tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50494441833281501252024-03-05T09:13:49.160-08:00Mark Sanders ArtMarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-55723804924022326512016-06-02T21:47:00.001-07:002016-06-02T21:47:52.758-07:00Another Ribbon<div style="text-align: justify;">
The awards presentation was held tonight for the 2016 Exhibition of Fine Art at the San Diego County Fair. I had a great time again and I won another ribbon again this year. I received an Honorable Mention in Acrylic - Rep., Animals, Titled Bird Napping. I would like to thank everyone involved with the Exhibition for helping me to even be in the fair this year. It seems I can't figure out how to upload a picture. Hope you all get a chance to go and see my painting along with all the other great art that is their.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3t6yqWJixKAdk1yuknOj9ivMkYzKgJd2VeYOoMVG-uRXFyNRQ7IWtQMo7cfTkAhXVsb_IlDu3VfK2Y9EGVSOi2OjLBbSDoWB3kCxBJ_9vCp2PVQCBZNUZWS4vMGJ38pX36pNZZHWWiGgW/s1600/fairPainting.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3t6yqWJixKAdk1yuknOj9ivMkYzKgJd2VeYOoMVG-uRXFyNRQ7IWtQMo7cfTkAhXVsb_IlDu3VfK2Y9EGVSOi2OjLBbSDoWB3kCxBJ_9vCp2PVQCBZNUZWS4vMGJ38pX36pNZZHWWiGgW/s640/fairPainting.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-3029758876154959432015-06-04T21:55:00.000-07:002015-06-04T21:55:19.639-07:00Another Ribbon<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDtjm27Wd0pZ9gIL54ffIazVzkOlpK-sAgfEIYJgQ-FEps7oQc0CIVt70aBZEivgIIisCOcJXybOIegjX7zPVMjTiVJWh_dDNy3e1CqvHqprFJxlyelQSWS9D25GmPweP1C9h_Q-Gggyw/s1600/SDFair2015a.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDtjm27Wd0pZ9gIL54ffIazVzkOlpK-sAgfEIYJgQ-FEps7oQc0CIVt70aBZEivgIIisCOcJXybOIegjX7zPVMjTiVJWh_dDNy3e1CqvHqprFJxlyelQSWS9D25GmPweP1C9h_Q-Gggyw/s640/SDFair2015a.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">2015 San Diego County Fair Exhibition of Fine Art -Honorable Mention - Acrylic Rep., Animals<br />Titled, Mr Anna's - 9" X 12"</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Went to the Artist Reception tonight at the San Diego County Fair for the Exhibition of Fine Art. I won an Honorable Mention for my painting that I entered. Hope everyone gets a chance to go and see it along with all the other art that is there.</span><br />
MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-67872227350875585982015-05-01T13:45:00.000-07:002015-05-01T13:45:37.743-07:00 Website for my Art<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF4YQuqVkBLLv1HJ9XSx4MOgWsBRJGk7S-m17aFfwBCpuoUGKkZslqnODsEcF0XyFZVlch-5Y-2MgVwVQeHoEjcOAXGGyhjxLf4bSm5Mk28IO9145tgNOdEErKM2-LBHP4VD0KoaV-qxmD/s1600/blogpostforwebsite.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF4YQuqVkBLLv1HJ9XSx4MOgWsBRJGk7S-m17aFfwBCpuoUGKkZslqnODsEcF0XyFZVlch-5Y-2MgVwVQeHoEjcOAXGGyhjxLf4bSm5Mk28IO9145tgNOdEErKM2-LBHP4VD0KoaV-qxmD/s1600/blogpostforwebsite.jpeg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Finally have my website up and running. It is not completely done but it is a start. Check it out and let me know what you think. Click on the link below and it will take you there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://marksandersart.com/">marksandersart.com</a></span>MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-57771519228659452982015-03-16T20:42:00.000-07:002015-04-30T18:34:54.964-07:00Recently Published Work<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I have some exciting news. Last year I entered an online contest with <a href="http://artistsnetwork.com/">artistsnetwork.com</a>. One of my paintings was excepted into the second edition book they were doing highlighting over 100 contemporary Acrylic artist and here it is. <a href="http://www.northlightshop.com/acrylicworks-2-radical-breakthroughs-digital?lid=SLnls031315" target="_blank">Acrylic Works 2</a>, The Best Of Acrylic Painting, Radical Breakthroughs, Edited By Jamie Markle, Published by North light Books, An imprint of F+W Media. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This is a great honor for me and I would like to thank Jamie Markle and everyone else involved with this Book for making it happen. To see my painting and the page it is on in the book, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2TWm6Q-vF0rWWZSa25ab1dZaXM/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here</a> to see a PDF.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.northlightshop.com/acrylicworks-2-radical-breakthroughs-digital?lid=SLnls031315" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd1NP_ZY5kFuI691sSlgV-C4BJLPPvT4qsO16CDJ49Q5atfy6VSbThFhT3KmoJMfRMkbioCBUp5_5HveUTjDyIuB0i-GJ6Hf-qDxPF6Z1Ir8xx9Kd4q35eCUh-CEdM8kgHo7xEyZkTKAdC/s1600/AcrylicWorks2+Cover.jpg" height="640" width="492" /></a></div>
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MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-31845325007293488032015-03-15T14:24:00.002-07:002015-03-15T14:24:19.419-07:00Painting For The Fair<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Been a wile since I have posted anything here. My time has been consumed with getting a website up for my art and I have neglected my painting and this blog. The website is almost done so it was long past time to get back in the studio. As I have mentioned before, working a full time job does not leave me much time to work on my art. Which is frustrating at times but If I keep doing a little each day I will get their. I finally decided what I am going to do for the San Diego County Fair this year. It is a little late to be getting started but it is a small piece so I am confident I will have it done in time. The submission deadline is about a month and a half away. So I need to get er done! I have two other paintings that I am working on also right now. One I had finished a couple of years ago, but it acquired some cracks and I have been trying to fix it. The other one I had started last year and felt it was time to get back to completing it. There is another piece that I was thinking of throwing on the painting mill also. The problem is trying to figure out were to set all these paintings wile I do work on them. I have limited space. Hay there is a corner of the bed I could use, lol! So stay tuned, I have more beautiful art coming and some exciting news to.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMoWImOM1-404lei5_SKbiyPOZudDRMEk3C7XbpM-Y228fs7CSva1Z1H4APacNo9yZo3E6F2Q7H8cxv9jVNsowSRL7dio3B7EGwYuPSACE2N0ilqtPoNv_nOAFyY9fVIsvR4j4hGo0EXUy/s1600/DSCF4624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMoWImOM1-404lei5_SKbiyPOZudDRMEk3C7XbpM-Y228fs7CSva1Z1H4APacNo9yZo3E6F2Q7H8cxv9jVNsowSRL7dio3B7EGwYuPSACE2N0ilqtPoNv_nOAFyY9fVIsvR4j4hGo0EXUy/s1600/DSCF4624.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Painting for the fair. More details coming soon.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-46846023723461340652014-06-05T22:20:00.000-07:002014-06-05T22:20:52.420-07:002014 Exhibition of Fine Art, San Diego Co Fair, Awards Ceremony<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Went to the Awards Ceremony tonight for the 2014 Exhibition of Fine Art at the San Diego County Fair and one of the paintings I entered won an Honorable Mention in Acrylic - Rep., Animals!!! I was hoping that the other painting might have won something to but it did not. I have to admit that I am a little disappointed. One show is not going to make or break me. Need to get over it and get back to work!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIoSDkRvGTG4LYPVGtPAET4N2sff6jaAzDOn-Lychce8puWpagBAobyxKQMC8QjhjmjY9QBYSK3w8Nyj4BLv8NjXLpr3SmqOc06c4cf2UlLzDULwFy_RZZyN-o__gkhXkg9SnfyVeFYjM/s1600/SDCFAS2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIoSDkRvGTG4LYPVGtPAET4N2sff6jaAzDOn-Lychce8puWpagBAobyxKQMC8QjhjmjY9QBYSK3w8Nyj4BLv8NjXLpr3SmqOc06c4cf2UlLzDULwFy_RZZyN-o__gkhXkg9SnfyVeFYjM/s1600/SDCFAS2.jpeg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Kohola Morning</b>, Honorable Mention, Acrylic - Rep., Animals</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Reflection</b>, </i></span><i style="font-size: medium;">Acrylic - Rep., Animals. </i><i style="font-size: medium;">Nada!</i></td></tr>
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MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-89904408080996210352014-05-12T21:05:00.001-07:002014-05-12T21:05:45.063-07:00<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUaO9tXKVPmBBDy-E8Z5y9nE9g1ROwzzp4j0Z3k_PbROmr339CFM_97LgYMREOBRUNQWf2nUbK_VKClUzq9KDgMsA7NBkU8Ie4iegDwB5CYGXqhaZP9ccnEksLDrKunxMfIM942aZQFIv3/s1600/image003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUaO9tXKVPmBBDy-E8Z5y9nE9g1ROwzzp4j0Z3k_PbROmr339CFM_97LgYMREOBRUNQWf2nUbK_VKClUzq9KDgMsA7NBkU8Ie4iegDwB5CYGXqhaZP9ccnEksLDrKunxMfIM942aZQFIv3/s1600/image003.jpg" height="179" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">June 7 - July 6</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am thankful and honored to have </span><span style="font-size: large;">Two paintings </span><span style="font-size: large;">this year </span><span style="font-size: large;">that have been excepted into the Exhibition of Fine </span><span style="font-size: large;">Art, for</span><span style="font-size: large;"> the 2014 San Diego Co. fair, in Del Mar, California. One of the paintings was just completed last month and will be the first showing of it anywhere. I hope that everyone will get the chance to go and see my work, along with all of the great art that will be their next month.</span></div>
MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-25811178428843051822013-08-07T21:35:00.000-07:002013-08-07T21:35:10.435-07:00<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sunday I went to the awards ceremony for the art show I entered recently in Carlsbad CA. I did not win anything but that is OK! Being excepted into another Juried event is reward enough! Wile I was there I decided to checked out another gallery a couple of doors down from the show, <a href="http://www.moseleygallery.com/" target="_blank">Moseley</a> Fine Art Gallery. I spoke to the owner/artist John Moseley. Really nice guy and a vary talented artist. Loved his work. Come to fined out that he had a piece in the show also and didn't win anything either. You just never know what the judges are going to like and you can't let it get to you! If you go up there check out his gallery to. There is another gallery a block east on State Street, <a href="http://www.vizartink.com/" target="_blank">Viz Art Ink</a>. They have some pretty cool art in there also.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> I have not done much painting lately. Been focusing on a web page design and getting it up and running. I need to finish it so I can get back to painting. There is another show in November that I would like to enter.</span><br />
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MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-14247651438103384122013-07-31T19:34:00.000-07:002013-07-31T19:34:13.025-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Last Saturday I entered this painting in a Juried art show in Carlsbad and today I found out that I am in. It is not as big of an event as the San Diego Co Fair, but that does not matter. The awards ceremony is this Sunday, so we will see what happens. The show started today and ends September 8th. Below is the event info and a link to their site. Hope everyone can get the chance to go and see it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Carlsbad Oceanside Art League</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>62nd annual</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Open Juried</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fine Arts Award Show</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>COAL Gallery</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Carlsbad Village Faire</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">300 Carlsbad Village Dr.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Suite 101</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Carlsbad, CA 92008</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.coalartgallery.com/">www.coalartgallery.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Tues, Wed, Thurs & Sun; 11 am - 5 pm</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Fri & Sat; 11 am - 8 pm</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Closed Monday</span></div>
MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-90464175713944623962013-07-09T17:19:00.000-07:002013-07-09T17:20:13.771-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Did a layout for a post card today at work for my art. Yes! it is old school, but it gets the job done!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OjrxEMPXT7Xu2rRxZg2V2qTJhkkejx8iESAWA4Wxh55Qm68XqZNnOP84f3SuCFQ4ImYbAM3oDGS_r1OOyuIcnHJUuZdIwMbJ2bmwrE9uxS9Wcn62x-7J2BMqsNcXNzJ2BQk27Pjc9p0E/s1600/DSCF1955.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OjrxEMPXT7Xu2rRxZg2V2qTJhkkejx8iESAWA4Wxh55Qm68XqZNnOP84f3SuCFQ4ImYbAM3oDGS_r1OOyuIcnHJUuZdIwMbJ2bmwrE9uxS9Wcn62x-7J2BMqsNcXNzJ2BQk27Pjc9p0E/s640/DSCF1955.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-49909578173430957132013-06-29T00:18:00.000-07:002013-06-29T00:18:51.948-07:00Reflection<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Last
month after completing the painting for the San Diego Co fair fine
art exhibition, I began work on three more paintings. This piece has
been my main focus because of another art show that is coming up in
August. I wanted to enter something last year but did not have
anything ready. It is not a big painting, only 9” X 12”. I
felt that a smaller piece would be easier to complete in time to meet
the dead line for the end of July. The picture I used was one I had
taken at La Jolla shores on New Years Eve. I was able to get off work
early so I decided to go their for a walk and I am glad I did. I have
been wanting to do some paintings of shore birds and since these
little buggers where out and about, I took as many pictures as I could
get of them. It was not easy because they don't like to sit still for
vary long. My goal is to do some more paintings using the photographs I took that day.
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHv7Mn-nhLC54s4epcYuxHuq4OSA372nndHXFdIY67gVEsNudIc9G3XNreOwHW_uR2oP-0kBTifDpRhAhGZWme0HYWohXJ7DiDbnxfMgBWY6BAQCjmMtJkFOXcJ5kXUL4LgpbYwEGJkW_N/s1600/DSCF0593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHv7Mn-nhLC54s4epcYuxHuq4OSA372nndHXFdIY67gVEsNudIc9G3XNreOwHW_uR2oP-0kBTifDpRhAhGZWme0HYWohXJ7DiDbnxfMgBWY6BAQCjmMtJkFOXcJ5kXUL4LgpbYwEGJkW_N/s400/DSCF0593.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is the photograph I used for this piece.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I
started out by painting the whole board to represent the color of the sand that is just under the water. After a couple of tries with different browns I ended up using
a mix of Raw Umber and Unbleached white and let it dry overnight. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Next
I painted over that with a wash of Cerulean Blue and Titanium White for the water. It was not quite matching the color of the picture. So I
added some Alizarin Crimson to the mix. It still took a couple of
layers of thinned down Titanium white in the end to finally get the color to
look right. Each layer I did I let dry overnight before
proceeding with the next one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Once
the background was done it was time to start painting the bird. As
usual I began with a basic outline and then proceeded to add color to
define it. things went pretty smoothly for me but I did come to the
point that I told myself to stop and move on. It did seem easier to do with this piece. Maybe I am getting better at that! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUBqF6qSapJS2L2UPwON15cVCrT-8pRdcx0OuOidsnonUQYCpTdtD6eE16UKobB8q1y4LjjY0AikC8ua5PWW4oEkf-O29SqNre1mqTVzQDz9vFYVr6DbkiL_2KxFTS4aOLF7S_hTQWxsyM/s1600/DSCF1638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUBqF6qSapJS2L2UPwON15cVCrT-8pRdcx0OuOidsnonUQYCpTdtD6eE16UKobB8q1y4LjjY0AikC8ua5PWW4oEkf-O29SqNre1mqTVzQDz9vFYVr6DbkiL_2KxFTS4aOLF7S_hTQWxsyM/s400/DSCF1638.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The
big white spot just below the bird was a gouge on the board that I
was trying to repair. I should have fixed it before I started.
You can still see it a little bit. Oh well, it adds caricature to the
piece.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-8gm_CVM2UFswJfwLgigFpvGCbs1KCfqWnN284RBuqOGsPCJ4WsX67CSQ94L78oEudmeKiiGzFIG3oGrkiKha548EU7cqqX0xRZWUL5EXrX5fppS5Xv2KtbigvzsP6RNrplI_LnO_q7Z/s1600/DSCF1646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-8gm_CVM2UFswJfwLgigFpvGCbs1KCfqWnN284RBuqOGsPCJ4WsX67CSQ94L78oEudmeKiiGzFIG3oGrkiKha548EU7cqqX0xRZWUL5EXrX5fppS5Xv2KtbigvzsP6RNrplI_LnO_q7Z/s400/DSCF1646.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The
reflection was an area I was apprehensive about attempting even before I
started the piece. </span><span style="font-size: large;">And yes everyone, I doubted my abilities again! </span><span style="font-size: large;">Once I did stepped out and just do it! It was not as
difficult as I thought it was going to be. Still, taking that first unknown step can be scary some times! As they say, "Faith is like a muscle, you have to exercise it to get stronger"! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqm4VoVpgBfEAxRNmctiT3lO-SH8knnP_Rg4rTfQcVi-4YtFREmp1tppi8xf5nIlCj9R5wvy6VYGFCKTLeHtEeHT12BEsk3GEhXy-nlbUVctmVckeMNU2-ChxcvXmgYnOdzYXXgftJNn1s/s1600/DSCF1846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqm4VoVpgBfEAxRNmctiT3lO-SH8knnP_Rg4rTfQcVi-4YtFREmp1tppi8xf5nIlCj9R5wvy6VYGFCKTLeHtEeHT12BEsk3GEhXy-nlbUVctmVckeMNU2-ChxcvXmgYnOdzYXXgftJNn1s/s400/DSCF1846.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Finished piece</span></td></tr>
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<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The
whole time I worked on this painting I used a method of doing a
little work, let it set overnight and then come back and see if I
need to change anything. I even took the painting into work to get
some different lighting and it really helped with the progression of
the piece. Monday night I put the finishing touches on the painting
and I guess I still can't believe it is done. I have been going over
my, “to do list” and it is exciting to be checking things off.
Still have a month before the deadline. Maybe I should do another
one.</span></div>
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MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-12063952217010612422013-06-27T11:45:00.000-07:002013-06-27T11:45:03.886-07:00<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">My whale painting was
excepted into the San Diego Co fair and I won an Honorable Mention in
Acrylic, Rep., Animals. To be honest I am more excited with what I
received this year than the first place award for my bird painting
last year. I am vary thankful and honored to be in the fair again
with another painting. I had a lot of fun at the artist reception held on June 6th.
Ran into an old friend of mine that I have not seen in a long wile.
He also had a piece in the fair in the mixed media class. Talked with
some artist and one of the ladies that is in charge of the fine art
exhibit. But it is time to put the fair behind me and get ready for
the next art show.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBDgyAnvP8DUSDS2ZJ4-y9sTuVyqbavhN88-5PoJU75i4wsJxeLq8k8Nen7r4K4U7OgiJA-Wbazsy5QZyugasHOujD7QPcc5L9S1lu3mfpchMMLjVMRrfzCN8GPSWj22haDKcx3FrJZgjv/s1600/DSCF1717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBDgyAnvP8DUSDS2ZJ4-y9sTuVyqbavhN88-5PoJU75i4wsJxeLq8k8Nen7r4K4U7OgiJA-Wbazsy5QZyugasHOujD7QPcc5L9S1lu3mfpchMMLjVMRrfzCN8GPSWj22haDKcx3FrJZgjv/s400/DSCF1717.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Me with my whale painting at the artist reception. 2013 Exhibition of Fine Art, San Diego Co Fair.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPR63WJGmY75EmjR15UKLAuMSpU6y6M0m6_7_67AwrvG9gpPxAClLNxKa5TWC_sWiG1TEoU1DlaW5YD61Qyv-D3SzHYiVb2IwsLyPg3ib7YGzenzRHAtLRLiijEfr78kT9poXPUo3gbCDM/s1600/DSCF1718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPR63WJGmY75EmjR15UKLAuMSpU6y6M0m6_7_67AwrvG9gpPxAClLNxKa5TWC_sWiG1TEoU1DlaW5YD61Qyv-D3SzHYiVb2IwsLyPg3ib7YGzenzRHAtLRLiijEfr78kT9poXPUo3gbCDM/s320/DSCF1718.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: small;">My friend Tom Lewis and his mixed media art. It had lights between the layers. He does some amazing work. </span></td></tr>
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MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-2477866439786334022013-05-11T19:11:00.001-07:002013-05-19T15:55:33.047-07:00Finishing what I Started part 4<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Finally
finished this piece in time to submit it for judging for entry in the
San Diego Co. fair this year. I should say that it is finished to the
point that I needed to stop fiddling with it! I did not want to be
working on it up until almost the last day, but I did. The last 2
months I Have been so committed to completing it that I started to
get stressed out at times thinking I was not going to meet the
deadline. It was not as bad for me as last year but I did notice it.
