Art Working

Why I've Switched to WordPress

2011-02-17T15:12:00.000-08:00

Green Fields - Fairview, NC
Acrylic on Canvas - 11 x 14

This is will be the last post on Blogger. I'm moving on to greener pastures.

My blog, Art Working, is now integrated into my fine art website through WordPress.

Why, might you ask, am I switching from Blogger, to a WordPress platform?

In short, it's better.

I've drunk the Cool-Aid.

Check it out and see what you think!

Artist’s Business Cards – Mini Portfolio

2011-01-15T08:48:00.000-08:00

A business card is a handy little thing. But for a visual artist, it presents a unique opportunity - and challenge: How do I design a card that gives a representational sample of my artwork without compromising clear communication of basic contact information?

I think that I’ve finally landed on a solution.

Having a mini-portfolio of images on the back of the card gives a taste of my artwork without competing with the clean and graphic text based design on the front. Each image is cropped to show half (or less) of the original painting. This allows for uniformity but also sends the message that ‘this isn’t the whole story; there’s more to see.’ The images have been artfully arranged with consideration of color and design. My signature is both a nice graphic element, and adds credibility of authorship.

The design of my business card fits the branding of my website, and collateral material (post cards etc.) – clean, straight-forward, lots of white space.

(By the way, if you’d like to receive invitations to art shows etc. in the mail, please email your name and mailing address to me at gallery1@mac.com. If you’d like to receive notifications by email, sign up for my email newsletter here.)

Comments / questions welcome.

Wilmington: The other end of I-40

2010-11-03T14:11:00.001-07:00

Five years ago, we packed up our Plymouth Voyager and set off on a great adventure. We were moving from Southern California to Asheville, North Carolina. As we got on interstate 40, in Barstow, CA, there was a sign that read "2,554 mi to Wilmington, NC."

Well, to celebrate 5 years in Asheville, and a couple of other big milestones we took a family vacation to Cape Fear - to the other end of "the forty".

A good time was had by all. We visited the USS North Carolina, went to the Aquarium, the Cotton Exchange, and treated ourselves to leisurely afternoons at the beach.

From my sketchbook - a drawing of the fisherman's wharf at Carolina Beach.

We stayed on the north end of Pleasure Island, (Carolina Beach). You can expect to see some paintings of boats, harbors and the island in the near future.

Paint-out at Pinchot Forest

2010-07-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

The paint-out at Pinchot Forest was a fabulous success! Thanks to Wesley Greene, the event coordinating team, the 12 artists from the Western North Carolina Plein Air Painters group, and all the folks who dropped by the event!

I set up my easel under a large shade tree with a southern view of the Meadow and Mills Gap. Here are four pictures of the painting in progress. (12 x 24, acrylic on canvas.)

Scott Boyle gives an impromptu demonstration. It's always inspiring to see another artist at work.

Two of my paintings on display in the gallery:

Paint-out at Pinchot Forest - Saturday, July 17, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM

2010-07-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

Paint-out at Pinchot Forest, Saturday, July 17, 11:00 A.M. – 3:00 P.M.

I will be painting on location at Pinchot Forest along with a number of other artists from the Western North Carolina Plein Air Painters group in conjunction with an exclusive event.

There will also be four finished landscape paintings from the property on display in the sales office.

Pinchot Forest is a gated development in South Asheville that has enjoys a number of amazing views. The grounds consist of nearly 70 acres, situated on the southern spur of Busbee Mountain.

You are invited to drop by, see some paintings in progress, explore Pinchot Forest and witness the breathtaking views!

At this time, roads and improvements have been put in, but no structures have been built yet (meaning unrestricted access to views!)

Pinchot Forest is located at Mills Gap and Pinners Cove, about a mile from Hendersonville Road.

Directions:

From Hendersonville Road, Turn onto Mills Gap

Go one mile and turn left at Pinners Cove

Entrance to Pinchot Forest is on your left

http://pinchotforest.com

Did I mention the views?

Hope to see you there!

Brennen McElhaney

P.S. Praying for good weather (no rain).

