One of the joys of living by the lake is watching the yacht club outings. During the week there is the odd sailing boat out on the lake with many kayaks, canoes, SUPs, inflatables and noisy power boats; however, on the weekend many groups of small sailing craft practice right in front of my window. Recently we had a treat with the annual regatta which kept me occupied enjoying the view.
Sailing instruction has changed since my day. Each class is escorted out by a minimum of one instructor power boat. They are then put through their exercises all in a row, gybing and tacking in unison. It’s quite a sight to watch and very relaxing. I could watch them for hours.
My favorites are a small group of red sailed craft which make a change to the regular white. On the rare occasion a colorful spinnaker breaks the water, but I suspect its an instructor showing off ;-)
Feel free to use my images for inspiration. No use of actual digital image for collage etc.
Monet must have felt the same joy I do. Below my painting taken from a Monet.
Frida III is another practise piece that I refined for this exhibition. I love the serenity of this piece. It is painted on raw canvas which beautifully balances the hard edged portrait. I recognise that there are subtle differences between the real Frida and this image, but I didn’t want to overwok it. In the exhibition she is a bright addition to a dark corner, next to some fairy lights that I’m sure she would have loved.
For more on the amazing life of Frida Khalo/Rivera click here
The painting is currently only on sale at my solo art show, but you can reserve it for shipping after 15th September by contacting me. In case you’re wondering, FridaI and Frida II are iPad drawings which can be ordered in limited edition 6” x 8” prints.
Sea Dean Annual Solo
18 August - 15 September 2018
Lake Country Coffee House
10356 Bottom Wood Lake Road (Next to Lake Country Art Gallery)
Lake Country BC Canada
7am - 4pm Daily (8am Sundays)
Sea will be on site during Art Walk 8 and 9 September
I’ve ben going at break neck speed to get ready for this exhibition. Almost every piece is new, and this year I have many large works including Oil, Acrylic, Mixed Media, Digital and 3D pieces. I will be available all weekend during Art Walk, so that you can ask about the inspiration for your favorite pieces. And if the weather co-operates I may even be giving some demos. Drop in and meet the artist.
This was a fairly quick painting. I enjoyed the subject matter and color choices and it was one of those paintings that almost painted itself. And below, as promised I’ve tweaked the sky from yesterday.
PEACHLAND FOR LUNCH
by Sea Dean
8" x 10" Birch Cradle
On Exhibit at Skyway Kelowna Airport
The title says it all. I took a trip down the lake to Penticton with a friend and she loves to stop at a certain cafe opposite this beach in Peachland. After lunch we strolled along the promenade and this is one of the photos I took. Doesn't it make you want to jump in that little red speed boat and go for a spin?
Study of a Figure Outdoors: Woman with a Parasol, facing left, 1886.
The pictured woman is Suzanne Hoschedé (c. 1864–1899),
second wife of Claude Monet, Musée d'Orsay.
Claude Oscar Monet was born 14 November 1840 in Paris.
Monet's father was a Grocer, so one would think that his early subjects would be groups of grocery items, but he loved the outdoors and his early paintings often focused on water. Although born in Paris, he was raised in Le Havre. There he was heavily influenced by Boudin who painted dreamy seaside scenes. Later Claude was to have a special boat built where he could paint under cover yet still "plein air". Monet painted scenes in Le Havre, Paris, Giverny, London UK, Holland, and Belgium.
Claude Monet is the most famous Impressionist. He was involved in organizing the Impressionist exhibitions and his painting "Impression Sunrise" was exhibited at the first Impressionist exhibition and bore the name by which the group would become known.The early impressionists mainly lived in the vicinity of Paris and often shared work space. Monet worked with most of them, as well as pre-impressionists Boudin, Manet and Renoir.
In 1923 His eyesight started to fail and he underwent cataract surgery. His paintings grew larger and the colours more complex and subdued as his eyesight worsened. The majority of his later works were inspired by his beautiful garden at Giverny near Paris. On 5 December 1926 he passed away to the home he loved in Giverny.
How do you choose just one Claude Monet painting? Any one you pick is a masterpiece. I chose the top one because I saw two of the series when I was in Paris and they were phenomenal. What really struck me was not the famous rendition of light, but the treatment of the grass. The paintings in the Musee d'Orsay are large and hang high so the grass is at eye level for all but the very tall.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Claude Monet invented the concept of painting in series, a technique used widely by daily painters today. When I work in series, I find that the first is looser and later works are more detailed as I gain understanding of the subject matter. (see my Summer Boy series at Daily Paintworks)
SAILING WITH MONET by Sea Dean
The other interesting thing about the upper and lower renditions of a female with a parasol is that they depict Monet's first and second wives and I think show the difference in his feelings towards his two loves.
