Valley View

This is my first blog on my new website and I thought it fitting to start with a new, just finished but still wet painting. It is an 18”x 24” oil painting on a linen panel.

The subject is a scene I got glimpses of while driving between New Braunfels, Texas and Canyon Lake. The day I took the pictures that eventually became this painting three years later was one of those Texas spring days with intermittent showers, some pretty heavy. There was practically no traffic on this rural road this day, so I was able to safely pull over to the side. So this painting is basically right off the side of the highway and no time to make a sketch let alone get out my paintings for a plein air piece.

When I got out of the car and walked over to the guard rail, I realized the view was better than I thought, but no single view did it justice as there were always trees or a sign blocking the view. So what I did was take a series of pictures of the same area, but from slightly different views.

This would not be any real problem as I normally will take a series of pictures for reference when I can't make a sketch or actually paint a small piece for later reference. After over forty years of painting I have yet to find a single photo that would tell me all I need for a painting.

So what you see in in the painting is an actual place in the Texas Hill Country, but not faithfully rendered so that you will instant recognize it if you were driving don the same highway. You would see several similar spots, but the Hill Country is loaded with scenes like this so I guess this painting is somewhat generic, but typical of the area.

I hope you enjoy it.

                                                                A New Website

Well, I finally got my new website up after a lot of struggling with computer and internet terms and fear (I'm nearly computer illiterate) and more than a little procrastination. I went with FASO as a host and they were a huge help once I got all my info put together and enough good photos of my work. I hope you like it.

http://johncoxpaintings.com/

Here is a new small painting that is on the new website. It is titled "The Old Back Road." It is a 12"x 9" oil on a linen panel. It is loosely based on an old photo I took nearly 50 years ago and quite a bit of artistic license taken to make it. It is available through here or my website where it can be purchased with Pay Pal. Another nice feature FASO provides. http://johncoxpaintings.com

 

                                            A Quiet Place

This a typical scene in the Texas Hill Country. When I first saw this scene just off a Farm to Market Road winding through the hills. Once I started sketching I noticed not just the natural composition that first attracted me, but how quiet and peaceful it was. No sounds of traffic, only a light breeze that hardly made a sound in the trees and grasses.  A beautiful day to be out sketching and photographing for new paintings. I hope my painting conveys the peace and quiet I enjoyed being in.

                                                    "A Quiet Place"  18"x 24" Oil on linen panel

                               Taking a Second Look

I learned many things from my friend James Reynolds about painting. One of these was to set a painting aside and come back after some time, usually after the painting has had time to dry completely and is ready to be varnished. Before varnishing, set the painting up and critique the painting and make notes. When you have done this, go back to the easel with it and correct the questionable areas.

Now, as a person who makes his living from the paintings he makes, I don't always have the luxury of setting a painting aside for very long before it needs to go to a gallery or a show. I do wait awhile, after I think the painting is finished to critique it. I have found, for myself anyway, that the longer I separate myself from a painting before critiquing it, the better. Lately, I have had some health issues and computer problems, that made me wait a good amount of time before I could really look at and, if needed, correct areas of a painting.

When the original first came off the easel. I was comfortable with this piece, but about a week later I was questioning it. Several areas were bothering me. Particularly the Blue Bonnets and values in the foreground. I have tried different ways of painting these flowers, but have yet to find something I really like. This was one of the better efforts, but I was not really happy with them. I put the painting in my storage closet. Out of sight, out of mind.

A couple of months past and my computer crashed, and I do mean crashed. It had to be completely rebuilt, so to speak. I probably needed to buy a new one, but finances being as they were,  well you get it. It is during this time without a computer that I truly realized what a time waster a computer can be. Yes it is a great asset for artists, but if not careful it is also a huge thief of one's time.

With my computer down, I was not able to access my reference material. OH NO! What do I do now? The answer was go back to what I did for years before computers came into my life. Come up with original compositions and do more plein air work! What a novel concept!!!

Problem was, it was winter. Not really cold, but a lot of rain and dreary days limited when I could get out to paint. One these days if I wasn't working on something new I had started in the field, I would go into my storage closet and pull older paintings and critique them. One of these paintings was this one.

Not only did the Blue Bonnets still bother me, so did the background

                               "The Old Oak In Spring"  16"x 20" Oil on linen panel

I reworked the Blue Bonnets. The photo does not show much change, but they are much softer and not as harsh along with more variation in the blues and purples. I also lightened the value of the grasses in the foreground. I cooled and softened the mid ground and background grasses. The background trees were completely changed and softened as was the sky. I am  much more comfortable putting this painting out now.  I feel it is more cohesive, softer, and conveys the original concept and feeling I wanted to show. Time to put it in a frame.

