All posts by Ryan Williams

I am the artist and admin of this blog. I try to provide insight into my painting process, my thoughts about the current state of the art world, and links to interesting painting resources. Subscribe to Brushes and Bytes now!
Paintings

A Walk in the Park

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Spring is finally here! From an artistic perspective, there is no better time to observe the plethora of colors that nature paints than in the spring. Nature is the original artist as she paints everything from the pedals of a rose, to the sheen of the ocean. My latest painting is celebrating the colors of spring and I hope to do nature justice by it.

Wide Angle of Rose Park
The park features and assortment of trees and rose bushes.

Something that I do about everyday is go for a walk – I walk my dog. One of the places I routinely visit on my walks is a little park called Rose Park. It’s a park in the middle of a round-a-bout in Long Beach. It has become a favorite places for kids to hangout after school, residents to sit and relax, and for dog-owners to bring their pet to run around in. On more than one occasion, I have observed more than a dozen people running around this little park. I started to think about what a scene like this might look like in a painting. Then I morphed my thoughts into a spring themed idea. Because the park is named for its rose bushes, why not turn this into a celebration of the spring season? With camera in hand, I have been snapping reference material to work from as I create this project. One executive decision I have made is that I will not be representing the houses in the background of the park. I wanted to take the stress of everyday life out of this scene and putting the actual neighborhood in the background would certainly remind people that this is but a small oasis from an otherwise hectic life in southern California. So the painting will focus on nature and will include some residents walking through the park, sitting and chatting, and walking their dogs. As the viewer, you will not even be aware that this park is in a major city. The final scene will look as though it’s in the middle of the country.

Close-up of Rose Park
The center of the park features a gazebo for relaxing and enjoying the day.

Because this is painted during the spring time, expect to see many shades of green, red, and yellow. I will not be dragging this project out over weeks. In fact I intend on completing this by next week. As I write this, I am already a third of the way complete with the painting. Every now and then I find a quick painting is a great way to flush the imagination with new ideas. Its funny how ideas and come into your head. My idea for painting Rose Park didn’t even come to me while walking my dog, but rather while I was in bed trying to sleep. You just never know when inspiration will hit. In this case, inspiration hit during insomnia. Well enjoy the spring and let’s welcome better weather as well – not to mention baseball season! Go Giants!

Paintings

Avast Ye Art Lovers!

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A Sparrow Takes Flight
Ye may not survive to pass this way again!

Guns, swords, cannon fire, sea monsters, crashing waves, and cutthroat pirates; a pirate’s life for me! Captain Sparrow is honoring that most timeless of pirate rituals – live to steal another day. With a ship full of dead pirates fighting another ship of deceptive pirates and a sea monster named the Kraken in the middle, this is no place for a respectable thief. Take all you can and give nothing back, but first – get the hell out of there!

My first completed painting of 2011 is here! You have heard me talking about a pirate-themed painting for months and now I proudly present “A Sparrow Takes Flight.” This is a 24’’x48’’ oil on canvas project. Anyone who knows me knows that I love pirate stories, history, and cheap souvenirs. So why shouldn’t I paint a pirate scene? What better scene than one taken from the Pirates of the Caribbean universe?

Close-up of Captain Sparrow
He takes all he can...and gives nothing back!

I wanted to represent the best elements from those films. Of course the whole concept starts with the main character – Jack Sparrow. He’s a thief and an opportunist and isn’t too proud to run from a fight which is what he is doing here. It seems everyone is always after him for a broken promise, ship, or heart. We see Sparrow running from a battle between the Flying Dutchman on the left and the Black Pearl on the right. In the middle is the notorious monster that all pirates fear – the Kraken. With this massive sea conflict unfolding in front of Jack, we can’t blame him for running.

I wanted to create a sense of action and danger in this scene. There needed to be movement and tension. My favorite part of this work is the Kraken. What made it come alive for me was the spray of the ocean and the drops of water running off of the tentacles as they climb ever higher into the sky. I am also quite satisfied with the movement and color of the ocean. I used combinations of blacks, blues, and greens to achieve a Caribbean ocean color. Now if you are familiar with my paintings then you might recognize a throwback element to a painting I did in 2007. The pirate who is stranded in the water is actually rendered in the same manner as the Salla character from my Boulder Dash painting. This was simply to tie together my paintings and give the viewer (primarily my Brother) something to laugh at. Obviously Salla does not appear in this film, but on canvas anything is possible.

