A Portrait of my Daughter's Backpack, as a Still Life

This is a little painting of my daughter's backpack. It is made out of canvas and looks very rustic as well as traveled. Every great painting tells a story, even if it is a bottle on a shelf, so I hoped to capture the message of her backpack. 

It is just a backpack, and I admit I could have done more to capture the story of what it means to my daughter. 

I created this picture in watercolor using a Windsor Newton paint set. 

This picture is about 5 inches by 4 inches, so it is small in real life. It is more of a doodle than a painting. 

I started by taking some photos with my Kodak still life camera and then used the photos as my resource for this picture.  I did several sketches and a practice watercolor before I had all my ideas together. 

My daughter has buttons and badges on the backpack and bandanas ties to the straps that are all kinds of color, but I chose to edit those things out because they were too confusing. And were a little personal to her. 

Portrait of a Backpack, Painting in Watercolor

It is a really nice design with the canvas accented by red leather straps, black buckles, and red piping. There is an interesting pull tie cord in a blue cotton that gives it a great contrast. 

I have tried to create a few products with this small image, but when it is enlarged from 5 inches to a larger format, things get fuzzy and blurred. So I used it in smaller sizes for a greeting card and a small image in the corner of a print. 

I used the computer to add some text from the book of Ruth 1:16-17 and made a greeting card out of it that you can purchase off of my Society6 store. CLICK HERE to see it. 

To see it as a print, CLICK HERE

I hope you like it. 

Blessings.

A. E. Dozat

Plein Aire Painting of the Bridge Arch at Ellicott City

The Paint it Ellicott City event is one of the most enjoyable things I do all year. You get to go to the romantic and historic old town of Ellicott City, MD and paint pictures of the scenes with other artists. Afterword everybody gets together for a reception and art sale at the Howard County Art Center.

The people of Ellicott City are the nicest people, they are friendly, helpful and understanding.

Many artists create two, three or more pictures each day, but this time I got unusually involved in my projects and finished only two paintings.  One of a street scene, and one of the views of the bridge at the lower end of town.

Paintings done in Plein Aire are spontaneous, fresher, and more robust, which engages the viewer.
Below is the picture of the River Bridge. I worked on it for three days in the afternoon of each day.

To paint it, I climbed down to the river. It was nice and cool there because of the shade. This was a quiet place and easy to concentrate.

In my painting, I wanted to balance the background as viewed through the arch and above it with the foreground. I was careful that the shadows and dark reflections in the water didn't make the picture too dark, this meant spending longer on the background than most people would. The many textures were enjoyable to do and give the painting a lot of life. I liked the balance of the lights and darks.

The crazy thing about the picture is the grey-blue pump tank; you look at it and say, "what is that strange thing in this beautiful place?" But that gives the picture a story or message, that contrasts are all around us, and we need to understand them.

All the colors in this picture are very exciting. My palate changed from one blend of colors to a different one many times. The red of the iron of the bridge is a wonderful color, even though it was hard to mix just right.

Plein Aire Painting of the Arched Bridge at the end of Ellicott City

This painting is still available for sale at my Etsy shop, CLICK HERE to see pricing and information..
You can purchase prints and merchandise like greeting cards at my Society6 store CLICK HERE. to see prints, greeting cards, and more.

I am very happy with the outcome
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Painting Plein Aire in Ellicott City MD

The Paint it Ellicott City Plein Aire event is one of the most fun things I do all year.

It is not an understatement to say that I look forward to it all year long. This year I painted two pictures.

Below is a picture I did while standing on the sidewalk by the B and O Railroad Museum at the lower end of Ellicott City. I found a little nook just off the sidewalk where my easel would not be in anyone's way.  I started this picture on Friday and returned both Saturday and Sunday to work on it, which is unusual for a Plein Aire piece since most are completed in one afternoon. The reason for the long amount of time on this picture is the size, it is a little large since it measured 20x16. Also, since I was working in acrylic, I was slowed considerably by the medium drying on the palate because it was such a hot day.   

Working in the sun is difficult since your eyes will adjust to the brightness and then you mix your paint too dull. But this time I feel that my paintings turned out nicely. The street scene may have been too ambitious, but in the end, I accomplished what I want. I like how the scene leads up to the hills in the background.

As usual, all the artist who came by to look were nice and said encouraging things. The artist who participate in this event are a great group. I like how everyone looks out for each other.

My paintings were displayed on Monday at the reception at the Howard County Art Center.  I received many compliments and more encouragement.  Most of the artists offer their paintings for sale, and I often have a sale, but the sales were slow this year. I'll list my paintings at my Etsy store.

Plein Aire Painting of Street in front of the B and O Railroad Ellicott City, 2019

If you would like to see more views of this painting and learn about how to purchase it visit my Etsy Shop. CLICK HERE.

Thank you for stopping by.

© Adron 2019

Painting of Bridge At Wild Lake Columbia, Plean Aire

I paint Plean Aire (outdoors) in Columbia, MD,  and did this is a painting at Wild Lake by the path that goes up the hill to the tot lot. 

