Good enough for government work

This week I am busy taking an oil painting portrait workshop with artist Letty Nowak http://www.lettynowak.com at The Studios of Key West. I have painted portraits before, but never with any instruction. And I really wanted to know how a serious portrait painter approaches it. In the photo above I have roughed in a sketch. I thought it was fine while I was doing it, then I saw fatal flaws, the nose was too long and the face wasn't wide enough. In the above photo I have made corrections and started to block in the color. There are still flaws, but I feel I can make some corrections and it will be passable. I'd like you all to know that the brave soul who said he'd be my test subject is my brother Bill Rogers, http://www.jenandtonicband.com , who besides being a wonderful musican, is very good looking so I don't want to screw this up. As you can see this workshop is about painting from a photo and one really interesting thing that Letty said is that portraits painted from photos where the subject is not smiling end up looking more like paintings then ones where the subject is smiling. And I can notice in the class that this is true. For the most part the smiling portraits look more like photos and just a little cheesy.

And here is the pottery I made last week. There a some cute new flip flops designs and lots of bright colors, as always.

Shore Leave

When I first came to Key West you would occasionaly see a sailor in his whites. I can't tell you the last time I saw them. I wonder if they even wear whites anymore? So this is a nostalgia kind of painting. For people familiar with Key West there is a dead giveaway as to which old town Key West street he is traveling.

"Shore Leave'
acrylic on canvas
20" x 16"
$475.00 unframed
giclee prints available

Happy Holidays

I decided to revisit a previous painting. I decided to change the size and the color, somewhat. Behine the easle are two barn style doors that open and give me a lot of light when I paint. But the photo looked better with the doors closed. This is the painting in progress. I think my coffee is getting cold. See my pink cup in the foreground?

Here is the finished painting. ( I wish I had done a better job of cropping the image, that dark line at the bottom is not part of the painting.)

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday.

"Sunny Day on Pearl Street" 20" x 16" acrylic unframed $485.00

in the gallery now

From Abstract Study to expressive realism

This acrylic study is the basis for the oil painting below. The acrylic is loose and abstract. I like it for it's freshness.
"Into the Evening" 16" x 20" acrylic on canvas unframed. $345.00

This oil painting still isn't resolved and I'm not sure how to finish it, so it will have to sit for awhile and rest. In the meantime the acrylic has made it into the gallery.

Odds and ends

Well, it is the time of year when everyone feels like they have a million irons in the fire and I am no exception. I have had a number of orders to get out, and the store to get stocked for the Holiday tourists that fill Key West the week between Christmas and New Year's. Plus I can't stay away from my paint brushes even when I have other things to do. Here are a few items that are going in the gallery and a very special dog bowl that is a Christmas gift for a friend who has a rescued puppy. (That's a secret, so don't tell).

I'll show the paintings in another post. I hope everyone is doing well.

I'm still here

Just a few images to prove that I am still working. And maybe these bright tropical colors will entice some of you to come and spend a few days in Key West and visit my gallery.

7 Artists Key West

604 Duval Street

Key West, FL

No Excuse

I have no excuse for being gone from "blog land" for so long. I have been busy, but it hasn't seemed like I have been doing anything really blog worthy. However, I did buy some really inexpensive paints and have been doing some experimental painting.

They are very fluid acrylic paints, and while they are not great paint, I don't feel bad about using a lot of paint and not being sure about the results. They are Lukas brand acrylic paints and you really get a lot for not much money. But some of the colors seem "off" and chalky and you have to tweak them to get the color you want. For example, I couldn't mix a decent black and I had to use a store bought black on the above cowpainting. I use a large sheet of plexi for a pallette and really pour out a lot of paint.

I also bought a big box of 16 x 20 canvas. The plan is to use these supplies up doing lots of experimental work. Most of which will probably just be for my own education. I was happy with the cow painting and it is hanging in the gallery.

But I have had very little time to paint and most of my time has been spent making pottery for customers who want special things in time for Christmas.

the cow painting is titled, "Those big brown eyes"

acyrlic on canvas, unframed 16 x 20" $395.00

Fianlly finished

This painting sat unresolved in my studio for many months. I just didn't know how to finish it. I finally decided to approach it the same way I did my recent bird paintings. See the April, 24 2011 post to see it "before".
"Little Gem on Pearl Street"
24" x 20" $495.00 acrylic on canvas

Finished oyster plates

Here are some pics of the finished oyster plates. I can't wait to do some more.

I only have one small plate finished, but I like it too.

In the works

I have always been fascinated with antique oyster plates, the fancy shmancy ones. It has been on my mind to design some of my own. It took me a little while to figure out how to put them together and get the look I want, elaborate, but contemporary. In the photos here you are seeing them in the greenware stage. That means the pieces are drying and no color has been put on them and they have not been fired. If I were to put them in a bucket of water they would turn back into soft clay that I could use again. These are pieces that need a lot of attention and baby-ing while they dry to insure that they do not warp. So it will be slow going with these. But I have big plans and high hopes for these.

Saturday's glaze fire

I haven't done this little sail boat design in a while.

Flip flop spoonrests in assorted colors and designs. $23.00

Love on the half shell

I finished this painting a couple of weeks ago but never got around to taking a photo.  Now it is framed and hanging on the gallery wall.  I meant to take some pictures at the opening.  But I was having fun talking to friends and just forgot.  We all had a good time and it was fun to see the gallery full of people.  Saturday I had a hard time getting motivated to do much.  But I did get some pottery started and I continued on today.  I think the next couple of weeks will be mostly pottery.  But I would like to paint another cow.  Thanks to all my friends who came to the opening.  It was great to see you.

"Love on the half shell"
oil on board
16" x 20"
$345.00

You are invited

What do you do when you have paintings piling up in your studio? HAVE AN OPENING!  This is a last minute kind of party so just come as you are.

RECENT PAINTINGS BY MAGGIE RULEY

Friday October 7, 5:30 to 7:30 pm

7 Artists Key West

604 Duval Street

SEE YOU THERE AND BRING YOUR FRIENDS

This week's pottery

 A customer had a request for some fish flops.  So I made a few pair.  I've also made some nesting wall chickens.  I used to make a lot of those "back in the day" and it seemed like fun to do some again.

I also made some flip flop ornaments.  Some for me and some for Margaritaville Key West.

Little wall chickens are $29
flip flop ornaments are $22
fish flops $48 a pair

Learning curve

I have been wanting to paint a cow for quite some time.  While going through my stacks of paper to use there was another odd size one that just said "cow head" to me.  At the time I put my signature on it I thought it was finished but as I look at it now I see a number of improvements I could make, and that is a good thing.  It means I learned something.  But now the decision, do you go back and work on it some more? or do you leave it as is and apply what you learned to the next one?

acrylic on paper
about 15" x 15"