Tuesday, December 31, 2013

The Most Gorgeous Mouthwatering (MGM) Studio of the Year Award

I just found out I won The Most Gorgeous Mouthwatering (MGM) Studio of the Year Award in the Making A Mark Art Blog Awards for 2013. These awards, of which there are many different categories, are given each year by Katherine Tyrrell, the owner and publisher of the Making A Mark website, along with many others.

I am very honored to have been chosen for this award. My studio and gallery is a labor of love that, though far from finished, gives me the space to display my paintings, have a dedicated studio space, and has an area large enough for classes to be held.

Thank you Katherine for this award!

Here's a link to her blog post revealing the winners in different categories.

http://makingamark.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/making-mark-art-blog-awards-2013-home-front.html

And here is a link to my photo page of the studio, showing where it came from and where it is now.

http://billguffey.blogspot.com/p/studiogallery.html


Willen House

Finished this one up a couple of days ago. This is the Willen House that sits on top of Bear Creek Hill in Cumberland County, Kentucky.

Willen House
16" x 20", oil


Marsh

Here's another one for the January Virtual Paintout.

Marsh
16" x 20", oil


Room at the Inn

Here's one for the January Virtual Paintout.

Room at the Inn
16" x 20", oil


Hittin' the Big One!

Did this painting of an oil well blowing off excess oil after hitting a large reservoir. Did this as a commission for Christmas. This well produced over 30,000 barrels before being capped.

Oil Well
16" x 20", oil


Thursday, December 26, 2013

Sewell's Store

Painted this one as a Christmas commission, so it's safe to post a pic of it now. This is of the store that operated in Waterview, Kentucky for many years.

Sewell's Store
16" x 20", oil


Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Christmas Creek 2013

I have a habit of painting in creeks on Christmas Day. This year's painting is a 24" x 48", painted at Salem Park in Cumberland County, KY.

Christmas Creek 2013
24" x 48", oil, plein air


Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Zimmerman, Cheating Artists and the Pursuit of Success

George Zimmerman has painted a picture that is up to $110,000+ on eBay at present. The only reason it has garnered ANY bids is because he shot and killed a young man. If the sale goes through hopefully he will donate the proceedings to the family of the victim.

It's frustrating as an artist to see this sort of thing. It's always been said that there are no shortcuts in life. I'm not too sure of that.

Last Christmas Day I stood in a creek and painted a 30" x 40" canvas in about 4 hours. Even with the waterproof boots and wool socks, my feet still got cold. My fingers stiffened and hurt and my nose ran. After about 3 hours of painting, a man approached me and started to tell the story of his father. He said his father, who used to be a professional photographer, moved to Nashville, Tennessee and became a highly paid portrait artist. Even though he hadn't painted much before.

The man told me that his father takes photographs of his clients and then prints the chosen picture onto canvas, which he then stretches. He then proceeds to paint ON TOP of the photograph. He said his father gets a great likeness of the client that way. Huh? Wait a minute. What?

I'm glad I was near the end of my painting session when this conversation occurred, because my attitude changed pretty quickly. Here I stood, freezing my ass off in a creek, trying to create something from observation.

That painting still hangs on my studio wall. I like it. I think it's a good painting. I wonder how many portrait "paintings" the old dude has sold in Nashville during the past year.

Does it make me want to cheat? Nope. Just the opposite. The Nashville portrait artist, along with George Zimmerman, and all the others that get to skip many rungs on the ladder, only push me to work harder.

Now, I need to get to the studio to get some painting time in before going to my daily job.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Tastee Freeze

 local institution. The Tastee Freeze.

Tastee Freeze
16" x 20", oil