If you are familiar with Wilde Lake, you will know the place that this painting represents. Columbia, MD, has many iconic bridges that cross the many creeks and rivulets. I just love them. They all have the same construction but different environments, which makes each one unique.

Plean Arie Painting of the Bridge at Wild Lake, Columbia, Md. 

I started with a blue underpainting and then worked from the background to the foreground. It needed a lot of adjustment and correction as I worked. Since I was working in acrylic, it was easy to build up layers of paint, which is one of the things I like about my paintings.

It was a beautiful day, and I really enjoyed painting this picture. It has a lot of green, but that is how Wilde Lake looks at this time of year. I liked the strong images of the tree trunks going up and the contrasting images of the path. The texture was a lot of fun to try to get right. I worked on it for too many hours before being happy with it.

One of the nicest things about painting outdoors is all the wonderful people who you get to meet. There were many kind folks walking by who made encouraging comments as I painted.

Painting the Shops Walk, Plein Aire at Lake Kittamaqundi in Columbia MD

I enjoy the adventure of painting outdoors and Lake Kittamaqundi in Columbia is a beautiful place to paint.

During the summer I want to paint outdoors every weekend and since I live in Columbia MD I can take advantage of the many beautiful paths parks and lakes in the area.

The scenery at Lake Kittamaqundi in downtown Columbia is lovely and there are so many views to choose from. This time, I choose the view of the sidewalk in front of the restaurants that face the lake.  I was inspired by the fountain at the end of the dark shadow cast by the building on one side and the dark trees on the other created a very dramatic scene.

I set up my easel at the bottom of the stairs by the hotels where there is a lot of room and I would be out of the way of people.

 The Restaurant Walk at Lake Kittamaqundi in Columbia MD

I started with underpainting blue to get the composition and the values right. My approach is to start with the background and work into the foreground. It is very challenging to paint the architecture at the lake because it is so unique and requires a lot of attention.  One of the things that attracts me to the lake are the divergent lines that seem to go in so many different directions that you do not expect, but I found that I had to correct the picture several times to accommodate the lines.

In the background is the iconic bowl-shaped fountain that the lake is famous for. The red brick sidewalk leads your eye to the fountain.

The foreground turned out to be harder than I anticipated. The orange-red brick of the walkway was a difficult color to mix effectively. Not just because of the technical problems of the color itself but because the greens surrounding it would give contrast so I felt that I had to get it just right. I had to take some license here and there to make sense out of some elements but that is what art is all about. It is an interpretation, an illustration and a story at the same time.

I had to do a little bit of fine-tuning at home to get all the details in so you cannot truly call it a Plean Aire painting but it is still a wonderful painting of the lakefront.
A lot of wonderful people stopped by to say hello and offer encouragement. I am so appreciative of those encounters and hope to see the same new friends in the future.

If you live in Maryland near Columbia, and hou would like to see this painting before you buy it please contact me.

The Fountain at Columbia Town Center, a Challenging Painting

Here is a painting of an iconic scene of the Lake at Downtown Columbia. 

If you know Columbia, MD, you will recognize the fountain. It is two stories tall and shaped like a huge cement bowl. You can walk onto the plaza to the top level and look down at the water below, or go the bottom enjoy another view.

Painting, The Fountain at Columbia Town Center © Adron 2019

If you are in the Columbia, MD area contact me to arrange a viewing before you decide to buy it.

The composition of the picture is insane from an artist point of view. It has a powerful central focus, but the contrasting lines pull your eye into and out of the scene. The handrail leads you in and up from the left and then out across the right, the red brick road guides your eye forward into the picture but halts at the fountain where the downward curve of the bottom leads your eye out again. The background pulls your eyes back and forth across the scene, but you find your eye going down the railing or out the brick.  The white cement steps lead your eyes in and up, then across the three pillars leaving you to drift between the two lamp lights and the fountain spray.

These different lines affect how I would work things like shadows, hues, and values, so this painting kept forcing me to stop and reconsider my steps as I progressed, I felt as if I was constantly starting over, but I was only trying to integrate conflicting elements.

Anyway, it was a fun day to paint. I set my easel up on the lawn to the right of the brick pavement where a tree gave shade, which was nice since it was a hot day. I started with a sketch in blue and then began to put in the background sky. Next, using a large one-inch flat brush, I worked the picture from the top to the bottom to establish the basic shapes and colors of the picture. Over the next three hours, the process of painting the picture was a simple task of working the whole picture over with progressively smaller brushes each time so that details emerged.

When the canvas is blank no one says much, but people stop to look and chat as the painting progresses. A bunch of kids watched and offered advice. They were particularly concerned that the water splash and the flowers on the lamp were postponed since I save the details for the end, but when they were added their approval was extremely gratifying.

The picture was detailed a little more at home where the cool air allowed for the use of a liner brush since dryish tacky paint does not lend to fine lines.

