Dave The Painting Guy's Blog

The Least Expensive Way to Mail An Original Painting

2011-03-08T12:32:00.001-08:00

The past few weeks I have been on task with some graphic design work, working on a CD package and some website stuff. It was all fun work, so I actually did not mind that I was not painting much. I've needed a break from painting, anyway, "so I could miss it again..." — time to look through painters' work on Facebook albums and blogs — time to get inspired.

A few inspiring blogs for you to check out later:

The Broadview Blog - An interesting approach to understanding plein air painting. Concept Artist Robh Ruppel — also a student of the late Fred Fixler — demonstrates with digital media (Wacom tablet and stylus, plus Photoshop or other digital painting app.) how he constructs digital paintings that are every bit as amazing as those done in traditional media (which Ruppel also handles expertly)
Land Sketch and Nathan Fowkes Art — Two blogs by artist Nathan Fowkes who does extremely simple, little color and value studies to truly capture the essence of what he is looking it. Often using a combination of gouache (pronounced 'gwash') and watercolor in his little sketchbooks, these are gems, all. Take a look at his painting kit, shown at the top of Land Sketch. Gouache is the fancy name for high-quality opaque watercolor, sometimes called tempera.

Cheapest Mailing Available

I found a cheap way to mail paintings. The safety and condition is not guaranteed, but the reduction of postage costs is.

Today, I am mailing to an artist friend of mine, using no packaging, a sketch that I started on a painting panel but know I won't get back to. That's right, I just wrote on the back like a postcard, addressed it, weighed it and put proper first-class postage on it. (I'm not completely stupid: I did wait for it to dry and then I varnished it). ;-)

I have no idea what it will look like when it gets there, but it seemed like a funny idea to me. Much better than tossing it in the trash or a fire. Someone will be surprised. And maybe a few postal workers will get a good eye-roll out of it.

Update: The recipient, my artist friend Annie Salness, called to let me know that it arrived in great shape, "not a scratch on it."

The Broadcast

Not sure when I will be back on (my broadcast Dave the Painting Guy), but I wanted to be in touch. I'll let you know by mass mail when I am back to broadcasting. Should be soon.

I may get on very soon and work more on another demo I started, at right. I painted a fellow named James who came to watch my demo for the Santa Clara Art Association on Wednesday March 2, 2011.

I only had about 1 hour to 1-hour-15-minutes to do an oil portrait (a little too lean on time for my taste), so I did not get terribly far. But as always, I had a great time.
—Dave

How Do I Start A Painting?

2010-12-09T11:36:00.001-08:00

Often, one of the most difficult things about creating a painting is simply getting started.

Disclaimer, for art purists: There is absolutely no substitute for improving your drawing skills by participating in critical life drawing workshops. (By 'critical' I mean managed by an instructor who is willing to tell you your drawing is off and how to fix it). You can usually find one in your area. Drawing from the figure or head builds your drawing skills by training your mind/eye connection to accurately judge proportions and measurements. No matter how good you get at painting, you will always be making measurements — whether or not you deviate from absolute accuracy will be a matter of skill and/or style or choice.

You may want to start a painting before your skills are top-notch. And that's okay with me. I made a living for the first eight years of my illustration career before I began to learn to draw well from the figure. My painting improved once I learned, but for the bulk of my 17-year illustration career, I used three methods of layout: an optical projector, the grid method, or multiple tracings and transfer.

In the example above, I demonstrated to a private student how to use the grid method. I can go into this in more detail if enough people are interested, but essentially, your source material (photo, magazine image, quick sketch or cartoon, etc...) gets a grid drawn over it with equal divisions (unless you are trying to distort it, use perfect squares). Then, on your painting surface, larger or smaller, place a matching grid. It must match line for line, also with perfect squares, same number of squares. Whether the subsequent squares are larger or smaller does not matter but will make your drawing proportionately larger or smaller. You will use this to assist you in drawing accurately the contents of each square — example the left-most eye starts at the intersection of 4 across & 3 down on both the source and final.

Next, begin laying in the distinct shadow pattern. Treat it as if you have only a black marker and white paper. Get the pattern in. Just get it in. In this example, I am using a warmish mixture of Alizarin, Ultramarine Blue and Raw Umber for my darks.

You will want to paint in lighter values. Don't. Get the shadow pattern in. In areas that are dark, but may actually be lit by the source light, make them dark anyway. You can always lighten them later. Try to connect all shadow areas to others. No islands.

My apologies for the huge reflections in the wet paint. I had set the camera up over my shoulder using window light, before there was paint on the canvas, then just reached over my shoulder to snap new shots, and did not anticipate the reflection.

After you get the shadow pattern finished, fill in the light area with an average mid-value color for the light side. Reserve your highlights for later.

Be careful not to over-model the halftones in the light pattern. Keep your lights and darks separate. Mind your cool highlights if working with north light.

Once the masses are in, then you can play with edges. Edges are to a painting what spice is to food; what music is to romance. Edges help the viewer see what you see, and guide them to what's most important, what to spend less time looking at (the edge of the hair/background), what to know about the structure (cartilage under skin vs. soft cheeks vs. hair).

Annie in Yellow Sweater • 8" x 10" • Oil on Canvas Panel

by David R. Darrow

Collection of Larry and Kay Crain

Paint Smarter™

—Dave

Of Macs and Men

2010-12-06T21:55:00.000-08:00

Okay, I need to address something... many of the viewers and my Facebook friends know that I am a Mac guy and have sworn by them for years.

Since I announced my computer issues and subsequent decision to buy a new one and the need to raise funds through my limited time Warm-Shadows Wednesday Workshop Sale and donations, I have received several e-mails asking me about my current level of devotion to Macs, given the number of problems I am having of late.

First of all, let me state that I have owned both Macs and PCs and do not engage in Mac vs PC slug-fests. I am simply thrilled to be living at a time such as this in which we can do the things we do with computers. In one of my online workshops last year I had attendees participating live from Oregon USA all the way to Belgium! That's amazing!

Still I prefer — and recommend without hesitation — Macs.

Mac Has Not Failed Me

I need to explain that my computer problems have nothing to do with Apple or Macintosh. Yes, I thought it was a failing motherboard, but what I now believe to be the case is that it is a damaged segment of the computer perhaps related to the motherboard.

See, when I was moving to San Jose on April 1, 2010, I put all my stuff in the back of the truck and put my tower-style Mac G5 in the front with me. It was sitting on the floor where a passenger's feet might go. My assumption was that the ride would be smoother in the section where humans ride.

I could not have been more wrong.

There is no way to over-exaggerate the severe, up-and-down shaking I experienced at several [extended] points. It was like u-Haul was trying to shake loose change out of my head. The truck cab found a rhythm that grew and grew until it was absolutely unmanageable, not unlike when the washing machine gets out of balance and bounces itself upstairs splashing all its contents out.

It was violent.

My glasses flew across the cab, my coffee cup self-emptied, and my gall bladder removed itself. It was violent.

In the blurred hell that was my vision, I could see through the corner of my eye my Macintosh G5 being shaken up and down in a manner that would have resulted in a person being arrested if it had been another human being.

When I arrived at my destination, unpacked and began weeding through my belongings, I set up my Mac. To my astonishment, it restarted. But a week later the start-up hard drive failed... just would not turn on one day. Long story short, Seagate (drive manufacturer) fixed it and I got everything back, but still, not everything was right after that. Several replacement drives later, and with the camera problems happening only with my computer and not another, given the timing of the onset of problems I never had before, I conclude that the problems are from damage.

My Goal

My goal is to get a laptop powerful enough for the broadcasting tasks plus the extra stuff I use, iTunes, Photoshop, etc, during the broadcast. I'd like to be able to broadcast remotely sometimes... taking the show with me to other locations, where, if I find wifi available, I can do a show there... like sketching people at a coffee shop or painting a beautiful view near enough to someone's wifi... I dunno. Could open possibilities.

