Blue Jay - Soft Landing painting of a Blue Jay in flight

acrylic painting of a Blue Jay Landing

8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm) original acrylic painting unframed on hand primed board $325 with free shipping in US and Canada

 To see available works or contact Paul in my daily painters gallery click HERE.
 

I’ve waited a long time to capture this instant when the Blue Jay is landing, yet has it’s wings spread enough to see the beautiful markings. My kitchen window bird feeder has been the ideal place to watch this majestic bird. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to capture the moment, however when I looked at the shots, he was stopped in mid action for this view, so here is the result.

When he is at the bird feeder, other birds were at first afraid to come near, but now they know the Jay is tolerant. He’s just much larger, so they still keep a respectful distance.  He isn’t afraid of anything, so he pretty much rules the area.

© Copyright by Paul Wolber Art Studio

All Rights Reserved

Nature's Calligraphy: Final Posting of a Step-by-step painting in progress

Nature's Calligraphy

8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm) original acrylic painting unframed on hand primed board $325 with free shipping in US and Canada

SOLD

 To make a purchase or see available works contact Paul in my daily painters gallery click HERE.

This is the fourth and final session with this painting. You can see the step-by-step development below. There are some very subtle colors in this painting and I scan my work on a color corrected Mac monitor, so some of the colors may not show up on your monitor unless it is also color corrected for the Pantone® color system.

The idea for this painting is that nature has a very profound and beautiful effect on everything we see, and there is natural poetry written into each slice of our world we view. If you look closely, you can see the secrets and messages that nature has to tell. The weathered wood, the scars and marks that nature makes, the subtle colors and aging of the wood, the passage of time that changes the texture and color, the insect trails in the wood, and the way light and shadow falls on the surface are all part of what I am looking for in this painting.

© Copyright 2012 by Paul Wolber
All Rights Reserved

Is Art Really a Visual Language?

Paul teaching students in Chongqing, China 2000

Is Art Really a Visual Language? From Paul's experience teaching in China

In 2000 I was invited to be a visiting guest professor of art in Chongqing, China and was able to teach oil painting classes to Chinese students in Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in that Chinese city. As an artist and teacher I had always declared that art was a visual language, and I suppose I believed that to be true, however, I never fully understood the reality of it until I was able to teach students whose verbal language I understood very little. The art students in China had all studied English but most did not have a speaking knowledge of English, and of course when I went there to teach, I understood very little Chinese. I was given a Chinese interpreter to assist me in my class; however, she was available in the morning formal class only so when I went back to the painting lab in the afternoon, I was entirely on my own to communicate with the students.

To my surprise, I found that it was not that difficult to communicate with the students what I wanted them to do in their paintings. I would often just do a demonstration on paper or pick up a brush and mix some color, then put a few strokes on the canvas to show the student how to correct or improve their work. It soon became very clear to me and to my students that we had a “visual language” we both understood, and verbal language was not that necessary in order for us to communicate about the art. Of course, at the beginning of a project I had the interpreter in the class so I could give a short lecture or introduction, but after that we could communicate “visually” with pencil or brush and sometimes with gestures to understand each other.

It was through this experience of teaching in a foreign country and with students who did not understand my verbal language that I learned art is even more of a visual language than I had fully understood before. When I came back to America to teach English speaking students, I could say from true experience that art really is a visual language, and with the conviction that it is not just a conventional way of describing art, but that I had truly experienced it in a practical and actual way.

© Copyright 2012 by Paul Wolber

All Rights Reserved

Work in Progress: Step 3

 

click painting above to see larger view

 

 Work in Progress: Natures Calligraphy: Session 3

8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm) original acrylic painting unframed on hand primed board

To email Paul or see all work in my daily painters gallery click HERE.

This is the third session for this painting. Sometimes it’s more instructive to see a work in progress than to view the finished work. You can see the process the artist is going through to create the painting.

I’ve not had much time to work on this painting, so here you can see the third session where I’ve laid in more texture. Nature has a way of giving us her secrets if we look carefully, and each person is going to get some messages from her depending on how carefully you are tuned in to her poetry. I still have another session or two before I’m satisfied that I’ve communicated the whole story here.  You can see some other step by step processes on my blog HERE  and HERE.

I’m also working on a couple commissions this year and though I don’t often do commissions, I’ve decided to be available now until Christmas for those who would like to work out a commission. Just go to my Daily Painters Gallery HERE and click on any painting and send an email to ask about working out something for a commission.

© Copyright 2012 by Paul Wolber
All Rights Reserved