JD Martinez

Angelo

2011-08-14T00:59:00.000-07:00

I painted this using Painter IX. I was curious if I could carry over some of the traditional techniques that I have recently been studying over into the digital realm. The verdict: kind of.

Lots of layering using 'dry bristle' and 'palette knife' in the "Artist Oil' tool set. (and no... this is not Indiana Jones)

detail

untitled

2011-07-06T11:50:00.000-07:00

Oil on canvas

detail 1

detail 2

Scratchy Sketches

2011-06-11T18:46:00.000-07:00

Haven't picked up a pencil in a while and it shows. I've been drawing with paint so much lately that I forgot how to gauge my own pressure with a graphite and charcoal pencil. (The dog drawing was done with pastel pencils. Not sure who to credit for this reference. I saw this as a painting online and drew it as a rough sketch... first time using pastel pencils.)

after de Martin

Yan Study 1

Yan Study 2

Watts Study

2011-06-06T22:47:00.000-07:00

This is a study I did of Jeff Watts' 'Newsboy Cap'. I originally was just going to paint the eyes and nose as I have resolved to stick with a two-week interval program to simply study how other painters indicate various features, but I took this one a bit further. WN/Gamblin Oils on Claessens #13 (approx. 2 hrs.)

'Newsboy Cap' - Jeff Watts Study

Detail

Oil Sketches

2011-05-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

I was preparing to create some small canvas panels, but instead decided to just partition the scored sections with tape and use the whole sheet as a multi-sketch board. This was a real time-saver for me as these are just quick sketches, and it was easy enough for me to quickly rotate the canvas to a blank section to start a new sketch. :) (Fisher boat reference provided by fa-stock)

Sleepyhead

2011-05-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

Oil on canvas (claessens #13)

Stoic

2011-05-10T21:39:00.000-07:00

Dramatic shadow and light practice. I started by completely blocking in the shadow sections over the drawing with raw umber and cad red. For the flesh tones in light I used burnt sienna, ultramarine, ochre light, cad. red and white. The turban is cerulean, veridian and titanium white. On the shadow side of the turban I applied a glaze of cerulean and black using linseed oil. (This great reference was provided by Magnamity27). Oil on canvas.

Started with a burnt umber sketch

For the love of God, stop right there!

2011-05-10T21:30:00.000-07:00

Okay folks, this is a failed painting that I'm posting to remind me to never do a personal project where doubt is present. It started with a few items we have around the house "wouldn't it be a great idea to use these to do an "Easter themed" still life"? No it wouldn't!! Not for me, anyway.

As I was composing our little knick-knacks, (not painted yet was a brass ornament that would have been on the upper right side of the painting to balance it out; this was to go in last as it would have to be drawn and painted over the finished background wall) I started to feel like I had no connection nor excitement for the arrangement. I am not a fan of "commercial Easter" and this was the epitome of it. Even as I started to draw it, I had a bit of an uneasy feeling in my stomach. But I continued on, I added some local colors and began to focus on the Mommy and Daddy bunnies... cute, huh? At this point I was so dissatisfied with the painting that I grabbed a rag soaked in turpentine and scrubbed out all of the color. I kept doing this the whole night... something wasn't working. I got up, took a deep breath, looked at it and figured out that it wasn't the painting as much as it was that not one ounce of my heart was in it. I took one final picture of it and scrubbed the whole canvas down.

I'm glad I was able to cease and desist. I'm sure if I were to finish it, the going rate would have been 30 pieces of silver. :(

Old Drawings and Paintings

2011-05-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

I decided to post this set of some older pieces; most of these are from my old blog (love them portraits...huh?). Seeing them together like this, it is very apparent how all-over-the-place I am with style and technique. I continue to try to find my natural way of painting, but unfortunately none of these jump out as "my style." Of course my hope is that eventually my paintings will become more cohesive in style so I can grab onto it and spend the rest of my life trying to perfect it. For now, all must suffer the wrath of my indecisiveness! :)

Lincoln

2011-04-12T21:25:00.000-07:00

Last year in my portrait painting class at Watts Atelier we were able to have a quick photo session with an Abraham Lincoln impersonator. He really played the part and I got some great stock images to use for future paintings, so look out for those in the near future. (WN and Gamblin oils on claessens #15 canvas)

Fechin Study

2011-04-05T02:27:00.000-07:00

Portrait sketch inspired by a Nicolai Fechin drawing. Oil on Rix canvas.