So Far

Several people have taken advantage of the lowered prices on the workshops and several others have donated, too. I am grateful for your involvement in the broadcast. I'll keep you posted. :-) With the money I have set aside for a purchase, plus the recent sales, I feel it is getting close...

Thank you,

—Dave

PS: The discounted "Warm-Shadows Wednesday" Workshops sale is being extended a little longer.

Restarting the Broadcast soon...

2010-12-01T13:08:00.001-08:00

The Dave the Painting Guy show has a huge problem: to be a show, it must broadcast. At the moment, no one is watching me paint except cobs. (They make cobwebs, of course). That is because I am not broadcasting. And that is because I cannot.

It appears my broadcasting problem is related to a damaged motherboard, or possibly the "i/o circuit" (that's computer talk for "i/o circuit"). To see what I am referring to, view this video. (ignore the word "Start" in the middle. It was a screen capture).

Within my first broadcast in San Jose, April 23 (three weeks after moving here) my main cam started doing that weird glitchie thing. I assumed it was the camera, a cable or something else, but with each broadcast since then, it has become less stable.

I am finally ready to get back to broadcasting at least twice weekly, but I find I cannot broadcast at all. (Bummer) I am going to have to buy a new computer, and I do not have enough cash for it.

So we're on hold until I replace my broadcasting computer so I can once again regularly broadcast the Dave the Painting Guy Paintcast™ — Sorry!

Creek at Broad Street - San Luis Obispo

2010-11-14T11:02:00.000-08:00

by David R. Darrow
6" x 6" (15.2cm x 15.2cm)
Oil on Canvas Panel

SOLD
Collection of Doris Darrow
Sunnyvale, CA – USA

About This Painting
A few weeks ago I visited San Luis Obispo, CA for the annual plein air event. I haven't been to SLO for decades, so it was nice to see what's changed and what hasn't.
The Thursday night Farmer's Market on Higuera Street downtown beats any street party I have ever seen. With evening light speckling the streets through the trees while the smoky aroma of meat on grills fills the air, vendors display produce, various wares, creams, ointments, incense, health drinks, jewelry and so on — it's a street-fair on steroids every week!
Just around the corner, Broad Street crosses a beautiful little creek, just a few feet south of the San Luis Obispo Art Center where the plein air festival has its gallery. This creek meanders through town, popping in and out of view, sometimes running under several blocks of downtown's multi-story buildings betraying its centuries-old, natural history of following the path of least resistance.
One morning I parked my easel by the creek between Chorro and Broad, and began this little painting in the warm morning sun as passers by chatted or friends gathered above the creek for morning coffee and conversation at any of several establishments with balconies or patios overlooking this serene view from their manufactured vistas.
◙

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I'll Get the Wine

2010-11-10T23:23:00.000-08:00

by David R. Darrow
6" x 6" (15.2cm x 15.2cm)
Oil on Panel

SOLD
Collection of Greg Rich
Cheyenne, WY – USA

About This Painting
On a recent trip to Santa Fe, NM, I stopped by one gallery a little ways off the well-known gallery row. Traffic must have been slow for this gallery, for they were closed that day.
The gallery has an inviting courtyard, with a patio and overgrown wildflowers everywhere. Seeing these two Adirondack chairs beckoning two lovers to sit and rest, the phrase "I'll get the wine..." came to mind. ◙

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Covered In Light

2010-11-09T17:43:00.001-08:00

by David R. Darrow
3-3/4" x 8" (9.5cm x 20.3cm)
Oil on Canvas Panel

SOLD
Collection of Chris Opp
Bossier City, LA – USA

About This Painting
A quick figure painting on a small, remnant canvas panel, done in a limited palette, using red, yellow, black and white. ◙

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Pouring From A One-Gallon Metal Can

2010-11-04T18:48:00.001-07:00

Okay, this might seem like a no-brainer: Remove cap and tip liquid out. Wipe up excess from table.

But there is a better way to pour that is non-intuitive but takes the spill out of the equation, even with gallon cans filled to the top, like my Webber's Turpenoid Natural, here, or the new Gamsol cans (each of which has a new, easy-open, pull-out plastic seal).

My dad taught me this as a kid filling the lawnmower. To get the cleanest pour, get the pour-hole diagonally as far from the target as possible, or "pour across the can" as he put it.

What this does is keep as much of the liquid away from the edge of the pour hole until you are just past the tipping point, allowing the top of the can to tip down and under, out of the way, with the added benefit that the level of the liquid will not as-otherwise-likely reach the top of the pour spout, sealing it off, causing the "glugging" that makes a huge mess.

Try it! It just pours straight down, no glugging.

Classic Portraiture Book by John Howard Sanden - Painting the Head in Oil

2010-10-27T10:25:00.000-07:00

Some time ago at a garage sale or old book store I stumbled on this 1976 book, Painting the Head in Oil, by John Howard Sanden. If memory serves me, I was not yet an oil painter, but dreamed of one day abandoning the slapdash, hurried, frequent-all-nighter schedule of a commercial illustrator in favor of leisurely painting subjects in my spacious, 2-stories-tall, natural-light, north-facing windowed portrait studio.

Hey, I can dream, can't I?

I was young, full of future, butbusy raising a family... and there wasn't an internet back then, so I really did not know who Sanden was. But one glance through his book told me that he knew what he was talking about. He was a portrait painter.

And he's one of those painters whose brush marks leave proof that he is in full control of his paint at all times. His paintings are never overworked, and always present a good and flattering likeness. He's painted some of the most famous people in the world, including very famous people you've never heard of. (This irony in pictures was the beginning of my understanding that the world is bigger than I could imagine).

Unlike many art books on portraiture that display fine examples of a master's work, with little practical how-to, this one talks about flesh-tone colors, mixing, premixing, mediums, and much more.

If I have one criticism, it is at the same time praise for Sanden who, due to his tremendous skill and eye for proportion, still makes portrait painting look too easy. But that is not the fault of either the author nor the publisher. The publishers are not painters nor even faintly expert in that which they publish. They are about selling books. What do they know about painting to even ask for additional clarity?

And Sanden? He's so good that when it comes to explaining some aspects of his own methods of painting, there are some issues that are so basic and instinctual to him that he probably cannot imagine they need explaining. Such is the caveat of mastery.

The Art of Drew Struzan

2010-09-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

2010 Book about Drew Struzan

Updated

There's a new book about a good portion of Drew Struzan's movie poster career. It's released date is September 24, 2010, and at the time of this writing is being sold at about 30% off at Amazon. It's called The Art of Drew Struzan.

Use www.ClickFiller.com to find a low-priced item to bring your total to $25 or more for free shipping where available.

Review

I received my copy early, and dived right in. I had 6 or 7 years experience as an illustrator in the movie poster design field myself, and just looking at the images brought back some fond — and some depressing — memories.

The book is full of movie posters — not all of them, though, to my disappointment — a selection from his career, showing both comps and finishes. Knowing that this was only a selection of a larger body of work, one gets the feeling this guy worked day and night to complete so much excellent work.

The surprise for me was that much of the text purports to be Drew's own words discussing his artwork. Some of the phrasing does not sound like the Drew I have met and feel like I know, though. Nevertheless, it seems to be a telling of a career in an industry that used up, chewed up and spit out one of the last great 'traditional' illustrators of our time. (Traditional in the sense that he created his art with art supplies in combination with his eyes, mind and hands).

"Big Trouble in Little China"
©Drew Struzan

From the foreword by Frank Darabont (Director, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Mist) to the end of the book, the message is about the glory of the process of creating great art, and a lament that it is ultimately about money for the corporations that dish out movies, committees of people who believe they are actually important, making decisions in areas of visual appeal for which they can never hope to be qualified. Far from being a sour grapes tell-all (names are withheld to protect the tasteless, but a few punches are thrown nonetheless), Struzan speaks of gratitude for what his career afforded him, yet between the lines you read how easily for him came the decision to retire.

