Painting Siblings

No, this isn't a post about double portraits. It's actually about two paintings that are, in a way, "siblings."

Steering Home
Oil on linen • 6"x6" • Sold

Prayers For His Voyage
Oil on linen • 6"x6" • Sold

In 2010, while visiting relatives, I painted a still life of objects I collected from my grandmother and aunt ("Prayers For His Voyage," above). The painting represents a woman praying for a loved one who is abroad (perhaps at sea or war). The Bible represents her faith, and the candle symbolizes her hope.

I sold the piece recently, and it was not long before the client presented me with a brilliant idea—perhaps I could create a companion painting that depicts the story from the man's point of view. "What a great idea!" I thought, and soon began setting my mind to the task. I used some of the same symbolism from the first painting, including a candle for the man's hope and a Bible for his faith. I depicted the man as a sailor, steering towards the light and nearer to his loved one, who is pictured in a locket. The rocks represent his ever-present dangers, against which her prayers protect.

These two paintings now hang side-by-side. Each shares a side of the tale, and together, they tell the full story.

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My Favorite Thing to Paint

Dan (by Andrea)
Oil on linen panel • 10"x8" • Available
(To inquire, email artsy_orrnge@yahoo.com)

While Andrea and I studied at Pensacola Christian College, our all-time favorite art course was Figure Painting with artist-in-residence Brian Jekel (view his work here). The class met for two hours each Tuesday evening to paint a clothed model from life. Each model would pose for two consecutive weeks, and we were not permitted to work on our paintings outside of class. The limited time-frame and complex subject was a unique challenge I found exhilarating. Soon, creating portraits from life became my favorite painting activity. In fact, I loved it so much, I elected to take the class three times!

After Andrea and I graduated, we greatly missed painting people from life as often. When we moved to Missouri, we dreamed of one day opening our studio for group life-painting sessions. Thanks to my industrious mother, who almost single-handedly prepared our studio, we were able to host our first session last September. We've been meeting every Thursday night since, and the response has been wonderful. It has been a joy to paint people from life again and to meet such great new friends.

Our sessions are open to all Kansas City area artists. If you would be interested in joining us, please visit our Facebook Group here and click "Join Group." Click the "Events" tab to see a list of upcoming sessions, then select the one you'd like to attend. If there are 10 or fewer people coming (our comfortable max), click "Going." Please send me a private message on Facebook for directions to our studio. We ask everyone to bring a portable easel, supplies and $6 for the model. We look forward to seeing you!

 

Our Painting Group

Just a few of our painting buddies
(Click their names to visit their websites)
L to R: Crystal Manning, Wanda Greene,
Polly Plain (back), Eileen McCoy,
Andrea, me, Ryan Delgado, Peggy Wilson

A Few of Our Thursday Night Paintings

(Many more paintings and photos from our sessions can frequently be found
at Peggy Wilson's blog and Greenverdugo Art's Facebook page.)

Daniel (by Andrea)
Oil on linen • 12"x9" • Available
(To inquire, email artsy_orrnge@yahoo.com)

Micah (by Adam)
Oil on gesso panel • 12"x9" • Available
(To inquire, email Contact@AdamClague.com)

Judy (by Adam)
Oil on gesso panel • 12"x12" • Sold

Matthias (by Adam)
Oil on gesso panel • 12"x12" • Sold

Bo (by Adam)
Oil on gesso panel • 16"x12" •
In a private collection

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Christmas Traditions

I decided to dedicate my first blog post of 2014 to a glance back at Christmas 2013.

2013 Christmas Tree
Oil on linen • 8"x6"

2012 Christmas Tree
Oil on linen • 7"x5"

 

Harvesting our 2012 "tree."
Our 2013 tree was a full (though tiny) tree

Last Christmas (2012), Andrea's and my first together, we instated two traditions: 1) harvesting a live Christmas tree and 2) painting it from life. These last two Christmases, we enjoyed picking our trees from our own yard.

Please excuse my ragged painting garb

These paintings are a lot of fun, but are also challenging for a few reasons:

1 The lights of the tree look most dramatic when there is little or no other light in the room. This poses the problem of poorly-lit canvases. This year, Andrea clamped a battery-operated barbeque light to her easel. I used a spotlight and placed it outside the doorway so the door frame would help mask the light's influence inside the room.

2 This year, we decided to paint our tree with the shade opened, so we could capture the lights reflected in the window. I found I had to paint these reflections softer and dimmer than the actual bulbs to prevent them from reading as part of the actual tree.

