Upcoming Classes!

I'm excited about these upcoming classes! Check them out on my website here. 

Oil Still Life Painting Workshop July 18th to 22nd, 2016

I'm getting excited about my upcoming summer still life painting workshop! The workshop is July 18th to 22nd. 5 days of painting.
There are still a couple of spaces in the workshop open, check out my site for all the info

5 Day Still Life Oil Painting Workshop

I'm teaching a Still Life Oil Painting workshop this July at my school. July 20th to 24th. I'll be showing my process for painting a still life, lots of demos and individual instruction. More info here.

Dragon Fruit Oil on linen 12"x 24"

Still Life Oil Painting Workshop

I have a weekend Still Life painting workshop coming up December 13rd and 14th 11-5:30pm each day.

The focus will be on technique and not a finished painting. Both days I will demo from 11-1. There will be a break for lunch and then the students will work from 1:45-5:30pm with breaks as needed.
More info here

Painting in NYC this summer

 

 

Working on a still life in the studio

Painting in progress

Kickstarter for travel to NYC!

I've started a Kickstarter to help fund my travel to compete at the Grand Central Atelier 's Still Life Painting Competition at the end of July in New York! If you have the time please give it a look. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/482930917/still-life-painting-competition-at-gca-in-new-york

Thanks for your support! 

Still Life Painting Competition!

I'm excited to report that I've been selected as one of ten artists to compete at the Grand Central Atelier's inaugural still life painting competition this July in New York City, July 27th to August 1st. Each of the ten artists will be painting a still life from life in NYC and competing for a $10,000 top prize!

You can read more about the competition on the GCA's website here.
You will be able to follow the day by day progress of the competition on the GCA's Facebook and Blog.  

Lemon painting step-by-step

I started this painting by doing a quick drawing of the outlines of the lemons and box. I drew the box with a 2h pencil. I used a ruler to measure 3 inches in in from the edges so I would be sure to have the same size box all around the painting. I then used the ruler to draw straight lines and find the vanishing point of the places the box joins at the edges. 

After drawing the box I found the placement of the lemons by looking at my setup and comparing the size and shapes of the lemons. I checked the horizontal lines to compare the top or bottom of different lemons with other lemons, tying all the relationships of the lemons together. 

As I say in the classes I teach "It's like a puzzle. The more parts we get in the right place, the easier it is to put the other parts in their right places."

 I used a stick of charcoal to draw in the big shapes of the lemons. I deliberately left the drawing of the lemons a little loose and unfinished so that I could make changes as I started to paint. I like to work on a drawing that is not too tight so I can feel excitement as I start to paint and not feel like I'm just filling in the drawing. 

Start of the first coat:

Here I'm using a limited palette of earth colors. By using a limited palette I can focus on getting the big flow of light and value and not worry too much about color. 

I use mineral spirits to thin the paint a little in the first coat. I started by blocking in the lemons. At this stage it can be hard to judge the value of the paint compared to the white of the linen. As I go over the all of the linen with paint, it becomes easier to see the values. Reminds me of those optical illusions where the value of a square is only relevant as compared to the value of the squares around them. http://web.mit.edu/persci/people/adelson/checkershadow_illusion.html 

Here is how the painting looks when I 'm finished with the first coat of paint. I try to keep this coat loose and exciting so that I feel like coming back and painting more! If you squint your eyes down the value relationships are starting to work. 

Start of second coat:

Here I start using a full palette of colors. I go over the whole painting bringing the color closer to what I'm seeing. I deliberately do not try to finish or model anything in the second coat. I find if I do finish things too much in the second coat it makes it harder to want to come back and paint over the finished parts. I like the look of having a least 3 coats of paint. So the second coat is just to bring the color closer to the real thing I'm painting and build the paint up. I paint very thinly so it helps to have at least 3 layers of paint. I use linseed oil as my medium for the second coat. I started working from the left to right and from dark to light. Slowly going over the linen.

