The blog of dibbleart.com

Plein air pieces

2012-01-26T18:02:00.000-08:00

Here are three plein air pieces done over the last six months. These were done back in July, November, and October, respectively. The stump is the most successful, but there are some other successful elements about the other two. I have been trying to get out and do one painting a week, which has been both cold, as well as rewarding. I'll post some of the recent pieces soon.

New piece for the New Era

2012-01-09T21:47:00.000-08:00

Here is a digital piece which I did this week for the New Era magazine (the youth magazine of the LDS church). I like it generally. It's a bit heavy on the photographic side, which, digitally, often ends up looking like you only know how to use the color picker in Photoshop. With some more time I could have pushed things away from that a little more successfully, perhaps. It was originally all warm light (both the ambient and directional light were warm), but I pushed the cools into the ambient side, and I like that part. Kudos to Alex for being such a willing last minute model!

The Next Step

2011-11-30T19:41:00.000-08:00

Here is the actual oil painting of the digital version in the last post. I am quite pleased with it, and feel like there are some things working better here than in the digital version. I pulled up the digital version on my old imac and painted straight from the screen, a first for me. It was very enjoyable to paint from the screen instead of a sub-par print. This is a 9"x12" piece, and I'm looking forward to doing a larger version soon.

Why yes, it HAS been six months...

2011-11-22T19:26:00.000-08:00

So, we had our first son in August, which is all of the disclaimer needed for not posting in awhile:) I have been trying to utilize more of my film/color key skills in my personal work, and this is one example. The bottom is a photo which I took a few years ago. It had some great elements, but after doing a larger painting of it, I realized that it was missing some important elements. So the other three are the small digital overpaintings I did, using the photo as a starting point. The top is the most recent, and I think the most successful. I used a few other photos for value/color reference, but mostly just tried to compose the scene from imagination and not be hindered by the limitations of the photo ref. I'm excited to now do an oil painting of this and see how it changes from digital to paint. More to come!

A Beach Campout Weekend!

2011-06-20T05:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I usually only post art related things here, but I couldn't resist sharing a photo from our troop beach campout this past weekend. The kids had a lot of fun, and it was great to see them so excited to be having meaningful adventures together. If it looks like we're screaming in this photo, it was to prepare us for the cold Atlantic water which we were seconds away from being immersed in:) Go Boy Scouts!

The Latest

2011-06-11T20:21:00.000-07:00

So, here is a little landscape and its corresponding study. The larger finished piece is 11"x 14", so not huge, and the small study is around 4"x 6". And though I rarely show them together, I have included the original photo ref that I used for the piece. The photo itself is a compilation of three different photos (if you look close you can see the hack job in Photoshop...I was going quick). I include this so that you can see things that were similar as well as some of the dramatic liberties that I took with the piece, adjusting it for composition and interest. In these photos, the reference looks very vibrant and the two paintings are a bit washed out. In reality, the print of the photo was semi-washed out, and the painting has all of the color...funny. And beyond all of that, I had exactly two nights to get this painted and entered into a show (it didn't make it in:). So, though it was a mad dash to finish it--the piece bearing the marks of that speed--I'm glad that I pushed through and did it. Enjoy!

New Plein Air Easel

2011-06-01T06:33:00.000-07:00

I just recently purchased a new 'Easy L' plein air easel, and am very excited about having greater flexibility to paint on location. The easel is great, but there were some design elements that I felt needed a little nudge to get where they needed to be. The slide-out wings were constructed on the flat bottom of the 'out of the box' easel with 1/8" birch plywood. I sandwiched the two pieces and alternated the grain and it turned out quite strong. There are stronger 1/8" ply's out there, but this was the cheapest, and worked just fine. A blend of different wood oils helps them slide well, and protects the wood.

Over the weekend I got out and did two mediocre paintings just to break it in. As Ron says (here at Blue Sky) "It's the indian, not the arrow!" ...onward and upward.

Magazine Spread

2011-05-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

Here are two pieces that I recently did for a spread in the New Era magazine. It's a youth publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (http://lds.org/new-era?lang=eng). This particular story is about a young girl's spiritual experience while camping with her friends and church leaders. The bottom piece is a small vignette for the opposite page. It's all painted in Photoshop. (And these images are all copyrighted)...Enjoy!

