Powers Fine Art

My New Book Is Finished!

2011-09-02T17:28:00.000-07:00

The Art of Social-Network Marketing
Click to Visit Website

Over the last few years, I have been receiving virtually daily e-mails from fellow artists who are having difficulties selling their work online. The subjects of these letters range from simple requests for technical assistance to inquiries about my approach to the online marketing of my paintings. Those who have requested my assistance know that I am always ready to lend a helping hand if it is within my range of expertise. Having an extensive computer science background, I am fully aware of the complications modern websites and social-networks can create. These complications always seem to become exponential when a person is attempting to finally present and sell their lovingly created artwork to the world for the first time. Whenever I can lend a helpful tip to a frustrated correspondant, I do. Because of the number of emails I receive pertaining to these types of subjects, it made me realize that there are very few books available that clearly and concisely present an uncomplicated method for marketing artwork, products, and services online.

Because of the confusing nature and general lack of availability of this type of information, I began the long arduous task of writing a book that presents a clear non-intrusive philosophy for marketing artwork and other products through the Internet. I have always felt that the most effective use of social-networks for marketing revolves around driving traffic from these services to a central storefront where products and artwork can be directly purchased. I decided to make the book's primary focus a basic road-map for developing followers in various social-media services and how to utilize cross-promotional techniques. By aiding other artists in the visibility and marketing of their artwork or products, in turn one increases the visiblity of their own work. Within this established network, everyone gets to benefit from increased visibility, and therefore, increased purchasing potential. The added bonus is that one gets to view great new artwork and products from a close group of friends on a daily basis!

I am pleased to announce that the book is finally finished. It is 147 pages and I self-published it through Lulu.com. It will soon be available in Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and various other book resellers in print form. I decided to call it The Art of Social-Network Marketing because of its main focus. It can currently be purchased in print or as a PDF document through Lulu.com and also in e-reader formats through the iBookstore, Amazon for Kindle store, and the Barnes & Noble Nook store.

If you are interested, more information can be found at the following website:

The Art of Social-Network Marketing Website

Point Defiance Dahlia Two

2010-11-13T14:03:00.000-08:00

Point Defiance Dahlia Two - 10"x13.5" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

Another dahlia in my series of floral watercolor paintings, this one was found at the Point Defiance Dahlia and Rose Garden in Tacoma, Washington. I haven't had as much time to paint lately so I went for a bit of a looser feel and utilized the time I had efficiently. The piece took about 2.5 hours to complete and is 10"x13.5" in size. Even though it isn't quite as refined as several of the others in this series of paintings, there is something that I really like about this one. I used a combination of Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paint, Daniel Smith watercolor paint, and Winsor & Newton watercolor paint on Arches 140# paper.

I have created a short video showing the progress of this particular painting over the course of the 2 1/2 hours it took to create it. It is fun to watch the progress as the painting morphs from one state to the next.

Questions concerning original pricing and availability:
powersfineart@comcast.net

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Library Hydrangea For #TwitterArtExhibit

2010-11-10T17:44:00.000-08:00

Library Hydrangea - 7"x5" - DONATED
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This quickly painted postcard-sized piece was painted by request as a donation for a Twitter exhibit in Moss, Norway. The public library in the town had its funding cut and was no longer able to purchase badly needed children's books. The exhibited postcard-sized paintings will be sold for $17 each and the money used to purchase books for the local library. The project/exhibit/charity was put together by David Sandum and begins its exhibition on December 1st. I was going to donate one of my older 5"x7" works since I paint much larger pieces now but eventually decided the event was special enough to require it's own unique piece. I had a photograph of a vibrant blue hydrangea and decided I wanted to do a very rose colored version of it instead. The original is painted with Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paint and Winsor & Newton watercolor paint on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper. The texture of the paper combined with the heavily granulated paint really creates some unique background textures. This is a very special piece for a very special cause!!

Since this event is for such a great cause, I also opted to send the older piece pictured below. I painted this piece in 2008 and it has been my most viewed painting. I have sold many prints of it and now it is time for the original to find it's way into loving hands.

