Merry Go Round

Merry Go Around 8x8 by Dennis Crayon Oil on Panel
If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.

For this tromp l'oeil painting I started with a sepia under painting using a mixture of black, burnt umber and white. The mixture of black and burnt umber was about 50 percent each then I added the white accordingly to the value needed. I made sure that there were no hard edges in the sepia areas so that there would be a high contrast between the bright colors of the merry ground’s horse and the soft edge of the background. When this layer was dry I painted over the top with the bright “candy” colors that you see in carnivals. Lastly I worked with the contour and shading of the horse’s mouth in order to fool the eye and play with the illusion of the head popping off the page. The masking tape also helps with the illusion of the colored layer tape on the top of the sepia layer.

I had captured this image last year when the carnival came on Northern Virginia and up until now was not sure would be the best way using the image. I wanted to give a nostalgic feeling to the painting by using the sepia color under painting technique.

Pears & Baggie

Pears & Baggie 8x8 by Dennis Crayon Oil on Panel

 

Among the things I enjoy most about painting a still life is the challenge of creating the illusion of texture and depth. I’m starting to paint a series of objects in plastic bags. Painting plastic can be similar to painting lace and glass because you need to define both the object and the transparency.

Pears & Baggie was painted with a number of layers of glaze (transparent oil paint with medium). I usually start with opaque paints but this time I really want to work with the translucency that glazes offer. I will be combining contemporary and traditional objects in this series.

I just have to watch to make sure the plastic doesn’t look out a place or contrived. Baggies are of course one of the vessels we use in the 21st century and that idea amuses me for some reason.

Offerings: 14 x 14 Red Blue and Yellow Marbles in Martini Glass

Offerings by Dennis Crayon

14" x 14

Oil on Panel

This is first painting about the three primary colors. I wanted to make a small altarpiece offering the three primary colors back to the God that offered them to me. I used martini glasses as a form of contemporary challises. I enjoyed playing with imagery of both my youth and adulthood. This piece was juried into the 2009 Salon International at the Greenhouse Gallery

Available: Purchase Information

This week’s Art Afirmations

This week’s Afirmations
Today is a good day and I will be in a good mood
I will laugh, smile, and have positive thoughts
My life is full with people I love and I share my happiness
I am disciplined in the studio and set aside time each day to be creative
I stay open to making art that is out side my comfort zone.
I support art and artists that are in my community
I know that I am part of the universe’s community

I have boundaries and focus on all aspects of my life.
I am working on eating healthier.
I walk at least 20 minutes each day and will build on that.
I have all the energy I need
I will work on getting my artwork in the front of people.
I will stop thinking I am old

Thanks Artbiz blog for this start.