There were some areas that I felt like painting out and starting
over, but didn't. And parts that I did even though I did not want to.
Always the perfectionist! This painting has taken on a special
meaning for me also. Something that I have been dealing with for the
last couple of years in my life and I will get into that later. My
goal for this year was to be back in the fair with another painting
and not even think about weather I will win anything or not. I am
more focused right now on just, “staying in the game”! To be
honest, there were times I contemplated weather this is as good or
better of a painting than the one I submitted last year. That is my
ass talking because my head knows better. Thought that about the bird
painting I entered a year ago and ended up wining first place in
acrylic animals with it. Whether it is or isn't does not matter! What
does, is being back! I am excited and hopeful about seeing my art in
the fair again this year regardless of what happens!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">As
I left off with my last post about this painting, see part 3. My
focus was on finishing the sky. Things had started out quite nicely.
There where some parts of it that I did not like but was confident
that I could fix them as I moved along. A couple of months ago I was
talking to an artist friend of mine at work about how things were
progressing with the painting. Told her I was trying not to put to
much detail into the sky because the focus needed to be on the
whales. She said, “if it is not working for the painting then paint
something that is”! My first thought was, “I know what I am
doing” true to form for a man, right ladies! But one night as I was
working on an area of the sky. I became vary frustrated with how it
was looking. It seemed like no matter what I did it was getting
worse. I remember taking a step back form the painting and looking at
it for a few minuets. As much as I did not want to start over I
reached for a bigger brush and some blue paint. I did not paint over
the whole thing just the top half which I am glad I did. What I ended
up with looks a lot better for the whole painting than what I started
out with. There are areas of the old sky that I am going to use for
another painting so some good came out of it.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCkqN6Gz6Om_NzwRhNcoi4JybN36Fuj7nQff9JyZ_IvbrdBlPp4DSrlQnAJKyF9R_lKnS6XP8txQa89zqJBgnsNfo12rl6f3MqEMaduAau3mEZcHC_QaxFJSdCO8BqctKEwiAIvpCPpXE/s1600/DSCF0193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCkqN6Gz6Om_NzwRhNcoi4JybN36Fuj7nQff9JyZ_IvbrdBlPp4DSrlQnAJKyF9R_lKnS6XP8txQa89zqJBgnsNfo12rl6f3MqEMaduAau3mEZcHC_QaxFJSdCO8BqctKEwiAIvpCPpXE/s640/DSCF0193.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is where I started out with the sky.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQt3X8i-CS7_0txOY398wM7ZUNn0mkcLAvKuw8CK4CuwPxibwN6w2ML2WQSqaip1agYQahIfdwocNjOKLTgD1A8VSlCfEI2ya_5BQyUQ4eIcMKk2lEgfHQVD6lznqKMhJwZwmkeQORMh8/s1600/DSCF0227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQt3X8i-CS7_0txOY398wM7ZUNn0mkcLAvKuw8CK4CuwPxibwN6w2ML2WQSqaip1agYQahIfdwocNjOKLTgD1A8VSlCfEI2ya_5BQyUQ4eIcMKk2lEgfHQVD6lznqKMhJwZwmkeQORMh8/s640/DSCF0227.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I used a little of the first sky I painted, from way back in the beginning. The clouds were showing through in some areas of what I had painted over so I decided to graft them in to the new one.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMcaQ0Wh9HqUnXoQch8zFxHKb_nTg1vkpQqcWLAQtwm9HjBdoKojuJHBQteoggM7GGH6B-a_X8VrL4lnz4SU9sBZO6ELo_qt30WWSbOsDgOWYZRlEm-kEoySgMgF1p3HZDj4txJ0AtKBi1/s1600/DSCF0998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMcaQ0Wh9HqUnXoQch8zFxHKb_nTg1vkpQqcWLAQtwm9HjBdoKojuJHBQteoggM7GGH6B-a_X8VrL4lnz4SU9sBZO6ELo_qt30WWSbOsDgOWYZRlEm-kEoySgMgF1p3HZDj4txJ0AtKBi1/s640/DSCF0998.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">At this point I was happy with how the sky was coming along. It still needed some tweaking but I was confident I could fix it. The upper right half of the sky was the area that got away from me. Felt like no matter what I did I was making it worse. Probably because I was trying to put to much detail into it. </span><span style="font-size: small;">I don't have any pictures of how it looked before I changed it. </span><span style="font-size: small;">But you will see how much it did later on.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Once
the sky was done and it was time to leave it alone, I turned my focus
to other parts of the painting. The area of the ocean above the
waterline I am not sure if the color and lighting are right in some
areas. But like the sky it is not the focus of the painting. As work
progressed on the sky I felt like the whale at the bottom of the
painting was to distant and needed to be bigger and closer to the
mother. Once I settled on how much bigger I realized that some of the
whale I had done before was not going to be completely covered.
Started dreading the thought of having to re-do the background. But I
was able to fix it and even I have a hard time seeing it! I think the
sky just fell. A little sarcasm her folks. The area below the
waterline, in the upper right of the painting. At first, I was
thinking of having some people swimming with the whales and a boat
just on the service. It need something there because it was looking
bare to me. So I decide to go with another whale. My first thought
was to have it more in the distance, vary faded. But I went with a
little detail so that it looks closer. At one point I kicked around
the idea of adding a fifth whale to the painting. Decided to use that
idea for another whale painting.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaQ77kXOXBBhyCif04pb04jYddybhd8WbQ54D_B9NoGjuQJWPhSsWjzw15FvbZCUfSzD1tM0fSfP1GYdGerxjIibt8rcM-cPSferqeLwO-tUBtX1HnIFzFdvxC9GgIzSoaDrvdxz6med1F/s1600/DSCF1125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaQ77kXOXBBhyCif04pb04jYddybhd8WbQ54D_B9NoGjuQJWPhSsWjzw15FvbZCUfSzD1tM0fSfP1GYdGerxjIibt8rcM-cPSferqeLwO-tUBtX1HnIFzFdvxC9GgIzSoaDrvdxz6med1F/s640/DSCF1125.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here is were I started work on making the whale at the bottom bigger</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFszdxDYqAaTR-IkoqN_VsOl4LTrpWr6kKuQA0g1dQgcPcBkbohNapT0NnNaRwSzPreVr7O7fbl9uHvbHXdHFXXbJfi-ca_9GqKupFxQdIiNRnIii6aj5y_7YM_7PS0fV8bc7utD6gRw2a/s1600/DSCF1127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFszdxDYqAaTR-IkoqN_VsOl4LTrpWr6kKuQA0g1dQgcPcBkbohNapT0NnNaRwSzPreVr7O7fbl9uHvbHXdHFXXbJfi-ca_9GqKupFxQdIiNRnIii6aj5y_7YM_7PS0fV8bc7utD6gRw2a/s640/DSCF1127.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Trying to get the basic color and shape painted back in.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8DjVLhs2_HDn-KzC_Wd-2f7AiEVNyS3COroMTn_OZSALQ5esmvG1gNJ7biz3amVUoBOSxm8kiGN-5lM3L8X6RQjKNI_QLAzq3xwNEkxxNkBkaPRurkX25HUZE26OHeZ5nmKDfLURMB6N7/s1600/DSCF1129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8DjVLhs2_HDn-KzC_Wd-2f7AiEVNyS3COroMTn_OZSALQ5esmvG1gNJ7biz3amVUoBOSxm8kiGN-5lM3L8X6RQjKNI_QLAzq3xwNEkxxNkBkaPRurkX25HUZE26OHeZ5nmKDfLURMB6N7/s640/DSCF1129.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">In this picture you can see the old tail sticking out to the right of the new. I was able to fix it though.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoC8shJe8eZezattoVIMaNJ0kSz-TNukpo5szvhuLuDtv4CgpVS1aNYY5WAGqQhz5jVMeBmeCgJiXhojnHRhg7x9-CWsPuMNIkkWh8TcQXGYRmWbMCzDywYo84YRMDu68ydZrMqXDEkrJz/s1600/DSCF1142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoC8shJe8eZezattoVIMaNJ0kSz-TNukpo5szvhuLuDtv4CgpVS1aNYY5WAGqQhz5jVMeBmeCgJiXhojnHRhg7x9-CWsPuMNIkkWh8TcQXGYRmWbMCzDywYo84YRMDu68ydZrMqXDEkrJz/s640/DSCF1142.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The fourth whale being added in the upper right.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7U1c8FBk8wO4ePFfjGIQh5vSpipDHvH9cO0jsyxrPlkQ7bz91MCSnyP9-Sem-c9NChMvfpt5JtnNoy6_aMKQuGbxcEAtrAQOYSbUPoM9ZoDg_5S_P-GCGaRLa-mxct5onrbmCt_nk5GX4/s1600/DSCF1144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7U1c8FBk8wO4ePFfjGIQh5vSpipDHvH9cO0jsyxrPlkQ7bz91MCSnyP9-Sem-c9NChMvfpt5JtnNoy6_aMKQuGbxcEAtrAQOYSbUPoM9ZoDg_5S_P-GCGaRLa-mxct5onrbmCt_nk5GX4/s640/DSCF1144.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Beginning to paint some basic color, shape and lighting for this whale.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-z3mxqDdX7Rny8KeAhySXTmBZuMPU8eV41qnF5eHqHHr4O1K31GbbaqLYhLqfM-N_xdYz5YKjouBtKYuCMZ3QFQ6CbasEnCJ0RGkVDcETg5pq8QDy77vfZd2SX74ft_99psaRMa-8saoR/s1600/DSCF1498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-z3mxqDdX7Rny8KeAhySXTmBZuMPU8eV41qnF5eHqHHr4O1K31GbbaqLYhLqfM-N_xdYz5YKjouBtKYuCMZ3QFQ6CbasEnCJ0RGkVDcETg5pq8QDy77vfZd2SX74ft_99psaRMa-8saoR/s640/DSCF1498.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">At this point the whale at the bottom and the upper right were pretty much done. I did do a little more tweaking on them. Time to finish</span><span style="font-size: small;"> the mother and baby. You can also see here how much I changed the sky. It helps the whales to stand out more. Sometimes less is better!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Once
I had those two whales done. My attention turned to the mother and
calf. The mothers tail was an area that I had struggled with from the
beginning, Mainly as to the shape of it. At one point I was going to
completely paint it out and start over. After looking at some
pictures I had taken of the painting as it progressed along, I left
it alone. Again, it was the right choise. I still struggled at times
trying to get the color, lighting and reflections right. Reworking
the tail over and over again along with other parts of her to. I am
happy with how she finally turned out though. As for the baby I am
still not sure if I have it right. I did tweak it some more but like
the other areas of the painting it was time to stop! The last thing I
added to the piece was a guy in a boat. I felt it needed something in
that area and sense it was an idea I had for the painting form the
beginning, it finish’s it off nicely! An artist friend of mine
asked me this week if I was done with the piece? I said, “yes”. I
told her I had to stop working on it! Or maybe I should say stop
fiddling with it. She gave me some good advice. She couldn't remember
just how it went though. “If you don't know when to stop fiddling
or messing with your art, then you are not being a professional
artist”! Sometimes I am not good at letting go of things. I have
thought about getting a vault to stick my art in and put a padlock on
it. Then give the key to someone so I can't mess with them anymore. I
probably would find a way to get into it though. Hi, My name is Mark
and I am a fiddle-a-holic. Maybe I should call myself a
tweak-a-holic. Would they be considered compulive disorders? Duh! Now
lets see, where did I hide that whale painting? I am just kidding
everyone.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsdFdb3f3CzvDlncr_dj8coMFy9vqO3fivcLKlXlZvrmXbz7r0Z-6mXPhqGExI7oIhkcQaPo8OuUCS7pKHFNV98VcXySh8_5XYwPeEL_YwuImySRrO-_T7CZea9FxrkV3cQuAoDgcMJWV2/s1600/DSCF1535.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsdFdb3f3CzvDlncr_dj8coMFy9vqO3fivcLKlXlZvrmXbz7r0Z-6mXPhqGExI7oIhkcQaPo8OuUCS7pKHFNV98VcXySh8_5XYwPeEL_YwuImySRrO-_T7CZea9FxrkV3cQuAoDgcMJWV2/s640/DSCF1535.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">All most done. Just a little more to do on the mother and baby. I added some rays of light coming done through the water. The background seemed to flat to me and I feel it adds some depth to the painting.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7IaLNYM4QhyphenhyphenpW3e3ibKcelGMWA8CUdODtMsCFSGuLaqx86RkGeo8qh2DALrVaOZgD8aUbqh3mQVYc2u0P6uNXG4cpN1IIXXychiIDuA93Wehlwg5M_JNeEsM3xUvQrOHOEF6UwAj1d38_/s1600/DSCF1616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7IaLNYM4QhyphenhyphenpW3e3ibKcelGMWA8CUdODtMsCFSGuLaqx86RkGeo8qh2DALrVaOZgD8aUbqh3mQVYc2u0P6uNXG4cpN1IIXXychiIDuA93Wehlwg5M_JNeEsM3xUvQrOHOEF6UwAj1d38_/s640/DSCF1616.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The man in the boat.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I
had been trying to think of what to name this painting. Kicked around
a couple of ideas but nothing seem to click for me. It finally came
to me when I painted the guy and the boat in. Can't explain why but
all of a sudden I felt like, “that is me”!. This is when the
painting took on a special meaning for me. For the last couple of
years I have been trying to figure out some sense of family in my
life. If they haven't past away they have moved away. Boy, sometimes
I feel like, where the hell did everyone go? And what do I do now?.
As I look at the painting, I am the guy in the boat. Looking back on
family and what I feel like I have lost, heading out, hoping to find
some since of it again in my life. So I have named the piece,
“Ohana”. In Hawaiian it means family. This was not my idea for
the painting in the beginning. It came from a YouTube video of a baby
whale leaping out of the water. I guess as artist we either try to
put meaning into our art, or it becomes meaning for us. All in all it
is a nice ending to the piece.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXmitvBebms6WEwa1j5qsdpFMoTAw9dvTRxvySicpNb68wJE7ZTQais0KFolr5K15EsoaYm26ta6u_UBGxK2q9qfmnWP002PAvNRqbXqQrra0j1ViFPv5iCFwXD0ZbfhxyvukXee-F7wtf/s1600/DSCF1617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXmitvBebms6WEwa1j5qsdpFMoTAw9dvTRxvySicpNb68wJE7ZTQais0KFolr5K15EsoaYm26ta6u_UBGxK2q9qfmnWP002PAvNRqbXqQrra0j1ViFPv5iCFwXD0ZbfhxyvukXee-F7wtf/s640/DSCF1617.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The finished piece.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I
am looking forward to hopefully having another painting in the fair
this year. Been looking at my to do list trying to figure out what
to start on next. Got back to work on the portrait painting of a
friend and her son and started a small piece for another art show
that is in August. But I need to figure out what to do for the fair
next year. The clock is ticking and it will be here sooner than I
want.</span></div>
MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-81812485592294899672013-01-12T16:26:00.000-08:002013-01-12T16:26:12.632-08:00A portrait in the works<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This
is my first attempt at painting a portrait, if you don't take into
consideration the stuff I did as a kid. I had asked a friend of mine
if I could do one of her and her son after seeing a picture she had
posted on Facebook about two years ago. I am finally getting around
to it. She asked me if it would take a year to do it. “Oh no, not
that long” was my reply. Two years later and I am finally starting
it. I had primed a board last year specifically to do a portrait
painting.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For this painting I primed the board orange. A couple of years ago I was at the La Jolla
Festival of Arts here in San Diego, CA where I reside. I came upon
the artist <a href="http://www.annettehammerart.com/" target="_blank">Annette Hammer</a>. She had a display at her booth of one of
her paintings which showed a progression of the painting from start
to finish. I noticed that she had used orange for her base color. I
asked her why she had done that and she told me that Rembrandt used
the color orange for the base color of his paintings. Being the
novice artist that I am, white is all that I have ever known or been
taught to use. I guess I need to get out and learn more! I have seen
black and gray gesso in the art stores and kind of wondered why
anyone would use them. Using the black gesso reminds me of the black
velvet paintings from the 60’s and 70's. Since then I have learned
and thought of some ways I could use those colors to prime my boards.
It is similar to using color in glazes to set the tone of a painting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
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</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">So
I decided to give it a try. Off to the internet I went to see if I
could find some more information about what Rembrandt did. No such
luck! I could not find anything about him using the color orange to
prime his boards. I even found a book at the local book store about
Rembrandt but there was nothing in it about that subject. What did I
do next might you ask? Well I thought about going onto the internet
and asking some people for help. But being the shy boy that I am,
hell maybe I should say the prideful, arrogant man in me claimed I
don't need any help, so I went at it myself. I figured if it doesn’t
work I can always paint it over with white primer and start again. My
first attempt I added some orange to the gesso as I primed the board.
It didn't look very orange to me though. Hello Mark! What do you
think will happen when you add a lot of white to a little orange? It
looked a lot like the color of a 50/50 ice cream bar. I still had two
more coats of gesso to apply to the board so I decided to add some
red to the mix. It looked a lot better but at first it was leaning to
the salmon orange side of the spectrum. I was talking to an artist
friend of mine about it and she helped me to realize that I am
experimenting and it may be just the color I am looking for. If not,
she recommended I try something different next time. I really need to
get past the whole thinking of, “It has to be perfect every time or
it is not going to be right!” I am working on it but old habits are
hard to let go of sometimes!</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg1AzWEHwR9N83g-cHrkSdGFFb2YkfIW744kzT9TcZU32zpqZJTTbfYpCoN8oByMW5qPyCAQ3dBuPKnF-EDYhuGmYGcuUXb6mB1_GIs8aLINZB2a-rkBNHQAPYT_PPNtf3SK15WTCHAMi9/s1600/PHOT0019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg1AzWEHwR9N83g-cHrkSdGFFb2YkfIW744kzT9TcZU32zpqZJTTbfYpCoN8oByMW5qPyCAQ3dBuPKnF-EDYhuGmYGcuUXb6mB1_GIs8aLINZB2a-rkBNHQAPYT_PPNtf3SK15WTCHAMi9/s320/PHOT0019.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">My first attempt</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQEjOaWJVNI0CbO4khHiDQ_ivgLQbdq-v60EG4rv4VwbjQwwRAsu6wWbh9I6f5FYaZhZnlm5N3o1QTu6kOUd9ERq6HbFzVGvr0d4AWXNL58cyruqAd8yVY13pI-R6V0izC3ibfTP_PeCn7/s1600/PHOT0021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQEjOaWJVNI0CbO4khHiDQ_ivgLQbdq-v60EG4rv4VwbjQwwRAsu6wWbh9I6f5FYaZhZnlm5N3o1QTu6kOUd9ERq6HbFzVGvr0d4AWXNL58cyruqAd8yVY13pI-R6V0izC3ibfTP_PeCn7/s320/PHOT0021.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: small;">For my second attempt I used the scale at work that we use for mixing ink for printing. I was probably being a little to picky! but by doing this I know how much of each color I used for future reference. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9zDiHpsxLXAALVhZZNOHoR1-AaKbOJoi1GENUfKVO382Sldv3phLSVZ2KIo2ArEpx9H2N03DkseDpznUnHfo-tFzWTPnvFiK8hZ_Yxs6Z0EeKGAugINuCPpVefrLVXxtTx3WYJ4Wvn6O5/s1600/PHOT0023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9zDiHpsxLXAALVhZZNOHoR1-AaKbOJoi1GENUfKVO382Sldv3phLSVZ2KIo2ArEpx9H2N03DkseDpznUnHfo-tFzWTPnvFiK8hZ_Yxs6Z0EeKGAugINuCPpVefrLVXxtTx3WYJ4Wvn6O5/s320/PHOT0023.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is my second attempt. "Definitely oranger"</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Two years ago I had the chance to talk to <a href="http://www.annettehammerart.com/" target="_blank">Annette Hammer</a> again about this and
she gave me some more insight into what she does. She primes the
board with white first and then goes over it with a somewhat thinned
down orange. I told her what I had done and she said try adding some
yellow to my mix next time. I love her work! The amount of detail she
puts into her paintings is amazing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">One
of the reasons it has taken me so long to do this piece is that I was
trying to figure out what to paint in the background. I liked the
picture my friend had of her and her son but wanted to do something
different for the background. I asked her if she had anything she
might like but she pretty much left it up to me. When she posted some
pictures on Facebook a while back of a waterfall she and he family
went to, I said to myself, “that is it”. She only had two
pictures so I had to go onto the internet to help me fill in what I
didn't have.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Once
I got everything I needed, it then came down to working out the
composition. I moved the tracings around on the board trying to
figure out what would look the best. At one point I thought about
doing the painting in a vertical format but came back to the
horizontal. I also wanted to have a dark area behind her and her son
with the waterfall being pretty much the only area in the background
that is lit up. Rembrandt used dark backgrounds in some of his
portrait paintings with the subject in the foreground being lit up.
