This Just In

  Well, November is coming to an end and with December comes the end of the year. December also brings the one year anniversary of my move back to Cape Girardeau. I still don't have all our stuff moved up here from Paducah. I've been taking a trip back once a week for the past month or so to get everything moved. It's been a stressful stretch, but I do have most of my books here and better than half of my art supplies. My studio is coming together. Finally. My supply shelves are up. My book shelves are up. I just don't have the ability to get the bigger stuff. Like my easels. My poor easels. Weather permitting I'm gonna take another trip tomorrow.

              There's Some Hope For My Sanity.

 

    I've finished my year long (2)daily painting(s) challenge. I finished Inktober. I still do a daily painting, unless I REALLY don't want to, but I've staked out another challenge. I'm doing #handchallenge. I'm drawing a hand (or hands, depending on the source material) every day. I have started a new sketchbook for this. I believe it is sixty pages, so I got about two months of daily hands to cover. Hands have always been a weak spot for me and I want to change that. You can check them out at my online portfolio, here click

           Now, Here's Something You'll Really Like 

 

"Muddy" from Inktober

"Tranquil" from Inktober

"Handpicked" from HandChallenge

 "Circle Back Around" from my Daily Paintings

"Last Minute Tricks" from my Daily Paintings

   I'm staying busy. Not as productive as I'd like, but I'm getting better. I've got projects that I've started that I'd been putting off. I could use some help, but I'll make it on my own if I need to. I always have. Thanks for stopping by.

AKO ANG HARI

     DOUG

Here I Am Again

   I'm working some new projects. Some have me more excited than others, but that can change as time goes on. My daughter conned me into doing the Inktober Challenge:

Some of the prompts are interesting, some aren't so much:

"Spell"? Come on! I think there's gonna be some more iffy (at best) prompts before the month is over. I started, so I'm gonna finish.
    I'm also looking to do a book of all my daily paintings from my "Year Of Daily Paintings" challenge that I gave myself. It's something I think will be very interesting, if only to see how I improved. Unfortunately, I have no real idea what order they go in. By "they" I mean the 369 watercolor paintings and 368 acrylic paintings I did. I can look on my social media profiles to see what order they were in, but holy cow that's gonna be a lot of work. Unless someone out there has a better idea. I was thinking that the metadata in the pictures may help get them in order, but sometimes thinking gets me in trouble.
    I'm also puzzling over how to get the rest of our stuff from our old house to our new house. I'm up for suggestions here too. Hopefully it'll work out soon. Anyway, that's pretty much where I'm at now. So, here's some new art:

    AKO ANG HARI
         DOUG

Some Thoughts On My Daily Paintings

  I recently finished my watercolor project. I challenged myself to do a watercolor painting a day for a year. I hadn't done much watercoloring in a long time, so this seemed like a good way to get back into it. About four weeks in I decided to add an acrylic painting a day to the project. I was pretty excited about this for the first few months. I still enjoyed it after that, but I wasn't prepared for some of the logistics. At first I did one subject in watercolor and a different one in acrylic. I have lots of reference photos, but this got to be a lot to choose. I decided to do one subject a day. Once in watercolor, then in acrylic. This worked better for me as it took a lot of decision making out of the project. I found it interesting how different each painting became. Often it looked like two different people (as you may or may not know I'm fascinated with people in general and faces in specific). My style fluctuated as the months went on. It was neat to see how it progressed. Often I'd set a mini challenge for myself. For example, working monochromatically, or only in black and white. I discovered a product called Golden Transparent Shading Gray that really revitalized my acrylics. I've used lots of brands of acrylic paint since I started painting, but this really excited me. I used Yarka brand pan watercolors. I really like this brand. The pans wet easily and the pigment is really dense. Nothing new or unusual in the watercolor
  So, what did I learn? Well, I've read articles about people doing "daily painting" projects. I don't recall anyone mentioning how big a stack of paintings you end up with when you do a project like this. I painted on watercolor paper and canvas boards, both pretty thin, but I still have a stack of paintings over three feet high. Plenty of art for me to concentrate on sell now. I posted my progress daily on my social media accounts. I also put a few at a time in my Etsy store. I didn't get rich (yet) but I did sell enough to pay for all my supplies. I'm proud to say that I tackled a project like this and didn't lose money. I also read that people who did this did several paintings at a time and just posted daily. I didn't want to do that, I wanted to actually paint every day. I did do a couple extras, just in case something came up. Like when I got the flu, Type A & B. Go big or go home I guess. I used one of the extras on that day. I was so out of my head I don't remember posting them. I do kinda wonder what paintings done when I was so far out of my head would look like. I also moved from Kentucky to Missouri in the middle of this project. I don't advise doing that on top of painting. What else did I learn? Well, one of my major social media accounts ( I won't say which, they have spies everywhere) quit putting my posts where my fans could see them. Very aggravating.
  My final thoughts on the project: I ended the watercolors on day 369. I did my year and made it a Nikola Tesla tribute. I wasn't sure if I'd keep the acrylic series going, but I have so far. I'm likely gonna make it a whole year as well. I recommend doing a project like this if you're an artist. It really solidifies your chops. It forces you to try new things to keep it fresh (so you don't burn out early). Acrylic and watercolor together was a lot to take on. I'm glad that I challenged myself, but it's a lot. I've done three days of just acrylic and it's been so much less stressful. It takes a lot of dedication to do something, anything, once a day, every day. I'm not sure I'll do another year long challenge any time soon ( but really, who knows?). I'm thinking my next projects will be of the 30 Challenge variety. I'll definitely keep you in the loop. So, with that said, here's some of my watercolors from the past year:

AKO ANH HARI
     DOUG

I'm Still Here

  Still painting. Still putting one foot in front of the other. I've done 302 straight daily watercolor paintings. I'm about thirty days behind that on the acrylic paintings. I'm getting much better at painting. The practice and the discipline have done wonders for my painting chops. I am gonna be glad when the year is over. I look forward to taking a day off. Just to not do art lol. I am proud of the work I've done and the streak I'm on.
  I've also finished another project. I was commissioned to do a series of five dog portraits. It took me a while to get in to the groove and finish the first one, but after that it was a fantastic voyage. I'm looking to land more of these, so if you (or anyone you know) are interested, here's the link to start the process of getting your very own pet portrait: link. Here are the finished pieces:

"Duncan"

"Mocha Joe"

"Daisy"

"Cordy"

"Skye"

    So, that's what I've been up to. Now, I'm off to finish another commission. Life is pretty good.

AKO ANG HARI

     DOUG

Be Careful

   They say you should be careful what you ask for. (no, I don't know who 'they' are). I believe that's correct. I've been an artist for most of my life. I've been putting serious effort into it since 1999. I got to thinking about that. What makes an artist great? I'll tell you. Suffering. Pain. The same things that make a great comedian, in my humble opinion. I sometimes think that the reason I've suffered so much is because I've been asking to be a great artist. Or, does all this suffering make me want to be a great artist? Probably not, but who knows. Now, don't get me wrong. I've had a pretty great life. I have a wonderful wife and a great family. I have awesome friends. I feel like I'm possibly the coolest person I know. But, I have suffered. Some of it was due to being young and stupid (redundant?). Some of it was poor choices. Some was my devil-may-care attitude. Some of it, though, was the universe throwing things at me just to see how much I could take. Well, I've survived , I've reached my goal of being a fantastic artist. I've since set my goals higher, constantly pushing myself. i wouldn't change anything I've been through, because it's made me who I am. But, damn, if you had asked me at the time, there were some things I would have changed. Anyway, I entered some paintings  in a contest to be posted on billboards in Los Angeles. I entered three of them. I like my chances:

AKO ANG HARI
     DOUG

A Little "Behind The Scenes"

   I hear questions from my fans from time to time. Lately I've been getting questions about how I come up with titles for my paintings. Well, some are easier than others. Some paintings tell me their name as soon as I finish them. Some are much more difficult. I have a couple of books I like to thumb through sometimes when I need a title. One is a book of Grateful Dead lyrics. That one is very handy. Another is "The Ultimate Guide To Perfect Word", a book of lists and phrases written for scrapbookers. It has proven to be quite handy as well. Lately I've needed some extra help since I do two paintings a day. Every day. I did stumble upon a trick that has really helped me. Since I post them first on Instagram, I post them through my phone. When I need a name I now type a short description of the painting in my phone. With no spaces in between. Then, I look at the list of word recommendations my phone gives me. Anything that strikes me as fitting becomes the new painting's title. Hopefully that didn't ruin your mental image of my creative process.
   Another thing I wanted to pass on was the process of a watercolor painting I did yesterday:

It's called "Wholesome", (which is what my phone came up with), but I wanted to point out something about the way it was painted. When I laid the face out, I did a rough sketch then used the three line "Those Guys" face to put the eyes, nose, and mouth in. I've done this several times to rough out a face, then I've gone back and cleaned and tightened the drawing. This time I though "what would a Those Guys face look like if it was left simple but made 3D with the watercolor shading?" I should probably explain for those not familiar with Those Guys:

They started out as a sketch book exercise, to see how bare bones I could make the face and still convey emotion. Somehow, they became quite popular. They are fun to draw, so, I'm  all about Those Guys. Anyway, if they were in full color and shaded, "Wholesome" is an idea of what they'd look like. So, that's what I got. Some random thoughts for the folks who like my art.