Close-up of the Kraken
No pirate, no matter how heavily armed, can match the arms of the Kraken!

The original is not available but reproductions are. Check my website for prices on canvas and paper reproductions. Also, I recorded my painting sessions for this project and thus a video is in the works. The video will be similar in format to the “My Bonny” video. Look for this on my website in the coming weeks.

This is the 5th movie themed painting I have completed. This is for my Brother who loves a movie scene on canvas. He actually possesses 4 of the 5 paintings as my soon-to-be sister-in-law has the other. So in a few months all 5 paintings will be under the same roof. The movies I tackled previously are (in chronological order) – Star Wars (Defense of Yavin), Indiana Jones & the Raiders of the Lost Ark (Boulder Dash), Jurassic Park (Carnivorous When Wet), Alice in Wonderland (Mad to the Bone), and finally Pirates of the Caribbean (A Sparrow Takes Flight). I find the movie paintings to be a challenge, but it is fun to re-imagine my version of the films.

So what’s next? A landscape painting is coming and I plan on making this one a short and sweet project. I hope to complete it within 2 weeks. This last painting was about a month’s worth of work – not including the planning stages. So I need something to flush my mind and get the tension out. I’ll be doing a painting of a local park I frequently walk my dog to. There will be more on this in the next session. Until then…

Paint all you can……hold nothing back!

General Posts

Ears Should Filter Egos

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I have been learning art from different sources for years. Early on I was naive and took the first few lessons as the exclusive way to do things. As time as gone on and my personal art education has grown, I have learned that to learn new art techniques you must consult multiple sources to come to a determination about what works for you. At times I feel that an artist is passing on a valuable tip, but at other times I feel the artist is simply telling me that their way is the only way and that simply is never the case.

I have been following a weekend online art course and listening to this landscape artist give tips on using photographs to assist in landscape painting. While I have picked up some interesting ideas, I do find myself sighing in annoyance as I feel the artist is coming down on other methods that do work for other artists. As an example, one student submitted a photo of an old 16th century stone building in the middle of this luscious green landscape and wanted to know how to manipulate the composition to produce an effective landscape painting. The instructor said he “wouldn’t paint this even if he was paid to” because the structure is too straight and straight lines bother the eyes. The problem I have with this answer is the implied denouncing of anything man-made in paintings. With his explanation, he is saying only nature is worth painting. Sorry but that is garbage because how many paintings have we seen that include man made structures that work well for the viewer? I have seen marvelous paintings of the Golden Gate Bridge, New York Skyline, and the Great Wall of China. How can this instructor allow his personal preference to pass as a “lesson?” I also have a problem with how he addressed the question. He essentially stepped on the student’s desire to paint something she loved. Not all paintings have to be done just to make money. This is a hobby before its a business.

So now I have learned to filter out the egos that many artists tend to dish out. I also find it hilarious when artists refer to themselves as “Masters.” I recently responded to an artist in a forum, who claimed he was a master artist, with some harsh but structured words. In essence I said a true master is not labeled as such until generations of artists, collectors, and academics have reviewed the works of the artist and determined the work to be exceptional. The overinflated sense of self this guy has will keep him from ever getting better because he thinks he can do no wrong. We have to identify and learn from mistakes to get better – he never will as I told him. I’ll spare you the rest of the flame war that ensued, but let’s just say I had more supporters that he did in that forum. Please oh please…leggo his ego.

Meanwhile on the easel, the next post should provide you with some information about my newest painting. I will also be talking about my next project and why I chose it.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled painting.

