I'm Pretty Sure I'm Done

Well, after several weeks of having this huge painting in my room, I think I'm finally done. While at times it was a challenge, it came around and now I'm pretty proud of it.

And here it is...



Some detail images:


The Castle looks good, its even sporting a German flag. Strong shadows and highlights on the trees really make it look like the sun is shining on the castle.


Here's some of the foreground. I like the boathouse and the cars, but I like the shadows and highlights in this area the best, they really bring out the sunshine I was trying to create. Also, the reflections and texture across the water really help it look like it's in motion, like a river. Crystal clear, un-interrupted reflections would have made the water appear more pond-like than river-like.


Here's some detail of the town. Little details like the dock, the railings, and the cars really keep this area interesting. Also, little shadows, for example, created by the awning of the yellow building's storefront onto the front of the green building, help to keep the impression of sunlight in this area.

Welp, that's that. Maybe I'll add a few minor re-touches the longer I have to look at it. I hope you like it! 40x60

Shannyn

Another painting done on the side. First came Pepper, now it's that other cute little creature I live with, my girlfriend Shannyn.

Id'nt 'at cute? 10x14

Pepper!

I have some free time while letting paint dry on the big painting, so I'll do a couple smaller ones in the meantime. Here's my puppy. Her name is Pepper, she's very cute, and she's due for a grooming.

Eat your heart out. 9x12

Venice

My senior year of high school I took a trip to Italy. I took a photo in Venice, went home, and painted a watercolor of it. It turned out great. My grandmother especially loved it, and she framed it and put it in her house. One day, I asked her if I could have it back so I could enter into an art show. Then, just as sure as she feared, I lost it. Sorry Grandma, I know you loved that painting.

Well, I've re-painted it for you! This time, it's a colorful oil rather than a monotone watercolor, but I think it's just as pretty. I hope you like it! I even signed it for you this time. 11x14

Chicago

Well, I went to Chicago for Valentines day. I'd never been before, and I had huge expectations. I've kind of had an obsession with skylines my whole life. I like to stare at them; watch them go by. I've always been that way, and it was especially evident in Chicago. I was in such a great mood walking around, being amongst the skyscrapers I'd scene in pictures my whole life.

One scene was just perfect, on Michigan Avenue looking south over the river. It was immense. The buildings were huge, and the air was thick and bright. I snapped a picture and knew I would paint it once I got home. It took me a long time to paint, probably 10 to 12 hours total over the coarse of a week. There's a lot of detail, a lot of making sure your brush is in just the right spot. But I suppose I'm happy with the result, though it's not quite a reflection of what I was seeing in my head. 16x20

Portrait of a Girl

I've been commissioned to draw a graphite portrait of a cute little girl. The portrait turned out nice, although this picture of it looks kind of grainy. It's better in person, I swear! 9x12

Sailboats

Here's another painting I did drawing inspiration from my Impressionism book Shannyn gave me for my birthday.

I really tried to use minimal, big, loose brush strokes. The small boats on the dock, for example, are just a couple strokes of bright paint on top of the dark paint underneath. The figures standing on the dock are just scribbles of paint. There's a high risk of looking sloppy and awful, but if its done right it can convey light, energy, and feelings in ways meticulous brushwork can't. 12x16

I'm Back!

Well, its been quite a crazy month. But good news! I'm back and I'm settled in Columbus, Ohio. I've set up a small studio in the apartment to bring more paintings into the world, and I've got one for you today.

I know, it's just like Monet's Poppy Field, so we'll call it a tribute. He's definitely one of my favorite painters and I hope to paint like him someday. 16x20

Alright People,

I'm leaving Canada. It's been a great time and I'll miss it indeed. These past couple months have given me, among many wonderful things, the opportunity to paint again. I hope you've enjoyed seeing my progress over the course of my time here, and hopefully you'll continue to follow along wherever I end up next.

Au revoir, Montreal.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Will Rogers

Here's a painting I did for my brother. Its of the Will Rogers statue at Texas Tech. Apparently the horse's ass faces A&M. Also, I figured out it's just a cast of the original statue in Oklahoma, so I wish I would have done something a little more "Tech". Originally, I wanted to paint him a picture of the scoreboard from last time Tech played TCU in football.

Shannyn advised me against that, and its a good thing because this one turned out quite nice.

To my family: Sorry

Well that was a nice break. Glad to be back though. Here's a gifted painting.

Shannyn: "Josh, are you going to paint a desert painting for my grandparents for Christmas? You know, like you said you would?"

Me: "Uhhh, yes."

Me inside my head: "Oh god my family is going to hate me for this." (I haven't painted them anything.)