That is what I am attempting to do with this piece so we will see
what happens. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There is not much to look at right now because I am
just getting started and because I have been focusing more on my whale painting lately. Trying to complete more than one piece a year! Reminds me of what a lady friend of mine once told me, "One is not enough but ten are to many". Of course she was talking about boyfriends. She was joking about that! At least I think she was. Anyways, I keep telling people, "I am not a multitasker"! Even though it my frustrate me at times that I am not doing more. I would rather do one painting that is a masterpiece, than ten that are mediocre! Even if it takes me a year.</span></div>
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MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-75770113776420393772013-01-12T16:24:00.000-08:002013-01-12T16:24:43.119-08:00Finishing what I started part 3<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I am finally getting back
into the studio to paint. My job has been keeping me busy lately and
by the time I get home I don't feel much like doing anything! I was
starting to get frustrated with myself for not painting. Over
Thanksgiving I was determined to do something on this piece, even if
it was not much. Last year flew by so fast and I am nowhere near
where I should be or want to be with my art. My goal was to have this
painting, along with others, done by now. There are two shows this
year that I hope to be in, but it is not going to happen if I don't
paint!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I decided to focus on the
above water scene before finishing the whales, which is what I should
do anyways. That part of the painting was not set in stone and I came
up with a couple of ideas as to what I might do even as the painting
progressed. In the beginning, the rough sketch I did for this piece
included painting in some clouds and an island off to one side. Then
I thought of doing a panorama scene that would show the Hawaiian
islands of Maui, Molokai and Lanai. I spent about a month looking at
so many photos of the three islands trying to piece together what I
thought might look good. But it was just not clicking for me. The
size of this painting is 18” x 24” and the area it would fit in
is only three inches high by the width of the piece. I finally
decided that a larger painting would do more justice to that idea. So
I have put it on my “to do” list (which keeps growing all the
time). The idea I settled on was a South Pacific island scene. While
looking for reference material for my last whale painting I came upon
a site on the internet for a whale watching adventure tour to the
South Pacific islands of Tonga. They say they are the only place in
the world where you can actually swim with Humpback whales, up close!
And yes it is on my bucket list now!
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After acquiring some
reference photos, it was time to get to work. As usual, at first I
was a little gun-shy about starting but once I did, things began to
click. I painted a couple of islands and then started to do some
clouds. I like where I am with the piece so far but I am also
somewhat worried that I am trying to do too much with the above water
scene, sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it? I want people to focus on
the whales and not the sky. I am kind of at the same point I was with
the bird painting I did last year. I thought about toning it down a
bit but knowing me I will probably keep going in the direction I am!
I do like detail in my work! People loved the sky and the bird as
well in my last painting so I need to stop worrying about it. It
feels good to get back to painting. Something I need to be doing!
This piece is finally at the point where it is starting to come
together and that has me excited right now. The motivation may be
back but I need to stay focused on it and get it done! The San Diego
county fair is four and a half months away and that time is going to
fly by before I know it. Time to become a monk in the studio again!</span></div>
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MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-54241333339480303272012-10-23T12:39:00.002-07:002012-10-23T12:39:36.358-07:00Finishing what I started part 2<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Did
some more work on my whale painting recently. I had been
struggling with how I wanted the baby to look. When I get an idea for
a painting, I have a tendency to come up with different ways I can do
it. I am the kind of person who likes to think things through before
I do them and as much as I hate to admit this, I know I can be
indecisive at times because of that! They may all seem like they are
the best choice but it comes to the point that I have to tell myself,
“Just pick one, Mark, and go with it!” I can always do another
painting using the other ideas at a later date. My problem is that I
hate to make mistakes, but more often than not that is how I learn! I
need to stop trying to make everything perfect!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">At
first I was going to have the baby jumping out of the water, but then
I thought, how many times have you seen that in Humpback whale
paintings? Not that that is a bad thing, for this piece I went with
the baby just breaking the surface of the water. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">I felt it would look
better in relationship to the mother below it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBIlEPv6zgxiWIKf-WqeFqWSniFL1XS6ppRdSWB-T15SQhEVwBi5eOU36OA4s-n7Of1_zZNi9ehDP6qFdPn8Sknk_fUzZvLl7Sblk2W2ZDUfQ9DlTc1DKoWqzpYFpl6yZb9EtYc01YFcmC/s1600/SCAN0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBIlEPv6zgxiWIKf-WqeFqWSniFL1XS6ppRdSWB-T15SQhEVwBi5eOU36OA4s-n7Of1_zZNi9ehDP6qFdPn8Sknk_fUzZvLl7Sblk2W2ZDUfQ9DlTc1DKoWqzpYFpl6yZb9EtYc01YFcmC/s400/SCAN0001.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is the rough sketch I did for the painting. As you can see, I had a couple of different ideas for the baby.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Down the road I will
do a painting with a whale leaping, it is what Humpbacks love to do.
It is pretty awesome to see, not that I have seen it in person yet.
Of all my trips to Hawaii, the most I have experienced is a whale
slapping its flipper on the surface about a mile off shore and the
back of one just coming out of the water while on a snorkel cruise.
Hopefully the next time I go I will see a whale breaching. My
ultimate dream is to some day actually swim with whales. I guess I
need to put that on my bucket list!</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My
dad made a wood carving of a Humpback whale back in the 90's and I
have been using it for the different poses of the whales for this
piece. It has been a big help to me to look at it from different
angles, giving me ideas for more paintings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Once I settled on the
pose of the baby, it was time to transfer the tracing to the
painting. And guess what? I applied a graphite smug to the piece. This
time I was able to get it off with out any problems. Have you ever
tried so hard to be careful not to screw up and then take a step back
and say, “How in the hell did I do that?!” I even had a couple of
sheets of paper laid down just so I wouldn't have that problem again.
This time instead of an eraser, I used my finger with some water and
it came right off. My goal was not to do a lot of work on the baby,
just get some basic color and shading down, and then once it dried I
will come back and do more later. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I did a little tweaking on the
mother’s tail also. The shape of it did not look right to me,
mister perfectionist again! I added a shadow on top of her also, to connect
the two together. Otherwise the baby looks like it is farther behind,
instead of right above the mother, which is how I want it to look. I
am stoked about how everything is coming along with the painting so
far. More to do though!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjceW_28JBBP2dTspzGSNEymCLqBuF0NUyxd2fI5m7ZjJs8eLvgXaxc6hyU6F9OjhIYxo-ZmYXjvLIyhkNsFKzX6aYIoDxIXfzVItFvVR7ZKsJbkttLNBv89Yy_uDWyFr55KlhI60Uwp33n/s1600/PHOT0025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjceW_28JBBP2dTspzGSNEymCLqBuF0NUyxd2fI5m7ZjJs8eLvgXaxc6hyU6F9OjhIYxo-ZmYXjvLIyhkNsFKzX6aYIoDxIXfzVItFvVR7ZKsJbkttLNBv89Yy_uDWyFr55KlhI60Uwp33n/s400/PHOT0025.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-54221036911869300972012-09-30T15:26:00.002-07:002012-10-10T13:14:46.034-07:00Finishing what I started!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Psalm 104:24-26 <i>O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all; the earth is full of thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. There go the ships; there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Last year when I completed my Humpback whale painting that I interred in
the fair I really wanted to keep the momentum moving forward with
more art. I did not want to repeat what I had done 7 years ago! This
was not my first choice for another painting, I have several ideas
for more sea life art but this one just kind of stuck in my head. I
love the ocean and will always be working on something that has to do
with it. The bird painting I just completed for the fair this year
was started at about the same time last summer as this one. I put all
my focus on it though for the fair this year and set this one off to
the side. So it is time to finish it. A friend of mine after seeing a
picture of my bird painting asked me if I had anything else done. I
showed him a picture of this piece and said I need to finish it
though. He said, “Why, its not done”? No, I still have more to do
on it. This year my goal is to complete more than one painting and I
know to do that I will have to work really hard, but it is doable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My
inspiration for this painting came from a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5cKpXH_owc">You Tube video</a> of a mother
and calf I had found wile looking for some more reference material.
The calf at on point leaped out of the ocean and I immediate thought,
“that would make an interesting painting”.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">At
first I was going to do the same thing with this one that I did with
my last whale painting by having an angle to the surface of the
water. I like that type of effect and will use it in the future but
decided to come back to a flat surface for this one. When I started
on the blue for the water and sky I was having some trouble blending the colors
together. I was using some slow-dry blending gel medium but it just didn't seem to be
working for me. It was the first time I had used it and I thought I
was doing something wrong. When I let it set for a day it looked a
lot better.
</span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifw_5GQmI-cxkj2cCD7lM1luPwkjTOYya-NvCO7CQ-3n3BObiWunxDqnQPwtBkLr2GEbMgPrV0qkfN4ofKs2rFgas3TOeg7uvZsSivEmtIzqbKxypKCkFcAka1ubQs65G016QL5QY8zHHn/s1600/PHOT0013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifw_5GQmI-cxkj2cCD7lM1luPwkjTOYya-NvCO7CQ-3n3BObiWunxDqnQPwtBkLr2GEbMgPrV0qkfN4ofKs2rFgas3TOeg7uvZsSivEmtIzqbKxypKCkFcAka1ubQs65G016QL5QY8zHHn/s320/PHOT0013.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: small;">The blank board. Funny how every painting starts this way. When I get an idea, I can see the finished piece in my mind. It is bring it to completion that I sometimes struggle with.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhswd2N44McWxVg4H3BRsQlNeXHaG_BNWdsA1qpDGDR_u5d8y7MCKta203ej7sIeD5Z79ROSu9N6j8zGmRmUysy_7l8K1Lpq-En0HnHbOSN-7yF0wkqbo71pc5uaCsBFp5rp7NOkLXbh0to/s1600/PHOT0017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhswd2N44McWxVg4H3BRsQlNeXHaG_BNWdsA1qpDGDR_u5d8y7MCKta203ej7sIeD5Z79ROSu9N6j8zGmRmUysy_7l8K1Lpq-En0HnHbOSN-7yF0wkqbo71pc5uaCsBFp5rp7NOkLXbh0to/s320/PHOT0017.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">My first attempt for the sky and water. I don't know why I had a harder time blending the water, as to the gradation from top to bottom, on this piece, then with the last whale painting I did. It was the first time I had used a slow-dry blending gel medium. I need to be a little more patient with it next time! The</span><span style="font-size: small;"> sky is a mix of </span><span style="font-size: small;">light blue permanent, brilliant blue, titanium white and just a little ultramarine Blue(green shade). The bird painting I completed this year I switched to using cerulean blue for the sky instead of brilliant blue because of a suggestion from a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0BgQN_Ow9s" target="_blank">you tube video</a> on painting skies and clouds. I like the cerulean blue a lot better because the light blue permanent and brilliant blue, I feel, have more of a green tint to them, which works great for the water. For t</span><span style="font-size: small;">he water I am using a lot more brilliant and ultramarine blue.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Next
was the sky. I was happy with how it was looking so I decided to start
on the whale that would be in the background at the bottom of the
painting. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">When I started this piece I was undecided with the direction the whales would be going in the painting but I settled on my original plan of them moving from left to right. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">As I finished transferring the tracing to the board I
noticed a pencil smug just below the whale. I tried to remove it but
I made it worse. I was dreading the thought of having to redo the
background, especially after all the trouble I had in the beginning.
There was no getting around it so back at it I went. Again, I felt I
was having the same problems blending the colors but when I let it
set for a day it looked great. I went over the sky to because I
noticed that some of the paint from re-doing the underwater splashed
up into that area. I learned a good lesson though on how I transfer
my drawings to the board. Sometimes I have noticed that I will get
graphite from the pencil tracing on my hand and that is probably how
the smug got their. When you are starting out on a blank canvas it is
no problem but if you are laying it down on top of a painted area,
well I am more careful now. There are other ways you can do it but it
works the best for me. I would love to have a digital projector but
they are a little out of my price range right now.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTsIPCLvr15XD4cOCdC_ORcSErcNOJAYDbot6Zt8oM3UsjWiYbP2HxYqirAmzj5sZPaaqWfRKmyin60sAVZ2ayBohpBuUitiplhq-iY8G0kxFxB1D1YqEC_8nRC6_RPLWM75qNQKd0C8fn/s1600/PHOT9185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTsIPCLvr15XD4cOCdC_ORcSErcNOJAYDbot6Zt8oM3UsjWiYbP2HxYqirAmzj5sZPaaqWfRKmyin60sAVZ2ayBohpBuUitiplhq-iY8G0kxFxB1D1YqEC_8nRC6_RPLWM75qNQKd0C8fn/s320/PHOT9185.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was so happy with how the clouds were looking.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">I should have taped that area off when I re-did the water. I didn't think I was going to splash paint up their! Oh well.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdYN3tTXNZeD9faz9XevkEowLdWmnuUUVWAMz2F0RKxy_5Tg0GKCz4VMq4ZWkpliVwfUl5tmWqJwueOyWsS5BuAKkDRRavgSxaZwhBilDZqWVsllg6lgVFJ_i0wy_4wq_QmHeZcf6JPih/s1600/PHOT9204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdYN3tTXNZeD9faz9XevkEowLdWmnuUUVWAMz2F0RKxy_5Tg0GKCz4VMq4ZWkpliVwfUl5tmWqJwueOyWsS5BuAKkDRRavgSxaZwhBilDZqWVsllg6lgVFJ_i0wy_4wq_QmHeZcf6JPih/s320/PHOT9204.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here I am laying out the arrangement for two of the whales that will be in the painting. I changed the look of the mothers tail, as you will see in the photos below. It was looking to much like the one on the mother of the last whale painting I did.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWzr8vQwUtFpfjzVPBeg-9482UF3N9eIJjBWhWmOzUZc9Qk1b1biGPmeNwWkmLO6IcmmeZD0VO5cjcmS0PWFeHhCW9lp2lPBe1S_k17vgxdIRbMBnhtiKGltECxOjkWvGTjDaQ-1NgD2su/s1600/PHOT9210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWzr8vQwUtFpfjzVPBeg-9482UF3N9eIJjBWhWmOzUZc9Qk1b1biGPmeNwWkmLO6IcmmeZD0VO5cjcmS0PWFeHhCW9lp2lPBe1S_k17vgxdIRbMBnhtiKGltECxOjkWvGTjDaQ-1NgD2su/s320/PHOT9210.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I know you can't really see the smug here, but If you look at the center of the picture, come down about half way, it is just to the left. I tried to use an eraser to get rid of it but that just made it worse. The blending gel medium I used also retards the drying time of the paint and that probably added to my problem. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZfPcTWbzYRuc1h4UqjRPWGCAWPANXYVwfmDzxQNhOpuF_E21wO-GL3xB0IOHw9R-v7fmIleBJuM_op3Zzq2gSCI7jo911uKWbtxdR4h_HjmQ3FEtDa-enbswviANoQZdfUK9tBDNQF6c/s1600/PHOT9232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZfPcTWbzYRuc1h4UqjRPWGCAWPANXYVwfmDzxQNhOpuF_E21wO-GL3xB0IOHw9R-v7fmIleBJuM_op3Zzq2gSCI7jo911uKWbtxdR4h_HjmQ3FEtDa-enbswviANoQZdfUK9tBDNQF6c/s320/PHOT9232.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">My second attempt for the sky and water. I could say a third time would be a charm but I don't even want to go there! I learned some new techniques, so that is a good thing!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">last
year wile working on my previous whale painting I came upon this art
book by the artist Wyland at a local art supply store. There are some
great techniques in his book. Some are just your basics but it helped
me more when I started this painting, because of how fare I was along
with the other one last year. It is fun when you come upon techniques
that other artist have been or are using and can say, “Hay, I am
doing that”! I am not trying to be cocky. I do not have a BA or
Masters degree in art. For the most part I am a self taught artist.
Some of it does come from natural abilities to! I am trying to build
up my library with books of artist and their techniques. Wyland uses
a technique for the outline of his whales in his paintings with white
paint. I decided to try it but came back to using black paint. He
works wet on wet and can do a painting in one setting which I admire!
His method allows him to blend the background to the whales in the
foreground but I like to let the background areas dry first and then
come back in and paint my foreground objects. For me right now I like
to use a method of building my layers of paint up a little at a time
because of the results that I achieve when I do. I am a caucus
person, not good at taking risks! I am not knocking his way of
painting. I have learned some good techniques form his book and will
use them in the future. We all have our way that works best for us
but it does help to know what other artist are doing. Especially when
you get stuck!
