting would have to wait another day.
I feel much better now and so what else should I do but paint the first sign of spring.

click on the image to enlarge the painting

Playing Right Field
original by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on canvas board

Anyone who has played baseball as a child or any parent who has young children who are learning to play baseball will understand the title. So little happens in right field in minor league baseball. Kids that are stuck out there get bored really fast and always find other things to do. Like picking dandelions. I remember coaching years ago and I had a young girl playing right field for me. She was so busy picking a dandelion bouquet she failed to notice the ball rolling past her. When the shouting of all the other kids finally got her attention, the bouquet was carefully laid down on her glove before she ran after the ball..... She probably grew up to be an artist.

Daily Painting Practice - Strike Three

OK, OK, I know, another baseball you ask? I'm having fun. These baseball paintings are a blast to paint and compose with. I have so many ideas for them I may do one a week. This is my third painting in the series so finding a title was easy.
This painting has a strange story behind it. Baseball announcers have always used colorful expressions and witticisms to keep the game interesting. They talk almost none stop for the entire game so the best ones can get very verbally creative. Bob Uecker is probably the funniest play -by play announcer I have heard. You have seen him in the movies Major League and Major League 2.

click on the image to enlarge the painting
Strike Three
original by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on canvas board

I grew up listening to Phil Rizzuto call the games for the New York Yankees. His famous expression every time a home run was hit was "Holy Cow". I don't know where I heard the expression that inspired this piece, " Strike three- Ring the Bell". It probably was only said one time in the history of baseball by some unknown broadcaster trying his best to come up with something clever to say during a slow game, but it stuck in my head

I placed the ball on top of the bell in the middle of the box to represent the middle of the strike zone.

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

click on the image to enlarge the painting

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- 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.