Classic Arizona. 10x14

Sun Shower

So I haven't been painting so much this last week. Some friends came to visit and I had to pack up the studio. This week I'll be in Houston, but next week I can hopefully start painting again. I do have a couple paintings I'm giving as gifts, so I'll post those after they're gifted. In the meantime, here's a quick painting I did a couple weeks ago of a sunlit scene with a rainy background sky.

It was more of a warm up exercise, but I liked it enough to post it. Besides, I've been posting a lot of snow lately, and I'm tired of that. Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!

Shadows

In the winter here, the sun only reaches about 20 degrees into the sky each day. That means it's always hanging low, casting long dramatic shadows across the ground.

It's pretty, eh? 10x12

The View

This is the view from our balcony. One night, there were low clouds gliding above the city and they were lit up bright yellow by the lights.

There was one cloud that was just moving past the Olympic Tower, creating a thin white haze that the tower's lights glared through down onto the city. 12x16

Avenue Papineau

A recent snowstorm has transformed the cityscape. For a couple days, there was no distinction between roads, sidewalks, curbs, parks or anything on the ground. It was just an endless sea of snow that left familiar scenes looking completely new.

A familiar scene, near the bus stop across the street, caught my attention. I don't know why, but I felt like painting this one VERY fast. Maybe it was because the urge I felt to paint it once I saw it carried over onto the canvas once I got upstairs. Anyway, it went by quickly, and its very sloppy, but I thought I captured the scene fairly well. 10x12

Winter Mountains

This one goes out to all my home boys in New Mexico. I looked at pics of the Sandias to pull inspiration for this one. 6x12

Place d'Armes

Finally, it feels like winter. In honor of the changing weather, I painted a popular Montreal scene, Place d'Armes, in a blizzard.

I was pretty excited about the way this one turned out. The sharper details of the foreground lamps opposed to the blurred background scene really create a heavy atmosphere. It looks cold! 12x16

Paint

Waited around ready to paint but wondering what to paint for several minutes before I decided to just paint my paint. Yep. 4x5

Larger Images!

Hey guys, I adjusted the dimensions of the blog to allow for larger images. This means we can all see them a little better! Of course, it looks fine on my computer, but if it's not working properly for some reason on yours, please let me know. Also, I'm trying out a new banner up top. Do you like?

Have a good one!

Farmville

Went with my imagination on this one, and used heavy brush strokes to kind of achieve an impressionistic look. I like it! 6x12

Cornucopia

Happy Thanksgiving Oil on Blog enthusiasts!

Today I have painted for you a wonderfully bountiful cornucopia in honor of turkey day. I wish I could be back in the States with my family to celebrate, but making my 2nd thanksgiving feast of the season should hopefully make me feel a little more comfortable. (We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving in October.) 10x12

Forrest Path

This is the last of my reserve paintings, I'll have some new ones to put up soon, including a Thanksgiving special tomorrow! In the meantime, check this out:

Another painting inspired from my book. I like the way the foreground shadows stand out against the brightly lit middleground. Agreed? Thought so. 10x12

Coffee Mug

...And here's a coffee mug.

Keys

Building, top lock, bottom lock, bixi, mailbox. 4x6

Mischa & Louie

So my mom's friend asked me to paint Mischa and Louie, her two Bichon Frisés. She sent me a pic of each and I did my best. I'm actually really happy with how they turned out. She saw the jpegs of the paintings and mistook them for the photos. Not a bad compliment! They are both 10x12.

Here's Mischa

Here's Louie

Lamp post

I've been wanting to paint something like this after many nights walking through Parc Lafontaine. During a couple weeks, the leaves all turned yellow, and at night the lamp posts would light them up brilliantly against the darkness.

Hilltop Village

Here's a landscape I painted with inspiration from my book. It's got pretty light, but the author's is a lot better.

Leaf

Here's the leaf painting!

Studio tour

Hey guys, I thought I'd upload a picture of my amazing studio here in Montreal. The apartment is quite small, so I'm painting out of this little corner in the living room. Its not too impressive, but it works well. The big windows to the right bring in superb lighting on most days and offer nice views of the city from 16 stories up. You can see my easel there holding a painting of a leaf (said leaf is on the black chair). My palette is resting on the leg of the easel, and my brushes and paint are on the chair to the right. Its all resting on a tablecloth in hopes of keeping my mess contained. You can see some of my other paintings lying around. Some are from practice and some are destined for this blog, so stay tuned!

Fruit & Bottle

I copied someone else's composition for this one...sorry. Anyway, I'm happy with how believable the glass turned out.