Brent Jensen Oil Painter Blog

American Impressionist Society

2011-07-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

My painting, Family Vineyard, 16 x 20, was selected as part of the 12th Annual National Juried Exhibition for the American Impressionist Society. This year, Mountainsong Galleries in Carmel-By-The-Sea will be the host gallery. The exhibition runs from October 15 - November 15, 2011. The opening reception is on Friday, October 21 from 5-8:30 p.m. I plan to attend it as well as the Member Paint-Out on Saturday, October 22.

Fremont Art Association

2011-07-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was the guest artist at the Fremont Art Association meeting. Approximately 30 people attended my two hour demonstration. They also asked me to be their judge at an October art association juried show.

The group asked many questions and I was able to talk throughout most of the demonstration.

Although unable to complete the painting in its entirety during the presentation, I completed the oil painting in my studio. Winery At Water's Edge is a 14 x 11 oil painting.

This is the second community art association demonstration I have participated in during recent months. I truly enjoy these activities and welcome inquiries from other art clubs and associations.

American Society of Marine Artists

2011-07-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

My painting, Wine Barrel Boats, 16 X 20, was selected for the 15th National Exhibition. Between October 2011 and July 2013, this piece will travel across America to be displayed in eight museums. I am proud to be a member of The American Society of Marine Artists and participate in this prestigious exhibition.

SouthwestArt Magazine Article

2011-06-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

The July 2011 issue of SouthwestArt magazine has a feature series called, Mentors and Their Students. C.W. Mundy is profiled in Science and Spirit. C.W. chose me as one of his students he has mentored over the years. I was interviewed for this article and several of my paintings are included. It is an honor to be chosen by C.W. Mundy for this article. He is a true mentor and friend.

Updated Website

2011-05-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

My previous website served me well for many years. However, it was time for an update so I updated my website at www.jensenstudio.com. I hope you like the new look. It has a news tab but I decided this blog has served me well in the past so will continue blog posts here.

Plein Air Workshop

2011-05-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

I am teaching a three-day plein air workshop in the Napa, California area from September 15-17, 2011. Learn more about this $275 workshop by downloading the two page pdf brochure under the Upcoming Events tab of my website.
Comments from past workshop attendees include:
"Brent is a natural born teacher with the ability to impart knowledge and encouragement. He takes people from where they are in their development and advances them to the next level."
"Brent's encouragement and enthusiasm to interpret subject matter is a tremendous boost to the process."
"I received personal attention geared at my level - edge work and color enhancement."
"The variety of locations in this workshop was terrific."

C.W. Mundy

2011-05-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

I first met C.W. Mundy when I attended his workshop in the Loire Valley of France in 2005. He was an exceptional instructor and created what remains a highlight of my life. C.W. was generous with his time and knowledge. I felt validated as a relatively new artist. Since that initial workshop, I have kept in contact with C.W. Through the subsequent years, he has been a true mentor. I found out this week that Southwest Art magazine is going to feature an article on C.W. in their July issue. A few of his students he has mentored will be interviewed and become part of the article. I am honored to have my interview tomorrow.

Amarante, Portugal

2011-04-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

Amarante Cathedral, 18 x 24

One of the most beautiful cities visited on my recent European trip was the town of Amarante, Portugal, built in 1790. This painting is a study piece of Amarante's main church and bridge. To obtain the photo, I walked into the middle of the river on a small cement drainage platform. Although a few onlookers thought I was crazy, as an artist, I knew it was worth the risk to obtain the right photo.

Douro Valley, Portugal

2011-04-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

Vintage House View, 6 x 8

I just returned from a European painting trip. I plan on a making several posts on the experience. For port wine lovers, the Douro Valley in Portugal is a must see trip. This plein air piece was painted one morning from the balcony of my CS Vintage House hotel room which I recommend wholeheartedly.

As you can see from the photo of me painting this scene, it was a true paradise. As I've mentioned in other posts, a scene is open to interpretation and artist license. In this instance, I changed the pillars in the pool house to an arch and made the pool into a garden area.

French Paintings

2011-03-27T12:03:00.000-07:00

I have made two paint trips to France. This video is of some of the plein air and studio oil paintings of Paris, Normandy and the Loire Valley.

Rain's Reward

2011-03-20T22:35:00.000-07:00

Creamer, 5 x 7

It has been raining for a few days with more to come. Luckily, I love my art studio and have enjoyed pushing myself with various still life compositions. This creamer is from my china collection and I picked this red blossom from my garden. A combination of broken color and soft edges makes for a gem of a painting.

Application of Paint

2011-02-21T18:07:00.000-08:00

Kathryn emailed me in response to my last post and is interested in information about application of paint. Thanks Kathryn and hopefully others will find the following information helpful too.

