Painting-wise, this has been my least prolific year since 2008 – at least so far. I’ve got a lot of other projects in the works, but I always feel like I’m letting myself down if I don’t complete 4 or more paintings in a month’s time. I realized yesterday that I was about to finish April with only two completed paintings, and I just couldn’t have that. So, I set everything else aside for a few hours and created this…

Fire Inside – 10″x10″ – Acrylic on canvas – Completed 4/30/13

©2013, Don Michael, Jr.

Well, I had a lot of fun with this little leopard. It was definitely a pleasant respite attending to his visage, but now it’s time for me to get back to the projects that help pay the bills…

Happy Creating!

Wherewithal – 20″x24″ – Acrylic on canvas – Completed 4/16/13

©2013, Don Michael, Jr.

This is one of those paintings that I’ll let speak for itself. I will say though that it was a LOT of fun to create – and upon its completion I can hardly wait to start on the next one.

But, that will have to wait a few days… Currently, I’m in the middle of creating new artwork for a book cover. Not only that, but tomorrow will be spent setting up, displaying and then breaking down an art exhibit at the SpringHill Suites Las Vegas North (about which you can read more about here). I will be displaying four of my paintings mixed in with the artwork of a few other Las Vegas area artists.

For now, I will revel in the joy of finishing a new work – but only for a few minutes. It’s late and I’m tired…

I leave you with this detail:

Wherewithal – Detail

Happy Creating!

Suddenly, this bundle of whirling energy came buzzing through the gallery door at about a jillion miles an hour. It’s amazing how much ‘presence’ some people can bring to a room, and the lovely Samone, proprietor of Delightful Crepes Cafe of Long Beach, is one of them. Long-story-short, about an hour later I was finally heading to my hotel room with a new commission job to start considering…

…and here is the new piece of art now hanging in that very same Delightful Crepes Cafe.

Phantom of Delight – Acrylic paint of paper mache’ mask – Completed 3/2/13

©2013, Don Michael, Jr.

Samone had requested that this mask use the colors from her cafe’s logo. She also wanted me to include iconic images of French origin – a couple she specifically mentioned were the fleur de lis and the eiffel tower. Something else she mentioned in our conversation was how cool it would be if I created a mask with ties to the Phantom of the Opera mask. From what I understand, Samone is quite happy with the results. Next time I’m in Long Beach I’ll have to go have me some crepes and see how she has her new mask displayed.

Until then, though, I’d better get back to the studio… I’ve got several projects calling my name. And one of those has a pretty tight deadline.

Happy Creating!

Next Time – 10″x10″ – Acrylic on canvas – Completed 4/5/13

©2013, Don Michael, Jr.

Happy Creating!

When we got there, Gina, the owner/curator of the gallery, suggested that we hang my animal OTUS paintings together on one wall. I was more than happy to oblige…

Don’s Wall-o-Critters

On another wall we hung a few of my mask paintings…

Don’s Wall-o-Masks

Gina also laid out several of my Eye Candy mask paintings, along with a few of the masks I’d created to use as ‘models’ for my artwork, on 3 different tables. Here’s one of those tables, which also included a few prints of my work…

My Lovely Laura with some of my work

For the painting I created live, Gina requested I do an animal. Since wildcats have been my subject matter of choice lately, I decided to do a caracal. For those not familiar with this type of wildcat, it is found in Africa and parts of Asia and India. It’s name comes from Turkish words meaning ‘black ears’. Their most distinguishing characteristic would be the tufts of hair growing at the ends of their ears. Compositionally, I couldn’t fit those tufts in, but that’s why I carry an artistic license…

About an hour and a half into the painting

While I was painting, a young art student from one of the local colleges asked permission to sketch me. Never one to turn down an aspiring artist, I readily agreed. Once he got settled and started sketching me, another young artist came along and asked permission to sketch my sketcher sketching me. We both approved of that idea. My wife couldn’t pass up this artful photo op…

Jake Woodruff sketching Alex Balaban sketching me painting a caracal

Here’s the drawing Alex did of me…

…here’s the drawing Jake did of Alex…

…and here’s the painting I did of a caracal…

Gonna’ Get It – 10″x10″ – Acrylic on canvas – Completed 3/23/13

©2013, Don Michael, Jr.