HOMAGE TO MONET IMPRESSION SUNRISE by Sea Dean
My Daily Paintworks pieces today were created as demos for my Paint a Masterpiece Class.
SAILING WITH MONET 8" x 10" Gallery Wrap Canvas BY SEA DEAN
HOMAGE TO MONET - IMPRESSION SUNRISE 8" x 10" Gallery Wrap Canvas BY SEA DEAN
Cat # 11031 SOLD Larger originals or prints may be available by contacting me.
GIVERNY 1900 INSPIRED BY MONET by Sea Dean
This is one of the most famous paintings of all time. It gave it's name to one of the most important art movements influencing artists today. That strange green/ blue/ grey colour is a signature of Monet's later works and can be seen in his water lily series as well as many other floral works.
GIVERNY 1900 INSPIRED BY MONET 8" x 10" Gallery Wrap Canvas BY SEA DEAN
This is another creative Lake Country project in the vibrant art community of Lake Country, B.C., Canada. The 10th anniversary of the inception of Lake Country is 2 May 2015 and to celebrate we are creating a collaborative mural. The mural will be installed on the side of the Memorial Hall which is next to the Municipal Building. Unveiling is May 2nd of this year.
A painting was submitted to the municipality as a guide for the mural and depicts one of the many lakes in the area. The painting was divided into squares and each artist receives one 12" x 12" metal square with an assigned section of the above painting. The artist can paint anything they wish on the square as long as the colour matches the swatch.
I received a square which is part of the lilac hill in the background and above is my painting. The paint was dried out, thick, matte and gloopy so the detail I had planned wasn't going to work. I ended up deciding to score in a pattern. It may be difficult to see, but there is a sun or flower shape and in some of the petals I have scored faces which represent my family and other Lake Country residents. In each corner is an aspect of Lake Country, a skier, a water-skier, a tree and a mountain scene.
The painting is not for sale because it will be installed as part of the mural, but I'm always happy to take commissions for similar work. I'm also contemplating creating postcards for the gallery store. If you would like one let me know.
Finished Mural (Can you see this painting?)
Original Inspiration Painting
View my online Gallery of large works and Limited Editions at ARTFINDER
View my online Gallery of small works at DAILY PAINTWORKS
Shop for Limited Edition ACEO and printed products here
Art Cards $5 and Art Postcards $3 here
REF Faces of Lake Country 15040
Day 15 - 30 paintings in 30 days - Posted on Leslie Saeta's blog as #16
One of my good cyber friends is Julie Ford Oliver, a superb artist with a solid Art School background and the inventor of fracturing. Although Julie is an oil painter, I love to read her informative blogs and when I read this one it seemed important to share.
One of the tips I use frequently (perhaps from an earlier blog of Julie's) is to keep each corner of a painting different. Because I have an engineers love of precision, uniformity often creeps into my work, so checking the corners has been a very useful trick. However, I have never heard of the trick Julie refers to in this blog and I love her illustrations. It all makes complete sense. Thanks Julie.
So I went straight to the pile I've set aside to rework and tested it out. Check out the original painting and the one based on the quartering technique at the top of the blog.
In the first version I wanted to emphasize a diagonal composition to add interest to a very centered painting. After reading the blog I noticed that each pair of diagonal corners were too similar, which made for a boring composition. First I added different colour combinations to each corner and then a Seagull and ripples to add interest and mix up the composition. I think this lead to a much more lively painting. What do you think?
Please leave a comment if blogs like this are helpful to you as an artist and/or art buyer. If you would like to share a painting where you have used this technique, I'd be happy to add it to my blog. Just contact me by email.
View my online Gallery of originals here DAILY PAINTWORKS
Shop for Limited Edition ACEO here
Art Cards $5 and Art Postcards $3 here
When I finished this painting the name didn't come to me immediately. My ACEO of this image is called "Little Red Boat" so I couldn't call it
that. Neither could I call it "Big Red Boat", because although the
painting is much larger, the boat is only a day tripper.