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Back to adding the tracing of the
whale that would be in the background. After I had the tracing down
again and outlined it with white paint I started filling it in. I was
amazed at how fast it progressed. The only thing I would do to it now
is maybe some more highlights but that is it. And maybe try and fade
the image some more to give it depth. Like it is farther back in the
water.</span></div>
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<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I
decided to do some work on the ocean surface to. I was nervous to
start it at first but really like the the way it is coming along. I also added the whale in the foreground. This also moved along good
and I am happy with the progress so far but still have a lot more to
do on it. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWoKgkT1cLcY3CYQAgwIJ2ziZVj5ZLraL0t9pehOFjfsS3QAy3A8BZTP4WPGu_f20F6bvPpvZJyMZ23_abn4wUh4XDpmP4ZEO6fuGi7OD0EvCmFEA6zGhE_u4bq3k07nnJWHGKxWRXYiz/s1600/PHOT9233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWoKgkT1cLcY3CYQAgwIJ2ziZVj5ZLraL0t9pehOFjfsS3QAy3A8BZTP4WPGu_f20F6bvPpvZJyMZ23_abn4wUh4XDpmP4ZEO6fuGi7OD0EvCmFEA6zGhE_u4bq3k07nnJWHGKxWRXYiz/s320/PHOT9233.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I decided to use Wyland's method of outlining the whale with white paint. I was going to redo the clouds but I decided to get started on the whales instead.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOqF0BxgJ8EJSZVJ6dqUbAeriZkT9eC8i49o63WlhNfwvhitgXGXr5ey6PpG3aZFV5ENJr3rd9xf5h11tLbMQFbyGi7vdkF6xtfH-wu94HLFG91hyphenhyphenZDH06w1fSC1NWcJR2izPuaY7xnm7G/s1600/PHOT9468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOqF0BxgJ8EJSZVJ6dqUbAeriZkT9eC8i49o63WlhNfwvhitgXGXr5ey6PpG3aZFV5ENJr3rd9xf5h11tLbMQFbyGi7vdkF6xtfH-wu94HLFG91hyphenhyphenZDH06w1fSC1NWcJR2izPuaY7xnm7G/s320/PHOT9468.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here I have added the surface of the water to the painting. My goal was to just get the basic idea down because I felt it would help me with the placement of the mother and calf, which it has and it also defines the sky from the water below. Boy was I nervous about doing it. As I have said before, I don't like making mistakes, (mister perfection), but it is part of my learning process! I either fix it or start all over again. The main thing is to keep at it!!!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLlUOIQgUNALbxYblLhLOm3bN6eVgKFJ2KvFM6dY5ck-Eetnu5DfwPFN4-3Jw0KGHKeBFK1bJWIfbIfF_oV8RZirLL18INFHWx3mvdayKO1-4OmMatA6tS9il_rQqRvHAvZ_jUWcnFqe6s/s1600/PHOT9470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLlUOIQgUNALbxYblLhLOm3bN6eVgKFJ2KvFM6dY5ck-Eetnu5DfwPFN4-3Jw0KGHKeBFK1bJWIfbIfF_oV8RZirLL18INFHWx3mvdayKO1-4OmMatA6tS9il_rQqRvHAvZ_jUWcnFqe6s/s320/PHOT9470.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Closeup of the whale above. I started out using ultramarine blue instead of black to see if it would blend the whale into the water better.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGH3CLUlmtdNsWRRH1v_2SqoFVqgvajMnwmJJJoLZ9qZ4kDRfOHhr62FAMVKQvHM6rqyCBYyVNOlDwq88Xd7hPrUp1w0SgGyfKBKNeDdIUhvdDXTZFEK7sei48ZbRW4EbhWtjpqf3VKXf5/s1600/PHOT9472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGH3CLUlmtdNsWRRH1v_2SqoFVqgvajMnwmJJJoLZ9qZ4kDRfOHhr62FAMVKQvHM6rqyCBYyVNOlDwq88Xd7hPrUp1w0SgGyfKBKNeDdIUhvdDXTZFEK7sei48ZbRW4EbhWtjpqf3VKXf5/s320/PHOT9472.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The mother whale being add. The drawing of the baby at the surface was an idea I was thinking of using at the time.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5UuqmZRmHH0WHNMegpPs81_VyJ7QF5WTElI1pQqiadxO46UMUrTp6hJWsvFAqTEbuWYEHilwiO7MMevPBk8AaaCSJrfiTFbHEPxG97hcckqZtoUoe6ZpBt0JKcWK58XEFQk03FKhJQaI2/s1600/PHOT9478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5UuqmZRmHH0WHNMegpPs81_VyJ7QF5WTElI1pQqiadxO46UMUrTp6hJWsvFAqTEbuWYEHilwiO7MMevPBk8AaaCSJrfiTFbHEPxG97hcckqZtoUoe6ZpBt0JKcWK58XEFQk03FKhJQaI2/s320/PHOT9478.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: small;">In the photo above and blow I went back to using black paint to outline and add basic features to the mother. I use a thinned down black because I want the background to show through a little to help it blend in with the water. </span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2uIcy1uQutj2sXdS_lEGJ6hixksbWgGrbHYQh1Pp1AEBTAuDjvoyGRCslEL2tGCR-w_6PufrKJSZRmquIHz-wMxnqySJxdbSMSC0B8pX15-KOI3Ohcrp1quk41ZYg1CEhPEoNSO58qnDY/s1600/PHOT9480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2uIcy1uQutj2sXdS_lEGJ6hixksbWgGrbHYQh1Pp1AEBTAuDjvoyGRCslEL2tGCR-w_6PufrKJSZRmquIHz-wMxnqySJxdbSMSC0B8pX15-KOI3Ohcrp1quk41ZYg1CEhPEoNSO58qnDY/s320/PHOT9480.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieA1-fxUPJaeVr0ovvFH2bGHRENTKsJKJd9q2HLH0eUY8waNn9qomU6tqFLGu6kg0mcoGvpmPV0iD9tgwMA24shINx7zCYVnybd5vjtp14nOvN-xIfxF-2sputw7ZxSG4FjguWRhJuHFXo/s1600/PHOT9488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieA1-fxUPJaeVr0ovvFH2bGHRENTKsJKJd9q2HLH0eUY8waNn9qomU6tqFLGu6kg0mcoGvpmPV0iD9tgwMA24shINx7zCYVnybd5vjtp14nOvN-xIfxF-2sputw7ZxSG4FjguWRhJuHFXo/s320/PHOT9488.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Once the basic outline and features are done, I start adding some color to define the shape of the whales more. Below I have added some white to the mother along with some simple reflections to both whales.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLk1vOaT_OQcAkl2CnzGn5adH81NurgBuJoOGUMM2eTJgsolGAnfLelEXkp7VMCykOT5EoDuj5y1j266YyhldDTgRyUvYFYmKJ3zl8aBTNBTKE9F4qDFFd9X2wB8XaISerXBOHxFWDqoKP/s1600/PHOT9498.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLk1vOaT_OQcAkl2CnzGn5adH81NurgBuJoOGUMM2eTJgsolGAnfLelEXkp7VMCykOT5EoDuj5y1j266YyhldDTgRyUvYFYmKJ3zl8aBTNBTKE9F4qDFFd9X2wB8XaISerXBOHxFWDqoKP/s320/PHOT9498.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzyBxVGQLYxksxDjsatprZg3mw8B7KltYIBPgejSgAO8elEb3nHhP-LzfUloDlva8aiPUUZdyFZBpdStnjFMfr8CWXbvAoVGLI4gYV-El4jL7hFVhYn5SMICLt5sKHuwHfFEfefIR1I8rm/s1600/PHOT9508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzyBxVGQLYxksxDjsatprZg3mw8B7KltYIBPgejSgAO8elEb3nHhP-LzfUloDlva8aiPUUZdyFZBpdStnjFMfr8CWXbvAoVGLI4gYV-El4jL7hFVhYn5SMICLt5sKHuwHfFEfefIR1I8rm/s320/PHOT9508.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I then decided to focus all of my attention on this whale. The next several pictures show the progression of it to where I stopped.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPcMwrjDMzGrMYpOF-MkCzBYVYK3YrkBUbtL3bhtRUszdveLe8EfkOM2gicNM3bpWJj3KtDExCqxdxAR28U3Hv3GfWP3IzN8w8vM2ta6sJoDqSNnNX3hfZr22lQO32vngfNcrNz094Z2vf/s1600/PHOT9509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPcMwrjDMzGrMYpOF-MkCzBYVYK3YrkBUbtL3bhtRUszdveLe8EfkOM2gicNM3bpWJj3KtDExCqxdxAR28U3Hv3GfWP3IzN8w8vM2ta6sJoDqSNnNX3hfZr22lQO32vngfNcrNz094Z2vf/s320/PHOT9509.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Closeup of one of the flippers. Working on blending and fading it in to the water.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcn_0H5qHLEDPeGrz-5_GE-5wPaKLIzm3aa3XlalMMDJkEWFG57rhWJSbdCvIYnTWTeRib_zwr3cBw1yELozBI_CMVx2nEQj7J5FRxs3iXyNUpSmV8oRQRPPDDALe4hX3OoEk47nhSegCk/s1600/PHOT9510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcn_0H5qHLEDPeGrz-5_GE-5wPaKLIzm3aa3XlalMMDJkEWFG57rhWJSbdCvIYnTWTeRib_zwr3cBw1yELozBI_CMVx2nEQj7J5FRxs3iXyNUpSmV8oRQRPPDDALe4hX3OoEk47nhSegCk/s320/PHOT9510.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9woiD9FbplXSrdwGhs3yIuYQ-CGqi68HKI3TYQAujOuyhySPCCnSRkWjxsL9K9BAGYQSwxSy9jeEw33_w6Gp7fBCzvTQY8OzXuV2wt1z6FRz2yj_SAGuCxBpN_RTBKOgx5XSbv0DoN5H/s1600/PHOT9541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9woiD9FbplXSrdwGhs3yIuYQ-CGqi68HKI3TYQAujOuyhySPCCnSRkWjxsL9K9BAGYQSwxSy9jeEw33_w6Gp7fBCzvTQY8OzXuV2wt1z6FRz2yj_SAGuCxBpN_RTBKOgx5XSbv0DoN5H/s320/PHOT9541.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is where I stopped. </span><span style="font-size: small;">I am vary happy with how it looks so fare! </span><span style="font-size: small;">It took me about 15 min's to complete. I might tweak it a little more but not much! </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIEHcuGlrlwGoX7DwVeUGZtrBP2ICtyezLg8reynD9mL1RKFAM1tfwiqHt5ZZgvVpJYB04NtdBP1N5OhJuHiDCQZ3PbXAF-d6g96gHTV0ZwZdCHHCyMcz22LbFft8LScg2ka9w8vGhI4U/s1600/PHOT9511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIEHcuGlrlwGoX7DwVeUGZtrBP2ICtyezLg8reynD9mL1RKFAM1tfwiqHt5ZZgvVpJYB04NtdBP1N5OhJuHiDCQZ3PbXAF-d6g96gHTV0ZwZdCHHCyMcz22LbFft8LScg2ka9w8vGhI4U/s320/PHOT9511.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: small;">I then decided to do some work on the surface of the water, just above the mother's tail. Please bare with me everyone. I know I have a tendency to jump around on my paintings and I am Trying to break that habit! I added some details to the top and underside of the waters surface to make it look more realistic. I also want it to look like the mother has churned up the surface of the water as she dives back under.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX7LYzfk2lKlbpG0Tm_JUGjNUIuH-sCl9i7CqhAsnv-GffgzAyPrmMbVIhsS8Nv6rMG8F9ffwSn0Dbbl_iY58Uk526Is3DUox1tgqONt0Mth5xKicJEyextuZTdhKLO8XdMDvbhud5_mb3/s1600/PHOT9539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX7LYzfk2lKlbpG0Tm_JUGjNUIuH-sCl9i7CqhAsnv-GffgzAyPrmMbVIhsS8Nv6rMG8F9ffwSn0Dbbl_iY58Uk526Is3DUox1tgqONt0Mth5xKicJEyextuZTdhKLO8XdMDvbhud5_mb3/s320/PHOT9539.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh1bNLVMVZbzN4lXr_84Ts0XgYq3QPnJZsdIqDyigVe5Zahyqd5ZWUOYS8xCHN2kHNI7jI75_Vo0mvoYFBZ2YxavxVzDE56yEkGqYsRKOot_tgh4xu4yAphJnEu-zG7yy3tEymqFrYSuR0/s1600/PHOT9588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh1bNLVMVZbzN4lXr_84Ts0XgYq3QPnJZsdIqDyigVe5Zahyqd5ZWUOYS8xCHN2kHNI7jI75_Vo0mvoYFBZ2YxavxVzDE56yEkGqYsRKOot_tgh4xu4yAphJnEu-zG7yy3tEymqFrYSuR0/s320/PHOT9588.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Here and the next two pictures below I am working on </span><span style="font-size: small;">defined </span><span style="font-size: small;">the shape, color, and my light source for the mother.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy0t-AdfWcfjO_PKQCk860M5iWOQgcQySNhQXHBSRKZYUW8JgGiBMRIJekhxOqMk-P5OaPFpfX0XC4liMHvoGLEOrrTo7dwQSzzRvPjCVNJeVzgjd3deOnPOmJb88RDVhsS-LRttaE_pTL/s1600/PHOT9590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy0t-AdfWcfjO_PKQCk860M5iWOQgcQySNhQXHBSRKZYUW8JgGiBMRIJekhxOqMk-P5OaPFpfX0XC4liMHvoGLEOrrTo7dwQSzzRvPjCVNJeVzgjd3deOnPOmJb88RDVhsS-LRttaE_pTL/s320/PHOT9590.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwBHzNWzVDNC2cXe4gixVRIWpkceJbPXxeSQSTIkAybt6hDOz2QbhoeaScZ0LzkrnmfW3vaBQuzyUQDvBtenTfdwNfUvra1QSKi-qJZubUqUguc3P7USjDXNAs_EG8vdiSJdgq9Ng6uVcI/s1600/PICT2062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwBHzNWzVDNC2cXe4gixVRIWpkceJbPXxeSQSTIkAybt6hDOz2QbhoeaScZ0LzkrnmfW3vaBQuzyUQDvBtenTfdwNfUvra1QSKi-qJZubUqUguc3P7USjDXNAs_EG8vdiSJdgq9Ng6uVcI/s320/PICT2062.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The rest of the photos here is where I stopped last December. I changed the color on the mother's flipper somewhat, not sure if I am going to keep it that way. Some Humpback whales do not have all white on the top of their flippers.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRRvC965pp_gznnz_QWQI_-cVhNpZ7ZqNHD02mh4qvqJYv136XtH1eYJa9x7Qjf0ZEuFTS2CKcqxOPfbBw3_re5PO_PrR87_SHh_T_NSQAmkTy-KA6Hjut2kFVdyfhkXD8zmymi2KrCGl/s1600/PICT2063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRRvC965pp_gznnz_QWQI_-cVhNpZ7ZqNHD02mh4qvqJYv136XtH1eYJa9x7Qjf0ZEuFTS2CKcqxOPfbBw3_re5PO_PrR87_SHh_T_NSQAmkTy-KA6Hjut2kFVdyfhkXD8zmymi2KrCGl/s320/PICT2063.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQJrSjN-tAk6HT1tGb-6pQnwvdHSTo8ne-6VmbMJjrlcQJlrBIzkKro1Z2VU9osCQXKl70NTfWtYnB7DApxneb9i9BIwmqdJFMDvAauF9ZiOTc1qg3_rnm-m1DxDtwLisgvXib1mQH0d-/s1600/PICT2064.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQJrSjN-tAk6HT1tGb-6pQnwvdHSTo8ne-6VmbMJjrlcQJlrBIzkKro1Z2VU9osCQXKl70NTfWtYnB7DApxneb9i9BIwmqdJFMDvAauF9ZiOTc1qg3_rnm-m1DxDtwLisgvXib1mQH0d-/s320/PICT2064.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">The baby whale I am going to add to the painting has been
frustrating me as to how it should look. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">My original idea for the
painting has changed somewhat so I am still undecided on what I am
going to do. This is where I am at with it so fare. More to come
soon!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-25425695532851619792012-07-27T15:54:00.001-07:002012-08-04T16:47:16.991-07:00Marketing Myself<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_HY5vr3R0mExHJieHAQlVx32rORLP70h-L4A5FkDEbgWNsBgNqdcY0cH1a5U7Uxj6Vity0n3pKMFuTc1RniH6lCz3bJyEh4NyNs81xPWOXw-gY8uojuv0lSELqsLeLIQx2e4DM49kVcDo/s1600/PHOT9623.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_HY5vr3R0mExHJieHAQlVx32rORLP70h-L4A5FkDEbgWNsBgNqdcY0cH1a5U7Uxj6Vity0n3pKMFuTc1RniH6lCz3bJyEh4NyNs81xPWOXw-gY8uojuv0lSELqsLeLIQx2e4DM49kVcDo/s400/PHOT9623.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">A
couple of weekends ago I was in Coronado, CA, a city near where I live, having
lunch with one of my niece's and her husband. He and I had gone to a
BBQ restaurant, ‘Lil’ Piggy's”, the weekend before. If you live here
or ever come to San Diego, CA GO! They have good food there! My
favorite is the pulled pork sandwich with the coleslaw inside, thank
you very much! Make sure you try the corn fritters. They come with
this honey butter, oh baby! And the jalapeno poppers are good too!
They take a pepper, roast it, stuff it with cheese and then wrap it
with a slice of bacon. Mamacita! Also make sure you go to the Hotel
Del Coronado and get some Moo Time ice cream. It is expensive but
well worth it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sorry
everyone, I get a little side tracked sometimes. I think I have ADD!
Anyway, the weekend he and I went to lunch at ‘Lil’ Piggy's, I
said I wanted to check out the art gallery next to the restaurant. We
walked over and I peeked inside but didn't go in. I was thinking of
talking to the gentleman that worked there about my art but got cold
feet and we left. Afterwards I told myself I have to get past the
fears and rejection and just do it next time. They are probably going
to say no more than yes but I can't let that stop me from trying.
When the three of us went back the next weekend to the same
restaurant I kept looking over at the gallery and I told myself I
have to go in there this time and talk to the person about my art no
matter what happens. I didn't have any business cards with me. I was
going to bring some but because I don't have my web page up and
running yet, I felt a little apprehensive about handing them out
without people being able to see my work. I don't have a lot of
pieces right now and I wasn't sure if my blog was “professional”
enough of a place for people to go and see what I can do. I was
telling an artist friend of mine about the experience and she said,
“If that is all you have, go with it”!
</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After
we finished eating I made a beeline for the gallery; went in and
looked around. They had some cool Dr. Seuss art along with some other
artwork that I liked. My niece and her husband walked in a little
after I did and she said, “Here he is”. Standing there looking at
the art I thought maybe they didn't know where I had run off to, but
since I drove, they were not going anywhere without me. As we were
about to leave I got the courage to go up and asked the gentleman
working there if they accept local artwork and do I have to be
established in order to get into the gallery? The first thing he
asked me was, “What kind of art do you do”? I hesitated at first
because I was somewhat nervous, and thought if I told him, he might
not accept my art. I said right now I am doing wildlife art. He was
courteous and told me we don't accept any wildlife art but that I
should try the gallery around the corner, they deal strictly in that
type of art. I got his card, thanked him and off I went to the other
gallery with my niece, her husband and their baby in tow. I don't
think they thought an old man could move that fast but I was
determined to do it!
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I
went in and checked out the artwork they had there and as I was
looking at one of the pieces, a lady that worked in the gallery came
up to me and started to talk about the painting and the artist. I was
patient, polite and waited until she was done, but I was looking for
an opportunity to talk to her about my art. When she finished I asked
her the same question I asked at the other gallery. She was polite
but said, “We only accept established artists”. I knew that was
probably going to be the answer before I even went into either
gallery but I had to ask anyway. I asked her for a business card and
was going to tell her about my painting that was in the fair this
year but she turned around and walked away before I could. I felt a
little snubbed but I can't take it personally. Even if a thousand
doors are closed in my face, if I don't give up, the one that does
finally open will make it all worth it! I have to be patient and keep
at it!</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I
learned the importance of having my business card with me at all
times or a card that has at least one or more of my paintings on it
along with my contact information. Every art show I have gone to the
artists either have one or both! I decided to send them both a thank
you card with a picture of my whale painting on it. It may end up in
the trash can, but you never know what might happen unless you try!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When
I thought about becoming a full time artist I hadn't really focused
much on the marketing side of it. I just wanted to paint and
hopefully sell my work. But I have come to realize that marketing is
a big part of getting recognized and selling one’s art. It scares
the hell out of me because I am not good at promoting myself. If I am
not going to be good at it, then I need to find someone that can help
me who is. Seek and ye shall find! Knock and it will be opened to
you! There is a lot of good information out there and I need to start
looking or asking for it! Men aren't good at asking for help or
directions, right ladies?
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Since
last December I have been working on having some note cards printed
of two of my paintings along with trying to get some prints made. Of
the 30 plus years I have been involved in graphics, first as a
Technical Illustrator, the last 14 have been in printing, where I
presently work, at So Cal Graphics in San Diego, CA. I have come to
realize that it has and will be a big help to me down the road.
</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfSpK-r26ulK_NBmcLzXphLiIMVrzmGiYW6KGB-73eUrIBwXtczwx54r0IMSIcoimfYrSwiUAYIqReRQxaZD5g7pfYBt5UFNRx3LVP3UkJoFhUv49w5JNNE6ankyGxJR5rHXtIPkwQk-uP/s1600/PHOT9545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfSpK-r26ulK_NBmcLzXphLiIMVrzmGiYW6KGB-73eUrIBwXtczwx54r0IMSIcoimfYrSwiUAYIqReRQxaZD5g7pfYBt5UFNRx3LVP3UkJoFhUv49w5JNNE6ankyGxJR5rHXtIPkwQk-uP/s320/PHOT9545.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Once
I had some cards printed I thought, “OK, now what do I do”? How
much do I sell them for? How many in a package? So I went onto the
internet and looked at what other artists were doing trying to see if
I could get an idea. In the process I came upon a couple of sites
that deal with the marketing side of art. One is </span><a href="http://artbizblog.com/" style="font-size: x-large;">artbizblog.com</a><span style="font-size: large;"> and
</span><a href="http://finearttips.com/" style="font-size: x-large;">finearttips.com</a><span style="font-size: large;">. Both sites were very helpful, not just with my note
cards but with other ideas on how to promote and sell ones art. On
Alyson Stanfield site, </span><a href="http://www.artbizblog.com/" style="font-size: x-large;">(artbizblog.com)</a><span style="font-size: large;"> I left a comment to thank her
for helping me. Part of her response was, “Glad you found the info here helpful for your marketing efforts”. When I first read it I thought, “Marketing”?
