DweezelJazz Art Blog » Painting

A ‘Cow-bus’ in Gex, France: a Digital Painting

DweezelJazz — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:33:23 +0000

Jasmine (our African Grey parrot) and I used to go for long walks in the Gex countryside. We saw all sorts of things and took loads of photos, which have since become a source of reference shots for paintings for the Gex book. Well, I took the photos and did the walking, and Jazzy sat and climbed around in her backpack cage on my back, eating and looking around.

During one of our jaunts we came across some cows being transported to the fields for grazing. During the winter the cows around Gex are kept in or near the barn, and during the late spring and summer they’re brought out to the pastures. ‘Cow-Bus’, (13″ x 10″) seems a good name for this painting.

It was fun painting this. Jazzy and I had a great time out that day. It was so pretty everywhere, spring was vibrant with bright new flowers, butterflies, bees, insects buzzing everywhere, fresh air, and sunshine.

Jazzy was chatting away as usual, making impressive hawk sounds and generally commenting on things. She liked to chat, sometimes she chatted in a continuous flow of non-stop, almost unintelligible words. One time we were sitting at a bench and she was doing this. Someone got out of a parked car and crossed the street to ask if I had a radio on, and then discovered Jasmine. Of course, Jazzy was delighted because then she was admired and soon someone else came and she had a crowd talking to her. From then on, whenever she chatted like that (which was much of the time) we called her chatter: ‘radio Jasmine’.

Here you can see a more close-up view of the tractor window. There’s quite a bit of detail in this painting.

I’ve decided that I like detail, and perhaps more of a graphic-type look, rather than an overt so-called ‘painterly’ look, which often seems to translate to a more sophisticated look. I’ve had quite some difficulty trying to understand what style paintings I want to create, because I admire many different styles. But I think I do best with a simpler expression, and it has been such a good feeling, almost a relief, to discover this.

This painting was painted using Corel Painter 11.

“Sunken Boat” Egg Tempera Painting

DweezelJazz — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:40:04 +0000

Here’s the egg tempera painting I finished recently:

Sunken Boat (18" x 7")

This is a boat in Greece that came upon hard times. As is true for all the egg tempera paintings on my site, the colors are richer and the textures are more subtle on the originals, changing more gradually and fluidly than they appear here in jpeg form.

This was probably the most challenging painting for me of all that I’ve done so far. I’ve been looking forward to tackling this one for a few years now. It’s very nice to see a painting take shape that has been formulating in my head for so long and to see finally how it actually turned out.

I love the faded, yet still vibrant, colors on the boat and the glossy surface of the water. Hopefully someone came to rescue this cute little boat so it could go places again.

‘Daisy Rock’ Egg Tempera Painting: Le Brevant, Chamonix France

DweezelJazz — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:35:23 +0000

Le Brevant is a place on the peaks across the valley from the l’Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc. Le Brevant is accessible by hiking up the mountain and doesn’t require any special equipment to manage it, but we prefer to hop on the cable cars to get up there!

The weather on the peaks can change quickly with clouds appearing rapidly, seemingly out of nowhere. This is a view from Le Brevant looking across the valley in the direction of Mont Blanc, but the clouds have moved in.

It’s among these craggy landscapes that I discovered some daisies growing. And that’s what inspired this 12″ x 15″ egg tempera painting ‘Daisy Rock’:

It’s amazing how plants and even trees can grow amongst the rocks in what seems like a fairly inhospitable environment.

It turns out that this area has lots of wildlife and plants and is part of a nature reserve ‘Aiguilles Rouges’. In the billboard below, the white area shows the nature reserve starting at Le Brevant which is down at the lowest point of the white area. To see this closer up click on the image to see the text more clearly.

(As usual, click on any of the images to see a larger version.)

The lake contrasts with the rocky arid area up at Le Brevant and shines like a jewel.

There are some very nice hiking paths along there too.

