Ponte Vecchio Giclee Print on Satin Canvas

I was pretty psyched when my first ever Giclée on canvas prints arrived this week. After posting my stylized photo of the Ponte Vecchio a week ago, I had a request for a limited print! I have wanted to make a giclée on canvas for quite a while now and this seemed like a great opportunity to give it a try. I found an output service close to Colorado Springs called Giclée Print Net. They are located in Pueblo, Colorado, and they have an online image management and output service called terajet.com that can print on a variety of high quality surfaces. I did not even have to call them to get the job done. The system is pretty slick and easy to use. For the Ponte Vecchio print, I chose their satin canvas. The color match to my 30″ Apple Cinema display is spot on and the image output quality is fantastic. See below for an up-close detail shot of the output.

Ponte Vecchio Giclee on Canvas Detail

I am going to mount these on 3/16″ Gatorboard and then have custom frames made to give them the finishing touch. Miracle Muck from Raphael’s was recommended by a professional artist friend as a great way to mount canvas on Gatorboard. He and many other established artists use Miracle Muck to mount primed canvas on Gator as a painting ground. Gatorboard is very stable and stays dead straight, and when dry, Miracle Muck is essentially inert since it is a tough, permanently flexible polymer film.

Miracle Muck

I will post the final results after I get the frames made. Since the blog review rules are getting more strict, it’s probably appropriate for me to say that I have not received any free products in connection with the mention of the products or services in today’s post.

UPDATE: I mounted the prints to 3/16 inch Gatorboard last night with great success. I applied the Miracle Muck to the back of the print with a brush and then applied it to the Gatorboard. You must apply weight to the panel overnight on a flat surface so the panel dries flat. The moisture from the Miracle Muck will cause one side of the Gatorboard to expand and the panel will warp. If you apply the weight while it dries, the panel dries flat and stays that way!

Photo - Boy and girl against Carlsbad California sunset

I don’t have the time to paint out of doors as much as I would like. I remain committed to my goal of painting at least 50% of my paintings en plein air over the next 12 months but I felt the need to add another tool to my creative arsenal for observing and documenting nature when I am not able to paint outside. The tool I chose was an upgraded camera. I have also set my eyes on becoming a better photographer. My belief is that the camera, although not as good as the human eye, will help me capture potential subjects more accurately and becoming a better photographer will help me use the camera to more accurately capture colors, improve my composition skills, and tune my eye for interesting painting subjects.

King of the castle near Ponto Beach California

It is a big commitment to haul 8 to 10 pounds of photo gear around. My new camera is a Canon 50D 15-megapixel digital SLR. The lenses in my bag are 17-40mm, 28-135mm, and 70-300mm zooms with professional quality polarizing filters on them. The two longer lenses are image stabilized, which comes in very handy for minimizing the blur from camera shake when shooting at high zoom levels. Wanting to be ready to go photo crazy in Italy next month, I decided to take my gear to San Diego on a business trip so I could figure out how to carry the equipment, determine whether or not I needed anything else in my bag, and, of course, to improve my shooting skills. I confess that I did not thoroughly learn how to use my last camera, which was also a Canon DSLR. I often found myself frustrated while shooting trying to figure out which buttons to push to get the results I wanted. So, before leaving on the San Diego trip, I read and worked through the 120 page 50D manual to become fully acquainted with the camera and its functions. I am happy to report that the effort is already paying off.

Eucalyptus at sunset on Highway 101

As you can see throughout the post, I have inserted a few of my favorite pictures from the trip. They may not make it into the next National Geographic but I feel like they helped me achieve specific objectives that will help me in my painting pursuits. When taking all the shots, I paused to think about composition and asked myself if I would be making the same choices if my painting gear were in front of me. Some were flops, but some stood out as a result. After taking every shot, I looked at the very handy 3-inch LCD on the camera to evaluate whether the photo captured the essence of the scenery that I experienced and felt first hand.

Late afternoon on the Carlsbad California coastline

In the case of the photo of the Carlsbad coastline above, I was initially drawn to the moisture in the atmosphere and how it created curtains of depth as the scene receded. I also liked how it crept up to the street level in the distance. I really wanted to take that effect home with me in the photograph. To capture the effect, I took several shots that were individually metered off of different areas of light and shadow in the scene. For instance, I took three shots, one metered from the shadow of the cliff, one from the sky, and one from the water. As a result, the exposures varied dramatically, each showing different character in contrast and detail. I also paid attention to whether or not the scene was grouped into major masses and if the masses were in arranged in an interesting manner. I also used the focal length of the lens and aperture setting to try and isolate my subject from the rest of the detail of the scene.

