Journey of an Absolute Rookie: Paintings and Sketches

[Burning Eyes]

you have come a looooooonnnnggg way even since i joined ca 3 years ago, and since i met u in for the 1st san fran workshop... truely inspiring to paint in oils... ill get to it soon... i swear, obviously nothing can stop u now so... just keep us jacked up on eyeCANDY!

[monsi]

I thought I'd commented on this a few weeks ago..

I just have to say, looking through this thread, from page one to here, has to be one of the most incredible things I've seen. Really really inspiring.

And even without the contrast of the years of progression, I really REALLY love your work. It has an incredibly attractive quality.

I'm totally a fan

[Momus]

This thread proves that "talent" is 99% perspiration. Utterly inspiring, even if inspiration only counts for 1%!

[MindCandyMan]

MikeHayes - Hey man thanks for the kind words. I took a look at your sketchbook. You have some really great work in there!!! I like a lot of your illustrations and your drawings. The one prelim drawing of that centaur is just awesome man...great sketch. It's hard to find critiques so I will try to give the best I can. I can tell with a lot of your charcoal portraits and figure drawings from life that you are focusing in on certain areas. What I mean is that you are working on the eyes and forgetting about other areas. I noticed on a lot of your figure drawings and portraits the heads and eyes were too small for the bodies/faces. That's a really common thing that happens to all of us for sure. The way to avoid that is to simplify the head and eye sockets first before going into them with too much detail. Also step back from your easel as much as possible. I step back for each stroke that I put down on the canvas. The place that I view the subject from is far away from the canvas...so I have to remember what it looked like and walk to the canvas and place my mark. Perhaps you are already doing this but if you aren't I would definitely do that. When you step back it gives you the general overall view of what you are drawing. Also pay particular attention to the angles when you are drawing/painting something. Be anal about getting your angles right...draw imaginary angles down from the corner of the eye...drop a pretend plumb line from every point you can imagine to what it intersects...etc... It always feels counterintuitive but the more time you spend on the preliminary drawing the faster you can complete the finished product....or the easier it is to finish it. I had to write this critique real quick...if you want me to expound shoot me a private message.

Callops - Thanks man! Glad I could inspire for sure.

Fishspawn - enjoy...it's free now hehe!

deep_set - haha thanks man! Glad I could help inspire you. I feel the same way when I look at Sargent's paintings in person. It's great to have this community where we can help each other for sure.

Art_Addict - I agree about the book. I decided I am going to put the time into producing the "journey" book instead of trying to do these volumes. I am going to work hard on that and get that published really nicely and just offer these others for free. Thanks for the input!

dakoscwash -

Orbital - Thanks man...still trying to keep going hehe.

paperx - Thanks man I appreciate it. Yeah I agree with you guys. I think I am going to pour my work into the "journey" book so that it can be a really nice product. It might take a while to get it finished and published but I really want to make it nice. If you have any feedback about what you might like to see in the book I would love to hear it.

Bojee - Thanks man...yeah I am going to put more work into the "journey" book and just offer these other books for free. My problem with this book is that I didn't feel right charging when the quality wasn't good enough. I was looking into self publishing options because I just don't have the money to pay for a bunch of copies up front right now. It would take probably about 2,500-5k right now which I don't think I could afford. I am going to do a walkthrough of my next still life as kind of a tutorial thing so I will include my setup pictures and stuff with that one. Is that the type of thing you are looking for?

emily g - Thanks! That portrait was really fun for sure. I'm proud to know you too. You guys have been so encouraging you are just as much a part of my journey as I am. That sounds cheezy I know but it's true.

drd - Thanks! The difference between acrylics and oils really just boils down to what you want to do. I think oils have a potential for a deeper more vibrant color. Oils can also communicate a lot more transparency than acrylics. Then again I see some illustrators working in acrylics that do amazing work...but to me acrylics seem to lack the punch that oils have. A lot of people use acrylics because water is your solvent and it also dries very quickly. This makes acrylics great for people on a specific time table...some oils have to dry for 90-180 days before you can final varnish them...that is too much for some people. Also the solvents used with oils can be really annoying, messy, and caustic. I can't help but use oils though. I think they can achieve virtually any effect and the colors are fantastic. They are expensive too though. I would definitely work in oils if you can...just be ready for the expense and mess hehe.

