All About Oil Painting Panels

If you are a beginning oil painter, the vast world of painting surfaces and substrates can be quite overwhelming, especially when your Instagram and Facebook feed are flooded with artists working on everything from acrylic-primed canvas to vellum and ABS plastic panels.  I take a fairly traditional approach to surfaces, keeping in mind both the archival quality of my chosen supports, and whether or not I actually enjoy working on them. Depending on your painting style, surface quality is everything . I am not a heavy-handed painter, and I like to make delicate, subtle strokes with my brush, so I've come to prefer surfaces that are quite smooth, but still have a bit of texture. So please keep that in mind as you read this post; I can only give examples based on my own experience and wo… Read more »

All About Oil Painting Panels

Filming a NEW Instructional DVD: "Creating Vibrant Skin Tones"

During the last weekend of July, I made the trek to Salt Lake City, UT to film a new instructional DVD with Bella Muse Productions. This production company is incredibly professional and they did a wonderful job! I'm looking forward to seeing the final result. You can sign up for their emails on their website to get updates on the DVD's release date . Meanwhile, here are a few fun pics from filming. A huge thanks to my beautiful model, Caitlin! She was absolutely wonderful to paint! I so enjoyed working with Elizabeth Robbins, producer and artist extraordinaire. Here we are in front of her gallery in Ogden, UT. Read more »

Filming a NEW Instructional DVD: "Creating Vibrant Skin Tones"

Intro to Finishing a Studio Painting (part 1 of 3) with Anna Rose Bain

So... ever since painting that demo of Jessie at my workshop last month, I've been chipping away at a large studio painting (42x24") of that same pose and setting. Here's an informal clip on the inspiration behind this piece. I'll have a couple more videos after this highlighting the finishing touches! Read more »

Intro to Finishing a Studio Painting (part 1 of 3) with Anna Rose Bain

Painting Little Hands

My almost-six-month-old, Cecelia, is as perfect as perfect can be, and when I paint her, I find myself grasping at that perfection, unattainable and just out of reach. But that is the joy and the challenge of painting, and that is why I decided to rework this little painting, "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep." "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" (original version) - 6x6" inches At only 6 inches square, the piece was a response to some comments on an Instagram photo I posted several days ago. Cece was sound asleep in her car seat, on the way home from an art show. When we stopped for gas, the overhead lights at the gas station illuminated her face and hands perfectly. It was one of those moments I couldn't have reproduced in my studio if I tried. The little painting was com… Read more »

Painting Little Hands

For Love of the Demo

March was a busy month for me. With my third trimester well under way, I was a little concerned that I wouldn't have the energy for it all. But the passion and drive didn't wane, and I was able to accomplish a lot in spite of the need for much more sleep and the irritating plague of heartburn that happens when you're carrying high. Between my two-day portrait workshop and painting at my gallery during Fort Worth Spring Gallery Night, I happened to be working in the public eye a bit more than usual. On Gallery Night (Saturday, March 29), I set up my easel in a corner of the gallery and collectors could come and go, or stay and watch while I worked on a current painting project. Many of them commented, "I don't know how you can stand having people watch you work!" … Read more »

For Love of the Demo

Recent Painting Workshop - Photos & Video Clips

This past weekend I had my last major teaching gig for the season, leading a 2-day intensive portrait painting workshop at the Trinity Arts Guild in Bedford, TX. After this I will probably not be teaching again until the fall (thanks to Baby Bain arriving in May), and will instead be focusing exclusively on painting projects and commissions for the next few months. The workshop went well and I very much enjoyed the dozen or so attendees who came. We also had a couple of excellent models. Here are some photos from my morning demos, and a couple of short video clips that were taken. Enjoy! Day 1 (model: Gord Shriver): Read more »

Recent Painting Workshop - Photos & Video Clips