Oil Painters of America 31st Annual National Exhibition

I'm honored that one of my paintings, "Night at the Red Lion", has been accepted into the Oil Painters of America's 31st Annual National Juried Exhibition at the Steamboat Art Museum in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, June 3rd through August 27th.

This piece presented some major challenges, with three-point perspective and numerous color gradations.

The original Red Lion has existed on the same site since at least 1434, and the pub that was there during the Victorian era was visited by Charles Dickens as a young boy. The current building, erected in 1890, was visited by a number of Prime Ministers, including Winston Churchill.

Congratulations to every artist accepted into the exhibition!

"Night at the Red Lion" • Oil on Linen • 30" x 40"

Reference and painting photos by Saunders Fine Arts

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2022. 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 - "Last Call"

My latest floral painting, fresh off the easel.

Some things get better with age. For me this is especially true of roses. Just past their prime, there is such a beauty to the way their tattered petals twist and fold that I find very appealing.

"Last Call" • Oil on Panel • 12" x 16" • Available at PatrickSaunders.com

Reference and painting photos by Saunders Fine Arts

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2022. 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 - "Mexican Charro" by W. Herbert Dunton

Today's #MuseumTourTuesday piece is a painting Kimberly and I saw at the Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, Texas last week.

This work by W. Herbert Dunton was a standout of the museum's collection. With its dramatic storytelling and outstanding draftsmanship, the painting is reminiscent of the works of N.C. Wyeth and other early 20th century illustrators. Dunton worked as an illustrator in New York until 1914, when he relocated to Taos, New Mexico, and focused exclusively on western art. He was a founding member of the Taos Society of Artists.

I have found little information regarding the piece, and unfortunately I do not know the year that it was painted. I can only assume that it was created early in Dunton's illustration career, as it lacks the stylized characteristics of his later works.

"Mexican Charro" • W. Herbert Dunton • Oil on Canvas • 37" x 25”

Painting photo by Saunders Fine Arts

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2022. 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.

February 2022 Art Newsletter - Chromatic Darks

Dark areas of a painting can often feel flat, but you can give them much more variety and depth by using chromatic darks rather than pre-mixed black paint.

Sign up for my latest art newsletter on chromatic darks, and how I mix and use them: http://bit.ly/PSFA-Newsletter-Sign-up

“Sacré-Cœur From Musée d’Orsay" • Oil on Canvas • 3’ x 5' • Private Collection

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2022. 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 - "Gratitude"

Those pinks, purples and fuchsia colors that nature serves up are always the most difficult to capture. I focus more on the differences between them in my painting rather than trying to perfectly match them. In this case, the variations are mostly based on color temperature.

I rarely name paintings until the piece is completed. The title on this one comes both from the traditional meaning of a fuchsia rose, and also from the fact that the Beastie Boys song "Gratitude" was serendipitously served up by my iTunes playlist as I painted.

 

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2022. 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 - "Mrs Joshua Montgomery Sears" by John Singer Sargent

Here's one more piece from the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston for today's #MuseumTourTuesday.

This one is a portrait by John Singer Sargent, painted at the height of his career. It's a beautifully executed painting in which I find the most interesting aspect is not the portrait proper, but rather the treatment of the flowers. Click through the images for more.

It's a beautifully balanced portrait. Everything is executed as efficiently as possible, and yet nothing feels under painted. Consider how easily the sitter's face might have been overwhelmed by the flowing brushwork of the dress or the flowers. Sargent uses the higher value contrast of the face against the darker background, along with a deeper saturation of color in the face, to pull our attention back to her portrait.

"Mrs Joshua Montgomery Sears" • Oil on Canvas • 1899 • 58.13" x 38.13"

 

The flowers are uncharacteristic of Sargent's other floral paintings. Whereas the artist usually renders the blooms in broad simplified shapes, here the flowers are more stylized. The thin line work is more similar to his watercolor work. This more graphic representation may have been intended to keep the focus on the face of the sitter.

"Mrs Joshua Montgomery Sears" • Oil on Canvas • 1899 • 58.13" x 38.13" Detail

Painting photos by Saunders Fine Arts.

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2022. 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.

SOLD - "Pumpkins & Pothos" Still Life Painting

I was pleased to learn that one of my most recent still life pieces sold this week. My thanks to Mary Ferguson and Lillian Kirbo Ansley for all of their hard work in creating and promoting the Olmsted Gallery.

"Pumpkins & Pothos" • Oil on Linen • 12" x 16" • Private Collection

 

 

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2022. 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 - "Peaches"

My latest floral recalls our visit to the International Rose Test Garden in Portland, Oregon. With more than 10,000 rose bushes, the beauty never stops.

