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6″ x 6″ (15 x 15 cm) oil on gessobord panel
SOLD
Some thought that I gave up painting… I don’t blame them! I’ve been posting sketch after sketch for months… but I’ve been painting too. Remember after “Unwrapping” I promised myself to avoid painting crinkled paper unless it is a commission? Well, I could not stay away – crinkled paper is addictive. I must be a glutton for punishment… It took this long and was a major pain.
This little painting had the longest “ugly” stage I can remember. Until three days ago it looked like the best candidate for recycling bin I’ve ever seen. I am not sure why I did not give up. My daughter says that I go through this with every painting. I think she is right, it is always a pain, uncertainty, major self-doubt, anxiety and confusion. I hear from my artists friends, writers friends, musician friends that it is the same for them too. So much for happy bohemian life style. I hope you like the painting though.
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Great work Alex…that’s why I avoided oils /acrylics for a while, too much time to alter/ponder/ etc
Thank you, Debra! I like oils for exactly this reason – I like to think, ponder, and change my mind when I paint. Oils yield to that manner beautifully. Good to see you!
Absolutely stunning!
Thank you, Sue!
Alex I’m so glad you didn’t give up on this piece-it’s incredible! I don”t know how you create such amazingly realistic pieces but they always look just like photographs!
Hi Nicola! I guess it is pretty clear by now that this is how I work – anxious and uncertain all the while, wondering if I should quit. I am not a quitter though. Thank you for the compliment!
Alex, the struggle ended with victory. This is gorgeous. I’m so glad you did not discard it.
Thank you, Linda! Appreciate you visiting and so glad you like the painting!
Alex, another beauty, even if it had the longest ugly stage! I’m glad you persevered and didn’t give up. I wonder what those two are gossiping about.
Thanks, Carol! As to the gossip, I would guess the birds and the bees, and who is carrying on with who – the usual! 🙂
I’m still amazed by how quickly you picked up this medium and the realism you achieve with such a small scale. It inspired me to try as well. I picked up some oils and acrylics and have been learning… gradually. Always glad to see you’ve been keeping up the habit of sketching, too!
(I go by “Kirk” since I switched over from Blogger, but you likely remember me as “Sam Harrison”.)
Kirk (Sam)! Good to see you! Thank you for the kind word! Saw your new blog: love the cat! Interesting to see the difference between the old and new drawings. Did not have the time to read the writing, sorry! How’s school, life? Can’t wait to see your paintings posted.
WordPress is much nicer than Blogger, I think.
I’m in grad school for Chemistry now, so I haven’t had a huge amount of time for art, but there’s a lot of downtime so, surprisingly, I find that I sketch a lot more than I used to. I’m thinking about becoming a scientific/medical illustrator instead of a chemist, actually… apparently it pays better than doing actual science, heh.
This is a very interesting thought – scientific/medical illustrator. I can be good at that, I think. How do you go about finding a position like that? I never saw anything like that advertised…
From what I’ve read, most medical illustrators have some sort of a Master’s in Medical illustration, but as far as I can tell, you don’t strictly have to have a degree as long as you have a solid understanding of what you’re illustrating and good artistic skills. I know you can find salaried positions somehow (I need to research that) but freelance work often pays better. I got a commission a while back to illustrate some flatworms as a present from a guy to his wife who was completing her doctorate in microbiology, so I guess you have to just search around for potential clients or advertise.
Hi Alex,
There was a young man in my life drawing co-op, here in Fort Wayne, who was accepted into a program for his Masters in Medical illustration. He had tried to get into the field, several times, interviewing for positions all over the country. They all told him he needed his Masters Degree. I forget what University had the program he was accepted into. Somewhere in the south. Seems to me there would be something in Chicago offering a Masters in such a field; with Northwestern Hospital and Chicago University there.
I came over to visit via Carol King’s blog. Your work is gorgeous! I can’t decide if I like your paintings or your sketches from your journals better. I just love seeing what people sketch in their journals. I will put you under my “links” so I can visit more often. I love finding new artists through artists I know.
Carol said you are responsible for her joining up with the sketchcrawlers on Saturday and I want to thank you for that. I’ve been following her blog for quite a while and had never met her in person. Imagine my surprise when she recognized me on Saturday. It was my first time joining the NYC Urban Sketchers too…it must have been fate! lol
Thanks for stopping by, Joan! Carol spoke about you guys meeting to me – I am so glad I had something to do with it. I am yet to meet Carol in person, and I hope to meet you too one day.
I feel as though I could reach right in and grab one, Alex. So very real!
Glad you liked, Leslie! I am sorry to be so late in responding to comments… I transitioned a lot of my online activity to facebook now, it seems you can reach more people easier that way. It helps with marketing 🙂
Alex, this is beautiful! All of your work is gorgeous and it’s obvious that you take a lot of time and care in the execution of these paintings.
Just had to leave another comment! I have combed through your entire blog all the way back to the beginning…. “Hello” kitty sketch.:) It was amazing to see your work evolve into where you are today. I especially enjoyed reading many of the posts describing the models for the portraits you did! You have a wonderful blog and your creative and curious nature shines through in your art and your writing. Thank you for sharing!
You are very kind, Kathleen! It is so great that someone noticed. I’ve been sitting here in my little corner of the blogging world, scratching away, and then shiny people like you wonder in and say nice things occasionally. Good to meet you!
Hi Alex! I’ve so enjoyed looking at all your sketches lately – that’s something you’ve really inspired me to do much, much more. It’s such a pleasure to see your work in all its forms – whether off the cuff spur of the moment or meticulously crafted like this one, it’s all good! 🙂
This one leaves me speechless and spellbound – just gorgeous. ♥
Ha! Thank you for stopping by and for your comment, Karen! I just sent you an email through DPW – what a coincidence! 🙂
Another beauty. I’ve been doing some kitchen remodeling and haven’t been following my favorite blogs. It’s nice to get back online to see what beautiful work you’ve been turning out. I love this one.
Thanks, Sue!
[…] Here’s a new painting titled The White Wave. A couple of years ago, when I first painted crinkled paper, the complexity, the chaos and the lack of logic or reason of it has got to be too much, and I promised myself that I would not paint crinkled paper again unless I would be paid for doing it. HA! I broke my promise in less than 3 months, just see if the first painting was not a fluke and if I can really paint wrinkled paper. I could :). […]