Looped_Warrior - Haha thanks man!

Blackhawk - Thanks bro. This portrait was really fun to do that's for sure. This portrait has its own set of issues that's for sure but one thing I am proud of is that it looks exactly like her. Can't believe you still follow this thread heheh.

pennington - Workin on it now...maybe I'll make a blogspot account or something like that hehe.

Burning Eyes - Thanks. It's been a long road that's for sure. I'll definitely try to keep you guys jack up on eye candy hehe!

nethus - Thanks man. That was actually one of my goals when I started this thread. I said to myself...I need to get to the point to where people say..."your work is good" standing on it's own. It means a lot for me to hear you say that. I really appreciate it.

Momus - Haha thanks! Sometimes I feel like my work is 140% perspiration. I feel like I have to work twice as hard as those around me sometimes. My dad always said my family wasn't full of geniuses...just plodders or workers. He was right I think...we're just too stubborn to give up hehe.

______________________________


Hey guys thanks for all the encouraging comments. I explored a bunch of options with this book and I am deciding to offer these yearly volumes for free on my website. I am going to be offering other products for sale on there like prints and some other stuff perhaps. I ordered a bunch of drafts of the book and I just don't think it's up to par using lulu.com or the other self publishing options. I am going to pour all of my "book work" into creating a journey book that shows all of my progress and different sections of my life. I even want to get some old drawings from my parents...you guys would crack up if you saw them. It might take a couple years but I am definitely going to look into it.

You guys can download the new book for free at this address:

http://www.jonathanhardesty.com/store.php

[[void]]

Wow free, thats very generous of you.

I think that a 'journey' book is a great idea, its been really inspiring seeing your progress over 5 years.
Btw thanks for keeping such a well documented record of you progress, every now and then I come back to this thread to remind myself what you can do with patience and determination. Its really inspiring.

And the book is really nice too :]

[Mitchell]

Wow great stuff john! I love the skull on the dresser painting. and also the painting of Amy. Very intriguing, and it does feel like you captured her personailty, because when I looked at it, I already made a conncetion to what kind of a person she would be like. I'm barely getting into oil's myself, (in the process of doing a self portrait, updated in my sketchbook if you wanna go check out the disaster) and although I feel I can "draw" the person well and get a good likeness, I can't seem to get that "life" in a painting, or at least that's how it feels to me. But looking at your paintings, I am definately learning some ways to acheive the "life".

thanks for the book! very good stuff.
-mitch

[zeroe]

Wow Mindcandy...you're stuff gets more beautiful everytime i get the guts to check this thread...it always crushes my spirits hah! Great work on the book cover...love the suggestive and energetic brushstrokes in the background.

[Ashrumm]

Great stuff here, the latest updates are really good!!

[Monika Gruszka]

OH-MY-GOD! I mean, YOU are the GOD! Impressive art! It is almost impossible You are my hero.. and.. now I must draw something KISSES!

[Konstruktion]

Wow I love all the blacks in your portraits. Or, all the dark values. Really inspiring thread! ANd I think you should go on with the pdf-book idea, if its only easy to pay for you have one buyer here.

[giloosh]

WOAH! Its amazing to watch the progress from an absolute rookie to an absolute master! Truly inspirational!

[cakeypigdog]

this thread is such an inspiration. whenever anyone tells me they cant draw but they would like to i always direct them here: your hard work and dedication are awe inspiring.
i just tried to dload your pdf but it seems to be broken?
fix it please would love a look at your book!

[Earendil]

Holy cow.

Wow.

You sir, are...how you say?....THE MAN.

What the hell am I still doing in this reply box?!

...

