Art Review - "Fiesta Grande, Santa Barbara Mission" by Joe De Yong

Here's a painting that I just love by Joe De Yong at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

De Yong perfectly captures the feel of a night time fiesta celebration. It's reminiscent of a modern day outdoor music festival. We're drawn to the central figure addressing the crowd, while the foreground silhouettes and background shadows add a tremendous amount of movement and energy to the painting.

De Yong was born in 1894 in Webster Groves, which is part of my hometown of Saint Louis, Missouri. His family moved to Oklahoma when he was still a child, where he was introduced to the silent film industry. After losing his hearing due to cerebral meningitis, De Yong wrote to well known western artist Charles M. Russell, and became his one and only protégé.

De Yong later relocated to Santa Barbara, renewing his connections with the film industry. There, he rose to prominence as an illustrator, costume designer and historical advisor on numerous films, including The Plainsman, Union Pacific, Buffalo Bill and Shane. Despite his massive influence on the western genre, very few know the name, Joe De Yong.

"Fiesta Grande, Santa Barbara Mission" • Joe De Yong
• Oil on Canvasboard • Date Unknown

Painting photo by Saunders Fine Arts.

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Pet Portrait Commission - Leche The Pit Bull Terrier

Here is my latest pet portrait commission.

Leche came right up to greet Kimberly and I when we first met her. It was as if her eyes were filled with questions and love for her new visitors. After that, it was all belly rubs. She even came to say goodbye when we left, despite us putting her through a photo shoot that she wasn't quite sure what to make of.

One of the sweetest dogs we have ever met. Those soulful eyes just grab your heart right away.

 

"Leche" • Oil on Linen • 9" x 12" • Private Collection

 

Reference and painting photos by Kimberly at Saunders Fine Arts.

 

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

August 2021 Art Newsletter - The Art Industrial Complex

Watching the ‘Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed’ documentary yesterday inspired this month’s newsletter topic, because if anyone is going to make money off of your art, it should be you, and your inheritors.

http://bit.ly/PSFA-Newsletter-Sign-up

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Art Review - Frederic Remington Nocturnes at the National Cowboy Museum

For today's #museumtourtuesday, I have two nocturnes by Frederic Remington to share. These are both part of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum's collection.

Remington had such great skill in creating believable night scenes, many of which are subtly illuminated only by the moonlight. These two paintings feature a more dramatic color range, utilizing the glow of the fire to cast a warmer light on the subjects.

This piece was created for Collier's Weekly, and was published after the artist's death. Remington was under contract to produce one painting per month for the magazine, and was well paid at $1,000.00 per painting, a hefty sum for the time.

"In From the Night Herd"  • Frederic Remington  • Oil on Canvas 
• 27" x 40" • 1907

As always, it's the design that stands out for me. Notice the clear path your eye follows up from the sleeping figure at the bottom, curving around to rest on the standing figure and the horse, both of which point back again towards the figures on the ground. I find it very interesting that the horse's head hides behind that of the cowboy, combining them into almost one entity. 

"Hunter's Supper" • Frederic Remington • Oil on canvas • 27" x 30"• 1909

This would have been one of Remington's final paintings, completed and sold just before his death in December of 1909.

The campfire is the clear center of interest, not only due to the value contrast created by the surrounding figures, but also through the use of color temperature contrasts created by the warm fire transitioning into the cooler smoke. There is also a unique textural detail that you can see more clearly in a detail image.

"Hunter's Supper" Detail • Frederic Remington • Oil on canvas • 27" x 30"• 1909

There’s one strange detail in this painting that can be overlooked upon first viewing.

The paint just under the arm of the figure on the right is extremely thick. While we can see the grain of the canvas everywhere else, this one spot is heavy impasto. I can only presume that it is not a mistake. It may be an attempt to push the focal point to that area through the use of texture.

Painting photos by Kimberly at Saunders Fine Arts.

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Floral Painting - "Emerging Lilies"

I've been busy working on larger pieces and commissions, so I needed a quick palette cleanser. Flowers are always a good choice. Kimberly and I came across these beautiful lilies at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

 

"Emerging Lilies" • Oil on Linen • 9" x 12" • Available at www.PatrickSaunders.com

 Painting photo by Saunders Fine Arts.

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Throwback Thursday - Lou Reed Monoprint

And now for something completely different for #ThrowBackThursday.

Just shy of 30 years ago, I experimented quite a bit with monoprints. The method I used involved rolling out a solid rectangle of ink on a sheet of glass, and then wiping areas away with a cloth. I would then press the paper onto the glass, revealing the final print. I created a number of these for commercial illustrations, including the one featured here, which ran in The Kansas City Star in 1992.

 

"Lou Reed" • Ink on Paper • 10" x 10"

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Art Review - Paintings by Nicolai Fechin at the National Cowboy Museum

It's always a joy to see works by Nicolai Fechin, and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City has five of them on display. These are all paintings that I was not familiar with, so it was extra special.

Painting photos by Kimberly at Saunders Fine Arts.

"The Stranger" • Nicolai Fechin • Oil on Canvas • 1936

I initially assumed that the title of this painting was referring to the central figure, but look closer at the window. At first glance, I didn't even notice the sinister looking figure half hidden in the darkness. The cooler tones within the window-framed figure draw attention to it, and it doesn't stay hidden for long, raising questions regarding its purpose and story.

Anyone know the story behind this painting? I've searched and been unable to discover anything.

