On Being Frank

On a new Demo and finish

2012-01-20T15:52:00.000-08:00

11 x 14 oil on linen

I painted a demo for my Thursday night portrait class. I chose my friend John Downs as my subject because he is balding and the student can learn from seeing the ball of the crown of his head. The student must learn to make the head feel like its turning around the light.

We use a very simple palette. The colors. .... Titanium White , Naples Yellow , Yellow Ochre , Cad Red Light , Alizarin Crimson , and Ivory Black.

I got so into it that I kept on painting after they left. My cell phone rang around 10pm. Jana asked me if I was coming home soon. I said... glad you called. I lost track of time.

I came in early just to kinda finish it off. It's not done as I need to clean up some areas such as the hands. But I like the mood.

On A New Year and Lessons Learned 1 year at the Gallery.....

2012-01-19T12:08:00.000-08:00

The Murph 24 x 30 oil on linen

Well... I'm back at it after a short vacation from blogging and frankly, I've been very busy painting and doing Gallery Stuff and today I've been itching to dive back in and post whats been happening lately and what I have learned after having the Ordaz Gallery open for a little over a year.

I will demonstrate what I have learned about clients and people from my recent experience at the Waterhouse Gallery in Santa Barbara Ca. As I was walking with my 2 boys Isaac and David, we stumbled across a little alcove and saw a sign that said that the Waterhouse Gallery represents some of the top talent in representational painting. There was a nice painting at the top of the sign and it caught my eye and I said to myself ... well ... let's see just how good these artists are in this fine establishment.

Sure enough , the art was outstanding. We saw original art by the likes of Frank Serrano , Jennifer MacChristian, Craig Nelson , Aldo Balding and on and on. I usually am pretty demonstrative when I like something and I was telling my boys how much I liked certain pieces. We were in there for about 5 minutes before the sour puss looking lady behind the mohogoney desk looked up and asked if I was an artist ( that's gallery code for.... if you are then I have an excuse not to pay attention to you because there will probably not be a sale here ).By the way, this is a small gallery where she could see us at every turn. I answered yes and she gave me one of those dismissive looks and proceeded to look at her computer screen . After another five minutes we left with a good impression of the art but a bad impression of the Gallery and the frumpy woman behind the desk. Why Frank?

Michael Kent Murphy with his portrait

If you have ever read Dale Carnegie's book " How to make Friends and Influence People" that gal, in a down economy, broke every rule in sales ( and I'm here to tell you ) and connecting to the client. For one, I have learned the hard way that every one that comes into the Gallery is the most important person in the world at that moment. What the queen at Waterhouse projected was " I'm more important than you". Here are the mistakes ..... She failed to greet the customer , failed to smile and appear pleasant , continued to work at her desk communicating that what she was doing was more important than the customer , failed to say goodbye or show any interest in SELLING or PROMOTING the work of the artists.

Now you may say. Frank , cmon , why should she waste her time with you. You know you were not in there to buy anything. Well let me tell you. See the lady in the picture above with the horse. She came into the Gallery the other day and bought my big painting " Lighting Approaches". She came to the gallery because her friend , who was an artist , had come into the gallery months before and we had talked and gotten to know each other. If I had taken the attitude that ...This person is an artist , there is no way she is going to buy something so I have the right to give her the minimum of time and respect I would have never made this sale. It was all because her artist friend liked me and she wanted her friend to see my paintings while she was visiting during the holidays. As it turns out ... she is ordering plenty more paintings from me. Lesson here .... you don't know where the sale is gonna come from so treat everyone like you would like to be treated. Your reputation is at stake. Remember... People talk. Your art is one thing... but your attitude can really turn people off.

The upshot is that doors are opening really wide for me right now. I have plenty of work as a result of just being friendly with my customers. I've learned to follow up with an email asking .... How did your husband or wife like the painting? Here is one response....

"Hi Frank --

Yes, He really liked the painting. He couldn't believe it when he opened his gift...thought it was super cool and unique. Thanks for doing such a great job. People who come over also comment on how great the painting looks. I hope to send more people your way."

I've learned that the short note is a powerful tool that says... You are Valuable to me.

I have also learned to talk about THEM when they come in and to get their names right away. That way I am not talking to strangers anymore.

I have also learned as my Mentor Don Rowlett has told me. you gotta cultivate the soil and plant the seeds and in due time you will pick the fruit. I have found that to be 100% true. There have been clients who have come in several times into the Gallery and have then decided to purchase a painting or commission a painting. I treat them with a warm style each time they come in , regardless if they are interested at that time in buying a painting. My reputation is at stake. I want every person who walks into the Gallery to have a great experience.

A group of sons for a surprise present ... if you know who these boys are, don't say anything to their mother. Secret!

Also , doing these little 5x7 portraits have added many new clients who would like to buy more expensive paintings but for reasons that the economy has produced just feel that anything over a hundred dollars is asking a bit much. Now .... more people own an " Ordaz" and the word is getting around.

Pictured above is Pedro. He and his brother have each purchased a painting from me. We have come to be friends and Pedro performed for one of my Holiday gatherings.

A couple of weekends ago , I was in L.A. to photograph a couple for a portrait and to photograph some horses and children for some more artwork. We spent time with my bud Tim Solliday and we visited the Old Mill in San Marino where the California Art Club was exhibiting a group show of small paintings. The art was outstanding!

Pictured above are some Frank Serrano paintings. Soon after we landed at Peter Adam's Legacy Gallery and it was like ol times again. I even signed up and became an official member of The California Art Club. That evening, Peter, Tim , Silvio Silvestri and I enjoyed a raucous evening of BBQ'd ribs at a great joint in Pasadena.

Then tragedy. My nikon camera bit the dust. It was a blessing though. My new Nikon d5100 is a dream. Then off again to photograph another portrait client in Tiburon Ca..... whew....

Oh ya .... I'm teaching again at the Gallery. 3 classes....too much fun and some really talented students.

Then if that is not enough.... I'm having our men's bible study at the Gallery every Wednesday evening at 7. Come on down. It's a salty and light group....

blessings ..... more to come on what I have learned about making sales .....

On blessing others through portraits

2011-12-23T12:40:00.000-08:00

5x7 Chobie's Attitude

Well... I finally hit the wall today. Thursday was a constant stream of people coming in and buying or ordering. I took the time to think of what my parents would like from us and I settled on a portrait of each of their grandchildren Isaac and David. David is pictured above in his usual defiant pose when he is asked to do something. It's not what a client would ask to be painted , but I feel this kind of pose truly reflects a side that the sitter possesses that people immediately recognize as being a dominant part of their personality. I want to hear... Yeah ... that's David ( Chobie ).

I have been thoroughly BLESSED this Christmas season with orders of portraits. But it's not the orders that has blessed us but the reaction that I am getting from my clients. I painted a portrait of a client's wife. He gave me a photo taken of her in 1968 where she is sporting a beehive style hairdo. The photo was faded and I had to adjust the colors . I could tell that he trusted me to do a good job but he still demonstrated hesitation. Some clients you just have to hold their hand through the process. You HAVE to make them feel comfortable and that the end result will come out okay. I do this by painting a small preliminary color sketch for them to approve. When it came time for him to pick up the painting, he was besides himself with joy. He was proudly holding the painting and remarking out loud.. Frank, You really captured my wife. My sweetheart. Wow. This went on for some time as he said he could not believe how well I pulled off the assignment. I forgot to photograph the final effort. But watching him walk out of the Gallery overjoyed just made it all worthwhile. That was more reward than the money. You can really touch someone with a painting that can be enjoyed for as long at it adores a wall.

5x7 Mia

Then there was Jerry's reaction to the 2 grandchildren I painted for him. He just was ecstatic about how I painted his sweet little Mia. He was tearing up. He's going around telling and showing the paintings to friends and clients. Its great word of mouth.

I could go on how clients have truly blessed me this Christmas Season with how appreciative they are with the work I have done for them. But it would be too self indulgent. It already is ... so pardon me. But there is a reason for this....

I have learned it so much better to give of yourself and your gifting to others. You honor God by doing what you do best for others is truly a wonderful adventure. You have no idea how one good small act will ripple across the sea of a person's life.

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ON getting ready for Saturday's Open Gallery/Studio

2011-12-13T21:28:00.000-08:00

5x7 oil on linen panel " Karen Granada"

Well..... it's been awhile but it has been go go go since the Tiburon Arts and Crafts Fair. As usual , we had a good time and both FX and I had a good go of it. I sold a total of 7 paintings and the enthusiasm level was much appreciated at this end.

So far , the $75 - 5x7 oil portraits are keeping me busy with the public. It's an affordable price for the season around these parts and I have 11 orders to date besides the "promised" orders. What has occured with some of my visitors is that they initially are drawn in by the price but after we talk about what they want , they have decided to order larger sized portraits. So far so good.

You still have time to send me a jpeg of your special someone. It's a limited time deal for this Christmas season.

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This Saturday from 3pm to 9pm the Gallery/Studio will be open for visitors to peruse the wonderful sampling of paintingst from the various artists at my Gallery. I will be painting a portrait during the event..... The artists featured include Maria Sylvester , Udo Shroeder , Chris Hopkins and Thomas Fluharty. Also on display will be goards by Kathleen Sailor and Ukranian eggs by Teresa Harbert. Refreshments will be served with Holiday cheer.

843 Lincoln Way Auburn Ca 95603 ..... google map it!

..... Pandora likes this month ..... Fitz and the Tantrums ..... Madeleine Peyroux

On going to the Annual Arts and Crafts Fair in Tiburon Ca

2011-12-02T11:23:00.000-08:00

Fog Blankets Tiburon 11x14 Pastel

Today I drive down to the Bay area and reconnect with FX and all the good folks in Tiburon at their annual Arts and Crafts Fair. I really have a good time down there and besides displaying my paintings at the Art & Garden Center at 841 Tiburon Boulevard I always hit Sams for a fine beer and their amazing calamari. I can't wait.

The pastel above is from FX's front yard looking towards Sausalito. The fog rolls over the hill and during sunrise creates a fairy tale like shroud that mesmerizes the senses. It really is magic. I haven't done a pastel in a while and since I had purchased 2 glass frames in July at Aaron Bros annual penny sale ( buy one frame and get the next for a penny ) a pastel fit the bill.

Halley 11x14 oil on Panel

I wanted to paint a sample for an 11 x 14 portrait. I used my neice Halley ( she's only 14 in the photo) for a painting where I experimented with gold metallic oil paint. I really looks cool in person.

The Arts and Crafts sale is Saturday from 10 to 4pm. I hope to see you there! I will have about 12 paintings on exhibit .

ON finally finishing The Traveler

2011-11-28T11:50:00.000-08:00

The Traveler 30 x 40 oil on canvas

Well, It's about time I finished The Traveler . There were areas of his dredlocks that needed a little bit of extra love.

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Again .... I will be in Tiburon Ca . this Saturday for the annual Arts and Crafts Faire. Small oil paintings will be on sale!

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On painting Jacqueline

2011-11-22T12:46:00.000-08:00

5 x 7 oil portrait on linen panel

My first victim for my 5 x 7 oil portrait was Jacqueline. She wanted me to paint it while she posed. I was hesitant at first in that I don't think I have painted a portrait this small. I told her , for the price , how about if she posed for an hour. She agreed and I would say this portrait took a little over an hour. She was a great sitter and conversationalist . She should be. She is a practicing clinical therapist.

On getting ready for ThanksGiving

2011-11-20T11:39:00.000-08:00

Jana painting in progress

Frankly, I was tired looking at that old post but I've been really busy at the Gallery. I sold 4 paintings during the tour and had a client put a down payment on 2 portraits as well as a follow up call from various others for 4 more portraits of varying sizes. So I've been running on fumes.

I've starting a little holiday deal where for $75 I will paint a 5 x 7 head and shoulders portrait. It keeps the cash flowing and it does not take that much time. All you have to do if you are interested , is just send me a jpeg and you can have your very own original Ordaz portrait for the Holidays.

I wanted to take Saturday off but a client called and wanted a rush job ready by Monday. I felt like Al Pacino in the 3rd GodFather movie..." Every time I try to get out ... they pull me back in" . Check this out. Nothing ... I mean nothing ever really works to script. The client calls ... I'm still in bed at 11am. Frank he sez ... I need this job right away. Can I come over to the Gallery? Hey I sez ... I still am warm under the sheets. I'm taking the day off. Frank he sez .. I need this by Monday . Can we meet at the Gallery in an hour. Hey ...How about at 2 . He agrees. I'm at the gallery at 2. I get a call at 2:15. Frank.. I was driving my classic Auburn sedan to see you but I'm presently stuck on the side of the freeway. I still want to meet. Can we do it at 6:30. So what seemed like a early stint at the cave turned into about 4 hrs where I would have to think of something to do. So I started adding some glazes to Jana's portrait. That painting will be my labor of love for who knows how long. So ... it's it's now about 4:30 and I call the Murph. What are you doinG? Come on over and we can have a beer. The Murph shows up and sez... hey ... we are having a little party at my place ... come on over and crash our hut for a bit. So off I go and the food is delightful . There are all these 20 somethings cooking all these finger foods and they are friends of my hosts daughter. Most of them are middle eastern and soon I am in a semi heated discussion with 2 Palestinians. It's just too good. Hey I sez ... I was there in the West Bank ... and as far as I'm concerned ... all you guys are crazy. Of course that never goes over well and I have learned to say something inane such as ... "when someone figures it all out they will figure it out". huh? So by 6:30 I am back at the Gallery and we go over the assignment and I'm back home by 8. I discover a gem of a movie on Netflix called " The Groomsmen" ... a big five stars from me. Jay Mohr steals the show. It's a classic dude flick with 5 irish catholic friends getting together for their friends wedding. If you don't like hearing the f-Bomb then this film is not for you. Forget about it. Jana liked it. A much needed feel good movie!

So I'm here at the Gallery procrastinating and entering this post where instead I should be getting the project done so that I could go home and relax and watch the 49er game. I fall asleep by halftime so It's my way of getting a bit of shut eye.

Jana's already planning for the Big Thanks and I'll be rounding up the Legget in Reno and bringing him to the hut to cook the wild beast. It's our big family event.

David goes into Shriners again this Monday for a 3 hr . walking scan . They are analyzing his walk and where he compensates. They will be placing sensors ... just like in animation ... all over his body. He's kinda getting into the high tech end of it.

Okay ... back to work.....

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So you like Pandora Radio ... me too .... my Favorites right now ...

Brian Eno .... This channel will put you to sleep... pure ambient ... like the music you hear when you are given a legitimate massage

Chris Botti ... good mellow romantic saturday morning chill

Cake ... Wanna listen to what the 20 somethings are into .... then this channel is for you

Pat Metheny .... need I say more?

Good Painting Mellow channels include .... Carla Bruni , Chet Baker , Keith Jarrett

Phil Wickham .... good Christian channel that's not your typical bubble gum k-Love

Check out Eldar...... Bee Bob Piano

blessings .....

On New Paintings and Open Studio this Friday to Sunday

2011-11-10T12:05:00.000-08:00

Meet the Birches 16 x 20 oil on linen

My Studio - slash - Gallery will be open to coincide with the Placer Arts Studio Tour this Friday , Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 6 pm. I've done the tour 4 years in a row and this year I decided to go it alone. We'll see if it is a success or a mistake. Wine will be served ( a no no if you are on the tour ... it's an insurance thing I hear ) at the Gallery as well as the usual goodies.

I will be busy painting and demonstrating my "Technique " for anyone and anything breathing. It will all be good. Credit cards accepted . So good to have PayPal!

After I finished the painting of the Birches , which reminded me of an Old Couple , I wanted to paint a subject where it was all about color. I was looking to focus on a feeling of lavender and green. The aim was to limit as much as possible any unnecessary detail. In order to achieve this I had to limit my time frame. If I spent too much time , knowing myself all too well , I would start looking at all the details and rendering the nuances. That being the case , I limited this 16 x 20 image to 3 hours. I had too much fun . There is always a strong urge and compulsion to go back in and start to render the form more. But it was a good exercise and last night a man walked into the Gallery and watched me paint this and said that he really liked the colors. Bingo!

I'll be finishing up on a painting that I have been working on and off for a while now during the open studio. Its a 30 x 40 .

Painting in progress Sardine Lake Butte 30 x 40

Come on down. Friday .... We will have our Veterans Day Parade on Lincoln Way. So if you plan to come on Friday , you won't be able to park on the street until after 1 pm. Hey ... hang out and salute our Vets. They deserve it!

Open Friday , Saturday and Sunday 10 to 6pm Refreshments served with a smile

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On Painting across the Street

2011-11-08T10:57:00.000-08:00

This is the view across the street. Ted's house is on the left and he is my direct neighbor. The light is pretty flat and frankly flat lighting always gives me a tough time . So I just aim for patterns of color. Just imagine an abstract and you won't have too hard of a time figuring out the center of interest.

I dropped my Nikon camera a while back and it seems that I can't get the auto focus to work really well. It's a bummer.

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This is the next in the series. These are my 2 birch trees in my front yard. One is kinda leaning away from the other. It might be a male female issue. Who knows. Anyway , the light during this time is fun to paint. My house is right behind the 2 trees. The painting aboove is a 5 x 7 color sketch. It's always a good idea to work out the color arrangement ahead of time. I plan to go very expressive with my paint strokes , so this sketch acts as a conductor of where I want to go.

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Ever done a painting and at the moment you thought it was pretty good and then the next day you scratch your bald head and shout out to whoever is listening ... What was I thinking? Well, this next painting is one of those. But I post it here for curiosity sake. I think its okay .... I was trying new things and a new ground. The horse was so black that when he was sprayed down with the hose , he appeared blue! The rope was neon red and the hose was a complimentary green aqua. It was hard to resist the combination.

