Opportunity for Painting and Photography!

     We're starting a new Affinity Group at my church, Woodland the Community Church.  The purpose of this group is to gather together creative people who want to make art together.  During the summer, June 5th - July 31st, we'll be traveling to places near and not so far, to get together and either paint en plein aire or take pictures.  It's going to be a great time, so if you've ever wanted to learn how to paint/take pictures or if you're an expert, come join us!  I hope to see lots of creative people there!

-from the flyer
     Landscape Painting and Photography is for EVERYONE!  Whether you're a beginner or an expert, join us for a great time of fellowship and art.

What you will need to bring:
          -A creative spirit
          -Your own supplies of choice (Camera, Watercolors, Pencils, Paper, etc)
          -Childcare and supplies will NOT be provided.
          -Bug spray & sunscreen.

Where we are going (Times subject to change with email notification):
          -Marina Jacks Park - June 5th & 12th - 2pm-4pm
June 5th -   Coquina Beach - Near the Gulf-Side Pavillion 6pm-8:30pm (Sunset and Picnic Dinner)
June 12th - Coquina Beach - Gulf-Side Pavillion 4pm-8:30pm
                 *Woodland's Beach Baptism and BBQ begins at 4pm.  Come and capture a unique          
                   experience and stay for the sunset!  BBQ will be provided, just bring a side dish to share.
                   Please RSVP if possible at holly@woodlandministries.com.     
June 19th - DeSoto National Memorial - Main Parking 2pm-4pm
June 26th - DeSoto National Memorial - Main Parking 2pm-4pm
July 3rd   -  NO STUDIO - Happy 4th of July!!!
July 10th -  Emerson Point - Main Parking 2pm-4pm
July 17th -  Emerson Point - Main Parking 2pm-4pm
          -Coquina Beach - July 24th & 31st - 6pm-8:30pm (Sunset & Picnic Dinner)
July 24th -  Marina Jacks Park - Sarasota - Picnic Area 2pm-4pm
July 31st -  Marina Jacks Park - Sarasota - Picnic Area 2pm-4pm

August   -   Art Show at Woodland!  More details to follow.

Questions?  Email Tom at tom@tommcandrewjr.com

-edit, revised dates and location details

Uptown Baptist Painting #1 part 2

      Welcome back!  I hope you've been finding these posts informative and interesting.  If you have any questions or comments please let me know, I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.  I definately don't have all of the answers, but I really enjoy talking to people about art and am always open to new ideas and techniques!  Thanks for stopping by and if you like what you see or if you have any suggestions for posts you would like to see, please just drop me a comment!

     This is the second post in the work-in-progress of the Uptown series of paintings.  Previously, I had shown how this image was conceived and composed, this post is about the foundation of the painting itself.  Through the thumbnail, the skeleton or framework is in place and now begins the process of laying in the underpainting or putting some meat on those bones!  Typically this is the thinnest layer of paint and also the flattest.  The concern at this stage was not necessarily getting everything to final details but to establish the overall color harmony and remove the white of the canvas.  Without the bleaching white of the canvas, it is much easier to determine correct color relationships and values as the painting progresses.  The underpainting here consists of mostly washes; washes being very, very thin oil paint.  Usually oil paint is thinned using turpinoid (a turpintine substitute) or mineral spirits, either of these is used get the paint to an almost watercolor-like quality and brushed across the canvas.  Often times, these washes can acheive wonderful effects that can be maintained through to the final stages of the painting.  Of course, the areas where you want the wash to show through must be planned ahead so that you don't cover us the effects with opaque paint.  This underpainting stage is also your last opportunity to make any major changes to your composition (should you need to), because it is much easier to wipe away a wash than to scrape off and repaint an area.  I, of course, have done my share of both!

     This is the stage of the painting where the pieces start to get a bit more solid.  The paint starts getting thicker and I am starting to work towards final details in some areas.  I started this session out on the part that was the farthest away, the sky.  This still holds to be one of my favorite parts of this painting!  The montage element is mostly put in and at this point I am looking to boost the contrast there only slightly higher, because I am wanting the words to stand out and be legible from across the room.  There is a faint ghost of the people still remaining but since I'm dealing with an opaque paint I can always paint them in on top of the background. 