Recent Sketches

2011-05-18T07:37:00.000-07:00

Here are a few sketchbook pages from the last few weeks. The top left were ideas for a painting (to be posted soon), and the bottom left was in church on Easter Sunday (I was listening, honest!). The right was during our Scout campout last weekend. The boys slept in a little, but I was wide awake at 6 for some odd reason (does that mean I'm getting old?), so what a great chance to draw!

Circling the Square

2011-03-12T17:18:00.000-08:00

So, rule no. 1 in Design: Solve the clients problem not your own. It turns out the camp needed the patch to be round:) So here are the two ideas for the round patch, and I think it is actually stronger in some ways. Amazing how we sometimes spend so much effort resisting change when revision and some healthy editing are often just what a design/painting need. Enjoy!

Seeing The Everyday

2011-03-08T06:26:00.000-08:00

This is a drawing I finished last night (ok, early this morning, technically:) for the upcoming Spring issue of Seeing the Everyday magazine. The spread is a biography of Grace Rebecca Hartvigsen Thomas, and she was an amazing woman and mother. As always, you can see more about the magazine at: www.seeingtheeveryday.com. It was fun to do the old photograph look; as always there are things that I hit well, and others that I'll improve next time.

Rebranding a Scout camp

2011-03-05T11:45:00.000-08:00

So, once again it's that time of the year when Boy Scout camps all over the country start ordering t-shirts and patches for the summer camp season. This is an idea for a camp out West that a good friend is directing this summer. The top two elongated designs would be for t-shirts, and the bottom two are different ideas for putting the same design into a patch. I'm probably partial to the orange shirt color scheme and the patch on the left with the blue background. Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T09:18:00.000-08:00

So, it's no secret that I am the proud husband to the most amazing wife ever. So, I thought a little Photoshop Valentine was in order to start out the day (and I thought that you, digital world, might enjoy it, too)...

Finally Done!

2011-02-14T09:04:00.000-08:00

Well, I have finally finished the Kaysville painting. There are still some issues with it, perhaps, but it has been beaten to death sufficiently, and I need to move on. I added a lot more blue into the water, distant mountains, and sky, and I think it is harmonizing better.

The bottom piece is a plein-air piece of the Bronx River that I did a few weeks ago. The top half I painted quickly and then the sun went behind some clouds and I spent the rest of the time chasing it. After bringing it home I repainted the bottom half at least three times, and this is as much as I can do without more information. Sorry it's a bit blurry, if I can get a better photo of it in the next few days I'll replace it.

Seeing The Everyday sketch

2011-02-08T20:21:00.000-08:00

I did this sketch a few months ago for Seeing The Everyday magazine, but never posted it. It is one of my favorites that I have done for that incredible publication. If you haven't spent some time with that magazine yet, you really need to make some time for it: seeingtheeveryday.com. As I look at the drawing now, I really think it could use a suggestion of cast shadow at the base of the figure to ground it, and probably a bit of the left hand (her left) showing for the same reason. Next time:)

Little Key

2011-02-08T20:16:00.000-08:00

This is a small color key I did on Saturday. Normally these come before the larger pieces, but I really liked the plein air piece I did of the Bronx River a few weeks ago, so I just decided to do this little small painting of it and use a slightly more intense palette. I have been trying to use black and burnt umber more sparingly lately, and I think it's helping my colors not be as muddy.

Color Studies

2011-02-08T18:13:00.000-08:00

These are some color study pages I put together from little studies done over the last few years. A few of these have already been posted, but I thought it would be fun to have them all together. There is something strangely exciting about the energy of a loose little study that often seems elusive as the painting gets transfered to a larger piece.

A Winter Plein-Air

2011-01-06T19:25:00.000-08:00

Ok, so no excuses about how long it has been since the last post, we'll just be grateful for the present. This is a plein-air piece that I did New Year's Eve along the Bronx River. Though it looks rather secluded there are actually cars that travel along both sides of this scene. That's the beauty of artistic editing. I feel like there are some good things happening, and I tried to be quite basic especially with my treatment of the trees. Happy 2011! Best yet...