"El Cargador (The Porter)" • Nicolai Fechin • Oil on Canvas • 1936

This piece has the kind of spontaneous and energetic brushwork that is so typical of Fechin's work, and yet always thrilling. Even though the face and hands are more rendered than the rest of the painting, they don't feel separate or overworked. It's that imbalance of finish that adds so much excitement.

Notice the canvas showing through the sparse brushwork of the legs in comparison to the more refined look and detail within the eyes and the rings of the hand. Everything feels dashed in quickly, and yet perfectly accurate.

"Cow and Aspens" • Nicolai Fechin • Oil on Canvas

Here, the textural quality of the paint holds as much character as the subject it depicts. The cow is quickly evident, due to its strong dark shapes, but it is the trees beyond that bring the energy and interest to the painting through both color and texture.

I absolutely love this piece.

"Mr. Gorson • Nicolai Fechin • Oil on Canvas • Before 1933

This is the largest piece in the collection, and much more conservative in its execution. Even so, that dynamic brushwork comes through. Notice the absolute adherence to shape throughout the painting. There is never any point where Fechin blends his paint on the canvas. Gradients are achieved solely through the use of multiple shapes and values.

The portrait depicts Lithuanian-born painter Aaron H. Gorson.

"Joe" • Nicolai Fechin • Oil on canvas • 1930

Pay close attention to the edges within Fechin's paintings. As I mentioned in the previous work, they are never softened by blending them on the canvas. Softer edges are achieved by either close value changes, or through the use of broken color, where paint scumbles along the edge of a shape, creating a tattered effect.

This painting may depict Little Joe Gomez, a member of Taos Pueblo and a frequent model for Taos artists.

 

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Floral Painting - In Progress

Continuing to find my way through this one. It's all about finding those major shapes first, and breaking them down into smaller and smaller pieces. This is the kind of piece that I need to take frequent breaks from and work on other things in order to keep some sanity.

In Progress • Oil on linen • 15" x 30"

 

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Throwback Thursday - "Along the Seine, Pont Alexandre III"

 

For #ThrowbackThursday, here's a painting I did almost a decade ago.

The reference for it came from my first trip to Paris, and this is the first piece I completed after leaving my career in advertising in order to focus exclusively on painting. In many respects it's a celebratory painting for me, representing the beginning of a new chapter in life.

"Along the Seine, Pont Alexandre III" • 2013 • Oil on Canvas 

• 36" x 24" • Private Collection

Painting photo by Saunders Fine Arts.

 

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Art Review - "Father and Daughter at the Crow Fair" by Bettina Steinke - National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

Last week, Kimberly and I visited the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum to view the current Prix de West exhibition. While there are a number of wonderful paintings throughout the museum, one piece stood out for me above all the others, so I wanted to share it for this week's #MuseumTourTuesday.

Bettina Steinke was once the resident artist at NBC, creating portraits of stars. In 1939, she left the studio and painted portraits of notable Americans, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Douglas MacArthur and Dwight D. Eisenhower. After traveling the world for a decade with her photo-journalist husband, Don Blair, the couple settled in Taos, New Mexico in 1956. In 1995, she received a lifetime achievement award from the National Cowboy Museum, and in 1996 received the John Singer Sargent Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Society of Portrait Artists.

This piece below won the Prix de West Purchase Award in 1978. I was immediately struck by the simplification of shapes throughout the painting - notice the lack of eyes on the father in the upper right. This simplification reaches an almost graphic quality in the blanket at the bottom of the painting. The forms are all solid, without any unnecessary rendering. Also notice the thinness of the background in comparison to the thicker paint within the figures, adding depth and bringing the figures forward.

Also of note is the bold cropping. The painting is all about the young girl, and the horse is suggested only by the small portion of the head and ear visible to the lower right. The father is pushed to the upper right, his headdress breaking the bounds of the picture and acting more as a frame for the daughter's face than his own. A truly wonderful composition.

 

"Father and Daughter at the Crow Fair" • Bettina Steinke • Oil on Canvas • 1978

Painting photo by Saunders Fine Arts.

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Bosque Arts Center 2021 Bosque Art Classic

I am honored to learn that three of my paintings have been accepted into the Bosque Arts Center's 2021 Bosque Art Classic juried art show and sale.

This will be my third time at this great event, which celebrates its 36th year this September.

Painting photos by Saunders Fine Arts.

“Tom” • Oil on Linen • 11” x 14” • Available at the Bosque Art Classic

"Awaiting" • Oil on Linen • 24” x 30" • Available at the Bosque Art Classic

"Betty" • Oil on Panel • 9" x 12" • 2 hours • Available at the Bosque Art Classic

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Art Review - Wildlife Art by Robert Kuhn - National Museum of Wildlife Art

Today's #museumtourtuesday features works by the late Bob Kuhn at the National Museum of Wildlife Art. These were part of a larger group of the artist's paintings that Kimberly and I were able to view during our visit to the museum last week.

The first thing that strikes me is the excellent drawing skill. Although 2D, the animals in Kuhn's paintings have a sculptural quality due to his solid understanding of animal anatomy. Each one of them jumps off the canvas. His rich color brings a sense of life and vibrancy to his subjects.

Kuhn worked as an illustrator for 30 years before becoming a full-time painter in 1970. He traveled the world for inspiration, which accounts for his accuracy in depicting these animals.

Photos by Saunders Fine Arts.

"Elephant" • Part of the African Suite • Robert F. Kuhn • Acrylic on Board • 1996-2000

"Buffalo Bulls Emerging from Papyrus" • Robert F. Kuhn 

• Acrylic and Pencil on Board • 1984

"Lions" Part of the African Suite • Robert F. Kuhn • Acrylic on Board • 1996-2000

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.