     In the next post, I'll be showing the final two stages and I'll do one final post on this painting for the final.  I hope you've enjoyed watching this process unfold and I encourage you to get out there and slap some paint around.  Anyone and everyone can paint or draw!  If you can write, then you can draw!  Painting is only drawing with a brush, it is a skill and talent helps but persistance will go a long way towards any goal.  Be brave and try something new!  Thanks for following along. 

Uptown Baptist Painting #1

Uptown Baptist Church - thumbnails

     This is the first in-process shot of the painting as it progressed from tiny thumbnails to sketched onto the canvas.  Thumbnails are amazing little tools that you create yourself.  They are a vital step to creating almost any successful painting.  Anytime you are conceiving an image in your mind there are always tons of ways that the image can be done, with almost infinite subtle or drastic design changes.  The thumbnail stage is your opportunity to really play around with shapes and values without committing a lot of time or wasting any paint. 

Pencil sketch of thumbnail onto canvas.

     From this point, I decide which composition is going to fit this image the best and ideally this is the point to gather (or preferably) shoot your reference.  In this case, I was given some pictures to use as reference.  Personally, I wanted to go to Chicago and shoot my own reference, but that sadly wasn't in the budget (maybe next time).  I gathered my pictures together and using my thumbnail as a guide I sketched the drawing onto the canvas.  This stage can really go one of two ways, very loose or very tight and detailed; for this painting, I was under a tight deadline and needed to get into the paint right away.  In hindsight, I should have taken the time to really draw out some of the more detailed areas for clarity when I got to the painting stage, but you live and learn. 

     So this is where I'll leave off for today.  Check back for the next stage - the color block-in and underpainting.

Thanks for following along and as always if there are any questions please leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer them!

Uptown Baptist Mission Project

     I am currently in the process of a mission project through Woodland the Community Church (Bradenton, Fl.) for Uptown Baptist Church (Chicago, Il.).  As of now I have completed 2 of my 4 paintings, all of which are part of a series of 10 paintings that will adorn the lobby of Uptown.  The paintings will feature various Chicago landmarks, will be done in oil, and are 4ft X 2ft.  This is a very large set of paintings for me, as most of my work is around 16X20 or smaller.  I have said that I've wanted to start working on some larger pieces, so here we are!  The following posts will be in progress shots of the first 2 paintings that I've completed and are as of this post, hanging in Chicago. 
     There is a new 'Follow by Email' feature that has been added, fill in your email and stay tuned!

Life and Death

Life and Death, c 2010

     This is a painting from our Open Studio Sessions @ Woodland.  This was completed in the final two sessions and is done in oil on a piece of wood I had laying around.  This brought about the end of the current semester of studios, the next session will begin January 9th for anyone interested.  We will be working with live models and drawing from life.  The forthcoming session will also feature several demos by myself as well as Ron & Jennifer Borreson.

Thanks and I hope to see you there!

True Love @ Woodland

     This was a great thing to be a part of.  I've received a lot of feedback that people were really moved by the experience, so the Visual Arts team at Woodland is working on several other ideas to keep the momentum going.
The paintings were a live onstage worship experience during the October 16th & 17th services.  The song is "True Love" written by Phil Wickham and performed by Andy Botts.  A very cool version of the song and some amazing artwork to go with it!  The original paintings will be on display at Woodland very soon, I'll post pics as soon as I can.

Enjoy the video (courtesy of Woodland, the Community Church)

New Open Studio Sessions

     Just wanted to let everyone know that beginning Sunday, August 15, from 2pm-4pm the Visual Arts Ministry will be starting open studio sessions hosted at Woodland the Community Church here in Bradenton, Fl.  These sessions will be hosted by myself and 2 other Ringling grads namely, Ron & Jen Borreson.  You can check out their work by clicking on their names in the "links" section.  The format is going to be fairly open, starting with some still lifes and possibly moving on to some figurative and/or en plein aire opportunites.  There will be individual instruction available if needed; so come on down and bring whatever media you're comfortable with or want to experiment with.  The point is just to get some artists together and have fun creating art.  I hope to see you there!