Sonoma Plein Air 2011

"After the Rain" (16x16)

Just got back from a week of painting at Sonoma Plein Air. This is a great event, except it's not really a competition like most of the other plein air shows that offer awards and prize money -- the only award at SPA is the "Artists Choice" award which has no monetary value -- just minor prestige and a bullet on your resume. The main thing is getting the chance to paint the landscape from life and hope you produce something a collector just can't live without... Still, the competition is there, only it's to out-paint yourself (which a true artists integrity would dictate anyway).

"Pork Stop" (12x16)

Doing these shows is kind of like being on the PGA tour...if your lucky and get juried in, you load up your clubs, er...I mean painting gear, make arrangements for housing, etc. and hit the road where you catch up with some of the same artists you saw at the last event. Another benefit in Sonoma is the high quality accommodations; when they put you up for the week, it's not in Junior's vacated bunk bed. These folks really know how to pamper their guests -- I was treated to the plush guest house of a very gracious host, overlooking their full sized tennis courts and personal putting green.

Of course it was hardly R&R time lugging a French easel around 12 hours a day, but I did sleep like Jed Clampett every night... The only downer came about half way thru the day of the show at the end of the week when it started raining... that may have kept some of the crowds away, but I still managed to sell a few pieces so all in all it was a great time -- I even got to see my brother and his family who drove up from OC to meet me there (thanks again guys, that was great!).

"Sonoma Valley Sunrise" (9x12)

I do miss the California landscape I grew up in though -- the eucalyptus and sycamore trees, the rolling, oak-covered hills and sunshine -- but this time even the rain was a benefit as it produced some really nice cloud formations...

Next is my solo show "Off Key, On Point" opening up at Bonner David Galleries in Scottsdale next week -- they've already pre-sold several pieces down there so maybe I can upgrade my hotel room (but I think I'll leave my brushes at home for this one)...

New Solo Show

"Listening To The Playback" (20x16) o/c

Here are a few more pieces for my first solo show with Bonner David Galleries in Scottsdale, AZ. The show's title is "OFF KEY, ON POINT" which refers to the two main subjects; music & dance...

"The Rosin Box" (30x24) o/c

"When Harlem Was" (30x40)

"Warming Up In Amber" (30x40) o/c

"Another Girl In Black" (20x24) o/c

You can see more images that will be included in the show at my website: www.ericbowman.com
and at BonnerDavid.com -- Show opens on June 9... There's also an article about it in the new June issue of American Art Collector magazine.

Tutu Much Fun

"Take Five" o/c (30x30)

Been enjoying working feverishly on new paintings for an upcoming solo show at Bonner David gallery in Scottsdale, titled "Off Key, On Point" -- it will be a collection of jazz music & ballet themed paintings... This one above is a recent piece that will be featured along with 16 to 18 others.

The model is an actual professional ballerina with the Oregon Ballet Theater, but couldn't hold this pose without eventually passing out. Not being one to overwork my models (or risk a liability suit) I just had her hold the pose for a few seconds to photograph what I wanted... The water bottle however is painted 100% from life -- no slacking there, boy.

"Before the Barre" o/c (16x20)

This one was done from life (and a much more reasonable pose). A lot of artists paint ballerinas and for various reasons, but I fell into it purely by chance -- James, one of the artists who comes to my figure sessions is also a photographer and shoots for the OBT (mentioned above) and got some of the dancers to come model for us.

We've gone thru about 3 of them so far, but I don't think any of them will be returning soon. These girls are professional dancers and in great shape, but not very excited about posing for the 3 hour pittance we offer. Still, they've all done great and there are several more we could probably persuade before the word gets around of how torturous it can be....

At any rate, I chose ballerinas because I was fortunate enough to have access to some, but also because like painting, dance is an art form full of grace, strength and beauty -- a natural for any painter to really get into. So is jazz music (the other half of my show) for that matter, which I will post on soon.

Until then, back to the easel...

That Thing You Do...

"Every Day at Four" (18x24)

It's funny how people view what I do for a living. Many look at it through stereotypical lenses, seeing artists as irresponsible loafers who seemingly "drift through life, creating works of art that effortlessly flow from their fingertips" (actual quote)... with the underlying attached stigma that "it's not a real job anyway". Still others wonder why I bother with it at all.

Well despite the stereotypes, I am working those fingertips to the bone getting ready for a one-man show coming up in a couple of months, along with annual plein air events in Sonoma, CA this May and another one in Easton, Maryland in July.

"The Three Graces" (16x16)

Thankfully I have a very supportive family -- I support them financially, they support me with love and encouragement. I was fortunate to have parents who were supportive when I was a kid too, but I remember my mom counseling me to have some sort of back-up career in case things didn't work out. Sound advice I suppose, but it planted a seed of doubt that an artist could actually make a decent living....especially one who never went to school for it.

I think about those words of my mother who is gone 5 years now -- who missed my first ever one-man show and my first TIME magazine cover, and all my other blah blah blah's since then. Not that I need those achievements to validate what I do for a living. I mean, I appreciate those things, but I'm an artist whether I stink or not -- my paintings validate themselves, good and bad (and I produce in both categories with equal abandon thank you very much).

Anyway, when doubt creeps in, I just have to consider myself blessed as I have made a living for many years now doing what I do. But there's no rest for the artsy.... so what if my fingertips are bleeding, at least I'm enjoying myself -- it's what I do.

