Oil Painting

-Sam Winder
This is my first oil painting ever. It is a very impressive piece, but I didn't do without help. I worked with my friend Shari Griffiths (http://www.sharigriffithsart.com/). Check out her website, she's great! We worked together and she helped me every step on the way. I have done many other oil paintings after this one that weren't very good. I always look at this one it reminds me of what I am capable of.

This is a portrait of a guy named Mike. Mike wanted to pose nude, but I don't know if I am mature enough to handle that yet. I did this piece with Mitch Baird one night in his studio. His portrait of Mike turned out a lot better obviously because he is a professional. I am still happy with this piece because I blocked out the shapes and created form. I think I am seeing the planes of the face.

I was struggling with mixing warm and cool colors, and I still struggle with it. Learning how to mix colors correctly can be a lifelong pursuit. After this portrait I learned that the difference between cool and warm colors when doing a portrait is based off of the light source and shadows. For example, under a bright yellow light the skin tones will be warm, while under natural light or florescent light the skin tones are usually cool. To create warm flesh tones I would use cadmium red when mixing with white and yellow ochre. To create cool flesh tones I would use alizarin crimson because it has a little bit of blue in it.

This is one of the pieces I did in high school. I think it is pretty good, but the flesh tones seem to be off in the arms. There are things in this piece that I could have improved on a lot. This piece is done in acrylic and oil. I can put oil over acrylic and not vice versa. The cloths and guitar are acrylic while everything else is done in oils. The more I work with oils I have learned to first block out and then add detail. I did not do this in this piece and it still turned out okay. It could be a lot better, but it is only my second time working in oils ever.
-Sam Winder

This piece receive some awards and honorable mentions at shows. I don't know what I won, and don't really care. The only thing I remember is that I received the department award for art at honors night when I graduated. It is nice to know others like my work, but right now this piece is just sitting in my closet gathering dust.

This is my french easel set up in the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. I am still learning how to be effective en plein air painting (french for in the open air). It was a beautiful day in late early August. It started off cloudy and then the sun came out. This changed the lighting of the scene I was painting which made it difficult to mix the colors. It didn't rain, but it wouldn't have mattered if it did, because the water wouldn't effect the oils.

I enjoyed doing this project and getting some fresh air, this is what painting is all about. At the same time I don't like doing landscapes very much and am working hard to improve my landscape skills. Anything I paint will make me a better artist, because it is essentially about seeing. When I paint landscapes it will help me when I do my portraits or cartoons. Truely, Sam Winder.