Andrew Wyeth-An American Icon

I first discovered Andrew Wyeth at age 15 in my first year of High school, and his work has enthralled me ever since. He was one of the individuals that inspired me to become an artist, and to explore the medium of Watercolor. This is the first of my posts of My Favorite Artists.

Andrew Wyeth was born July 12, 1917 and is an American realist painter, and without doubt the best known American artist. Although he has won numerous awards and critical acclaim amongst critics, some have labelled his work more Illustration than Artistic. I can't agree with that opinion, as many famous artists were Illustrators or Commercial artists while advancing their artistic careers. As far as I am concerned, illustration is still art. Andrews father N.C. Wyeth was an Illustrator and artist, and how could anyone not be influenced by that?

Much of his work features the landscape around his home town of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and the people that live in the area.

I just love the organic Burnt Umber feeling of his work, and every time I view it, I find myself lingering and exploring every detail in absolute wonder of how he did it.

He often uses a "dry brush" technique in his paintings. Most of the pigment is squeezed out of the brush, and then he caresses the paper with the lightest touch, building up successive layers of paint over time. I must admit I have failed miserably trying this technique, and have had no success with it.

Wyeth also uses the Egg Tempera medium for many of his paintings. Pigment is mixed with egg yolk and distilled water, and artists throughout the centuries used this medium with great success. One of Wyeth's most famous egg tempera paintings is Christina's World, done in 1948.

Book Image-Courtesy Amazon.com

Here are some links to view some of Andrew Wyeth's artwork.
Museum Syndicate
Official Andrew Wyeth Website

Books about Andrew Wyeth Book

Spring Daffodil-Original Watercolor Painting

9" x 6"
Original Watercolor Painting

I was in a panic to get this painting completed as a gift to my cousin Jordan for his wedding.

I came across a technique in a watercolor magazine that I was itching to try out. The method is to do a monochromatic under painting first, using a mixture of purples with Alizarin Crimson or Cadmium Red, and Ultramarine Blue for cool shadows, and Cobalt Blue for warm shadows.

You can view the original Watercolor Tutorial online by Liz Fluehr here.

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Plant On Ceramic Tile-Original Watercolor Painting

21" x 15"
Original Watercolor

This watercolor painting requires some explanation. Sometimes as an artist I get a "vision" and this was my attempt at transforming that vision into reality.

While I was walking into an old building at Granville and Broadway in Vancouver, I looked down and saw this beautiful old tile, and thought it would look neat if it had a landscape painted in the tile.

After that I thought it would look even more surreal if there was a plant that I had, sitting on the tile and you were looking down at it. Don't ask me where this comes from, except my imagination.

Most people discribe it as "interesting", I guess because it is not obvious what it represents. I was quite happy with the way the plant turned out though.

Buy the original painting $90.00/us-contact me at tkrysak@gmail for details.
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Sensational Flowers-Fine Art Calendar 2009

Back in 2006 I bought a Canon Powershot SD450 digital camera, and have been taking tons of photographs ever since. Digital is the only way to go, and the SD450 is small enough to fit in your pocket.

I love flowers, and throughout the year at every opportunity, when I see flowers blooming I shoot them. They are very much "eye candy" for me.

The 2009 Sensational Flowers Calendar is a collection of my absolute best photgraphs taken over the past few years. If you love flowers, you will love this calendar.

Buy My Sensational Flowers Calendar

Check Out the Canon Powershot SD450 from Amazon

Seasons Greetings-Digital Fractal Art

Last year I came across some Fractal Art on RedBubble, and decided to do a bit of research, and see if I could make some myself. Without going into a detailed description, fractal art is created by a software program, which you can manipulate. You can change the designs and colors by changing the paramaters of the software.

So for those of you out there that are not artists, and have some ability on the computer, you can download the software for free, go through a few tutorials, and you will be creating your own fractal art in no time. It is quite addicting once you get started.

Download Tierazon-v29 Fractal Software for free.
Free Tierazon Online Tutorials

Try it out and have some fun.

Buy This Christmas Card

Dave The Painting Guy-On Line Oil Painting Videos

Streaming live video by Ustream
I just discovered David Darrow last week when I was following Susan Carlin, another online oil painter.

David is an oil painter, painting portraits and other works online live on Ustream TV almost every day. He provides delightful conversation and banter, painting tips, and at times describes in detail the process of what he is doing at the time he is painting, providing information on the colors he is using, what colors he is mixing, and just about anything else that you would like to ask.

I am fascinated how he is able to paint, and talk to the folks who are all online viewing the painting process at the same time. He encourages viewers to ask questions, and provide comment on the screen sidebar as you can see in the screenshot below.
And of course the best thing is that you can view the live painting sessions, and his archive of previous videos all for free. When you visit via the Ustream TV link, you can be anonymous or sign up with Ustream for free, and choose your own user name so that members of the community can see who you are. There are a number of wonderful artists who tune in and enjoy the fun.

Although I have not painted in oils yet, watching David and Susan paint has made me want to give it a go, and I have learned an amazing amount about painting in the short period of time that I have been watching them.

Watch David paint online
Visit David's Website
Sign Up for email notification of when he is painting
Follow David on Twitter

I hope you will drop by and join the painting sessions, and connect with a great group of artists.

White Iris-My First Watercolor Painting

This is my adaptation of a painting by Leah Schwartz in 1984 that I discovered when I bought one of her note cards in Vancouver. Her work inspired me a great deal, I love Irises, and since then have been fascinated by this wonderful flower.

Original 18" x 13"
Watercolor on Arches 140 LB Cold Press Watercolor Paper
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