I am very proud of this painting and believe that the fountain a the lake in downtown Columbia will be a theme that I will return to often.

You can contact me through the facebook app or leave a comment below.

Adron ©2019

A Painting Inspired by the "Rock" Dwane Johnson

This is a painting that I did that was inspired by Dwayne Johnson, The Rock. 

I started this painting about a month ago. I wanted to do a portrait of a person who had a lot of nobility and character, a person who inspires others to be more. I also wanted to paint a face that would prove to be a challenge from an artistic point of view.

WHY THE ROCK
I chose the Rock because his story of success and overcoming adversity is so amazing. He seems to be a person who lives life to the fullest because it is hard to find a picture of him without a beautiful smile. He is wealthy financially, but it seems the true richness is something he finds within and brings with him wherever he goes.

RESOURCE IMAGE
I found a picture of him with his iconic intense eyes. It was a rare one in which he is not smiling, I prefer to do pictures without smiles because I like to look for more in a person's face and try to find their depths and complexities. This picture does have a kind of smile but not overly broad. I liked the focused look he had in the photo I chose. 

THE ROCK IS A REAL LIFE HERO
I think it is so amazing how the Rock gives back. He started a charity called the Rock Foundation. It is for children who have disabilities, The foundation seeks to enrich, enable, and empower the lives of these children. Their statement of purpose is, "We serve a variety of children ranging from infancy to twenty-two years of age. Our goal is to make every child smile." He supports a bunch of other charities.   There is more than I can list here. These are the things that make Dwane Johnson a hero. (beware of scams when donating to charities- please check them out first.) Here is a link that I think is one for donating to the DJ Rock foundation, and they have some reviews.

ABOUT HEROES
In our world today, we need heroes who we can admire and look up to. But we must never forget they are human like we are and they will fall from grace. When they do it is our turn to become the hero and give them forgiveness and support, those are the moments when we can repay them for the inspiration they were to us and become a hope for them.

Dwane Johnson is quoted as saying,

• Be humble, stay hungry, and always be the hardest worker in the room.”  
• Success isn’t overnight. It’s when every day you get a little better than the day before. It all adds up.
• One of the most important things you can accomplish is just being yourself.

CLICK HERE to see more of his quotes.

ABOUT THE ART
I wanted the picture to have a lot of colors and still be moody with a sense of passion and purpose. I built this painting up in layers of color in acrylic,. I began with a "scrumbling" technique where I smear the color all over the canvas quickly. At first, it was too dark, so I kept building up the lights. His skin tone is very rich with reds, sienna and umber colors, but I began with orange to give warmth to the image then painted the darker tones over it. The features and expression were a constant struggle for me. I want the picture to be like The Rock but not so much that others would be able to personally identify with him. I want the picture to say, "Here is an example of what you can achieve." I wanted to make the painting like The Rock but a little not like Thr Rock at the same time.

The challenges were the shaved head and the stubble beard, both were features I am not used to doing. I really wanted to get the eyes right, but I had to embellish them to make them not so dark or angry-ish. The lips are hard since he is giving a half smile that is harder than a frown or full smile because the elastic nature of the mouth is moving from the fullest shape to the thinnest shape.

I am very proud of this painting and hope it finds a home where people will be inspired by him.

The title of this painting is "CAN'T WE DO SOME GOOD TOGETHER?"

Use the PayPal button below if you want to purchase this original painting.

$500.00 It will be in a black frame. US shipping will be free, all others contact me for a quote before purchase.

You can purchase art prints of this painting at my Socety6 Store, CLICK HERE.
You can purchase a framed reproduction of this painting at my Society6 Store. CLICK HERE.
You can purchase a canvas print of this painting CLICK HERE.
You can purchase an iphone case with this image. CLICK HERE.

Thank you.

Portrait of a Young Woman With Dreadlocks

Raven, a portrait of a young woman.

Here is a sample of my portrait painting skills. I painted this in acrylic on a 16x20 stretched canvas.

This picture was taken from several photos from teen glamor magazines to create her. One image was of a woman in a group who had crazy dreadlocks hair that looked fun to paint. Another picture was a woman who had an expression of strength which seemed important to this project. Other pictures were used for colors and ideas about clothing.

The painting took a few weeks to complete. It began with an outline and rough color in sketch and then I built up the background and worked forward. The face was built up in layers that became thicker as it progressed. There are lots of colors and the darks for contrast.

I really enjoyed working on this painting since I was creating a new person out of several others. I kept wondering what would she say. I looked at the design photos and tried to get an idea of the personality of the models and wondered what they would think of the painting.

I tied to make her bold, strong, and inquiring. I say inquiring because that is a trait of intelligence that we need to celebrate.

Acrylic Portrait of a Young Woman with Dreadlocks

You can buy this as an art print at my Society 6 store. CLICK HERE.
You can buy this as a framed print at my Society6 store, CLICK HERE.
You can buy this as a canvas print at my society6 store, CLICK HERE.

My painting of Raven, a Young Woman with Dreadlocks in a frame. 

5/4/19