"Peaches" • Oil on Linen • 12" x 16"

• Available at www.PatrickSaunders.com • UPDATE: SOLD

Reference and painting photos by Saunders Fine Arts

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2022. 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 - "Marcelle Aron (Mme. Tristan Bernard)" by Édouard Vuillard

Today's #MuseumTourTuesday features a large portrait by French painter Edouard Vuillard.

I've always found the number of patterns Vuillard incorporates into his paintings fascinating. My favorite quote by Vuillard is as follows: "A form or a color exists only in relation to another. Form does not exist on its own. We can only conceive of the relations." The artist clearly proves this in his paintings, as he performs a delicate dance with colors, graphic shapes, and textures to control the composition. Many areas throughout this work in particular appear overly simplistic on their own, but work in context to support the overall design.

 

This painting is part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas.

 

"Marcelle Aron (Mme. Tristan Bernard)" • Édouard Vuillard
• Distemper on Canvas • 1914 • 156.5cm x 181.3cm

 

Unlike most of Vuillard's well known paintings, this piece is not executed in oil, but rather distemper, where ground pigment is mixed with animal glue to adhere it to the canvas. This gives the painting more of a matte appearance than traditional oil paint, which is more translucent. Distemper can be painted directly on surfaces such as cardboard without the need for a primer coat, but it is also more delicate and lacks the permanence of oil paint. Vuillard often worked as a decorative interior painter, creating theatrical sets and murals, where archival concerns were not considered important. My guess is that he became accustomed to the medium and enjoyed its inherent qualities.

 

In the detail image below, you can see the textural layering inherent with distemper. This works really well with the dog's coat, and in the patterns of the couch and lace.

 

"Marcelle Aron (Mme. Tristan Bernard)" Detail • Édouard Vuillard
• Distemper on Canvas • 1914 • 156.5cm x 181.3cm

This is one of my favorite details in the painting. I find the reflected image of the sitter more interesting than the straight on view. The simplicity of shape, combined with the natural qualities of the paint adds additional textural variety to the numerous patterns featured throughout the piece.

"Marcelle Aron (Mme. Tristan Bernard)" Detail • Édouard Vuillard
• Distemper on Canvas • 1914 • 156.5cm x 181.3cm

Painting photos by Saunders Fine Arts

 

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2022. 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.

ONLY FOUR SPOTS LEFT - Sky Ranch Studio Painting Workshop

West Coast artist friends, there are only four spots left in my second painting workshop in Sonoma County, California next spring, so sign up now to secure your spot.

Click here for my March 8th - 10th class at Sky Ranch Studio in Petaluma: https://bit.ly/Patrick-Saunders-Petaluma-Workshop-II

Also, if you wanted to sign up for my first class at Sky Ranch on March 4th - 6th, but didn’t get in before it sold out, there is now one spot open due to a late cancellation.

Click here to snag that last spot:
https://bit.ly/Patrick-Saunders-Petaluma-Workshop

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2022. 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.

Nocturne Painting - "Night at the Red Lion"

This was one of those times during our travels when both Kimberly and I were immediately struck by a scene. Walking the streets of London at night, we came upon The Red Lion on Parliament Street. There was such a beauty to the varying colors across the facade of the building, lit by both the street lights and moonlight. Even the interior lights shone a wide variety of color temperatures, lending an organic look to the rigid architecture.

A tavern has existed on this site since at least 1434, and the pub that was there during the Victorian era was visited by Charles Dickens as a young boy. The current building, erected in 1890, was visited by a number of Prime Ministers, including Winston Churchill.

"Night at the Red Lion" • Oil on Linen • 30" x 40" • Available at PatrickSaunders.com

Reference and painting photos by Saunders Fine Arts.

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2022. 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 - "Cynthia Sherwood" by Cecilia Beaux

Today's #MuseumTourTuesday post features a painting I had never seen a quality image of before our visit to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

This portrait was created in a trade with fellow artist Rosina Emmet Sherwood, and exhibited at the 1895 Society of American Artists' annual exhibition. In exchange for the portrait of her daughter, Sherwood painted a portrait of Cecilia Beaux.

The piece is very spontaneous in execution. Most of the dress is made up of unpainted canvas, and the background is a simple wash of color. The dynamic brushwork shows Beaux's confidence in drawing with paint, and her skill in capturing a likeness with a minimal amount of rendering. There is not a single unnecessary stroke in this painting.

"Cynthia Sherwood" • Cecilia Beaux • Oil on Canvas • 1892 • 61cm x 44.5cm

 

Painting photo by Saunders Fine Arts.

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2022. 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.