Some Sketches

2011-01-06T18:43:00.000-08:00

These are some sketches that I have had for awhile and just haven't posted. The top three are plein-air sketches done around Blue Sky Studios during my lunch our over the past year or so. The bottom four little guys are just some studies I did from some photos I had taken a few years ago. Now that I look at the bottom four I realize that the composition is fair, but the lighting isn't really telling much of a story. The sketch of the large trees (the one titled 'Greenwich') is probably my favorite of the bunch.

Two Months!

2010-09-06T19:57:00.000-07:00

So, I can't believe that I haven't posted anything for over two months! No excuses, I'll just lift where I stand:). This is a painting of Kaysville that I am putting some finishing touches on. I say that it's done, but that may only last until the folks at work critique it tomorrow. It's amazing how the transition from being relatively pleased with a piece to thinking it's the worst thing ever to come out of your hand is sometimes only a matter of minutes. I believe I have an older post with an earlier version (or at least the color study). You'll notice that quite a lot has changed. Happy Labor Day!

Two Plein Airs and a Study

2010-06-18T04:13:00.000-07:00

Here are three recent pieces. The top piece is a plein air piece that I did last Saturday up near Taconic State Park about 2 hours North of Manhattan. It had rained in the morning and started again just as I was finishing this up. The indirect light was wonderful to paint in, and I felt that I accurately described the color and mood of the scene.

The middle piece is a quick study I did from an old photo I had of West Layton. I added in the trees as a compositional element (they weren't in the photo), but if I were to paint the scene as a larger piece I think I would leave them out, push the horizon even lower, and just focus on the clouds, which is the main focal point.

The last piece is a plein air painting that I did right across the street at Blue Sky a few months back in early Spring. There had been a bad storm the day before which had cut off power to much of the area, so we had gotten word that work wouldn't start until later. "Great" I thought "I'll just go in and do a painting first and then jump into work when it starts after lunch". I raced through this painting and, having taken longer than I had planned on it, I cleaned up in a huff and rushed over to work only to find that the power was still out and work was canceled for the day. Oh well, deadlines help us paint better.

2010-04-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

So, I realized that I haven't ever really posted any of my sketchbook, and I feel like it really is the foundation for any artist. Having said that, I don't sketch nearly enough. So, here is a sampling of some sketches from the past year.

The first sketches were value studies of some of the murals by John Singer Sargent and Edwin Austin Abbey at the Boston Public Library. Stunning work. The murals, I mean.

These were some sketches I did on the plane home to Utah and at the farm last summer. Hollyhocks are always photogenic.

Waiting for the train at the Crestwood station near our home in Tuckahoe. This was around the time that I saw the train at the station from the hill and raced down, arriving breathless and smiling just as the doors closed. The train then proceeded to pull away and headed the opposite direction I wanted to be going. I didn't ever do that again.

This was in Golden Gate Park during our summer trip to San Francisco. Liz is always great to sit still for me:)

Several figure studies from the last year. The sketchbook pieces are mostly 1-2 minute poses, and the more refined piece above was 20 minutes,

New Study

2010-03-20T17:50:00.000-07:00

This is a little study (5 x 7) of a West Kaysville scene that I have been working on for a few weeks (Antelope Island is in the distance). I'm considering doing a larger piece of it, but I'm not sure yet. Compared to the original, this photo tends slightly more towards yellow-green, and I may have lightened up the values a hair too much, but generally it's in the ballpark. More to come!

Irrigation

2010-02-11T19:24:00.000-08:00

Here is a little 5"x 7" study that I did last weekend in anticipation of a larger painting to come. It's always interesting to see how pieces work at different sizes. A lot of great paintings that are fine as small pieces just don't work as large paintings. But, as with any process of creation, you'll never know for sure what it is just by mulling it over in your mind. It has to take physical form before you can see it for what it is and assess things correctly. I also think it's funny that we always want to paint summer scenes in the winter and vice-versa. Digital photography has heightened this ability. I would wager that some of the most sentimental Christmas songs were written in the heat of July when the memories were sweetest. Enjoy.