9 x 12

On painting " Daddy's Home "

2011-11-04T17:10:00.000-07:00

Daddy's Home 11 x 14 oil on linen panel

When I turn the corner to get to my house, the evening light on my neighbors home just takes my breadth away. I think of Maxfield Parrrish and the rich color palette that he was famous for . I look forward each evening to see how the the cast shadows create a sense of drama against a golden light. When I see my neighbors truck parked there , it reminded me of when I was a boy and after a wild afternoon of bicycling all over town I would approach my home and if I would see a a truck in our driveway it meant that dad was home. And it possibly meant that I was in trouble.

blessings

2011-10-31T10:24:00.000-07:00

Its Halloween. I think more people are afraid of the current financial mess than scary tricksters dressed up in goblin couture. So I will be handing out tooth decaying sweets to little tots coming by Downtown Auburn for our annual Merchant Halloween Treat Fest. Above is my little David doing his best to scare the gills off my neck.

On Lightning Approaches

2011-10-30T10:24:00.000-07:00


Lightning Approaches 24 x 48 oil on canvas

A recent completed painting available at the Ordaz Gallery. Price available at OrdazArt.Com

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Had too much fun groovin to Grits. I love the lyrics to they all fall down ... here is a sample...

I've compiled this alongside with bone
So you can file this under for the opposing a nihilist
Doubt what you know nothing about reactionary
Belief in the scripture's fulfillment are contrary
To popular belief
Hellbound in a basket
Sucking on their teeth
Wound up in a casket
At close, you froze
Already chose the doors you go trough
The life you chose to lead
Determines the place you go to

To the naked, untrained eye
Who can't see time fly by
Revolving on a carousel
Living life like a modern day fairytale
Slow mo', urgent message gets a no-go
What fo'

Can't nobody tell you
Everything is lovey dovey
Till your plans fall through

They all fall down
They all fall down
They all fall down
They all fall

On finishing up The Traveler

2011-10-29T10:55:00.000-07:00

The Traveler 30 x 40 oil on Canvas
Click on the image for a better critical view

The Traveler HAS to be finished by Monday in order to enter it in the Smithsonian's portrait competition. So finally , I took a good photograph of my progress. I fit in time painting on it while working on money making illustrations. Frustrating but necessary.

blessings

comments? Constructive critique?

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So what's keeping me from working on the Traveler? A painting for LifeWay of David and Goliath. They require a tight drawing so that the editors can all review the staging. Then its off to the reces after approval. I don't show too much of my illustration work here .... but this is an exception.

close up on a 24 x 30 illustration assignment

Our friend Christina walked into the Gallery yesterday while I was painting this. Notice that I now use my iPad as my source to paint from.

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Today I am groovin on Grits. These Christian Hipsters really get me swishing the brush.

On painting a loved one ....

2011-10-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

11 x 14 oil on linen

This painting is the fifth painting where someone has a loved one who has passed away and they have asked me to paint a portrait with the photos that they have available. More and more I hear that they wish they had taken more. There was not a single photo that they gave me that did not have someone else in the shot.

They wanted a painting that they could display at the Memorial service and I was given the challenge to paint this portrait today. The Memorial is next week. So here is a bout 6 hours of work. She had pretty yellow teeth and I asked them if they wanted me to adjust them a bit. They said no. We all want to see her as she was. My kind of client.

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So here is the skinny on how I arrive on skin color ESPECIALLY from a flat photo.

Mix yellow ochre and Cad Red light to arrive at the general skin color. Some folks are pinker than others. Get as close as you can then mix a string of batches using that mixture by adding white. Okay. So far so good . Now here is the tricky part. Use burnt umber as your black . Why? Flash photos tend to project a whitish cool light. If you look closely at the subjects face , you will see that the shadows will tend to go warm. Thus ... we use the burnt umber to go darker as well as keeping our tones warm. Then , where needed , usually below the cheeks , use the ever trusty Veridian to modify the warm skin tone color. Then , towards the end .... add the touches of pink with Alizarin Crimson. Leave this potent cool red towards the end.

There ... its that easy .... with a little bit of practice.... ;v)

blessings

On the Potter and Clay #8

2011-10-27T12:11:00.000-07:00


9 x 12 oil on linen board

The Potter now applies some red food dye to color his bowl.

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I will be posting a painting adventure you can take with me in France . Searching for pieces for the web ad .... I came across a piece that I had painted on location over at the Empire Mine. Here it is .... probably done in 2006...''

On a Mondrian Horse

2011-10-26T10:02:00.000-07:00

11 x 14 oil on panel

There will be a couple more paintings to finish off the Potter and Clay series. So instead of losing my momentum , I've posted a small 11 x 14 painting I did the other day after checking out the Staff Horse Expo at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley last month. I took over 500 photos of these magnificent working beasts.

I saw this staff horse looking out regally at the gawkers around him and as I framed the shot it reminded me of Mondrian's painting compositions. I pushed the colors on the drab colored stable and had some fun with this oil painting. Check out the hair cut on the Horse. He was a horse with attitude.

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On a personal note . Say a little big prayer for my son David. His life has been a physical challenge. He has epilepsy and the slight cerebral palsy he had in his leg has gotten worse where he tends to fall alot these days. We are taking him again to Shriners as the medication that was given him to loosen his tendens has not worked . A cast may be in the order . We don't know. But his spirit is up but there are times when he curses his leg. He is a fighter .

blessings to you and yours

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On the Potter and Clay #7

2011-10-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

5 x 7 oil on linen board

The Potter fashions the clay into a form that is designed by his imagination and skill.

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$100 + tax and shipping , signed on the lower left

On the Potter and Clay #6

2011-10-24T10:17:00.000-07:00

5 x 7 oil on linen board

The potter is starting to widen the top of the vase and the final form is taking shape. In the Book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament Scripture , God speaks to the prophet Jeremiah and tells him to observe the Potter as he molds the clay into a vessel of his design.

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$100 + tax and shipping

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Help support On Being Frank by clicking on Google Ads on this Blog . Thanks

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This is the next gesture pose in the series. You can get an idea how these small compositions are laid out and then painted. I try to keep the strokes as simple as possible with the minimim amount of blending. My approach is to have the patches of colored strokes create the appearance of structure and light.

On the Potter and Clay #5

2011-10-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

5 x 7 oil on linen board

On the Potter and Clay #4

2011-10-22T09:57:00.000-07:00


5 x 7 oil on linen board #4

The Potter reaches for Water which will make the shaping of the vessel smoother and more manageable. The potter is in complete control of the design and purpose of his creation.

$100 + tax and shipping

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and I finally did something right about Rosie's portrait..... I finished it the way I felt described her instead of your typical Ordaz portrait....

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On the Potter and Clay #3

2011-10-21T10:25:00.000-07:00

5 x 7 oil on linen board

The Pot is starting to take shape .

$100 + tax and shipping

On the Potter and Clay #2

2011-10-20T12:15:00.000-07:00

5 x7 oil on linen board

The Potter was actually throwing the clay in front of a black background. The first painting was definitely influenced by the facts of the surroundings. But now, having gotten the first piece out of my system , I am free to explore diferent color arrangements.

On the Potter and the Clay

2011-10-18T10:02:00.000-07:00

5x7 on Linen Board

The Potter and the Clay is the start of a series of small paintings that will show the development of a beautiful pot from the Ministry of Potter's Field. Then when I feel that I have sensed the spirit of the process of turning a lump of clay into a pot I will then proceed to paint a 36 x 48 painting that will be donated to the ministry. Hopefully these small sketches will help me fund this enterprise.

$100 + shipping

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Smilin Jana 5x7 oil on linen board

ON a Song

2011-10-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

5 x 7 Oil on Linen panel

A Sparrow
Small and true
Flirts a Love Song
Then She flew

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Available for Purchase $100 + shipping

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I finally got to meet " The Traveler " at the Rock of Ages Music Festival in Calistoga Ca. His name is Zach and we talked for a while. It seems that what I had observed was pretty close to what the name inplies. This young man of 28 is originally from the East Coast and had been wondering and traveling for about a decade.

I saw him last year wondering around the crowd and glancing about at what was happening around him. He seemed slightly out of place but he struck me as a young gentle spirit. It just so happened that he had just become a Christian after some serious soul searching and he was very overwhelmed by the sights and sounds during last years Festival .

If you have read some of the previous posts we most certainly had a divine appointment as we talked about how we came to know each other through the painting. You see .... his friend saw the painting on the internet and told him about it. Fast forward to the concert and we chatted about how his journey ended on the west coast. I guess he is now living in a school bus above Mendocino.

He seemed at peace with himself and he felt that he needed a new identity. So he shed his dredlocks.

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On connecting to the Traveler

2011-10-06T13:47:00.000-07:00

The Traveler 30 x 40 painting in progress

Last year during the Rock of Ages Festival I spotted this interesting individual across the field and I captured several images of him with my telephoto lens. I thought he would make a great subject to paint. I lost him in the crowd and I was not able to meet him.

Recently , a friend of his spotted The Traveler on this blog . What coincidence or is it? Anyway , the Rock of Ages Festival which features a diversified array of Christian Musicians will again descend on Calistoga at the Napa County Fairgrounds. And I hope to meet and connect with the Traveler whose real name is Zach and who is planning on attending as well. His mother emailed me a nice letter and she says he's been traveling most of his young life. Anyway , they like the progress on the portrait and I hope I can take a few more pics of this fine young man. I've corresponded with him a bit and we are now friends on FaceBook. Unfortunately for me , he now has shorter hair.

Christafari leads off The Rock of Ages Festival at 11. You gotta check em out brahdha. I will be in the front row with my red Christafari T-shirt.

Christafari

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24 x 36 oil on linen

This is a commissioned piece I am currently working on. It is a generational wedding painting. Mother and Son.

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The Ordaz Gallery will be open next Thursday evening for ArtWalk in Auburn. 6 to 9 .

On painting at 12 & S

2011-09-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

16 x 20 oil on linen

Well , I was back in Sacramento to paint a live model last night. It's been some time since I've painted at S12 and boy oh boy have things changed. Gone is the large room where it was hard to find a spot to paint. I guess there was some artistic drama amongst some of the members and most of the building is now rented out to different interests.... I'm talking a fat Tibetan Monk for one who has a shrine of an equally endowed Buddha where he twaches the way of passivity . However ..... Mike Mokolon, a former painter at S12 has converted a section of the building as his studio slash figure painting slash drawing workshop and renamed it 12 & S.

It was a small quaint group but the familiar smell of linseed oil and charcoal was in the air wafting like a delicious filet mignon to my soul. The painting time was delicious and after an hour I felt like I was back in da groove brahda and sistah.

I just had fun and was diggin it. It was your typical 3 hour pose with breaks.

On painting Al

2011-09-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

I've tried to the best of my ability to avoid the cliche when painting the homeless . Somehow these down and out children of God seem so cast off and wayward that they make easy marks for the artist. They can be invisible to the busy person trying to get to the next appointment and yet for the artist they are a symbol of the fallen fruit that is going to waste in front of our eyes.

Al is not homeless but he sure comes off pretty ragged. He is on social security and actually lives near the Gallery. I see him every day and I have become quite fond of Al. He usually asks me for money so that he can go across the street to the mexican restaurant and buy a beer. He is an alcoholic. So I had a thought the other day as he sat in his usual spot on a bench right by my door.

I asked him if he could pose for me for 1 hour the following day at 10. I told him I would pay him $10 . That way , instead of always begging for money , he could earn it from me. He agreed. In about 15 minutes time , he walked back into the Gallery and asked me for an advance . I told him I would pay him tomorrow after he posed. He said " Okay ... Be that way! " .

Sure enough , he was ready to pose at 10. So before you judge how rough this painting looks , I just had an hour to pull it off. He was a good model! He stood still and besides smoking occasionally he was a joy to paint.

So Al , I says .... how bout we do this again ... I mean ... you are a great poser . He said " Okay .... anytime Frank!" and he and I laughed.

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On Plein Air painting the Placer County Bank

2011-09-21T16:16:00.000-07:00

I really needed to do a Plein Air. And hopefully I will be doing some more around Downtown Auburn. This is our historic Placer County Bank.

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Pics of Ca' Toga coming soon ......

Frank Ordaz with a living Artistic Genius Carlo Marchiori

On Franz Bischoff at the Crocker Museum

2011-09-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

Last night Jana and I went out with the Murph and Kathleen and were treated to a parisian style jazz concert at the Crocker Museum in Sacramento Ca. But as we were listening to the music , the Murph and I wandered into the museum and were just blown away by 2 current exhibitions.

One is called Landscapes in the Age of Impressionism and is simply a delicious example of European and American Impressionists. The Monets are like jewels hanging on the wall but the George Inness is a truly fine example of American sensibilities in translating that art movement to the states. Here is the blurb from the museums website...

"This exhibition of approximately 40 paintings includes many of the finest examples of mid-nineteenth through early twentieth-century French and American landscapes from the Brooklyn Museum's collection.
The works presented offer a broad survey of landscape painting as practiced by such leading French artists as Gustave Courbet and Claude Monet and their most significant American followers including Frederick Childe Hassam and John Singer Sargent."

I would add that the Metcalf's and Daubigny's are worth the price of admission too ......

You only have until the 18th to see this "must see" show. I mean .... you will be blown away. Stop what you are doing and drive there. I'm going again.

But what also caught my eye with splashes of wonderfully painted canvases were the paintings of Franz Bischoff. What immediately captured my eye were his use of compositional color arrangements that danced across the canvas using compliments in a masterful way. Some artists dazzle you with edges , others with subject and rendering, but with Bischoff it is the colors the grab you by the throat and mesmerize you with their sensuallity of paint. His paintings are like colored tapestries. Me likee. This show runs until Oct 23.

Here is the description from the museum...

"Franz A. Bischoff (1864–1929) began his career as a china painter in Austria but immigrated to the United States in 1885 and became one of the foremost porcelain painters of his day. He won numerous awards and ultimately earned the title “King of the Rose Painters.” Moving from Dearborn, Michigan, to Southern California in 1906, he began to paint still lifes as well as landscapes throughout the Western United States, including the coastal areas of Monterey and Laguna Beach, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and desert regions. This exhibition features approximately 40 examples of Bischoff’s work."

The real treat comes in next year when the Crocker Museum of Art presents a retrospective of none other than EDGAR PAYNE! Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Mel the Marine

I corraled my good buddy Mel who is a retired Marine to pose for a portrait. He is the full metal jacket . I really like him and he usually walks in after he gets a haircut from the barbers across the street. He sat for me for about an hour and I finished the small 9 x 12 with a photo of the pose. I was testing out Gamblin's Oil Painting Ground. It's okay . I'm note totally sold and I will have to try it under various field tests.

On to New things ....

2011-09-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

Today is David’s 17th birthday and we are all beside ourselves with glee and happiness. David survived being a pree mee as well as a serious battle with spinal meningitis. Needless to say , he still has challenges but he has a strong life force and he is gifted with a great sense of humor.

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Today I got a nice email from Sara Armstrong , former deputy chief of staff for Laura Bush. She is now Deputy Chief of Staff at the RNC. The RNC is looking to create a Christmas Card for this season and she thought of me as a potential candidate. I’ll be submitting my proposal along with other artists that are contacted . Stay tuned and let’s see if I am picked. Jamie Wyeth and Timothy Lawson , two of my favorite artists , have been chosen in the past.

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Several months ago, I was approached by the nice folks of the Sun City Lincoln Activity Office and asked if I would be interested in giving Art Tours for them. They asked me if I knew of any interesting destinations for their active seniors to visit and learn something new and culturally stimulating. If I was to do this, I told them that my first choice would be to visit the enchanting Ca’ Toga Villa in the Napa Valley. After a few discussions and meetings I signed on.

This Monday will be our first trip to Ca’ Toga. My responsibilities will be to provide a backdrop to the spirit and creative muse that inspired Carlo Marchiori , a muralist by trade , to conceive and construct his stunning homage to the Classical Venician Villa and surrounding Roman Greco Gardens.

I am putting together a short summary of the Venetian Renaissance and some of the principle characters that shaped and sparked this creative burst of artistic energy throughout Italy during the 15th and 16th century.

The Italian Renaissance still is dominated by its 3 great artistic geniuses during the latter part of the 1400’s and middle 1500’s. Their names are forever etched in our cultural lexicon. They are Michelangelo , Leonardo Da Vinci and Raphael. These artists were identified with that creative fire storm that ignited around Florence and Rome . And because of their location , the Arts were supported by the Church, Wealthy Merchants and Bankers. But the Northern Renaissance , though not as well known to us, was equally dynamic and propelled with Geniuses with a flair for Color and Light. And they worked in Venice.

The architect whose name is synonymous with Venice is Andrea Palladio , 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580 . Venice was an empire unto herself and was the chief trading port with the World at that time due to its location on the Adriatic Sea. Due to its standing in trade and banking , Venice’s wealthy were able to construct a city built on a lagoon with the best talent springing forth out of Italy.

Andrea Palladio , looking back to the symmetry of Roman Architecture , synthesized all that he learned from the ancients , namely Vitruvius , and created a style named after him. The Palladian Style. He designed Churches and Palaces but he is chiefly known for his country Villas. Palladio was sensitive to where the Villa should be situated, so that the landowner/ farmer could have a sweeping 360 view of his domain. Not one to repeat himself , he designed his Villas for each client that mainly suited its location on the property . But he did introduce one element that is characteristic of his buildings. He built his villas on a block and the visitor walked up to the first floor . The sleeping quarters were usually on the third floor, giving the occupants the choice view . The ground level was the basement. A Greek Pediment ( that triangle at the roof line ) was a distinguishing element to his designs . Also, many Venetian artists such as Veronese were commissioned to paint frescoes inside these light and airy interiors that were celebrating allegorical scenes in vivid color. It was a stark departure from the somber tones of the Romanesque and Gothic buildings of the previous epoch .

