New Website

Tonight I started a new website using FASO. The link to the site is http://royboswell.fineartstudioonline.com/. If you check the site on a regular basis I apologize. Everyday I will do my best to post new stuff on the FASO account. I will do my best to include as much information to those pages and figure out set up for pay pal for those asking for it. It is strange having readers from 10 different countries read my blog, when I can only speak and write in one language. If you like my work check out the FASO account. This painting above is titled, The edge of the field is beautiful. It is 12"x24". This view is from the roundabout from the grain bens of my grandparents farm. It is a place where I spent a lot of time during the fall and winter months as a child. Keep your eyes open on the website. I will be entering contest every month and if you like it along with everyone else on the website it will put me in the top 15%. I hope you enjoy.

Roy

Great things and bad problems

The great things that have been going on more than make up for the little bit of problems that have accrued. My computer was in bad shape last week and I finally got it back to normal. The thing that bothered me most was it being during a week when most people would be home with time to play around on the internet. Regardless of that I'm back now and I've been producing like a wild man. This is my first of today. I'm fairly certain I've done more still life with these little birds in the past two weeks than some artist do in an entire year. I've been trying to get my palette down to as few as colors as possible and this one is at four colors. I'm not sure if I can go one less without it looking like a value study. Although tomorrow I will do my best to do that. One of the things I've been working on is making colors appear that are not on the palette. If you think there is blue in this painting you would be wrong. Anyway this painting is called "The illusions of winning arguments". I'm currently in the process with another artist to start a still life group in the area so many more still life will be coming during these cold months.

It confuses me

For the past couple of weeks I have been spending a lot of time with oils, over pastel and watercolor. I've been trying to improve my ability to paint nature in plein air, using photos, and sketches. So far it has been hit or miss. Occasionally I will have good days but most are mild or bad. That being said if I set up a simple still life I come away happy with the painting almost every time. I was having a hard time painting today. After three paintings of 2 rough and 1 decent paintings of natural scenes, I turned the light on this little pot and painted it on a 5x7 panel. While it is a little rough I'm happy with this for the time put in. If I can get this quick and decent with my nature scenes before the year is out I would be over joyed. At this point I'm not sure what the problem is. I think some self analysing is necessary to figure out what is stopping me from becoming more consistent, quick and better with my nature scenes. One thing is for certain, I do enjoy painting still life more every time.

Out with the old

 I have been very busy with painting and finding room to accommodate everything. Starting freshman year a corner of every room I've been in has had large paper format boxes with rolled up landscape drawings in them. It has been one of the few things that has always been off limits when making room. It was after going through some of my old sketch books from college that I realized that it was over. I will not be pursuing the title Landscape Architect to put on a business card. (you have to work under some one who is licensed and take test to show you can take test) It is something that I feel good to shed. Perhaps one day my art will lead me to designing gardens and estates as something I do for fun. If that is the case I will happily be a no titled guy doing some design work.

Another thing I would like to mention about the top picture is look at the lighting. The light in this room makes me feel like I'm under water sometimes. If I turn on the ceiling fan it gets even better.

 The design above was for a park with a facility for Purdue's rowing crew. The large L shape with lines running through it was supposed to be a large set of steps that went down to the waters edge. The ramps were so everyone could have access and you didn't have to break some bones falling down all the steps to get to the water. To the left of the building was an outdoor amphitheater that had rock walls that ran parallel with the topography up to the top of the park. They were positioned so none of the trees lining the back of the rock walls impeded the view of the stage. The whole park area  was left open because it was a huge flood plain on the Wabash river. I just played with the contours so it would be open for people to do whatever they wanted on the rolling hills. Also when it flooded there would have been a couple really good spots to view the river from at the left end of the park. I had the main walk sitting above the flood plain lined with trees that gave neat views down to the water.

Working on crossing mediums

You might have seen this scene not long ago. I liked it so much that I figured I would try it in oil. It is hard getting a good photo when a painting is still wet and in bad light but this one turned out the best. I've been working with a very limited palate in hopes that the brush work will get all of my attention. While it is not anywhere near exact, I think my brush strokes in oil are starting to mirror my pastel strokes. The limited palate is making it a lot easier to focus on an area that I think is lacking. After brush work my next area is value and composition in oil. Oil is easy enough to change once you have it laid down but it is still different than pastel so time spent on that wouldn't hurt. It has been a good day of painting. Tomorrow will be even better.

Paint while you can

This is a little 4x6 painting I did off of my back porch. It was a little over a week ago. Now all the leaves are gone and it looks completely different. Painting whenever you have the chance is the only way to get something down unless you want to wait a full year for it again. Sure you have a month or so, but if you are doing your best to get out and paint all over the place its hard to get back to a certain spot at the right time of day to paint something you could have before. My new practice is to stop myself and do these little small paintings if nothing else just to capture what I'm seeing. This only took 20 minutes and every time I look at that tree I think I know it better than ever before. Paint often, paint quickly.

Crossing mediums

 A few weeks ago I had cut a piece of wallis paper into some standard dimensions. When I was done there was a strip 2"x12" left. I cut that piece into 6 small squares. At the time I was working in oils and was toning canvas panels. When I was done with the panels I laid the little squares out next to them. I've heard of people painting with oil paints on the paper, so I figured toning it wouldn't hurt it. Today I got these little squares out and did a bunch of little drawings and then did the value studies that I've mentioned before. It is hard to see here because I took the photos while the paint thinner was still wet, but there is a lot of color shining through the pastel value study laid down over it. While I haven't finished these little paintings yet I think it looks very neat so far and would keep me from having to cover almost every inch of the painting with soft pastel. I'm going to experiment with this further when I get my new wallis paper.