That language is raw and unvarnished at times from all contributors to the book, PG-13, as it were. It was, after all, a career in Hollywood.

For the visual artist, painter, or illustrator, the book is a virtual treasure chest of examples of how to design within (and without) a rectangle; how a work flows, how to control the viewer's eyes, and how to successfully tie elements of a montage together. Today's digital 'artists' with Photoshop and a Wacom tablet would do well to study this book for the use of color, transition, design and texture, use of lighting for drama and staging, and the absolute need for compelling imagery Drew's images demonstrate. A few years spent learning in a solid art school that teaches those things wouldn't hurt, either... if one can be found anymore.

There are three illustrators that influenced me more than any one else in my career, besides Norman Rockwell and JC Leyendecker of the past, and I was fortunate to get to be friends with each of them, often competing for work. Steven Chorney, who did nearly every piece of art inside the TV guide for years, Drew Struzan, (he pronounces it "STROO-zn") who was also a friend of Steve's and who was to movie posters what Norman Rockwell and Leyendecker were to magazine covers and advertising art, and Morgan Weistling, a 19-year-old kid who at the time had a growing reputation along the lines of "he's even better than Drew Struzan!" As much as I admire my friend Morgan's work, and am grateful for his substantial influence on my understanding of painting, Drew is a legend, too! From the first piece of his I ever saw and liked immediately— an Alice Cooper album cover from my high school graduation year, 1975 — to, well, everything he's done. I would learn later that Drew was 28 years old when he did that piece of art.

Alice Cooper Album Cover - Struzan

The album cover for Alice Cooper's Welcome To My Nightmare —not my cup of tea, but I ran into the album at a friend's house — was something I recognized as a beautiful design and decorative figure reminiscent of JC Leyendecker's paintings, whose work along with Norman Rockwell's I was just getting acquainted with at the time.

In 1987, I was attending a "Portfolio Review" sponsored by the Society of Illustrators. Drew was to be one of the reviewers, and I had wanted to meet him for about 10 years. I'd heard stories about what a remarkable student he was when he attended Art Center, years before I did.

Since I had been making a living as an artist for the previous 7 years at that time, I did not present my portfolio for review, since it was more for students or beginning illustrators. The evening was winding down and Drew's review station was empty so I went and introduced myself. After awkwardly telling him what a pleasure it was to meet him, and "I'm your biggest fan" and all that, he said "Well, show me what you've got..." gesturing to my portfolio that I had in my hand.

"Oh, no... I wasn't here for reviews, I just... uh... I don't really want you to see my..."

"Come on. We're in the same business. let's see it," he insisted with a smile.

I won't bore you with the details, but he was very complimentary — and then said, "Your work lacks love."

"Love?"

"Yes. It doesn't look like you love doing this for a living."

"Well, really, I don't. It's tedious, hard work, and I do too many all-nighters. I have a growing family to feed and I am always tired."

He asked me how much I made in my best year, and so I told him that this was my best year so far, and I was on track to make xx dollars." His eyes widened, and I thought he was going to scold me for complaining when I was making plenty in a tough field. Instead he said, "I make that much in a month. No wonder you don't like your work."

JFK by Darrow

He asked me to show him just one piece I loved, and so I showed him my illustration of John F. Kennedy, right, that I had done for the 1983 20th anniversary of the assassination, to be used for a local San Diego TV-guide-like magazine called Tuned-in.

That was a bit embarrassing, since it was a direct knock off of the style of another favorite of mine, Richard Amsel, who'd done a slew of TV Guide covers, many of which I had collected and hung on my wall in my studio.

John Travolta by Amsel
In fact, Richard had done the first Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom poster, the series of which Drew Struzan dominated after Richard's death in Nov. 1985 from a relatively new disease at the time, AIDS. Amsel's final work was a cover for TV Guide with portraits of Dan Rather, Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw. Amsel died three weeks after its completion.

Drew asked me why I loved that one. I just shrugged and told him that it was because I got it done quickly. It only took a few hours. (I never told him I only got $100 for it). He said, quite matter-of-factly, "Well, that's no small thing. Maybe you're not cut out for all the detailed and tedious work. I could never do what you do [referring to the rest of my portfolio's tedious stuff]."

It had never dawned on me to choose to do work that fit my personality. I had thought it was a virtue to be thankful for work at all, and just do it.

Without missing a beat, Drew invited me to his home and studio in Lake Arrowhead, and for that day, about 3 weeks later, Drew took me under his wing, showing me dozens of originals and even a slide show he'd put together for public meetings showing his methods, start to finish. I was in Illustrator Heaven.

David R. Darrow & Drew Struzan 2009

Drew's generosity and directness breathed hope into a 30-year-old illustrator that year. I will forever be grateful.

22 years later, I ran into Drew and his wife Dylan at the Pasadena Museum of California Art, and was delighted that he remembered my name. He had a few very nice pieces in the gallery show, including a figurative sculpture and several oil paintings.

It was great to see him and if you'll excuse me, I must go buy his new book, The Art of Drew Struzan.

Studying Leyendecker

2010-09-15T12:41:00.001-07:00

Lately, as I contemplate what direction I want to go next with my oil painting, I have been studying the elegance and simplicity of line and form in the work of turn-of-the-century illustrator J.C. Leyendecker [Amazon book link].

Of particular interest to me was his use of color sketches on canvas, his unique "grid-method" transfers, and exaggeration of the effects of light and shadow, in particular 'form shadows' or 'core shadows.' He always maintained a balance of cool and warm to help separate lights, too.

In one instance I found, left, he apparently painted the sketch the way he wanted it, then drew grid-lines through the still-wet oil paint to transfer the image to a another, perhaps larger canvas.

Sadly, Joe Leyendecker was very secretive about his work, taking with him to his grave his "secret medium" that allowed him to "draw fluidly with paint." Still, a student of his images could learn a lot about composition, conservation of line, beauty of shape, simplified volumes and idealization of face and figure.

This is the newest book of many about his work, and is filled with excellent pictures. It comes highly recommended — by me — for its beautiful pictures and examples, but probably not the quality of the text. Besides the authors' elevating Leyendecker by unnecessarily bashing my other early 20th century hero Norman Rockwell, stating opinion as fact, they assert that Rockwell definitely copied Leyendecker. How do they know something that I highly doubt? I have been studying both illustrators for nearly 40 years.
Plus I found the text to be highly speculative and overly concerned [to the point of the unmistakable stench of misplaced agenda] with the sexual preferences of this master Illustrator. — David R. Darrow

George

2010-03-02T13:38:00.001-08:00

I got to visit my friend George yesterday. George is now officially a collector of my work, owning 2 of my paintings. George sneaked in at the last moment and snagged my John Wayne in Acrylic the other day. George is a painter, too, and he and I became acquainted in 2007 because George had found my work on eBay, looked me up and even sent me a painting of myself from a photo on a blog entry about a day I went plein air painting and my painting blew off the easel landing 'jelly side down.'

George is one of the kindest men I have met, and in many ways his gentleness and careful choice of words, easy laughter and substantial vocabulary remind me of my own father who passed away in 2005. I would venture that If it weren't for his knack for story telling, and his myriad stories from his career, you'd probably never guess he spent a good portion of his life as a Special Agent for NCIS (NCISA Who's Who Story: scroll halfway down).

I delivered the painting to him and he smiled, thanked me, shook my hand and set it down on his coffee table. I had to admit to George that I could not imagine why he wanted another painting. Far from being self-effacing with that question, I was referencing George's enormous collection of paintings, the vast majority of which are his own. He long ago ran out of wall-space in his four bedroom home, and both sides of his garage are modeified with shelves loaded with paintings, categorized and alphabetized. It's like a library or vinyl album collection, only it's all paintings on panels or canvas, sometimes still in frames, but mostly loose.

As we drank a glass of wine together, we talked about art, painting, his career, his fun memories of his duties an a special agent, the art of getting a confession (for much of his career he obtained more confessions from criminals than anyone else around using psychology, relationship-building and a polygraph machine -- much more often than not, the polygraph was unnecessary), and of course we talked about Pearl.