Blue Flower and Glass Vase - 5"x7" - DONATED
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Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Point Defiance Dahlia

2010-11-06T16:18:00.000-07:00

Point Defiance Dahlia - 13.5"x10" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

I wanted to try a few different things with this piece and attempted to combine elements of impressionism, realism, and abstractionism. I purposely wanted to stylize this flower a bit and subdue some of its vibrancy and intensity by muting much of the color that we associate with common dahlia flowers. I found this particular specimen at the Point Defiance Dahlia Garden in Tacoma, Washington but wanted to do something unusual with it. I have plans to do a few more dahlia paintings and am still pondering the direction to take with them. For now, however, this was just a very fun experiment. The original is painted entirely with Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paint on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper. I found the grittiness of these paints coupled with the texture of the paper really helped create interest in the background of the piece. The original is 13.5"x10" in size.

I have created a short video showing the progress of this particular painting over the course of the five evenings it took to create it. It is fun to watch the progress as the painting morphs from one state to the next.

Questions concerning original pricing and availability:
powersfineart@comcast.net

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Black Eyed Susans

2010-10-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

Black Eyed Susans - 13.5"x10" - $200
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I chose this particular flower because I wanted to paint something that used Autumn colors but still stuck with my floral series theme. I was going for a composition that wasn't really a composition and tried to really just jam the flowers together. There is no real main subject in the piece and it can come across as very "busy." But, that is exactly what I was going for and some viewers are going to love this one and some are going to hate it! My wife thinks it is one of her favorites in my series. The original is 13.5"x10" in size and is painted with Winsor & Newton watercolor paint and Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paint on Arches 140# paper. The coarse character of this paper really helps lend texture to areas of the painting that demand it.

Questions concerning original pricing and availability:
powersfineart@comcast.net

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

My French Neighbor's Flowers

2010-10-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

My French Neighbor's Flowers - 10"x13.5" - $200
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I have a neighbor that has been living in my neighborhood for many years who was originally born and raised in France. She married an American and has lived in the USA for many years and is an avid gardener. She plants fantastic vegetables and is always bringing them by the house to share with me. This flower is growing in many places around her home and is an amazing sight to behold. I painted this piece on Arches 140# paper with Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paint and Winsor & Newton watercolor paint. This combination of paint and paper really lends an amazing textural quality to the background. The original is 10”x13.5” inches in size.

Questions concerning original pricing and availability:
powersfineart@comcast.net

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Powers Fine Art - The Music Series Video

2010-10-03T21:45:00.000-07:00

The above video represents the first in a series of video slideshow presentations I have created of my watercolor work for YouTube. I recently read a statistic that indicated that nearly 30 percent of all Google searches are for YouTube videos. It seemed foolish to not take advantage of the enormous marketing potential that exists via YouTube and hence my video project began. Believe it or not, the process was incredibly easy. I used a free program called "Windows Live Movie Maker" on my PC, simply drug the images to it's main screen, selected the program's auto-movie mode, and away I went. I added simple title and credit screens and then began to seek out appropriate music to accompany the video. I ran across a great site of music which allowed for YouTube video usage via a Creative Commons license and fit the length of the slideshow presentation to the length of the audio. I have two more videos that I will post on this blog soon. Enjoy the show!

Questions concerning original pricing and availability:
powersfineart@comcast.net

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Point Defiance Garden Flower

2010-10-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

Point Defiance Garden Flower - 10"x13.5" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

I think this might be a dahlia variety as I found it in the Point Defiance Dahlia Garden in Tacoma, Washington. There were many other flowers besides dahlias and roses, however, so I am not sure. I was amazed at its beautiful color however. The original is 10"x13.5" in size and is painted with a combination of Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paint, Daniel Smith watercolor paint, and Winsor & Newton watercolor paint on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper. The coarse paper really helped created an interesting textural background for this piece.

Questions concerning original pricing and availability:
powersfineart@comcast.net

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Purple Hydrangea

2010-10-03T21:13:00.000-07:00

Purple Hydrangea - 13.5"x10" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

This hydrangea was an experiment in mixing random quantities of Prussian Blue and Madder lake. These are two new colors I have added to my palette and I was interested in determining how versatile each could be on its own and mixed together. It was a lot of fun playing with the mixes and randomly placing them within the structure of the hydrangea. The original is 13.5"x10" in size and is entirely painted with Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paint on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper. The texture of the paper really works amazingly well with this paint to create some interesting effects.

