Tuesday, August 31, 2010

New Framed Paintings

Email for Purchase Info: bohnec@gmail.com



'Boston Harbor Blues'
18" x 24" Oil on Framed Canvas
$250 Includes Frame



'River Day-Lilies'
11" x 14" Oil on Framed Canvas
$175 Includes Frame

Saturday, August 21, 2010

'Louisa Crossroads'


11" x 14" Oil on Canvas
$100

I know better than to blindly follow Mapquest directions. Experience has shown that they will take you all sorts of crazy places that you don't want to be. But, I was in a hurry and I didn't have time to check my directions against an actual map- I saw a few familiar roads and figured I'd make it to Louisa one way or another. And I did, only after 45 miles of single lane roads through some of the most rural country I've seen in Virginia, south of Route 522 between Unionville and the Town of Louisa in Virginia. It was awesome! I recommend getting lost out there if you have the chance. Plus, I never would have snapped the photo that inspired this painting if Mapquest hadn't pulled its shenanigans.

This is where the back-roads dump you; at the intersection of Ellisville Drive and Route 33/22. Route 33 is Main Street in the Town of Louisa. I was headed to the Louisa County courthouse to file a zoning application for work. I wouldn't have taken the photo if, one; Mapquest hadn't tricked me and, two; the old guy in front of me hadn't taken 15 minutes to move from the stop sign. So, as fate would have it, I flung my arm out the window and snapped a photo. I haven't painted a landscape in a while so I enjoyed this. And I think I like the painting too.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

'Dexter'



18" x 24" Oil on HD Canvas
Commissioned
Sold!

This is Dexter...He's part greyhound, part pit-bull? Correct me there. Lily, Dexter's little sister is next. Dexter is a cool character so his colors match his persona. Lily is warm and affectionate so her colors will compliment Dexter's. I'm pretty happy with how Dexter turned out. Hope you are too.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

'Dirty Apple'



8' x 10' Oil on panel
SOLD!

White is a surprisingly difficult color to paint. It sounds easy, but when you really look at all the colors and values going on in the folds of a white cloth, you realize that there is a lot more to it. With this painting, I concentrated more on the folds of the cloth than I did the apple.

I should probably reiterate that I'm not tying to paint realistically. I'm not a fan of realistic painting...I agree that it takes a certain skill to perfectly recreate a scene, but I believe there is more art involved with impressionist painting, or the suggestion features through tonal values, lines and edges, etc. Not that I'm always successful at it...

Which style do you prefer?

Sunday, August 8, 2010

'Tomato Basil'



11" x 14" Oil on Panel
$150

Half way through this painting I was ready to wipe it and chalk it up to just not feeling it. But, I said screw it, I'll just see what happens and I started laying in color without really thinking about it...Turned out to be one of my favorite still life paintings that I've done so far.

Had some trouble with the basil though - I snipped it from our monster basil plant on the back patio and it was beautiful for about 20 minutes. Then it wilted into a puddle of itself. So I kind of had to imagine what it would look like...Overall, one of my favorites. Hope you like it.

'Corn and Peaches'


11" x 14" Oil on Panel
$150

"How often have we all come to that crucial point in a painting where it is practically "begging" us to stop before we ruin it? We have all had that experience and we risk failure, or at the least mediocrity, if we ignore the voice in our art." (Richard Schmid)

I reach this point in every painting and the hardest thing for me to do is to listen to that voice that tells me it's finished. I wouldn't say that I overworked this one, but it did have a more spontaneous look to it that I ruined when I tried to perfect some things that didn't really need perfecting. I want to be better than mediocre...

Richard Schid

Friday, August 6, 2010

'Okra and Tomato"


8' x 10' Oil on Panel
Sold!

I painted this one on Monday, but I've been too busy to blog it. I made a makeshift shadow box (out of a box) by cutting a rectangle in the top of the box and spay-painting the inside flat black. I can shine an adjustable lamp through the top and control how much light enters the box and the direction it comes from. The front of the box is open so I just set up whatever I'm painting inside. Very professional.

I like the way the okra turned out, but I got a little muddy with the tomato. Still, it's not bad. Here's the deal: the first person to leave a comment for this post can have this painting for free.