Our Congressional building was inspired by Palladian sensibilities. Also, Thomas Jefferson was a big fan and Palladio ( meaning Angelic Messenger ) inspired his conception of Monticello in Virginia. Also , many plantation owners in the South modeled their homes after the Palladian Style.

Due to Venice’s proximity to the sea, fresco painting did not advance to a high degree as it's rival in Florence. As a result , the new invention of Oil painting by the Flemish flourished in this city of canals. The main artists were Bellini, Giorgione , Titian ( the divine one ) , Tintoretto , and Veronese. And because of the spontaneity that this new medium offered a divergence in approach occurred. In fact this conflict of how a painting should be constructed still rages on to this day. Designio vs Colorito. Titian’s approach is key to this difference. The Venetians were spontaneous where the Florentines were calculating ( shades of Macchiavelli ) . Titian would dip his brush in a mixture of red ochre and proceed to layin his figures with a sweeping and direct application of thick paint. Michelangelo would by contrast carefully make a preliminary drawing and then transfer the drawing to his paint surface and color it in. Kinda like paint by numbers. The Venetian approach was a celebration of light and color with the drawing a secondary consideration. It is with Bellini that the Renaissance discovers the use of color to create a true atmospheric rendition of light as opposed to the browns of Da Vinci.

Giovanni Bellini 1430-1516


Giorgione c.1477 - 1510

Titian c. 1490 -1576

Tintoretto 1518 - 1594

The height of pictorial decoration is achieved by Veronese who uses color and design to such an astounding level that his figures leap from their surfaces. His Religious and paintings of Allegorical Themes were in high demand by the church as well as wealthy merchants.

Paolo Veronese , 1528 - 1588

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On painting Gilbert again

2011-09-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

I'm glad I was able to have taken several pictures of Gilbert while he was in the gallery over the past year. His get up was just to visually delicious to pass up . I'll post this finished painting under this. I'm approaching this painting as if he were posing in front of me. I should be doing other things , but I just feel inspired to paint his profile in remembrance of my quirky friend.

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The finished painting .

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On Gilbert's Last Ride

2011-09-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

" Gilbert " passed away last Friday. I visited him at the convalescent hospital where he was recupperating from an operation. I had heard that he was not doing well and I wanted to see him but not without bringing along a portrait of his deceased wife that I had promised him. I brought along the oil portrait that I quickly finished on Wednesday but when I saw him last Thursday he could barely talk. Gone was the fire and energy that had been so characteristic of my dear ol friend who would stop by the Gallery to visit me and say hello. He would say ... " Jesus has given you a powerful gift Frank " .... I will see him again one day. An article about him in our Auburn Journal can be read here.

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On to new vista's

2011-09-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

Time for a retreat with a group of fellow travelers seeking fog and inspiration along the Northern California coastline in Mendocino at the Lord's Land. This 20,000 + acres of pure relaxation among the redwoods and firs was built by hippies in the 60's who in many ways were the ancestors of those desert pleasure seekers in Nevada right now. You know what I'm talking about...Burning Man. Well.... these hippies were also doing the art thing while naked and building and starting an alternate culture but a funny thing happened along the way .... Jesus. The whole gang were inspired by the Jesus Movement of the sixties.

The last person to be saved was the owner. She held out until she was smitten by the irresistable grace and love of His Holy Spirit. The name was changed and her property was dedicated to fellow travelers who loved the Lord. The place is not built to code and all the cabins have a 60's artsy hobbit like feel. But it is one of Mendocino's best kept secrets.YWAM now runs this sprawling property and it is a remnant of the art sensibilities of the sixties. Its really cool.

So we will relax and hopefully announce a gathering where other art types might want to join us to chill out , create , talk , eat , laugh and praise. Look out for the future announcement of RISEN MAN 2012 at the Lord's Land. Stay tuned........

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As a former substance abuser I can relate to those using drugs to escape and party at the Nevada Playa. Check out this Christafari message ... No High like the Most High

On Experimenting

2011-09-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

One way to cure the blues is to take a painting , maybe one that you feel lacks inspiration , and take it somewhere it has never been before.... besides the trash. ;v)

This is a portrait of a friend that I used as a demo. So since it was not a commissioned piece, I feel absolute freedom to play with this painting. So inspiration hit me like lightning yesterday after some good news finally arrived. Don't you just love it when clients finally pay! . Since the subjects name is Rosie , Why not do an abstract expressionistic background with an explosion of energy that is my interpretation of a rose plant. I kinda am thinking it should look like its a painting on a flat surface behind her. I can use dabs of brilliant color here and there for the actual flowers and just go spider monkey on the negative and positive shapes. Man am I excited now ....

This is the first pass and I will let it dry. She is a bit of a pack rat and the chaos kinda matches in my mind. But this painting now feels closer to a vision of where I want to go with this canvas. Free at last.

On Burn Out

2011-08-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

Burn out. You go go go and then you feel you have no place to run and hide. The world keeps moving. Keeps wanting. But you can't stop and rest. You have obligations. The smallest things are suddenly like massive hurricanes of all consuming proportions. You snap . Its wrong. But you find yourself getting sucked into the vortex. Talking kinda helps. But despair and exhaustion want to play with you. And they want to take you into overtime. Plans fall through. People dissapoint you and you dissapoint them. You are walking on a tightrope but you can't see what is at the other end. You start to lose your hope . You forget the promises. You listen to the wrong voices. In fact, you find yourself talking with yourself. Then you feel a gentle touch on the shoulder . You hear " Though you are faithless, I remain faithful. You hold on.Trust.

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On finally finishing Red Cloud ... with a twist

2011-08-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

Red Cloud ... 20 x 24 oil on Canvas

Well, I'm shipping this off to my Dad today. Pardon the pun on including the indian nickel as a substitute for the real medallion worn by Red Cloud. But I find the juxtiposition ironic and interesting. But ... that's just me.

I keep looking into his eyes and wonder what he was thinking.

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On finishing Red Cloud

2011-08-26T10:21:00.000-07:00

click on the image to enlarge

The painting is coming along nicely and the medallion the chief is wearing needs to be finished. Part of me wants to be authentic and research what the image on the large coin looked like. But I think I will have a little fun with it and paint a large buffalo nickel instead. I think my dad will enjoy this painting.

I have used my usual limited palette using Utrecht paints. Utrecht white , Yellow Ochre , Cad Red light , Cobalt Blue , Ivory Black and Viridian. Thats it.

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A big shout out to my good buddy FX. Soon to be councilman of Tiburon and soon after that to be " Da Mayor"! Congrats big guy. He has already appointed me as his honorary right wing advisor..... ;v)

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On Painting Red Cloud for my Dad

2011-08-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

20 x 24 oil on canvas " Red Cloud"

My Father , who is 82 , has been bugging me for some time now for a painting of a native American Chief holding a peace pipe. He bribbed me with a little cash ... soooo .... I gave him a great deal and I have always liked Red Cloud , so I picked him as my subject. I found a a black and white photo on the internet and decided to colorize it. I also will add color to the background with a patterns that are lifted from his buckskin shirt. What you see is about 5 hours worth of work.

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On finishing up the Murph

2011-08-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

24 x 30 oil on linen , The Murph

Lately, I've been working on several large painting at the same time. I added one of Murphy's painted subjects onto the painting on the right and soon I will add another one of his characters on the left. I'm making a little bit of progress.....

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So its Cruise Night in Auburn , which is every 2nd Friday during Summer and I decided to do a little plein air of a car parked right outside the Gallery. In drives a smokin cherry hot rod and it's deep red color grabs my attention and I decide to set up right outside my door. I painted until the light changed and then I came indoors to finish the surrounding elements .... when no sooner did I paint and turn around ... when the owner of the car drove off with my inspiration. Hopefully he'll be back .... I have a partially finished painting to sell him.

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On more paintings I like for the July Boldbrush Competition

2011-08-17T07:44:00.000-07:00

Let's look at some more interesting images.

15. I really like the attention to detail. I admire different styles and I am not just committed to liking one approach to my painting. There is a resurgence of the Flemish style , and although I would not say this painting falls wholely into that category , I admire the planning and arranging of the elements to create a sense of unity.

16. I like the classic treatment given to the arrangement and execution of this floral painting. Even the obligatory fallen hydraenga petal works for me and the wilted flower enhances the total effect.

17. The more I look at this painting the more it grows on me. The attitude and the posture of her feet as well as the girls gaze to a distant object gets me to wondering what is happening in the dynamic between the painter and the painted. The composition is very sophisticated.

18. This painting reminds me of Repins painting of Tolstoy. It has a pensive mood that is quiet and open to contemplation. I love the yellow orange band on the old mans hat.

19. This artist had several pieces that caught my eye and the light above the sitter creates a an interesting play in concealing her eyes , yet we still sense what she may be up to. I admire the thick gutsy application of paint.

20. This artist has really captured the look of a student of John Singer Sargent. The colors are spot on and the staging and expression , the tilt of the head , are alluring.

21. I like the way the artist has handled the expression on the boy as well as the expert handling of the hand on the baseball. This is not your typical jock image and I especially like the touch of using the jersey as a piece of drapery.

22. The technical skill set needed to execute this painting required a keen sense of anatomy as well as a tonal understanding of color. Bravo.

23. This painting is one of my favorites and I just love looking at it. The reflections are aces and the artist has turned ordinary objects into objects of art. The red tones remind me of some of Merrit Chase's paintings.

24. Again , you just gotta love the technical skill set of some of the entries. Many hours of careful rendering went into this piece. I just wish the artist made the background a little more interesting.

25. This painting is sweet. Its probably a plein air and the artist has succeeded in recreating the sense of light on this country road. I also really like the immediacy of this piece.

26. This painting is all about mood. Really well done. I just wish there was a center of interest ... like a hunter shooting at a duck or something ... okay ... I'm joking .... but you get the idea.

27. The detailing on the dress is pretty cool....

28. Just plain sweet paint handling and a strong warm vs. cool juxtaposition. I don't know whats going on but ... it harkens to a sense of alienation in an urban transport zone where routine and loneliness prevail .... maybe .... .... okay .....I'm now in my Philip K. Dick mode .... time to sign off!

Wow.... can you believe the level of competition? I think its kinda unfair to judge a landscape vs. a still life vs. a figure. They are all so different. But , being that I have those constraints ... I hope to give it my best shot. All these paintings are winners and at the end of the day , as my ol art teacher used to say ... the artist gets the biggest payoff by having created something of value and worth and ultimately make this planet a better place to live in. Give yourselves a pat on the back!

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On Paintings I like for the July Boldbrush Competition

2011-08-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

Well, this is the week I look at the paintings I like and write a little about them. So without further adieu .... here we go.

1. I liked this painting right off the bat when I saw it. I am especially attracted to the sure handedness of the brushstrokes and mood created by the composition in creating movement from left to right. It's a small painting with a big heart. Me likee!

2. This pastel caught my eye with a strong diagonal statement created by positioning the canal leading my eye towards the sliver of light racking down the hill across the far side of the walking path. This is one of those images where I would have liked to have seen the original. Part of me wants to see the payoff of light a little brighter....

3. I'm a sucker for paintings that hold my attention with a lot of activity punctuated with a direct alla prima approach. This artist's attention to detail without being over detailed allows my eye to move and discover new things in the painting. I wish the signature was smaller ....

4. If you have been following this competition for sometime now , it becomes clear that the most Popular picks don't usually make it to the finalist round ( sorry Facebook Fans ). This painting is an exception. The lighting and design of the elements are just gorgeous. The reflected light really works for me as well as the translucent quality of this turning leaf. This painting not only works as a statement of color sensibilities but there is a narrative here that is open to interpretation if one so desires to go there. I like that the leaf , having fallen from the tree , is now held captive and elevated by these thin branches ... they look like hydrangaes.

5. There is a timeless quality to this painting of rural america. One can impose their own feelings and thoughts to what the walking man is doing. Is he looking for work or is he lost? It's really up to one's own imagination. This artist loves to tell a story and this is an instant where their painting skills enhance the story line. Every element in this painting feels right to my eye. Very nice.

6. Here is another example where I would like to see the original oil painting. But what I see I like. The artist has crafted a well designed narrative as my eye goes directly to the girl and then moves to the globe and then up around the rice paper lanterns and then down again to the hand holding the violin. The starry night behind the multi paned windows adds to the romance and enchantment of this piece. Also , the reds in the painting are counter pointed by the off green in the globe and the tans in the ottoman. Well down and well thought out.

7. Here is another painting that caught my eye . My eye goes right to that juicy orange and the artist has deftly placed a compimentary colored object right next to it to emphasize the attraction. This style is very appealing and working in a total tonal range from darks to lights really gives this composition immediiate impact.

8. I am on the fence with this painting , but I still like it. This artist gets a big shout out from me just for the sheer technical skill in handling the paintings on the wall and all the objects on those tables. Also , by limiting the palette , the lighting feels just like it supposed to look inside a restaurant. Was my eye supposed to go to the waiter at the left or the one moving out of the right frame. Again , as a portrait artist , I wish the faces were a little more finished... but again that's just me .... and since I'm the judge ....

9. I really like this painting alot. The cools work with warms of the flesh just right and the modeling is confident and not over worked. Young children are so hard to paint and have them feel fresh and winsome and this artist not only captures the personality but also takes this portrait into the dimension of having the audience participate in the young girls thoughts. Very nice ....

10. This painting is so different from all the others as it is a celebration of color and pattern. Flat lighting lends itself to playing with patterns and shapes and I enjoy getting lost in all the intricacies of this floral.

11. This still life has the opposite energy from the one above. It is quiet and contempaltive. It is very well executed and the grey light adds to the serene timelessness of the painting.

12. What I really like about this composition is how the artist works the cool blues to accent the warm light from the lamp. Check out how the cool blues are triangleated around the perimeter of this painting. That's not by accident ( at least I hope not ) . Also , the attention to detail on the china and especially on the cloth is pretty darn impressive. Again , I wish I could see the original.

13. The warm light on these boats and the surrounding buildings are simply intoxicating. I love the expressive brush work and this painting makes me want to be there sipping a nice cabernat.

14. Wow. What a great mood . Again , I wish I could see the original. My eye is led right into this scene by the walk path and the greys are just bank! Living along this coast , the trees look that way as a result of the wind.....

If you so choose , pick your favorites from this list . They are numbered .... but you need to tell me why.

Okay... that's it for this segment. I will post another batch on the 17th ( I have already done the post and you'll just have to wait and see ) and I will pick the winners this week!

On Judging FASO

2011-08-04T20:48:00.000-07:00

As some of you know , I have the privilidge and honor to judge the painting entries for the month of July for the Boldbrush online competition. The competition offers anyone a chance to enter any painting they choose for that month for a fee of $14. The top prize earns $1000. Hey , in this economy , who in their right mind passes up a cool grand just by submitting an online entry? Hey , as my buddy and successful artist , Tim Solliday said .... these prizes get your name out there. So dive on in , the waters is warm!

Judging can be a pretty tricky thing. I don't know of anyone who is totally happy with all the selections an artist judge makes. So much is visceral and subjective. But , I will try my best to be fair and hopefully follow the judging guidelines that are posted under the competition rules.

If you follow this Blog, you will have the opportunity to view and appraise some of the competeing images that I feel are worthy of consideration. I have already selected about 25 paintings that have immediately caught my eye. Heck... let me know if I should add to my list . You'll see my top 25 in my upcoming posts.

Also, for a bit of clarification that I was not aware of. The monthly judge only picks the top 3 and the Finalists . The media picks ( pastel, watercolor etc. ) are selected by FASO as well as the top 15%. So if you don't see your painting selected in the top 15% ... well ... it was not my decision.

I'm finaly making some progress in finishing the Traveler. 30 x 40 . I have the painting on an easel at a corner in the Gallery. I make assessments on it while I work on other paintings. Its a painting I plan to enter for the Portrait Society of America contest.

On Philip K. Dick and Art's Divine Madness

2011-08-01T13:51:00.000-07:00

I thought about leaving the Gallery soon but I feel like I have so much to say. My brain is reeling ... dizzy with all the input that I have allowed to enter it over the weekend. I should install a gate keeper APP for my brain. Can I handle all this sensory input that I subject myself to? I'm sure Apple will come up with some device soon.

Years ago, while at ILM ( LucasFilm ) we were treated to a special screening of Blade Runner at the Corte Madera theater. It WAS the theater to see a new release as George Lucas had personally installed a beta system of THX Sound. As I remember ( I could be wrong ) Bill George , a master model maker at ILM as well as several other employees had worked on the movie and were able to get a pre release cut. From the very opening of the movie to the end , I was mezmerized and bedazzled with what I had seen. The storyline was original and the visuals were like nothing that I had experienced since Star Wars premiered. The movie explored what it meant to truly be human using the creations of the Replicants by the Terrell Corp. as a metaphor.... it asked a philosophical question.The movie brought together some seasoned talent such as Ridley Scott the director , Syd Mead as Visual designer , Vangelis as Soundtrack Composer , Harrison Ford as Lead Actor and it was written by some fiction writer named Philip K. Dick. Who was this Philip K. Dick?

That same day ( I'm very very obsessive compulsive ... at least that's what my old ex girlfriends tell me ... Jana just says I'm just an excitable man ? ) I went out and bought the book that the movie was based on. The original title was called Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? first published in 1968. As usual the book was nothing like the movie. But what I discovered was Philip K. Dick used SciFi as a vehicle to create a world where different assumptions of realities could play out side by side .

What was humaness?

