Oil Painting Demo at Mesa Gallery Store

During the recent Mesa Art Festival I painted this as a demo, while working in the Gallery Store at the Mesa Arts Center.  Many people stopped by to view the painting.  ( The Store has mercury lights which are hard to paint under.)

The next day I did a few small things to the painting.

"Beware"

Oil on Belgian Linen

11" X 14"

$450

I titled it "Beware" as it seems that you cannot get within five feet of a cholla cactus without get thorns.

Plein Air to Studio

Recently I spent some time out at Usery Mountain Regional Park, east of Phoenix.  I arrived before the sunlight had touched the ground at the Park.  Once the sun had touched the Cholla Cactus, I know what I was going to paint.

Here is my set-up at the Park with the cluster of Cholla.

Here is the finished plein air piece.

Using my plein air piece and photos, I created a much larger studio piece

This painting is 16" X 20" and can be purchased at On The Edge Gallery in Scottsdale AZ ($1090)

"Desert Dawn"

Oil on Belgian Linen

12" x 16

$525

I love the interplay of light and dark.  Here the sun is almost on the desert floor and soon the heat will arrive.  All watched over by a saguaro.

Painting the Grand Canyon

I recently completed a painting trip to the Grand Canyon.  Now I am working on converting my studies into final pieces of art work.

First a couple of plein air pieces or studies:

After reworking the composition, here is the final piece:

"On The Edge"

Oil on Belgian Linen

9" X 12"

$325

To purchase contact me at:

Bruce@BruceStam.com

To be added to my mailing list please visit my website at:

www.BruceStam.com

A Month of Plein Air Painting & Travels

"A River Runs Through It'

Oil on Linen, 16" X 20" 

During the month of July I traveled and painted at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and the North Rim.  Each day I did two plein air pieces and took many photographs.  After the Grand Canyon I was at Capital Reef National Park, and then painted in the rural farm lands of Utah and eventually ended up at Zion National Park.

I have collected a great deal of reference material for future paintings. But more importantly my study of the Southwest, the light, the textures, and the distances have increased my awareness of the greatness of this land.

The above painting is from Moran Point on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon looking north to Cape Royal.  The Colorado River is below.

Below is one of the farmland paintings that I have completed

"Lakeview Farm"

Oil on Linen, 12" X 16" $575

Cathedral Rock Reflections - Sedona

"Cathedral Rock Reflections"

Oil On Linen, 8" X 12" $275

There are many paintings of the red rock formations in Sedona, and it is a great place to paint, once you get away from the main tourist places.

Sometimes it is important to "paint" a scene that makes one wonder, and at times makes the artist wonder if they can paint the scene!  That happens all too often.

Painting reflections can be a challenge but I have learned that the reflection is just a bit darker and to paint the water put the paint on thick and pull some 'water' straight down towards the viewer.

Bruce

"When is a Painting Finished?"

Artists are often asked how do they know when a painting is finished.  Each artist asks himself or herself this question with each painting.  There are probably as many methods to knowing when a painting is finished as there are artists.

For me once I have a sense that the painting is nearing completion I take it out of the studio and place it in a spot in my home where I can easily see it from several vantage points and the light is completely natural but no direct sunlight.  I view the painting this way for a day.  I also check the painting in a mirror.  Usually I find small corrections using this process.  Such things as a hard edge that needs softening or a shape that needs a correction.

Now we all know that a frame improves a painting, but the true test of a finished and well-'crafted painting is when the frame neither adds or subtracts.  The painting can stand on its own.  This is exciting when this happens.

I am following the artistic work of another Arizona artist, Josi Callan.  Visit her web site by clicking here or her blog by clicking here.

For a link to my web site click:  www.BruceStam.com

Thanks,  Bruce