                                                   Finally! A New Post

Well, after a series of computer problems and then some health issues keeping me down, I am finally making some new posts. I got a lot of painting done while the computer was down, but then after it came back I got the dreaded flu and with my old fire resistant lungs (asbestos), it hit me pretty hard. A little time in the hospital, and a long, almost 2 months now, recovery, I am finally getting back to painting and posting. So here we go.

This painting is an 18"x24" oil on linen panel. It is a scene here in the Texas Hill Country with a little artististic license (mine is still valid). I hope you like my efforts, and I will be posting more daily, I hope.

"The Road Home" 18"x 24" Oil on linen panel

                                   Seven Of Seven

Okay, Here is the last of this series. Don't think this is my last post of the year. Oh no! You would be mistaken if thinking that. I wanted to get a painting a day posted as a restart on this blog. Much more is coming and more regularly. I am committing to a new post every week and more if I have something to share between regular posts. I have several things in the works and one is a new website. But that is not the only thing. This blog will continue along with the new website. There will likely be changes in my work as far as style and subject matter and more comments and suggestions on painting coming more often here. I have no intention of competing with any of the fine instructional websites currently helping others to paint and improve peoples work. They are doing great and doing a fine job teaching bout painting good art.

I plan on answering questions when I can and maybe offering some other solutions to solving problems we all run into when making a painting. I will not be disputing others, but trying to re- enforce what they teach with maybe a slight adjustment or suggestion. The first rule to painting is there are no "set in stone" rules one must follow. That said, there are many ways to solve a problem and by going back to the basics of drawing, value, composition, simplicity, edges, color and so on, one will find the answer to any given painting problem.

What some might think of as "rules" are usually "rules of thumb" that make up the basics for making good, pleasing, archival works of art. When I say archival, I mean your paint won't be falling off the canvas in a few years after it is finished and hanging in a collectors home. It also means less problem with cracking, fading of colors.There is a lot that can go wrong with a painting after it leaves the artists studio, if the artist does not pay attention to the basics of good painting.

Okay, this post is not a teaching post so let me get on with this post. Number seven in this post is another piece from old reference material and a few changes I made, since my artistic license is still valid. Again this is on an oil primed RayMar panel. It is 12"x12" I call it "Glacial Pond" True is is bigger than what most people consider a "pond," but it certainly was not lake sized. This location is in Colorado, near Rocky Mountain National Park. It was seen and photographed during a hike, I am physically unable to do any more, I'm sorry to admit, but age takes it's toll on all of us in different ways, I guess. This like the others is available by contacting me through this blog. A frame has not yet been ordered so you can make that choice if you so desire. I hope you like it.

   
                                              "Glacial Pond" 12"x12" Oil on panel

                               Number Six of Seven

Here is number six (finally!) of the seven continuous posts of new paintings. I don't do many still lifes unless you count florals, but even those are of still growing flowers and rarely floral arrangements in vases and such. This is what I consider a true still life piece. I don't know what to say about it other than it is an assortment of bowls and some fresh garlic recently purchased at the store. It is called simply "Fresh Garlic" (forgive me I am a painter not a writer). It is an oil on a 8"x16" RayMar panel and done with a very limited palette. Transparent Oxide Red, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Yellow Light and of course Titanium white.  I hope you enjoy it.

 
                "Fresh Garlic" 8"x16" Oil on panel Available through my studio. Contact me here.

                                             OOPS! 

Well, the best laid plans of mice and men, etc. etc. Murphy's law and all those sayings struck yesterday eliminating the daily post. A technical glitch with my computer put the kibosh on what I intended to post. Now that it has taken the better part of today to get fixed, I am re-posting the small portrait study I showed at the beginning of this series of "one-a-day" posts. I did not say much about it previously, but will get into it a little more now.

About six months before I moved here from Arizona I did two portraits. One was a single 16"x20" portrait of a friends wife. The other was a portrait of the husband the same size. These were my first forays into doing portraits. I was probably more surprised and happy with both pieces as the couple was. Adding portraits to my portfolio was still not part of my future goals.

When I arrived here in Texas and got my studio set up and began painting it was more landscapes and florals. I got a call from a long time friend who still lived here and he wanted a portrait done. Not having a local gallery outlet here yet and like most artists and happy to get a commission I agreed to do it. I used photographs and several sittings and again pulled it off and had a very happy client. this lead to another portrait and another happy client and taking with a few other people about commissions. Consequently, I have decided to also pursue doing more portraits. This painting is a study for my next one.