He's done between 2– and 300 paintings of his late wife Pearl among the hundreds if not thousands of paintings he's done. Pearl was the love of his life and he is never at a loss for words describing the beauty and gentleness of the woman who preserved his heart in a career that could have stripped him of it.

"I've never known a more selfless person in my whole life," he sighs.

Sadly, cancer took her life 7 years ago, and George was left with a home full of memories of her and their children together -- and his box of paints. He visits her grave site a couple of times a week, and talks to her, hoping she's around somewhere to hear.

I once heard that a "real" artist is one who will spend days, weeks or months on a creative pursuit and never care if anyone ever sees the work. This is largely true of George. The vast majority of his oil paintings are in deep stacks along the walls in his studio, the garage, on the piano, and so on. He mostly does portraits and figures, and if it were not for a visit to his home, or catching his fancy as a friend to whom he'd like to give an original portrait, you'd never know otherwise that he paints. He's doesn't try to sell them, but for some commissions he talks about. Many people who have been blessed to know him have received a portrait from him as a gift.

Painting is what he loves to do to pass the slow-moving time and remember his friends, and especially his favorite model of all time, Pearl.

Mary

2010-03-02T12:10:00.001-08:00

by David R. Darrow
14" x 11" (35.6cm x 27.9cm)
Oil on Canvas Panel

SOLD
Collection of Jose Arce
Jacksonville, IL – USA

About This Painting
Mary was a stranger to me the day I asked her if I could paint her portrait. I was struck by her wonderful multi-braided hair and dark, dark skin.
"Excuse me..." I said, interrupting her thoughts. I was going to ask her if I might possibly use her as a head model for study.
She turned and smiled a beyond-radiant smile. We talked for a bit and I explained what I do and that I'd like to paint her. I also mentioned I was being awarded a First Place at a local gallery's juried show and invited her to the reception.
She showed up with two of her nieces, who were equally beautiful, and whom I eventually painted, too.
All three young women are originally from Kenya, and Mary is aunt to the other two. They are named Dama and Dama – they are each the first daughter in their respective families and, following tradition, are named after their maternal grandmother who is, of course, Dama. ◙

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Presence

2010-03-02T12:00:00.001-08:00

by David R. Darrow
11" x 14" (27.9cm x 35.6cm)
Oil on Belgian Linen Panel

SOLD
Collection of Delilah Smith
Oldsmar, FL – USA

About This Painting
"She's a ballet dancer," my then-wife suddenly pointed out.
My wife – who has been in dance from childhood through most of her adult life – was out with me for breakfast one sunny Sunday morning at the harbor in Oceanside, CA. Erika was walking nearby with her mother.
From a short distance I was caught by something about her face. I haven't been around dance enough to pick up what my wife did, but she told me she just knew it "because of the way she carries herself."
I set down my fork and got up. "Let's go find out if she is. I'd like to paint her anyway." She has a long neck, lean frame, muscular arms and a gentle but focused, pretty face. At that moment, her hair was pulled back tight and put up in a bun.
Erika, 14 at the time, and her mother were delightful people to talk to and verified that Erika was indeed a dancer – a serious dancer, traveling the world with well-known companies. They told us that they were on vacation from their hometown in Florida and, fortunately for me, agreed to come by my studio the next day.
There is something that sets one dancer out from the rest, even though they may have similar training, athletic ability, grace and strength. What set her apart was what my wife saw, and what I wanted to capture.
Presence. ◙

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Feminine Model Study in 5 Values

2010-02-27T20:09:00.001-08:00

by David R. Darrow
6" x 6" (15.2cm x 15.2cm)
Oil on Panel

SOLD
Collection of Denise Rich
El Cajon, CA – USA

About This Painting
Sometimes an artist wants to see what he or she can accomplish with as few strokes as possible and still communicate to the viewer the essence of what the artist saw.
To do this four fundamentals are needed, Drawing (Proportion), Value (Light to Dark), Edges (Transitions between shapes and hues) and Color (Hue). These have been listed in the order of importance, in my opinion.
Here, I did a study using 5 values of a few hues in rapid fashion to "make notes" of the model's face. Rendering and realism are not important here, just the placement and shape of the values. ◙

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Black Man in Golden Neckshirt

2010-02-27T18:56:00.001-08:00

by David R. Darrow
11" x 14" (27.9cm x 35.6cm)
Oil on Panel

SOLD
Collection of Georgann Bourgeois
Baton Rouge, LA – USA

About This Painting
This portrait came about several years after I last saw James, who was a student of mine when I taught at an Institute of Art in California, San Diego.
James was not only one the best students I ever had at this school, but was also a kind, well-mannered, friendly and talented, but had the most magnetic and engaging genetic gifting (good looks) I'd seen in a fellow of his particular ethnicity.
On the last day of class I asked if he might sit for some snapshots for an eventual portrait. This is a studio study from that moment in the past. ◙

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Sarah A

2010-02-27T15:35:00.000-08:00

by David R. Darrow
6" x 6" (15.2cm x 15.2cm)
Oil on Panel

SOLD
Collection of Dan Medcalf
Indianapolis, IN – USA

About This Painting
This study is of one of the viewers of my internet broadcast (Dave the Painting Guy) who is an enthusiastic artist and my friend, Sarah A.
This started purely as an experiment to paint using our modern technological advances. Sarah, who lives 2500 miles from me, posed for me via a Skype video connection, and this ended up being painted from a screen-capture. I was going to try to paint her live, but was having tech-issues with the connection that day.
Sarah is a lovely young woman, gracious in personality and appearance and was a pleasure to paint. ◙

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Sitting Nude, Alla Prima

2010-02-27T13:50:00.000-08:00

by David R. Darrow
11" x 14" (27.9cm x 35.6cm)
Oil on Canvas Panel

SOLD
Collection of Shelley Lampman
Oak Harbor, WA – USA

About This Painting
This seated nude was done in 2009. Thick and thin oil on canvas panel. ◙

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Sofa Nude, Alla Prima

2010-02-27T13:48:00.000-08:00

by David R. Darrow
14" x 11" (35.6cm x 27.9cm)
Oil on Stretched Canvas

SOLD
Collection of Kathy Brusnighan
Greensboro, NC – USA

About This Painting
This nude was painted as perhaps the first demonstration I ever did on my live broadcast Dave The Painting Guy. I was painting for no one, then someone showed up and started asking questions... the rest is history. ◙

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5-Value Head Study, Female

2010-02-27T13:43:00.000-08:00

by David R. Darrow
6" x 6" (15.2cm x 15.2cm)
Oil on Panel

SOLD
Collection of Linda Reynolds
Tampa, FL – USA

About This Painting
The following may only be interesting to other artists. It's a long-held principle that a good portrait has a reduced set of values. Five values is common among the great painters, especially seen in the work of John Singer Sargent.
I decided to give it a try, and I started by mixing 5 equally-spaced values using a mixing knife and two tubes of oil paint: raw umber and titanium white.
I quickly painted this head study starting with my darkest dark, then filled in the rest where appropriate.
Two values for shadow, and 3 values for the lights. ◙

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The Colors of Black

2010-02-27T10:41:00.000-08:00

by David R. Darrow
8" x 10" (20.3cm x 25.4cm)
Oil on Canvas Panel
SOLD
Collection of José Arce
Jacksonville, IL – USA