Then the light went on in my head and I realized, Duh Mark! I was
just looking to sell something that had to do with my art! The idea
of “marketing” never crossed my mind! I can be a little slow
sometimes. It’s probably more that I have a tendency not to listen
to what people are telling me. Ya Ya! I know what I am doing! This
gets me into more trouble than I want to admit. Marketing can be as
simple as handing out business cards to something as big as entering
an art show. It is all going to get me to that point of becoming a
full time artist and eventually selling my art.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This
blog is a marketing tool. I was nervous about starting it because
once I did I knew it meant that I was going to be “out there”
trying to keep up with it, working full time, dealing with everyday
necessities, setting aside time to paint and now having to deal with
marketing! My head is going to explode, “No”! At the beginning of
the year I told myself that I had to get focused and produce as much
art as I can. One painting a year is not good enough! This whole
experience with my current painting and what happened at the fair has
been a real eye opener for me. I can't explain the feelings I have
right now, maybe it is a sense of accomplishment! I am trying to stay
humble and not get cocky, but I am excited about being back next year
and having even more and better art to submit! My main focus right
now is getting exposure though. But damnit, it is nice to win an
award and be recognized! The shock has worn off and I have set some
high goals for myself. I know I still have a long ways to go to
becoming a full time artist. Marketing is not just about my art, it
is also about who I am. My loves, dreams, desires, hopes, my very
heart and soul! It is, “the marketing of Mark Sanders”! Now let’s
see, where is the next art gallery in San Diego, CA that I need to
walk into? All of them!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-1756892597417153902012-07-27T13:39:00.001-07:002015-02-03T20:11:24.603-08:00Eye on the storm<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Your road to glory
will be rocky, but fulfilling. </span></b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I got this in a fortune cookie a
week before I finished this painting. It kind of sums up what I was
going through with it.<b> </b>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This painting has been an
idea of mine for about 4 years now. Back in 2010 when I first primed
some boards to get back to painting, this was one that I had
contemplated doing first. But I started with another whale painting
instead. After completing the whale painting, (see my blog Tail of
Two Whales) I decided to do this one along with another whale
painting at the same time. I was actually thinking of working on
three paintings at once but felt that was too much for me to handle
because of my day job. As both of the paintings progressed, I was
doing more work on the whale painting and had set this one to the
side. I felt that this one was what I should focus on for the Fair
this year because they want you to submit something different from
the previous year. So I came back to working on this one. I wanted to
complete two paintings for the Fair but I didn't feel that it was
attainable. Since I am not a multitasking person, it was a good thing
I didn't. Little did I know how much this painting would test my
abilities, patience, and self-confidence to finish it in time for
submission to the Fair this year.
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I got the idea for this painting from a
picture I took in 2008 at a cousin’s, (on my Mother's side), who
has a ranch on the Arizona/New Mexico border near Rodeo, New Mexico.
Some of the family had gone there for Thanksgiving and a little
reunion. Our Great-Grandfather and Great-Grandmother had actually
settled there in the late 1800's. The main house today sits near the
site of the original one he built. My Great-Grandfather was quite an
adventurous man; at the age of 12 he left Tennessee where he was born
about 1835 and went to Saint Louis, MO. After a stint in Saint Louis, he
decided to go west and came through the Arizona Territory on his way
to California and the gold rush of 1849. After various adventures
there, he came back to Arizona and continued hauling freight using a
Mule train between Yuma and Prescott, AZ. He then ended up in
Phoenix, AZ where he met my Great-Grandmother. They left Phoenix,
some say because he shot and killed his opponent for the sheriff's
race. It was in self defense but that is one way to get rid of your
opponent. He withdrew from the race, even though people did not want
him to, and they moved to the San Simon Valley on the New Mexico side
of the border. This was the time when the Apaches were still active
in the area and there were many outlaws too. It would not surprise me
if he met or knew Johnny Ringo, The Clanton's, Doc
Holliday, Wyatt Earp, his brothers, Geronimo and many other
celebrities of the time. There are some interesting stories about
them both in the book <u>Portal to Paradise</u> by Alden Hayes. I
remember as a kid my mother telling us a story about our Great
Grandmother and how she hid Geronimo from the solders one time. She
felt there was good in everyone. Not that I can prove the story but
it makes for good telling. I had always wondered why they did move
there. Whatever his reasons were I guess we all either need to get
the hell out of Dodge for a while or for good! I have to admit though
after going to the San Simon Valley I can understand somewhat. The
majesty of the <span lang="en">Chiricahua Mountains</span><span lang="en">
</span>and the wide open spaces are inspiring. I loved getting up
early in the morning and walking out away from the ranch compound to
watch the sun come up. Ah the stillness! I should say the quietness!
My job can be very noisy at times and I am becoming a person that
craves places that are not. Maybe I am somewhat like my
Great-Grandfather. <i>Give me land, lots of land! Under starry sky’s
above! Don't fence me in!</i></span></div>
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizJ923sMkgPPQ1ibWVadiB1NXgfh7Md8swg4KL0YxwJcuNQBWmT9NXTAruaGNvIT9ZIImx-DFKGWyQvb6CHiOkkJDZQbSy9ig0ok2O0EXseqNseap2HYNP9Zpx0q81Z9OOyj0vBwMCGQaT/s1600/MVC-007S.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizJ923sMkgPPQ1ibWVadiB1NXgfh7Md8swg4KL0YxwJcuNQBWmT9NXTAruaGNvIT9ZIImx-DFKGWyQvb6CHiOkkJDZQbSy9ig0ok2O0EXseqNseap2HYNP9Zpx0q81Z9OOyj0vBwMCGQaT/s320/MVC-007S.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is the picture I took and used for the background.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUpDgd2R7yjKZ7OwPEJEYoX9zJJ7GVCKJkWJkiFqQivtMiyI6E54tyeOo5dukQesqRuzHufviVQrMU9eD3onZJnEpsmriyL4bYapz-oDXduQgLCneckD5sVTRNPCBawskPQVwlWa-LoAR/s1600/Gambql001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUpDgd2R7yjKZ7OwPEJEYoX9zJJ7GVCKJkWJkiFqQivtMiyI6E54tyeOo5dukQesqRuzHufviVQrMU9eD3onZJnEpsmriyL4bYapz-oDXduQgLCneckD5sVTRNPCBawskPQVwlWa-LoAR/s320/Gambql001.jpg" height="320" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The picture of the bird that I used for my painting was taken by <a href="http://www.birdsofoklahoma.net/">Bill Horn</a>, a wildlife photographer from Oklahoma. I am vary thankful to him for allowing me to use it in my painting! He has some amazing pictures of birds on his site. If you click on his name above it will take their.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Ok, enough family
history, back to the painting. As I said, the picture was taken out
at the ranch. Some of us had gone out to explore an old rustler’s
corral. When I saw the light coming through the clouds lighting up
the Chiricahua Mountains I couldn't take the picture fast enough. I
thought, “That would make a nice painting.” The eye of the
artist, always looking for new things to paint! The digital camera I
had was an old one and the picture didn't come out that great as you
can see. As a result, I struggled with the foreground a lot as to how
it should look. My first idea was to have two birds in the painting
but I went with just one taken by a wildlife photographer by the name of <a href="http://www.birdsofoklahoma.net/">Bill Horn</a> from Oklahoma. It was a better choice because I wanted
people to be able see the mountains as I had that day. As I started
work on the sky, I decided to change it from the original picture to
have some blue sky showing behind the clouds to add to the dramatics
of the painting. Oooh! I am being artsy here. More sarcasm I think! I
am pleased as to how the clouds and sky turned out but not happy with
myself for how much time I spent on that area. I have a tendency to
work and rework areas as you will see and I have to get to a point
that I tell myself to stop!! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj0c2fWcGCbtmjpf9CuxqWj8OWRO21DaAMCphonkksyiAQaW8ABnZ-jnSNdgUym6WvFe5Vwsx_9RJqtKqTnBEuPxhS33x6bcwc0eDywceATthoVqayGrfdeMXTfMl7qnWnH-vp8jChwKG8/s1600/PHOT0339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj0c2fWcGCbtmjpf9CuxqWj8OWRO21DaAMCphonkksyiAQaW8ABnZ-jnSNdgUym6WvFe5Vwsx_9RJqtKqTnBEuPxhS33x6bcwc0eDywceATthoVqayGrfdeMXTfMl7qnWnH-vp8jChwKG8/s320/PHOT0339.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the beginning. Every painting has a starting point.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaEYezR9Gqyu0X58felWCDGPt84Vz6CdnbTGrFaOldeLT_rv0Tq7-xSf34j1eXm9dbZKrC2LuX_csa8px6gTAR1E01gkAxOF5JqFp4Cd8Aed96_u6_IFgi7rhcsdtQYDN5DaDkG08pLCAK/s1600/PHOT0006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaEYezR9Gqyu0X58felWCDGPt84Vz6CdnbTGrFaOldeLT_rv0Tq7-xSf34j1eXm9dbZKrC2LuX_csa8px6gTAR1E01gkAxOF5JqFp4Cd8Aed96_u6_IFgi7rhcsdtQYDN5DaDkG08pLCAK/s320/PHOT0006.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Once I had both the background and the bird traced it was time to figure out my composition and then transfer the tracings to the board.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5a7Q6Uy608rSJPYMPUkuZZCKIKbb-lE2TgH2aoHxECqgTGklvAjLruduFmL4IIpLxtAQo1xXhCmYoxV_Q8Cj0CAoAw8DttRyVseVd7ZOB_SevSuZMpk4IzjdHqQUDoNKAdLQs_mVKsoH/s1600/PHOT0015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5a7Q6Uy608rSJPYMPUkuZZCKIKbb-lE2TgH2aoHxECqgTGklvAjLruduFmL4IIpLxtAQo1xXhCmYoxV_Q8Cj0CAoAw8DttRyVseVd7ZOB_SevSuZMpk4IzjdHqQUDoNKAdLQs_mVKsoH/s320/PHOT0015.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now that everything is down on the board it is time to slap some paint on.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdOGdXrdx4jCTgEpS5HFrcGgTjxFHVuA1nAL512b9FlJHQq60io0e0GEDDbqhYDPA7zJoUNiuO-5uptUBk0HhUeN8uOo82SbAofJa4Erfbi1Uzn0Wm-aDMxnrXrIwrMhJHTsEekI0166iw/s1600/PHOT0027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdOGdXrdx4jCTgEpS5HFrcGgTjxFHVuA1nAL512b9FlJHQq60io0e0GEDDbqhYDPA7zJoUNiuO-5uptUBk0HhUeN8uOo82SbAofJa4Erfbi1Uzn0Wm-aDMxnrXrIwrMhJHTsEekI0166iw/s320/PHOT0027.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is how the painting looked when I got started. I wanted to have some blue sky peeking through the clouds but was not sure just how I wanted it to look.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT9ZM6kuvcfY-GyH3H_5mmClTo4ZscZlvgkGYd8QubbkxKtLyYvaR8W0Xra4K-ZmwOev9i5N4Zf3h7KJQewCBFTHDrQ_dbdNA9-Xvaq_sKrFBEeRNntligip3D-g-vADlf2EkW3n4PHlQC/s1600/PHOT9195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT9ZM6kuvcfY-GyH3H_5mmClTo4ZscZlvgkGYd8QubbkxKtLyYvaR8W0Xra4K-ZmwOev9i5N4Zf3h7KJQewCBFTHDrQ_dbdNA9-Xvaq_sKrFBEeRNntligip3D-g-vADlf2EkW3n4PHlQC/s320/PHOT9195.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I adjusted the color of the sky because it looked to green to me. I also started on the area behind the bird. I wanted it to look like it was raining off in the distance and have a darker look to it. Like the sky it looked green also.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrs2Up1VQWJA-utnTQAX46xLxnt6pWDuBcK4wNc7txy7BNEvFgzs84pcl2w1bfVtCgKpjZXU63c2XOFN8ksxfy0IVpxcXsnxEWiy51-qIMjfW8lC4HTQDjJydzKemKJLqhUWCa91EPoSC5/s1600/PHOT0422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrs2Up1VQWJA-utnTQAX46xLxnt6pWDuBcK4wNc7txy7BNEvFgzs84pcl2w1bfVtCgKpjZXU63c2XOFN8ksxfy0IVpxcXsnxEWiy51-qIMjfW8lC4HTQDjJydzKemKJLqhUWCa91EPoSC5/s320/PHOT0422.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I went over the area again behind the bird and mountains. This was my third attempt and I was vary pleased with how it looked. I did come back and change it a little but not much. </span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLpbScMge1XnKeYDBVQhoWLSPFFijY3lbLwXmV85p-aE0nJQVBr88s6z1fDXcDhwnnTm5p5xzM_QGcdjbtfUvlLb_99Oqd21ahfG_ZBfbX4CCMhhR_Kln5QX2Vs9WGLbejX8ZYr-soBIb8/s1600/PHOT0003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLpbScMge1XnKeYDBVQhoWLSPFFijY3lbLwXmV85p-aE0nJQVBr88s6z1fDXcDhwnnTm5p5xzM_QGcdjbtfUvlLb_99Oqd21ahfG_ZBfbX4CCMhhR_Kln5QX2Vs9WGLbejX8ZYr-soBIb8/s320/PHOT0003.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Once I had the sky behind the bird done I started work on the mountains. At first I used a dark color but I didn't feel like I wanted them to be that dark and I realized that if I was going to add detail to them I wouldn't see the lines when I transferred them to the painting.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZi-x9zyRCLAOp52ms8DxsDF8ks76WGmfqYOz_RXExiOC1IkO7leeQq1Il1bJc0RtA25I3VjamSBLZ2q6RkXJy95BNNyPB6oDKwbkCBhoNcUF7fE3C3173xe_0WDUJds-oRUkrpHANm2Il/s1600/PHOT0031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZi-x9zyRCLAOp52ms8DxsDF8ks76WGmfqYOz_RXExiOC1IkO7leeQq1Il1bJc0RtA25I3VjamSBLZ2q6RkXJy95BNNyPB6oDKwbkCBhoNcUF7fE3C3173xe_0WDUJds-oRUkrpHANm2Il/s320/PHOT0031.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was working here and there on the clouds trying to get a since of how I wanted it to look. The area to the left of the bird at first, I felt was looking great but when I came back to it the next day it just didn't look right to me. Also I painted over the mountains with a lighter color so I would be able to see the lines when I transferred a more detailed tracing.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRsEr2HJiAN5Ytpb5TLKzYrd4-j4Jp_l7tyXGfg34cspNAflW8d6iXrSjmrnvtqWiB23-iBUcQ2KyDhMqShVv0N22d8jkiLzRKiHsRB8lQMbth8u2gDVrF0Lfp6v2KXeAbsul4IQphbjch/s1600/PHOT0152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRsEr2HJiAN5Ytpb5TLKzYrd4-j4Jp_l7tyXGfg34cspNAflW8d6iXrSjmrnvtqWiB23-iBUcQ2KyDhMqShVv0N22d8jkiLzRKiHsRB8lQMbth8u2gDVrF0Lfp6v2KXeAbsul4IQphbjch/s320/PHOT0152.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I worked and reworked the clouds a lot as to color and shape but it was at this point that I felt like it was starting to come together.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju02LJUAP3CY8o58SBXS4955RdNMB2siFidt777Pu4K9KEKZSRIMyDRc5fDUBc6MhG0VCZ-83BhnJd_cZBtswZWM4iUeDCLZqsDQy2S_TP63aKhvgNxy23Z04kLiKT185JssDY3LAOFVNt/s1600/PHOT0165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju02LJUAP3CY8o58SBXS4955RdNMB2siFidt777Pu4K9KEKZSRIMyDRc5fDUBc6MhG0VCZ-83BhnJd_cZBtswZWM4iUeDCLZqsDQy2S_TP63aKhvgNxy23Z04kLiKT185JssDY3LAOFVNt/s320/PHOT0165.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here I was pretty much done with the clouds. I really had to tell myself to stop . I was going to come back later and do more work on the clouds in the upper right of the painting but in the end I decide not to. I actually painted the eye of the bird in at this point. Thought it would get me moving forward on other areas.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">Next was the tree behind the bird. I cannot tell you how nervous I was to start this area. Once I did, I knew there was no going back and redoing the clouds. I was even thinking of not putting it in but I felt it added depth to the painting. I actually stood there looking at the painting for a long while thinking about that. I finally came to the point that I said, “just do it Mark” When I did I felt a shot of confidence come over me. It was at this point the painting really started to move forward. It was just that all the hard work I had put into the sky and clouds had paid off. Even more so as other areas started to get painted in.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">Next were the mountains and this is another area that I am happy how it turned out. At this point I was determined to focus more on just that area and getting it done in a specific time frame. This helped me a lot on other areas of the painting by doing the same thing as I progressed! I did go back and change it a little but not much.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-cXEzBNgBfCHdRFVktp6JjU_Pc4lYZLGotGOvz8n6ehvlJvw7ZC-LzHjuvhNO-lmZr1w4QXH9HY3tTCtT4tCn4lJJ9IAGjsl7toS3k4zn1D7V3K1Yh45IY58A2XxCqkdGUEpropyErOK/s1600/PHOT0240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-cXEzBNgBfCHdRFVktp6JjU_Pc4lYZLGotGOvz8n6ehvlJvw7ZC-LzHjuvhNO-lmZr1w4QXH9HY3tTCtT4tCn4lJJ9IAGjsl7toS3k4zn1D7V3K1Yh45IY58A2XxCqkdGUEpropyErOK/s320/PHOT0240.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The tree is almost done here and I started adding some detail to the mountains. Also worked on re-establishing the outline of the bird. Doing the sky and clouds behind it pretty much wipe it out.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">I then started work on the bird and the valley floor
in the background. I was happy with the valley at first but I went
back in and added a little detail to give it some more depth and I am
glad I did. When I started the bird, things were going good at first
but it came to a point that I didn't like the neck area. It was not
looking right to me. So I went over it and the breast with white
paint and started over. Looking back I didn't need to redo the breast
area. I did another more detailed tracing of the neck and breast of
the bird than I had in the beginning and started over. After doing
some work on the bird I felt that I should finish everything behind
it so I started on the row of trees in the middle of the painting.
