The End of The Hunt.

 

"End of the Hunt"
By James Swanson & Traveler Jim A.
18"x 16"Oil on Linen


See the Journey of this Painting.

A New Traveler- Jim A: I was having breakfast at a diner one morning with Traveler Jim A. when he said he had some great hunting trip photos for me. I'm not a hunter. I fish a little, and like the great outdoors, but I don't hunt.

Traveler Jim A.

But Jim A. is a friend of mine so I had to take a look.

Jim took me through his photo albums and let me take what I wanted. I've been working with digital images for years so working from these old photos is kind of a throw back and a challenge again.

Laying in wait.

The Jim A's Story: Jim has a tradition. Every year in the late fall he goes bird hunting in North Dakota just 75 miles South of Canada. I call it bird hunting because what they hunt is whatever bird is there at the time, duck, goose, or pheasant.

The old house they use while they are there

In this photo we see Ed, who has been coming to this spots for years with Jim A's dad. On this trip they came to hunt geese, but an early snow drove off their prey. So they ended up pheasant hunting instead. Ed is coming up one of these coolies-this is what they call the hills there- after a long day of hunting with his catch. It is also his birthday, a happy hunter.

Ed on his Birthday Oct.25

Traveler Jim A's Painting: I wasn't going to paint this shot when Jim gave it to me I just thought it might be nice in a blog for color. Well, I was dong some cleaning in the studio, moving some things around, trying to get more room and I came across some old painting of mine.

You can kind of see the old painting through cover up paint.

Canvas is rotated for new painting.

I picked it up for a laugh, it was pretty bad painting, but the linen canvas was still tight and square. Me being the frugal artist that I am thought I could paint over this, why not? So I sanded it a little to knock off the old paint ridges and rubbed some oil paint over it to start.

After this sketch to warm up and to look deeper into this old photo, I've decided to move Ed over out of the center and give him the feeling of the end of the hunting day. I'll use the coolies to lead the viewer into the painting and back to the horizon.

mixed palette colors

Since I'm kind of doing an experiment here painting over an old canvas I didn't want to waste a great Traveler image on it. So I picked out Eds picture to try.

Negative painting, background was painted first

It looks like a pretty simple image so to challenge my self I decided to try something a watercolor artist friend does sometimes, negative painting. Painting the shapes around something to define the thing it self. OK let’s go.

Having the background blocked in it's time to start on Ed.

Painting Tip: Painting can be like Noah's Arc- use brushes in pairs when you’re painting-one for light paint colors and a same size one for dark paint colors. This makes painting cleaner, clearer, and you won't pollute the paint puddles too much. Just wipe off your brushes and keep going.

The Painting is getting there, just a few color and brush stroke adjustments.

The background needed some depth and I want the horizon line to soften up a bit.

Details from painting

Finished painting

"End of the Hunt"
By James Swanson & Traveler Jim A.
18"x 16"Oil on Linen

Well that was different and fun. As an artist we have to challenge ourselves. They don't have to be extreme or permanent changes just some experimenting. I don't know if I'll do some more negative painting again for a while, but I did give it a shot. Thanks to Jim A and his hunting pals for the hunt and the tales. Thanks for looking in as its time to move my easel on down the road and see what else there is to paint in this world.

Blue Cactus Mountain

"Blue Cactus Mountain" By James Swanson & Traveler Tom/Lauren "10"x 20" Oil on Linen



The close-up journey of this painting take a look.

I just flew in from Amsterdam and boy are my... OK, everyone who knows me, knows I have a bad sense of humor.

Traveler Tom Pic

This painting series comes to you from the support of my friends- the Travelers. And I, the Artist, Jim Swanson paint from my studio in Chicago with their stories and travel pictures to guide me, trying to connect the dots of this world with paintings.

The Travelers are different people I know or have just met-pretty much anyone can be a Traveling friend of mine. Just have a nice trip and a good story to share and I will share the journey in paint.