Looking round a little to the right of the lake you can see the rock shift gradually into greener slopes where it’s just that bit warmer lower down.

Looking even further, to the far right, there are spectacular jagged peaks, and this time the fog is rolling in and out giving the place an eerie feeling.

Closer inspection of the rocks shows them to be very interesting and the colors are beautiful.

All sorts of things live among them. I took a photo of a medium-sized black spider hiding in between the rocks, but I thought these daisies peaking out were a lot less creepy.

The fog started to dissipate and the mountains on the Mont Blanc side of the valley popped into view.

When it’s clear the view is fantastic. You can see more of these views in the previous DweezelJazz Art blog post Egg Tempera Painting of l’Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix Mountains.

There’s a pleasant, though somewhat steep, walk down the mountain from Le Brevant – the ski route in winter. Trees and grass replace bare rocks and the scenes are more gentle than those in the rugged beauty of Le Brevant peak, but even here flowers nestle among the rocks. Beauty and life thrive even in the most awkward of places, perhaps making it all the more precious.

“Gex Door” Egg Tempera Painting

DweezelJazz — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:23:09 +0000

There are beautiful little alcoves and doorways all round Gex, a hillside town in the Pays de Gex, Ain, France. Walking around the streets higher up in Gex I caught sight of this doorway. It struck me as a simple entrance, without pretense, and yet it has a nobility about it that makes you wonder if it’s the way in to some great hall or building of historical importance. I don’t know whose home it is, or if the building has specific history to it, although being part of the old town of Gex is significant enough.

The painting is 12″ x 16″ (30 x 41 cm) and is done with egg tempera. This painting will also be a part of the ‘Gex Book’. I love the town of Gex and creating this book is my way of paying a small homage to that special place. I think the best thing in life is to share beauty, and so I hope you enjoy it too.

Rue du Commerce, Gex, France: A Watercolor Painting

DweezelJazz — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:27:56 +0000

Here’s the latest watercolor painting for the Gex book:

As you look at this painting, imagine turning round to your left and a few paces back down this same street, then you would see the view of the Gex Town fountain, which is in a small square to the left of this street. You can see the painting of the Gex Town Fountain in the previous DweezelJazz blog post.

Digital Painting of Gex Town Fountain, France, Using Corel Painter 11

DweezelJazz — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:51:39 +0000

Yesterday I finished another painting for the Gex book. Walking uphill on one of the main streets in Gex, there are wall-to-wall two to three story buildings hugging the sidewalk on either side of the street. So it’s quite unexpected when, on the left, a small square opens up, and it’s possible to see the Jura mountains in the distance and in the square there’s a fountain with running water.

I finally succumbed and tried Corel Painter 11, and this scene is painted with Corel Painter watercolor brushes. It is really a very nice way to paint digitally. I don’t find it easier than painting with normal paint brushes and pots of paint. In fact for the style I’ve used in painting the Gex fountain, I find it’s much more time-consuming to paint digitally than with watercolor on paper.

This is the photo used as reference:

Gex Town Fountain

The ability to experiment without worrying about the cost of materials or if the painting will be ruined, allows much more room to let it flow and try different things. I tend to spend more time going after colors and light that I want to see in the painting.

It’s very nice not to have washing or clearing up afterward. This makes it much easier to start painting even if there is only a short interval of time available for painting. I’m much more inclined to turn on the computer during those times than I am to dig out all the paints and brushes for a painting session.

When painting digitally, I paint pretty much how I would on paper, building up from washes to more detail. I saved backups when I finished an area, so it doesn’t demonstrate much gradual buildup within any given area, but below is a sequence showing the progression in terms of which sections I tackled in what order (click on image to enlarge).

I highly recommend Corel Painter 11 for anyone wanting to paint digitally. It’s potential seems limitless, and it’s very interesting to experiment to see what can be done with it.

Do you like digital artwork, or do you prefer traditionally created artwork? Which do you prefer to see? Which do you prefer to create? Why? I’d love to know your thoughts.