Again, it started out good and then I painted it over with white
because I didn't like the way it was looking. I started to get mad at
myself because time was getting short and I could not keep going back
and re-doing areas. At one point I had to walk away from it after
being frustrated and asking myself what am I doing wrong and what do
I need to do to get it right! I actually had some good photos that my
cousin took but I just kept struggling with how I thought it had to
look! I finally had to tell myself, “Who is going to
know if it looks exactly like the photo Mark, just paint it!”</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW61CDW_u_a0rxx2arSR28KrXC9J65w99gHbMhjWIYgSvnJLwjcj3Wj3wel31y9Il1WF9W2Q-CJug45jKGF60hFsLY-F0Eb1hf7ucnxZ0pY_B2w03VJEQdgjCouOGF5ANuvEwzqPEOMwwN/s1600/PHOT0249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW61CDW_u_a0rxx2arSR28KrXC9J65w99gHbMhjWIYgSvnJLwjcj3Wj3wel31y9Il1WF9W2Q-CJug45jKGF60hFsLY-F0Eb1hf7ucnxZ0pY_B2w03VJEQdgjCouOGF5ANuvEwzqPEOMwwN/s320/PHOT0249.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Finally getting some work done on the bird and more work on the mountains.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy9C5QpPZKQ_HZbYDW3PL1tLowE8hI-1IkegRKdUVeWonal48Ahobx413RmL7dYPnxqm0M30rGn8sX7VzdJPHLO8whjWuzBoTzqmRKJs5M3gWnz0gu4a3vm5QsW9RwyMBuOVF55E_6J5Iz/s1600/PHOT0258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy9C5QpPZKQ_HZbYDW3PL1tLowE8hI-1IkegRKdUVeWonal48Ahobx413RmL7dYPnxqm0M30rGn8sX7VzdJPHLO8whjWuzBoTzqmRKJs5M3gWnz0gu4a3vm5QsW9RwyMBuOVF55E_6J5Iz/s320/PHOT0258.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was struggling with the neck area of the bird here. The feathers just didn't seem to look right to me.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMa9tNsmWh6LJ6TDqt065VgD4onxliPRZObDOoXUBALAyFCwJFin585IMPIeeHo4w1yACIfgpM-mEa5Y_3E4-XXWyyVe4Bh_rUtruSY1oy-O0xaUJQN-Yz2MlISFU9S2vgGtcAWq-6WEfK/s1600/PHOT0271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMa9tNsmWh6LJ6TDqt065VgD4onxliPRZObDOoXUBALAyFCwJFin585IMPIeeHo4w1yACIfgpM-mEa5Y_3E4-XXWyyVe4Bh_rUtruSY1oy-O0xaUJQN-Yz2MlISFU9S2vgGtcAWq-6WEfK/s320/PHOT0271.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here is where I painted over the neck and breast area of the bird and started work on the valley and trees .</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14NqcXmxrJRfFqYPYADwmND8unDLZbvvY3vlK0XnT9dtjNL9Ies-Ewgv81LVrgpXCx6GtLo0onfLLIQyEXTrU4wHDyKH0fZ53pAW58DhITLXcIvOCS8L5PxJ6sduIbpNv49ldMYr2BV79/s1600/PHOT0286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14NqcXmxrJRfFqYPYADwmND8unDLZbvvY3vlK0XnT9dtjNL9Ies-Ewgv81LVrgpXCx6GtLo0onfLLIQyEXTrU4wHDyKH0fZ53pAW58DhITLXcIvOCS8L5PxJ6sduIbpNv49ldMYr2BV79/s320/PHOT0286.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The mountains were almost done here and I was starting to get the trees painted in just below the mountains. Also decided on what the bird would be setting on. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRKegflGhBt4Ssdoar-s-gFsUqpVbjmlVuRCOEYIExQ5YzQEj2Vk2Spi48C-c_imiLPP4wfoiuutbFM_miMm5t8PoFcq5HJtETS9pqczRgmNsKYsIbIX_AnqfMwGGXZAPNVsvLbjap0jIc/s1600/PHOT0304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRKegflGhBt4Ssdoar-s-gFsUqpVbjmlVuRCOEYIExQ5YzQEj2Vk2Spi48C-c_imiLPP4wfoiuutbFM_miMm5t8PoFcq5HJtETS9pqczRgmNsKYsIbIX_AnqfMwGGXZAPNVsvLbjap0jIc/s320/PHOT0304.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">My second attempt on the neck and breast area of the bird. Trying to get things perfect. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirSNV3ORK7qQQsM67NvZvzU74eQYV8NPoLrBDo_zX1iDjCRZcFTmZ6SUha5ozwcoanNXrST10sQu_Ysey1JuX7ZisSMAx9nffhjn3rQ7vNpwYN-qM2W3IO7ngr9Le7BZO9MNY2OJvNJeGa/s1600/PHOT0319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirSNV3ORK7qQQsM67NvZvzU74eQYV8NPoLrBDo_zX1iDjCRZcFTmZ6SUha5ozwcoanNXrST10sQu_Ysey1JuX7ZisSMAx9nffhjn3rQ7vNpwYN-qM2W3IO7ngr9Le7BZO9MNY2OJvNJeGa/s320/PHOT0319.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">At this point I did not like the way the trees were coming out behind the bird. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWCGgXZSDuAilq-mF6w3Lq_QyI8eN5oLhZSdQ30F-cJ5c29vKhuhXwrGxLQKFcjCODJDoWjnxO6Fh282EG0A02BWegDsMNdyznFgUkcs8EJNU7-ArFfaBDIctTRArXtAB3Vh8ciIp-GhSv/s1600/PHOT0326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWCGgXZSDuAilq-mF6w3Lq_QyI8eN5oLhZSdQ30F-cJ5c29vKhuhXwrGxLQKFcjCODJDoWjnxO6Fh282EG0A02BWegDsMNdyznFgUkcs8EJNU7-ArFfaBDIctTRArXtAB3Vh8ciIp-GhSv/s320/PHOT0326.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">So I painted it out and started over. I was starting to get mad at myself for doing this because I did not have the time to keep re-doing areas.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOX-sHZDIIyP1w7snUJb4RoKhdupAM37g9mc-fI7_dwo-Pb_tbg84lPqotiwABoi8G8uqEtgKbC1PWrPhcuv-6dxU3xa-lfEQQzxdPXd9KnuJp8LTp1ct0UccJAHfUMOZLWOqEuLCKx82Y/s1600/PHOT0347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOX-sHZDIIyP1w7snUJb4RoKhdupAM37g9mc-fI7_dwo-Pb_tbg84lPqotiwABoi8G8uqEtgKbC1PWrPhcuv-6dxU3xa-lfEQQzxdPXd9KnuJp8LTp1ct0UccJAHfUMOZLWOqEuLCKx82Y/s320/PHOT0347.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Once I had the trees back in, all I need to do was finish the bird and the the foreground. It may not seem like there is much left to do but time was running out for me. I think at this point, I had maybe a week to finish it. I love cutting it close.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Months came down to weeks
and weeks came down to days. It was getting close to the deadline to
submit the painting and I still had a lot to do. I felt like a hermit
towards the end because when I got home from work I would paint
sometimes till midnight, and then all day on the weekends. I did my
online registration on the last possible day. To be honest, I was
thinking of not doing it this year and waiting until next year. I
went ahead and registered. I still had 17 days to finish the painting
before I had to turn it in for judging. Part of me wanted to quit but
part of me said to keep going. I stuck with it though. I told myself
to stay focused, “Mark, you can do this.” I also told myself
something my Dad would say to me, “What is your name boy! Then you
can do it!” I still had my doubts, even up to the last day I worked
on it. Last summer when I started this piece I did not want to be
working on it the last day before I had to take the painting up to
the fair for judging like I did with the whale painting the previous
year. Sure enough I did. I took the day off from work the day before
the deadline to submit it for judging just to finish it and it was a
good thing I did. When I stopped painting about 9:30 that night I
remember being so emotionally drained from painting all day long and
depressed at the same time because of the last area I was working on.
I just didn't feel like I had done it right. I felt as if I had
rushed through it too quickly and it was going to ruin the whole
painting. The next day I brought it into work and showed it to some
people before I took it up to the Fair. As usual, when I talked about
the areas I didn't like, everyone would say, “Why, what is wrong
with it”. Like I have stated before, I am a perfectionist. About a
month ago one Sunday I was talking to one of the pastor’s at church
about my blog. He had commented about how great it was to a friend
standing there next to us. I said, “I still had a lot of work to do
on it”. And he looked at me somewhat surprised. I thought about his
response and the next Sunday I went up to him and thanked him for
what he said. I needed the encouragement. I told him how much of a
perfectionist I can be at times and he said, “Not everything is
going to be perfect”. I know! You think I would know by now! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCdYDEY59kdH8dtuQM3ru-hebfoI_AoDv9awA22L6ooGFhaHwbUZkSnKnwDRIJRU67KOIYCi9DXYfE0xfsiMNpyn45jGG7ejdX6bpYcQzZaQf-pyJxVYir52B5N1OfC3MRpWK6sWPKDBk/s1600/PHOT0354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCdYDEY59kdH8dtuQM3ru-hebfoI_AoDv9awA22L6ooGFhaHwbUZkSnKnwDRIJRU67KOIYCi9DXYfE0xfsiMNpyn45jGG7ejdX6bpYcQzZaQf-pyJxVYir52B5N1OfC3MRpWK6sWPKDBk/s320/PHOT0354.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The finished piece framed and ready to go to the fair for judging. I had my doubts about getting it done in time. The bush's in the foreground is the one area that I felt I did not do a vary good job at. It was the last part I worked on before I stopped. The funny thing is that no one even thinks there is anything wrong with them. They focus more on the clouds and bird and that is what I wanted. Why was I even worry about it!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When I started writing
this blog I thought that getting in to the San Diego Fair would be
the end of the story, I did not believe I would win anything with
this painting. Little did I know what was about to happen next. The
day the Fair sent out the notice of accepted art for 2012, I was at
work late and I checked my email, for the third time that day. I knew
it would be later in the day because of last year but kept looking
anyways. I was so thankful to just get in again, but I still didn't
believe that it was good enough to win anything. When I had showed it
to family and friends they were saying, “That is a great painting
Mark! You are going to win!” I said, “It depends on what the
judges think.” I remember my sister getting somewhat mad at me for
not thinking it was good enough. I was so fixed on what I thought I
had done wrong with it that I started to doubt my own abilities as a
good artist.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was not even planning
on going to the awards ceremony this year but family and friends kept
encouraging me to go. The day before the reception, I was checking my
messages on my cell phone and I had one that at first I thought was
from one of my nieces. It turned out to be a lady from the San Diego
Fair and she said that I had won an award and she hoped I could be
there to accept it. I remember thinking, “I don't believe this!”
She didn't say what I had won and I thought it would probably just be
an honorable mention. I still was undecided about going. But at the
last moment, after receiving more encouragement from friends, I
decided to go. I was not really dressed for it. I went straight from
work and I was wearing shorts and a tee-shirt. Sitting there before
it started I was nervous and I kept telling myself, “It is probably
just an honorable mention, and it is not about what you win Mark. You
got in again and that is the important thing here”. As the
proceedings got started they had asked people to stand for the
honorable mention awards so everyone could see them because they were
going to hand them out later on downstairs. First, second and third
place would receive their ribbons then. I was thinking of not
standing up if that was what I won. When it came time for my class
and the lady read off all the names for honorable mentions first,
mine was not there. I thought, “OK, maybe Third place. Third and
Second place came and went without my name being mentioned, I
thought, “You have to be kidding me”. When she said, “First
place goes to Mark Sanders”. Up went a picture of my painting on
the big screen they had set up. I said,”Oh my God”! I think I
startled the guy sitting next to me. I was in shock, I really didn't
think this or believe it was going to happen. I didn't know what to
do or say when I went up to get my award. One of the ladies started
to give me a hug and I stood their like an idiot. After a few seconds
I said thank you and went back and sat down. At one point I started
to get emotional because I wish my parents could have been there to
see it. I know how proud they would have been. Afterwards we all were
able to go downstairs to see the exhibit. I remember standing there
for awhile just looking at my painting and the first place ribbon. As
I walked around to look at the other art I came upon some that was
done by each judge. To be acknowledged by established artists is a
great honor for me and a confidence builder! It is one thing to
believe and have faith in yourself, but sometimes it is nice to know
that others do too!
</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbb79QNJGZPv8F6SJc6o9lvYUdsxJ_sy560cJJu7QAtpDy-J7Elrm69n3rKKfb7ZVYCad5ujwHSz238xvOVBRmk_q4TRpw5m2AzbsfUvxqe4zMZIDUG-pEPdYS5vhd3BHrfwuecvbZthSY/s1600/PHOT0361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbb79QNJGZPv8F6SJc6o9lvYUdsxJ_sy560cJJu7QAtpDy-J7Elrm69n3rKKfb7ZVYCad5ujwHSz238xvOVBRmk_q4TRpw5m2AzbsfUvxqe4zMZIDUG-pEPdYS5vhd3BHrfwuecvbZthSY/s320/PHOT0361.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">First place, acrylic - animals, 2012, San Diego Co fair.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Last Sunday I was talking
to a lady at church about my experience. She had won first place with
a quilt she had entered in the Fair this year. She commented that
because the judges are established artists and that I had won first
place, the painting must be good and she had not seen it yet. I
thought about her comment and was talking to an artist friend of mine
the other day about the judges. I told her that I don't want to get a
big head about this experience but I do need to start taking myself
more seriously as a good artist! I need to start having more faith in
my abilities as one! She said, “Yes you do”! I cannot tell you
how much this award means to me! It came at a time when I really
needed it. Next year I may not win anything and that will be OK! I am
not going to win every time.
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Had I done the whale
painting I would not have learned what I needed to at this point in
time. Looking back on the whole experience, this was the best
painting for me to do. It taught me some good lessons about myself,
my abilities, staying focused, having more faith and being determined
not to quit! I also realize that painting is work, which is why they
call it “art work”. And I have to start looking at it that way. I
am somewhat ashamed to admit how much I let things about this
painting frustrate me at times and my lack of faith in myself. It is
not how I want to paint! But it has made me even more determined
again to keep at it. Yes, it may not be perfect according to my
standards and I actually thought about “fixing” it when I got it
back, but I told myself, “NO”! It is going to be a reminder to me
in many ways! So it will stay the way it is! I am excited about
winning First place this year but the bigger reward here is that I
didn't quit even when I felt like it at times! On to the next
painting!</span></div>
<br />MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-61005197553953320772012-03-14T21:56:00.000-07:002012-03-14T21:56:46.801-07:00What do you see?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSjLEp7Uz0PNx8aM5b6La2WaaSl91v3lBvOLtSzRp1lS0u3F7oU6KIJBlN8iWG5-JVp7pxa3hjSPMkeeZfPfaCUCVlc-0ONrhdSnbW1tv_WfvcAS_iSJntbmPGgo7L80gTKq_0Ivp40di/s1600/scan0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSjLEp7Uz0PNx8aM5b6La2WaaSl91v3lBvOLtSzRp1lS0u3F7oU6KIJBlN8iWG5-JVp7pxa3hjSPMkeeZfPfaCUCVlc-0ONrhdSnbW1tv_WfvcAS_iSJntbmPGgo7L80gTKq_0Ivp40di/s320/scan0001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's a bird! It's a plane! It is what ever you want it to be.<br />I read some where a wile back that, "Orange is the color of creativity".</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Art can
evoke a whole lot of emotions: laughter, sadness, anger, joy, love...
It is interesting how two people can look at a piece of art and have
two totally different views about it; what they like, don't like, and
how it makes them feel! What do you see when you look at the picture
above? (No it is not a psychology test) </span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">I have
always liked playing with colors, mixing them together to see what
will happen. When my parents gave me my first watercolor set at about
the age of 3 or 4, that was what I did. It fascinated me and I would
sit for hours mixing the colors together to see what would happen. I
still like to do that sometimes, it can be a lot of fun. It’s
amazing you can make any color you want from the three primary
colors, blue, red and yellow. Some mixed together are beautiful and
others are not, but when they are put in the right place on the
canvas they can make a masterpiece! No one ever told me to start
painting or drawing, it just was something I wanted to do. It
happened at about three or four years old and for me it has always
felt natural to paint, draw or do anything that has to do with art! I
remember I loved it when we started to paint in Kindergarten. When it
came time to stop, I didn't want to. The teachers practically had to
drag me away from it! Mark! It is time for a story and a nap! But I
didn't want to do that. This was much more fun! When my parents came
for a parent/teacher’s conference the teachers mentioned it to
them. The conversation ended with, “Maybe he will be an artist
someday.” When you are doing what you love time doesn't seem to
matter. I believe that all of us have a God given talent. Something
we were born to do. It is not the same for everyone. As you all know
mine is art! If you don't know what yours is, find out and don't ever
waste it! </span>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDomc_AZ9_Qa0VnPWXUCVxAjkqeup7io666fLxyOBjkrbsF2GfZOkWSh8PnwntVAJCgd5dhfytW_E3JCHceT00_ED7TQ7vBj2BxURjjScPvDUbJOqbyMDoV1yoCkgIh4XJRAEir99HyCgd/s1600/mark0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDomc_AZ9_Qa0VnPWXUCVxAjkqeup7io666fLxyOBjkrbsF2GfZOkWSh8PnwntVAJCgd5dhfytW_E3JCHceT00_ED7TQ7vBj2BxURjjScPvDUbJOqbyMDoV1yoCkgIh4XJRAEir99HyCgd/s320/mark0002.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
artist at work. I believe I was either three or four years old
here. Sitting
on the dining room floor mixing colors together to see what would
happen. Still
love to do that today. Well, not sitting on the dining room floor.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY98ZExRsuswa_hHhHxYSwYcOW79o1FcIdiniJMHFDcszrEk8v1IPv8NRh7de1C0NlC3MhnpeXwVKdMmN2cUTWC8jGEkcxVOneTVtsjn22KUP-ojAvfYUOoyI06PPLrjHoIlVyDLDIic34/s1600/mark0004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY98ZExRsuswa_hHhHxYSwYcOW79o1FcIdiniJMHFDcszrEk8v1IPv8NRh7de1C0NlC3MhnpeXwVKdMmN2cUTWC8jGEkcxVOneTVtsjn22KUP-ojAvfYUOoyI06PPLrjHoIlVyDLDIic34/s320/mark0004.jpg" width="252" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">My
Mom took these pictures of me. She was so proud of her little
artist. That
was my first watercolor set.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">OK, back to
the psychology test, just kidding! One day at work I was playing
around, not while I was working, I would never do that. (I hope my
boss is not reading this!) Anyway, I got this idea to mix some ink
together on pieces of paper; I wanted to see what would happen. My
first attempt was using blue, yellow and red ink, the primary colors.
Then I went on to using whatever I had at hand from my discard ink
can. I used to work in the press room and still do sometimes. When we
get done printing a job, whatever ink is left over that is not worth
saving, goes into a can for recycling. I took one of our ink knives,
(Glorified name for a putty knife!) and I applied the inks on one
end. We have a couple of different widths and I used one that was
1-1/2” wide. Then I took that and set it down at about a 60 degree
angle and proceed to twist the knife with the ink on it as I dragged
it across a sheet of paper. It starts out with the original colors
and then as you continue to twist and drag, the colors start to mix.