Questions concerning original pricing and availability:
powersfineart@comcast.net

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Blue Hydrangea Watercolor Painting

2010-09-19T22:32:00.000-07:00

Blue Hydrangea - 13.5"x10" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

This hydrangea was growing in my neighbor’s yard and was just begging to be painted. Once again, I wanted to play around with my new Prussian Blue to see how it mixed and interacted with some of the other paint I use. This piece is entirely painted with Rublev 18th century historical reproduction watercolor paint on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper. The original is 13.5”x10” in size.

Questions concerning original pricing and availability:
powersfineart@comcast.net

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Prussian Flowers Watercolor Painting

2010-09-06T15:18:00.000-07:00

Prussian Flowers - 10.25"x14" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

I found these flowers in front of a pizza place near Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland, Washington. When I got home, however, I discovered how terrible the photo was. The flowers were solid red with no petal delineation and the bricks were the same color. This was the perfect opportunity for me to try a couple of things and just use the photo as a concept. I had just gotten a Rublev Prussian Blue cake of watercolor paint in the mail a couple days earlier and was anxious to try it on something. I really wanted to see the variety of tonalities I could get from the color so I decided I wanted to do a monotone study of the red flowers but in Prussian Blue instead of red (I think Winsor Red would have been close to the original flower color). Obviously the blue flowers were going to really pop out against the red bricks but I forced myself to not pull the flowers back by adding other colors. The original is 10.25"x14" in size and is painted entirely with Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paint on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper. The coarse paper really aided in the texture required for the background bricks.

Original paintings may be purchased through:
www.powersfineart.com
Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Rose Watercolor Painting

2010-08-29T15:06:00.000-07:00

Rose - 14"x10.25" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View On FineArtAmerica.com

I just felt like painting a quick rose today! There isn't anything too special to describe other than this particular one was growing in front of my house and had a fantastic aroma. I enjoyed pumping up the contrast and accentuating the highlights and shadows a bit for effect. For areas of the background, I laid down a highly granulating paint and just as it was beginning to dry, saturated the paper with water to cause some interesting runs of pigment. The piece is painted with Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paint and Winsor & Newton watercolor paint on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper and is 14"x10.25" in size.

Available original artwork can be purchased through:
http://www.powersfineart.com/
Reproductions can be purchased through:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Feathery Flower Watercolor Painting

2010-08-22T14:23:00.000-07:00

Feathery Flower - 10.25"x14" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View On FineArtAmerica.com

I have no idea what this flower is even though it is growing in front of my house. On many occasions over the course of the last 10 years I have completely mowed it to the ground with my lawn mower but it still keeps coming back. The other day, since I have a new appreciation for floral painting, I noticed what an incredible flower it had on it. It was very billowy and feathery and seemed so delicate and was probably about 5 inches across. I feel a little bad for previously hacking it to the ground since it really is pretty interesting.

I wanted to achieve a bit more looseness with this piece and wanted to incorporate a little more impressionist and abstractionist techniques into its rendering. The original is 10.25"x14" in size and is painted with Rublev 18th century reproduction paint, Daniel Smith watercolor paint, and Winsor & Newton watercolor paint on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper. The texture of the paper really worked well with the coarsely grained Rublev paint to create an interesting background.

Questions concerning original pricing and availability:
powersfineart@comcast.net

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Recipient Of The FAA Tony Artistic Merit Award

2010-08-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

It is with great honor and pride that I announce that I have been chosen as the latest recipient of the FAA Tony Artistic Merit Award. The Tony Artistic Merit Award sculpture was created by Tony Murray as a means of honoring the artistic achievements of one member of the FineArtAmerica.com community for a single month. Each recipient engraves their name onto the Tony sculpture for all future awardees to see. One of the most fantastic aspects of this award, however, is that the previous recipient gets to decide who they feel is the next artist worthy of the honor. In my particular case, the award was bestowed upon me by the extremely talented Joanne Hopper who does incredible work with oil paints.

I've seen great growth and commitment in your work over the last year - really splendid to see.... and I've always loved your very creative still life works of rusty objects - very much! Your flowers are exuding the same creativity and passion, not to mention your terrific palette of earth pigments.