[stone.]

this is some awesome progress... very motivating!

thanks to you, i convinced alot of friends that if they wanna draw, they can do it... just need to get started... so thanks

i started to do some oil on canvas, but its hard for me to figgure out how to start.

the paint is drying soo slow, and i cant set highlights because the white paint always blend in with the wet backcolors (hope you understand what i mean)

would be awesome with some kind of step by step or something... you could try check out my sketchbook next week, then i will upload some oil paintings.

regards stone. keep it up !

[Jason Rainville]

Just another comment on this being increcibly inspiring (edit: so much so I can no longer spell correctly ). Like I mentioned in another thread, I finally have something tangible to show those who think they can't make it, how they'll never improve yadda yadda...

Seeing where I'm at I think I have a good chance of 'getting there' and this thread and your growth has put a ton of coal in the furnace.

Thanks, congrats, and carry on, my good sir

[Bojee]

Jon, sorry it took a while to get back to you, I just meant that I'd always value something that takes a solid book form over digital, if it was something i was adding to my collection. As far as the form/content it takes, that's up to you, I'm personally into process, both technical and thought process, maybe your motivation for doing what you do, and lots of inspiring paintings. Hope that helps bro.

[Kfeeras]

just got here from an art discussion about the subject wether art can be learned or not.... i always knew that i can be learned... now i have evidence. great stuff, curious to know how my stuff will look around page 30... ;-) RIGHT ON!!!!

[Beavotron]

dude you are the single most inspirational artist i have ever encountered on the internet or otherwise

cripes.
best thread ever!

[theartguy]

It's nice to come back and see your still kicking butt! Keep it up buddy

[Capprotti]

Damn John. Beautiful. Every time I come back it's like... it should be 3 years between visits to this thread judging by your progress, but in reality it's only been a month. I continue to be blown away. Time to dust off my brushes!

[griffinfly]

You're my inspiration and a cheer up man

[Ellingsworth]

Since I have stopped in here before, I must say thank you for taking your journey, without this I would have never picked up the pencil and started to draw.

[VanDog]

respect!

[eskanto]

i would only be repeating what everyone else has said over and over and again in this SB but it would be a big shame to look through this whole SB and not post. your progress is amazing and reminds me of something that i have only slowly come to realize: that one is ALWAYS learning and practicing and reaching and it never stops. great work

[dkounios]

one of the best sb threads out there, hands down.
I just went through your pdf book too. amazing work.
so many pages of goodness in here. love it.
please keep it up

[MindCandyMan]

[void] - Glad you liked the book man. I have not been updating this thread as regularly as I should be. I am way overdue for an update hehe.

Skeiff - Hey man I went to your sketchbook...it's definitely not a disaster! You have really good work in your sketchbook man. I can tell you are working hard. That self portrait in oils with the four arms is awesome. As far as getting the life in portraits I definitely think what makes the difference is doing it from life vs. doing it from a photo. When someone comes into my studio to be painted I actually just let them talk for about 15-20 minutes so I can get a feel for their personality. Sometimes I will change my initial setup ideas to suit their personality more. When you spend 4+ hours painting someone it gives you a great chance to really observe who they are and to capture more of their vibe.

zeroe - Thanks! I'm glad my work is looking better to others. I can definitely say each step I've taken has been harder to move forward. The more and more I learn the harder it is to take those big leaps. Right now I feel like I have to work really hard just to get a little bit better. I guess that's the way it is...or I just have a harder time learning heheh.

ashrumm - Thanks! Glad you liked the updates. Thanks for stopping by!

monna-giovanna - Haha...thanks for your compliments. I'm glad I could inspire you to draw more! But trust me when I say...there are other painters who are much better and I definitely have a long way to go. I'm certainly not hero-worthy heheh but thanks.