I got some pretty cool effects at times depending on how far I
twisted or dragged the colors and how thick I laid it down. Well, I
think you can see the end results!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcv9j6new9Bx7t_Q5Ccok0HdmDS8IlpIYwNKZhhGnhqEtTP0jl_RJhxGY8eOh0VcGLfIz76_SznRPHV2F1jeTlIzz4kcYUqn1SbQQNoe-IcOr-H1qjENCfFvbgXGR0QBNnBAyXMO1e1NCx/s1600/PHOT0067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcv9j6new9Bx7t_Q5Ccok0HdmDS8IlpIYwNKZhhGnhqEtTP0jl_RJhxGY8eOh0VcGLfIz76_SznRPHV2F1jeTlIzz4kcYUqn1SbQQNoe-IcOr-H1qjENCfFvbgXGR0QBNnBAyXMO1e1NCx/s320/PHOT0067.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is my ink waste can. I would not use any of this stuff. At the time I did the first art I had a better selection in Da can! for my resent creations I used some of our process inks.</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXStyhr4HBP6ueGdTmvDd_gJlEKrJWoEHdjfFE7Xil25BUuX_tUJHmlvfe8btfdCuopzs3C8MEUP6j58W1YvUyaMcCTtb2F2Pqejo5ktgzNifboyisrqnZUzt_IvQNv_MAvxrcGkPkR43o/s1600/PHOT0082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXStyhr4HBP6ueGdTmvDd_gJlEKrJWoEHdjfFE7Xil25BUuX_tUJHmlvfe8btfdCuopzs3C8MEUP6j58W1YvUyaMcCTtb2F2Pqejo5ktgzNifboyisrqnZUzt_IvQNv_MAvxrcGkPkR43o/s320/PHOT0082.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I know you can't see the color of the ink's vary well here but the two at the top are cyan and magenta, (blue and red). I try not to use to much of them because they turn black quick once they mix. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBJx0lZbGH7Lr86kSMf_e9w0ApqYf4kx7Tu_EcjnrhUw7r-ZnlUX-BV8bKJ0k0hJ3dq7yaqbZCte2KmzJR-6Rs-7UajbA7hvtZW_I6lX5s6Kb76qcmRqMMKT9w3zjC836ZXswksushMXC/s1600/PHOT0076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBJx0lZbGH7Lr86kSMf_e9w0ApqYf4kx7Tu_EcjnrhUw7r-ZnlUX-BV8bKJ0k0hJ3dq7yaqbZCte2KmzJR-6Rs-7UajbA7hvtZW_I6lX5s6Kb76qcmRqMMKT9w3zjC836ZXswksushMXC/s320/PHOT0076.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The knife set and ready to go. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim8r6N9xZV6yVWID2RUM_xPO2qW16EXj-DHZYxXfRHWJt30iM6O_1_gfqa5p4gDznvvCJGoAjKWW34Fol7gmZOA7jECv_c-DTq5CpXfr_2YZE_rRONsXzLz5T3oP4Ez-CQxgF02zthvGCR/s1600/PHOT0077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim8r6N9xZV6yVWID2RUM_xPO2qW16EXj-DHZYxXfRHWJt30iM6O_1_gfqa5p4gDznvvCJGoAjKWW34Fol7gmZOA7jECv_c-DTq5CpXfr_2YZE_rRONsXzLz5T3oP4Ez-CQxgF02zthvGCR/s320/PHOT0077.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Twist and drag. I like to use a light pressure on the knife so the ink goes down thick when I twist and drag it. Because I think the colors mix together and look better when I am done. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwC2T0wxLfcwBTTeKNXwHGFBSzOZcr5jOlMDHigu74CH3KdA4brzAsKanHpYrTV7wgVxRghYu9u7UykgxYefmVAGwqQX8RjxUmW7YuAqy4egWpqWbDRaRwtSNA711voscjdXAHEEI8WX21/s1600/PHOT0089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwC2T0wxLfcwBTTeKNXwHGFBSzOZcr5jOlMDHigu74CH3KdA4brzAsKanHpYrTV7wgVxRghYu9u7UykgxYefmVAGwqQX8RjxUmW7YuAqy4egWpqWbDRaRwtSNA711voscjdXAHEEI8WX21/s320/PHOT0089.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The finished piece. The blue was probably to dark of a color to use but you get the idea.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYWNOhj0of3aOps45w3WprsI3EECGga3KN4kgaWuHT5ADblsb9sr1PPKTjS4HVS0Zrv6RO153soT84xXD2nsS77hUc4XHbivitlexRd4jNlFQJ3DqGwyUmIAKQ6v8znzbQL3rWOco6n24x/s1600/PHOT0081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYWNOhj0of3aOps45w3WprsI3EECGga3KN4kgaWuHT5ADblsb9sr1PPKTjS4HVS0Zrv6RO153soT84xXD2nsS77hUc4XHbivitlexRd4jNlFQJ3DqGwyUmIAKQ6v8znzbQL3rWOco6n24x/s320/PHOT0081.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Two more that I did with the one above. These where done about a month ago and the ink <br />dried a lot faster. We switched to a different manufacture with or inks. Maybe that is why I didn't have any drying problems this time.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxb-YKt6vAE0A8Zgi6uMuMmjuVv32qxUK4srEEN5vFy_nSiJFlgyloPFie_aCTcawUO2Eu2sqnwfo1BxY59gAqEeXAikYDACT3hOG7dhSgzqyJE373xbE8inVsUwP1zMl2ArwrWD5rFljE/s1600/scan0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxb-YKt6vAE0A8Zgi6uMuMmjuVv32qxUK4srEEN5vFy_nSiJFlgyloPFie_aCTcawUO2Eu2sqnwfo1BxY59gAqEeXAikYDACT3hOG7dhSgzqyJE373xbE8inVsUwP1zMl2ArwrWD5rFljE/s320/scan0005.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The three above I did a couple of years ago when I first got the idea to do this. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Printing ink
was probably not the best to use for this because when I thought they
were dry and stacked them on top of each other to bring them home
they stuck together. Next time I will use acrylics. I know they can
be laid down thick and will dry! There are some interesting mediums
that can be used with acrylics and the results that can be obtained
from them can be interesting as well. Check out <a href="http://liquitex.com/">Liquitex</a> website.
They have videos of how to use their mediums and the effects you can
achieve with them. </span>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The other
“art” below (and that is what I am going to call it), is from when I
was cleaning the ink out of the ink fountain on the press. I would
use a 2” square piece of scrap stock paper to remove the remaining
ink from the ink fountain rollers. When I scraped the paper on the
rim of the can to discard the ink I happened to look at it one day
before I threw it in the trash can and saw the results. I thought,
“Hey that is pretty cool”. From then on I wanted to see what I
could achieve. Most of the time it ended up in the trash can. Not
everything is a masterpiece! You may not think that this is art or
that I am weird for trying it and you may be right. As an artist, I
get my inspiration from some strange ideas at times. Sometimes it
works, sometimes it doesn't! Maybe I should make some prints of these
and sell them. You never know what might happen! </span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64ddKIwASzjLiK-L2GrISyv-WWUrsNSa0KWgeEhFaR54MWVQxrQ3VDDn3-dl56CHzaFs8KEW5MHwEtOjwJaPA8PU0vYF1XsBFPhRyfc82nbC6_Js0elRR6xXpkcZusBpsx7dcvWESfdPN/s1600/scan0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64ddKIwASzjLiK-L2GrISyv-WWUrsNSa0KWgeEhFaR54MWVQxrQ3VDDn3-dl56CHzaFs8KEW5MHwEtOjwJaPA8PU0vYF1XsBFPhRyfc82nbC6_Js0elRR6xXpkcZusBpsx7dcvWESfdPN/s320/scan0001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I love the shapes in this one.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkMKzf3lwLabvfGn0BzqpO3_ahVQiHx_d_UapTY6Nw5lFidez0-kzSBGKalSv8-DBO5pd0l0KnPECUenpjkJ5rEbHIbCwIvMn26aS69GdwRZ4wJ4keLFMcKMfYs8cbk59uOdWOioJXkcEp/s1600/scan0009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkMKzf3lwLabvfGn0BzqpO3_ahVQiHx_d_UapTY6Nw5lFidez0-kzSBGKalSv8-DBO5pd0l0KnPECUenpjkJ5rEbHIbCwIvMn26aS69GdwRZ4wJ4keLFMcKMfYs8cbk59uOdWOioJXkcEp/s320/scan0009.jpg" width="301" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The piece above is actually two put together. When I took the art out to scan it for this post I got the idea to do this. Sitting here putting this post together I was thinking to myself, "This is a psychology test". For me! I just love colors and shapes! </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">When I
started writing this post I thought about some artist back in the
80's. One did a painting that was just gray paint on a canvas. It
sold for a god awful price. I also remember a sculpture that was just
urinals attached to a wall. Say what?! They were the kind you would
see in a men's public bathroom, nothing special about them. Any of
you ladies want to come over and see my bidet art? It has pretty
flowers on it! I'm being sarcastic again! Although I have gotten some
good ideas while sitting on the toilet! They were both prominent
artists and I don't remember what their inspiration was for doing the
art. I was trying to find the two pieces on the internet but
couldn't. I did find some interesting sculptures that I thought were
cool art. Go to the link below and watch the video. </span><a href="http://www.dailyvsvidz.com/2010/03/ca-urinal-artist-vs-creative-sculptures.html">http://www.dailyvsvidz.com/2010/03/ca-urinal-artist-vs-creative-sculptures.htm</a>.</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">There are
times when I find it hard to understand what some people think is art
and what they will pay for! Please know that I am not trying to
complain that I am not appreciated as an artist for what I do or that
no one likes my art. Well, maybe I am! I have to tell myself, “Mark,
they are a least doing something with their art and you need to do
the same”! As an artist, trying to get out there and get recognized
can be frustrating at times and I will admit that I can get angry or
depressed and think “why am I doing this?” Especially when I see
artists doing stuff that I don't think is art. I can't be judgmental
about what other artists do though. I have to focus on what I am
doing! I am not a patient man at times, maybe I should say most of
the time, and I want things to happen sooner than they should! I know
I have to work hard, keep painting, and show my art so I can get
recognized. </span>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The pastor
at my church has had some great sermons over the last few years about
not giving up on your dreams or endeavors! They have come at times
when I needed to hear it. To be honest, those have been times when I
have felt like quitting! The pastor made a comment one Sunday, “Do
you ever feel like you are so close to making things happen but you
are just not there yet? Hang in there! Don’t give up! Don't quit!”
Some dreams can take a lifetime and I am the kind of person who is
more likely to want to quit when it seems impossible than to keep at
it. I will get an idea for something I want to do or see, something I
desire but I am not willing to work hard enough or keep at it each
day to obtain it. Or I will let my doubts and fears control me and I
start feeling sorry for myself and sit on the pity potty! I tell
myself, I can't do it or it is never going to happen so why keep
trying. More than often that is why I fail. It is hard for me to talk
about what is going on in my head and heart sometimes because I don't
feel like people will understand! And not everyone will. Lately it
has been a big help to me to seek advice from other artists and I
would encourage everyone to do the same. Don't forget your family and
friends also. Some days getting encouragement from someone has been
just what I need to keep me moving forward with my art! There are
times when I need a proverbial kick in the backside too. I have come
to hate my response of, “I know”, especially when someone tells
me what I know I should be doing. Hello Mark! Then why are you not
doing it? There are no excuses but we all seem to have one, right!
Human nature! </span>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Over the
years I have not always liked what some people have said about my
art. Boy, at times it feels like they have stuck their hand in my
chest and ripped my heart out. I think most artists will agree that
we wear our emotions on our sleeves! As much as I don't want to admit
it, I am an open book when it comes to my emotions. I think I am good
at hiding them but I am not! A friend of mine, <a href="http://pattigabrielson.com/">Patti Gabrielson</a>, who is an artist also
and that I work with, has been trying to get into the field of
writing and illustrating children’s books. You can go to her web page by clicking on her name above. She has been going to
seminars and having her work critiqued. We were talking one day about
it and she made the comment that she wanted to go in with an attitude
of, “Not that she was the best artist out there but what could she
learn from it and apply to her art”. It reminded me of my
experience with my recent painting and what I learned by wanting to
have the same attitude about getting it into the art show I did last
year. Always be willing to listen to what people have to offer. No
matter how old you are you can always learn something new! You are
all probably thinking that I am not the best person to be motivating
anyone. The kettle calling its self black! But I hope that my honesty
about my triumphs, failures, doubts, and fears will encourage and
help others. Stay focused and don't give up on your dreams! Sometimes
I think I should call this blog the tormented artist! But I refuse to
think that! I am not going through anything that any other artist is
or has not gone through in their lifetime. I have dreams and desires
that I want to accomplish this year and my art is one of them. There
are days when it seems like the dream is a million years away. I know
I keep beating this drum and I will continue to do so. For me it is
to keep painting this time, not giving up or quitting no matter how
long it takes! </span>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">When I
thought about doing this art it reminded me of when I was that little
kid sitting on the dining room floor mixing colors together. Mixing
colors and doing finger-painting as a kid gave me the idea to try
this. I have to admit that I will use my fingers at times while I am
painting. Hey, you can do some pretty good blending with them.
Speaking of that, check this link out, </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cri7aQHRT7k&feature=fvsr">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cri7aQHRT7k&feature=fvsr</a><span style="font-size: medium;">. This woman is an amazing
artist and what she does with sand. Sometimes it is fun to just play
around and experiment. You never know what you might create.</span></div>
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<br /></div>MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-26895081234709575222012-02-15T12:50:00.000-08:002012-07-27T15:09:01.781-07:00Childhood Art<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Several years ago my Sister had gone through some old photos and stuff that our parents had and gave my brothers and me a package. When I opened mine, I found some art that I had done as a child. I had forgotten that my Mom had saved anything that I had done back then. I have stuff from high school and college but thought everything was lost from my childhood. Maybe she knew that someday it would be one more thing I needed for inspiration to move forward with my art. She knew I had the potential to be a great artist and that she would pull it out to show people, probably to embarrass me. No. She was very proud of her son and would let people know it. She would tell me, “you are vary talented Mark, don't waste it”. Interesting how I have come back to what I liked as a child. Well maybe it never went away; it just needed to be rekindled. Below is some art that I did between 1966-1967.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNogcc7zn59fKHjwoZz6FxyRG3q3wFfuGdyFFRG6NUEA2HpPBo-p3GQcsAo4QR-4VexeLKv3MXUkC2EIclUJlSkL-Adkc76QW4H9giX0AvfNqPBLxKU43OE7QIiiYzT5AVm8JGGxrX7w6_/s1600/birdart1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNogcc7zn59fKHjwoZz6FxyRG3q3wFfuGdyFFRG6NUEA2HpPBo-p3GQcsAo4QR-4VexeLKv3MXUkC2EIclUJlSkL-Adkc76QW4H9giX0AvfNqPBLxKU43OE7QIiiYzT5AVm8JGGxrX7w6_/s320/birdart1.jpg" width="281" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnNLKCEfZi-Lnbj4OMygA1SqwL36khoLNavFDKRRAmE92yva3Q7NGhZg8CGJpq4_FofM8TZ0jgN_XMDBT9pNiYFK6CyJ_RniqIXev_k3ili0WoG1cOc-Y-3NJeEw3Snu5fUsl_kdXil5sN/s1600/birdart2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnNLKCEfZi-Lnbj4OMygA1SqwL36khoLNavFDKRRAmE92yva3Q7NGhZg8CGJpq4_FofM8TZ0jgN_XMDBT9pNiYFK6CyJ_RniqIXev_k3ili0WoG1cOc-Y-3NJeEw3Snu5fUsl_kdXil5sN/s320/birdart2.jpg" width="222" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkMmgzzH7W7Ro1jz0Ycr3ZeiHEP0lb9Fgih-pRYgGXEQxVKfBJSP-QWrAg0eJ5RQ6lONL1QpgXMsI4uEZXJWwDmARO3u6dEUOEXBLbIwTIyT6qKIzbfxo1pohyoRtBm2GtjYCrbs2JchHb/s1600/birdart6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkMmgzzH7W7Ro1jz0Ycr3ZeiHEP0lb9Fgih-pRYgGXEQxVKfBJSP-QWrAg0eJ5RQ6lONL1QpgXMsI4uEZXJWwDmARO3u6dEUOEXBLbIwTIyT6qKIzbfxo1pohyoRtBm2GtjYCrbs2JchHb/s320/birdart6.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">On the back of this art my mom wrote, "</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Got "A" on this picture. It was put in</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> the </span><span style="font-size: small;">District office for showing". </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">March 28, 1967. Hay! my first art show. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">All we did was wad up colored tissue paper and glue it to a piece of cardboard. I remember one time when I was in high school I asked her why she was saving all this stuff. She said, "Because it is special to me"! One day though, when I was about 12, I was joking around with her and made her so mad. As I proceeded to run out the front door laughing, thinking I was being smart to escape her wrath, she threw a piece of plaster art at me that I had made in school (being the closest thing she could grab). The pieces flew past me and disintegrated as they hit the ground; luckily she missed me. I turned around in shock at what she had done and asked, "Why did you through my art at me?!" In her sassy, pissed off voice she said, </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">"WELL, THAT IS WHAT YOU GET FOR PISSING ME OFF"! Never make a woman mad, especially when they are around your art! Another very important lesson learned about women from my Mother! </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A homemade kite I made in the Cub Scouts in 1966. I remember when I got the chance to fly it for the first time at a Cub Scout outing; it got away from me and ended up in some very tall trees about a mile away. Everyone was trying to see who could get theirs the highest to win a prize. I was literally at the end of my string when it broke. I ran after it down the hill as fast as I could but I couldn’t catch the string. I came so close to grabbing it a couple of times but gave up when it sailed out of reach for good. I came back up the hill so dejected. Everyone felt so bad for me that one of the older kids let me fly his kite. It turned out to be a good day after all even though I lost mine.</span> </span></span> </div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmrJ7nG6qCzW99n9Q-051SvlF7XDIH74GRcEgIzec_bNFQPzWzlCVN88lnYP2-hgKwgu12_arHXf1QSeKjHnPt8N3kIsF5QuC_CBN4RKTMSzEGfE0UVQkQoXXgYVkeWl7A2ixCAOvUc-H/s1600/Mommy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmrJ7nG6qCzW99n9Q-051SvlF7XDIH74GRcEgIzec_bNFQPzWzlCVN88lnYP2-hgKwgu12_arHXf1QSeKjHnPt8N3kIsF5QuC_CBN4RKTMSzEGfE0UVQkQoXXgYVkeWl7A2ixCAOvUc-H/s400/Mommy.jpg" width="310" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">My <span style="color: black;">Mom. This picture was taken by my Dad in the early 50's. She was a</span><span style="color: black;"> big influence in my life. She always knew how to get me to do the things I knew I should, in a good way though. She passed away December 27</span><span style="color: black;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="color: black;">, 1977 at the age of 49. Way too young! One of the things I miss the most about her is that she would come up to us for no reason at all, even when we were teenagers, and just give us a hug and say I love you. She could be very tender at times but when she got mad, boy you had better watch out. She had a short fuse! I was more afraid of her than my Dad when I got into trouble. She did not like to have to ask you to do something more than once. We would push the envelope once in awhile and pay the price for it. She was a very giving woman and always put us before herself. She encouraged and pushed all of us to stay in school and go to college because she didn't get the chance. She taught me a lot about relationships and what it means to stick with someone when things get tough. Not that my Dad was a terrible father or husband, he wasn’t. Trust me though, they did have their moments, but they always worked it out in the end. I miss her encouragement, especially at a time when I could really use it. But I know she would want me to step up and be the man that I need to be and she would expect me to be now. I remember the day my Mom passed away. The pastor of our church at the time came over and he said something to my Dad that has stuck with me, “She was a strong influence in the family and that will be missed". My Dad started to cry and said “yes!” I look forward to the day when I see her in heaven and she comes up to me and gives him a big hug and says, "I love you"!</span></span></span></div>
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</tbody></table>MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-25742833809729398402012-01-17T21:59:00.000-08:002012-07-27T14:57:48.886-07:00Paintings in the works<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKNL8EvjcklRVxPLn0gByiDL1V-nuUfFe68J_eKpeLMa2CXpuFmjUjEMlBry8i1FYJQSSsyczAlIF7TujaJhYHbCYF7cNf2Hs5FsOg0whai9b3XlQtyD2Cxn49UjC3YB8glnVxISlXnf7/s1600/PICT2060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKNL8EvjcklRVxPLn0gByiDL1V-nuUfFe68J_eKpeLMa2CXpuFmjUjEMlBry8i1FYJQSSsyczAlIF7TujaJhYHbCYF7cNf2Hs5FsOg0whai9b3XlQtyD2Cxn49UjC3YB8glnVxISlXnf7/s400/PICT2060.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">This is the current whale painting I am working on right now. Even though I have only been able to paint on the weekends. I feel like this one is moving along at a faster pace for me then the mother and calf Humpback whale painting I did last year. All the hard work and frustration that I went through on last years painting is paying off though. I want to get this one done so I can start on another one!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">I have also started another bird painting too. I actually began work on this one last summer before the whale painting above. I haven't done much on it lately because I have been focusing more on the whale painting and I was having a little trouble with the clouds, but need to get back at it. I have three more boards primed so I can paint something on them but I don't really have the room to do that many at one time right now. I need a bigger studio and more time to paint!</span></td></tr>