Brownstones to Red Dirt

2010-01-29T17:09:00.000-08:00

I did this little painting for a charity auction that is part of a great project called "Brownstones to Red Dirt". Several people at Blue Sky created this project connecting kids from Brooklyn and Sierra Leone, and have made a documentary about it. Their website is: www.brownstonestoreddirt.com, and explains things more in-depth. As part of the project, they have asked a variety of artists to create a piece of art on a small wooden postcard which will then be auctioned off. They have created a blog where they are posting the artists' submissions: btorpostcards.blogspot.com. I'm a little chagrined that my piece has much less in common thematically with the subject matter than the other pieces, but it's always good fun to paint a lady with leaves in her hair. And while we're into full disclosure, the brush I used was on its last leg and quite ratty, so hold it back and squint for a slightly better experience...

2010-01-09T22:12:00.000-08:00

This is a little sketch I did for Seeing the Everyday magazine (www.seeingtheeveryday.com). I finished it a few weeks ago, but have just posted this revised version from the initial pass I had up for awhile. The changes were minor but I think strengthened the piece. I was reminded again of just how vital good photo reference is to work from. This had to be highly stylized as a result of poor reference, and the results, while ok to go out the door, weren't as I would have hoped. Sure, blame it on the reference:)...

Holiday Treats!

2009-12-21T05:16:00.000-08:00

So, for Christmas treats this year we roasted some nuts (coat them with egg whites, add some cinnamon and sugar...) and added this little tag. The bags were some that I had sitting around, and they were smaller than they should have been, perhaps, so it's good we had a tag to dress it up. Liz was the art director on the project, and it's good too, because my first few iterations were quite pitiful. Merry Christmas All!

2009-11-07T18:39:00.000-08:00

This is the small study I did for the larger piece above. This measures about 1"x 4", and as with all studies, there is a certain immediacy and 'spark' that is fun. To help the effect, squint your eyes.
The larger piece is not that big (6"x 24") and depicts one of the cirques on the Mt. Timpanogos trail. My wife and I were hiking there this summer and on the way down the setting sun was spectacular. I couldn't take photos fast enough, and this was a conglomeration of several of them. The painting is working quite well, I think, and I would really love to do this piece larger. I can definitely point to things in this piece which are a result of knowledge gained--or at least refined--while at Blue Sky. The Art Director that I'm working with on 'Rio' and the other artists there have a really great sense of the use of lighting, value, and color as a means of telling a story and creating a focal point. Enjoy!

2009-11-07T18:26:00.000-08:00

This is a revision of a piece from a few months ago. The original is a few posts back. The perspective was off, and it was hard to tell what was going on in the field with the ditches. So here's the next step. There are some things which are working better, and some things which are starting to get overworked. Doing most of it at 2 am probably didn't help the freshness of it:)

2009-11-07T18:09:00.000-08:00

This is a small piece (4.5"x6") that I did a few weeks ago for the Canyon Gallery. It is of West Layton, and I like a lot of things about it. I would love to do a larger piece of it.

2009-11-07T17:59:00.000-08:00

So, here is a little six inch square piece that I did recently. It's one of four that are going to the Canyon Gallery in Farmington, UT. I originally did this about six months ago and the background was all very light green--lighter than the flesh tones. I basically repainted the whole thing. Ok, not basically, I did repaint the whole thing. I just set out one Saturday to warm up the wreath, and ended up hours later with a completely new piece. There are things that work well, and generally I'm pleased. There are still some slight anatomical/chromatic issues, but it needs to go out the door.

Grandma Mynoa

2009-10-15T16:16:00.000-07:00

This is a sketch I did last week for an incredible magazine called "Seeing the Everyday". You can see more of their phenomenal publication at: www.seeingtheeveryday.com. The portrait is of a woman named Mynoa Anderson, and she was an amazing individual. A short story of her life will be in the next quarterly edition of Seeing the Everyday. It was fun to do the vignette.

