Timothy Jones' Daily Painting Blog

Some Recent Work...

...I've neglected to post.

These were quick studies and a joy to paint. The pallette knife is fairly new to me, but I find it very agreeable for landscapes.

Winter Mist - ©copyright 2011, Timothy Jones
8" x 10" - oil on wood panel

This sunset occurred somewhere in Northeast Arkansas between Walnut Ridge and Newport, in the middle of winter. There had been some pretty heavy flooding that year, followed by very cold temperatures. The reflection on the water is actually from a farm field that had flooded and was frozen. I loved the way the sun looked through the icy fog.

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/winter-mist-timothy-jones.html

 

This next one is part of my continuing series inspired by local food. Vanzant is a local orchard and I'm always excited when the peaches come in every summer. When you bite into one, the juice runs down to your elbow.

Vanzant Peaches - ©copyright 2011, Timothy Jones
8" x 10" - oil on wood panel

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/vanzant-peaches-timothy-jones.html

Artists' Fellowship Fine Art Exhibit

Really looking forward to this exhibit next week. I'll also be giving a live demonstration, along with some fellow artists. This will be well worth seeing. Some very talented folks involved.

Below are a couple of new pieces that will debut at this show.

Suzy-Q, Double Cheeseburger - ©copyright 2011, Timothy Jones
8" x 10" - oil on wood panel

Oak Leaf II - ©copyright 2011, Timothy Jones
24" x 24" - oil on wood panel

A Better Scan

Here is a better photo of the China Bowl & Teapot painting.

©copyright 2011, Timothy Jones

This is one of those that sold almost before I could get it on display. Nice problem. Now really need to get to work finishing some new pieces for an upcoming show. Info soon.

High-quality reproductions available at Fine Art America!

 

 

 

Don't Try This at Home!

 

Note the proximity of the glass of beer to the open jar of turpentine? I have more than once absent-mindely dipped a brush into my drink. The warning labels on my paint tubes don't mention this specific maneuver, but it's not a recommended use.

This can also happen with coffee. Just so you know.

On the Easel

Some in-progress snapshots of a current still life. 8" x 10".

After laying in darks, local color application starts with the items farthest back in the space. 

 
More local color, moving forward in space, with a little highlight on the apples. I like to let the toned ground show through in the mid-tones as much as possible. You can see it in the cast shadows of the two grapes at left, and the shadow under the curve of the bowl.

 
©copyright 2011, Timothy Jones
Finished. Highlights are always last... 'cause that's the most fun! I had to really tone down and soften the painted design on the china bowl to make it sit back and behave. If I had painted it as I saw it, it would have attracted far too much attention to itself. I'll post a better scan, soon.

 

Artist Needs Traveling Cash!

 
 
Wine & Jarlsberg and Mug of Beer, each 24" x 24", oil on panel

©copyright 2010, Timothy Jones

Oddly, these two pieces have been in my personal collection and have been showing at various venues for over a year, but have not yet found a home. I say "oddly", because - as sometimes happens - these have generated more than the usual amount of comments and positive feedback, but have not sold yet. Wine & Jarlsberg recently won an award at a regional competition.

It happens that I am in need of some traveling funds for a couple of upcoming trips, and so I'm more than usually open to being taken advantage of. These have been showing tagged at up to $750 each, and are right now displayed on my Fine Art America page for $500 each.

For a very limited time (this week, only), I'm offering these as a set for a mere $500. That's good up to September 9th. For the rest of September, I'll let them go for $600, and after that they will go back to the normal price.

Get 'em while they're hot!

Own the Original!

Just a reminder that - now that they've been professionally scanned and digitally stored -  the original art for each of these two recent images of G.K. Chesterton is available for purchase.

 
Astonished at the World  and  Where Ought I be?

All images ©copyright 2011, Timothy Jones

Astonished at the World is an original oil painting on wood panel and is 18" x 24". Where Ought I Be is charcoal on Canson paper and is 12" x 16". You can read more about these in previous posts, below.

These are listed on Fine Art America for $1200 and $500, respectively... but I'm not averse to a little good-natured dickering. Baby needs a new set of sable rounds!

Astonished at the World has already been immortalized as a book jacket. Think of how well this would fill the space now occupied by that print of the poker-playing dogs. Imagine the delighted admiration of your Chestertonian friends as you display the original over your mantle, or at your next meeting! Imagine a more shallow and venal sales pitch! Just imagine it!

Good Company

Color me tickled to have my artwork on the cover of a collection of G.K. Chesterton essays edited by Dale Ahlquist, Joseph Pearce and Aidan Mackey!

 

Very grateful to John Herreid and everyone at Ignatius Press.

Get yours today!

Also, order a reproduction of this portrait and other original artworks at Fine Art America.

Chesterton in Charcoal

 
Where Ought I Be? - ©copyright 2011, Timothy Jones
12" x 16" - Charcoal on tinted Canson paper

I knew when I saw the photo this image is based on that I would want to use it for something, someday. The annual conference of the American Chesterton Society in St. Louis seemed like a good excuse to dive in. There was something about the rumpled, frowsy Chesterton on the gritty train platform that lent itself to a charcoal rendering. Trains. Coal.

It was great fun, really absorbing, to render the yards of cloth that GKC was carrying on and around his ample frame. The perspective also, I think, emphasizes that he was not only stout, but very tall, especially for the time. About 6' 3". Just a big man all around. He would have to have entered a room like a weather front.

The original drawing is 12" x 16", and also makes use of "white" charcoal, pastel really. White charcoal is like white chocolate, I suppose. No chocolate OR charcoal.

Anyhow, more to come.

G.K. Chesterton Portrait - Finished (snapshot)

 
G.K. Chesterton - ©copyright 2011, Timothy Jones
18" x 24" - Oil on Panel

 

grisalles underpainting

Hokaaaayyyy....

I think this is finished. If you'll compare the finished portrait with the last stage of the grisaille underpainting, you should notice a good deal of additional modeling, particularly on the face.

Any time you are adding some visual element from your imagination, as the color has been added here, you are basically operating from experience, example and what looks right. I kept the color pretty subtle, but didn't want to leave the image in it's tonal state. I wanted to warm up old Gilbert and make him appear more alive.

This is something of a gamble, but worth it. I showed the grisailles underpainting at our local art group, Artists of Northwest Arkansas. When I mentioned that I next planned to glaze in some color, I got a few comments along the lines of, "Are you sure you want to do that? I like the sepia look.". People wanted me to leave it be.

The tricky bit is to make sure that everything you add to a painting (any painting) improves it. Things don't always turn out that way, but that's the idea. I don't lay a brush to my painting unless I know what I want to accomplish with it. I try hard never, ever to simply thrash, - to move paint around and hope something great happens. If a painting is not coming together the way I thought, the best thing, I've found, is to walk away. Put it aside until it speaks to me again and tells me what it needs. Nine times out of ten it will become obvious with time.

Anyway, I think the color improved this image, at least it looks that way in person. This is a mere digital snapshot. I'll post a professional scan soon.