                      "Portrait Study of A Young Woman"  12"x9" oil on panel. This piece is available since I have made another, the client likes the pose better.

I would also like to say something about my method of drawing. I stick with the basics of drawing the human head or in some cases the full figure . The very fine figurative artist Steve Huston has some excellent, detailed, easy to understand instructional videos on YouTube on the same method I use. I truly believe it is why I have been successful doing portrait, achieving a likeness of the subject withou no experience doing portraits of actual people. Sure I have done a lot of figures, nudes and otherwise, but those rarely, if ever included a good portrait quality likeness. The lighting and design the pose made were the focus of those paintings, not a perfect likeness of the subject, as a portrait requires. So I encourage anyone wanting to do figures or portraits really get these basics down so you do them with every drawing and painting you do without think. In other words do it automatically, just like breathing. Not only will it make everything easier, it will improve your paintings quicker. And we all know a better painting is what we are all after.

For this study I made some quick marks, measuring with a proportional divider. Once I had the accurate locations of each facial feature and their shapes, I switched to a bristle filbert and raw umber from Daniel Smith. I love using this brand in this color because it makes such a nice full range of very neutral grays using LaFranc titanium white. There is no yellowish cast as one sees in many other brands of raw umber. It has several other advantages also. It is very fast drying and speeds the drying of the white, making the grisaille ready to paint over the next day. It also works well in flesh color mixes. Don't get me wrong, it is not mixed in every color I make when I get into the full color work, but is in some transitional areas and maybe some shadows. I use a limited palette for figures and everything I paint, no matter the subject. It consists of a warm and cool of the three primaries. The exceptions to this only occur in a few florals, where I might add or substitute a color due to the color appearing on the actual flower.

My basic palette I use at this time is:
Titanium White                       LaFranc
Winsor Lemon                        Winsor Newton
Cadmium Yellow                    Utrecht
Cadmium Red Light                Utrecht
Permanent Alizarin Crimson   Winsor Newton
Ultramarine Blue                     Utrecht
Cobalt Blue                              Utrecht
Raw Umber                              Daniel Smith

Occasional additions to my basic palette might include:
Transparent Red Oxide             Rembrandt
Permanent Rose                        Winsor Newton
Magenta                                    Winsor Newton
Viridian Hue                             Holbein

My brushes are mostly bristle flats and filberts from Trekell. Mongoose flats and sable rounds from Rosemary and Co.  I also have a couple of cheapo bristle brushes from Home Depot for toning a canvas or massing large areas when first laying in a painting.

Trekell brushes are excellent brushes and probably equal in quality T Rosemary and Co. for hog bristles that I use. I am in the process of changing to all Rosemary and Co. brushes when I need to order more. This decision has nothing to do about the quality of the Trekell brushes. I want that clear. I am only changing to all Rosemary and Co. to make ordering easier and stay with top quality brushes. It is strictly for my personal convenience and no other reason.

               Day Five of Seven new posts in a Row

This recent piece is an 8"x16" oil on an oil primed RayMar canvas panel. It is a piece that is part a real scene and some imagination on my part. It is based on a reference I gathered while still living in Arizona.That is the reality part. My imagination was used to make the scene more generic and somewhat common scene found in the western U.S. and could be in any state from Arizona or New Mexico in the southwest or Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, Idaho or any northwestern states. It could also be in parts of Texas.

The original reference was photographed in Arizona, as I said, about 6 years ago, if memory serves, but I ran across the photo in one of my photo reference albums a few weeks ago and used it to make this painting. I hope you like it.

                    "A Break In The Clouds"   8"x16" oil on panel Available through my studio

                                     Day Four Painting

This one, I just put the finishing touches on this morning, so I went ahead and took it's picture and decided to post it instead of the one I had planned to post today. Originally this began life as an 8"x10" plein air piece I did not get to finish due to the lighting changing to fast and getting to dark to see my colors correctly. Consequently, it was never finished, but every time I went looking through plein air pieces and photos the scene kept catching my eye. So earlier this week I decided to paint it in the studio using the unfinished piece and the photo I took when I set up to paint it in the field. I also decided to enlarge it to a 16"x20". Bottom line this is a brand new, still wet painting, but from a now, year old unfinished sketch and photo. I hope you like it.

   
    "Afternoon Shadows" 16"x20" oil on panel Available from my studio. Contact here or Facebook

                     Another New New One For Day Three

Today's painting is a Texas Hill Country scene near the end of this springs Bluebonnet season. I got out there early one Saturday morning and saw this off the side of the road that goes to the southern shores of Canyon Lake. It is a 12"x16" oil on a RayMar panel. I did it from a photo I shot as there was no good safe place to set up to paint even if the light were not changing so fast.