Advice for artists

2010-06-24T08:35:00.000-07:00

For some time, I've been collecting words of advice for artists. Actually, truth be told, this is advice for me. This is a list work in progress, but here's what I have so far:

Sketch every day

Paint every day

Trust your eyes

Look at masters' works

Look at contemporary masters' works

Keep work on public display

Have the mind of a student (be open)

Have the heart of a teacher (be generous)

Be confident

Be committed to your work

Ask yourself, "What is important?"

Experiment

Streamline your studio

Work in good light

Work from life

Be humble

Be passionate

Sleep well, Eat well, Exercise regularly

Make goals

Penguins from the Falklands

2010-05-19T10:09:00.001-07:00

I've been doing a lot of artwork for various travel destinations. Recently, I was assigned to do some illustrations for the Falkland Islands featuring, among other things, drawings of king penguins, rendered as though they were from a naturalist's sketchbook.

Penguins are wonderfully quirky, beautifully colored, chaps that are always dressed up for the occasion. Very fun to draw. Also, it's a bonus for me to learn about the geography, history, and culture of various locations.

South Asheville Vista - New Painting

2010-03-04T18:34:00.000-08:00

Recently finished painting from Pinchot Forest: "South Asheville Vista." Acrylic on gessoed paper, 8.5 x 13 inches.

Santa Barbara Courthouse Double-Take

2010-02-18T14:39:00.000-08:00

When I saw it I did a double take.

On the web I had found a painting of the Santa Barbara Courthouse that looked very much like one I had done. But it wasn't mine.

The similarities are remarkable. The compositions of each painting are almost identical -images have not been cropped. (The image on the right is mine, the one on the left was painted by Santa Barbara artist Dorothy Nalls.)

As it turns out, Dorothy, my artist counterpart, and I have never met face to face. However our canvases show that we've crossed paths more than once in our searches for subjects to paint.

Dorothy Nalls is a plein air painter, specializing in Santa Barbara landscapes and seascapes.

Visit her on-line portfolio at http://www.dorothynalls.com/

Brookwood Snow

2010-02-17T13:40:00.000-08:00

It snowed in Asheville. Again.

Near our house there's a large parcel of land which used to be the Brookwood Golf Course. It was purchased by developers and graded in preparation for building condos or something probably less attractive than the golf course. But apparently they ran out of money, because the project has been at a stand-still for a year or so.

Snow has a wonderful effect of covering everything and restoring the "natural" appearance of the landscape. The marks made on the earth by construction equipment and earth movers are hidden by the white blanket.

Brookwood Snow - South Asheville / Arden

Acrylic on Canvas

16 x 20 inches

(Location near the intersection of Mills Gap and Weston Road.)

I am looking forward to Spring and warmer weather.

I've recently joined the Western North Carolina Plein Air Painters group. - An informal club of Asheville area landscape painters who get together from time to time to paint on location. I'm especially looking forward to painting with Richard Oversmith and Stuart Roper.

(click for larger image)

This image shows the development of the painting. I started with a warm undertone - something close to the color of raw linen. Then I "pushed" the color palette toward the blue tones. The final image on the right shows a more balanced warm / cool spectrum of colors.

Winter Views - Pinchot Forest, S. Asheville

2010-01-13T12:22:00.000-08:00

I was born and raised in Santa Barbara, CA. I never heard of the term "winter views" until my wife and I started looking to relocate to Asheville in 2005.

In the Blue Ridge Mountains, each season has its delight. Spring brings waves of new growth and wild flowers. Summer has its long warm lazy evenings with fireflies and cicadas. Fall has the brilliant color of the changing foliage. And in Winter, after the leaves have fallen, opens up the long vistas that were previously obscured by the vegetation.

From Pinchot Forest, there are many handsome views (in all seasons) but this one is one of my favorites, since the road winding down the mountain creates a clearing in trees.

Winter Views - 14 x 18 inches, Acrylic on Canvas

Sketchbook - Week 1, 2010

2010-01-05T07:19:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pages from my pocket sketchbook, from the first week in 2010. One of my resolutions is to draw in my sketchbook daily. I'll post collections of recent drawings from time to time. It looks like I only have one more blank page. Time to get a new Moleskine sketchbook!