A Draftsman's Draftsman (i.e. Hero Worship)

DEAN CORNWELL (illustration jedi 1892-1960) was a master draftsman & painter. If I had only one word to describe him it would be "Volume" -- volume in the amount of work he produced in his prolific career, volume in the amount of paint he applied, but mostly volume in the way he rendered his subject; he gave everything mass and solidity. You know there's integrity underneath his paintings, built not just upon the understanding of space and three dimensional structure, but the implementation of it....


Having an awesome facility for drawing and then studying under Harvey Dunn (another gusto illustrator of the "Golden Age") he knew how to build character into his figures from the ground up. Take a look at these Captain Blood scenes above; Where there's a hand clinched into a fist, he doesn't always delineate all five digits -- doesn't have to, he just lays in the planes of the fist and leaves it at that. It reads as a manly fist with a sculptural quality (which certainly serves as a better use of brush strokes, portraying a rough and gnarly pirate!)


He was also hugely adept at composition (sampled here by his association with British illustrator, painter & muralist, Frank Brangwyn) who adapted an organic oriental-influenced approach to all facets of design, including textiles and furniture. Cornwell obviously picked up the torch and ran with it, but to more of a precise end...


He often would take a mundane area of information (such as the captain's shirt sleeves pictured above) and apply much more design to it than the average artist ever would. Where most would either simplify or literally "follow the camera", Cornwell would boil down the folds into their base geometric patterns, then create more depth, volume and interest by rendering the planes of each individual fold (but without excessive detailing). He capitalized on these areas based upon a simple 3-value scale; dark accents, high-light & half-tone shadows with a very effective use of reflective light to increase the depth -- I just don't know how he ever found the time to do it all...

Examining his creases and folds, you can often find the resemblance of letters of the alphabet (as stated in Jack Hamm's book on Drawing the Head & Figure) Y, X, S, U, V, and even P & R where one fold passes underneath another, are woven into an orderly context. I know I may be getting a little anal here for some of you, but the attention to each of the individual components of his pictures are what makes his works so superior.

When considering his output over a 40+ year career, it's clear Dean Cornwell was an indefatigable craftsman. Biographies describe him working 7 days a week, even sketching to relax in his spare time, often at the end of a busy day at the easel. This of course was not without price to his family life, but whatever the price he paid, many an artist are indebted to him for the influence of his high standard of quality.

Anyway, I usually blog about my own work here as a supplement to my web site, but today I just had to share a little about one of my biggest heroes, the "Dean of illustrators" Dean Cornwell.

Name That Painting...

"?????" (24 x 36)

Every now and then I get writer's block when it comes to naming a painting, so I thought I'd throw my dilemma out there and see if anyone who actually looks at this blog (sorry I haven't posted in several weeks) might be so kind as to suggest some titles...

If you're interested, I'll give you a jumping off point by clarifying that this painting is not attempting to depict a scene from Swan Lake -- however I did get the inspiration from that famous ballet. In most productions of Swan Lake, the dancers wear a feathered head dress -- mine is a rose garland, and hopefully you can recognize the birds are not swans, but indeed doves...

'Freedom' or being set free was where I was going with the general theme, but just can't seem to pen an appropriate title with a lyrical, poetic sound to it...

Anything come to mind? Feel free to explore the spiritual metaphors as well with the dove(s) -- I'd sure appreciate your input...

Thank you guys!

Happy Holidays!

"Desafinado" (18x18)

Well it's just about Christmas time and I'm sitting here with a bad cold, but enjoying some family who flew in to surprise me on Friday for my birthday. Birthdays are one way to mark the passing of time, but when you're an artist, so are your paintings... I hope my work is improving as the years go by, but I certainly know my approach and knowledge of painting is changing with time...

(detail)

Here are two new pieces heading for Bonner David Galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona. I am still much interested in music-themed work (obviously) so I am continuing that exploration. As writers are best when they write about what they know, so too is art when artists paint subject matter they understand or have connection with...

"Instruction in Grace" (16x12)

I have been reading a book on drawing by Robert Fawcett (British 1903 - 1967) that is strongly influencing. Drawing is a broad term that applies to all stages of a painting; from rough sketch on paper to finishing strokes on canvas -- it's all rests on design (which is drawing, which is design).

(Detail)

Fawcett says in his book (from 1958) "The artist cannot communicate unless he understands, and the moment of understanding becomes the moment of communication." I know from my own frustrating experiences that I do best when I have understanding about something. Understanding something happens when interest develops beyond casual to passionate, and when you can convey that passion through imagery...well, then you've got something.

Hopefully that will become apparent in my paintings some day (preferably before my next birthday) but until then, have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Back in a Moment:

o/p (12x16)

We've always kept photo albums in my family, but I've never seen a pic of a relatives backside (let alone a naked one, thank God). Photographs are usually always from the front -- smiling, but there's something intriguing and mysterious, even beautiful on the flip side of the human body...

pencil (8x6)

These of course are just studies, but for artists they're important to do. For one, it's information they need to know to understand the whole form of human physicality and two, studies help develop an understanding of the varied types of backsides of the human body while developing shape, line & value practice as it pertains to figurative rendering...

pencil on newsprint (20x16)

The illustrator and instructional art book author, Andrew Loomis once said the back is "a tough old bird" -- memorizing it's myriad amount and function of musculature is worth going over and over again. After all, even chiropractors and surgeons are still learning the depths of the human torso...

Your average portrait painter may never render a commission from this angle, but nevertheless there's as much character & interest back here as there is in the front... if you look for it.