   "Last Days of Spring"  12"x16" oil on panel   $1800 Available from artist. I may be contacted here.

   Day Two and Another Post

Well, so far so good on my goal of posting a new piece every day for a week, even if late in the day. This painting is a scene not far west of New Braunfels, Texas, I finished recently. It is an oil on a 16"x20" RayMar oil primed panel. I thought I should say something about these panels I use. I order them from RayMar in Phoenix, Arizona. They are very well made. RayMar has a whole line of panels using cotton mounted on them as well as several grades of Claussens linen. I use a smooth portrait grade cotton that I prime over the acrylic primer. I do this myself using Gamblin's oil foundation oil. I allow it to dry thoroughly, usually about two full weeks now that it is summer. I then hand sand it, still leaving some of the cotton weave showing. This gives me a smooth, but varied surface with a nice "tooth" to paint on. I have come to like this very much and it saves a lot of time from prepping Dibond panels that I used previously. These panels weight half or less than the Dibond. This is a huge help when painting in plein air. It also costs much less doing it this way.

I keep a selection of sizes primed and sanded, so I have what I need when ready to paint. So, that said here is "Herefords and Oak Trees."

 "Herefords And Oak Trees" 16"x20" Oil on panel   $2600  Available through my studio and contacting me here.

                                                    Finally Another Post
Well, if there is anything I know, it is, it is a very good thing that I am a painter and not a writer. My handling of this blog is a great example how not to maintain a blog. That said, it does not mean I haven't been painting. I certainly have been spreading paint and using a lot of art supplies. I've been doing some portraits, landscapes and florals and toss in a few nudes now and then. So without further ado today begins a daily posting for at least the next week.

All paintings are available from my studio unless otherwise stated.

This is "Garden Roses" it is a 12"x16" oil on a Ray Mar panel and oil primed. It is available from my studio. $1800 payable through Pay Pal. Please contact me through this blog.

This next one is an example of one of my portrait studies. It is 12"x9" again on an oil primed RayMar panel. Contact me here to purchase of talk with me about portrait commissions.

                                                     "Portrait Study"   12"x9"  available

Well, here we are the middle of September, and I am just now getting around to posting a couple of new paintings that are ready to go. I have more that I have done since my last post, and will be posting them soon. I've come to the conclusion that it is a good thing I am a painter because I sure seem to avoid or just plain forget about posting something new on a regular basis. Sort of defeats the purpose of this blog, so I guess I better work on my time management and discipline for tending to this.

I have been switching to painting on Ray Mar canvas panels which I re-prime with a white lead ground made by Natural Pigments. I really like working on these panels prepared this way. In the  past I had been mounting Claussens linen to Dibond aluminum panels. But since I don't seem to work as quickly as I have in the past, I am always looking for a more efficient way to use my time without raising the cost of my materials. Using these panels and preparing them as I do has meant only a very slight increase in cost to pay for the Natural Pigments ground. Although, I make up for that in preparation time. I can prep 20 panels of various sizes in about 2 hours, instead of taking a full day to do a dozen panels the old way. Drying time is longer, but I just prepare a variety of sizes at one time ahead of when I actually need them. Doing it this way, so far I have not run out of panels to paint on in the sizes I want. With the exception of a special commission piece, that needs to be a specific size, I don't imagine I will be in need of panels to work with. As a famous burger joint advertises, "I'm lovin' it!"     

One of the nice things about living here is so many things are right off the many Farm to Market Roads winding through the Texas Hill Country and surrounding areas. This especially helps old guys like myself who don't get around as well as we used to. I found both of these paintings just a short ways distance from each other. The light was good and the subjects cooperated. So here we are, two 9"x12" oils on panels and being brand new where you can still smell the varnish are available from my studio which you can contact me here or my Facebook page, John Cox Fine Art, for more information on these. I hope you like them.

"The Red Calf"

9"x12" Oil on panel

"The Three Amiga's"

9"x12" Oil on panel

      

                              A Bunch of Small Paintings

I guess it is about time I posted something new after promising to keep this blog updated, so here we go.