This is Tom

A new Traveler sent me some pictures from the desert in Arizona. Traveler Tom was in Tucson AZ. for a wedding, and had time in between picking people up at the airport and bridal fittings to snap off some shots for me.

Traveler Tom also took the time to call me as he was talking the shots to ask what kind of images I was looking for? He said," it was high noon out there and not much to shot." I told him," the best time of day to take pictures was either in the morning or evening."

Tom's postcard

Tip: Whether your taking pictures and painting Plein Air, the light over head in the afternoon doesn't cast nice shadows, the lighting in the morning and evening is warmer and casts long shadows. And temperature wise in the summer or desert a little cooler to work.

I also said to think about close-ups. If nothing jumps out at you from one vantage point, change it. Look at it in a different way. This is a good way to get out of creative ruts. Change your view, and other things will open up and you'll see things in a different light.

The sucker Tom bought for me.

Well, good old Traveler Tom has come through for me. I received a CD filled with some nice cactus shots, mountains, and desert. And look I also got a sucker with a scorpion in it. Now that's the kind of Traveler I'm talking about! It also looks like Tom had a good time on his vacation.

Tom's pic to use.

And I picked out this shot to start my desert trek. I liked the blue mountains against the desert tan. I had a few questions about this shot and Tom was more than helpful in his answers. In fact he tried to get a close up of this cactus for me but the cactus already was taken. Bees had made a few homes in this old cactus and Tom couldn't get close enough-chicken- to get a closer look with the bees hovering around. No pain no gain Tom!

Tom and Lauren

By the way the wedding he was at wasn't his, but it did put some ideas into his head. I am happy to announce that Traveler Tom, is now Travelers Tom and Lauren, and are going to their own wedding sometime next year. Congrats Tom and Lauren, and thank you for your images and keep them coming.

Traveler Tom & Lauren Painting: The CD I received from this couples trip was full of good shots. Shots you don't see here in Chicago, lots of cactus and mountain shots. I decided to start off small here in the desert to get a feeling for the place. I plan on tackling a bigger painting from the CD later on.

The Sketch- A quick sketch to get my self into the picture and to start breaking the scene down into a design for the painting. I already had a canvas in mind when I started sketching. A 10"x 20" horizontal canvas that I stretched recently.

Artist Tip: Know the shape of your canvas when you do your sketch. It doesn't do you any good to design a piece to a long horizontal canvas and then paint it on a square. Design to what you have.

The Palette- I'm going to be working with a triad of colors for this painting of yellow, blue , and orange.

The Sketch on canvas- I rubbed the canvas with a small amount of paint and then went back with a paper towel and pulled out the lighter areas. I then drew from my sketch this scene.

Half way blocked in- I usually start painting with my darkest dark but this time I wanted to put the mountains in first because everything is going to work off it. Then I put in my darkest dark.

The painting blocked in- All the colors are there on the canvas, now it's time to make adjustments and fill in some more blanks.

The painting is getting there. I have a few common sized frames in the studio for for putting on wet paintings when I'm working on them. It cleans them up and gives me a fresh look at the painting and to see where it needs work.

Revising- I didn't like where the mountains came across the painting, it was cutting the design in three equal sizes. I looked at lifting the mountains on the right side, but that echoed the tumbleweeds around the cactus. So I lifted them up a little and on the lift side of the mountains i took them all the way off. Much better.

Real close. I'm pretty much done. I'll make a few more tweaks of color and it will be there.

Details from the painting.

Done. And Framed.


" Blue Cactus Mountain "
By James Swanson / Traveler Tom & Lauren
10"x20" Oil on Linen

This first little foray into the desert turned out fine, no rattlesnake bites or any sand blowing on my painting.