AKO ANG HARI
     DOUG

Artistic Weirdness

Making A Push

   I've been in my new studio for about a month now. I now have most of my brushes and paint up here, but still lack my easels and canvases. I'm still keeping my consecutive day painting streak alive, but beyond that I'm not doing as much art. So, in a when-life-gives-you-lemons kinda way I've been spending way more time on the business end of my art. In this vein I reanimated my Etsy store. I've posted over fifty paintings on there, so if you've ever wanted one of my paintings, there's no better time than today. Here's a few examples of what's being sold:

So, stop by. Relax, enjoy. Maybe buy a painting or two. Before it's too late.

AKO ANG HARI
     DOUG

                                                        

Six Months Later

   So, I've been doing watecolor paintings and acrylic paintings once a day, as an artistic challenge. It started out with just a watercolor painting every day, but about two months in I thought, " You know, this is pretty rigorous, but maybe I should make it even more demanding.", so I added a daily acrylic painting to my regimen. It was pretty challenging at first (probably how the 'challenge' got its name) but as I've gone on it has gotten easier. I checked my start date for the watercolors against the current date and realized I have been doing them for over six months. The only day I missed was when I had Flu Type A & B, but I had an extra painting in case I ever needed one. In hind sight I wish I would have painted on that day. I was wacked out of my head with fever and I bet it would have been some cool art. Oh, well, come near death due to illness and learn I suppose. So, here's the first watercolor:

   Here's one of my recent ones:

  You can tell I painted both of them, but I can tell (maybe you can) that I'm getting better every day. This challenge (and the acrylic on as well) have been really good for me. Honing my painting chops. Building my discipline. I'm very proud of the progress I've made. I anticipated doing this/these challenges for 365 days. I'm better than half way there. I'll keep you posted. However, if you want more insights than I provide here, feel free to join my email mailing list. It just might change your life.


AKO ANG HARI
     DOUG

Movement

   So, here I sit in my studio in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. It's gonna be really cool. When it's done. When my art supplies finally make it here from Kentucky. It's very frustrating. I have great ideas. I have lots of art supplies, just not here with me. I've got space to spread out. I make do with what I have. It's really the only choice I have right now. When you have no choice, embrace your destiny. I've organized all my notes. Set up my computers. Planned the final design of my studio. And, every night, I paint a watercolor and an acrylic painting. I organize my portfolio. I concentrate on making sales. And I dream. I dream of a day when it all comes together. And then, I smile. 'Cause I know it's all gonna work out. Anyway, here's some art. I know that's why you're here.

  And, as always, here's a place to make a donation to support my art. If you wanna:

AKO ANG HARI
     DOUG

Birthing A New Studio

   I'm in the process of moving back to my home town in Missouri. Back into the house I grew up in. My new studio will be in the bedroom where I first slept. It's gonna be a wonderful thing. When it finally gets done. I won't go in to all the stones in our passway as we've moved here from Paducah, KY, but there have been a lot of them. Nothing that I would call 'normal' or 'expected'. I've been here in the new, and soon to be improved, Darkwater Studios for about two weeks. Most of my art supplies are still in Paducah. I have a couple sketchbooks and enough supplies to do my daily watercolors and acrylics. I was supposed to be transferring my job up here, but that hasn't happened yet. The stress is really getting to me. Maybe it's making my art better. Maybe it's shortening my life. I guess only time will tell. In the mean time I'm trying to sell my art to get the bills paid. Not at all how I pictured it being, but hopefully on the path to get back to some for of normalcy. Well, here's some of the new art:

   I'm quite proud of them. If you're interested in buying any of my art, drop me an email and we'll work a deal. If you'd like to make a donation to help me get my stuff up here, all in one place, here's the way to do it:

   Anything you can spare would be very helpful.


AKO ANG HARI
     DOUG