Over time, paint can crack when a thin layer is applied over thick paint. To avoid cracking, begin your painting with a thin application of paint and layer thick paint on top towards the end. Not only does this method help preserve a painting longterm, it also adds interest as well.

Chiaroscuro is the method of applying value to a two-dimensional piece of artwork to create an illusion of a three-dimensional solid form. These strong contrasts between light and dark create interest in a painting. Shadows and dark areas are usually applied with thin paint and left to contrast against lighter areas which are layered with thicker paint.

When I am concerned about thick paint taking too long to dry, I prefer to use a quick drying white by Graham. I mix this quick dry white with my other regular paint colors. Using this approach, I find that instead of taking three days for a painting to dry, it will dry in a day and a half.

To maintain an even viscosity with my paints, I mix a solution of half turpentine and half linseed oil. When painting, I dip my clean brush into the mixture, then apply is to my colors and repeat throughout the painting.

John Carlson's book Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting is reference material I refer to often and a must-have for any serious artist. Pages 25-29 specifically address this topic of application of paint.

Here is a Youtube video demonstration of a 20 x 24 studio painting I completed today. I narrate throughout the video and illustrate what is discussed in this post.

Interests?

2011-02-19T09:12:00.000-08:00

When I look at my blog statistics, I am amazed at the number of people who visit my blog worldwide. While I attempt to be both educational and informative, I wonder if there are topics or examples of interest to you which I have yet to address. I am happy to share my thoughts and experiences, but want to assure I am on track with my posts. So, please don't be shy. Send me your comments or personal emails and let me know what you hope I address in the future on my blog.

Reflections

2011-02-06T16:09:00.000-08:00

I've been asked how I paint reflections. Ducks on a Pond is a 16 x 20 studio piece I painted after my recent visit to Connolly Ranch.

The viewer's eyes are meant to fill in painting details. Too many details robs the viewer of the opportunity to interpret a painting as they see it. Executing loose brush strokes keeps a painting interesting and fresh even after years of daily viewing. In this close up, you see how the duck bill is one brush stroke without hard edges. The combination of thick and thin paint on the duck itself adds depth.

Reflections are the opposite of what they are on the surface. A dark image is lighter in a reflection.

Another way to create water interest is to vary the paint between horizontal and verticals strokes as demonstrated below in this close up.

Connolly Ranch

2011-01-30T11:16:00.000-08:00

I recently went painting at Connolly Ranch with Kristine Pallas, a talented painting partner. It was a productive day as I worked on three paintings throughout the day. This 11 x 14 painting was the last one started and I mostly completed the blue house while plein air painting. Having a quality camera helps for reference work back in the studio.

This 10 x 12 was done entirely on location. Being outside painting is a joy on a day like we had.

Weather Woes

2011-01-17T11:04:00.000-08:00

Daisy & Roses, 5 x 7

What do plein air painters do when weather doesn't cooporate? Painting from photos is one good option, especially if you have the plein air painting done on location and also took a photo of the scene. I find painting a larger studio piece works best if I have both a photo and small study to reference.

I find winter is also a great time to explore subject matter a bit out of my comfort zone. Ultimately, it is all about the mileage. Flower still lifes are difficult to execute. Especially with a loose style like mine.

2010 Happy Holidays from Brent Jensen (click image for easier reading)

2010-12-18T17:02:00.000-08:00

North Bay Plein Air Painters

2010-12-11T10:33:00.000-08:00

Being a full-time painter can be isolating if you let it. To counter that tendency, I have pushed myself to paint with "paint partners" and now groups such as the North Bay Plein Air Painters group. I've painted twice with them and like the group organizers and location choices. Egos are checked at the door and participants seem to have a good time while maintaining the professionalism of what the group is about.

China Camp was one of the spots for a recent group outing. I plein air painted this 10 x 8, Seaside Village.

Later, in my studio and from photo, I painted this 16 x 20, China Camp View painting.

One of my goals is to create paintings that look effortless (easy), which is quite difficult to do. A broad brushstroke made once with confidence adds impact to a painting. Below is a close up which hopefully illustrates my point.

Oil Painting Demonstration of "Autumn in France"

2010-12-05T16:11:00.000-08:00

I took several photos of my 18 x 24 oil painting, Autumn in France to illustrate the steps involved in painting it. I made a youtube video and talk through it in a way that hopefully is of interest.