2009-09-15T19:10:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick project I did tonight for my dad. They're going to start boxing up some of the potatoes on the farm whereas it has been entirely bags to this point. I wanted to make a design that had a vintage feel while carrying over some fun contemporary elements. It's quite a simple design, and I'm no typographer, but hopefully it will dress things up a bit. And the potatoes deserve it, because they're some of the best you'll find anywhere, hands down. That may sound like a used car pitch, but it's different in that it's actually true. Enjoy.

2009-08-25T05:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a larger version of the small study below (8"x 10"). There are some things that are working well, and some things that will need to be resolved in a larger piece.

2009-08-19T18:25:00.001-07:00

I'm beginning a series of farm paintings from reference I gathered while on a recent trip to Utah. The top two pieces will be a companion set with the field before and after irrigation. I intend to do them semi-large, perhaps four feet or so (that's as big as I can fit in my patio studio currently!) I'm looking forward to experimenting with sky/field colors more before I progress on to the final canvases. The bottom piece will be 2-3'. I have a medium-size study I have already completed of this small piece which I'll post in the next few days. Enjoy!

2009-08-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

Each week at Blue Sky Studios, a group of 'Lunchtime Painters' do a plein air piece around the studio. There are extensive grounds, and it has been really great. The piece above I did yesterday, and it's included because it's the most recent, not because I particularly care for it. The first piece is one I did of my co-worker Ron, who is a fantastic painter.

2009-06-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

This is a larger piece (18"x24" on linen panel) that just got shipped off to the Hollis Gallery in Pasadena (www.hollisfineart.com). The photo has a little glare, and the foreground shadow relationship to the distant cloud/mountaintop seems a bit drastic from the original, but other than that it's pretty true. The painting depicts the Utah mountains right above Farmington. I took some liberties with, well, a lot of things, but the essence is there. My last three large paintings have had a foreground shadow added to enhance focal point, so I'm going to have to start using some other tricks or else I'll get typecast!

2009-06-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

Here are a few quick studies that have been lying around for a few months. The bottom winter piece was done on a snowy morning from the kitchen window, and the Indian corn was hanging on the wall by the stove one night and I couldn't resist. The baler and winter nocturne are from photos. All are roughly 5"x7". Enjoy!

How it works (the condensed version)

2009-05-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

So, here are the highlights of the "Needles Peak Illustrated Life History", complete with pithy, but actual, thoughts along the way. Remember, if your initial thought is that it looks like a garden gnome, chances are someone else will too. Some good thoughts to keep in mind with logo design and painting alike:
A) Always have impartial eyes take a look at it and tell you WHAT THEY SEE (not what they think/like...at least not at first).
B) Never settle for the first solutions, they are rarely the most successful.

Coming Soon: Paintings!

Needles Peak Ski and Bike

2009-05-02T06:42:00.000-07:00

This is a logo that I just completed for a new ski/bike shop in Utah. Needles Peak Ski and Bike is the official name, and they're just getting started. They are really committed to being a great shop, and I'm really excited about where the logo is going. We did a lot of versions, and I'll try and post some 'process' versions later so you can how it came together. I'm excited to get some paintings up soon! (All images are copyrighted)

Holcomb Valley

2009-04-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a logo and t-shirt design that I recently completed for Holcomb Valley Scout Reservation in California. I worked there several years ago, and the camp is now under the leadership of some great friends, Ben and Kristi, who are doing marvelous things. A lot of camps traditionally have horrible design, and so hopefully this is at least one step up from clip-art and faux wolf-claw marks.

Lily

2009-04-04T07:14:00.000-07:00

This is a little oil study (3.5"x 8") I did a few weeks ago in anticipation of a larger piece (12"x 24") which is in the works. It was a fun limited palette study, and utilized Cad. Red, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Umber, Ivory Black, and Titan. White.

2009-04-02T04:12:00.000-07:00

And thus I enter into the blogging world. I intend to use this as a forum for sharing new work, especially sketches, prep work, and studies--the really wonderful parts that never get seen on the website. Let me know what you think, and I promise to try and give new things to see often. This little watercolor was done last Fall from a photo taken inside my Utah studio looking out at the amazing Hollyhocks waving right outside the window. They always remind me of home. Enjoy!