Tag Archives: Original Painting

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My Original Artwork ~ Universe #3

Here’s my 3rd painting in the Universe Series, and the 5th in the Colorful Contemporary Series of paintings that I’ve been experimenting with, titled ‘My Original Artwork ~ Universe #3 (16″ x 20″).’  I changed up the color palette a bit for this composition, using two shades of blue, green and white to make this colorful splash of an impression of the universe.

I’m enjoying this new direction of colorful discovery and creativity in my artwork, and one never knows what’s around the next corner ~ enjoy! ☼ 🙂

My Original Artwork ~ Universe #3 (16″ x 20″)

(Copyright 2017, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)

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My Original Artwork ~ Universe #1

I’ve finished my most recent painting titled ‘My Original Artwork ~ Universe #1 (16″ x 20″)’ which is the third in my colorful contemporary series of paintings.  I’ve always wanted to paint something like this, and I’m amazed at the colors and details when viewing this painting closely.

I’ve only used the three primary colors of red, blue and yellow, along with white, as the basis for this painting, and all the many colors on this canvas stem from these three colors blending with each other and with white.  Many of the circles of paint in this composition are the blended colors of many hues, and the canvas is littered with smaller dots of ‘stars’ the closer you look.  I’ll continue this type of painting now that I know the technique, and try to control the size and distribution of colors in a second colorful portrayal of the universe ~ enjoy! ☼ 🙂

My Original Artwork ~ Universe #1 (16″ x 20″)

(Copyright 2017, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)

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My Original Artwork ~ Ocean Sunset

Here’s my latest acrylic-on-stretched-canvas painting called ‘My Original Artwork ~ Ocean Sunset (16″ x 20″),’ a contemporary take on the subject.  This is the first of a series of five contemporary style paintings I’ve decided to create, based solely on the reason that I have lots of bright acrylic colors that seldom get used in my traditional color schemes.  Plus, it’s a way for me to deliberately try new things and go in new directions with my artwork.  I plan for each one of these contemporary paintings to be completely different and unique, each time taking me to a place I’ve never visited before ~ enjoy! ☼ 🙂

My Original Artwork ~ Ocean Sunset (16″ x 20″)

(Copyright 2017, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)

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My Original Artwork-In-Progress (Update 4) ~ A Medieval Fair

This is the fourth update of my Original Artwork-In-Progress ~ A Medieval Fair (18″ x 24″), and all that’s left to finish now are the jousting knights and horses! 🙂 I’ve added in all the townspeople and villagers, finding it quite a challenge to paint such little figures ~ but at the same time the process encouraged me to explore painting portraits some time in the future.

My next update will complete this current painting, and I’m pondering what subject to explore in my next painting.  At the moment, I’m considering painting a field of wildflowers using an acrylic watercolor technique ~ enjoy! ☼ 🙂

'A Medieval Fair' (18" x 24") ~ (Copyright 2017, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)

‘A Medieval Fair’ (18″ x 24″) ~ (Copyright 2017, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)

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My Original Artwork-in-Progress (Update 2) ~ A Medieval Fair

This is my second update about my Original Artwork-in-Progress ~ A Medieval Fair (18″ x 24″), and I’m happy with how it’s unfolding so far.  I continued the theme of trying to create a softer distance impression in the background from the sky down through the mountains and forests, allowing them to fade into a fog shrouded dreamscape.  My plan is to make the castle and foreground the primary focus of the painting, while letting the background fade into the distance.

I enjoy the fact that paintings take on a life of their own during the process of painting them, as I have little idea at the start as to how the painting will unfold ~ even after sketching it out at the beginning. A good example of this, are the castle’s three giant doors or gates, as they each lead into a different level of the fortress.  In the beginning, I hadn’t even considered creating two visible upper gates, thinking the space was simply part of an elaborate main gate construct.  Now I think of each gate individually as a magic door.

The outer castle gate and door represents ‘earth’ and has the outline of mountains inscribed upon it.  The middle door represents ‘nature’ and has the silhouette of a tree outlined on it.  The upper door represents the ‘sky’ with ornate hinges, tying into the castle’s stained glass windows in the upper level.  In addition, the three castle walls grow lighter in shade with each level, with the white walls of the upper level of the castle representing the Medieval chivalrous notion of ‘truth, purity and light.’  So in essence, each painting develops a story during the process of painting it, never imagined by the artist at the beginning of the process.

Next I turn my attention to the Medieval Fair, with the jousting tournament, colorful tents and people in the foreground ~ enjoy! ☼ 🙂

'A Medieval Fair' (18" x 24") ~ (Copyright 2017, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)

‘A Medieval Fair’ (18″ x 24″) ~ (Copyright 2017, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)

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My Original Artwork-in-Progress (Update 4) ~ Castle Hamlet

This is my fourth update of my current Artwork-in-Progress ~ Castle Hamlet (18″ x 24″), and I’m starting to work the details as I described in my last post.  After all, everything’s in the details.  I figure that if I’m going to paint a fantasy hamlet, it might as well be fun, so that’s what I’m attempting to do with plenty of climbing vines and flowers! 🙂

Since taking this photo earlier today, I’ve added an orchard in the distance, and next I’ll turn my attention towards adding trees and gardens in the foreground.  My aim is to add villagers to finish the painting, and as painting people isn’t my strong suit, it’s a good reason to tackle my weakest area ~ so stay tuned! 🙂