3 Since the light bulbs are at all different angles to the eye and are hidden to various degrees by branches and ornaments, they appear to have differing levels of brightness. If I paint all the bulbs the same brightness, they simply don't look realistic. To achieve the correct effect in my painting, I first have to choose one bulb to be the brightest. I then have to dim the others in the correct proportion to that brightest bulb. The key to accurately comparing values (darks and lights) is to squint slightly at the subject. When your eyelashes come together, your visible range of values is compressed, making it easier to determine how much lighter or darker one value is compared to another. Once I determine how much dimmer each bulb is compared to the brightest one, I have to make sure those same relationships hold true on my canvas.

At the top of my 2013 painting, my stocking is to the left and Andrea's is to the right. They're both hanging at the same level, but Andrea's stretched out longer. Apparently candy is heavier than coal.

Merry Christmas, everyone (really, really late)!

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Babysitters

Babysitters
Oil on linen • 18"x24" • Sold

The scene in my recent painting Babysitters was a real-life moment I never would have been able to stage. Andrea and I had been visiting friends, and all of us were exhausted one day after a long drive. I was considering a nap, when I wandered into our friends' sitting room to find them already dozing. Mommy and Auntie were sound asleep, but our friends' 2-year-old son was held in the fringes of consciousness by a video on Auntie's iPod. Topping off the touching moment was the beautiful, cool window light bathing the trio. I knew I had to act quickly if I wanted to capture this tender-but-fleeting scene!


I grabbed my gear and set up as quietly as I could. Sooner than I had hoped, the girls stirred, the little guy moved, and rest-time was over. Fortunately, it was not before I had noted some values on my canvas and taken a few photos.

Scottsdale Salon ad in Nov. issue of
American Art Collector Magazine

I count it a great privilege to have my painting accepted into the Scottsdale Salon of Fine Art at Legacy Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ. The exhibit runs 11/7/13 through 12/31/13. It was a tremendous surprise and honor to learn my painting had received the Southwest Art Magazine Merit Award! Thank you, Southwest Art Magazine, for sponsoring this award, and thank you so much, Bob and Curtice McCloy, for choosing my painting. I praise God for enabling me to paint this piece and for this incredible blessing!

Updates 

2013
"Babysitters" received 3rd Place, Oil Painters of America Fall Online Showcase

2015–2016 
"Babysitters" received Purchase Award, Art Renewal Center Intl Salon • Exhibited at the Museum of European Art Modern in Barcelona, Spain and at the Salmagundi Club in New York City

Work In Progress (click thumbnails to enlarge)

3"x4" preliminary sketch

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 5

Stage 6

Be the first to see our latest paintings

Subscribe to Our Latest Artwork & Adventures email newsletter below to see our new work before the general public. If a painting catches your eye, you'll have first dibs on purchasing.

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• Also keep me informed of workshops and other art instruction

Brush Creek Art Exhibit Opening Tomorrow!

Roadside Planter by Andrea
Oil on gesso board • 12"x9" • $540
----------------------------------------
On display Oct 3–24
in the Brush Creek Art Walk Exhibit
at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center.
To inquire, email Contact@AdamClague.com

An exciting plein air art exhibit opens tomorrow night, October 3, in Kansas City, Missouri!

Between September 13 and 15, over 70 artists set up their easels along the city's Brush Creek to paint its beautiful views. A selection of these works will be displayed and for sale at the 2nd Annual Brush Creek Art Walk Exhibit, October 3–24 at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center (3700 Blue Parkway). The Opening Reception is tomorrow night, Thursday the 3rd, from 5–8pm at the BRWCC. Andrea and I are honored to have paintings in the exhibit, and we hope you can make it out sometime to see the show!

Update Oct 4, 2013
Andrea and I were so honored to receive awards at the opening! There were 4 "zones" along Brush Creek in which artists could paint. 1st, 2nd, and Honorable Mention awards were given in each zone. Andrea was awarded an Honorable Mention for her "River Bass," and I received a 1st and 2nd for my "Passing Through" and "River Rock." We are so grateful to our juror, Eva Reynolds of Eva Reynolds Fine Arts, for selecting our pieces, and we praise the Lord for enabling us to paint them!

It was a great opening night, with amazing refreshments by Succotash. We say big thank you's to Anne Garney for organizing the event and to Eva Reynolds for jurying. Congrats to all the winners! Pictures of the artists and their winning paintings can be seen on Brush Creek Art Walk's Facebook timeline. Be sure to check them out!