Tom Sgouros - Painter's "Scales"

2010-01-02T07:19:00.001-08:00

One of my professors at RISD was Tom Sgouros. I remember him with a great deal of respect. He valued hard work and expected no less from his students. One of the things that I recall, was his analogy of painters to musicians, and the need for both to practice their art diligently. One of the exercises that he undertook personally, was to do a daily painting of a bicycle horn. He would paint the same subject over and over, looking for new things, trying to resolve the composition in a slightly different way. He referred to this as doing his "scales." Like a professional musician who spends time every day to exercise his craft, Sgouros' daily color sketch of the bike horn did a few things. 1.) It loosened up his "art muscles" 2.) It disciplined him to paint daily. 3.) It forced him to find new solutions for an old problem 4 .) it reminded him that he hadn't yet arrived; he still had room to grow and things to learn.

It's been almost two decades since I was in art school, but Tom Sgouros' "Scales" lesson is one that sticks with me.

Fine Art Website re-designed

2009-12-23T07:25:00.000-08:00

I'm constantly looking for better ways to show my artwork. Well, I've spent considerable time re-designing and polishing my Fine Art website www.brennenmcelhaney.com

For those of you who are SEO savvy, I've added individual viewing pages for each work (instead of swapping out images on the same page.) The result, is a better looking, simplified, more intuitive and hopefully higher ranking website. Take a look for yourself!

If you have a moment, I'd love to hear feedback.

South Forest Beach - New painting from Hilton Head

2009-10-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

While the kids played in the water, and built sand castles, I took a bit of time to work on a plein air painting of the beach. It's remarkable to observe how the sky changes throughout the day. In the morning the sky was perfectly clear, then as the day progressed, clouds formed on the horizon to the south east, and then relentlessly took over the sky.

I love painting out of doors, especially in a public place. I got to meet several folks, who were walking by, or riding bikes on the beach. There's something about painting on location that breaks down social barriers. I like that.

Keep in touch

Painting Website

Art Newsletter

"Steps to the Beach" Recent painting from Hilton Head

2009-10-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

This past week my family had the pleasure of going down to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina for a vacation. The company was fantastic (we vacationed with Hal and Stephanie Brown and family) and the weather was very nice. We got in lots of relaxing and playing in the sand and surf.

The house that we stayed in was wonderful - spacious, elegant and graciously appointed, and literally "steps to the beach." I painted a small work (8.5 x 13 inches) on gessoed watercolor paper, of the view down the boardwalk to the beach. The images show the progression and development of the painting, from the gesture to the finished piece. (Actually, in reverse order.)

Keep in touch!

Website / Email Newsletter

Twitter

Facebook

Rippy - Rough Animation

2009-04-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

We're working on a teaser trailer for "It's About Time" (working title for movie by Oodles Unlimited LLC - with Kitty Cat Katie and Gracie, and friends.)

This one second sequence may be used in the trailer. It's fabulous fun to be a part of the team and see this project start to gain some serious momentum!

Asheville Adventure Map

2009-02-02T12:14:00.000-08:00

This is one of the coolest projects that I've gotten to work on lately. This is a very-close-to-final version of the Asheville Adventure Map which will be published in March and available as a free take-away at REI, the Mast General Store, and a bunch of other out-doorsey places.

The Heinzelmännchen Gnome

2009-02-02T10:04:00.000-08:00

I recently got to re-tool the logo for the Heinzelmännchen Brewery in Sylva, NC. Their mascot is a merry little gnome, but as is the case with wee folk, he was giving them some trouble. So, I got to re-draw a color version of the little fellow, as well as a line art version for screen printing. Both are shown here for your amusement.

I learned the the vessel in his hand is called a "growler." - Cheers!

Kitty Cat Katie and Gracie - Movie Poster

2008-11-02T19:12:00.000-08:00

Here is a group shot of the neighborhood kids and animal friends done as a movie poster type of promo. This image has been used on a number of promotional pieces - a brochure, an investor's informational packet, and most recently the OodlesUnlimited.com website.