About This Painting
Ever since I was a child, I thought it was odd that they called some people black and others white, red, yellow or brown – okay, I got the "brown" reference, but it seemed to me, at that young age, that we were all some variation of brown, anyway... dark browns, light browns, pinkish browns, yellowish browns, reddish browns...
As an artist I have always been intrigued by the colors I see in a dark-skinned person's flesh, and enjoy the particular challenge of mixing those colors. Color Theory tells me that, in its most basic elements, color is a combination of the following things: the color of the light landing on an object, the spectrum absorption of the object, and the spectral reflectance of that same object all combined with individual color perception (it's possible others see the same color differently than I do, which theoretically makes it a different color than I see).
Color Theory says that an orange, for example, has properties that reflect the orange range (red and yellows) of the available light spectrum but absorb all the other colors, and therefore our eyes only pick up the "orange light waves" that are reflected at us.
So, from an observational standpoint, and depending on the environment, some people (their flesh tones) reflect or absorb colors of the spectrum differently than others.
Wen painting this, I observed that there were very few mixtures that included actual white pigment, and many that included blues or purples to balance the golden browns, while much of the other color was absorbed deep into shadow. ◙

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John Wayne in Acrylic

2010-02-27T10:35:00.000-08:00

by David R. Darrow
5" x 7" (12.7cm x 17.8cm)
Acrylic on Panel
SOLD
Collection of George Reis
San Diego, CA – USA

About This Painting
The Duke. I grew up with this fellow on TV all the time. Our TV was black and white all the years I lived at home, so I never got to see John Wayne in color unless I 'went to the movies' or saw him on a friend's color TV. The last movie I saw him in was his last movie The Shootist.
It's reported that John Wayne's gravestone is engraved with the inscription Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday.
I painted this one evening on my internet broadcast as a demo. Someone in the accompanying chatroom asked why I never paint in acrylic... and I responded with this acrylic painting of John Wayne. As an illustrator for 20 years, I painted in acrylic all the time, but 10 years ago I switched to oil. ◙

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End of an Era - Fred Fixler Dies

2010-01-21T15:38:00.001-08:00

It is with a sense of sadness and gratitude that I report the passing of Fred Fixler this afternoon at 12:50pm.

Fred was one of the most remarkable instructors I ever had, teaching tonal drawing, life drawing, portraiture and quicksketch. He was brought to my attention by a very young Morgan Weistling in 1988, when I asked where in the world he learned to draw and paint. Morgan pointed me to his school then in Calabassas, CA.

Just yesterday, on a whim, I looked up Fred's son Evan to inquire about his father, asking simply, what's the latest news on Fred?

Today I received the following message from Evan:

Sorry for not writing back yesterday. Dad Passed away at 12:50 this afternoon. He died from what we believe was a perforated bowel at Kaiser Woodland Hills. I do not believe there will be any services and his wish was to be cremated.

To say that Fred was influential, brilliant and loved would all be saying to little. I have heard him quoted by name form some of the world's finest living artists, mentioned in virtually every Weistling video and interview, and honored by many who were fortunate enough to be under his teaching.

The world lost a remarkable man today, but beauty will still flow into this world because of what he taught, how he loved his students, how he insisted on following the fundamentals of great art, and his love for the figure.

"Draw near to God, now, Fred."

The Sitter

2009-09-02T13:38:00.001-07:00

Last evening

Last night I took a detour and decided to paint something loosely in acrylic. I painted exclusively in acrylic for years in my commercial illustration days, eventually adding colored pencil and airbrush for blending... I never could get the blending I desired with just brushes and acrylic.
This was an experiment with Atelier Brand acrylics. It was an enjoyable experience, and I was able to get a whole figure painting done in about 2 hours.

The Sitter • 7" x 10" (18cm x 25cm) • acrylic on gessoed paperboard

Click each for larger views

Giclées

For a limited time you may get an 11 x 14 signed giclée for $39 and free shipping in the US. This represents a total savings of about 20% of Dave's regular prices. (I accept checks via snail mail, or you can purchase now with Paypal)

Masai Warrior Initiation, Progress

2009-08-26T12:18:00.001-07:00

Current Painting on the Easel

If you haven't been watching lately, I am busy with an 18 x 24 commission, Masai Warrior Initiation shown below at exactly the stage it is as I write this. I will be continuing during the day today and this evening on the broadcast. (click image for a larger view)

Road Trip: New Mexico

Teresa and I will be attending the Artisan Art Materials Expo in Santa Fe, New Mexico from September 17th through 20th. More info at their site: http://www.expoartisan.com

Signed and Matted Giclée Reproductions Sale

Ends (after) August 31, 2009 - See available works and sale pricing here:

Excellent Point

2009-07-15T13:29:00.001-07:00

Open Letter to Langnickel Brush Manufacturer

2009-06-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

Update #1
I just received (less than 2 hours later) a phone call from 'George' who owns Royal/Langnickel who apologized for the inconsistency in the brushes, and promised he will see what he can do to introduce better consistency, check the cement inside the ferrules, etc. -- I dunno. But he did say to send them any brushes I am dissatisfied with and they will replace them.

Please, if you read all this and agree, leave comments to this blog post below, and also write to Langnickel yourself. If they are doing their job right, they will be searching the web to find out what people think of their product. Be kind and be to the point. Be encouraging. Let them know how you as a painter would prefer their brushes could be improved. Everyone is having a harder-than-usual time of things these days.

Update #2
Following George's call to send them any of my brushes which have been poorly manufactured, I mailed 3 of my brushes which had either become poorly shaped because of loose hairs/fiber or brushes the ferrule of which I had to crimp with a pliers.

(I mailed them by sandwiching them in a folded piece of corrugated cardboard 1.5" loner at each end than the brushes; included a letter explaining that the fibers were coming out too easily; sealed it, addressed it, stamped it.)

Within a reasonable amount of time, I was shipped free replacement brushes, along with a letter explaining that they understood the handle/series confusion, and explained that they are aware of an issue with the glue or cement they are using, and are switching over to a newer one. Some of the brushes previously manufactured with the older cement are still in "circulation" in various inventories, so they cannot guarantee that won't happen again in the short term, but the letter reiterated that "Langnickel stands behind all its brushes. You may return any that are unsatisfactory and we will replace them."

Below is my original letter to Langnickel:

Contact Addresses: customerservice@royalbrush.com & gus@royalbrush.com

Royal Brush Manufacturing
6707 Broadway
Merrillville, Indiana 46410
United States
219-660-4170

Please deliver to the President/CEO of Royal Brush Manufacturing

Dear Langnickel,

I don't know if you guys realize what a gold mine you are sitting on, and how you are squandering the value of it through manufacturing inconsistencies (handle length, handle color, unavailability, etc.) and quality inconsistencies.

Admittedly, I don't know if the market for your Royal Sable (series 55xx) is currently big enough to reorganize your manufacturing processes, but I do know that virtually every major portrait artist and influential oil painter I know who uses Langnickel brushes is actively looking for a suitable alternative, citing the same things I experience on a regular basis.

First of all, let me tell you that everyone I know, who I have convinced to give your Royal Sable long-haired, long-handled filberts a try LOVES them. It's an absolutely BRILLIANT concept... The shape is flawless and the fiber length is unmatched. The springiness is superb, and the strength of the hairs is wonderful. I paint better because of these brushes.

Just a few of the names of influential artists I know who use your brushes: Morgan Weistling, Richard Schmid, Jeremy Lipking, Dan Gerhartz, Casey Baugh and many, many others, including myself. I personally have a live broadcast venue, (Dave the Painting Guy) that reaches over 500 interested viewers (and rapidly growing), many of whom always want to know what brand/series of brushes I use.

I always tell them the brand name and series, but I always add, "You will come to love and hate Langnickel Royal Sable brushes. You will love them because they feel right. They apply paint just right. But you will hate them because you never know what you're going to get with them, and they do not manufacture enough for the market -- they are very difficult to find."

I tell them plainly that I can receive in the same batch purchased a brush that lasts for months, even years, and a brush that loses half or even all it's hairs immediately when I pinch out the oil into a rag. Many of my Royal Sables have become useless in an hour or two because of so many lost hairs that the remainder do not stay on the ferrule any more. (Can't you embed the hairs in an epoxy or glue to keep them inside?)

These brushes shed like no other brush I have owned. This is one of the only frustrating outside influences I experience when painting, interrupting the flow of the usual problem-solving that is the joy of painting.

