Portrait

of myself because everyone in my family is uncooperative...

The good news: I feel like this was a great exercise and I look forward to doing more practice portraits in the future.

The bad news: ....well, let's let the picture speak for itself.

Acrylic and a bit of photoshop tweaking.

OPA Tuesday May 31, 2011 (The day St. Stephens tower rings for the first time)

Welcome back to another OPA tuesday!

As a note, you still have all day today to post for last tuesday's opa. I will not be posting until late because of a funeral but I will get everyone's sorted before the days end. But let me tell you about todays opa.

This is a challenge and I really hope everyone considers taking it! The assignment (should you choose to accept it) is to do 20 figures in a landscape! now, now, before you freak out here is the mad logic. firstly this is a huge jump from portrait but that assignment was to get everyone settled. Secondly, I know you guys can do it, you have the technology. Third, this will force you to get good at putting figures in the landscape by the time you put your 10th person in the landscape.

A few tips:
Start in the background, as you get figures painted, it will be easier to go from abstracted, simple, two tone background figures to ones in focus in the foreground

Work from life in a crowded place... that way you can edit who goes into your painting but enough people are there to give you ideas (spoilers i'm probably doing mine at the beach)

Last hint, don't get angry at it, 20 figures in a painting is hard, it will be a good exercise, and will probably be one of those things where this one might suck but the next simple figure you do in a landscape will be boss. Good luck and have fun!

Maybe something with a little more depth but you get the idea

OPA Tuesday May 24, 2011 (the day the brooklyn bridge opened)

Good Morning! at least is was 7:30 on the east coast when I wrote this

anyways...

Welcome to the first OPA Tuesday! For the first opa I know some of you are going to sigh but listen, it's easier than you think, and it is the next logical step in representational painting, and its like taking baby steps towards combining figures in landscape. Thats right, opa is a self-portrait this week, or the portrait of someone you admire but, it has to be from life. So get those mirrors out, or the stool and backdrop for your mom to pose on. I will accept traditional and digital media. And remember... this is an easy one, at least composition wise, this will let you focus on color, a spec of anatomy, and capturing the essence of a living person in a painting! don't forget, it's due next tuesday. Good Luck! and have fun
 

I love Sargent, don't you?!

Optional Art Assignment Ideas (and contest)

So I have a list of Painting Assignments that range from content to technique. It is about a mile long. But before I post the first OPA (optional painting assignments) I thought it would be good to ask... are there assignments ideas that you have that you want to see done?! if so, email me by tomorrow morning (donalcasey@comcast.net) and I will get them in there! I am going to post them every tuesday, the deadlines will be one week to be featured on the main page but feel free to submit any time after!

Contest will be announced after the deadline for the first OPA has passed... this will give me some way to judge where we stand.


It's time to get painting!

classwork

Hi all!

Exciting to see this blog up and running! Here are some of my paintings from the past semester:

Muddy Colors

A friend showed me this blog recently and I can't say enough about it. It is a collective of Illustrators but they do a lot of traditional work and all the paintings are skilled even though they are contemporary by nature. Muddy Colors Click Me


They also explain their individual processes and sometimes get into rants about what brushes they use or how to judge a large show like SOI

so in short: Muddy Colors = amazing

-Darts

DARTS: SENIOR PROJECT

I'm Kicking off this blog with the first post!
hopefully all are finally settled and ready to kick it into summer mode with their new part-time jobs and of course, art making.

I know it has been a slow start but some of us had to send our studio across the nation by mail...the boxes are still coming and will haunt me forever. But I couldn't let this blog stay in limbo as long as it has so, here we go!

this is a re-post since I have just unwrapped my thesis and photographed it! enjoy.

DARTS: SENIOR PROJECT: "SENIOR PROJECT , a set on Flickr. Statement: There are many interests in my life, some just as, if not more powerful than my passion for tra..."