River Bass by Andrea
Oil on gesso board • 10"x8" • Sold
Honorable Mention
----------------------------------------
On display Oct 3–24
in the Brush Creek Art Walk Exhibit
at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center

River Rock by Adam
Oil on gesso board • 8"x10" • $400
2nd Place
----------------------------------------
On display Oct 3–24
in the Brush Creek Art Walk Exhibit
at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center.
To inquire, email Contact@AdamClague.com

Passing Through by Adam
Oil on gesso board • 9"x12" • $540
1st Place
----------------------------------------
On display Oct 3–24
in the Brush Creek Art Walk Exhibit
at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center.
To inquire, email Contact@AdamClague.com

Congrats to Patrick Saunders, winner of
the $500 Quick Paint Purchase Award!
Presented by David Field Oliver

Kimbell McCurry
(See his beautiful work here)

Check out more great event pics in Brush Creek Art Walk's Facebook albums: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

2 Recent Paintings

Here are a couple of recent commissions. I just finished "Kiwi and Pomegranates" this morning! I had a lot of fun with the pomegranate seeds and the variety of color in the pomegranate skins. When I took photos for the house commission, the house was mainly in shade. This provided the great opportunity to play with the interesting, subtle grays within the cool shadows.

Kiwi and Pomegranates
Oil on linen • 6"x8"

Oil on linen • 8"x14"

Buttes, Buddies and Buffalo!

Andrea and me at Yellowstone Falls

Andrea and I just returned from an amazing 6-day painting trip to Montana and Yellowstone with our friends Ryan Mellody, Daniel Keys, and Tyler Murphy. Though we traveled far and wide in search of the very best painting spots, our "base of operations" was Tyler's hometown of Red Lodge, MT, where he has recently opened the impressive Montana Gallery. It was a fantastic time of painting, and a joy to spend time with these incredible artists. Check out some of the highlights from our trip below!

By Adam
(plein air study)

By Andrea
(plein air study)

L to R: Me, Dan, Ryan (Ryan is painting a deer skull
hanging inside the shed. No, the shed did not fall on him!)

Breaks from Landscapes
Andrea and Ryan were kind to model for the rest of us to paint. Life doesn't get better than this!

Painting Andrea in a tent house

Painting Ryan at Montana Gallery

Ryan by Adam
(alla prima study)

Ryan by Andrea
(alla prima study)

Yellowstone

L to R: Tyler, Me, Ryan, Dan at Yellowstone Falls
(I need to get me some rad shades like these guys!)

On our way to MT, Andrea and I passed signs for Yellowstone and regretted being so close without time to stop. After we arrived in MT, we were surprised and excited to learn the guys had planned to take a painting day-trip there!

On Saturday, the five of us piled into a minivan and headed out from Red Lodge to Yellowstone. The drive took 6 hours one-way, but it was so worth it! The diversity of Yellowstone's geography and wildlife is astounding. The landscape is characterized by vast mountains and valleys, bubbling hot springs, and the magnificent Yellowstone River and Falls. We saw elk, antelope, a coyote, dozens and dozens of buffalo, and even a black bear cub!

Ryan painting Old Faithful

A steaming thermal hot spring by Adam
(plein air study)

Beartooth Mountains

Back in MT, we visited the breathtaking Beartooth Mountains. As I sat on the ground with an expanse of valleys and lakes displayed before me, I was awed by God's creation and felt very small! I prayed that God would allow me to capture just a small portion of the stunning scene before me. I determined to put all distractions from my mind and simply make my painting a celebration of His glory.

By Adam
(plein air study)

Ryan met a curious friend!

L to R: Ryan, Loren, Keith (friend of
Tyler's fam), Tyler, Andrea, Me
Everywhere: Mosquitoes

It was a treat to have Tyler's mentor, Loren Entz, join us. We gathered around to watch as he made a beautiful painting, finishing just as a glorious sunset completely changed the landscape. To see Loren's work, visit his website here.










Signing Off

We accumulated quite a collection of paintings!
And this doesn't even include the last day's work
(Works in progress)

Early Tuesday morning, Andrea and I headed home feeling energized and inspired, with lots of studies and photos we're excited to work from. It was an incredible time with great friends, and we can't wait to do it again!

Check out these links to see our friends' amazing work and more photos from the trip:
• www.TylerMurphyFineArt.com
• www.MontanaGallery.net
• www.DanielKeysFineArt.com 
• www.RyanMellodyArt.com
• Ryan's Facebook
• Daniel's Facebook