There are defiantly more paintings to be done here. I'll try and get to one soon, but for now I'm moving on I hear the sound of dogs barking and the hunt is on! Thanks, Tom & Lauren and congrats again, I better get an invite to the big shindig! I'm off to North Dakota to meet a new Traveler Jim A. See everyone on down the road. If you want to take part in this art project send me a line or go to the artist and the traveler web site and sign in. There is a lot of this world to paint still!

Matt's Church

"Matt's Church"
By James Swanson and Traveler Ginger
24"x 12" Oil on Linen

See the Journey of this painting.

Amsterdam! Pretty much anything goes here, but it also has to stay here. My new Traveler Ginger had an exciting time here not to long ago, and she was kind enough to share her story with me and now I with you.

Ginger's story: While most visitors try to smuggle something out of Amsterdam, Jeff and I smuggled something into the land of cobblestoners: his brother Matthew, in my carry-on suitcase.

Matt's Ashes

Matt who looked a lot like the loud bearded guy in the OxiClean commercials now fit comfortably in a teeny “I dream of Jeannie” bottle. Matt’s partying lifestyle brought about his death in Door County, Wisconsin the fall of 2007, smashing into a tree on his way home from a bar. It sucked back then and still does now. We decided to bring some of Matt’s ashes to Amsterdam to rest for eternity. And we knew just the spot. A church in the heart of the Red Light District.

The church itself is not much to look at but has a view that would send most straight to a confessional. Directly across the church doors is the glowing light of legal prostitution windows, featuring two scantily dressed ladies with the missile size hooters.

This is the picture Ginger sent me.

The windows are adjacent to Stones Café, a favorite hangout of English speaking visitors. While this coffee shop no longer sells bud (and not as in weiser), a sign inside Stone’s reads “bring your gear and smoke it here.” I am sure Matt will enjoy the fumes.

Ginger's Painting: When Ginger sent me this photo and told me her story I was more than willing to take a shot at painting it. I don't remember ever doing a painting with no foliage or water in it. It was going to be challenging to say the least.

The Sketch: I did more sketching on this painting than any painting in a long time. I looked at it as a horizontal, square and ended up going with a vertical. Very vertical. I felt the extreme vertical format kind of went with Gingers adventure. I also decided design wise to go with a tunnel composition, for the light at the end of the tunnel feel.

Painting palette with paint mixed.

The start of the painting: Working out the perspective was the hardest part of putting the painting design on the 24"x 12" canvas. Besides squishing the church between the buildings I moved the eye level up a little so you would be looking down on the church.

The Block-in: This went pretty smooth. I'm painting on a 24"x12" gessoed linen canvas. The linen canvas I chose had a rough texture, because it's what I paint most of my landscapes on.

End of the First day: Well I think that went OK, it's a start. I'm just use to painting trees and hills and such, but this was fun. It's coming together, but there is lots to do.
Painter Tip: One of the best tips that I've got in my painting career is how to take care of my brushes. In my Art school years, cleaning my brushes with mineral spirits and putting them away was enough. Now I know better, keeping your tools in shape makes for an cleaner and easier job. After I clean my brushes I put them between a folded piece of cardboard and clip them down with a folder binder clip and let dry over night. The next morning the brushes are ready to go, with the nicest edge on a brush that you can have. That tip came from the painter Richard Schmid.

Almost there.
I decided to put in the sign that was in Gingers photo. I felt it needed one more red design element and also something to keep the viewers eye from going off the top of the painting. The lighting of the painting is also warmed up. I didn't want this painting to be gloomy so I changed that too.

Details of the finished painting

The Finished Painting.

"Matt's Church"24"x 12"Oil on Linen

This painting ended up being all about contrasts in the end. Dark vs. light, one life style vs. another, and the location it self, I tried to take all that and squish it into this painting for Ginger. I thought harder on this painting than I have with any other painting in a long while. Maybe it was all buildings and perspective, or the meaning of the photo to Ginger and her husband Jeff that got to me. Any way, I hope this painting does the trick for you two, I'm off to the desert now to talk to my next Traveler, meet you all on down the road.