Sarcophagus - Thanks. Yeah I have been leaning more towards the darker values in my paintings as of late. I am loving the caravaggio feel of something coming out of the darkness. It's more emotional and I think that's what draws me to it. Thanks for the vote of confidence about the book idea too. My main problem now is that it will just take so much time. Maybe I can do it on the weekends.

giloosh - Thanks! Definitely not at master yet...but I'm trying!

cakeypigdog - Thanks for the kind words! The link is fixed (you may have seen that already) so you can download it if you like. I was deleting some files in my ftp and I accidentally deleted that pdf...whoops heheh

Earendil - Haha thanks!

stone. - That's great you are painting in oils. Oils are definitely more slow drying than the other mediums. That is their advantage though. You can work wet-into-wet for a long time with oils...where you can't with other mediums. The problem you are having placing your highlights is probably due to two things: You are not using enough paint on your brush and are trying to "scrub" the whites onto the canvas. And you are also not having a light touch. If you use enough paint for your highlights (always mix some sort of color into your highlights---check each highlight to see which direction (warm or cool) that it leans)....If you mix enough paint for your highlights and lightly drag the end of the brush over the surface of the paint...the new paint will grab onto the other paint. Your paint should be roughly like mayonnaise as far as consistency goes. So if your paint is too hard to do this type of thing you need to add some medium to it while it's on your palette. Hope that helps...maybe I will get a tutorial together sometime.

Rhineville - Thanks man. Glad this help motivate you...spelling aside hehe . The truth is that if I can do it...anyone can hehe...trust me on that.

Bojee - I agree 100% and I feel the same way. I just need to get to work on making it. Thanks so much for all your constant input and encouragement man. Hope things are going well for you.

Kfeeras - It most definitely can be learned! Art is a skill like anything else. If violin can be learned than art can be learned...not every violinist will be an Itzhak Perlman...and not every artist will be a john singer sargent...but it still can be learned for sure.

Beavotron - Haha...thanks man I appreciate it. Glad I could help inspire.

theartguy - Thanks for the encouragement. Still trying to kick butt...it's definitely been a long road that's for sure.

Capprotti - Thanks! Yes Yes yes...dust off those brushes!

griffinfly - Thanks!

Ellingsworth - That's awesome man. That's precisely why I have this thread...to let people know they don't have to settle with what other people are telling them they are good at. Glad this could help you pick up a pencil...now never put it down

VanDog - Right back at ya!

eskanto - Thanks for the kind words. You are right that an essential component to doing anything well is just persevering...that's for sure. Sometimes, when my work is crappy, I have to force myself to keep going just by sheer will. It definitely gets tough but it's worth it in the end.

dkounios - Thanks! I'm glad you liked the book as well. I will definitely keep it up...I have no recourse now heheh.

______________________________


I have some news and a couple new paintings that I can show. I am now working with a great gallery in Fredericksburg, TX named Whistle Pik Galleries. They are a fantastic gallery and have some great painters hanging on their walls. William Whitaker has permanent work there...David Leffel...Mike Malm...and other great artists as well. Two weeks after they hung two of my paintings "Studio Dresser" (the painting with the skull on the dresser top) sold. The staff are excited about my work which carries over to the customer. I'm really happy to be working with them.

Here are two more paintings I am going to be sending to them:



Apricots - 9 x 12



Carnations & Cherries - 8 x 16


I actually have moved into a new studio as well. I need a studio that had true natural light and had enough room for my to teach as well. This studio is 2000 sq. feet and has wonderful north light. With the help of a friend and also Nate Snitzer (known around here as "blackhawk") I was able to build a cool model stand as well. It's like a deck on wheels hehe. Here are the pictures of the studio:

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I also finished cutting and sanding a new palette that I am making. Nate helped me choose the wood and figure out how to cut the shape out. I wanted to have a wacky design and it turned out really cool. I'll take a picture of it soon and post that up as well. Thanks again for all the encouragement everyone....I have bought a house...moved my studio...and done lots more in the past months. It has been crazy busy...but I'll try to update more frequently now.

[Olof]

I love it that you're still going. One of the oldest inspirations around here.

.hugs

[Chermilla]

That studio is HUUUUUGE, damn....you rich or something?!

Cx

[Bojee]

Wow Jon, That studio is amazing!!! I'm so happy that great things are happening for you! Love the new paintings...keep up the great work.

[Ashrumm]

very cool, i am glad it all worked out for you