One of my favorite brushes is virtually always out of stock, everywhere I look: the 5520 #8, blue handle.

By the way, what's with blue handles and red handles in the same series number? It is my belief that the filberts, 5520-blue have longer hairs than the 5520-red -- why don't you have a different series number if they are going to be that different? If they are not supposed to be different, please note that they are extremely different, and these inconsistencies are hurting your popularity.

And if you're going to have long-handled brushes or short-handled brushes, PLEASE make them a different series number. When ordering by phone (the only way I will order Langnickel brushes) I always request that the sales person get hold of the brushes personally so I can ask about the length of the hairs, the length of the handles, the color of the handles, etc., BECAUSE there is no consistency.)

Look, some of the most popular in influential artists in the US use Langnickel bushes, and virtually every artist who likes their work always wants to know what kind of brushes the artist uses. You cannot buy honest word-of-mouth advertising, and there is no such advertising more believable, therefore important.

Is there anything you can do to improve the quality, consistency, series numbering and availability of Your Royal Sables in the 5520, 5525, 5590 series and others?

I sincerely want to promote your brushes with no "buts"...

David R. Darrow
<address and phone number omitted here>

2 Successful Workshops Completed

2009-06-01T08:28:00.001-07:00

It's a Monday, and I am pleasantly exhausted after a busy, intense and focused weekend; my second 2-day online painting workshop.

The most rewarding thing is the results, I suppose. It's one thing to sit and chat to what I have every reason to believe are real people out there who have logged in to watch... I'm actually kind of use to that. But to see what they produce over the course of 12-hours is quite remarkable.

More workshops to come. Info to be found at www.DaveThePaintingGuy.com.

Dave's 2nd Online Portrait Workshop

2009-05-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

I will be holding my second online portrait painting workshop, May 3o and 31, 2009 (the first one, May 23 and 24th filled up fast) from 8:30am each day, Pacific Time. That's 12-hours total.

The second workshop will be the same as the first, except better most likely, since I will be learning from the first.

The online workshop will be limited to 16 people due to time constraints related to regular reviews of each participant's work. Participants will view the instructors work via the "over his shoulder cam" and work on the same painting, using the same reference (shown at right), with step-by-step instruction from beginning to end, along with helpful assessments along the way to keep each participant on track.

There are still a few spots left.

Click here for detailed information on David R. Darrow's GoFigure Online Workshop

Why Did I Get Booted from the Chatroom?

2009-04-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have received e-mails from people asking why they got booted from the chatroom during a Dave The Painting Guy Paintcast™. Since there are possibly hurt feelings, I wanted to address it here so that I can direct people to this explanation of the possibilities. Many people believe they are excluded from the chat unfairly, and I need to deal with some presumptions that may exist.

First of all, know that it was probably not me that "axed you." I am usually too busy painting or operating the video camera to busy myself with chatroom tasks. Besides, I have long patience for most things, most questions and most personalities. However, I have assigned several trusted "moderators" to keep watch on the room so that I can paint, and the chatroom stays civil (since I do not watch the chatroom much).

Most of my moderators have been viewers of my show for a very long time, and are, as best I can tell, aligned with me in a desire to keep the chatroom a warm, family-friendly community of artists of other interested parties. They are individuals who have demonstrated a sense of "ownership" in the success of my show and the environment it provides to the public. I am delighted that they feel that it is "their party" and they will protect it as they deem necessary.

With varying personalities comes varying levels of tolerance for irritations, and I know, from what I have read on the chat that, with regard to some anonymous personalities that wander through, some of my moderators "have their finger on the button, ready to nuke an unruly visitor." While I never want to intentionally hurt someone's feelings, I stand by and take responsibility for the choices of my moderators, because I know they have my best interest and that of the Dave the Painting Guy Paintcast™ Community at heart.

At my request, they are sensitive to several chatroom behaviors which — although perhaps acceptable in many chatrooms where anonymity and one-upsmanship seem to prevail over social skills — are behaviors or manners which I strongly wish to keep out of my chatroom, including but not limited to:
profanity
sexual innuendo
derisive comments
publishing links without permission in the chat
changing nicknames in unhelpful ways
excessive off-topic or attention-getting comments
or obvious "showboating" — typically the behavior of the less mature visitors
On occasion I have had people leave the broadcast only because of the behavior of others in the chatroom, and, frankly, I don't like that.

I walk a fine line with my show. My mind thinks of things that are funny to me, and I say them, albeit with — believe it or not — many filters running at the same time. Besides whatever benefit there is to watching a guy paint and talk about it, the humorous element is what, I believe, makes the show entertaining to the people who show up so often — many of which never log in or participate in the chatroom. I have reason to believe that my banter and playfulness on the show encourage others to "let their hair down" and join in, injecting their own humor into the environment. Some of these people, from time to time, may push it too far, presumably, in an effort to get a more satisfying response from others.

I don't know. Who am I to judge another's sense of humor?

I merely have standards for my chatroom, and am grateful for the volunteers that watch over it, in spite of the fact that from time to time mistakes are made.

That having been said, please consider that what may appear to be sudden exclusion from the chatroom may, in fact, be the result of me or my moderators issuing a chatroom command that initiates an automatic, more restrictive level of chatroom moderation to which even my own mother fell victim on the evening of April 1st.

In its simplest form: when moderation is turned ON, no one is allowed to participate in the chatroom unless they have logged in with an official ustream.tv username. This effectively blocks everyone from the chat that does not have and use a uStream.tv account, though they can still see the text of the chatroom. Moderation ON also excludes people who drop in and change their name from, say, ustreamer-37865 to jonny-artist, since they have not officially logged in.

If you suddenly find yourself blocked from chat, you have either failed to log in officially and I have turned on moderation, or you have been booted by one of my moderators, or me for one or more of the behaviors listed above.

Corpsman Meeks In Studio Again Tonight

2009-02-25T12:42:00.000-08:00

Kyle Meeks in studio for live portrait, last night.

I had an unexpectedly great time painting my friend Kyle last night, formally Corpsman Kyle Brock Meeks, U.S. Navy; Senior Line Corpsman for Alpha 3rd Platoon, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division.

Despite some technical challenges, and arranging the studio, cameras and computer monitor so Kyle could participate in the chat, the painting session was one of my all-time favorites.

I have never painted someone who, though present to pose, was also actively communicating. Of course, I asked him to, and I accepted the challenge of painting him while he was sharing so many fascinating stories of his military tour. (Tonight, however, I am going to have him pose with his mouth closed while I finish his mouth, which, subsequently to the frame shown above, I wiped off the canvas.)

Technical difficulties at the uStream.tv end of this broadcast caused a Broadcast FAIL and my show abruptly ended mid-sentence as Kyle was laying out a great story of the time spent alone in a Jordanian hospital while waiting for his 'boy' (an injured Marine in his care) was attended to. I attempted for some time to re-connect, but it was impossible for unknown reasons. I am so sorry!

The painting will continue tonight with Kyle in-studio one more time, tonight, starting at 5pm, Pacific time.

Click here to go to the show URL at the proper time.

Emily

As promised, below is a sharper photo of the painting of Emily, created last week for my wife's birthday. (if you want to see it a bit larger, click the image)

Live Pose on Dave the Painting Guy, tonight

2009-02-24T13:42:00.001-08:00

Kyle Meeks, left, with his father Brock days before Kyle's deployment in Nov. 2008

Tonight, starting at 5pm until 8pm or so, Pacific Time (GMT -8) I will have a friend in studio sitting for a portrait. I expect the painting will carry into tomorrow night's show, same time, and so have scheduled him to pose again. Click here, at 5pm, to go to the show URL.

My subject (the sitter) is Corpsman Kyle Brock Meeks, U.S. Navy. He's the Senior Line Corpsman for Alpha 3rd Platoon, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division. He just returned recently from a tour to Afghanistan, if I am not mistaken (details to be corrected during broadcast, I am sure).