I headed for Google. I decided to look for boat names ... bad mistake! I love boats, and while running my eye over some beautiful ships I've noticed the odd cliched name, but that was nothing compared to what I saw today. Boats are generally assumed to be female, and from the over abundance of sexual innuendo I assume that most boats are purchased and named by the Y chromosome community. I saw "She got the House" and wondered what a female captain would name her ship? "He got the lawn"?
I like the name "Little Nauti" but it doesn't describe this painting well. Can you come up with something better? Leave a comment below.
For a fascinating look at the same beach painted by many different artists click here.
Johan-Barthold Jongkind was a Dutch painter, born near Rotterdam 3 June 1819.
Jongkind's most frequent subject was the marine landscape of Holland and in France. Many of his works depict
the river Seine, particularly near Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.
He painted small plein air watercolors and used them to inspire larger oils painted in his studio.
For this very reason, his watercolours are more pleasing to the modern eye; they have a fresh, jewel like quality which is missing in his studio oils. His oil paintings exhibit strong grid like compositions often with a bold focal point and always dramatic skies. He often
composed his landscapes with a low horizon and dominant sky like the 17th-century Dutch landscape painters. His love of strong
contrast is apparent in both media.
In 1846 Jongkind was a young man in Paris. He studied under Schelfhout and Mme Fesser and worked in the studio of Eugene Isabey. By 1862 he was back in Holland, in Le Havre and this was a very prolific time for him. At this time he was working with Eugene Boudin and Claude Monet. Monet regarded him as his most influential master.
A restless soul, he moved from place to place, painting in Le Havre and Normandy in the Netherlands, Paris, La Dauphine and Provence in France and Grenoble, Switzerland. Dogged by psychosis and alcoholism he was committed to an asylum in Grenoble in 1878. He died there 19 Feb 1891.
I find his portrait quite compelling: It depicts a rather eccentric, stern man with a certain sense of style. I want to draw him into conversation, uncover what those piercing eyes have seen and discover his secrets. I can't quite reconcile this person with his art. Somehow, I think he had more to offer which would have made him extraordinarily famous, but something held him back. In art history, poverty,
psychosis and posthumous fame seems to be the norm, but fame escaped Jongkind. Although contemporary artists greatly
admired him, he is relatively unknown today.
Have you noticed how often you get asked for your postal code when purchasing something these days?
It seems less invasive than giving an email address or phone number,
but is it? Did you know that your postcode or zip code is extremely precise and reveals where you live within a few steps. It can even target a particular building or housing development. That innocent piece of information can provide marketing experts useful information about you and your neighbours. Look up your code here and see what it says about your lifestyle.
So how can this help a struggling artist? Examine your contact mailing list and check the codes to see who your customers are. You will find some surprising information. If you have several customers in one area or town or codes with similar definitions, you now have a clearer picture of your buyers. It may help when choosing where to exhibit and what shows to book. You could also send out mail to similar areas and if near your home, how about holding an invitational studio open house?
PRIZMS, is a useful postcode look up tool. It does seem to have a few glitches, so as with everything else, use wisely. For instance, I recently moved from an upscale country condo by a lake, beach and park, to a less well heeled urban area. The post codes moved me from "Urban downscale singles and families" to "Younger urban lower - middle income singles and families" which doesn't quite match my quiet, semi-retired neighbourhood. However, I was pleased to note that I have miraculously changed enjoying coffee and a doughnut at Tim Hortons (which is only a few blocks from my new home), to conducting an active social life in bars restaurants and night clubs. Whooo Hoooo ... Bring it on!
"Safe Harbour" above recently sold through Ritchcraft Gallery and is currently winging it's way to someone as a gift. If you love it, as always, I'm happy to paint something similar in any size for your collection.
BEFORE THE WIND By Sea Dean 4" x 4" Canvas Panel
$70
View my online Gallery of originals here DAILY PAINTWORKS
Shop for Limited Edition ACEO here
Art Cards $5 and Art Postcards $3 here
With spring in the air my thoughts always turn to sailing. Spring breezes make for great sailing; crisp air, fresh wind on the skin and a feeling of blowing out the cobwebs from your whole being. Of course there is always the refreshment afterwards hot chocolate or Irish coffee ... your choice.
To my eye this image seems a bit dark, but the painting certainly isn't. I think Blogger may be up to it's tricks again.