In the picture of the couple relaxing in the chairs on the cliff, I loved the crisp light and shadow as well as the casual but “king and queen of the castle” look. Because the couple was on top of the cliff, the separation of the foreground from the people peppered beaches and water mass in the distance seemed like it would make a neat photo. Since I did not want to appear like a stalker, I took the picture pretty fast at the 35mm equivalent of a 450mm zoom. Just so happens that the little squirrel was sneaking up on them as I clicked the picture. Again, I feel like the masses work well here and the blurring of the background takes the eye to the primary subject, which is the couple casually relaxing in the chairs.

Ladies strolling on the beach

Now for the sunset at the top. I planned to have dinner at the Beach House in Cardiff at precisely the time the sun would be setting. The restaurant has an amazing beach-front patio that serves as the viewing location for incredible Southern California sunsets. As soon as I was seated for dinner, I saw the horizon come alive as the sun began to set. I ordered a Sapphire Tonic and quickly grabbed my camera to run over to the water to get some shots. The shimmering light blue against the burning oranges and yellows from the sunlight and intervening atmosphere was what I wanted to capture. I shot about 60 pictures in 10 minutes. Some were just of the sun and water and some were with silhouetted people in the foreground. Again I forced the camera to meter from the sun, water and sky in various shots to try and capture the beauty of the moment. The whole experience was breathtaking. Everything was changing so fast I could not imagine trying to get all the colors down with paint. It seems like it would take an enormous amount of experience! As it turns out, one of my favorite shots was of the sun setting with a brother and sister back to back against the light. I am pretty sure I metered the water for this shot, which seemed to be a great reference for the exposure. I feel like the Canon did a nice job of capturing a relatively true representation of the colors I was seeing. The exposure setting makes a huge difference in what you get so make sure you bracket the exposure or mix up the metering spots to make sure you have some good references when you get back into the studio. Fun, fun, fun!

The official ADNW Artist Apron!

I am excited to announce that the official ADNW Artist Apron has finally arrived! The first one will go to ADNW Passion Award recipient Peggy Skattebo, who has been patiently waiting for the stitching to be completed. There have been no other Passion Award nominations so I guess I will have a box of these to do with what I please. I plan to take some to art shows to give away on occasion in an effort to spread art-related cheer and merriment. I will, of course, save a few in case any nominations come in or I find another budding artist stepping out!

EasyL Pro Pochade Painting Box

So my final shipment of supplies for my plein air adventure with John Taft showed up today. For the benefit of those, like me, that hunger to know what setup other artists use, I thought I would post what I will be packing. I long for the day that these items bear the road-worn patina of an avid plein air painter. Until then, I took a few pics to remind some of how their supplies looked when they were new. For those of you that already have a setup, don’t be afraid to chime in with what I am missing. I appreciate any and all input!

Here is a list of my outdoor painting gear:

• Easel – I selected the EasyL Pro pochade box from Artwork Essentials. I outfitted the box with a few accessories like the Wet Panel Carrier, Palette Extension Board, Utility/Stone Bag, Palette Cup and Large Viewfinder. The ordering process was very easy and everything arrived quickly in perfect condition. To make the mixing area within the box easier to clean and mimic my palette at home, I went to Home Depot and bought a piece of thin window glass and cut it to fit perfectly in the bottom of the box. Before setting the glass with 100% silicone sealant, I back primed the glass with medium grey automotive primer so I would have neutral color upon which to do my mixing – just like the one at home. I also added two pieces of lightweight aluminum angle to the bottom sides of the box to combat any potential abuse that the bottom edge may endure.

• Brushes – Mr. Taft recommends quality bristle brushes including flats, brights, and filberts. I bought a range of sizes for painting small, including two of each with size ranging from #2 through #8. The brand I bought was Robert Simmons Signet bristle brushes. The brushes fit in a handy tote that my son bought me for Father’s Day last year. It also holds razor blades and my sketching materials among other things.

• Sketch Pad, Pencils (with sharpener) and Eraser: I’ll take a small 5″ x 7″ sketch pad with medium 2B graphite pencil and an eraser.

• Painting Panels – My new favorites are Fredrix Linen Boards. They have a nice smoothish texture, are nice quality, and are dead flat and seem to stay that way. I am taking 10 – 15 panels in 6″ x 8″ to 11″ x 14″ sizes. The 6″ x 8″ boards are are not linen but primed masonite, which will be used mainly to quickly note colors when the light is fleeting. I experienced the definition of fleeting light tonight when the setting sun angle lit up the rolling mountain prairie for about 15 seconds in a green tinged cadmium yellow deep. I would have been toast!

