In light of the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special I thought I would do a fun painting to go along with my Starry Night in Gotham painting. Tell me what you think!


This is my version of Cafe Terrace at Night by Van Gogh with Doctor Who. There has been a good response to to Starry Night in Gotham that I painted when I was 16 years old. So I thought I would do more for the series. This is what I came up with. I love Doctor Who so it was only natural to want to do a painting about it.

This is Alfredo el Lobo! He is a dear friend and I was honored to draw this for him as a birthday present. This is a graphite on a 9x12 paper. 

I was not there to see when he saw the picture but reports say that his smile was from ear to ear. Happy Birthday Alfredo and to many more great years!

This is posted in the Fine Art - Portraits section.

This is the beginning of the piece I just started. I have tried to work out the design, layout and composition. I used reference from multiple photos and life put them all together into one big pot and mixed them together. Tell me what you think of the sketch?

Here is another iPad drawing. This one I spent a lot of time on. I was trying to see how I would do with plants and other objects. I had a lot of fun with the lighting ect. This is painted for a photograph for reference.

I like the idea of her just feeling totally relaxed in this environment. Most people would feel trapped, embarrassed or anxious. Letting go can be very liberating. Would you like to feel this relaxing is a beautiful garden?

Tell me what you think of this painting? 

Another quick Plein Air. This was paint just outside of Jackson Wyoming at Teton High Adventure Boy Scout Camp. I woke up early in the morning before the boys woke up. I painted this in about 2 1/2 hours before we packed up and went home after 4 days at the camp. 

The camp director liked it so much she took it off my hands. I was happy that it would be with someone that would appreciate it.

Tell me what you think. Here are some pics of me painting is as well for your enjoyment...

I went to a campout for my local church. My main goal was to at least get one plein air painting done while I was there. I woke up bright and early to get something done. This was the result.

It is 8x10 on canvas board done in oil paint. It took me a little less than 2 hours to paint. I had to get it done before we were kicked out of the camp ground. They had a wedding that needed the space right after we left. 

I tried to make myself in conspicuous so I would not draw to much attention so I could get it done. I did get a few visitors which are always welcome and I think I did a good job. Tell me what you think.

http://www.nikenglishart.com/still-lifeplein-air.html

This is the newest addition to the Digital Portraits section. I have a few more picture that I want to do from this photoshoot. 

I love the lighting and the beauty that is expressed in her eyes. It draws me in. I also love her mouth and lips. This was a lot of fun to paint.

Tell me what you think of this painting.

This is a blog I have been thinking about for a while. Many people have asked about my process. Well I tried to document this painting as much as I could to answer all your questions. 

My pallet consists of these colors. Click on the picture if you want to know what paint colors I use. I have a warm and a cool color of each of the primary colors. I play with substituting the cool blues. I am not in love with Phthalo Blue because it is really potent and tends to take over the painting if you over use it. My favorite color is Burnt Sienna but is has be the "Winsor and Newton Artist Colour" brand. It has a little bit more of an orange to it. I really like the way it paints. 

On most of my paintings I will sketch out the basic idea in charcoal of where things are supposed to be in the painting. Sometimes I will just paint it in with a very light wash. I keep in mind concept, proportion, layout and try to plan out what the over all look of the painting will feel like. Believe it or not this is one of the most important steps in my opinion. If I don't get the drawing done correctly it will make later steps take a lot more time.  Also important thing to mention is that I try and wipe/rub off as much of the dust and charcoal as I can so it will not mix in to much with the paint. 

Next I start underpainting. Most of this stage is trying to posterize the picture, meaning I try and find the lightest lights and darkest darks on the canvas. That way I can judge what the rest of the paintings colors and values. This can also be considered the toning phase. Many artists will tone the entire canvas before they even start. I do this occasionally but due to the fact I do a lot of underpainting I usually "tone" in sections I dont do it all in one color. I only tone the whole canvas when I paint plein air or paint outside.

The next stages are more or less just working in half tones. and making sure the value is correct. I work and getting those lights and darks more noticeable. All the while always looking at making sure the drawing is still correct. As you may have noticed I did not get the ellipse on his hat correct in the original drawing. It was a struggle I had to deal with during the entire painting. I have to make sure all the solid colors are down before I start putting in small details. 

There really should be one more picture between these 2 pictures. After I have all the colors down and I make sure that the drawing is still correct. I add all the details. The values on his face. The highlights are lighted to make sure everything turns and the little brushes come out. 

As I am looking at this painting while righting this blog I now think I need to lighten up the tag on the hat above his head. I am going to go do that.

Here is the final product. Please leave comments either here or on facebook and tell me what you think of this post. Sorry I am not a great writer.

Hey everyone,

Many of you know I had a show last month. It was a great success and a lot of fun. I would like to thank everyone again for coming out and supporting me with that show. 

I was voted as one of the top 5 artists in the visual category from the entire year. Each year in November they feature all the top artists and have judges vote for there favorite. There is a popular vote and the 3 judges vote as well. They both are taken into account in the final outcome. The winner goes onto the finals in LA. Also gets features on a bunch of local shows and magazines. 

Also good news this is an all ages event. All of you that were sad you could not come to my show last time can now come. The catch is that you need to be on the guest list in advance. This was the only way they could make it an all ages event. That means the easiest way to make sure you are on the guest list is to prepay for your ticket. You can also give me your name and I can try and get you on the list. Prepaying is easier. Tickets are $15

http://www.rawartists.org/saltlakecity/rawards2012/?artist=73652

Because of the devastation that Hurricane Sandy has brought RAW has decided to donate $1 for every ticket sold to the American Red Cross for the victims of the hurricane. Please help to spread the word...people can come support local art, have a great time AND help those in need. We will also have RAW t shirts for sale at the event and we will be donating part of the proceeds to the Red Cross as well.

RAW events are multi-faceted artistic showcases. Each event features a film screening, musical performance, fashion show, art gallery, performance art and a featured hairstylist and makeup artist. These artists are all local, hand-picked talent who have been chosen to feature at RAW. RAW events feature a cash bar for cocktails while you enjoy the night. Dress code is cocktail attire, so dress the occasion and get ready for an artistic circus of creativity!

If anyone has questions please ask me. Thank you in advance 

if you want to see more of my work visit my website or my facebook page.

http://www.nikenglishart.com/

https://www.facebook.com/NikEnglishArt

New painting in the Digital Portrait section.

I was recently a part of the RawArtists.org Provocations event. I did a live demo of painting on the iPad. This was the picture I painted. It was pretty funny while I was painting because most of the people had no idea what I was doing. They just thought it was a video or something. I will have to be better prepared next time. 

This is Maika. I have always loved her beautiful face. Her has gorgeous hair and soft lovely features. I am honored that I could paint her. I hope she will do it again. 

Tell me what you think.