Joanne Hopper

I wish to sincerely thank Joanne Hopper for choosing me to receive the Tony Artistic Merit Award and I can’t wait to spend time contemplating the next recipient. It will be a very difficult decision as the Fine Art America community is home to many of the world’s finest artists. There are several members whose works are a daily inspiration to me but the choice of the next recipient is going to require a tedious amount of contemplation.

What's The Story... Watercolor Painting

2010-08-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

What's The Story... - 14"x10.25" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View On FineArtAmerica.com

My neighbor across the alley absolutely hates these and they grow like weeds around all of our properties. People seem to be either "Morning Glory" lovers or "Morning Glory" haters. Which are you? I once saw someone on a television gardening show intentionally plant "Morning Glory" in their front yard using a trellis. I think they have a nice aroma so I am not too concerned about their voracious growth around my property.

With this piece, I wanted to establish a very specific tonality and contrast. I began with the background and then used negative painting methods to establish the flower itself. This piece is painted with Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paint and Daniel Smith watercolor paint. The original is 14"x10.25" in size and is painted on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper. I really like the textures that this paper and paint combination provides.

Questions concerning original pricing and availability:
powersfineart@comcast.net

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Snake Lake Wildflower Watercolor Painting

2010-08-07T21:32:00.000-07:00

Snake Lake Wildflower - 21.75"x14.25" - $350
Click Image Above For Enlarged View On Fine Art America Site

I had quite a bit of disruption to my normal routine this week which cut into my painting schedule a bit. I didn't get to devote quite as much time to the creation of this piece as I would have liked due to the death of my 88 year old Grandfather, having to put my 10 year old dog to sleep due to cancer, and having my 2 year old daughter break her collar bone. They are correct when they say bad luck comes in threes. I lost a bit of the spontaneity and excitement that I usually have when painting since I needed to break this piece up into many many small painting session. These flowers, of which I do not know the variety, were found on a hike my family and I took this last weekend in order to get a little exercise. I snapped a quick reference photo and painted this version over the course of several evenings. The original is 21.75"x14.25" and is painted on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper. I used Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paint, Daniel Smith watercolor paint, and Winsor & Newton watercolor paint. The Rublev paint really created some interesting textures in the background when used in conjunction with the Arches coarse paper.

Questions concerning original pricing and availability:
powersfineart@comcast.net

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

African Violet Watercolor Painting

2010-07-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

African Violet - 10.25"x14" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View On FineArtAmerica.com

I put this piece together fairly quickly since I wanted to get back to painting after my weekend's house guest departed. I wanted the composition to subtly climb up the paper to help draw the eye toward the african violet flowers. I wanted the flowers to have a bit more of a luminescent quality even though the real plant doesn't seem to exhibit this characteristic. The original is painted with Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paint, Daniel Smith watercolor paint, and Winsor & Newton watercolor paint on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper. The interaction between the coarse grained paper and the paints helped create interesting textures in both the background and leaves of the piece.

Questions concerning original pricing and availability:
powersfineart@comcast.net

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Vertigo Rose

2010-07-22T17:17:00.000-07:00

Vertigo Rose - 21.75"x14.25" - $350
Click Image Above For Enlarged View On Fine Art America Site

I wanted to try something a little bit different for this piece while still working within the confines of my floral series. The concept of this piece was to create an hypnotic vertigo spiral but incorporating rose petals as the swirling path inward. After roughly sketching the work, I began to create the petals by placing very heavy paint at each petals inner edge and pulling the paint outward with a wet brush. I waited as the paint traveled outward toward the edge of each petal before I moved on. After the initial washes dried, I enhanced each inner edge even more with a strong glaze of Venetian Red which I also pulled outward to gradate each petal. It wasn't until I added the dark gradated shadows that the hypnotic spiral effect finally manifested itself. I had a little trouble balancing the center of the piece with the two main conceptual elements while still maintaining a somewhat realistic rose but I am pleased with the end result. The piece is painted with Winsor & Newton and Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paints on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper. The coarse nature of the paper coupled with the Rublev paints created some interesting textures in the petals and shadows of the rose. The original painting is 21.75"x14.25" in size.