Kyle is my friend Brock's second youngest son of 4. I have known Kyle since the day he was born, though due to the way life goes, until last Fall I had not seen him in 15 years or so. I found out he was stationed at the nearby military base, Camp Pendleton, CA and invited him out for a beer, catching up and a couple of prayers before he headed off on a tour of duty -- his first tour, but less than a year before he'd completed his contract with the military.

Teresa and I have met many Marines decompressing over a cold beer at our favorite pizza and ale hangout in Carlsbad, CA, and, despite the expected "we're the best branch of the US Military, to a man they always admit that a Navy Corpsman (their walking Emergency Room on the battlefield) is the most respected man from another branch, maybe even more so than their own brothers. 'He's there to save your life.'

My live broadcast is always about oil painting, and I do work hard at keeping politics out of online discussions. It's a painting show. I do, however, want to honor the men and women who serve our country and the cause of Freedom, by singling out the one man I know personally who has gone to Hell and back, by painting his portrait. Plus we'll get to hang out together again.

The set-up will be multi-cam, special lighting, with a camera on my blank canvas and a close-to-my-vantage-point camera on him while I paint, discuss my thinking as I paint, all the while having a conversation with him about his tour. As he sees fit.

I know I have viewers on both sides of the war issue, and I respect your thoughts and feelings about it. I'd just like to ask in advance that the chatroom is used respectfully. The broadcast is about painting.

Facebook is too Grabby -- REVOLT!

2009-02-16T09:33:00.000-08:00

Manuela Valenti brought this to my attention. Here is the full text of her comments:

Watch out!! Facebook changed their TOS!! Your pictures might appear on some merchandise somewhere!
As of February 2009 Facebook changed their TOS (Terms of Service), and by uploading anything to Facebook you are granting them FULL copyright over all your images, works, content, etc. According to their new TOS your images could end up on some t-shirts. I don't wanna see the images of my kids or my works for that matter printed somewhere, so as of TODAY I'm removing my images from my Facebook account until Facebook changes their policy back to acknowledge and respect our copyrights.
Scroll down to see section titled "Licenses" here, or read the text reproduced below:
You are solely responsible for the User Content that you Post on or through the Facebook Service. You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your website and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof. You represent and warrant that you have all rights and permissions to grant the foregoing licenses."

The full TOS is found here http://www.facebook.com/terms.php?ref=pf

So what does this mean?

Handing over an exclusive license allows Facebook to protect themselves from lawsuits if, for example, a shot of my Facebook page and artwork or art photos ends up in a magazine ad. However, granting them an exclusive license -- which, according to the TOS, I am doing by signing up for Facebook -- means they can literally profit from my images directly, as if they are theirs, because in fact I am saying they are theirs.
Whether or not they are motivated to put my images on mugs or t-shirts for sale and Facebook profit is a separate issue, but the wording there in the TOS says that I am agreeing that it's okay for them to do so, and I will not be compensated nor will I have a case against them.
Essentially, they don't have to ask me, because I already gave them permission by posting images.

What can I do?

To me, the idea of NOT posting my images and videos makes Facebook nothing more than a fancy chat-room. I believe my images confirm my business as a serious and dedicated artist, and attract others in the same business as well as others interested in my business.
I will likely re-post images with a very obnoxious ©David R. Darrow - www.DarrowArt.com across the image at 50% transparency, so viewers can still get the gist of my art, but not use it anywhere without advertising for me. :-)
Downside: I will lose earlier comments friends have posted when I delete the un-marked images.
According to this article,

Facebook's terms of service (TOS) used to say that when you closed an account on their network, any rights they claimed to the original content you uploaded would expire. Not anymore.

By them adding the word "forever" and you agreeing to it you have already unprotected yourself. It's too late, because they changed the agreement after you agreed.

Alan C. Campbell Portrait

2009-02-12T10:48:00.001-08:00

by David R. Darrow
11" x 14" (27.9cm x 35.6cm)
Oil on Canvas Panel
SOLD
Collection of Alan C. Campbell
San Diego, CA – USA

About This Painting

This portrait of my client Alan Campbell was started with Alan in the studio watching while I painted during the broadcast of Dave the Painting Guy.
I asked him if I could paint him because I like his face and I like him. He balked at the idea at first, but I talked him into posing for photographic reference for the painting, and then he became interested in obtaining the painting for his office.
So, what started out as a Fine Art piece for me to paint and sell, became a portrait commission. Either way, it was fun to paint.
Alan is a recognized, award-winning architect in San Diego. Visit the website of Alan C. Campbell. ◙

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Bob Ross 2.0

2008-10-07T15:45:00.000-07:00

You may prefer the less challenging English translation over the original text, but one writer in Greece has compared my show... well maybe just me... to Bob Ross.

Bob Ross [Wikipedia], the afro-adorned, soft-spoken wizard of 26-minute oil paintings got famous on PBS and left a void for art education when he passed away on July 4th, 1995.

He was famous for "happy trees" and "happy accidents" and those phrases live on in my show as viewers rattle them off in the chatroom.

I have absolutely no criticism of Bob Ross's work. He filled a void, brought a lot of people happiness and joy by helping them accomplish complete paintings. But perhaps the author sums it up best:

[Dave] sure is not Bob Ross but is a very good effort.

UPDATE:

The author of the article just mailed me an accurate translation:

Many of you have seen Bob Ross, the guy with the strange hair at ET3 (a greek tv channel) that paints in a couple of minutes things that most of us adore (although many "artists" think that they are just "knock offs"). Maybe you are one of those who tried to make their first steps in painting, because of the easiness that Bob Ross presents us. The shows we are watching are already counting 15 years and Bob Ross is not alive.

If you are wondering how a similar artist would be in the WEB 2.0 era, I think that David Darrow is an answer. Daily lessons and live streaming, twitter updates and of course blog, website etc, the Painting Guy does a very nice opening of the art to the public. Maybe he is not Bob Ross but this is a very good work.

If he is streaming right now you can watch him below either way visit his ustream channel.

The Blind Merchant - Color Sketch

2008-09-24T09:19:00.001-07:00

by David R. Darrow
8" x 10-1/2" (20.3cm x 26.7cm)
Oil on Panel

About This Painting

Last evening on my internet video broadcast Dave The Painting Guy I did a preparatory painting, known in painting circles as a color sketch.
This is part of a process of a larger work in which I can test at a small size how I might approach the color and some of the brushwork on a larger work.
In the case of The Blind Merchant, a commission from a San Diego collector of my work, I painted this on top of a mounted print of the pencil layout I have already done on the final, 18" x 24" canvas.
The painting is ready to go, and I will begin it in a 2 - 3 hour broadcast beginning Wednesday at 5pm, Pacific time.
To go directly to the broadcast, where you can view my show if it is live, or view video clips of past broadcasts, click here. ◙

Limited Edition (25 total) Giclée

I am making available an Edition of 25 limited Edition, signed and numbered, 8" x 10" Fine Art Giclées of
The Blind Merchant color sketch I did Monday, September 22, 2008. They are signed and numbered in the order payments are received.
As of now, there are 13 left in this edition.

Click here to order now:

Total: $25 including Priority Mail shipping. This edition will not be repeated, and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.
(Matted and Mounted upgrade available)

These Giclées are printed with lightfast, archival inks on archival, acid-free Fine Art paper and will not fade or yellow for over 100 years.

To subscribe to my free "Art In Your InBox" Newsletter, just click here.