High School Senior Oil Painting

2010-12-04T13:09:00.000-08:00

I visited family over Thanksgiving and saw one of my paintings dated 12-10-76, my senior year of high school. Seeing this 34 year old 24 x 36 painting brought back many memories as I had forgotten I had even painted it. For my age then, I'm okay with the sky and mountains, but I've certainly come along way from painting single pieces of foreground grass. After high school, I went on to earn a B.A. in Art at the University of Utah. To make a living, I had a long career in architectural illustration and did not begin fine art painting again until 2002. I am serious about my career as a full-time painter. Seeing this painting from when I was 18 made me pause and think about the decades of lost time not focused on fine art. In the end, I realized that at least I'm painting now. No more looking back and wondering what if....

Does Size Matter?

2010-11-21T12:13:00.000-08:00

I paint as small as 4 x 6 and as large as 36 x 48. A canvas size requires an execution of the painting in a different manner such as:

Time Investment: A small plein air piece can sometimes be completed in 1 to 2 hours. Whereas, I can spend periods of time every day for a week or more on a large canvas. The challenge on larger pieces is to know when to stop as they can become overworked. All painters have "scrappers." It's how we improve. The more hours invested, the more difficult it is to face reality and scrape a large piece. When it happens, I do my best to remember, it's all about the mileage.

Drawing: I spend much more time drawing out a larger canvas. Smaller pieces are more forgiving when dimensions need adjustment.

Brush size: Larger paintings require larger brushes. I use between a #6 flat up to a 1 inch brush for my larger pieces. Not only does the paint apply quicker, it assists you in staying loose.

Information: Often, my smaller pieces will not have as many details as a larger piece. It is important to have an editing eye and take artistic license on every scene, but especially on small works.

Reference: Plein air studies are often used to compare colors when completing larger pieces back in the studio. Many times, the studies are discarded once the larger piece is completed as I may not complete them. Their purpose primarily serves as color reference.

30 x 40

11 x 14 plein air

30 x 48

12 x 16 plein air

Results from Huihan Liu Workshop

2010-10-31T15:56:00.000-07:00

I received several emails from my October 17 blog post wanting to see what I painted at Huihan Liu's workshop. Below is a 20 x 16 painting which isn't entirely finished, but was the culmination of the last four weeks of Saturday classes. My goal to be a well rounded painter is one reason I study from accomplished figure painters like Huihan Liu and still life painters such as Jean Chambers and Robert Johnson. The more I study figure and still life painting, the better I become with those compositions as well as in my landscape and plein air paintings.

Huihan Liu has a great instructional style in that he demonstrates a portion of the painting followed by students working on the same area. He recognizes educational levels of his workshop attendees and provides the appropriate level of individual attention.

The face close up demonstrates my emphasis on shadows and soft edges. In addition to feeling more comfortable painting figures, I've already made adjustments to my landscape paintings. My edgework is more refined and I'm layering more with my paints.

Help Needed for Demonstration Photo

2010-10-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, November 6, at 10:30 a.m., I will be giving a two-hour painting demonstration at Greenhouse Gallery in San Antonio, Texas. I have done several demonstrations in the past and enjoy the interaction with the audience. Questions are always welcome as I am able to paint and talk at the same time, not something every artist is comfortable doing. A French scene with architecture is my preference. However, I'm not sure which photo to use. Which one do you think would be the most interesting to watch me paint?

Masterpieces from the Musee D'Orsay

2010-10-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

Despite the rain, I had a wonderful day at the de Young Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. The 2nd part of the Masterpieces from the Musee D'Orsay exhibit is open through January 18, 2011 and well worth the visit. For bargain minded folks, you can buy 40% discount tickets which includes headsets at Costco. To be honest, some of the featured artists are not my favorites, but seeing Van Gogh's Starry Night alone made the trip worthwhile.

Those of you from around here may be familiar with Check Please! Bay Area. It is a KQED local program that features three everyday people per show describe their favorite restaurant. The other two guests visit and rate the restaurant as well. This week, Woodhouse Fish Co. was featured. It is a seafood restaurant at the edge of the Castro. The Lobster Rolls are better than many I've eaten in Maine (they use Maine lobsters) and the stuffed artichokes with bay shrimp and dungeness crab are absolutely delicious. If you go to the museum exhibit and/or Woodhouse Fish Co., please let me know what you think.

Greenhouse Gallery Exhibit

2010-10-23T07:07:00.000-07:00

Greenhouse Gallery came into my life when I was accepted into their 2005 Salon International. In 2006, they agreed to represent me. I am honored to participate in an annual three-person exhibit with 18 new oil paintings. The pieces are now on their excellent website which allows you to see each painting in many formats including high resolution and framed. The reception is November 5 and I will do a two-hour demonstration Saturday morning, November 6. I'm proud of the variety and quality of my art work for this show. You can link to the show here. I would love to know which is your favorite.