Questions concerning original pricing and availability:
powersfineart@comcast.net

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

White Roses

2010-07-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

White Roses - 14"x10.25" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View On Fine Art America Site

These white roses are a climbing variety that are growing in an out-of-control manner around my house. This particular bunch was hanging over and sitting on my porch just begging me to paint them. I obviously used negative painting techniques to create the flowers (hopefully in a positive manner). The background is a pure wash of Daniel Smith Bronzite watercolor paint while the rest of the subject uses Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paint. The Bronzite paint really settles into the coarse grained Arches 140# cold-pressed watercolor paper I used and has a glistening effect due to the metal particulate which it contains. I wanted to incorporate a very dark shadow into the piece in order to accentuate the whiteness of the flowers and to pull the colored highlights of the flowers back into the painting. The original is 10.25"x14" in size.

Questions concerning original pricing and availability:
powersfineart@comcast.net

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Pink Azalea Explosion

2010-07-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

Pink Azalea Explosion - 14.25"x21.75" - $350
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

It has been a long time since I have done a half-sized sheet painting and I suddenly had the urge. Since I am currently in a floral phase, the subject matter was obvious. However, I wanted to have a bit more abstractness in this piece than in my previous work. I wanted an interesting background that hopefully wouldn't detract from the main subject matter of the painting. The pinks of the flower really stand out strongly against the more abstract background and I am fairly pleased with the end result. The original is 14.25"x21.75" in size and is painted with Rublev 18th Century Reproduction watercolor paint, Daniel Smith watercolor paint, and Winsor & Newton watercolor paint on Arches 140# Cold-Pressed paper.

Questions concerning original pricing and availability:
powersfineart@comcast.net

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

White Rhododendron

2010-07-09T08:56:00.000-07:00

White Rhododendron - 10.25"x14" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

As I continue to experiment lately, I am attempting to try different techniques and compositions with all the pieces in my floral series and this work is no exception. I was determined to have this one appear a bit more loose and painterly than some of my other work. I kept the background very wet as I dropped in colors to see what would happen. Some of them flowed together to create unique rivers of unusual textures which helped create an interesting background. I don't feel this is my best work but I had a great time using negative painting techniques and randomly dropping paint into the background of the piece. I exclusively used 18th century reproduction watercolor paint which is very grainy and chalk-like while Arches 140# cold-pressed paper was the substrate. A closeup of this piece will reveal the very unique way the paints mingled and flowed in conjunction with the coarse paper to create a very bizarre textured background. The original is 14”x10.25” in size.

Questions concerning original pricing and availability:
powersfineart@comcast.net

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Bluebell

2010-07-05T20:39:00.000-07:00

Bluebell - 6.5"x9.25" - $100
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

Another in my series of floral paintings, this one used a lot of techniques that were experimental for me. I painted the background of the piece with a random assortment of paints until it was almost black and then used a wet paper towel to “twist” the paint away in order to lighten it and create textures. The final background color revealed by the technique was a complete mystery. I would have hoped for a slightly different tonality which would result in a higher contrast but I am just happy it worked. The piece was originally quite a bit larger but when it was done I felt that it was too busy so I cropped away some of it to improve the composition. The original is 6.5”x9.25” inches in size and is painted with 18th century reproduction watercolor paint and Daniel Smith watercolor paint on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper.

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

A Vase Full Of Azaleas

2010-06-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

A Vase Full Of Azaleas - 10.25"x14" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

As I meander through my series of experimental floral paintings, I begin to see techniques and compositional items that I like (and a few I don't). The purpose of this particular piece is to combine several of the elements I like from my previous floral works into a single watercolor painting. Whether or not they successfully work together can be judged by the viewer but overall I am pleased with the end result.

I combined the following elements from some of my previous pieces:

A background that gradates horizontally combined with a shelf and wall which breaks the image into distinct quadrants.
Accentuated and intensified light across the flower petals in order to punctuate the focal point of the piece.
A little added realism to the plant leaves in order to ease into the lower part of the piece and to force the eye upward.
An intenionally stylistically primitively rendered vase to further push the eye to the focal point of the piece and to add a slight playfulness.
I wanted to incorporate just a hint of blue into the background on the upper left side of the painting in order to subtely play the warms of the painting against the cools. Once again this forces the eye toward the flower petals which garner most of the painting's attention.

The piece is painted on Arches 140# Cold-Pressed paper using Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paint, Daniel Smith watercolor paint, and Winsor & Newton watercolor paint. The original is 10.25 inches by 14 inches in size.

Overall, I think this may be one of my better floral works.....but I can't wait to experiment a little bit more!