EasyL Wet Panel Carrier

• Paint – Oh yeah, paint will be handy. I use Holbein Aqua Oils. I Love them, especially for the field because you can easily clean up with unscented baby wipes from Walmart and clean brushes with good old H2O. Aqua Oils were recommended to me by veteran Colorado western artist, Dwayne Brech (my sister’s father in-law!). The recommended palette for the trip is Titanium White, Cadmium Yellow Pale, Cadmium Red Medium, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue, Viridian, Cobalt Blue, Cadmium Orange Medium, and Mauve Blue Shade. I will take a small amount of Holbein water soluble linseed oil with me but don’t plan to use much.

• Electronic Gadgets: Canon 10D digital SLR and iPhone. I will use the camera to take reference photos of what I paint and will use the iPhone primarily for twitter updates while in the field. The twitter client on the phone has the ability to geomap my location, which will be fun for retracing my painting locations. Hey one of my favorite artists Jay Moore does it and why should he have all the fun?

• Miscellaneous Stuff: Dorky hat (my wife is embarrassed when I wear it but who am I trying to impress? The bears? Also, dark clothes to limit reflected light, bug spray, sun screen, plastic bag for trash, and a portable seat.

Well, that’s the bulk of it. If anyone else has bright ideas from experience I would be grateful to become wiser.

Since I usually paint on weekends, I don’t always have the luxury of painting outside when the weather decides not to cooperate. My indoor studio is pretty well set up but I did not have a easy way to stage and light a still life scene. I would usually get a bit frustrated trying to prop this that and the other up while establishing ideal lighting conditions. To minimize the hassle and provide a way to set up and start painting quickly, I decided to make a lightweight shadow box.

This project, which took about three hours to complete, is pretty easy to do with the exception of cutting the corner moulding. I used a power miter box to make my cuts but you can use a simple miter box setup from Home Depot if you like. Here is my materials list:

• Elmers Black on Black Foamboard 20″X30″- 6 Sheets (a 10-pack from Amazon is the best price)
• 3M Scotch Mount Moulding Tape – 2, 15′ Packages
• Sharp utility knife
• 32 Feet of 1/2″ Plastic Corner Moulding from Home Depot
• Blue Low-Tack Painter’s Tape

The dimensions can be any size depending on the size of your studio. I made my box 24″ wide, by 20″ tall, and 20″ deep. This size will accommodate a variety of objects including wine bottles or large vases.  Here are the basic steps for completing the box:

• Cut all pieces of foamboard first and dry fit the assembly using blue low-tack painter’s tape.
• You will need to make slight adjustments to the sizes of the panels on some joints to account for the thickness of the board.
• Make sure you cut the back piece about two inches shorter so there will be a horizontal slot at the top that you can feed cloth through for backdrops. This will make it much easier to place and secure for your scenes. (see photo album above)
• On the top piece, I cut a square hole on the right side measuring about 6″ x 14″ so I can light my subjects from above. Save the left over pieces of foamboard to adjust the size of the hole later when setting up your lighting. (see photo album above)
• Now is where the fun starts. As you can see in one of the pictures in the album above, I made frames for the top and bottom of the box by cutting the corner moulding and affixing it with the double sided automotive moulding tape. This tape is used to secure the moulding to new cars and it is VERY strong, making it perfect for this application. The moulding will stiffen up the foamboard and allow you to assemble the box.
• I used the tape and moulding to make the vertical back joints as well.
• I applied the tape to the inside of both sides of the corner moulding, then peeled the backing off of the other side and started putting the foamboard pieces together. Once the tape contacts the foamboard, you will not be able to reposition it, so take your time.
• I cut and added another piece of foamboard to the inside bottom to strengthen the base and make the thickness match the height of the corner moulding on the bottom. I just used more tape to stick the new panel to the bottom piece of the box.
• You can make minor adjustments to the design as you like. It is important to dry fit everything with tape first so you know your final assembly will go well.
• The final result is a sturdy shadow box that is perfect for setting up and lighting your still life scenes.

Click on the album above to see larger pictures at Picasa. I put a few subjects in the box and tried some lighting set ups with good results. I hope you find this post helpful should you choose to make a shadow box for yourself. Now I need to get busy and actually do some painting!