General Posts

For the record…

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Long Beach Arena, Mural Painted by Wyland.
There are so many great places to view art in southern California. I have been to museums, public art shows, and private artist galleries. Having lived in Long Beach for 10 years, I have been fortunate enough to see many paintings by classic and contemporary artists. In all those years however, I never knew that I lived in a city that was in the record books for an art related record. When driving in downtown Long Beach, you pass by the Long Beach arena. The arena is used for sporting events, trade shows, and other events. Though I’ve never been inside, it’s what’s on the outside that grabs me. The entire arena is painted as a continuous sea life mural. There are many kinds of fish, dolphins, whales, etc. adorning the arena. While it has a nice look to it, I never gave a second thought to the fact that the mural might be in the record books. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the mural is recognized as the largest painting in the world to have been painted by one artist. If you are familiar with contemporary artists who deal in marine life then you might guess the artist here. The clock is ticking…. Give up? The correct answer is ‘Wyland’. Wyland has multiple art galleries across America but he does a majority of his work in Laguna Beach which is about 15 miles south of Long Beach. I’ve visited his galleries in Laguna Beach and in San Diego and appreciate his love of the ocean and the environment. I had only just learned about him being the artist behind the mural last week when I decided to check out his website (Wyland’s Art Studio) which I got from his PBS show. It’s funny that things you see everyday that hold significance and you don’t give it a second thought. If you go to Google maps and check out Long Beach California, you will see that the top of the arena was also painted. The world’s largest painting of the earth is featured on the top of the arena. Again the artist is Wyland and his message is clear: protect the earth and its creatures. It’s a great way to communicate your message – through paintings.

Another interesting and fun fact I learned last week was Google has started the Google Art Project. The project is all about bringing the world’s museums to your home. This is not just a place to view photos of paintings. You can really zoom into a level of closeness that you couldn’t achieve if you were in the museum itself. In some cases, you can zoom in to see the individual brush strokes of the artist. You can see the cracks in the paint from the years of exposure too. This is a great entertaining site that could also hold some educational value for students of the arts. Check it out at Google Art Project.

As for my easel, I have been slowed this past week in my work on the pirate painting but none the less it is about 65% complete with about 2 weeks worth of work to go. I look forward to sharing it with you all. In the meantime I have been working on ideas for my next painting and I have narrowed it down to either a landscape or a portrait. Either way, I plan on completing both ideas before the year ends.

As mentioned in the previous post, the website will be undergoing a face lift in the coming weeks. I have been working on a new layout and color scheme and I think I am close to finalizing the changes. Look for the new improvements soon.

If you haven’t subscribed to the blog please do. I offer not just my own thought on my work but I enjoy sharing the developments in the art world, the history, and in this case – the records.

Time for some more painting!

General Posts

Why the long face? Get a face-lift!

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Cheer up! A new and improved site is coming! - Early Rendering from 'All Grown-up With No Where to Go' 2009 by Ryan G. Williams
You learn a lot about subjects just by observing them. This is certainly true in painting and it is true about web design. While I was happy to get my website finally online last October, I knew when I put it online that it would require some maintenance and some creativity. With the exception of an annoying Internet Explore bug, don’t view my site in Internet Explorer, the site meets my minimum functional requirements: display the gallery, options to purchase works, and view my blog entries. While I will resolve the Explorer problem soon, I have turned my attention to the aesthetics of my website.

This past Christmas my wife gifted me a Bamboo Pen & Touch system. With this device I can sketch on my computer with a control level near that of a real pencil. I intend on using this pen for digital sketches and maybe even a full digital painting. However, for the moment, I plan on improving the look of my site with this pen. One thing I find when I view other websites is the clever use of color schemes, efficient layout of imagery, and the ease of navigation. I have gathered many ideas while surfing the web (does anyone still use that phrase?) and I’m now in the design stages of the next version of my site.

First, I plan on incorporating many videos into my site and thus I need a well laid out video page. When complete, you will be able to quickly select a video from my site as each video will have a brief description of the contents. I am also debating whether to trim the frame element from my existing video “My Bonny” because I think that as more videos are added to the page the extra graphics could look garish. Second, the image gallery is in need of some work. I have been teaching myself Flash and this gallery represents my first complete project in it. I would like to add a feature where the user can click on a painting and get an expanded or close-up view of that painting – right now the experience is limited to the size of your browser. Because there is no substitute for walking into a gallery and viewing actual paintings up close, the virtual gallery must be more flexible. Finally, the site is drenched in black with a green accent. This will probably change because I want to make the site warm and inviting to my viewers. The new color scheme is a work in progress.

As for the easel, the pirates painting is progressing as expected. I’ve been having some issues with rendering a likeness of a character, but other than that the work is progressing as normal; I‘m targeting completion by mid February. I have already begun planning for the next painting which you will see more of in the coming posts. Until then…..paint on!