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Two Roses

2010-06-21T22:00:00.000-07:00

Two Roses - 14"x10.25" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

This is yet another in my series of experimental floral paintings. As I am relatively new to this genre, I am continually trying new techniques and effects. With this particular piece, my intention was to focus more on the shapes that comprise the roses more than the roses themselves. I intentionally created hard edges around each shape in order to accentuate them. I also used a very large Raphael Squirrel Mop brush to paint the piece with the intention of creating back-runs, blooms and other interesting "mistakes" in each petal shape. I tried to stick with a subdued palette in order to keep the roses more "back" in the overall composition. I believe these techniques created a slight abstractness to the painting.

The original is 14"x10.25" in size and is painted on Arches 140# paper. I used Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paint, Daniel Smith watercolor paint, and Winsor and Newton watercolor paint for the piece. The interaction of the paint and paper created some additional interesting textural effects within the flower petals.

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

White Flowers

2010-06-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

White Flowers - 14"x10.25" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

I hadn't added this painting to my art blog even though I did it a couple weeks ago. I feel like I am becoming a bit more comfortable with the floral subject matter and this is one of the pieces that definitely added to my confidence level. Larger painting formats seem to make it a bit easier for me to concentrate on some of the more subtle features of floral work and with each composition I am learning more and more about the interesting characteristics that comprise a flower. Painting in a larger format makes it a bit easier for me to control my 18th century reproduction paints and their large pigment granules as well. This particular piece posed another interesting challenge due to all the white areas. I generally don't use masking fluid in my work and this piece was no exception. I painted carefully around the white areas in order to leave the outlines of the petals and then proceeded to carefully glaze in the details of the flowers themselves. I opted for an interesting criss-crossed stem background and initially felt that it was a bit too intense. As the painting progressed, however, I began to like it more and more. It is funny how watercolor paintings can often define themselves as the work progresses.

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Pink Azalea

2010-06-15T17:37:00.000-07:00

Pink Azalea - 10.25"x14" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

As I fumble along through this floral series, I have been learning some extremely important things about what makes a nice botanical watercolor painting. My last piece taught me some very important lessons and I incorporated every one of them into this work. I have included highlights and shadows, kept the background pattern a bit more under control, brought my signature back into the background, tried to establish a clear subject and an improved floral composition.

This azalea has been sitting in the center of my dining room table for the last couple months and I thought it would make a nice addition to my floral series of paintings. I took a bit of a different direction with this piece in that I wanted to accentuate the bright light that was shining on the flower. The original is 10.25"x14" in size and is painted with a combination of Daniel Smith, Rublev 18th century reproduction, and Winsor and Newton paints. I used Arches 140# cold-pressed paper which created some nice textures due to some of the paints heavy granulation characteristics.

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Yellow Wild Flower

2010-06-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

Yellow Wild Flower - 10.25"x14" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

I hesitated to even post this piece and it nearly ended up in my waste basket until my wife stopped me from tossing it. After saving it, I decided it might be nice to point out some aspects of this piece that make it fall short. I feel it is important to show this piece to readers of this blog because even though it is not my best work, it is an extremely important learning piece for me. My next piece addresses the short-falls of this work and is one of my best floral works to date.

The background is way too dark and overwhelms the subject.
The shadows on the petals are too dark and pull the petals back in the piece.
There are absolutely no highlights in the petals which further pushes the subject back into the background.
The artist signature is too bright and becomes the focal point of the piece.
It is a poor composition that didn't live up to what I pictured in my mind.

I could do quite a bit to correct this piece but sometimes it is better to just take your beating and either completely redo the piece or move on. I chose to move on to my next painting within the same genre and incorporate my new floral insights.

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

July 2010 At The Madison Park Cafe

2010-06-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

I am slated for the month of July 2010 to display my artwork at "The Madison Park Cafe" in Seattle, Washington. The cafe is known for its spectacularly reviewed cuisine, appreciation/support for local artists, and its famous clientelle. Come make a reservation during the month of July to enjoy an amazing meal prepared by executive chef Rich Coffey while being surrounded by the artwork of Ken Powers.

Although you can stop in to view the show at any time, this amazing eatery fills up fast due to its incredible cuisine. I would suggest calling the restaurant at 206-324-2626 to make a reservation for any evening in July if you plan to dine. Visit the cafe's website at: The Madison Park Cafe.