Last month I went to a fun show and presentation at the Coppini Academy of Fine Arts in San Antonio, Texas. I was greeted as I walked up to the entrance I was greeted by artist and director of the Coppini Academy, Tony Pro. A gentleman and very fine artist I have been wanting to meet. Tony is revitalizing this fine academy. Not only is he teaching, but he is also bringing in top working artists to teach workshops. I hope this will inspire artists and patrons of the fine arts and contemporary realism to support these arts again. When I left San Antonio over 40 years ago there were good galleries showing realism of all styles and subjects. Today, there is one and it is almost an after thought since it is so small. The most established gallery here no longer shows new work by local and national artists that they used to. They buy art from art dealers who sell foreign artists. This gallery used to represent my work when I lived here and I consider the owner a friend. Now this is not meant as a knock or attack against these two galleries in a city of 2.3 million people.  I understand a large part of this is the economy. The entire country is in these same doldrums. But I also feel there has been a lack of support or promotion for realism in this area. I am not sure why this is as I have yet to find places or groups of artists where they share what they are experiencing, talk about the art world and maybe what we as a group of artists can do to help the situation. Best I can find, so far is artists in the area are so spread out it is hard to get together without traveling some distance.

There are several good and nationally known galleries in Fredricksburg, Texas, Ensight, Whistle Pik, and RS Hanna Gallery and 70 miles north of San Antonio in the Texas Hill Country. I do not mean to leave any gallery out that may be there, I just am not aware of who the others are there or what or who they carry.

 There is also one more nationally known and quality gallery in Wimberly, Texas, Pitzer's Fine Arts, roughly 50 miles north east of San Antonio and about half way to Austin. So far I do not know what Austin has for quality galleries. I understand the Gallery At Shoal Creek is still open, but I do not know what artists they carry today. A road trip is in order very soon to investigate what is happening in these areas, if anything. I will be taking a good selection of paintings with me after calling ahead to make sure owners are available and when it will be a good time to show them my work as I need to get a good gallery representation for my work in this area.

Now for something a little more positive. Not to say I meant the previous statements as negative, but a statement of fact and trying to figure out where best to look.

Lately, I have been painting a lot, and most are small paintings. I am also painting to sizes of frames I have on hand for the larger paintings. This studio has little space for storing frames and supplies and I could use the room being used for this storage. All of these small pieces are without frames. All of the 6x8's are priced at $400 each. The first landscape is $900 and the last flower piece in this post is $950.
 So I guess I should stop babbling and show you some of what I have been doing. All of these paintings are available, unframed from my studio as mentioned. Contact me here in the comments or on Facebook. I have larger paintings also and will be posting them shortly.

I hope you enjoy these.

"The Meadows Edge"

12x8 oil on linen panel

"A Rose"

6x8 oil on linen panel

"Pink Rose"

6x8 oil on linen panel

"Hedgehog Blossom"

6x8 oil on linen panel

"White Rose"

6x8 oil on linen panel

This is a study I did for a larger painting. It is also a 6x8 oil on a linen panel

"Garden Color"

12x9 oil on linen panel

This painting was posted in my last entry to this blog. It has not been shown anyplace since, but hung on the studio wall. I did think it needed a new title, so I changed it. So there you have the small paintings, most hot off the easel. I am also working on some drawings I think many will enjoy and those will be posted in the near future. It has been a long time since I did black and white drawings as finished pieces. I have felt the need to do some drawings as I firmly believe that drawing is the foundation of good painting. Sure, I draw with paint and brushes when making a painting as we all do, that paint, but this is different, this is truly seeing one's subject and recording it accurately with line and values.

Many changes are coming in my work as I feel more confident, with a looser application of paint.I hope you do like what I am beginning to do. I have wanted to paint looser for years, but gallery and some collectors pressures kept me doing what I had been. The change will not be that radical, just looser. Stay tuned. More to come

 Changes Redux

Finally! I am settled here in Texas, and painting again. The downtime was very frustrating for me as I am the type of person who approaches my art the way most people approach a job. It is a “job” that I love, but a job in the sense that I am always doing something to produce new paintings. So not being able to prepare canvases or gather new subject material during my relocation was very frustrating and stressful.

One thing you will notice is my subject matter is different in many cases. I am still doing landscapes, but they are smaller pieces and in a secondary position, so to speak. The change is the result of, and reason for my move as health issues have limited my ability to get out in the desert, mountains and such to paint and photograph fresh material and the inspiration for new paintings. Here in the Texas Hill country, there are many rural farm to market roads which provide me with great scenes to paint, and all right off the side of the road or at least with easy access for me. Since I won't be doing big canvas panoramas anymore, this works very well for smaller more intimate landscapes. But as I said, they will be taking a backseat to my studio work.

In the studio I can set up still lifes, hire and pose models. You will be seeing more florals, still lifes, and figurative These first postings are only a few of what I have completed, but I will be photographing more paintings as I finish them. There is much more on the easel, so stay tuned.