Here I found a a writer that I preferred over my early hero Kurt Vonnegut. I soon went back to the bookstore and bought several more titles from PKDick. Again and again I was enthralled and taken in by his use of SciFi to challenge the decadence and loneliness and corruption of the world we have created as humans. Are we crazy or does our environment , which we create , isolate and enslave which leads to mass psychosis? And how does Art play a role in the mass hypnotism? Is Art the solution as the Romantic's proposed? Does it give us meaning in a world that seemingly is cold and has no meaning?

Which brings me to why I am writing this blog entry. Fast forward about 25 years and as I was at my local used bookstore the other day it dawned on me that I should see if there were any Philip K. Dick books on the shelves. By the time I left the used bookstore ( so long Borders! ) I had purchased" Man in the High Castle" and "Martian Time Slip". Okay stay with me .... this is going somewhere and has something to do with Art ....! PKD ( Philip K. Dick ) won a Hugo Award for Man in the High Castle and so I decided to read that first. The premise blew my mind and it was like being waterboarded into a world that was suppressive and suffocating . What if Germany and Japan had won the war and America was now in servitude to the cultures of Germany and Japan? What would be their attitude towards our culture and art? Okay ... my brain is starting to hurt ... so who was this writer who came up with so many mind altering Jungian archetypes and scenarios that Hollywood has subsequently made 10 movies out of his short stories and novels most notably Minority Report , Total Recall ( being redone as I type ) , Next and Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon? Was this guy on drugs ? I mean , his concepts are just plain weird and really really out there ... I love it.

Well, PKD called himself a philosopher who happened to be a novelist. His idea was to create alternate worlds in order to have characters play out their assumptions and worldviews . That way , the reader could look at Reality in a new way and make a prognosis. But the author himself , I find fascinating and repelling at once. What attracts me to his writing? My wife thinks his writing is just too damn weird and psychologically off beat. There are no real hero's in his work from what I have read so far . In fact , the characters in his books are more like survivors. They wash up on shore .

There are those artists who get so into their world so deeply that they themselves become a player in the world they create , whether they be musician , writer or painter. Familiar names come to mind of artists who were notorious as much for their Art as well as their Lifestyle which was an extension of their Art. Names as Vincent Van Gogh , Mondigliani , Picasso , Ernest Hemingway , Goerthe , Jim Morrison , Lord Byron , Madonna , Lady Gaga. May I be so bold as to suggest we add Philip K. Dick to that list. An avid reader of Philosophers ( Spinoza was one of his favorites ) and ingestor of mind altering drugs , Mr. Dick has now reached cult status as a result of Hollywood clamoring to make movies of his novels and short stories. He displayed at times a split personality . Alienated and Connected . Some say it began when his twin sister died shortly after birth. But one thing is for sure , by the time he died of a stroke , PKD felt that the Feds were spying on him , he felt that God was communicating with him through a Pink Beam , he believed that he led a double Life as"Thomas", a Christian persecuted by Romans in the 1st century A.D. . And these are just a few. He wrote down his gnostic interpretations in his journal that he named Exegesis.

To make sense of this and put him is some context, I thought of the Hindu concept of Divine Madness in Avadhuta. In essence , the enlightened one will act in a way that outwardly seems crazy and insane but what they experience and feel makes perfect sense to them. They operate on a level as if they are under a spell or influence of some higher voice. Insight is given in PKD's novel , The Transmigration of Timothy Archer ( if you read any PKD , start with the Man in the High Castle and not this book ... ) which is a very loose portrayal of his real life friend , Liberal Episcopalian Bishop Pike . In real Life , Bishop Pike sought out a medium to perform a seance to communicate with his son who had committed suicide. PKD uses the character Bishop Timothy Archer to explain how an idea , no matter how ridiculous to observers , can take a hold in a man's mind where it can become so powerful and potent that the host body essentially dies and the IDEA in essence lives existentially in the host body. This concept can be applied to artists who get so wrapped up in their work , method artists if you will , that they loose sight of accepted social mores and conventions and start acting out by the principles and standards that THEY CREATE. Kierkegaard tried to explain something like this in his essay Fear and Trembling in which Abraham hears a voice that is God's and he believes this voice which tells him to sacrifice his son Isaac. On the outside , his action seems barbaric and irrational but to Abraham , this voice is as real as his own.

As you can see, what one believes to be true can socially seem to be truly radical and irrational . It was this tension and drive to make sense of the contradictions in our world that Philip K. Dick wrote about in his many works on paper. And it because of his originality and inventiveness to explore altered consciousness or lack there of which makes PKD so irresistible to filmakers which are in constant need of new ideas to explore and film. However , I find that the artist who goes ALL IN with his Art is always in danger of being consumed by his creations to the neglect and dissertion of his loved ones. I mean .... Does Art give me the right to forsake all in the name of Art? Paul Guaguin is an example of an artist who emotionally and physically left his family for the sake of Art. In fact , some of my art hero's , upon reading about their personal histories, were train wrecks when it came to their family life. Their children hate them. He loved his paintings more than us , they would say.

Luckily , PKD's children , as a result of 5 marriages , are able to reap the financial benefits of their late father. For most of his life , PKD was dirt poor. So in some way there is a happy ending as PKD is now in death more famous and read than he ever was in Life and his daughters are custodians of his collected works.

check out part 1 of a documentary on YouTube about Philip K Dick.....

On Inspiring Others to see Beauty

2011-07-18T14:32:00.000-07:00

Albert Bierdstadt

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post. I'm still here but very busy with painting and managing my Gallery in Auburn. I do however have a new intern. Her name is Jessica and she will be senior class president next year at her high school. Already, she has been a tremendous help . We are getting the gallery front repainted this week and to do lists are actually getting done.

She is also helping me out as a model for some illustration work I had to finish last week..... which brings me to the point of this important post.

There are days when I get weary. Where the sameness of Life can really get to me. I can hear Rodney Dangerfield , that "I get no respect " comedian say ... " Today the heaviness is going to get me good. It's during these times of emotional drainage and inspiration less meanderings that I need to refocus and get inspired myself. What can do this?

Each of us has a button , a metaphorical switch that can be turned on if the right message connects with our soul. Take this example for instance. In walks a gentleman into the Gallery. Upon talking to him for a time he tells me that he loves art. In fact , he loves art so much that he filled one of his homes in New Orleans with art that he had purchased from all around the world. However, the Hurricane Katrina destroyed his home and his collection. What a loss. Undeterred , he has started a new collection of art in his home here in Auburn. I asked him what makes you buy Art. What is it about Art that moves you so much that you want it in your home?

He tells me that he owns an extremely successful company that lands huge contracts across the country. At the end of a busy day working to meet the demands and challenges of the business world he says he enjoys the time where he can be alone with his paintings. His nerves are frazzled and he needs to wind down. He explains that the Art that he collects calms him down and gives him a vision of the world that is not chaotic and purposeless. He mentions he can be staring at them for hours on end and that he sees something different in them each time that brings him joy. The world is good.

I thought about this meeting the other day and it encouraged me. As an artist , we create a vehicle that in many ways is useless unless we examine its effect on the spirit of an individual. That inspires me.

As I was ruminatting about this in bed this morning , I decided to look and see what was new at iTunesU. I love this application. Colleges and Universities around the world upload free lectures on any subject and you can download them . They can come in either audio or video format. It beats being just entertained on Netflix. So , anyway , as I'm cruising the lists I notice that Biola University has some lectures available. Okay I says. I'll bite and see what up with them. Bam.... I see the title.... Of Christ and Oranges : Or How Beauty will save the World.... . Okay ... I'll bite. The blurb reads ... "Beauty stands against all the destructive and dehumanizing effects of the Fall, and it is our God-given , God-blessed privilege in His work of making beauty abound upon the earth". Now that sounds interesting and so I download the 30 minute segment. Holy Guacamole .... did I need to hear this.

The speaker is w.d. Taylor. He starts with an interesting example. He shows 2 oranges and invites someone to taste each. Each orange looks the same. The one that is selected as the best tasting has been grown organically. The other is mass produced. One will fill my stomach while the other will actually provide nourishment. Wow ... I love that analogy. In fact , he rounds out the talk with definitions of beauty which he acknowledges at the start are incomplete. I'm hooked at this point. Why? , because the speaker is aware that no definition of Beauty can ever satisfy everyone and the subject is much too complex to put into a definition. But .... as humans , imperfect as we are , we have to start somewhere... So he states that a work of Art is beautiful because it is marked by Unity , Diversity and Radiance. By Diversity he means that the maker uses different elements and has them working together in a meaningful way. .... such as a Ferrari. By Radiance, he means that the work or object attracks us by its mere presence. Its attraction is so powerful that we are at once drawn to it.

Then he states the effects of Beauty. Beauty illicites Joy. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote " Beauty is that which gives pleasure upon sight". But here is the definition that caught my heart . It was Beauty as ORDER. ..." To make something beautiful is to offer not only an image of order but an experience of order. And this experience of order can become a ministering to the soul to people torn up by fragmented schedule, meaningless work or broken relationships.

What does order imply by this definition? In the case of music, it is arranging notes and rythymms and words in such a way that is pleasing and meaningful to the hearer. Sound abstract? Well, the speaker uses an example of one of my all time favorite movies , Babette's Feast. Babette cooks an extraordinary culinary meal with the most expensive ingredients , using all her inheritance money , that is fit for royalty but in this case befitting the local peasantry. The meal was a delight to the eyes as well as to the taste. Random fruits and vegetables ordered in such a way as to create a soup, a bisk or a salad. Fire used in such an ordered way as to cook duck , fowl or lamb . Spices and Herbs are used that hightend the taste of any food element. Ahhh .... the list is endless .....Take also the miracle of when Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana. Jesus was not a party pooper. He delighted the guests with wine that was considered the BEST!

So what does Beauty say?.... it says that Chaos will not have the last word. It says that ugliness and depression will not win. Beauty says that decay can be redeemed. And it is in this transformation where the artist can transform a blighted street corner , a weed infested back yard , a ho hum meal into a special feast or a ugly wall into an inspired mural. Often times if we see the " Big Picture" we can get out of our funk and see how we can be useful and be a part of the solution as opposed to being a part of the problem.

So I feel better after writing this post. I was feeling a bit down over the weekend, but I feel recharged and renewed... with a little help from my friends. As I look at the painting by Albert Bierdstadt , it reminds me of the glory and beauty of nature. I just might do a bit of camping ..... thanks Albert!

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On starting something new and other thoughts

2011-07-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

Some paintings are just a labor of love. I remember hearing that Leonardo carried the Mona Lisa around with him and that he worked on it on and off for years when he got time away from designing flying machines. I feel the same way about this painting. I don't plan to sell it although a man did ask if I would sell it to him. Normally all paintings can have a price .... you'll pay a million .... sold!!!! I just want to have a painting of that look Jana gives me when we are having a good time together. This shot was not posed. We were talking and her gesture just felt right. So I ran upstairs and grabbed my camera.... This is her and I wanted to capture that look not so much for me but also for my boys. I wanted them to see Jana , their mom , as I see her.

The next step is letting the paint dry a bit and then adding indications of the wicker chair. I've been using Liquin Light Gel and it is a great medium to use if you like to glaze and have each paint stroke not blend in with another brush stroke over it. It really gives a nice effect.

I've started this painting about 2 months ago and just laid in the underpainting. The dimensions are 24 x 48. The odd thing about this start is that I have had several customers walk into the Gallery and have asked if I wanted to sell it to them. I would reply that it is just the start and that the colors are going to be pretty cool. They say they like it as is. So I tell them that if they pay me $700 I will let them have it. So far no takers but I really want to paint this beautiful scene. The next step is a small color sketch.

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a beautiful view looking across the valley at the Box R Ranch during the Masterpiece Conference.

On finishing Jana's portrait

2011-06-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

I started this painting about 3 years ago , I think . It took me a bit of thought to figure out what I wanted to add towards the bottom of the frame. The flowers from our garden seemed and felt right moving across from right to left. I think the shadow side of her face is a wee bit dark and I plan to lighten that area a bit.

Allison asked ...How did you go about working on an older painting? I ask because I have a "ghost" in my studio I'd like to work on. Oil.

Allison , I have kinda gotten back to my roots so to speak. My old art teacher Theodore Lukits talked about how it was important to have several paintings going on at once. That way if you felt you needed a break or if you lost interest or were stuck with how to proceed ( which was the case with Jana's painting ) you could keep your energy level going by jumping on to another painting.... but in the back of your mind you were letting the paintings ferment in your mind and heart. Then when you addressed the painting again, you could " attack" it so to speak with the same enthusiasm and energy that made you want to paint it in the first place. I have 3 paintings going on at the same time and I saw a video of Gottfreid Helnwein paint several paintings all at the same time and he had castors on his taboret so that he could move his gear from one painting to the next. He reminded me of what Lukits said and it feels right to me as well as intelectually giving your brain a vacation from said roadblock.

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On looking back

2011-06-16T12:46:00.000-07:00

I was looking for some reference for a project and I stumbled upon some old advertising illustrations that I had painted years ago. I can't believe I painted all those veins on those plants.

On Painting at Box R Ranch

2011-06-13T17:06:00.000-07:00

Its hard to back into the swing of things after you spend 5 great days painting and talking art at the Box R Ranch in Ashland Ore. These are 2 portraits that I did the second day after bombing with 2 other painting attempts the first day. I will post more soon ....

ALERT Several of you have either emailed me or spoken to me that you are unable to comment on this Blog. For some reason my site has been down and quirky recently. The management is trying to get to the bottom of this. Thanks for your patience. ;v)

Update .... The teachers for next years conference will be Thomas Blackshear and Frank Ordaz ( me ) .

Very Serious Melanie

I painted this last year and I was given a copy.

On to Box R Ranch

2011-06-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

Box R Cadillac , 9x12 oil on linen. Available at the Event. $350

Its Sunday morning after a drenching High School Graduation event at our Placer Football field. Everyone was soaked but the teenagers did not seem to mind. Its great to be young and blissful. My son Isaac finally graduated! I guess that makes me a proaud papa!

Isaac and Frank

I talked to Mick McGinty this morning and he is leaving Phoenix on his way to the Ordaz Hacienda. The MickMan should touch down around 10 o'clock tonight. Then tomorrow we paint around Auburn if the weather lets up. If not , we are off to Sacramento's newly renovated Crocker Art Museum which has some of the best samplings of early California Paintings. William Wendt , Granville Redmond , Edgar Payne , Guy Rose etc. etc etc. Then we travel on to Ashland Ore on Tuesday to catch the gang up at the Box R Ranch for dinner and then the party begins on Wednesday. If you have not signed up for this event..... wellllllll .... you are definitely missing out!

closeup of an Edgar Payne Seascape .... awesomeness!!!!!!!!!

Checkin in for the further adventures of Mick and Frank. We paint. We love . We abide ......

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On a demo at Springfield , Rocklin Ca

2011-06-02T08:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I painted this portrait demo at Springfield . Its one of those gated communities designed to keep rabble like me out. It was overcast and rainy and I brought a photo just in case the room I was to paint in was not condusive to a good outcome. I had this sixth sense and I was right. It was real cramped quarters and instead of painting from a model I just painted from a photo of a friend of mine. More and more , there is always one little old lady that asks ... when are you going to fix that eye or finish that ear or ...blah blah blah and true to form I was not dissapointed. There she was , ol silver haired one asking ... when will you make that eye correct ?... when I feel like it I told her ..... she got me back at the end as she said upon looking at my painting .... " It looks better from back there " .... you gotta have a thick skin in this business .... I felt like saying ... You looked better 60 years ago lady ..... but I bit my lip ....... on balance it was a good group and I felt welcomed . Thanks for inviting me Ken ! ;v)

That went down on Wednesday. Now here is the REST of the story. I was supposed to do a demo for this same group 3 months ago. At that time I was really involved with all the busy work connected with my Father In Law's Memorial Service. I can't tell you how scattered and absentminded I was at that time. There were so many new things to do and it was overwhelming at times. After the service came and went I treated myself to a great super burrito at El Portal in Auburn. There I am in little Mexico looking at a soccer match when my phone rings. Are you on your way Frank? Who is this I ask? I'm the president of the Springfield Art Group and you are supposed to do a demo at 1. Its 1 right now. Are you on your way? What? ..... In my mind I can't believe I TOTALLY spaced this event. Its not like me. I profusely apologize and tell them if they still want me I will wave my fee. I really didn't think they would want me there but they decided to reschedule me. ..... fast forward to Wednesday and I demo'd for free . But I sure gave them a good time .... in fact .... I asked in a flippant manner . " There is usually someone in the audience who always badgers me and asks " When will you finish that ear or finish that eye etc etc etc ?" Will that person in the audience please identify themselves so we know who you are ..... and true to form ... the gal who made those comments raised her hand and said she was the one. I have to give her credit for self awareness. Fast forward to yesterday and someone from the group called me and said even though I had waived the fee they had decided to pay me. I guess putting on a good show works on the guilt gene!

blessings,

Frank

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Box R Ranch is right around the corner.

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On the Potter's Field Ministry

2011-05-31T11:20:00.000-07:00

We were blessed yesterday at the Gallery with a demonstration of creating a pot by Michael Rozell of Potter's Field Ministry. His story is challenging and engaging and he describes how God is like the potter and we are like the clay. The potter does not see the lumpy mess of clay but has a vision of a beautiful pot . Michael's kinetic energy is infectious and we were all treated to a memorable afternoon. I took about 500 pictures and plan to use some for a painting.

We traded gifts. He gave me the pot and I gave him a painting. I got the better deal as I was so moved by his message of God's vision of us a beautifully created work of art.


This is toward the end of his presentation at churches around the world. Check out that finished	vase on the left.


LtoR...Ellena, Michael Pettit , Jana , Michael Rozell , Ordaz and Eric Ryan

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We have some truly amazing artists in Auburn. One of them is J Randall Smith. He is currently working on a sculpyure that will be publically displayed in Folsom Ca. The horses will have his special bronzing glaze . I hope to take more pics before I leave for Ashland.