OGOPOGO'S LUNCH By Sea Dean and Spencer Arguedas 12" x 12" Deep Wrap Canvas
View my online Gallery of originals here DAILY PAINTWORKS
Shop for Limited Edition ACEO here
Art Cards $5 and Art Postcards $3 here
Now showing at ART THROUGH THE AGES Inter-generational Exhibition
Lake Country Art Gallery
10356A Bottom Wood Lake Road, Lake Country, B.C. Canada
8 April - 16 May 2015
Wed 8am - 6pm
Thurs and Fri 10 - 4pm
Sat and Sun 11 - 3pm
Painted for the Lake Country Art Gallery Inter-generational Exhibition. The submission calls for a collaboration between at least two people from different generations, so for this painting, I used a drawing made by my nephew Spencer, when he was about 8 years old.
In the Okanagan we have a lake monster similar to the Loch Ness monster, called OGOPOGO. The story must have captured Spencer's imagination on a visit, because he made a lovely drawing with so many fun aspects. I particularly like the eyes of the creatures, the hook and line of the fisherman in the boat above, the speed lines behind Ogopogo and the little fish he is chasing.
The drawing is old, faded and yellowed, as my nephew is now a grown man, so I authentically copied it onto my collage of a weedy lake. I missed most of the childhood of my nephew because he grew up in a different country, so this was a nice way to connect with him as a young boy.
ART THROUGH THE AGES opens Wednesday 8th April at Lake Country Art Gallery on Bottom Wood Lake Road.
JOAQUIN SOROLLA BASTIDA The three most striking things about the work of this artist are
1. His treatment of light. The rich creamy light in many of his
paintings perfectly capture the atmosphere of his native Spain. On close
examination I can see he uses NAPLES YELLOW LIGHT modified
with CADMIUM ORANGE and balanced with complimentary warm purples. The colours certainly invoke a sense of the warm breezy days of summer.
2. His unusual compositions. This is one of the most difficult talents to master. Remember that he was working in the pre-smart phone era. His compositions were selected with a keen eye and detailed personal observation.
3. The sense of movement. This is where a sketch book is far more important than any camera, because you add your own personality as you draw. A note on colour, impossible to accurately capture with any imaging tool. A sense of movement created by multiple line corrections... Try it and you'll be surprised.
They are all good lessons to learn for any serious artist.
As you know, I love to learn from the masters and teach their techniques in my PAINT A MASTERPIECE classes. My students are often afraid of painting figures, but this is one artist where I think they will excel because of his sense of form and limited detail. I can't wait to work with a class on it. I'm currently available for commissions of any open copyright mater works in any size.
DOTTY DRESS By Sea Dean Framed and Ready to Display
6" x 4" on Canvas Panel 1 1/2" Black Frame (approx 8" x 10") $85 Toview my online Gallery of originals please visit Daily Paintworks Shop for Limited Edition ACEO here
I love this happy painting. It always makes me smile. It gives me thoughts of sunny days and romance in the country.
This sounds like a fun thing to do and an inexpensive wasy to get your art in front of many eyes. I believe that artists today have to try everything they can and I look forward to meeting new friends from around the world. Get your skates on though because you must sign up by tonight.
I will select my five postcards from some I already sell. See my postcard and art cards here. My Art Card selection is a bit limited at the moment, so if you want them shipped immediately please contact me for current stock. If you would like one or several of the cards below, I am offering them to my readers this week for the special price of $1 each plus postage. Please contact me to purchase.
by Sea Dean 6" x 6" Acid and Lignin free Canvas Card Toview my online Gallery of originals please visit Daily Paintworks Shop for Limited Edition ACEO here More from my fellow intrepid and brave artists attempting the 30 paintings in 30 days here
The moment I saw this beautiful photo by my internet friend Bob Jones, I knew I had to paint it. Trouble is when? My busy life means I was painting this at 3am this morning.
I'm in luck, yesterday, I finally found my halogen painting light which had disappeared during the move and how happy I am. This means I can paint at night with ease because the light I was using before, a strong daylight, was making the colours too intense and throwing off my values. Ahhhh!
This is quite an unusual colour scheme for me, but in the spirit of the 30 day challenge I'm KISSing my paintings. Nothing sloppy here, it means KEEP IS SIMPLE SEA so I chose a limited palette using "pushed" versions of the colour in the photograph. The edge of the boat is a more intense bright red but I couldn't get it to photograph well. The main colours are Cerulean, Sap Green, Dioxazine Purple, Raw Sienna, Naphthol and Cadmium Red.
As you see, I made the angle of the boat slightly more upright and cropped it for compositional purposes.