One last comment, I have a “blog” on Tumblr.com, John Cox Fine Art. It is primarily art that I personally like. Some old some new. It also has some of my own paintings starting today. (March 9, 2016) There is also an online gallery handling my figurative work on Tumblr, Wilson Art Sales. Is where to find them.

And now that I have finished babbling, here is my new work. I hope you enjoy it.

                                 

 

"Portrait Of Sarah" (study) 10"x8" Oil on panel    AVAILABLE

"Multi Colored Roses" 12"x9" oil on panel  AVAILABLE

"Down At The Pond"   12"x16" Oil on panel    AVAILABLE

"Last Days Of Summer"  12"x8"  Oil on panel   AVAILABLE

"Sunny Days"  12x16 Oil on panel  AVAILABLE

 

    

          

                                                      CHANGE IS IN THE AIR
Here we are in September already. A change of seasons is beginning in parts of our country. This year is flying by, and yet it seems like not much is happening in my part of this world. Maybe that is because I have been hiding in my cave painting. With the heat of the Arizona summers I can't get out much at all and not out to paint even a little, my breathing being as compromised as it is with asbestos, makes routine things I never even thought about next to impossible now. Consequently, I have become a studio painter exclusively.I have known this was coming, but somehow did not think it would be so soon. Apparently the "Golden Years" are not what they are said to be. That to can change and I am planning on it.

Now with that negative sounding start, let me tell you I am doing my best to make a change in my career and turn this to the positive. One of the first obstacles is subject matter. I have always painted real locations in my landscapes, but over the past few years, I have exhausted most of my material. Plein air pieces, photos, and the like. So what to paint? Well I believe I mentioned previously here or somewhere, but I can do people pretty darn well, I can do florals and still lifes, I can also use some of my previously used material to do a few landscapes. In fact for the winter season here in Scottsdale, I am working on a 36x48 Grand Canyon. I have painted the Canyon so many times in the last 30 plus years I can almost do it in my sleep, so using a photo here, a part of a plein aire oil sketch there and knowing the Canyon features and formations as I do I have put together a brand new painting different from my previous ones. Composing it was kind of like putting together a jig saw puzzle with all the partial images in different scales, size wise. This as you can imagine made for a lot of drawing! Several days, nearly a week before picking up a brush to put a wash over the white linen. I received a bonus from this exercise and that is sharpening my drawing skills after doing very loose, but to scale "outlines" done with a brush and very thing transparent paint. This big jigsaw puzzle made me pick up the charcoal pencils and get to work.

I don't like showing a large painting to people unfinished and having to explain what I have done and what I will be doing, as most of it they don't know what I am talking about because further work is all in my head which they are not privy to. Thankfully. but for a blog I will do it and remind all who see this, this is only about half way through and a lot of painting, adjustments in color and value are yet to be done. Some areas, particularly the foreground tree is barely blocked in and only because I needed some reference points of what in the Canyon would be showing and what wouldn't be. I do not want "ghost" brush work in the shape of formations in the dense dark leafy areas of the tree. Being that it is shadow for the most part these "ghost" marks would really show up under gallery lighting. Not to be making excuse.... well, not that much of an excuse this photo was taken on the easel, quickly, as I just realized I had not taken a picture yet to post here. I did not bother to adjust any studio lights and it is to dark outside to use natural north light, so that is glare on the left side as you are looking at this, and no Photoshop correction have been done. OK! End of qualifiers and excuses.

NOTE: I have removed this photo. Every time I look at the photo the glare on it looks worse, so I made an executive decision and removed it. The picture did not do it justice and I learned my lesson not to hurry photos for publication. This one unfairly misrepresented the painting and what I am capable of doing. Sorry.............John

36"x48" Oil On Linen

At this point, I am working in areas that will be seen through the tree foliage and branches. Lots to be done,but from this point the changes will be noticeable and start bring color and values together I am basically working from a roughly 8x10 pencil sketch since trying to handles and keep track of each individual area which maybe a painted panel or a photo and maybe only a small part of a photo is needed.

Alrighty, while still on the subject of landscapes here is a landscape painting I did for my catalog piece for the Cheyenne Frontier Days Show at the Old West Museum in Cheyenne, Wyoming this past summer. and I will follow it with four smaller landscapes that are available at Broadmoor Galleries in Colorado Springs, Colorado at this time, but I am getting ahead of myself.