Samuel Gompers

2008-09-03T15:18:00.001-07:00

by David R. Darrow
8" x 10" (20.3cm x 25.4cm)
Oil on Canvas Panel
This painting is not framed
Click here to see it bigger

About This Painting

Next Dave The Painting Guy show:
Today, Wednesday, 5pm Pacific Time (GMT -8)
This past Monday, I relaunched my Dave the Painting Guy streaming internet show (website link) after over a month off the air, a month off from any painting (other than walls), and a month of packing and relocating to a large enough home to comfortably accommodate my wife and I, our individual home businesses, my art studio, and occasional guests and family-member sleep overs.
Somehow Labor Day seemed like an appropriate day top get back to work. So I announced my intentions to go on the air again to subscribers to my notification list... and then set about trying to figure out what I would paint fro the show.
As always, careful planning and meticulous forethought are not my strongest gifts.
So it seemed Labor Day might have some interesting faces associated with its history, and sure enough, this interesting man, whom I painted as a demo on the show.
Samuel Gompers, according to Wikipedia "...helped found the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions in 1881 as a coalition of like-minded unions. In 1886 it was reorganized into the American Federation of Labor, with Gompers as its president. He would remain president of the organization until his death (with the exception of one year, 1895)."
And he had a pretty nice face for a painting demo.
(You can see the recorded clips on my ustream channel).
I'm going to offer it to the AFL for, I dunno, $300 or 400, but if anyone on my mailing list wants it, let me know in the next couple of days, and it's yours for $150. Or best offer. ◙

To subscribe to my free "Art In Your InBox" Newsletter, just click here.

Shadow Shapes Make for Recognition

2008-08-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

One of those 'pass around the internet' pictures came to my mailbox recently, and I think it is one of the best examples supporting my constant assertion that it is the otherwise abstract shapes of the shadows and shapes of the lights that make for recognition in portraiture.

So many of my students and viewers of Dave the Painting Guy get immediately caught up in details, forgetting that an accurate "bigger picture" is, often, what really tells the story, making the face recognizable.

In this manipulated image, above, the details tell you you're looking at Albert Einstein, but if you get up out of your seat, walk back away from your computer about 15 feet and turn around, the shadow shapes connect to images stored in your brain and you recognize, instead, a different celebrity.

The lesson: Sharp details do not contribute to recognition nearly as much as many artists think.

Signed, Framed, Delivered: It’s Yours!

2008-06-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

My wife and I delivered my commissioned portrait of Mariam directly to her place of work yesterday. Rather than having me bring the painting to her office, which she felt would certainly lead to unwanted ribbing from her already tease-prone coworkers, she met us in the lobby, complimented the portrait, asked for a little stack of my business cards and walked directly out to the parking garage to sequester the painting from prying eyes.

She later wrote that she took a few trusted friends to the garage gallery and showed them, which garnered the art work still more compliments.

Note: This painting was painted in its entirety live on the Dave the Painting Guy Show.

On Acrylics, Lips and Mistakes

2008-06-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

To be honest, I am always nervous about drawing in front of people, and having done so in classes and workshops I have taught and, now, online has really "kept me on my game." I suppose it's a bit like stage-fright. I don't think anyone is really afraid of speaking in front of people: they are deathly afraid of looking stupid in front of people by saying something wrong.

But even that comes in degrees. Even the most stage-frightened individual could give a 5-minute oratory in the 'baby hold' of a neonatal ward. At the other end of the spectrum, speaking before a crowd of dignitaries who know everything (or worse, think they know everything) about a subject you know very little about.

So when I teach, I have to remind myself that these people are here because they believe I have something to give them; something they do not yet have. That, metaphorically, puts the situation closer to the neonatal ward. I think, I can handle this.

It's a little different, though, doing a 'show' which largely attracts artists, including professionals. It rattles me to draw in front of people anyway, to be honest, and more so other artists. But I hate what fear does to me.

Fear is an energy. It makes me feel unpleasant. I am not talking about the healthy fear that makes you feel creepy about trying to jump from one building to another when they are 30 fett apart. That kind of fear saves lives. I am talking about the kind of fear that keep me from growing; the kind that screams in my mind's ear "Don't do it! They will find out you're a fraud!"

"But I'm not!" I argue back, in a questioning tone.

Oh, really? Then why not invite artists you look up to to watch the show?

While I would rather paint in the neonatal ward, the little dark shoulder-angel (or is this really the light one?) has a point... so without [much] hesitation, I invite Morgan Weistling, Chris Hopkins, Mick McGinty and others to view my show early on. [Norman Rockwell has still not signed in...] And in the spirit of William Hung, I just do my best.

Knowing I am far from the neonatal unit of the David R. Darrow School of Art and Halftime Extravaganza forces me to really think about my process, my measurements, my mixtures -- no easy task with the hounds of ADD nipping at my off-camera hind end the whole time.

On the John Wayne Painting

Starting so loose with acrylics was truly an experiment... the slick board made it flow easier than the canvas painting of Natalie I had just finished minutes before. Again, I was uncertain of the outcome, but envisioned a sloppy mess slowly turning into a decent painting.

My approach was to get my values and dark shapes in as a 'drawing and washes'... glazing until it "started to look like him" -- I felt it was WAY off until I got past the first eye. I found that mixing the acrylics was a challenge because of the difference in the way pigments work together in oils vs acrylics... but, just as oils were hard at first, I figured there was a way to 'compensate' and just concentrated on that: fixing what was wrong. (Probably the greatest "ah-ha!" for me as an artist was grasping that my method is '90% correcting mistakes' -- and so I am no longer nervous making mistakes -- it's my process.)

Partway (before the lip debacle -- watch one of the later video clips) I almost "canned it," thinking I could not recover sufficiently to make it salable... but I think I caught it good enough, when all was repaired and done.

Natalie

Natalie in acrylic was another experiment. When I started, I did not actually believe I could do it. But, now that I have struggled through it, I am very pleased with it. I had no vision of what it should look like. I often do, when staring an oil -- and that lack of vision was an obstacle. That vision often changes, but I can generally "see" certain parts finished before I even begin them. As I started to get the hang of the "retarder gel," I saw hope and kept going, making the face pleasing to view, and that inspired the will to finish.

Yes, I did think of tossing it, early on. I often do -- but, honestly, never do. I have a flaw, some might say, of not knowing when to give up and move on. Maybe it's an asset in a product-sense, but not financially. I don't 'cut my losses' well.

It is gratifying to know there are folks out there who just like to hang out at my easel, and for the most part, allow me to make mistakes in front of them.

Submit Your Viewer Picture

2008-06-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

Would you like to be added to the gallery of Dave The Painting Guy viewers?

Follow these steps:

Get Dave the Painting Guy (live show, recorded video clip or website) displaying on your computer monitor.
Get a picture of you and your monitor (with Dave the Painting Guy showing) together in the same shot. (be creative, or just snap a shot)
Send the largest version of your favorite shot to Dave [drdarrow@gmail.com], or click here to open your e-mail application, auto addressed to Dave The Painting Guy. (Dave's "gallery-making application" automatically sizes the pictures to a preset maximum, so the larger the better for clarity.)
Include your name, uStream username, city, state/province, country -- as well as your art-blog and website. (if you wish to have your name omitted, say so by your name — only your username will be shown).

Updates to Your Mobile Phone

2008-06-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

It's all free, and if you'll take a moment or two to sign up for a Twitter.com account, you can be updated on your mobile phone via text message whenever Dave is planning to go online to paint.

Here's how:

Go to Twitter.com/thepaintingguy and create a free account.

Next, search for and "follow 'thepaintingguy'." (Twitter does not allow enough characters for the username 'davethepaintingguy.')

Next, go to Settings > Devices and add your country code (+1 for USA) and mobile phone area code and phone number and authorize Twitter to send you text messages. You may have to verify your phone through a little process they show you.

That's it. Now when Dave posts a twitter message, it will be sent to every registered user that is following "Dave The Painting Guy."

Note: You may be charged by your mobile service provider on a per-text-message basis, if you do not have a monthly plan for unlimited incoming text messages.

New Internet LIVE Show

2008-05-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

Introducing a new LIVE Internet show about oil painting, hosted and taught by well-known portrait painter, David R. Darrow.

The best way to view this is to come over to uStream.tv and sign up. (There's a Log In/Sign Up link in the upper right.

Also, check out www.DaveThePaintingGuy.com for show schedule updates.