FLORAL VOYAGE Original Painting by Sea Dean 12” x 12” Canvas Panel Professional Acrylic with UV Protection View my online gallery here at Daily Paintworks
While I was volunteer docent at the local gallery I got a chance to collaborate at ART THROUGH THE AGES Inter-generational Exhibition. The table was loaded with media choices to play with and anyone could create, put their name and age on the back and leave their art for another person of a different generation to add to it.
I chose a piece already partly decorated with ink and marker by a young lady who only put her initials D.K. I added warm turquoise handmade paper, which I wove into a mat as well as some printed paper cutouts in orange and olive which I clipped from printing scraps. I love it and so did our summer intern Jody who made this image.
Miss D.K. didn't leave any contact information, so I was lucky enough to take the collage home at the end of the exhibition.
Thanks Jody for your image. Cat # 14111 Floral Voyage
THE OLD BOAT PROFESSIONAL ACRYLIC PAINTING BY SEA DEAN 8" x 10" x 5/8" Gallery Wrap Canvas To view my Gallery please visit Daily Paintworks. Larger originals or prints may available by contacting me.
This was commissioned from the patron's own photograph. He loves old boats and so the biggest challenge was getting the lines right. I find it challenging to keep a painterly style when I am trying to be accurate. I think I pulled it off though and I'm very proud of this piece.
I may ask the client if I can use the photo again for another painting and try a square format, because when I was preparing this blog, at one point the image was on the screen, almost square and I liked the composition.
LITTLE BOY - BIG DREAMS PAINTING BY SEA DEAN AFTER WINSLOW HOMER 4" x 4" Mini Master on Canvas Panel Homage to Famous Artists on their birthday
To view my Gallery or purchase this painting please visit Daily Paintworks. Larger originals or prints may be available by contacting me.
I studied Art History in England, so I'm my knowledge of artists outside Europe is limited. Of course I had heard the name and seen some of the seascapes, but until you make the effort to study an artist in paint, you don't seem to put the two together.
I love the light in this little excerpt from one of Winslow's water colours. It is created with light naples yellow and warm blue, with quite deep shadows in the foreground, thrown by the backlight of the sun. This little boy was so whimsical and I'm curious what his companions are doing. To me it looks like they may be painting plein air, which would be very challenging in a boat.
This may be a little over the top, but this wan't painted in my studio, I had no lamp and it was getting dark. I had my paintbrush in one hand and a Sylvania Dot iT in the other and painted till I was done. Then I wanted to blog a photo of my crazy idea. Trouble is that I needed another hand because I also had to hold the camera. You get the idea. :)
Winslow Homer was born February 24, 1836 Boston, Massachusetts. He came from a long line of New Englanders. It is not surprising therefore that he is best known for his nautical subjects. He started out as an illustrator and moved to landscape and seascape painting mainly in water-colour. He was also a printmaker. In 1859 he opened a gallery in New York City but it wasn't a wild success.
Winslow produced a lot of work for Harper's Weekly and was hired for some major work illustrating the civil war. After the war his work became far more nostalgic, focusing on women and children. He was not very successful during his lifetime, and many of his paintings took years to sell. During the rough times he was supported by his mother and brother Charles.
WAITING FOR THE TIDE BY SEA DEAN AFTER CHARLES-FRANCOIS DAUBIGNY
WAITING FOR THE TIDE PAINTING BY SEA DEAN AFTER DAUBIGNY 4" x 4" Mini Master on Canvas Panel Homage to Famous Artists on their birthday
To view my Gallery or purchase this painting please visit Daily Paintworks. Larger originals or prints may be available by contacting me.
This is a detail taken from "Boats on the Seacoast of Etaples" 1871. While I was painting this Mini Master I discovered that Daubigny worked with quite a limited palette. I achieved the result with Raw Titanium, Burnt Sienna, Sap Green and Brilliant Blue with a touch of Matisse Indigo.
Both the original and my version have quite a warm feeling, like a quiet summer afternoon. As you can see, the sky was very reminiscent of Monet and it is apparent that they worked together. The treatment of shadow and highlights is also very like Manet. A very enjoyable painter to study.
Born in Paris 15 February 1817
Studied under his father and Delaroche
Painted in Holland, Spain, England, Northern France
1870-71 Visited England
Influenced by Impressionists Monet and Pissarro
Daubigny painted on his custom made boat and Monet loved the idea and copied his example