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<br />MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-17763507994050242932012-01-16T20:29:00.000-08:002012-07-27T14:56:45.273-07:00The passion within<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The eyes are the windows to the soul. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Maybe the face that launched a thousand ships? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">She is not </span><span style="font-size: small;">Helen of Troy </span><span style="font-size: small;">but I have always wondered what she looked like. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Maybe </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">a painting for the future!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is a pencil drawing I did in the early 80’s; it’s a copy of a newspaper ad for jewelry. I don’t know why I like it, I just do. Maybe it’s the pose or the look on her face. Hell, maybe the best way I can describe it is if you have ever been in love with a woman, you know how you can feel when she looks at you. It can bring you joy, frustration, or cut you to the heart and soul whether you say or do something right or stupid. Ah women! I think I will never understand why some women will stick with us guys at times, not that I am a big jerk but I have my days…don't we all. As men we should be more thankful they do stick with us! And love them even more for doing it! What does this have to do with art, a lot! Never take for granted the people in your life that are there for you whether it is in your triumphs, failures, frustration, etc. Be thankful! I have had a lot of family, friends and women who have gotten me over some tough hurdles over the years especially the last three! And I owe them a lot. I told you I am passionate about my work. I think once I do release that passion to its full extent, I will become a better artist and a better person too. I always get the question, “Who was she?” or “is that an old flame?” Yeah, that was back in the 80’s when I was dating supermodels. No! I am just captivated by the look. I remember not being able to stop working on it once I started. It was fun to do and I learned some good techniques for future pencil drawings and that was another reason why I wanted to do it.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">In the summer of 2003 a cousin of mine, Susan, on my Dad's side of the family, came down to San Diego on business and wanted to get together. We talked about what we both had been doing and things we wanted to do. I mentioned to her that I felt I was at a point in my life where I needed and wanted to get back to painting again. Afterwards I actually had forgotten about the whole conversation and went on with my life as usual and didn't do anything with my art at all. On my second trip to Hawaii between Dec. 2003 and Jan. of </span><span style="background-color: white;">2004, while visiting with her parents, Sue called and wanted to know if I would be interested in helping her boyfriend at the time, Anthony, on some art projects that he was involved in. He was working for an architectural firm in Santa Barbara, CA. doing computer renderings but was looking to start his own business. She had remembered the conversation that she and I had back in the summertime. I am glad she did because looking back I needed something to get me moving forward again with my art. I am my own worst enemy when it comes to not doing the things I know I should! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When I got back from Hawaii I went up to Lompoc, CA where they were living to see how I could help him. The powers to be at the time still liked the traditional look of water color art. So Anthony was trying to meld the two together. I was amazed at what he was drawing on the computer and it blew me away. I was a little intimidated when he asked me about doing some art on the computer but was willing to learn. Over the next several months we worked on one piece and I did some other art for him but things didn't pan out. It was a lot of fun and it had rekindled the love of art in me again. I remember my first trip up there, one night we went out to dinner to celebrate Sue’s birthday with Anthony’s parents and his Mom asked me what I did for a living. I told her and then my cousin said that I was there to see if I could help Anthony with what he was doing and then made the comment that I was a real artist. His Mom got somewhat mad. Sue was not trying to be degrading to Anthony talents, he is a great artist! It reminded me of my mom and how she would do the same thing when she thought someone was talking bad about my abilities. We smoothed things over with the clarification that Anthony is a computer artist and I am a traditional one. We do the same thing, just use different tools! I enjoyed working with him and would do it again if I got the chance.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_0VCgqs5rth1p3J2TsDJ-DNcNHZiwsjhn-rA64QwbIZSrfyYyVZXjDvuMTiAqJMT3IEY-L8e2G05qe9uOZvfqEe1gwXA-muw-9aSIEFwksbZt7JPPyv8KFJjduMypb8-jLaWL7bKTmP8/s1600/PHOT9569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_0VCgqs5rth1p3J2TsDJ-DNcNHZiwsjhn-rA64QwbIZSrfyYyVZXjDvuMTiAqJMT3IEY-L8e2G05qe9uOZvfqEe1gwXA-muw-9aSIEFwksbZt7JPPyv8KFJjduMypb8-jLaWL7bKTmP8/s320/PHOT9569.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some of the type of art I did while working with Anthony. He would scan the art and paste it where he needed. It could be reused over and over again to save time. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWKMj6DzX-bj3Lq3Fme3WqSc3x7mtr6mXrWWZv7HHn3B-6KwEg3PW7pkhYf0Y7peY39L-nrcIDr-86bKWF8I_u02uiy5P-MaV-WN2q6YbLQUvW5KbGbbS65NDjSvrLG4U_Y8SoKibEegXl/s1600/bop2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWKMj6DzX-bj3Lq3Fme3WqSc3x7mtr6mXrWWZv7HHn3B-6KwEg3PW7pkhYf0Y7peY39L-nrcIDr-86bKWF8I_u02uiy5P-MaV-WN2q6YbLQUvW5KbGbbS65NDjSvrLG4U_Y8SoKibEegXl/s320/bop2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is probably my favorite piece I did. The Bird Of Paradise, the bigger one. <br />
I was so proud of it. I should finish it and frame it! </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTULqDOTPdh0k1WW8jh7UUetiApclWrdKboneL1ucyUPNSUiJ_ySBFpwcVP5S3bNBSO8cxKqck3EFkjGO_bWsDAMQ5XBWQqut_hPP_N7iWOISWOn_nCcpB4V0ii94wmVG9tyHbT218jvpt/s1600/PHOT9573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTULqDOTPdh0k1WW8jh7UUetiApclWrdKboneL1ucyUPNSUiJ_ySBFpwcVP5S3bNBSO8cxKqck3EFkjGO_bWsDAMQ5XBWQqut_hPP_N7iWOISWOn_nCcpB4V0ii94wmVG9tyHbT218jvpt/s320/PHOT9573.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">These are the drawings Anthony emailed me for the house rendering we worked </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">on together. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">I used them to create the pool area and the left side of the </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6vhmGi5_0hSuqCsgQfXmjBa_9hK5z2zj70KdPFeRhVRQ0UCRpCXVUxl55a93-xUzn37jHtD5F1ObhQB-4C2yrbhJIiBJwtkgBVuiS8zTkbA3hn6And0rw-YCzyv7mhbCr4cpooATfShGP/s1600/cloudsa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6vhmGi5_0hSuqCsgQfXmjBa_9hK5z2zj70KdPFeRhVRQ0UCRpCXVUxl55a93-xUzn37jHtD5F1ObhQB-4C2yrbhJIiBJwtkgBVuiS8zTkbA3hn6And0rw-YCzyv7mhbCr4cpooATfShGP/s320/cloudsa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The sky for the background of the house rendering. I did this in about a half hour </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">while</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">I was up in</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">Lompoc one weekend working with Anthony. My first attempt didn't go </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">so good so I started over. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">I was trying to do the clouds and sky with just the </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">blue color but ended </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">up painting a wash </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small; text-align: center;">and then doing the clouds on top.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The hills here and the two pieces below I did at home.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgemGc640HoM1I8cDOAKZ3U9GqX1P9GxI_eOSsK9JDOKOC_BfzTs0wkdJYLQSCyCT-Fc2ybbKo9B9nTpKmi-4WWOvvn18boVp2w-0HL7Id6N7bS5Pvil68oiyS9Mh46ZYHztsufv89Xwo6z/s1600/left+side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgemGc640HoM1I8cDOAKZ3U9GqX1P9GxI_eOSsK9JDOKOC_BfzTs0wkdJYLQSCyCT-Fc2ybbKo9B9nTpKmi-4WWOvvn18boVp2w-0HL7Id6N7bS5Pvil68oiyS9Mh46ZYHztsufv89Xwo6z/s320/left+side.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The left side of the house.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjypwhR7Zw8kS84r0qfR-WUvb7qOV8HY-7rXr-kRhg62kh8wtfbI_8IUxoxovgH01u25OyZcQom8XKvIp5DIVA92nocfE4yOORTW1X-zwykz_MPTeFt-KJYVLX2hMhhcIPEUk94YkrMVWwg/s1600/pool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="117" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjypwhR7Zw8kS84r0qfR-WUvb7qOV8HY-7rXr-kRhg62kh8wtfbI_8IUxoxovgH01u25OyZcQom8XKvIp5DIVA92nocfE4yOORTW1X-zwykz_MPTeFt-KJYVLX2hMhhcIPEUk94YkrMVWwg/s320/pool.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The pool area.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The final rendering. Anthony did the house and the plants in the lower left and redid the color for the pool </span><span style="font-size: small;">The rest is my artwork. The art I did was scanned and then Anthony put everything together on the computer. Not bad for a couple of white boys! The house is in Goleta just north of Santa Barbara, CA. It was up in the hills and this view, the back of the house, looked out towards the ocean. I would love to see it now. At the time it was under construction. The roof was done but the rest of the house was pretty much still stud framing. The family room was as big as my house.</span></div>
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</div>MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049444183328150125.post-90635112661680961262011-11-20T18:29:00.000-08:002012-01-19T19:27:11.451-08:00A Tail of two whales(part2)<div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is my first painting in almost 7 years; it’s been way too long. I started this whale painting back in March 2011. My original plan was to do another bird painting for a Quails Unlimited auction here in California, I had donated one back in 2004, but time didn't permit. I waited too long to get started and couldn’t meet the deadline in April. That bird painting is now in the works and I will revisit that in another post. I do have two other bird paintings that I started back in 2004 and I could have finished one of them but they were not working for me. I decided to do them differently at some later time and since another whale painting was also on my to do list, well here I am. This painting is something I have wanted to do for a long time now. I should say that it is something that I should have been doing! My Dad encouraged me to do two paintings for him back in 1979 (see part 1), but they were similar to the work of another artist, Richard Ellis, so it was time to do some from my own ideas.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is the original painting by <a href="http://richardellis.info/">Richard Ellis</a>. My Dad gave me a book of his art, (The Book of Whales), to encourage me to do some whale paintings of my own. I actually used a black and white 4 X 5 picture from either a magazine or the news paper of this painting to do the one I did back in 1979. If you click on his name it will it will take you to his web site. Here is another site to check out also. </span><a href="http://www.natureartists.com/richard_ellis.asp">http://www.natureartists.com/richard_ellis.asp</a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Gray or Humpback? Which one should I do first? Another Humpback was what I decided to go with for now so I used the 1979 Humpback painting as my starting point but changed it so it would not look anything like the first one. I was able to find a lot of good reference material on the web, which I did not have for the first one. It is a little hard to get on a plane or boat sometimes and go where the animals are. Even if I could have done that, they don't just pose for you (if they even show up), so you have to get creative. Someday I would love to actually swim with whales in the ocean, just another dream of mine.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Some of my reference material and the sketch of the Baby whale for the new painting.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Ok, it is time to slap some paint on the board! As I got started, things moved quite well at first. It felt good to finally start painting again. It is hard to explain the feelings I had when I laid down those first few strokes. Back in October of 2010 I had primed three boards to do some paintings and once I did get started, I was excited. Maybe I got a little too cocky in the beginning but by the time I had finished, the experience had humbled me.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">The background took two attempts to get it the way I wanted. My first thought was to do it as if the light was streaming down through the water but on my second try I went with a U shaped blending from light to dark, top to bottom and felt that was much better. Next I focused on the underwater waves at the top of the painting. If you look at that area of the painting, you will notice that there is a slight slope going from right to left. I wanted to force the angle to give more of a sensation of the whales diving. I worked on that part over and over again about five or more times (probably more) trying to get it to look right. At one point I had to go back over the background at the top because the angle on the left side was getting a little weird. It was sloping way too much on that side. I had to re-blend the top part which was not fun but I got it to work. I actually had to paint over the baby a little but that was no problem. You will notice as the painting progresses how much the top area changes from the beginning to the final piece. Every time I felt like I had it the way I wanted or how I thought it should look, I would go back and change it. I got so frustrated at times I thought I would never get it right. I still don't think that it is but I learned some things in the process and it will help me on the next painting.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My first attempt for the background</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My second attempt on the background. More better!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This was my first attempt at the underwater waves.</span> </td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I took a break from that area of the painting at one point and decided to start on the whales. It was a good thing I did because they went a lot quicker and it did help me to figure out how I wanted the top to look when I went back to it. It would have been better to do the top last anyway but another lesson learned! There was some reworking on the whales at times in regards to color, shading and details but for the most part there were no real problems like the top of the painting. The two drawings show just how much I changed things from the first painting. The top drawing was for the 1979 painting and the bottom is the latest one. You will notice how much more detail I added to this one. Compared to the first paintings, I wanted this one to be more realistic, like you were right there in the water swimming with the whales. Once I decided on the pose of the whales and added the details I transferred the drawings to the painting. The reflection on the baby is one area that I could have done better if I had more time. The mother was further down in the water so I didn't feel like she should have the reflection and I wanted her tail to be fading off in the distance to give some depth to the painting. I remember telling myself, “if I had another day, week, hell I could have spent another month and probably still would have taken it to the last day”. I know the more I paint the less I will re-work areas, then again maybe not! I am just too much of a damn perfectionist!</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Drawing for the 1979 painting</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Drawings for my recent painting. I changed the look of the tail </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">on the baby before I transferred the drawing to the painting. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Didn't like the way it looked.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Added the baby to the painting and started work on it</span></td></tr>
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The mother being add next</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Painting the outline of the mother. You need <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Once I had the outline done it was time to get started adding some color.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Lka-rTmYabdjy5lrh4-xRD6Xu_N9vFNYrzpuUNrFp8KcYAAEcvkVzF_fooH0Lh71qHlzI_p-zNz3nY_5lObefcZpbXupkTT5I73Jrb3wfAjxsjRIwIpgi8LHkZ4l0XBa7K_Q0gzy5mwa/s1600/PHOT5344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Lka-rTmYabdjy5lrh4-xRD6Xu_N9vFNYrzpuUNrFp8KcYAAEcvkVzF_fooH0Lh71qHlzI_p-zNz3nY_5lObefcZpbXupkTT5I73Jrb3wfAjxsjRIwIpgi8LHkZ4l0XBa7K_Q0gzy5mwa/s320/PHOT5344.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Still in the beginning stages but both whales are stating to take shape. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Moving along. At this point I was working on defining the shape and color of the whales </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and how the light would affect them. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Here the whales really started to take form. Getting some depth to the painting to. </span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVW1D-vIKCKgTnlwzymPYM-DXrQbo2hV9QQd1Z97r5-PiiZrRz5z1K8a0Gib3P6YY4GpulDxUwMbA-05jzd20gSsn01JMJ5pbd6ROARCnihMZ8cR-qhyphenhyphenQnoziZilwtcugM5bckhxMUnf-/s1600/PHOT0397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVW1D-vIKCKgTnlwzymPYM-DXrQbo2hV9QQd1Z97r5-PiiZrRz5z1K8a0Gib3P6YY4GpulDxUwMbA-05jzd20gSsn01JMJ5pbd6ROARCnihMZ8cR-qhyphenhyphenQnoziZilwtcugM5bckhxMUnf-/s320/PHOT0397.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Thar be Whales! Adding more detail and color to both whales. Still need to <br />
work on the top part of the painting! If you click on the picture </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">you will see the white line just below the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">mothers left flipper.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You will notice that there are some fish in the picture too. The ones under the mother are there on purpose, but the one down farther is not. I saw a piece of hair on the board and thought I could remove it without any problems…NOT! I should have just left it alone but it was bugging me. It’s just one of those things that no one else would have seen. Anyway, when I lifted it off there was a white line that was very noticeable. I think I swore at the time but I knew from the last to whale paintings I did that I could fix it. That is why the fish is there.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Itty biddy fisheys. The one at the bottom covered the<br />
white line.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">When I had started the painting I had no intention of entering it in any exhibitions. I just wanted to paint again! I had been checking the internet and going to art shows here in San Diego where I live to see which one(s) might be the best to get into at some point down the road, hopefully next year. I have a lot to do though to meet that goal! I think someone at work mentioned the San Diego County Fair to me. All of the big art shows cost $600 to $700 to acquire a 10x10 booth and you have to submit your art to be accepted first. This is normal for most of the art shows but that was way more than I could afford and I didn't have enough paintings to meet their criteria, so it was out of the question for now. But the fair was very reasonable at $16.00 to submit one piece. You could enter two per category and as many categories as you wanted. I made the deadline by the 29th of May, which was actually the last day you could enter. Not that I was trying to procrastinate. I thought I would have to show a picture of the painting when I signed up but I didn't and I found out that I still had until the middle of June to finish the painting, which was good because I was not done.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The mother and baby were pretty much done here. <br />
Still working on the top of the painting!!!!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">At this point I decided to redo the background to fix the underwater waves at the top. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">You ever just have that feeling like something is not right and you try to fix it but it is not working out! <br />
I could have left it this way but I am more satisfied with the look of the final piece!</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">It was time to burn the midnight oil and I did. I was still working on the painting the morning before I had to take it in for the judging and I still didn't think it was done. The day I had to take the painting in to the Fair, I went in to work first to frame it. When I showed it to one of the ladies, Patti Gabrielson. She mentioned how the baby and the reflections on it looked great; she really liked that part of the painting. I said, “Really? That was the one area of the painting I was still working on that morning and didn't think it was done or looked right”. I am somewhat apprehensive to show people what I am doing until I finish it but I am learning that it is better to get help while you are painting so you can overcome the hurdles that you might have. I had to tell myself that morning, “stop Mark and go with what you have”. I remember being so frustrated thinking it would not get entered but I had to let it go and submit it the way it was, even if I didn't think it was done. I had been telling myself from the beginning, “it is not about whether you get accepted or win any awards it is about painting!” That was the best attitude I could have because it helped me in the end. When I took the painting up to the Fair that day and saw all of the artwork I remember saying to myself, “Man there are a lot of good pieces of art here”. I felt like this was going to be tough to get in. It was intimidating to me. Walking back to the car I just had to tell myself, “you can't worry about it. If you get in, then you get in. If you don't, you don't! It is about painting again”! I know I am repeating myself and I will continue to because it really helped me to get through it!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The finished piece, framed and ready to go to the fair for judging.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Did I get in? I was not really nervous waiting to see if the painting had been accepted which surprised me but I kept that attitude of, “I am painting again”! I had to keep telling myself that. Family and friends kept asking me, “did you get in?” and I had to say, “I won't know until the middle of June”. The day I got the email from the Fair it didn't say if my art had been accepted or not. It just said “Congratulations, attached is a file of the art that was accepted into the Fair this year”. Talk about the suspense. Can I have a drum roll please! I downloaded the file to see if my name was there and when I saw it, I think I shouted “Woohoo!” Then I said, “Who’s your Daddy”. It was just that all the hard work and frustration had paid off. Now I had to see if I had won anything.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Next was the awards ceremony. At first I was not really thinking of going. I wasn't sure I wanted to get into all of the showmanship, but I am glad I did go. I am not big on getting up in front of people and please don't ask me to speak. I would not have had to because there were a lot of awards to hand out; people just went up to the stage to get their award and then returned to their seat. I do know I am going to have to speak at some point down the road. Boy! What have I gotten myself into? I can be a shy person sometimes and I feel like more often than not I say the wrong things! Open mouth and insert foot! What is in my head and heart doesn't always come out the way I want and it can frustrate me. It was fun though and it was another learning experience! The day before the awards ceremony I had asked a dear friend of mine, Martha Lopezllera, to go with me. I was nervous about asking her, (Mister shy boy that I am), especially at the last minute. But she said yes and I am glad because it made the night special having someone there to experience the event with me. I didn't want to go by myself but I would have if no one else could go. I wasn't sure if anyone else could attend, the fair didn't specify that on the invitation. Now I know that everyone and his mother-in-law can come. So you’re all invited next time!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I was a little nervous and excited at the same time at the awards ceremony. I know, I'm weird, it is just who I am. I kept telling myself, “Whether you win something or not, you got in and that is an accomplishment in itself Mark”. Out of 1400 entries, they only accepted about half. So getting in was a reward for me. As they started to read off the names of the people who did receive awards, I remember feeling a little disappointed but I came in with the attitude that no matter what it is about painting again! I really feel that not winning anything was the best thing that could have happened to me at this point and time. It will push me to paint more! Maybe this was another humbling experience for me so I don't get too cocky! The rewards will come but for now it is the painting! After the awards ceremony everyone was allowed to walk through the exhibit hall to see all of the artwork. As Martha and I went through the section of artwork that won awards she said, “You should be here”. I commented, “Maybe next year”. I learned some things about what the judges might be looking for next time but I know in the end I have to paint what I like. I have spent almost my whole career doing art for other people. Now it is time to paint what I enjoy. If you like it, that is great and if not, it’s OK! Not everyone will. This painting was a real labor of love for me. I had days of frustration and excitement. There were days when I thought I was not going to get it right and I felt like I wanted to give up. There were times I felt like throwing it in the trash can and starting all over again, but I hung in there and I am glad I did! I learned some new things through the whole process and I was humbled by the experience in the end. I have started another whale painting and have more that I want to do but they are not going to get done by talking about it. It’s time to slap some more paint on the boards!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Me at the fair with my painting a week before it closed. Boy do I look like a starving artist or what?</span></td></tr>
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</span></span></span></span></div>MarkSandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324453783515258075noreply@blogger.com0