Cincinnati Skyline - palette knife painting time lapse

Today I was thrilled to complete this commissioned painting for a local collector. He has a deep love for the city of Cincinnati and wanted an original painting he could put up and enjoy in his home.  

He and I went through several sketch drafts prior to me painting this piece. I wanted to be sure to deliver exactly what he wanted. 

This piece took me about 11 hrs to complete. 

The beauty of setting up a time lapse is that you can easily show the progress of a painting (or anything) in a very condensed time frame. The audience doesn't have time to get bored and you look like the fastest moving human ever. 

Tips for using the time lapse feature (on iPhone):

1. Set up a tripod. You may need to pick up an iPhone mounting bracket for the tripod if your tripod doesn't have one. 

2. Prep before you begin recording. 

3. Once you're ready to begin, turn your video camera setting to time lapse. 

4. Pres the record button

5. Have fun. 

6. I like to check the camera a few times to make sure it's still running ok. 

7. When you're done, push the red button again to finalize the video. 

Bam! You're done. iPhone does the rest. 

Too bad I can't actually paint that fast. 😉

Why do I paint?

There's something so romantic about leaving parts of yourself behind - little footprints of yourself in a busy world. When I think about my paintings hanging on the walls all over the country and some parts of the world, I get a little smile inside just knowing that I'm there; I made an imprint or impression in someone's life. Maybe my painting was the topic of a conversation or an ice breaker for someone's first date, maybe it brought up a memory at a family dinner. 

Last weekend it was the Masters.  I watched as Jordan Spieth @JordanSpieth broke records in the golf world. I watched in amazement as his score continued to go down. On the 18th green, during the final round, he found himself surrounded by a sea of people.

I noticed the colors, the people, the course, and something about it grabbed the artist in me. So I set up a canvas, got my paints out, and went to town. 

I got lost in the piece and didn't know until I was finished that I painted until 5a. I had work that morning (in just a few short hours) but I didn't care. It felt amazing to get lost in it. 

Sometimes it's an image that inspires me to paint. Sometimes it's a feeling. Sometimes I force myself to paint when I really am not feeling it and then 1/2 way through, I connect with the piece. 

Mostly, I just paint because I love creating something with my hands, that I can leave behind, and make imprints in the lives of others. When I am long gone, my work will still be here and I guess that makes me feel like a part of me will still be here too. 

Here is the time lapse of "18 Under on 18 - The Masters". 

Palette Knife Painting Classes

Art classes are so much fun! It makes me giggle when we start classes and everyone is quiet and a bit reserved. I don't know if it's the music, or the fear of jumping into a deep pool of creativity that mellows everyone out but it happens every time.

This week we will be doing "Fresh Rain" together and I've opened the registration up to adults. I'm excited to see how it turns out.

If your Thursday evening is free from 6:30-8:30 and you live near Orem, I'd love to see you! More information found here:

http://www.theknifepainter.com/#/art-classes/

My New Website is live!

I am thrilled that my new website is finally live! Check it out here: www.theknifepainter.com

I've also started teaching palette knife painting classes for kids in Orem, Utah. If you're local please visit my new site for more details.