Start of the third coat:

I used a full palette of colors again. This time I used a medium of linseed oil and stand oil mixed on my pallet. It's an oil rich medium but the Artfix linen I use is very thirsty so it works well. The stand oil adds a buttery quality to the paint and helps level the brush strokes.  I start by working from dark to light so I start on the lemon in the back left. I paint over it trying to finish it as I go. Then, I move down to the left bottom lemon and, starting from the shadow side blocking in the big light and dark. Much like in the second coat but this time I start to model and finish the lemon by painting all the little changes as the light flows across it's form. I do this by painting both the shadow and light side of the lemon with their local color and then working in to the wet paint to adjust and model things.

Working my way along the lemons.

Finished painting "Lemons in Box" Oil on Linen 11"x 16"

 

New paintings

Here are a couple of new paintings, enjoy!

Melanie in North Light   Oil on Panel 20x16

Onions Garlic and Bags  Oil on Linen 14x30

Finished "WInter Leaves" painting!

I've just finished this painting.  Here are a few photos of the painting and some details.

Winter Leaves, Oil on Panel 16x20

With frame

Detail 1

Detail 2

With my hand ;)

Hanging Onions Painting

Here are some photos of what's on my easel at the moment. I was inspired, in part, to do this painting by an email I received a little while ago from someone in Mexico who teaches at an agriculture university. She had put together a not-for-profit book about the "Pitahayas" or Dragon Fruit. I was surprised to find she had used my painting "Flying Dragon Fruit" both in the book and as the back cover without asking me.... It was nice that she emailed me to find out where she could send me a copy of the book but still somewhat funny that she wouldn't check before using my painting in her book.

I painted "Flying Dragon Fruit" in 2003. It was in a gallery in Vancouver for a while. The gallery was one of the best in Vancouver and had been in business for 20+ years. Unfortunately things started to go bad for the owner and he ran off with a number of artists’ work or did not pay them for work sold. Twenty plus artists sued him but as far as I know, not one managed to collect any money from him. I lost my dragon fruit painting and another small still life. So now my dragon fruit painting has been stolen both in real life as well as in digital form for a book.

You're probably wondering how this relates to my hanging onion painting? After seeing my dragon fruit painting in the book it made me want to do another painting with a similar setup and so I painted this onion painting!

Here is an image of the dragon fruit painting. If you know where this painting is, please let me know! 

Flying Dragon Fruit Oil on Linen 11x14. Stolen 2005

Here are some progress pic of my Hanging Onions painting.

I always find it interesting to look at a painting I'm working on in a frame if I have one of the right size around!

Finished painting  "Hanging Onions" Oil on Linen 11"x16"

Still Life Oil Painting Workshop

I'm excited to be offering a still life painting workshop in Victoria July 30th & 31st.

Here is more info.
Two Day Still Life Painting Workshop with Artist Noah Layne
July 30th and 31st.
Please register by July 23rd

Cost $200 Materials not included
Some drawing or painting experience recommended
This workshop will take place in James Bay Victoria.
     
In this workshop Noah will show how he goes about starting and finishing a lemon still life painting.  The focus will be on technique and not a finished painting.  Both days Noah will demo from 11-1.  There will be a break for lunch and then the students will work from 1:45-5:30pm with breaks as needed.

Lots of demos and individual instruction!
  
To register for this workshop visit my classes website.

Some plein air paintings

Here are two recent plein air paintings and a small still life study.  The weather here in Victoria is finally starting to get warm making painting outdoors much more appealing. :)  The only problem with the warmer weather is that the lovely cold weather evening skies are now gone.

 Sunset study Swan Lake, Oil on canvas panel 8x10

  

Dallas Beach Study, Oil on canvas panel 10x8

The sun started to get lower and lower as I was painting making the reflections on the water brighter and brighter... I probably fried my retinas a bit, not good for ones career!

Oil on canvas panel 10x8

I was testing how much cobalt drier to use for a workshop I'm teaching later this summer.  Trying to find the right amount so the paint is dry the next day but not dry in two hours ;)

New Painting

Here are a few photos of the progression of a painting I just finished!

Click on the images for bigger files.

New painting

Here are a few photos of the painting that I've just finished.
For a more detailed step-by-step demo of a similar painting check out this demo on my website.

Setup

Start of first coat

Limited palette of colors

First coat brushes and palette

Full color pass

Starting to model the form

Still modeling the form :)

Adjusting things

Painting

Finished!