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Hobbs - An Original 8 x 8 Commissioned Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Hobbs

 I recently finished up this commission piece for a new collector. I had to work from photograph they provided me, but I was able to use a lot of artistic licence on the background. This was actually the client's idea and I was happy to fulfill it. This was the first time I've tried to paint such curly hair and while it was a great challenge, it was also a lot of fun to work on. If you would like to commission your own painting, please contract me at george@georgedechiara.com. I'd love to hear from you!

Hobbs © 

Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 8x8 inches on canvas panel.  
Medium: Original Oil Painting 
Frame: none
Availability: SOLD.

Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.

Snow Irises - A commissioned painting by George De Chiara

Irises in Snow

One of the reasons I enjoy doing commissioned paintings is I never know what someone will ask me to paint. This request was one of those wonderful surprises - irises in snow. I grew up in cold climates and must have seen scenes like this at the start of every Spring, but I've lived in Texas now for so long that this image just never crosses my mind anymore. That is, until I was asked to paint it by one of my collectors. This turned out to be a bigger challenge then I thought it would be. In the end, I found it easier to paint the flowers making sure I got all the petals in the proper place and then put the snow on top of them. When I just tried to paint the snow with parts of the pedals coming out of it, it never looked right. I only took a few step-by-step images of this painting coming to life, but hopefully this will give you some idea of how I approached this painting.

I took this image at the end of my rough block-in. For me, the goal of this stage is to work out the placement of all the large shapes of my painting, making sure there is room for everything, and that I have a pleasing composition. The color is rough and is just meant as a placeholder, something to give me an idea of what colors go where, but is by no means meant to be the final color. I do try to let some of this underpainting show through in the final painting when possible since I think it lends a sense of "air" to the painting. 

Since the rough block-in is all done with very thin paint, it doesn't take long for it to dry. It's just a little oil paint thinned with turpentine, so in a few minutes when the turpentine evaporates, the paint is more or less dry. Then I can start to go back into those initial washes and refine the shapes, color and edges. You can see in this image I'm still trying to paint the snow on top of the flowers first. In the end, I scraped off this snow, painted the flower pedals and then placed the snow on top of them.

The final painting:

Irises in Snow © 

 Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 6x6 inches on canvas panel.  
Medium: Original Oil Painting 
Frame: none
Availability: SOLD

Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.

Hanz and Franz - An original oil painting by George De Chiara

Hans and Franz

 Well, it's official. Christmas is over. The last bell has jingled and all the decorations are put away. Things here are finally returning to some form of normal. Or at least as normal as they can be with a 2-year-old and a 5 month old. My wife is a college instructor and her schedule changes ever semester, so normal around here is always a temporary thing at best, but for now we are back on track. For the last few weeks, we've had a steady stream of visitors here at the house and now that the last one has gone back home, I'm looking forward to updating this blog and website. I've got a lot of exciting news to share over the next week or so, along with a few new paintings and tips and tricks, so be sure to stop back often.

 A few weeks before Christmas, I got a phone call from one of my very first collectors. I hadn't spoken to him in many years and had a great time catching up. Towards the end of the call, he asked if I could paint him another portrait of his latest dogs, who are two wonderful looking Saint Bernards. After a few emails following our phone call, we reach an agreement on two paintings, both of which would be Christmas presents. With time running out, I got to work painting. Below are a few step-by-step images of one of the paintings coming to life. I also will have another post on how I used Photoshop to work on my initial composition and a few other tips on how I used the program to help work on this painting.

Here is the original image my client sent me. Normally, I would have prefered to take my own reference material, but in this case that simply wasn't possible. In order to give my client a better idea of what I wanted the painting to look like, I took this image into Photoshop and adjusted the posititioning of the dogs and simplified the background.

This is what I came up with in Photoshop. You can see I cropped in on the dogs to get them a little larger in frame and moved them closer together. I also eliminated all the background since none of it really supported the image of the dogs. From this post on, this is the image I based my painting on. In fact, I never looked at the original image again until I started writing this blog today.

Here is my initial wash and drawing on the canvas. Since I had adjusted my reference image to be the same proportion as the painting, I used a simple grid method translate the image. Once I was happy with the drawing, I let it dry for a day or two. This wasn't really by choice, I had a few other things to do and couldn't get back to the painting for a day or two. This did have a great unexpected benefit. The drawing had completely dried so once I started painting I was free to wipe off areas I didn't like and not lose my initial drawing. This came in handy, since about an hour into the painting I wiped off everything I had started and started over.

You can see in this image some of the evidence of where I wiped off my initial work and the dried drawing showing though on the right side of the dog's head. At this point, I'm trying to nail down some the drawing and establish my light and dark colors.