My Original Artwork-in-Progress ~ Castle Hamlet (18″ x 24″)

(Copyright 2016, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)

My Original Artwork-in-Progress ~ Castle Hamlet (18

My Original Artwork-in-Progress ~ Castle Hamlet (18″ x 24″) ~ (Copyright 2016, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)

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My Original Artwork ~ Alpine Hamlet (11″ x 14″)

I’ve finally completed My Original Artwork ~ Alpine Hamlet (11″ x 14″) acrylic on canvas painting.  I modeled the mountain backdrop after Austria’s Sonnenspitze mountain, and created an imaginary, idyllic Alpine Hamlet for the foreground.  I really do enjoy painting wintertime scenes, especially fir trees covered in snow ~ and this painting was fun and challenging for me to do!

With each new painting I try to branch out and explore new scenes and techniques, trying things I haven’t attempted before ~ and I’m having fun doing it ~ enjoy! 🙂

My Original Artwork ~ Alpine Hamlet (11″ x 14″)

(Copyright 2016, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)

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My Original Artwork-in-Progress (Update 5) ~ Alpine Hamlet

This is the fifth update of my Artwork-in-Progress ~ Alpine Hamlet (11″ x 14″) acrylic on canvas painting.  I’ve now finished the intermediate forest between the Sonnenspitze mountain and the Alpine Hamlet in the foreground, which I’ll work on next.  I enjoy painting wintertime scenes, especially fir trees covered in snow ~ and this painting’s kept me busy so far! 🙂

As the scene unfolds in front of me, I find it reveals details I’d never considered in my imagination at the beginning of the process.  My first idea, was the intermediate forest would be solid trees between the Sonnenspitze and the hamlet.  As it turned out, there’s a frozen stream down in the valley, and the trees share an open space that I hope gives a sense of depth between the hamlet and the Alpine Peaks ~ enjoy! ☼ 🙂

Artwork-in-Progress ~ Alpine Hamlet (11″ x 14″)

(Copyright 2016, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)

Artwork-in-Progress ~ Alpine Hamlet (11" x 14") ~ (Copyright 2016, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)

Artwork-in-Progress ~ Alpine Hamlet (11″ x 14″) ~ (Copyright 2016, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)

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My Original Artwork-in-Progress (Update 4) ~ Alpine Hamlet

This is the fourth update of my Artwork-in-Progress ~ Alpine Hamlet (11″ x 14″) acrylic on canvas painting.  I’ve now finished the forest of fir trees at the base of the Alpine mountain ‘Ehrwalder Sonnenspitze’ in Tyrol, Austria, in my painting.  The next step is to add an intermediate forest between the Sonnenspitze mountain and the Alpine Hamlet I’ll later detail in the foreground.  I like to work from the top of a canvas to the bottom, as it’s cleaner and avoids messing up what’s already been finished.

After the intermediate forest, I’ll turn my attention to the Alpine Hamlet scene in the foreground.  It’s always an adventure for me to create a painting, as it exists only in my imagination at the start, and is slowly revealed to me the same as it’s revealed to you ~ enjoy! ☼ 🙂

Artwork-in-Progress ~ Alpine Hamlet (11″ x 14″)

(Copyright 2016, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)

Alpine Hamlet (11" x 14") ~ (Copyright 2016, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)

Alpine Hamlet (11″ x 14″) ~ (Copyright 2016, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)

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My Original Artwork-in-Progress ~ Alpine Hamlet

I’m not a natural artist, as even my doodles look more like scribbles than doodles, so I enjoy sharing the process of how I go about painting with acrylics on canvas.  Perhaps I can encourage others through sharing my creative process to pursue their interests, too, even though they also struggle from a lack of ‘natural’ talent.

We’d all like to be gifted in the areas of our interests and passions, but that’s not normally how life works.  For me, I work with my strengths and try to minimize my weak areas as far as art goes.  My process is essentially one of procedural graphics, that I follow step-by-step throughout the entire process of painting a picture.

Once I have a concept in mind for a new painting, I search Google Images for concept photos to inspire the direction I’ll approach the subject from.  Once I find a photo to use, I print and scale it in a grid pattern to the same scale as the canvas I’m working on, and then free-hand the image onto my canvas ~ in this case the mountain backdrop.  Then I acquire other photos I need like buildings, often cutting them out to trace the basic dimensions and perspectives onto the canvas.  After that I free-hand in whatever additional details I’d like to include.

Mine is an architectural interest, without the training or skill, as I enjoy drawing buildings using a mechanical pencil, ruler and plotter. While I understand perspective, I struggle to interpret it correctly, which is why I often need to use an image for an example to get it right.  Once I have the basic details sketched out on the canvas I can ad lib the rest, especially while painting, as I feel no need to follow the guidelines I’ve sketched out and just let the painting discover itself and play out naturally at that point.

Here’s the finished rough sketch of my current Artwork-in-Progress ~ Alpine Hamlet (11″ x 14″), so let the painting begin! ☼ 🙂

My Original Artwork-in-Progress ~ Alpine Hamlet (11″ x 14″)

(Copyright 2016,  Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)

My Artwork-in-Progress ~ Alpine Hamlet (11" x 14") (Copyright 2016, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)

My Artwork-in-Progress ~ Alpine Hamlet (11″ x 14″) (Copyright 2016, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)