                                                      "Misty Morning At Firehole River Falls"
                                                              18"x24" Oil on Dibond Panel
                                                                             $4000
This painting was in transit and apparently was dropped very hard, as it split the left side of the frame moulding. The painting being on Dibond was not harmed at all. It now has a brand new frame, identical to this one in the photo and is now available from my studio, for now. When I take other paintings into the gallery at the end of this month this will be in that consignment group unless sold before hand.

This next painting is brand spanking new, and I am very happy with the way it turned out. I am considering the possibility of making a Giclees of this piece. I feel it is one of my best floral pieces. It is shown here in the frame it will be on display and offered for sale, but it need so dry more so I can varnish it and instal it in the frame securely. It is just sitting in the frame and a small piece of wood propped against the back of the panel so it looks as it should for the picture. I am getting a lot of good feedback when it was shown on Facebook yesterday. I feel this one will sell quickly, so if anyone is interested in owning this piece, contact me soon. Like the landscape above, if it does not sell from the studio before the gallery delivery date it will be at Biltmore Galleries here in Scottsdale. (480) 947-5975 or www.info@biltmoregalleries.com and ask for Maureen Husberg. You will find the ladies in both galleries extremly helpful and a joy to work with.

                                                                   "A Rose For Rose"
                                                                  12"x20" Oil on panel
                                                                           $2600

The following paintings are available through Broadmoor Galleries in Colorado Springs.  (719)577-5744
or at www;info@broadmoorgalleries.com and ask for Krista Steed-Reyes, the gallery director.

                                                                    "Moose Falls-Yellowstone"
                                                                        12"x16" Oil on panel
                                                                                 $1850

                                                                 "A Yellowstone Morning"
                                                                    12"x16" Oil on panel
                                                                               $1850

                                                                                "Dusk"
                                                                       9"x12" Oil on panel
                                                                                $1250

                                                               
                                                                      "Autumn Moon"
                                                                     9"x12" Oil on panel
                                                                            $1250
          

 These landscape paintings in this post, will be some of my last landscapes for some time as I will be concentrating on other subject matter which may mean a couple more galleries for me, that handle subject matter I will be doing. I want to be a good fit and do a good job for the gallery and myself, of course. I am, in a manner of speaking moving to the next season of my career, and would like to close this final summer season of this year by finding homes for these paintings. It will be good for the galleries and good for me not only monetarily, but somewhat emotionally. Placing these in peoples homes will make space in my studio for all the new work and make wall space ni my galleries for my new work. It is always a challenge to begin something new, particularly at this later stage of my life, but I am ready, willing able and excited to do so. It means meeting new people, maybe new galleries added to my two fine ones representing my work. It will be fun.

I truly believe that this coming work will be better than the last, it is my true forte and as much as I love landscape painting, it is somewhat my second choice now. I always tried to put my best effort forward and always used the best quality materials and practices in each painting. That will always be at the foundation of my work. I promise good things are coming very soon. Stay tuned to this channel........John                                                                    

                                       





       
                                                              
                                                                          







                              

 "I Dream Of Jenya" ......and more

It's been several months, about four, in fact since I last posted. Between some health issues and commissions with deadlines to meet, I almost bit off more than I could chew. But, "Here's Johnny!" Still down on energy, but much better than I was. (Thank you VA Healthcare.)

The two commissions I did presented challenges. Neither had a live model to work from and both had to look like the persons they depicted. The hardest one was a portrait of a father and child. The photo was old grainy and a flash was used to take it, but it is the only photo available. I know better than to take commissions with this kind of reference, but the client s are good friends and it was to be a Christmas present for one of them. The father depicted is 40 (at least) years older and lives in Southeast Asia now. The child shown at about age two, is now middle aged, so you can see my problem. No people to work from, bad reference material, no choice in composition, and having to fake a lot of things. Here it is in progress. I took this one evening after dinner still on my easel. Because of my health issues I was up against the deadline and unfortunately I did not get a photo of the painting finished. Since I know the people and they live in my area, I will get a photo, hopefully the next time I am over at their home. It is quite different finished, as you can imagine.

As you can see, I still have a long way to go and starting with finishing the toddler.

This painting is done on Dibond 24"x18", that I sanded lightly to take the shine off the metal, primed and put an oil ground on it. I really like the finish to paint on. Paint goes on like when using oil primed linen but without the linen texture. No adhesion problem as I prepared it pretty much the same way I used to prepare aluminum race car bodies for a custom paint job. Yep, I was a car painter in another life, doing race car paint jobs.