While all this art was being created, some other art was leaving the gallery. I’m happy to report that a few of my smaller paintings were sold – and I was commissioned to create a mask for one of the restaurants near the gallery. All-in-all, I’d call it a successful, art-filled night.

Now it’s time to get back to my studio…

Happy Creating!

Counting to Ten – 12″x9″ – Acrylic on canvas – Completed 3/14/13

©2013, Don Michael, Jr.

If my count is right, this is the 90th in my Over the Under-Schmeerings (OTUS) series. It’s cool that even with that many behind me I still find that I learn something new with each one. This time I learned that there are a LOT of dots on the head of a jaguar! (Well, that’s not really the type of lesson I’m talking about, but it was an eye-opener none-the-less.) This lesson was actually about being careful not to overdo it with the natural color of the animal. I almost lost all of the Under-Schmeerings in the top half of his head – so, I pushed the color a little to contrast the blue that was still showing thru on the bottom. I’m still deciding how I feel about the final result. No matter what my final decision is though, I’m a strong believer in not going back into a painting once I call it finished. If I decide I don’t like my choices I guess I’ll just have to start Counting to Ten.

Now it’s time to take what I learned and get started on the next one…

Happy Creating!

High Expectations – 10″x8″ – Acrylic on canvas – Completed 3/10/13

©2013, Don Michael, Jr.

 As you can see, this is one of my Over the Under-Schmeerings (OTUS) paintings. For those who are new to my work, each painting in my OTUS series starts out as a mess of ‘schmeered’ paint on a canvas. That ‘schmeered’ canvas was created when I was working on a previous painting. When I mix paints with my palette knife I hate to waste the excess by wiping the blade on a towel. So, I wipe the blade on an extra canvas. Also, at the end of a painting session I clean my palette by wiping the excess paint up with my palette knife and then ‘schmeering’ that excess onto that same extra canvas. When that extra canvas becomes completely covered in ‘schmeerings’ I set it aside and get out another extra canvas and continue that process. Later, I take that fully ‘schmeered’ canvas and create a composition to bring some semblance of order into that chaotic mess.

To help you visualize this process please check out the image below. In this image you’ll see the ‘schmeered’ canvas on the left and the order that I attempted to bring to the chaos on the right.

High Expectations – Before and After

©2013, Don Michael, Jr.

This is such a fun process for me. It’s like working on a puzzle and creating a painting all at the same time. I hope my explanation was easily understood. Please, feel free to ask any questions or make any comments in the comments section below.

Happy Creating!

A Moment’s Notice – 10″x10″ – Acrylic on canvas – Completed 3/8/13

©2013, Don Michael, Jr.

I am having such a good time with this series of animal Over the Under-Schmeerings (OTUS’s). Each one has been a new adventure with its own built-in challenges. Trying to work just enough of the natural color of the animal into the raw colors of the ‘schmeered’ background is probably the biggest of these challenges. I’m especially happy with the results I achieved towards that goal on this one.

I have now created a baker’s dozen of these and anticipate there will be more coming. In fact, I think I’ll head to the studio and start on the next one…

Happy Creating!

An Old Soul – 10″x10″ – Acrylic on canvas – Completed 3/5/13

©2013, Don Michael, Jr.

Happy Creating!

I just happened to be working on the right painting when I read those words…

Those Acquisitive Eyes – 10″x10″ – Acrylic on Canvas – Completed 2/28/13

©2013, Don Michael, Jr.

This is my second attempt at capturing an ocelot in one of my Over the Under-Schmeerings (OTUS) paintings. Like I said when I wrote about the first one, Smooth Operator, ocelots have always been a favorite wildcat for me. So, I imagine they’ll probably pop up in another work somewhere down the line.

Happy Creating!