Oodles of Logos

2008-11-02T18:59:00.000-08:00

Here are some logos generated for Oodles Unlimited, Oodles Films, Kitty Cat Katie and Gracie, and Orbie for Orphans (a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping kids without parents.)

Orbie the firefly has become the mascot for Oodles. He's the wise sage that literally and figuratively illuminates situations for the kids. I think he's kind of like Yoda.

Character Development - Animal Friends

2008-11-02T18:52:00.000-08:00

Character Development - Kids

2008-11-02T18:50:00.000-08:00

Rough Model Sheets

2008-11-02T18:43:00.000-08:00

Here are some rough model sheets from early to mid-development. Some of the sketches are not included because they weren't close enough to the character. These images show Gracie and her best furry friend Kitty Cat Katie.

Kitty Cat Katie and Gracie

2008-11-02T18:19:00.001-08:00

I've been doing some work for Oodles Unlimited developing some character properties for market. "Kitty Cat Kate and Gracie" is the name of the project and I will be posting a series of images in (roughly) chronological order.

This artwork of "Gracie" is done by Charlotte Ström who developed the first graphic images for this neighborhood of kids and their animal friends.

I am very lucky to be working directly with Hal Brown and his wife Stephanie on this project. Hal originally developed the characters and is now preparing to bring them to market.

Communication Strategies

2008-10-13T17:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a digital painting for use by my friend Diane St. John as a self promotion image for her consulting business.

Detail showing some of the brush textures used for the foliage and the rocks.

Bonsai!!!

2008-09-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a new submission for Threadless Ts. I'm not sure if I've worked out all the kinks yet. Please feel free to comment.

Epidemic

2008-09-15T18:35:00.001-07:00

I am on a roll. I had this idea for a t-shirt while reading "The Tipping Point." The author puts forth the notion that a small shift in circumstances can set off an epidemic (social, or otherwise.) As I was walking down our street, I saw a circle of mushrooms. and 'boom' there it was.

As I was working on it, I realized that there are political and environmental messages that are hard to avoid. These were unintentional, but none the less, the mushrooms do look like mushroom clouds (or is it the other way around?) and the center of the mushroom circle is somewhere around Asia Minor. There is no soap-box here. I just thought it would be a fun image.

First Threadless Submission

2008-09-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

I just uploaded my first Threadless T-shirt submission. Check it out.

- Cheers!

Painting Sarah and Jack

2008-03-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

As the painting started out, I became aware that the subjects were too far to the left of the canvas. So, I re-blocked in the elements to make a composition that I was happier with. If this were only an illustration project, I may have forged on without consideration for the canvas. However, I have a feeling that this may end up on a wall in my house, and if the composition was off-balance it would have bugged me every time I looked at it.

After working a bit this morning, things are starting to look more resolved. In fact, at this small resolution, it look almost finished. Well let me jot down my self-critique notes, and we'll see how it shapes up.

1.) I'm using a brush that's too small, it's getting "fussy" in areas.

2.) Jack (the dog) is a bit too pudgy.

3.) Shadows on grass need to be resolved into landscape. Right now they are too much of an element.

4.) Detail in woods (hints of light areas behind trees, etc.)

5.) Tighten up "portraiture"

Self Portrait Head Sketch

2008-03-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

A page from my sketchbook. Dated February 20, 2008.

New Publicity Head Shot

2008-03-05T06:19:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, my wife did a photo shoot for me for a new publicity head shot. The background was added after-the-fact in PhotoShop. I'm doing my best to look like a respectable citizen. Some day, I'll be as cool as James Gurney and wear goggles, with an uber-serious look.

Katie

2008-02-29T18:27:00.000-08:00

Head study of Katie. Rendered in the digital paint of PhotoShop. The reference for this pose originally came from a photo shoot for a character being developed for "Kitty Cat Katie and Gracie." - But I thought it was very charming in its own right.

I hope to do some head studies from time to time. I've been especially inspired by the work of Steve James. Definitely worth Checking out.