My second commission was for another friend and a tribute to a model and photographer. Again, I had no access to the model, or the photographer. Normally, I do not use other peoples photos. No matter how good they are, and in this case excellent, they are not mine or my "vision" of the subject and how I wish to paint it or her, in this case. Also almost no compositional choice as my friend wanted this pose and lighting. It is also more risque than I normally do figurative paintings. Consequently I am only posting the drawing in progress here, but the finished painting is in my figure paintings tab on this blog. Please understand I recommend, adults only. Yeah I know, that statement just invited every kid who looks at this blog to take a look, but how else to tell people?

This is also using Dibond as a support. It is prepared the same way as the previous commission. This is the drawing in progress. It is to scale on the Dibond.

Hmmm.... Maybe I should have placed a black censor strip across the drawing. Well we're all adults here. Right?

The painting is titled "I Dream Of Jenya." It is a 36"x24" oil painting. This image is being done with a charcoal pencil. It is a painting of Eugenia Diordiychuk, a Ukrainian model who is now living in Los Angeles and working for Playboy. She is also the model for some video games, does work for an American fashion company.

Doing this painting is not my normal practice, but I did it, for a friend. I do have to admit it was a joy working on this and paying tribute to her beauty and the incredible photographer, Pasha Lisov, who's name is listed with mine on the front and back of the painting This is one of the most beautiful ladies I've seen in many years and would love to work with her someday and do all original work of my own.

I will be posting more often now, but the subject matter will be paintings for my gallery, Biltmore Galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona, and for a group show in Wyoming this coming July. The catalog painting for this group show is nearly finished, an 18"x24" landscape. No naked ladies for this show, folks.

Small Treasures
Well, I have been missing in action on this blog lately. A couple of personal issues, and painting, mixed with procrastination of typing. A lot of that, in fact. Hey, I'm a painter not a writer. So finally, here goes the latest installment.

Recently, I became aware of a number of known artists selling small drawing and paintings for very reasonable prices. The reason for the price reduction is the gallery commission is not added in and the works are unframed. The actual artists cost and labor is not reduced other than the framing.

With gallery closings leaving me, like others in search of new galleries to represent us and new ways of marketing our work, I decided this is not a bad idea. Then there is the issue of my own situation of not being able to get out in the mountains or desert anymore to do plein aire landscapes and having to do my work mostly in the studio using models and still life set ups became one more mark on the plus side. It is a win/win situation. I work in the studio, painting what and how I want and it gives friends, past clients and collectors as well as potentially new clients a chance to acquire a piece of my work at a very reasonable price.

This initial "roll out" will not be the last. I plan on making this a regular offering both here and on my website
http://.www.johncoxfineart.com . Each month I plan on having another group of new paintings to add in the "My Store" section of my website.

As most who know me or my work and the work presented here, I am a versatile artist. I believe an artists need a strong drawing foundation and to go along with that able to see shapes and proportions and put them down on paper or canvas. What this does is allow one to draw anything they can see. Now obviously if someone is not familiar with some object, they may not paint it as well, but once the do understand what they are seeing, they are likely to be able to do it as well as their other subjects. Understanding the subject is part of the craft and the learning process.

For me this has allowed me to paint all the things I enjoy  and hopefully convey to you the viewer and collectors what I see and feel and we all make a connection in that way. I hope you enjoy this new and ongoing project of mine. If there is something you would like and don't see it here or on my site, contact me and let's talk about it. I can probably help you with what you need.

The sizes are below each painting. The commission and cost of frame have been subtracted, but because of the rules of use, the actually price is on my website. Sorry about that, but I want to follow the rules I agreed to.

 Grand Canyon Morning

6"x8" Oil on panel

Incoming Tide- Big Sur

6"x8" oil on panel

White Rose

8"x6" Oil on panel

Full Bloom and New Bloom

6"x8" Oil on panel

 Staghorn Cactus Blossom

6"x8" oil on panel

A Tasty Snack

6"x8" oil on panel

Iris

8"x6" Oil on panel

Veggies

6"x10" Oil on panel

Calla Lily

8"x10 Oil on linen panel

Rose

8"x10" Oil on linen, panel

Cactus Blossoms

8"x12" oil on panel

Woodland Falls

8"x 12" Oil on panel

Loose Flowers

8"x14" Oil on stretched linen 

Flowered Branch

8"x12" Oil on panel

French Bread

9"x14" Oil on panel

Canyon Lake Pillar

9"x 12" Oil on panel

Oriental Bowl

16"x12" Oil on stretched linen

Now, some of you will see that some of these are already posted else where on this blog, but I am including them in this first offering of Small Treasures.  Take all you want, I'll make more. Thank you for looking and I hope you enjoy them