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Eric Ryan who is a part of our Church Art Fellowship , brought his art truck and parked it in front of the Gallery. It was an immediate attention grabber.

The Memorial Service at the New Auburn Cemetery was packed with attendees. It made me proud to live in such a patriotic community. Blessings to all the families who have lost loved ones in combat.

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On painting Don Rowlett Demo

2011-05-28T11:38:00.000-07:00

Don Rowlett 18 x 24 oil on canvas

I started this painting as a demo yesterday at my Lincoln Hills class. I got back to the studio and refined the lay in before the oil paint set up and started to dry. The sitter is Don Rowlett of the Box R Ranch in Ashland Ore. I told him I would have a portrait of him ready the next time I'd see him and it's better late then never getting started. The size is 18 x 24 .

I've been sick with a sort of allergy attack all week and my energy level has been pretty low.

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The Workshop at Box R Ranch starts next week. Call and get your spot as soon as you can. See the link on my sidebar. Its art fun that will have you coming back year after year.

blessings,

Frank

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On the Wanderer .... closer to finish

2011-05-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

The Wanderer 30 x 40

Well .... this 30 x 40 painting is winding down. Because of its size , I've had people walk from across the street to look at it. Size matters with paintings. The large ones get attention. I've already fielded inquiries for sale from several interested parties.... but it is not yet finished . A gal looked at her husband and said ... I really like that painting ..... she looked at him again and gave him the look as she reitterated ... I really really like this painting.... we'll see if they come back.

A man came into the Gallery about 10pm as I was closing shop on Friday evening after the gal and her husband left. He asked if he could come in to see this painting. I turned the lights back on and he strolled into my frank world . We talked for a good 30 minutes and he informed me that he was connected to art sales in Carmel in the past. He was very encourageing and gave me some good insights and leads.

As the Murph has schooled me...... "The big ones bring them in and if they can't afford the large pieces they'll look at the affordable smaller pieces.

I can't tell you how much I am learning about Art sales at the retail level. So far the Gallery has sold 5 paintings this month.....

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ALSO .... The MasterPiece Christian Art Conference is just around the corner. Check out my side bar for details and a link. Just like last year , the 2 merry pranksters Mick ( McGinty ) and Frank ( Ordaz ) will hit the road on an adventure. The Mickman and I will paint as we drive along and will pick out the usual cigars and light beer ( I mean ... we have to watch out waistlines for our ladies ( wives ) ) . I can't recommend this 4 day workshop enough. Good food , great lodging , great hosts , merriment and hijinks and great instruction. The Mickman will dazzle us with his painting style that sez .... you know you want to buy this painting! and then Michael DuDash will demo his unique painting techniques that have won him national recognition as a great colorist and stylist. The Ordaz will be up there to soak in the workshops as well as shout out innuendos from the peanut gallery.


Chris Hopkins teaches a student at last years conference at Box R Ranch

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I get alot of interesting people who wander into the Gallery. Tomorrow Amgen's Tour of California rides right in front of the Gallery. I will be out in force, Beware. Today , an ink artist was checking me out after someone recommended the Gallery. I liked his energy and he agreed to have me take a couple photos of him..... here is an out take for a future painting subject. Thanks for posing Mischa!!

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On the Wanderer Demo

2011-05-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

The Wanderer 30 x 40

This painting has undergone a name change. As I thought about it , the title "the Traveler" , although applying to this iconic walker of the global circuit , did not quite apply. I see him more as the Wanderer ( or possibly the Wonderer ). Wherever the winds of interest go, he is there to drink the nectar of Life's ambrosia.

I blocked in the head yesterday afternoon after I completed some sketches for an illustration project. As you can see , I aim to hit the right value and temperature right away. I try to avoid getting too subtle right away , but I still want the face too feel right under this lighting condition. I will wait for the head to dry and then I will revisit the tones in the face.

If I don't chip at some of my personal projects they will never get done. As the Murph said to me the other .... you gotta start producing your stuff man! Find time to work .

This Thursday evening at the Ordaz Gallery , I will be demoing how I apply paint over the underpainting. The session starts at 7pm to 9pm and the cost is $15 to watch and ask questions as I go over the methods and construction of painting the hands and body on this fine young man.

843 Lincoln Way Auburn Ca 530- 906-0716

On to the Murph ....

2011-05-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

Its been a rough week. Mom is doing better and now she is part bionic and is sure to set off metal alarms each time she goes to the airport.

Its really hard to refocus but the artist has to cary on..... I plan to experiment with this portrait. I have no clue where it is going. Its like walking on a high wire. Help!

About 3 weeks ago we had ArtWalk in Auburn and the Gallery was filled from 6 to 9pm with art lovers. I did not want to waste the time and I decided to paint for the crowd. I go in and out experimenting with different techniques and I was demonstrating how I use an underpainting. I can't wait to start on the face. This painting is called the traveler.

A man came in and asked me about a portrait he had seen last year during ArtWalk. He inquired if I still had it. I said I did and he then asked if he could buy it. Most people don't usually buy a portrait of a person they don't know but he said he liked the quiet mood and gesture. He told me that he had been thinking about this portrait during the past year. He had to come back and buy it. We had a sale. Here is the portrait. The boy's parent walked in last year and saw it and asked how much I wanted for it. I told her and she then walked out. Amazing how a stranger will be looking at her boy.

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On Doing Double Time

2011-05-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

I know its a bit late but here are the pics from the Opening Night at William Jessup University. We had a good crowd, considering this was the first ever Art Event at this University. I look forward to being involved with this good group of people in the future. It was surely a good learning experience in choosing and administrating a group of fine artists. The show runs until May 12.

Skivington's painting worked really well in this space

Hopkins and Magsig share a wall

Viewers admire a Terry Miura painting

Ordaz and Denny Holland

Frank Ordaz and Beth Rolphes of BlueLine Gallery in Roseville Ca

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We spent Easter with a friend of mine that I have known since Art Center days. His name is Les Leggett. If I have ever gotten into trouble or have done anything stupid that I regretted later , Les was usually in the mix. He came by to look at the Gallery and I had him pose for a live portrait session. His face tells a story.... can you tell?

And I have not totally ignored the " Murph" painting. I am starting to add color and plan to use this painting in portrait competitions... unless it comes out lousy. Besides being the architect around Auburn he is also an artist of whimsy. I plan to incorporate his styling into the background. We have started to pal around town and everywhere we go everyone in town knows the Murph.

In the above pic, the Murph poses with his daughter Mo. She wears living art and her creations are always a delight to the eye.

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A Shmalz

During the past several months I have had the pleasure of teaching oil painting to a group of 4 talented home schoolers. Their grandmother approached me last summer and wondered if I could teach them oil painting and then have them duplicate a picture of Easter that she had picked for her Churches' Celebration of the Arts . At first I was hesitant but when I met these gifted teens I was impressed and felt that if anyone could pull this off they could. We decided on a tryptich . Each panel was 24 x 48 tall. Jared would paint one panel as would Paige. The 2 youngest , Karisa and Samantha would share a panel.

I had the group grid off a scan of the painting and then they enlarged the painting by observing where the figures and objects fell in relation to the grid. That way, all three panels would match.

Jared starts to draw his section

These young people were eager and extremely teachable . I can't say I have met a better behaved and motivated group of young artists.

After we penciled in the outlines I had them start glazing in portions of the painting in ivory black that matched the mood and patterns of the original. I had the group work on sections at the same time. One week we all worked on the sky. The next week we worked on the ground stones and fence etc. The trick was to have them work as a team with similar colors and always glazing and building up the painting.

Samantha the youngest, really captured my heart as she was so eager to paint and to try anything new. Her sister is also an extremely talented cello player and at the age of 16 she was asked to play in the Auburn Symphony. She is that good.

I would mix colors for them and then demonstrate how to use the brush and apply the strokes to mimic the feeling of whatever object they were trying to represent. Try to feel that cloud as you paint I would tell them. Its just not the swish of the brush. You are trying to convey truth with that paint. Imagine it and paint it and they did!

Paige performed this past Sunday , where this painting was displayed , and she blew me away by her piano playing. I was at the back of the hall and a piano concerto started and 2 large video screens showed just the hands as the pianist played a moving rendition of a classical piece. I guessed they had chosen the piano teacher to perform and at the end I saw Paige stand up and I was floored. She played with so much power and force. It reminded me of the scene from the movie A Room with a View. She also sang with the most sweetest and sensitive voice.

Jared played the violin at the performance and was a all around good guy.

So every Tuesday night , the Gallery was transformed into a giant paint factory.

Paige really took to the idea of glazing and she really has a talent for painting. She wants to continue taking lessons.

This painting was completed by home schoolers who , six months previously had never picked up a paint brush. Pretty darn impressive.

Sam , Karisa , Paige and Jared

And there is more, I resume teaching this month at Sun City Lincoln. We will be concentrating on Portraits. In front is one of my star pupils, Karen Granada. She has grown as an artist in leaps and bounds. She gets it!

I have had the pleasure and honor of teaching these fine people for about 2 years going now. I teach every other month. That way , they don't tire of my schtick. I am in the planning stages of putting together a painting trip to FRANCE at a beautiful Villa in the south of the country. One of my students , Paulette has really been behind me and has hooked me up with a gal here in the states who owns this beautiful Bed and Breakfast Chateau. The cost will be between $2800 and $3000 for 10 students. Keep checking back for further updates. The Plein Air in France with Frank Ordaz will be next year 2012 in the Fall or Spring. Details forthcoming and start saving now. Don't miss this opportunity to have fun painting in France and in turn create a wonderful memory. Spouses welcome!

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Also , out of the blue I was contacted by an artist through my website ordazart.com and I was asked if I did an online critique? I answered that I had not and what we came up with is really working. It goes like this. She pays me $50 dollars through paypal and then she sends me a painting that will be critiqued . I look it over and then we connect through SKYPE. Through this amazing technology she can see me and I can show my computer desktop with her painting displayed in Photoshop. I then can correct or explain areas of concern and she can see it real time. The session lasts about an hour. We will start our 4th session soon. If you are interested in a critique with a real pro .... just let me know.

The Horton Iris farm was in full swing but I felt too exhausted to paint on Saturday so I just drove there and hung out amongst natures quilt of color. It was soothing to the soul.

And it just so happened that as I went over to see Doug Horton's goats I witnessed the birth of 2 small goats. Mother and babies are doing just fine!

Just tonight I got a call that my mother fell and broke her hip. Seems like I will be flying to L.A. to give her some love and attention as she will undergo surgery.

blessings

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On Easter

2011-04-19T15:17:00.000-07:00

Its Passion week and usually I post some of my sacred art. This is a painting that I recently finished , like today , for a client. Its a scene from the old testament where Elisha multiplied the poor widows oil. I use models and I am grateful that many people agree to pose for my paintings. Where would I be without them?

In the painting above I used a traditional underpainting and then added color .

The painting of Jesus in the garden was painted in Alla Prima . No underpainting and just an aggressive application of paint. This particular piece was used for a calendar several years back and I had the freedom to paint which ever way I desired. However, not all clients liked this look. The client that ordered the piece of the widow and children prefer a tighter rendering and I enjoy that style as well... although it sure is fun to fling that paint!

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Denny Holland and the Ordaz...notice the chic artist black look.....

The Wired Artists Opening was fun and I will post pics of last fridays event next. Also, I have been working on a tryptich with 4 teenagers for an Easter Production. Its a large painting.... more pics on the way......

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On hanging a show at William Jessup University

2011-04-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

Hanging a show by committee was a bit of a challenge at first but after awhile we all got into a rythym and the hanging and nailing process started to flow. Beth Rolphes of BlueLine Gallery in Roseville and I were in charge of hanging the artwork and given that the space in the Library had good light and a spacious post modern feeling the paintings pretty much suggested where they wanted to be. Tom Fluharty's painting of a Bald Guy had to be close to the entrance to stare down the visitors into this now sacred space. His painting is like a spirit of the security guard. Most of the buildings on campus were designed by the famous archtect Frank Gehry. The later additions and modifications were made to flow with his original conception.

The opening reception will be held this Friday in the Library by the main entrance at 5:30. It will be catered!

Frank Ordaz " On to No Hands Bridge"

Marc Hanson

Debra Pero

Armand Cabrera

Robert Lemler

Hanging Hopkins and Magsig

Chris Hopkins , Stephen Magsig and Mick McGinty

Thomas Fluharty

Terry Miura

Denny Holland

Michael DuDash

Sally Tharp

The day was long but the rewards of hanging a show with some amazing talent was well worth it.

I will take pictures of the show......

On Curating a Show at William Jessup University

2011-04-05T10:41:00.000-07:00

I have had the pleasure to curate a show that will open at the William Jessup University Library April 15. The show runs until May 12. I was approached by Beth Rolphes of Blue Line Gallery in Roseville to come up with the first ever Art show at the University. And like all great ideas, while I was in the shower I thought of all the inspiring artists I have met online in the blogosphere that I would never have met if not for this powerfully wired medium. So I just started to email a group of artists and it all came together.... not without a few hitches though. I originally contacted Stapleton Kearns , but with the passing of his father he had to bow out at the beginning.

The artists include Stephen Magsig , Thomas Fluharty , Mick McGinty , Chris Hopkins , Sally Tharp , Armand Cabrera , Frank Ordaz , Michael Dudash , Marc Hanson , Don Hatfield , Denny Holland , Robert Lemler , Terry Miura , Debra Pero and Janice Skivington.

More to come on this post ... but for now I got to get back to work and make some money! and ... I've done more on the Murphy portrait and I will post that too .....

On the Traveler

2011-03-30T16:49:00.000-07:00

I am embarking on an ambitious body of work entitled " Iconic Passages". This 30 x 40 painting is the start of the project. All the paintings will be no smaller than 24 x 30 . With the exception of some of the supporting sketches and ideas. I don't know how long this will take but I'm excited to embark on this journey.

Everyone has seen the traveler. He comes into town in his rasta garb and backpack. Some of these types are now known as " Trustafarians ". Rich kids who want to do the Keruoac thing and go on the road and see the world.

What you are looking at is just the burnt umber underpainting. The background was actually grey acrylic. There will be clouds and a city scape with noticeable telephone poles in the background. Because .... he is the traveler. This painting is already spoken for.

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On Murphy's Portait 2

2011-03-26T16:07:00.000-07:00

The painting is starting to come along. I forgot to add that this painting is 24" x 30". I'm keeping the portrait monotone for as long as I can so that I can establish the value planes. As you can see I've added some red already in the t-shirt area. Okay .... I can't help myself. I just have to add a bit of color here and there. It's like when Mom was baking a cake and you just had to put your finger in the cake mixture ... it was wrong but it tasted good.

I'm in the process of curating a show called "Wired Artists " at William Jessup University. I'll post about that in the near future.

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On Painting Michael Kent Murphy's portrait

2011-03-24T15:28:00.000-07:00

Well, I think I am going to go back to something I did early on with this Blog. What's that ? I will document the stages of a formal portait. In this case , Auburn's architect around town Michael Kent Murphy. He is probably one of the few Rennaissance men left around these here parts. Architect, Painter , Collector , Inventor , Persian Rug importer etc etc etc. He has been a big supporter of the Gallery and swings by often to check in and inspire me.

Just to liven things up , I've decided to attack this 24 x 30 linen canvas with a Burnt Umber underpainting. I essentially am creating a brown value grisaille that will help me see the planes and establish the lines of his character and attitude. I mean , Michael has a lot of attitude. He normally wears his hair in a pony tail but he let it all hang out for this bad boy.

So here we go. Any questions? Just add a comment and lets take off on this roller coaster!

People often ask me the leading question. Do you prefer to paint from life or paint from a photograph? Frankly, it really does not matter to me anymore. I am not a portrait fundamentalist. I've painted some sitters that moved so much that I would have prefered a photograph. Other times the excitement and energy from a sitting can really add a dimension that the photograph can lack. But here is the kicker. I try to approach every painting as if the person was in the room. As you can see , by sketching the face with a brush you can achieve a spontaneity and force that communicates immediacy and directness. I like painters that have an academic APPROACH. But I just don't like it for me.

Judy P asked....

Do you sometimes need a few photos of a person, in different angles, as a double check for likeness? Or if you know the person well, is a single photo enough? Thanks!

Great question. I take multiple camera shots . Also , I always try to get a SIDE VIEW if the person is not going to sit for me directly. With a side view , I can see the angles and character of the nose and chin and forehead. Often times, if you are just looking at a straight shot of the face , the transition where the nose juts out from the face can be hard to discern. I sometimes see students paint the nose as if it protrudes forward starting from the forehead and missing the indentation down between the eyes. I also , ALWAYS work from a black and white photo just for the values. This is key. It gives me a visual grisaille. If you love color like me, you can be so in love with a color so much that it can be out of key and value. Also , by having multiple shots of the sitter , you can gauge their personality in a fuller range. Its all about the personality and spirit.

I'm stopping here to day as I need to get ready to teach a group of teenagers. And thats another adventure that I need to Blog about.

Bye for now. Check back often as I will be posting after each session.

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On Speaking to a Crowd about Art

2011-03-21T15:55:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I was one of the Keynote speakers at the 3rd Annual Intersections Arts Conference in Folsom Ca. Last years attendance seemed to be around 40 people and Saturday brought in around 120 enthusiastic art types willing to drink in the experiences of artists who have made a living at their craft.

When I think about it , I kinda fell into public speaking by a strange accident.

