Finally got around to setting up accounts on some online art galleries. I had to look around for some free ones – which I eventually found.
Oh, and I posted 5 paintings on Ebay last night too. They are cheap on ebay. If you are interested, I put the five Kanji paintings up for $47 each. See link below.
Here is a list of the online art galleries I am now a part of:
My Zatista online gallery: http://store.zatista.com/shaunellsworth
My d’Art online gallery: http://www.fine-art.com/shaun-artist
My “About Me” page on Ebay:
http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=shaunartist
My Artbreak gallery (Be careful. Even with the adult filter ON, some gets by. Sorry): http://www.artbreak.com/shaunartist
Halloween Mashup of the Ellsworth Family October, 2009 - Click to watch ours and then make your own!
I have never done one of these before. It is really fun to do and share. Check it out and make your own! This only took me about 10 minutes.
Send me a copy of what you make to shaun[at]oneartistsjourney[dot]com.
Check out ours and make your own at: http://www.monstermashup.com/d35534
I was thinking about this. Tell me if it is a good idea.
If you have a favorite travel photo you would like turned into an abstract painting, similar to what I have been doing the past two weeks, I can do that for you.
Price will depend on finished size (your call) and if there are people in the photo (portrait or in the background, etc).
If you are interested, you can contact me at shaun[at]oneartistsjourney[dot]com
Great Wall #2 - 18" x 14" - Acrylic and colored pencil on Masonite - $300
I redid the Great Wall piece and am happy with it. but I really like the one I did in the meantime, “Fields.”
Fields turned out well. It was difficult because I wanted to add more detail than I should have. There were some large round hay bales in the foreground that I just couldn’t get right. I tried to make them “just shapes” but they looked too real. I will have to figure out how to abstract small things. All in all I think it went really well. And the Great Wall turned out well too.
So, this week turned out really well. I am happy with what got completed. and I like the new direction I am headed in.
Fields - 18" x 14" - Acrylic and colored pencil on Masonite - $300
I just realized that it has been one month since I started this experiment and I have 38 paintings finished. I think I have improved a lot in one month. A LOT. I am still not where I want to be, but I look at the earlier paintings and realize that I now know better what I am doing.
That is a fun feeling. I have been so bad about posting photos of my paintings. By the time you read this, I should have caught up and you will see the images I am talking about.
I just looked at the countdown clock at ShaunEllsworth.com and I see that I have 82 days left. I will definitely make the 100 paintings mark and I hope to make the 200 paintings mark.
Great Wall #1 - 18" x 14" - Acrylic and colored pencil on Masonite - $300
I have started using photographs as references for my abstract landscapes. The problem with that is sometimes I get too caught up in making a good representation of the photo. In this picture of the great Wall of China, I got too caught up and I don’t think it turned out great.
Now watch, no one will buy it from me if the artist doesn’t think it is any good!
Anyway I am going to try it again tomorrow and make it more abstract. “They are only shapes!”
Well, I started out using a 1″ brush and applying the gesso in one direction and then when that dried, I applied it in the perpendicular direction.
Now, after applying the gesso one way with the brush, I use an old credit card as a spatula and qind of squeegie the gesso all over the board. It applies it to the depth of the first brush strokes, but gives me a flatter surface to draw on.
The rough boards created by the first application method just ate up my pencils. Now, with the flatter board, I don’t go through the woodless pencils quite as fast. It grabs the paint well too.
I tried squeegeeing straight on the board. It went on well enough, but I haven’t used that board yet. It uses much less gesso and gives a good tooth. the board is browner because there is less coverage, but that shouldn’t matter.
Tetons - 18" x 14" - Acrylic and graphite on Masonite - $300
Today I had time to do two paintings. It takes longer, the larger the board I am painting on. I wasn’t ready for that when I started the 100 in 100 challenge. I need to hustle and I am a little worried about moving on to larger canvasses (boards).
The two I worked on today turned out well. I am fighting the urge to get too detailed. When I get detailed or try and make it look like a photo, I get really messed up. I have to keep reminding myself “It is just a bunch of shapes” and “This is an abstract painting.”
Mesa Arch - 18" x 14" - Acrylic and colored pencil on Masonite - $300
If I can keep those two things in mind, I think I will do OK. I am happy with the two I finished today. I am also using a lot more paint than I was with the smaller paintings. I found a container to put my pain into so it doesn’t dry up between paintings. I just use a disposable plastic square container and slap the lid on when I am done painting for the day. I also have a tiny spray bottle that I use to moisten the paints every once in a while.
Lake Arrowhead with Sailboats - 18" x 14" - Acrylic and graphite on Masonite - $300
My first painting at the 18 x 14 size went OK. I like how it turned out, but it took a little finagling. It is a picture of a sailboat race up here on Lake Arrowhead. There is a high horizon, so I placed it on the top third of the board. That left two thirds of the painting to be filled with lake water. It took about 4 tries to get the water right. I had to keep reminding myself as I painted, “it is just shapes, it is just shapes…”
Finally, I got it to where I am happy with it. It isn’t perfect, but then most things never are. I am convinced we artists are continually seeking a standard that we can’t reach, so we need to relax a little and enjoy the journey. I know that when I can enjoy the journey, my inner artist will blossom and I will be happy with my paintings. That kind of negates what I just said, huh? Oh never mind…
