As part of my new series of Route 66 paintings I am starting with an image close to home. The Golden Spur Restaurant is located in Glendora, California.

Photo courtesey Drew Knowles
author, Route 66 Adventure Handbook
www.Route66University.com

How I begin a painting is to first photograph the subject. I am not a plein-air painter so I work in the studio. I’ve traveled Route 66 several times. In the Los Angeles area it goes through several cities, including Glendora.

When I photograph I take as many shots as I can with my Cannon D-10 digital camera. When I started my art career I used film. That seems so long ago now. I shoot different angles and try to get a shot I can use as the main image. I take anywhere from 5 to 20 shots of each potential subject. From there I save the images and later select the one I use for the painting reference.

I then choose the canvas size. Some artists create their own stretcher bars and stretch their own canvas. I don’t do that. It is not because I can’t do it but there are commercial pre-stretched canvas available and sometimes at a better price (including my labor time) than I can do myself. A good source for this, especially during their 1/2 price sale, is Aaron Brothers Art Mart. If you are going to stretch your own canvas, including putting on gesso, here is a good reference site for more information.
Next Post: Transfering the image.

As as new content of this blog I will be posting commentary on new paintings.

Why? Because it is a way for me to give back to new artists and others interested in the art process. There is also a saying that you learn more by teaching, which I believe is true.

Most of my art education did not come from school. It came from watching working artists, reading books on art (especially art business), and lots of practice. My goal here is to show the art creatiion process as I do it.

Now there are some artists who guard their art process. They are afraid of competition or someone stealing their ideas. In my opinion those types of artists are insecure. I can show how something is done, however if someone is going to copy me they still have to do the work. Also, Picasso one said “Good artists copy, great artists steal!”

Please feel free to ask questions about the process. Of course I can only teach what I know so keep that in mind (i.e. no questions about sculpture. I have no clue about how that is done).

Most of all please enjoy. That is why I paint, so you can enjoy my work and the subject matter.

Deco Theater (Night) Customizable FantaSign print

The inspiration for this image was the Crest Theater, in Long Beach, California. This is the theater I went to as a boy during the sixties and seventies.

The Crest had a displaced box office separate from the building. Another neat feature of this theater was the lobby. There was the snack bar in the middle and on each side of the snack bar were stairs leading to a seating area below. This was a great place to relax between shows (movies used to be shown as a double feature with an intermission. Of course this was before our collective ADHD ended that).

This theater also had a balcony. But my favorite place to sit in the theater is up near the front and in the middle. That is where I could see the huge curtains raise as the show started.

The theater survived until the late 70’s when the multiplex became the rage. It was torn down so another boring office complex was built in it’s place. And you know we don’t have enough of them.

Deco Theater is available in 4 print sizes and on either canvas or paper.

The Artists Colony in historic downtown Pomona, California, holds an open house the second Saturday of each month. The downtown arts colony is part of a renovation project, similar to others such as the Gas Lamp district in San Diego and the Artists Village, in Santa Ana.

Although not as large as other arts villages Pomona does have a nice eclectic mixture of arts and culture. The open house is from 6 to 9 pm.
To get more information about the open house visit the colony’s web site.

Acrylic on Canvas, 28″ x 72″ x 1.5″, Sold

Route 66 flows through Albuquerque, New Mexico. The main artery called Central Avenue is home to many old motels. One is the Hiway House Motel. This is an absolutely fun sign. The cartoon with the two old people in a stylized model T is hilarious. Having a cartoon in a sign is one of those elements that today’s city governments are trying to abolish (see related post). How boring is our country getting by abandoning creativity and trying to legislate conformity? I am trying, through this series, to remind the viewer that there was a time in our country when we broke out of the box of sameness and expressed ourselves through our roadside imagery.

Yes, the purpose of these was to get attention were to gain dramatic visual effect. But they also differentiated the variety of establishments. To see the results of the harmonization of America, where it is hard see the difference between one establishment and another, just drive around Disneyland. Of course not many people realize this but Walt himself wanted the neon gone.

To purchase prints of “Hiway House” please click on this link.

October is Art and Framing Month so I am writing a series of informational posts in keeping with the festivities. (Note: I was to have a post about visiting a Kinkade Gallery today however I was under the weather this weekend so I will do so next week. My apologies)

The following tips are from the National Art and Framing Council. They are general but they will give you a good start when buying art.
1. Are you looking for art to hang in a particular place? If so be sure to measure that space. If possible, a snapshot of the area would be very helpful when you work with the gallery staff.

2. Ask questions. Any reputable art dealer should “know their stuff” and be happy to share information with you. Ask about the artist and the media. Is it a reproduction or an original? Ask them to explain how the art was made.

3. What style should you buy? Which artist? Buy what you like. Unless you are a collector developing a body of work, your choices should be based on what you will enjoy.

4. Having trouble with your decisions? Can’t quite picture the piece in your space? Ask if you can take it home on approval. This may have limitations due to the value and you’ll probably have to pay for it with the understanding you may return it in a couple days.

5. When pricing, compare apples to apples. Artwork may look similar, but may actually be different media created in a different way that affects the value, longevity, etc. If you are looking at art online remember the colors will be different in real life. Monitors and scanners cannot faithfully duplicate the original. Sizes may also differ. They may be listed by the size of the image, the paper it is printed on or the outside size of the frame.

6. Learn about types of art. Books, gallery walks, and museum visits and tours will expose you to many forms of art. Go out and see “the real thing.” Art fairs are a great place to talk to artists about what they do and how they create the work.