Many Years ago, ILM ( Industrial Light and Magic ) was invited to do a presentation for the Sacramento Art Directors Club. The venue was at some convention hall in Sac Town and Lorne Peterson , a Supervisor in the Model Department asked me if I wanted to talk about our Effects Business. I happened to be talking to him when the call came in. I agreed ... not really knowing what was ahead of me. I was teamed up with another employee who specialized in the camera end of things.

As we got on stage, I saw hundreds ( in my mind ) of people fill the room. I started to get really nervous as I looked at all the interested Star Wars fans lining up to get in to hear these Effect Wizards ( me and Harley ) talk about how Star Wars was made. I started to panic.

As I stood on stage I could literally hear my heart beat. I felt like it was going to burst forth like the Alien and spill my guts all over the stage. I started to sweat noticeably. Why? Well ... when Harley started to talk about the sizes of the lenses and the film stocks and the camera gear and the moving masks etc etc. etc. I felt that I had to speak on those terms in order to be credible. I was a matte painter... emphasis on the painter and I knew that once I started to talk about those technical areas that my knowledge was incomplete. What to do? My mouth started to run dry. More panic. How do I escape ... What to do?

I then started to talk about the stories behind the making of the effects shots. Like the time we did an Ewok shoot in the middle of Summer's 90 degree plus heat and had all these midgets ( little people ... sorry ) in furry Ewok costume who almost bailed on us because their costumes were so hot and steamy and how some of them almost passed out as they charged across a field at SkyWalker ranch which we then transformed to a planet called Endor. We kept saying ... You guys are doing a GREAT JOB!!!!!!!

I figured Harley would be the straight guy and that I would be the " color "guy. From then on , I was comfortable and as I looked at the crowd they seemed to be hanging on every word of my stories. Heck, anyone could look up the technical side of things.... but who would tell them about the time we did a shoot on location for Howard the Duck at a Naval base and how after all the pyro technic blasts were set up and then executed with actors and then only to find out that there was no film in the camera and the camera guy was fired on the spot and on and on and on.

So, if you happen to get in front of a group of people. Remember this . Stay in an area of YOUR expertise and experience. Bring it down to earth and tell the story about what you do with all the mistakes and errors and screw ups along with the triumphs. People identify with someone who is being real as opposed to someone who is saying the right things and trying to impress. At the end of the day , people love stories and they want to hear what happens next! But they can spot a phony a mile away. Self deprecation , under the right timing , shows the audience that you are like them in their humaness but that you don't take yourself so seriously.

If you are excited about what you do , I believe that that energy will come through and your audience will find that quality attractive. There are so many people who hate what they do ... who wants to hear someone talk about the drudgery? I don't! I want to be inspired.

And that is the secret. You gotta love to want to share something important to your audience. People are smart . We pick up our cues from the speaker. If I am nervous then the crowd gets nervous and uncomfortable. If I am in command then the audience will respond like a puppy dog and pay attention.

Also, stay secure and comfortable in your skin. If you are hyper and talkative like me ... then use that to your attvantage. But if you are the quiet shy type, then work within that style. One of the speakers Saturday was soft spoken and cerebral and used his dry humor effectively. Even when a line fell flat , he looked at the crowd and said ... that was supposed to be a joke and everyone laughed.

So stay secure in your skin. Like Art ... don't try to be like someone else. Be you. If you have to, practice in front of a mirror or start with a small group. Either way, get as comfortable as you can.

If you can avoid it, don't read from your notes line for line. That is boring . On the other hand , if you have much to say , write the main points on a sheet of paper to keep you from rambling. I do this all the time and a flow sheet of MAIN POINTS helps me stay focused and confident that there is a coherent message. Its like a color keyed underpainting for speakers.

I hope this helps.

thanks to Jessica for the pics!

On the Picture of Dorian Gray

2011-03-12T12:17:00.000-08:00

New technologies have hastened the readiness of finding a book . In the old days, you had to go to the library and then scroll through the card file and search a mile to find the book title only to discover that it was not where it was supposed to be on the bookcase. Drat. NOW , if you have a Kindle or an iPad you can download a book title instantly and in some cases , download a book for free. You can't beat that!

I had always wanted to read The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and with my new app " FREE BOOKS ' I discovered that so many classics were available for free download. And sure enough, Oscar Wilde's book was available for download. Within minutes ... more like seconds I had the entire book.

Immediately, I found that I enjoyed his writing style and that his prose flowed well and he vividly expressed his thoughts with elegant metaphor and word pictures. The books introduction begins with Oscar's bold pronouncements about Art in general. Many of his epigrams are meant to spark controversy . His classic line is " All Art is surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril".

His character in the book called Lord Henry Wotton is a sophistic philosophical libertine who delights in his social position and is aware enough of the Victorian Mindset to assault his peers with shocking assertions and views just for sheer fancy and whim. A classic example from his acid tongue is .."I like persons better than principles, and a person with no principles better than anything in the world" He plays the corrupting influence on 20 year old Dorian who is physically handsome and has social standing.

I won't give you the entire summary. Heck, you can easily read the screenplay on Wikipedia. But I saw the 1945 version years ago and recently saw the remake called simply Dorian Gray and after I read the book realized how much had been changed and altered and therby diluting the real force of the novel. But here is the basic synopsis. A painter is seduced by Dorian's physical beauty and builds his Art Ouevre around painting Dorian Gray. He is the new Adonis that will spark a new style. The painter completes a portait of Dorian which is perfect beyond description.Then enters Lord Wotton who intellectually overwhelms Dorian and plants the thought in Dorians mind that the World will worship his beauty. He whispers in his ear that Beauty is sovereign ( his word not mine ) and that doors will open to him because humanity is weak and genuflects before the Altar of Beauty ( sound relevant? ). Dorian emotionally detaches himself from the painter and becomes a " devotee" of Lord Wotton. Lord Wotton wants to buy the painting but it is not for sale.

So here is the crux of the book. Dorian realizes that he will never look as young and beautifully omnipotent as he does in the painting. As he grows old, the painting will haunt him as a reminder of his godlike status. He thus makes a Faustian deal to remain young forever. The painting then takes on the " sins" of Dorian. How so? Dorian is given a book by Lord " Harry " Wotton and it chronicles the hedonistic adventures of a man who gives in to ALL his desires. Dorian decides to live out that book. As he does , he notices that the painting , which he now owns , takes on the disfigured appearance of his soul. He however remains young. And here is the twist in the book ... because he remains YOUNG and BEAUTIFUL his social group sense that he must be GOOD! Soon he is corrupted and is the corruptor. He becomes a collector of beautiful objects and art and is an archtype of William Randolph Hearst and his palace in San Simeon.

The new movie capitalizes on Dorians sexual exploits, but frankly , the book only hints at it. Mostly he is a sociopath. The best part of the book happens when the painter visits Dorian after several years. He is amazed that he looks the same as when he painted his portrait. Dorian reveals his painting andits grotesque disfigurement is overpowering.

Dorian screams that the painting has been a torment. He proclaims like a preacher " Each of us has Heaven and Hell in us!". The tempo is heightened and the Painter pleads with Dorian to PRAY. "Lead us not into temptation. Forgive us our sins". Let us say that together he begs. The painter confesses that he worshiped Dorian and as a result he also is punished. We are both punished he confesses.

He asks Dorian if he is concerned about his soul and judgement. He pleads with Dorian to ask God for forgiveness. Dorian has become hardened and tells the painter that he can no longer be redeemed. The painter said... The Lord says though your sins be as scarlet I will make you as white as snow ( a reference to the book of Isaiah ) . Dorian refuses God's grace. He then murders the painter.

The painting becomes more and more hideous until Doran cannot stand the sight of what his soul looks like. He is wrapped in guilt. Why? Even his attempt to do something good is still self centered and self motivated. Why does his conscience bother him so? Is it the sociological baggage of Christianities Good and Evil. That is... Sin? He clearly is wrestling with big questions and answers . He wonders if he is forgiven , can he indeed remove all the guilt and shame? I was amazed that Wilde tackled these issues. You do not get that in the movie.

What makes the book so fascinating to me is how the WorldView of the Church collides with the Hedonism of the Romantics of this time. Oscar Wilde was all too aware of the culture War and his book uses different personality types of varying temperaments who have interaction with Dorian and illustrates how they use him and likewise how he uses them.

Romanticism was a reaction against all things Rational such as the Enlightenment and established Authority such as the Church. Romanticism essentially flurrished in the Arts. It espoused Feeling and Intuition over Reason. Lord Wotton embodies the Romantic spirit throughout and famously quipped ... I eliminate Temptation by giving in to it!

The painting above was used in the first movie rendition of the book. I think its a darn good portrait. Here is what I tracked down about the painting from wikipedia...

The painting entitled Picture of Dorian Gray^[1] used in the film was painted on commission during the making of the film in 1943-1944 by Ivan Le Lorraine Albright, an American artist who was well-known as a painter of the macabre. Created specifically for use in the film, it is now part of the art collection of The Art Institute of Chicago. Albright had to paint the picture while the movie was being made in order to show Dorian Gray's physical transformation as his evil actions changed him into a horrid image in the painting while his actual physical appearance remained that of a young man. At the film's climax, Gray "killed" the painting by piercing it through its heart with a knife, thus killing himself when his physical appearance changed to that of the painting.

Above is the new star portraying Dorian and he is creepy close to looking like the same actor ( Hurd Hatfield ) . Could it be the same man?

At the end of the day , the book still rings true as Oscar Wilde , although a freethinker for his time at least understood that all actions have consequences and sometimes we are reminded of 2 axioms...be careful for what you pray for . You just might get it ..... and ... What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul. There once was a man who was so overwhelmed at what he had become and what he had done. He realized that as a merchant of slaves that he had sinned against God and Man. He accepted God's forgiveness and repented. Unlike Dorian who in self pity and loathing ends up killing himself , the real life former slave merchant wrote about God's saving Faith. We now many years later sing his song.Amazing Grace.

There is some controversy , but it is reported that Oscar Wilde gave his Life to Christ at the end of his Life.

And that's a wrap!

On making Connectivity

2011-03-10T21:15:00.000-08:00

Today was probably the most exhausting emotional day I have experienced in a long while. As I opened my eyes this morning I realized that I had to connect with other artists.

Let me explain.. About a month ago , Beth Rohlfes ,Curator of Blue Line Gallery in Roseville asked me if I was interested in suggesting possible artists to be included in a group show at William Jessup University in Rocklin Ca. I was busy doing my thing but I said yes ... because I am in that philosophical space of saying yes right now. As I got out of bed, and wiped the sleepy crust from my eyes , I leaped into the shower stall and turned on the hot water over my greasy black hair and thought about the show for a short spurt. I thought about the past 3 years and all the artists that I have come to know in the blogosphere. What if I suggested we do a show about traditional artists who discovered the connectedness of the internet and as a result opened up a boulevard of new possibilities and venues to showcase their skillset and knowledge.

I got on the phone within minutes and still naked and wet , I called Beth to tell her what water on wet brain cells could reveal. After several minutes and excited stuttering she affirmed that I had come up with an interesting hook. All I needed to do was contact some established Bloggers who also had Art Cred and get them to sign on. I was overwhelmed by the positive feedback.

I called Don Hatfield today as he had promised to paint some spectacular something for me for the show. He is an Art God to me. He knows his stuff and craps art better than you or I can paint. He is the real deal. He lives and breathes art. As we talked he mentioned that he had talked to Stapleton Kearns in the afternoon. I had asked Stapleton to be in the Show last week but he lost his daddy this week. Life happens to you while you are making other plans. I asked Don if Stape sounded okay. He said he did. So I called the Stape man today and we talked about his Father and how the internet had brought us together.

I was really touched by his online memorial to his father. I choked up as I read it. As we talked I told him at the end of the conversation that I was honored to know him and that at some point that he and I would meet face to face. I wanted him to be in my Show but I knew that this time was for him and his family. Mr. Kearns and I met in the digital universe when he first started his blog. I was in instant fan.

I will post more on the SHOW but for now I am in that sad group of fellow travellers who are losing their parents right about now. We are now becoming the adults.

I love Art. I love everything about it. But I also know that at the end of the day I would be nothing without my wife beside me. Seeing death closeup helps you , if you are sensitive , see Reality as it is.

Love the one you are with. Time is too short. Joe Cocker said it best .... this is for you Jana....

such joy and happiness you bring .... heavens gift to me ....

this is a better youtube ....below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UpDDukLwjY

On painting April , my new intern

2011-03-03T13:05:00.000-08:00

Its been a crazy stretch since my Father in law passed on to the pearly gates . I feel like I just finished a marathon and I have been kinda scattered and absent minded lately. I took off walking to work the other day and I thought... should'nt I be driving? So here I am yesterday, relaxed and ordering a burrito at La Portal, which is the best Mexican in Auburn, and my cell phone rings. Where are you Frank and are you coming? I ask ... Who is this? The voice said ... I'm calling from the Rocklin Art Association and you were supposed to do a Demo for us at 1. It's now 2 and We are waiting for you. A flash of panic ran through my whole body. I forgot! Somehow in the back of my mind I thought it was next week. Have you ever felt so childish and foolish that you just want to climb under a rock and suck your thumb? I cannot believe that I forgot. Well, I told them , let's reschedule and I will do the Demo for free. That seemed to satisfy the voice at the other end.

So at 2:30 yesterday in walks my new intern. Man, do I need help with scheduling and just plain office work. Her name is April and she saw my painting of Gilbert at the Placer Studio Tour Show and asked if I wanted an intern. She's and art student at Sierra College and has applied to Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, my Alma Mater. I hope she gets in. So I told her what had happened and I felt really rattled. I hate not fulfilling an obligation. Forgetting is so weak of an excuse . Anyway I told her I needed to relax and a margarita was for later and I was hoping if she would be so kind as to pose for a portrait. She said she always wanted a portrait of herself and she agreed to pose. Just as we started in walks Larry who teaches Art at Placer High. He wins the award for being one of the most liked teachers at Placer as well as being a real character. He taught April art and there is a wonderful collegial spirit in the air. It was just what I needed. Larry asks April, Have you told Frank that you sing in a band? She said no.... so now I find out that April has some classical singing training, plays the keyboards and fronts a Viking Metal Band of her own. Her boyfriend is the drummer . What is Viking Metal I ask and I also ask that she seems so clean cut to be in a metal band? Where are all the piercings and tattoos I ask? Well... we are starting to get to know each other and she has turned me on to EPICA... one of those Viking metal bands she likes. I like it. Its like beauty meets the beasty nordic metallic decapitators.

She posed for about 2 hours. I told her if it was okay if she posed again next week so that I could finish her hair and clothes and background and face and ... and ... and ..... She said yes. I like working with the PLANES. Its a very sure way to capture the construction of a face. The planes of every head are different and they expose and explain the character of the sitter. April also posed with her chin raised. Its an attitude that belies a Viking Minstral.

Paints include Titanium White , Yellow Ochre , Cad Red Light , Ivory Black and Veridian . You can get alot of neat colors with just this simple palette. Try it out!

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I give you EPICA ... 10 million viewers have seen this ... where have I been?

On Being a Christian Artist?

2011-02-28T11:23:00.000-08:00

Several years ago , a friend was listening to some music of mine powering ... or should I say thundering out of the mighty woofers of my Bose System. If you like music , it is pure joy having a good system which translates media to sound waves. Any way , before I digress, my friend is an unbeliever and we were talking about our musical tastes and I mentioned that the artist he was listening to and liking was a " Christian Artist". It was an innocent remark but I was taken a little aback at how a friendly conversation had promptly turned semi-confrontational and semi-hostile. Semi-Hostile being defined as no punches were ever thrown. "What do you mean by a " Christian Artist" he roared as I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise as I felt the first verbal punch of a philosophical jab. Its amazing how you can be relaxed one minute and then all the synapses of your brain are put on high alert. Well, I said , it has to do with World View. The artist has a view of what qualifies as good and bad from , dare I say , a biblical perspective. And in essence , there is a creative spark in them that ultimately wants to glorify God above all else. That's essentially it ...I said.

"Does that make it better?" he said.

"So much of it sounds light weight" he criticized.

Well , I said... Welcome to the fallen world! So much of " secular " music sounds light weight and frankly , neither Christian nor Secular music is immune. THAT seemed to satisfy him , but it seemed that the fact that he had actually liked what I had played for him bothered him. That was the end of the conversation and we all had desert.

That memory hauntedly came back as I read Manuel Luz' insightful book called " Imagine That .... Discovering Your Unique Role as a Christian Artist ". As I started to read this book , I felt that Manuel had tapped into something really relevant to all artists. He was telling the truth of what lies beneath the motives of our art making. He was in a unique position to illustrate his points as he was an accomplished musician who had performed and recorded music for a living with almost 50 albums to his credit. And frankly , he admitted falling into all the Vanity pitfalls that await the artist trying to " make it" in the marketplace of other artists competing for attention and glory and fame.

What you will read in this absorbingly well written and thoroughly thought out book on being an artist is not a theoretical treatise or overly intellectual account of what Art is. Heck... there are enough of those all ready written. In fact, some writers go out of their way to sound profound and erudite.But rather, Manuel , with a BS in aeronautical engineering and an MBA in management , plainly writes a guide for artists who want a deeper understanding of the challenges that await the artist and some good advice from a man who has made his share of mistakes and is man enough to expose himself and his shortfalls.

One example will give you a sampling of his heart. He mentions that whenever he listened to other musicians that he had 3 criteria to judge them...
1. I am better than them
2. They are as good as me
3. With some practice I can be as good as them

Although for a time this satisfied his ego, he realized that this exercise proved fruitless and self defeating.

My favorite chapter is " The Calling of the Artist". In it he has a parable of the possibility that is worth the price of the book. With out giving too much away , it speaks of the importance of community and the role of the artist to be a part of and not separate of. We get into trouble when we think we are so special and different.