At this stage, I'm just about done with the dog on the left. As I worked on the one of the right, I did occasionally go back and make a few adjustments to the other dog. Notice too how I'm trying to leave as much of the original wash in for the background as I can. I am adding slightly thicker paint, but for the most part I want as much of the wash to show through as possible. I didn't take any images of the other dog in progress. I got really into painting him and sort of lost track of time. I basically painted him in much the same manner as I did the first dog, starting the nose and eyes and working out from there.

The finished painting.

Hans and Franz © 

Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 11x14 inches on linen panel. 
Medium: Original Oil Painting
Frame: none
Availability: SOLD

Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.

Hot Terra Cotta by George De Chiara

Hot Terra Cotta

 It's been a little over a week, maybe even closer to 2 weeks, since I last painted. Raising a newborn and a 22 month old has really started to catch up with me and my wife. We both are starting look a little exhausted and sleep deprived at this point, but there is hope. The baby is starting to sleep longer at night and our 22 month old is starting to adjust to her new sister and slipping back into her routines.

Anyway, I've been thinking about doing this painting for a while now. It's a commission piece for one of my collectors who wanted a painting to go along with one of the 50 paintings in 50 days pieces he bought. That painting was of cayenne peppers, so to complement it, he wanted haberneros. Habeneros have beautiful variations in colors that range from bright yellows to deep reds when on the verge of being overripe, so they make great subject matter for still lifes. I really didn't think it would be that hard to find a few good haberneros for this painting, but I had to go to 3 different stores before I found any that didn't look like they've been sitting in the produce section for months.  The first two stores only had the deep red color, which, while pretty, doesn't really capture my interest. Finally, I headed to the Mexican market and found what I was looking for. With these colorful peppers in hand, I was anxious to get back to the studio and start painting again.

Now, I seem to get rusty quickly when it comes to painting. Too long of a break (anything over 3 days) and I'm paying for it the first few days back. Knowing this, I made sure not to rush the painting process. Instead, I committed to wiping off anything I didn't like and taking as much time as needed to get something I was happy with. After a few days, I seemed to be back in the swing of things and I was able to finish up this painting.

Here's how it came to life:

Here's a photograph of the still life I was painting. You might notice I didn't paint the little pepper at the top of the terra-cotta pot that's standing up. Originally, I thought I would pull back a little further, but once I started placing the painting on the canvas, I realized I needed to crop in a little tighter to get the right feel. After I did this, I really didn't like the way that pepper looked, just barely squeaking into the painting, so I left it out.

This image was taken at the end of my rough block-in. This was actually the second block-in I did. The first one was pulled back a little more, but I think it made the peppers too small in the picture, and, since they are the reason my client commissioned this painting, I wanted to make sure they were very prominent. You might also notice that I only blocked in one little pepper just to the right of the plate. Originally, that's all I had there. Once I got to that portion of the painting, I felt it needed more interest, so I added another pepper.

I give the block-in a few minutes to dry so it doesn't blend with the more accurate colors I start to use in this stage. Most of the paint at this point is still pretty thin, except for the plate and the peppers on it. This was the area I started with, so it's the most complete at this point. The peppers are mostly all painted with the same colors, Cadmium Yellow Deep, Cadmium Red and Cadmiun Yellow Pale, just mixed in different ratios with each other.

At this point, I've more or less finished off the top half of the canvas. Since I had given most of the painting a good once over in the previous stage, this part of the painting went pretty quickly. The terra-cotta pots are painted with different mixtures of Terra Rosa, Cadmium Yellow Pale, Cadmium Red and Viridian. To finish the painting off from here, I pretty much worked from the middle down. I spent some time trying a few different arrangements of peppers to the right of the plate. I liked the two peppers close together the best out of everything I tried. I feel it gives this area a little interest and by having the stem touch the plate it really tied the left and right half of the painting together well.

The finished painting.

Hot Terra Cotta

Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 6x6 inches on canvas panel. 
Medium: Original Oil Painting
Frame: none
Availability: SOLD

Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.

Years of Memories - Original Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Years of Memories

It seems like every few paintings my wife comments that she wants to "keep that one" so I thought I would do a painting for her for Valentines Day. To keep her guessing, I listed the painting for sale on eBay. Since it was a higher priced painting I didn't really think it would sell on there, especially since that, in my experience with eBay, the smaller, less expensive pieces ($100 or less) sell the best. Naturally then, on the very last day of the auction with about 10 minutes to go, someone bought the painting the day before Valentine's Day. Yikes!

Sheepishly, I explained to my wife that I had sold her painting. She was very understanding about it, but commented that for our anniversary she wanted a painting that would not find it's way to auction. Well, our anniversary is coming up this week so I've been working on this special painting just for her. I've had to sneak things from around the house into the studio and hoped she didn't notice them missing for a few days. Plus, I had to keep her out of the studio. There where a few times when I thought she would figure it out, but luckily she never did.   The painting is dry now, safely in her hands, and definitely not for sale. So since I know I can't sell this one, I thought I'd take this opportunity to mention that I do accept commissions. Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss a commission.