Portrait Study

2011-03-12T10:27:00.000-08:00

This is a study I did of a Yim Mau-kim painting. I was immediately impressed with many of the brush stroke choices used in the original and thought I would try it out. The one thing that stands out is that I lost the slight upward tilt of the head somewhere along my painting process, very frustrating. But I look forward to practicing with other similar studies. I used mostly winsor netwon oils and gamsol medium on double-primed Claessens 13.

detail

LOTR Sketches

2011-02-23T21:28:00.000-08:00

Here's a few Lord of the Rings sketches that I've done recently. After seeing Donato Giancola's beautiful Middle-Earth drawings using red pencil, white chalk and toned paper, I was inspired to try it myself. The toned paper adds an immediate mid-tone and it's up to the artist to simply add the darks and lights... easy, huh? :). (By the way, if you do not own Giancola's Middle-Earth: Visions of Modern Myth, you NEED to get it now!)

Materials: Tuscan Red Prismacolor pencil, General's white charcoal and Daler-Rowney recycled paper.

Frodo Baggins

Gimli

Elrond

Gandalf

American Indian

2010-12-27T22:16:00.000-08:00

This painting is a study of an Edward Curtis photograph taken in the early 20th century. Curtis is well known for his photos documenting North American Indian life. He took over 40,000 photographic images from over 80 tribes.

The primary color of this portrait is Burnt Sienna which I used along with Ultramarine, Ochre and Titanium White to produce the skin tone. The drawing was off from the start and I took a few liberties, but I continued forward with what we'll call a "variation." :)

La Jolla Cove

2010-12-24T22:11:00.000-08:00

detail

Drawing

2010-12-23T22:10:00.000-08:00

"I have learned that what I have not drawn I have never really seen, and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing, I realize how extraordinary it is, sheer miracle. " ~Frederick Franck, The Zen of Seeing

We'll what can I say about drawing? Nothing new, compared to what the great artist have already said. But, I love the idea of having the opportunity to create something tangible based on a thought. I love the idea of studying how form is rendered depending on the subject, media used and the idea that the artist is trying to convey. But mostly, I love all the different styles that we all have: simple, complex, abstract, technical...

My primary method usually starts with rhythm lines and is based on what I have learned so far from the Reilly Method. It has helped me get something down on my surface so I at least have a starting point; it also helps me find basic shapes that I can later decide how to treat. This was a major breakthrough for me because before I started studying art, I thought that artist start at a single point and drew everything perfect from that point (like the artists you see at Disneyland who can draw Jiminy Cricket with their eyes closed). I had no idea how powerful the eraser is, both as a drawing tool and allowing the freedom correct a drawing until its how you envision it -or if you have a few happy accidents along the way, better than you envisioned it. Either as a simple sketch or a highly rendered drawing, I'm beginning to learn its importance in understanding a subject. (Mountain Man - 2B Pencil on Canson / Crow - vine and compressed charcoal (ref: BienchenStock) / Seuss study - 2B on sketch paper)

Fall Term Sketches

2010-12-19T13:12:00.000-08:00

Here are few oil sketches that I did in the Fall Term at Watts Atelier. Meadow Gist instructed as we worked from live models. For this class I used New Traditions Panels using a mix of their acrylic, oil, and lead-primed canvases. I chose an array of canvas surfaces to experiment with the different types available prior to committing to shell out for a single type of canvas roll. By the of the term I chose to purchase a roll of double-primed Claessens 13.

Catalina in Profile

2010-12-19T00:28:00.000-08:00

Catalina was painted on a Claessens #13 canvas panel (SourceTek). This painting was the first time that I had used Claessens. Previously I used Fredrix's Archival canvas panels, which are great for student work but with this surface I immediately felt the difference when I laid my paint down. The dominant tone of this painting was based on a premixture of Alizarin, Ultramarine and Titanium White (stole the premix idea from Lipking). However, I think I ended up over using it, but overall I'm pleased with how this turned out.

Welcome to my new art blog!!

2010-12-19T00:11:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed keeping up my old drawing and painting blog, which I used mostly as a personal online storage of my art and scraps versus a true blog. I have decided to use this site to offer insight into my methods, thoughts, and my new art. I just finished the fall term at Watts Atelier, located in Encinitas, Ca., where I studied Head Painting in Oil with Meadow Gist who is both a fantastic painter and teacher (very patient) -check out her site here. I'm hoping to get back there in January.

I hope you enjoy the new site... and let's all keep moving forward!