Manuel and I have been believers about the same time and frankly so much of his mistakes have been also committed by me. I felt that I could have written this book although Manuel is leaps ahead in the writing department. By being transparent, Manuel has given us an account that is far more readable than Francis Shaeffer's book on Art and the Bible. He is one of the few artists that addresses what I have been saying about Art. Art is so much more than Beauty. If you have read Oscar Wilde's book " The Picture of Dorian Gray " you will know what I mean. In fact , GK Chesterton had a marvelous insight about the Christian worldview . The christian he says is the most pessimistic and the most optimistic person at once. This paradox is forever inbedded in the psyche of the Believer. One should be free to tell the awful truth , warts and all , but one should be just as quick to share the Good News and the story of redemption. Both are present. Life is paradoxical without being self negating. It is the grand mystery woven into the fabric of this thing called being human. Saints and sinners we. How can our Art produce anything different?

Imagine That by Manuel Luz. Moody Publishers

ISBN-978-0-8024-2450-1

_______

Next upcoming posts ..... On Speaking in front of a Crowd and a review of Oscar Wilde's " The Picture of Dorian Gray"

On Winning BoldBrush

2011-02-23T11:20:00.000-08:00

I was informed by several well wishers over the weekend that I had one the Best of Show in the BoldBrush online competition. However , I was so focused on my Jim's Memorial on Saturday I did not check until Monday morning. It was hard to celebrate as my Father In Laws passing was a very emotional ordeal. I think I got too close by producing a 14 minute iMovie Documentary of his Life. It struck me how much he had accomplished in 87 years and that he was a very faithful man. His wife Letti was sick with cancer for 14 years and Chaplain Jim was a model man of God who stood by his wife and went to the ends of the earth to get her well. I do plan to paint a portrait of him although I did do a magazine cover with him and his wife Letti years ago.

Years ago , winning would probably have gone to my head. In fact , I know without a doubt it would have. The years have rounded the jagged bristly edges of my pride. There are so many good artists and paintings produced that I find it amazing how one can chose one over the other. Often times at the end of the competition I look at paintings that I thought were excellent not even make the top %15. The jurors taste plays a big role in the decision making process. In fact , this is one of the portraits that I have painted where the sitter does not like it. He has not told me so but I could tell when he looked at it he was not delighted.

I want to thank all of you who sent me emails to congratulate me. I am moved and honored that you all would take the time to let me know. What a blessing.

I guess one of the benefits is making new friends and I want to thank those who are reaching out to me now. I called Rich Nelson , who congratulated me by email , yesterday and talked for awhile. I've admired his portraits and the skilled color nuances he achieves in the flesh color. He encouraged me to keep on entering shows and if possible to attend the Gala Event sponsored by the Portrait Society of America in Atlanta this spring. I hope to attend if possible. But what struck me is how the Internet has changed everything and how competitions allow artists to compete and see the entries and how there are opportunities to many outside the localities of the event. Also , meeting other artists via the internet is such an exciting thing. I don't have to produce art in the solitary confines of my cave. Our lives can be revealed to any level of inspection that we feel comfortable. I mean , in FaceBook you can either let your friends only look at your pics or can let everybody look.

But my point in writing today is really about not giving up. My mother once told me as a child that " Frank Ordaz does not give up!" and that motto has stuck with me to this day. Even when I feel that its no use and there is no point to entering ONE MORE TIME , my mothers voice can be heard ... Frank Ordaz does not quit.... Frank Ordaz does not Quit ....

Competing sharpens the sword. Sporting events all collide on competition. Whoever finishes the race first wins. Quiters can't win. They have bowed out. There was a stretch in the BoldBrush competition where 3 months in a row I had failed to gain the attention of the judges in the top %15, even those that I had admired....... and I felt hurt and dismayed. But heck ... Frank Ordaz does not quit. I keep entering and I plan on keeping in the race to my last breadth.

At the end of the day , the winner gets some attention until the next winner is chosen. But winning feels that you are on the right track and getting recognition from your peers is a very gratifying thing. Oh ... and the money ain't bad either. Thanks Clint Watson for creating an opportunity for artists to show what they are up to!

blessings

On Funeral Art

2011-02-21T16:43:00.000-08:00

My Father in Laws Memorial service was held this past Saturday. It was a dignified solemn affair complete with Military honors. I did not take any pictures as I wanted to experience this important time as an active participant as opposed to a photo journalist.

But I remember looking at some paintings of Russian Art and I had noticed the amount of detail and attention given to the documentation of this communal event. As I searched the internet I did not find a whole lot written on the topic of Art and Funerals. Probably the most painted images of a Death is Christ on a cross painted from Catacomb times to the present , although not as much these days. Probably Dali is the last major artist to paint Christ on the cross. But this is not a funeral which is a communal event. In fact , Christ was rushed into the tomb so that a funeral was really never held per se in the custom of the time.

I remember seeing El Greco's painting of the Funeral of the Count of Orgaz. Funerals back then , if they involved someone important brought not only the whole community but dignitaries and local leaders to honor the deceased in a public show of respect and pomp. Count Orgaz was not simply going to be worm food but was to pass on to the heavenly hosts painted above the portraits of the local
noblemen. He was to join Mary and Jesus and the host of Saints and Angels into the next Life as real and dimensional as the one he had just left. One is struck by the respect given to the deceased as the clothing and reverence is apparent in El Grecos powerful portrayal.

Any painting involving so many figures takes the artist a good deal of time to lay out a strong composition and then arrange and paint the towns people. It is a monumental effort worthy of any treck up to a Himylayan Mountain.

As I scouted the internet I started to notice the evolution of the funeral down through the centuries.

This painting is of the funeral of Jerome. The rigidity of the attendees and the straight ahead perspective gives this painting a very strict monastic feel.

The Roman Church is prominent in many paintings before Darwinism shook the confidence in the power of a literal interpretation of the Bible and a sense of ritual and liturgy is always present if not fully evident in funeral paintings.

I like this painting of a Viking funeral. You would expect that these seafaring souls would give last rites at sea and introduce the body back to its Mother Ocean where so much of this culture had its identity.

This painting has a more Protestant feel and the clothing is still respectful and austere . The focus is on the Father as he holds the young girls hand. The mourners trail. Had he lost a wife? We see in this painting a glimpse of the pastoral cemetary marked by the tombstones. Dust you were and to dust you shall return.

This is a painting by Manet. It seems that the focus is more on the landscape behind the funeral procession than on the service. Could it be that a sense of the hereafter was starting to lose its power and the sense that Heaven or Hell were really only imagined fairy lands?

This painting is called a Highland Funeral. My guess it either Irish or Scottish. Here again we see a Protestant ceremony and one cannot help but feel that these men all work the land. Life is hard and the deceased has died during Winter. A hard time indeed. We see an old man close to the right. Had he lost a good wife ?

Here we see a funeral where it seems that a loved one has been buried in someones back yard possibly near another grave site. Infant mortality was very high and death was ever present when communities were settling the earth. There is a quiet stoicism in this portrayal. Death was all too common. A form of resignation has entered the picture. But here , a pastor reads the Word to comfort his people.

This painting sets a trend for what Modern Funerals would become. It is a painting of Victor Hugo's Funeral procession. He wrote Les Miserables and the Hunch Back of Notre Dame among others. There is a carnival sense to this event and one could almost here someone selling pictures or books by Victor Hugo. Celebrity is larger than Jesus here and the common people get on ladders to look at the casket that moves across in the background. I am reminded of Michael Jackson's funeral which came across to me more as an excuse to feature rock stars and their talents. In fact , Michael Jackson seems to replace Jesus.

I am amazed that artists have taken the time and patience to paint a sacred moment. Hopefully , some of these images will give you a sense that somethings should remain sacred and solemn. Not necessarily maudlin and sad events but ceremonies that convey Hope. This World is not my Home... I'm just a passing through.

On entering competitions

2011-02-11T11:49:00.000-08:00

I started this painting about 4 years ago. Somehow I felt I had lost the energy and passion after I had started it and I have been just looking at it and tinkering around the edges for awhile... okay ... for the past 3 years. Since the Portrait Competition deadline is March 1 I felt I should at least make an attempt to finish it and submit it. I submitted the portrait on the left last year . I was told that one of my entries made it to the final round. That really encouraged me ... but as Life happens ... other deadlines and my Father In Laws passing has really pressed me for time. Is that not the way of this amazing world? Nothing like a competition to bring out the creative juices.

My wife Jana and I were having some kind of luvi duvi conversation and she looked at me with those adoring puppy eyes. As is my custom these days... I told her to hold that pose as I ran to get my dangerous Nikon digitalcamera. She has a bad neck and could not hold a pose long even if she wanted too. I really go for those moments that have an iconic feel and her pose was something very natural for the mother of my two grown brats. I kinda reel away from the overly posed look... although at the end of the day we all strike a pose. I felt that this view really captured her quiet strength and character.

Those hands are going to be hard .... but I will treat them as a sculptured unit and work with the planes.

On looking at old photos

2011-02-10T16:54:00.000-08:00

Jana's dad Jim H Eastland passed on to Glory at the rip old age of 87. He had led a very Wonderful Life. So much so , that it is all being revealed to me in photos that Jana's 3 other sisters are sending me. Jim Eastland was part of a generational culture that was big on doing and not big on talking about it. It was like pulling teeth to get him to talk about his past. But after looking at some vintage black and white photos , his world is opening up to me and there is now so much I would have liked to have known about and talked about.

He was an Air Force chaplain for 22 years and traveled all over the world and must have surely had a lot of adventures.

I'm gathering all these photos and making an iMovie presentation that will be played at his Memorial on February 19 at Crossroads Church in Grass Valley. Put in a good word for me with the big guy Jim!

Jim holds my Jana .... don't drop her!

Here I am posing with Jim at our wedding. You wish you had hair like that!

Jim was surely telling my bride Jana ... You can still say " I do not".....

On the Second Pass

2011-02-04T10:09:00.000-08:00

This has been a difficult week as Jana's father went to be with the Lord this passed Sunday. Jim was 87.

Deb asked a question about how I achieve character and that is a good question. I plan to think about that and add something intelligent to the conversation that has not already been said by so many good portrait artists. I mean .... there are a lot of good portrait artists around.

I do plan on submitting something to the National Portrait Competition but I believe to win you have to not only paint a good portrait but have compelling accessories to enhance the overall painting. So far , I have not been able to plot out anything substantial in that area ... but I plan to...

Frank

Portrait ... 1st pass

2011-01-26T15:41:00.000-08:00

I have to paint a portrait now and then just to relax. Some do gardening and others binge on their favorite highball. Me ... I like to wander the forest in a portrait of someone meaningful and important to me.

John Downs is becoming a good friend since our paths crossed at the Gallery. We were talking the other day about the Recession... that will bum you out ... and as a contractor things have really slowed down for him. He had this pensive mood and I told him to stop and stay still as I wanted to capture the moment. John is not someone I have adorned in a cowboy costume. This is his look that he wears 24/7!

The other day I asked him about God and his thoughts on the matter. He said he and God had an understanding. He said he would allow God to do his thing as long as he was allowed to do his thing. Well ... the other day John was in Church. He said it was only the second time he had ever been in Church. He said he was also starting to read the Bible. He figured he should at least get educated on the subject and see what it was all about before he passed final judgement. Amazing Grace.

This is my first go round as the oil paint has already begun to dry. I'll put some more time into this small painting when it drys to the touch.

Dr. Fox Portrait

2011-01-11T13:02:00.000-08:00

Dr. Fox is famous around Auburn for sculpting these massive statues of Indians that tower about 20 feet right beside his dental office. He is by trade a dentist and at 85 still practices 2 days a week. I plan to paint several more of the good Dr. This is a small 11 x 16 oil on linen panel.

I need to rephotograph this as I painted pretty thickly in the dark values and they are picking up some light kicks.

On Telling stories

2011-01-06T22:01:00.000-08:00

I love hearing stories . I sometimes tune in to hear this crazy guy on the radio Michael Savage. I don't always agree with him but his stories always have me laughing. He reminds me of the character in that old movie " Network" ... I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more ".But his stories are engaging and I listen. Why? Because at the end of the day we like stories... my mom ended my day tucking me in and telling me a story. Its in our DNA!

I now walk across the street after a day at the Gallery and talk to the guys at the Barber shop. John and Steve. They make me laugh. Think about it. They are talking to people every day while they cut their hair. They are in the business of hearing and telling stories.

Our local hero is Bud Anderson. He is a WW2 triple ace and was partners with Chuck Yeager who lives in the next town up the road. Anyway, the Military Channel was in town 3 weeks ago as they filmed Bud geting a hair cut across the street. His pictures line the wall of the shop. He's walked into my Gallery and told me some good stories.

I just love this town. And I love the people. They have supported me and encouraged me to keep on keeping on.

So just the other day. This guy called Francois ( franswaah ) walks in . He eventually tells me that he is a retired chef. He tells me he was real famous. Okay I sez to myself... How famous Francois? Well... he sez... I was the crew chef for several James Bond Movies. He sez he has a stack of articles about himself and that he was the master chef on some super cruise ship . Okay . He says he will cook for me someday. ... So what do you do now Francois? ... I'm retired he sez and I do what I want. And what I want to do is Artwork... Great! Hmmmmm. To make a long conversation short... he is into Venetian Plaster and wants to plaster one of my walls at no cost. He sez he likes me and wants to do it for me.

I love this town. So this weekend. Francois and I will do some Venetian Plaster on our accent wall. They will go nice with the Persian rugs that Michel Kent Murphy traded me.

I am humbled by all the people that want me to succeed!

I now have enough good stories to be entertaining at a boring social function!

Like what Frank ?.... the guy who came in who worked on Micheal Jacksons Dance Studio .... the Gal who came in who was the star of Beach Blanket Babylon in S.F. .... the guy who does cartoon voice overs and the geologist who came in today who was a walking wikipedia..... okay... that might put you to sleep!

On Doing what You do

2011-01-04T10:44:00.000-08:00

I have to get this off my chest because this topic comes up all the time around our house these days with our 18 year old. What should I do now? I don't know what my major is and I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing? I hear artists say the same things and even uttered the same words. What should I paint? I recently had breakfast with a highly successful artist. He makes over 7 figures as an income. He wants to retire and do his " own " Art. I asked him... what would that be ? and he replied " I don't know".

When I was in the Art Dept at U.S.C. the spirit of the age ( zeitgeist ) for an artist was abstract expressionism. It had full potency in terms of legitimacy and relevance in current art circles. Try as I might at that time to fit in , I knew it was not me. There were many artists whose works I admired like Diebencorn ( I spelled it wrong but art types will know who I mean ) and Stella but I could not see myself doing that sort of work. It was not me. To thine own self be true said a character to his son in Hamlet. Somehow I knew my path was not down that road. So after a year I transfered to Art Center College of Design where there was a more traditional friendly mindset.

We are often slammed on our career ship by the crashing waves of public opinion and current trends. We see others surf that wave and become successful and gain lots of attention. If we are comfortable in that mindset then there is no mental anguish or second guessing but if we sense that we have put on a mask and are driven to act out by some invisible puppet master in order to be accepted ala Zelig then we are in danger of losing ourselves and our vital core as an artist and as a communicator. One's voice is to be gaurded for it is a gift from the Almighty. You can thank your lucky stars if you have avoided Art School.

So... my son has been an object lesson that has taught me something these days. He is an on fire christian young man. He gets up at 5:30 on Tuesdays to attend a bible study with his youth leader. He has organized a praise and worship meeting at his public school. He travels to another school to help out in a praise service. And he wants to go to Costa Rica to be involved in a missionary outreach. It seems obvious to me where his heart is and what he should be up to. I've even had a lunch with his youth pastor who tells me that he sees Isaac as a prime candidate to enter the ministry. It is just a matter of time where the " Voice" of his public school counselor and the " Voice" that he hears in his heart come to terms.

As artists , we are happiest when we accept our bent. Are you an Oak or a DogWood? Glen Miller took off as a musician when he quit competing with Benny Goodman in his mind.

Whose voice are you listening too?

On A New Year

2011-01-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

Happy Near Yew! .... I mean ... Happy New Year! That first sentence was a casual malapropism when I started to type. I kept it because it shows me that I am human all too human. We make mistakes and our chRACTER ( did it again ) ... I mean "character " is tested in how we will react. Let me start by starting this way.....

A gal came into the Gallery wanting me to paint a black and white oil painting of her wife's father. He was in the Navy and this picture with time had really faded and had been soiled with neglect. It was never my intention when I started the Gallery that I would be doing these sort of paintings. She really wanted to know if I could make sense out of this bad photo and paint something that would be a lasting momento. Of course I agreed. I felt there was enough there that I could paint something reasonably close to what he looked like. As you can see from the image above it came out pretty good. It took about 5 hours. As a portrait painter , it helps to know a bit about anatomy to pull these sorts of paintings off.

But as I was painting this picture it seemed metaphorical on how we want to preserve the past and how important family, and the memories we make with our families , especially with our parents means to us. Things keep changing on us and its hard to go back ... but we still try to get those "good times" back and perserve them just the way we want them. I used to be a 30 x 30 pant waist. Then 32 x 30 . Now I've ballooned to a 33 x 30 and I can't squeeze into some of my good pants now. So can I go back to 30 x 30 ? Probably not but 32 x 30 is within striking distance and darn if I'm going to go out and buy a new ward robe.

But as this New Year 2011 starts I will look back at 2010 and probably say onward and outward to better things but in actuallity if living 50 plus years has taught me anything, new surprises will come along with challenges and disappointments. But sprinkled in the whole soup will be triumphs and breakthroughs. Sorrow and Happiness is all part of the mix. Along with a change of a new digit comes the desire to get it right this time around. We say to ourselves ... " I resolve to do this and then do that ! "

So for some of my young readers ( that means 20's and 30's ) I will post what I have learned as an artist working in a studio/gallery in uptown Auburn as well as making a living as an artist since I graduated Art Center College of Design in 1980. Here it goes....