Years of Memories

 
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 11 inches x 14 inches on canvas panel. 
Medium: Original Oil Painting
Frame: none
Availability: NFS
Signed on front. Signed and dated on back.

Heirlooms and Oranges - Original Painting by George De Chiara

Heirlooms and Oranges

 This is one of the commission pieces I finished right before the holidays, but didn't have a chance to post. Several items in the still life were from my client.  She sent the two rings and the rug hanging in the background, and then requested to use sheet music in the set up, if at all possible. I really enjoy these types of challenges to work in the objects someone wants to see in a painting while still retaining my vision. It's a great exercise, as it forces me to think of new ways to put these objects together.  I am very happy to say that she was thrilled with the result and gave it as gift to a relative.  I was even more gratified when she told my wife that the gift was so appreciated that she got the nicest thank you note of her life after Christmas.

Heirlooms and Oranges

 
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 5 inches x 7 inches on canvas panel. 
Medium: Original Oil Painting
Frame: none
Availability: SOLD
Initialed on front. Signed and dated on back.

Background Music - Daily Painting by George De Chiara

Background Music

 I've been busy this last week working on commission paintings that are needed for Christmas. This is one of them. I've been lucky with this commission because they were able to supply me with some items they wanted to include in the painting. In fact, almost everything in this still life is from them, the horse statue, the jewelry, and the request to use sheet music. I have to admit I don't think I would have ever though to put these things together for a painting on my own. Doing these commissioned still life paintings are a great stretch for the creative muscles. It must have taken me over 2 hours to come up with something that worked, especially for this small size (7x5). 

 I must thank my lovely wife for the coming up with the name for this one. I was really stumped on until she suggested background music as a title. I liked it because of the sentimental meaning to most of the objects in the painting.

Background Music

 
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 7 inches x 5 inches on canvas panel. 
Medium: Original Oil Painting
Frame: none
Availability: On Hold.
Initialed on front. Signed and dated on back.

Lifelong Learning - Painting by George De Chiara

Life Long Learning

 This is one of the commission pieces I've been working on for the last few days. The idea is based on of one of my daily paintings, Desktop. This time I was able to expanded upon the idea and truly flesh it out. With this version, you can see more of the lamp and a few more objects placed though out the scene. I was even able to use the lamp as more of a direct light source with this painting, which is the first time I've tried this.  It did presented some problems though so I still had to use another light source that's not in the painting. I felt without the additional light, the scene just looked a little too dark.  After all, the light in the picture only has a 45 watt bulb in it and it's one of those small-sized bulbs on top of that.

Lifelong Learning

 
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 8 inches x 10 inches on canvas panel. 
Medium: Original Oil Painting
Frame: none
Availability: On Hold.
Initialed on front. Signed and dated on back.

Orchid Study - Daily Painting by George De Chiara

Orchid Study

 I'm working on a commission for one of my collectors and she wants orchids in it. Having never painted an orchid before, I thought it might be a good idea to do this little study first. I'm working from silk flowers with this one, which have a unique set of issues, but since I have my doubts on keeping the real thing alive long enough to paint, it's the best I can do. That being said, I have tried out my green thumb in the vegetable garden, but sometimes things just don't work out for me when it comes to flowers.

Orchid Study

 
Painting Details:
Larger Version available here
Size: 5 inches x 7 inches on canvas panel. 
Medium: Original Oil Painting
Frame: none
Availability: Click here to go to auction.
Initialed on front. Signed and dated on back.

Along the Shore - Daily Painting by George De Chiara

Along the Shore

  This is the last painting in the current commission I'm working on. I've really enjoyed working on this commission. It gave me the opportunity to paint some things that I haven't used a lot in my other still life paintings, like money, branches, and foliage, which I can't wait to use in future paintings.  Unexpectedly, I found there is something I really enjoy about painting money. It reminds me of collecting coins as a kid. I still remember the thrill of finding a special coin mixed in with my change from the day, like a silver quarter or a wheat penny and running off to add it to my collection. It's a wonderful thing when I can spend an afternoon painting and be reminded of what it's like to be 12 again.

Working Lunch - Daily Painting by George De Chiara

Working Lunch

 This is part of a commission I'm working on. The only requirement was that I use the two fishing lures; how they are used and in what context is up to me.  This has turned out to be an exciting challenge. I spent a couple of hours thinking about how I wanted to try and set these up and then messing around with different things.  I knew I wanted the lures to look like they where diving through the water and I had this idea that everything else in the painting could be things laying at the bottom of the lake, which is when the idea really came together. I liked the idea that this is a perfectly dry still life done in my studio, but it could almost be a scene found in any lake. When it came time to name this I asked my wife if she had any title ideas (truth be told a lot of the titles come from her) and she said "Working Lunch". I asked what that meant and she explained how the lures were lunch for the fish. I liked that, so Working Lunch it is.