If someone asks you to be somewhere at such and such a time you be there at said time. They are counting on you and you being late speaks volumes about how you manage your time and shows a lack of respect . Hey , they will think to themselves , I got here on time. Why can't they?
If you cannot be there on time CALL. As humans we can all understand when some unforeseen circumstance comes up ( a flat tire ) . By calling , you are communicating that you respect and value their time and you want to inform that the appointment is important to you.
As an artist working on commission, most people will want to know how much a painting will cost and when will they be able to have it. ALWAYS be clear on the cost up front right away. The advantage that an ol' painting hand like me has over a younger artist is that all the necessary items for production are owned and time tested and estimating time etc. has become second nature after years of painting images. A good rule of thumb is to add a week and if you finish sooner you come out like Johnnny on the spot.
Always get some money up front. That proves that the buyer is serious and holds your feet to the fire in getting it done. Keep good books and a record in print of what was agreed for the paint. Such as ... 30 x 40 oil on linen , 3 daughters , 2 dogs and a mariachi band in the back ground. If you get multiple commissions it will be hard to keep it all straight unless you write it down.
Again, if you see that you will be late , notify them at least a week in advance. Nobody wants to hear bad news at the last minute. This shows that you are considerate and that you are aware that they have an emotional and financial stake in getting the finished product. Again, people will understand that you are creating something by hand and that it takes time and that you want to deliver an excellent result. Who wants crap on time?
You are judged by your last work. I've learned that the hard way. A paying customer expects consistancy. But sometimes we paint stinkers , anybody looking at this Blog knows I've had several bow wows in here. Offer the client a break in price for the next one or give them a small painting or a bottle of wine or something that communicates... I want your business and this won't happen again ( although as a human it will! ).
Understand that we are in the emotion business. Some people cannot tell the difference between a Kincaid and a Michelangelo. To them, one is no better than the other. Also, if they like it , whether its good or bad they will still pay for it. A good book to read is by one of my heroes Desiderius Erasmus. I believe his little treatise is called On Praise of Folly. As far as being excellent in any field of endeavor he says, only a few people will truly know how brilliant you are!
At the end of the day, you will be satisfied being you and not a mere trace of some other artist. We all have influences. But the trick is to be original. And by being you and truly you ... you can be original...... but more on that at some other time..... that's a whole can of beans.
Use the best materials, within reason, for any endeavor. A dull blade makes for more work.
A truly blessed artist can find contentment if he is on the right path meant for them. Sometimes it can take a lifetime to figure that out . That does not mean that you will always be satisfied with your end result ( who truly is? ) but the process in itself can be an exhilarating thing in itself.

well thats all for now .... back to painting!

The Gift of " Letting Go" a very hard post .....

2010-12-24T10:47:00.000-08:00

Something arrived in my email the other day that had me go deep in thought on a subject that is difficult for most people. Okay Frank.... What's so difficult about moving on and forgiving someone? Obviously I make light of a hard subject. But the idea of giving gifts is in the air this Christmas ( not afraid to say Christmas on this Blog ) Season.

But I need to back up a bit to frame this topic. As I talked to Jana this morning , I was getting a bit embarrassed about all the gifts we , as a family , have given each other this year. Jana comes from the tradition of the Main Gift, then the secondary gift, and then the practical gift ( socks and underwear ) and then the stocking stuffer. I thought this was going to end when our kids were teenagers but old habits are hard to break.

We will have all of Jana's side of the family ( 4 sisters total ) over as well as extended members of each those sisters. Our relatives are experiencing the The Great Recession just like many other Americans across this country. One family member told us that things are so bad that there would not be Christmas gifts for their children. Jana and I just looked at each other and started to empathize with the conditions many family members are experiencing. Heck, we've been there too. But so far, the Gallery is doing well for me ( although not as well for other artists in the Gallery and I feel bad about that too! ) . Kids make it difficult because they can't help bragging. It's in their nature.... " What did you get? I got ..... this .... and that ..... and that too.

I come from a family where 1 gift was usually enough and there was always a slight behavior condition attached ( that naughty or nice thing ). I remember a particularly meager Christmas where we went over my cousins house and we all unwrapped our gifts at Midnight Christmas Eve. Or rather we watched them unwrap gifts that they had given each other. What struck me was the love that they all had for each other. I was so jealous. We were not a happy family and Christmas always brought up many bad memories and arguments.

Its taken me years to run new tapes in my brain and many Happy Christmas moments with Jana and our little family have made Christmas Time a very positive thing. Just the idea of " GIVING" and not receiving has made all the difference in the world.

So now my real story begins. How would I give a special gift to someone who really needed it in ways that were not your routine " go to Macy's and get a nice wrapped gift thing". I mean... anyone could do that. But how about giving something really important like saying ... " I was wrong about that ... can you forgive me? Or how about .... That was many years ago and we were young and foolish and can we just move on and be friends?

FaceBook has really changed the way the world communicates. In an instant we can see and read the thoughts of friends known and unknown. One of FB's interesting features is how you can recommend a friend. Mostly its a friend of a friend and I confirm ... except for this old girlfriend of mine who keeps wanting to be friends with the line...Is this the Frank Ordaz that I once knew and loved? .... I mean ... that sounds like trouble! I'm not talking about you Hillary ( if you happen to read this ).

But this time I was forwarded a name from the past that had much baggage. Many years ago I was a church elder and was involved in a church controversy. It came down to a big meeting with members on one side and one man representing their views and members on the other side and me representing another view. Needless to say it was ugly and the member on the other side and I had not spoken since. But as I was given his name to suggest as a friend ... I thought about it for a time. Should I ask to be friends or just hold on to the past.? I decided to move on and sent the Friend request.

He emailed me back and wondered why I wanted to be friends as we had not spoken for years? I wrote him the following....

Yes many years... I can hardly remember those times as it has been so many years. I prefer to move on. I hold no ill will towards you and if there is any residue, which appears to be the case, I hope you can forgive me for my brashness and arrogance. The years have softened my personality.

I was pleased that he too decided to move on and that we are now FB friends. I know it's not much but it feels like a minor miracle. A couple of years ago I wrote 2 ex - friends and also expressed the need to move on. However, they decided that in one case how I thought politically was more important than the friendship and in the other case ..... well it was politics again. They both could not move on from politics.

So this Christmas Season .... we here at ON BEING FRANK wish you a meaningful and wonderful Christmas. May you give a gift from the heart. May it bless those who receive it. May what comes out of our hearts be Blessings and not Cursings. May we have the courage to say I was wrong and be gracious and take the teachings of Jesus and really make them live in our walk. Maybe giving a painting can open the door to conversation where the possible can happen. This is the season of a Miracle ..... give what can happen!

Merriest Christmas to all!

What's under your bed? $$$$$$

2010-12-22T09:07:00.000-08:00

I bet most of you have seen the PBS show Antiques Road Show or the Blue Collar Cable version called Pawn Stars. Usually the dynamic happens when someone totally unawares brings in some object that they have had in their attic and hope that the "expert" will find value in that object and they in turn will land a financial windfall. Well....

.....just the other day this man walks into the Gallery. He loves art. Says it really calms him down after a hard day and that art and a good painting has a transformative power on his spirit. Okay. We talk for awhile and he asks me if I know anything about Western Art. He says someone owed him some money awhile back and he accepted a painting as trade for the debt. He tells me that Western Art is not exactly his style and that he really did not like the painting. He could not stand looking at it.

So..... he put the painting under his bed. He in the meanwhile tells me that he lost his art collection , which was substantial , when one of his houses was destroyed in New Orleans by Katrina. Those paintings, he recalls , were beautiful.

Well, back to the story. So, after 15 years he remembers that he has the painting under his bed and just wants to get rid of it.

He asks me... Have you heard of an artist called Frank Tenney Johnson? I responded absolutely! He was Sam Hyde Harris' , my mentor's next door neighbor. He looks at me with astonishment. I then tell him how there was an artist's colony on Champion Place in Alhambra Ca. It was considered the place to be around the 20's to 40's if you were serious as an artist. Norman Rockwell in fact visited this group when he came visiting Southern California. In fact, I told him, one of my art buddys had been actually painting in Frank Tenney Johnson's Studio which has wonderful north light with a very high ceiling and a loft. It had a distinctive spanish california feel.

Sam Hyde Harris and Frank Tenney Johnson were neighbors.

We are both amazed. He tells me that he had contacted Aldermanns Auction in Santa Fe and he was told that his 16 x 20 panel painting could probably attract interest and fetch anywhere between 30 to $100,000 dollars! Wow he says out loud with a laugh. He then asks me if I could photograph the painting for him. Of course I agree .... mainly because I have been a fan of Johnson's Work for years. Any expert of Johnson will tell you that the artist is famous for his moonlight scenes where a cowboy is on a white horse and the caballero is smoking a cigarette. Unfortunetly, his painting is a daylight scene where he has featured a native american woman , which just might interest the Johnson collector for its novelty.

He came back the next week with the painting which was unframed. It was wrapped in fisherman's paper. I was almost expecting him to produce a smelly trout. There it was ... a real Frank Tenney Johnson. Boy... would I like to have this painting in the Gallery! I tell him that if he wants top dollar he needs to get a nice frame to really show off the painting and its importance.Presentation is half the journey in Art unfortunetly.

I call my buddy Tim who is equally amazed by the story. The world gets smaller by the minute... below is a pic of Tim Solliday inside Frank Tenney Johnson's Studio.

So ... What's under your bed.... okay .... don't answer that!

What I want for Christmas...an iPad

2010-12-17T16:25:00.000-08:00

The Blog has been somewhat neglected , but that does not mean that I have not been busy. Having a studio Gallery has brought many challenges and lifestyle changes. Gone are the days where I would get out of bed and write something on my Blog and post pretty frequently. These days , all I can think of is catching a bit of extra sleep before I shower and eat and dash out the door to the Studio/Gallery. But I would not change a thing.

Take last night for example, its about 4:30 and I am done for the day and I just want to relax on my easy chair and look at the traffic drive by before Jana comes by to take me to Michael Kent Murphy's ( our local esteemed architect ) office party. Just as I am about to sit down a gentleman walks in with his son. He wants to commission a family portrait with all his family members. After talking for about an hour we settle on a large painting to be started around January. What I find striking is that opportunities like these would not happen if I had my studio away from the public square. More and more, people are starting to know that there is a portrait artist in town and his Studio Gallery is at 843 Lincoln Way in Auburn.

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So you want Santa to get you something practical for Christmas and maybe use it as a tax write off for you art business. Well.... why don't you consider the iPad. Most artists hate painting from photos and unless you are really good at balancing the colors in photoshop what gets printed is often times not what you see in front of you. Its for that reason that alot of artists prefer painting from their monitors and laptops. The light that illuminates the video screen is purer and clearer than printed inks on paper.

Check out the YouTube video below where Richard Schmid is painting from his Monitor screen as well as his laptop.

Now, with the iPad you can have the best of both worlds and upload your photos into your iPad. The iPad is great for artists as it works exactly like a giant iPod or iPhone. Except now when your prospective clients want to see your great artwork they don't have to look at a small screen. I was sold on this when I was down in Tiburon and a client wanted to look at further samples of my work. I took out my little smart phone and went to my website but the images were so small. My buddy FX had his iPad with him and he said I could use it to show them my work. What a difference! It was like night and day. The client spent a good while looking at all my work. If you don't need the 4G model, then you can create photo albums of your work on iPhoto and then sync those into your iPad. Like an iPod, iPad is synced through iTunes .

I bought the WiFi version as I plan to get the next generation iPad that is supposed to be lighter and have more power and hard drive space. My son is drooling to get my hand me down.

You can also prop up your iPad and use it as a Digital Frame to show off all your glorious creations.

What I like about the iPad is that I can hold it while I paint and I can squeeze touch it make the image smaller or expand it with the brush off my fingers. It truly has changed how I work from photos.

I'm on my way to finish about 9 commissions. Most of these are small 11 x 16 paintings of loved ones that had died or grandchildren . Some of the reference was not good. But having a good scanner and then uploading the photo to my iPad has made a remarkable improvement on my efficiency and productivity. Where was this tool all these years? I love having something light enough that I can hold in my hand while I paint.

So there you go. Tell Santa that it's gonna help you get more productive and it just might help you sell and get that next commission.

blessings

Portrait of Janette North in Progress...

2010-12-11T13:54:00.000-08:00

24 x 30 Oil on Linen

A short post. I know I have much to add.... like what happened at Thanksgiving ... but thankfully I have been swamped with orders .... what a blessing! .... sold 4 paintings in Tiburon ..... and the portrait of Janette North , Patron of the Auburn Symphony is coming along well, the client has seen it and is very happy .... they are having me add a pearl necklace which was her trademark .... I have been asked to design a WW2 monument for the Auburn AirPort. I will be working with a sculptor to realize this project .... the Gallery has been a great way to introduce myself to my community.... blessings

In Tiburon Tomorrow

2010-12-03T10:46:00.000-08:00

View of Belvedere Island , St. Hillary's Church , Olompali Eucalyptus

Saturday is the big Arts and Crafts Holiday ( Christmas ) Fair in Tiburon and I will be there from 10 to about 2:30 PM. These small 9x12 to 11 x 14 oil paintings will be moderately priced. They are all depictions of Mt. Tam and surrounding areas around Tiburon Ca. I will also have a couple paintings of Bodega Bay.

Mt. Tam from Tiburon

Bodega Head

The Portrait Process

2010-11-30T09:58:00.000-08:00

9 x 12 sketch sample for client

More and more I am establishing a reputation of being the town portrait painter. I am currently experiencing the Christmas crunch with about 7 commissions of various sizes and prices.

Mrs. North passed away recently and her husband has commissioned me to paint a 24 x 30 portrait. What I do for them is provide them with a small 9 x 12 color sketch. This is the portrait in miniature and with this sample I tell them that the finish will closely match this in layout and color. The sketch was taken to the wall where it would hang and we were able to judge if the colors in the painting would work with the surroundings. The North's are very influential in Auburn and Mrs. North was a patron of the Auburn Symphony and they would host piano performances by virtuosos in their living room. It is elegantly decorated.

They approved the sketch and I will now proceed to final.... after I finish a horse portrait.

Tiburon Arts and Crafts Faire

2010-11-29T20:31:00.000-08:00

Its that time of year again and I will be showing with FX at the Tiburon's Landmark Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair. Marin is pretty PC and Christmas is a bad word ..... but its this coming Saturday from 10 to 4 approx. I'll be there until 2:30 and then I have to drive back to Auburn to host my Gallery Christmas Party. If you are in the area .... consider yourself invited. The party at the Gallery is from 5 to when ever we quit. Right out side the Gallery , Auburn will be hosting its annual Festival of Lights Parade which is a real treat and always packs the street. It usually is freezing at this event and this time around we will be able to enjoy the parade behind the warmth of the Gallery Windows.

I'm painting a scene of Tiburon Ca every day now until Thursday. On Friday I will be in Marin County hanging out with FX and enjoying the Mediteranean Climate.

Blessings to you all .... don't stress .... but bless!

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A man called Warner .... a Thanksgiving Story

2010-11-24T12:36:00.000-08:00

Many people have excuses. They will tell you in excruciating detail why they can't succeed. My dad was cruel and he beat me.....I was born short and could not string words together properly..... etc , etc , etc.

Yesterday a man walked into the Gallery. He had keen eager eyes that probed and scanned the walls. He was watching me paint a portrait through the window and knocked on the door and asked if he could come in. Politeness has a reward. He told me that he was also an artist and admired anyone who could paint people. Painting portraits was something he just never mastered he said. Some people can come in and talk and essentially be a time drain. Something gnawed at my spirit and told me to listen to this man. He was missing a tooth and at first I thought by his skinny appearance and peculiar smell that he might be a homeless tweeker ( thats code for Meth Head ). But his story took a turn, he had relocated from Humbolt County and was on a journey to help homeless people by showing them the mercy of God. Hmmm .... I says .... okay .... that's a different take. He motioned to my paintings of Jesus and asked me if I was a believer and of course I said I was. He began to tell me his story of Redemption.

Warner was discovered in the garbage. His mother , whom he has never known , discarded him like trash to be dumped. He grew up a ward of the state and lived in Foster care for all of his growing years. I noticed no bitterness or hate or anger from this gentle soul. In fact his eye had a gleam and sparkle that was disarming. I stopped painting and started to listen intently to what he was saying. He said he has experienced the love of God and is now on a mission to help those that are Society's waste see the Light and saving Grace of Our Lord. He says that he reads the Bible every day and that it is his Lifeline.

I tend to be very focused when I paint and I can't remember all of the story he told me yesterday but just as I was settling to paint today Warner walked in again. We talked some more and I asked him what he was going to do for Thankgiving. He said nothing. I asked him if he would like to join our family for a Wonderful Thanksgiving Feast. I would love to he said.

So after Thursday, I will post his story of Thanksgiving. How a Life can be redeemed from the Trash and can be valuable and useful and have purpose.

Count Your Blessings and give thanks to the Most High.

And the Winner Is.....?

2010-11-15T13:43:00.000-08:00

This year I did something a bit out of the norm for me .... but it is something I should have done along time ago. I raffled off one of my Plein Air paintings of No Hands Bridge. All the proceeds , every dollar , went to a local ministry called Acres of Hope in Applegate Ca. They help battered women with children get back on their feet and hopefully break the cycle of repeat relationships. I raised $404 dollars during the Tour. I would say that 90% of the people who came through my doors donated. I felt proud.

The winner was Helen and I was so glad she won. She has come to several of my Studio Tours in the past and she gave with a cheerful heart.

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