The Madison Park Cafe
1807 42nd Avenue East
Seattle, Washington 98112
(1 block south of Madison)

iPhone Optimized Site

2010-06-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

The iPhone/iPad mobile version of my website is up and running and is even listed on the Apple Web Applications page. It has received nearly 2000 visitors since it was posted a short time ago. I am pleased that it only has a 30% bounce rate so people are having fun viewing the page and the art it contains. I receive a lot of mobile art-related correspondence so I felt I needed to make my main site a bit more iPhone friendly. Now I only need to address all the other mobile devices on the market. I really feel that the future of the web lies more and more with the mobile access community as time goes on.

If you are using an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch and you visit http://www.powersfineart.com/, you will be redirected to the iPhone version of the page. I haven't tested it but the page may display properly on an Android OS based device as well if you direct your browser to http://www.powersfineart.com/mobile. You can use the "+" button on the iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to add the site to your homepage where it will have its own icon and splash screen for future visitation.

Visit now and stay up-to-date with new developments in the world of Powers Fine Art!

Stylized Rhododendron

2010-06-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

Stylized Rhododendron - 10.25"x14" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

I wanted to do something a bit different with this rhododendron piece as I am continuing to experiment with floral paintings. I wanted a dark background and really wasn't sure what I wanted to accomplish at first with the flower petals. As the painting progressed, they began to define themselves. This painting literally dictated what it was to become on it's own! The original is 10.25"x14" in size and is painted with Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paint and Winsor & Newton watercolor paint on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper. The paint really fell into the coarse paper in the background and made for some very unusual texturing.

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Bagpipe Drone

2009-12-12T13:37:00.000-08:00

Bagpipe Drone - 14"x10.25" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

Another painting in my series of bagpipes, this piece is one of the drones from the Grainger bagpipes that belonged to my Father-In-Law’s uncle Horace MacCombie. The pipes are from the mid to late 40’s and haven’t been played for nearly 40 years. The drones are adorned with silver and ivory and are really quite spectacular to the point that the paintings I have done really don’t quite do them justice. This piece is painted with Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paints on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper. The coarse paper and heavily granulated paints help to add the textures necessary to add increased interest to this piece. The original is 14”x10.25” in size.

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Highland Pipes II

2009-12-03T17:41:00.000-08:00

Highland Pipes II - 14"x10.25" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

This is my second rendering of the Grainger bagpipes that belonged to my Father-in-law’s uncle Horace MacCombie. I went for a slightly more impressionistic approach while attempting a different perspective and accentuating other areas of the pipes compared to my first version. For some reason, to me this has the feeling of a cat sleeping in a corner. It is painted with Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paint on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper. The coarse paper with heavy granulated paint helps to lend texture to the cloth and various metal areas in the piece. The original is 14”x10.25” in size.

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Bagpipe Chanter

2009-11-25T21:27:00.000-08:00

Bagpipe Chanter - 14"x10.25" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

I intentionally wanted this piece to be a bit looser with a slightly more rustic feel than my last painting. Since I only have these bagpipes for a limited time, I intend to do a couple more paintings of this subject before I have to return them. This is an up-close view of the chanter (or fingered section) of the Grainger bagpipes that belonged to my Father-in-Law’s uncle. They are from the mid 40’s and haven’t been played for at least 40 years. I painted this piece with Rublev 18th century reproduction paint on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper. The interaction of the Arches paper with the coarse pigmented Rublev paint helps to achieve some interesting granulation characteristics in the piece. The original is 14”x10.25” in size.

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Highland Pipes

2009-11-18T17:35:00.000-08:00

Highland Pipes - 14"x10.25" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

These Great Highland Bagpipes were one of the most challenging subjects I have painted to date. This particular set belonged to my Father-In-Law’s Uncle Horace MacCombie (he spelled his last name differently than my father-in-law for some reason) of the clan MacThomas. They are the Grainger brand and have ivory and silver accoutrements. The are from the mid to late 40’s time frame and the company who made them closed in the late 1980’s. I painted these with Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paints and Daniel Smith Primatek watercolor paints on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper. The interaction of the heavy grained paints with the coarse paper creates interesting textural effects that help accent parts of the piece.

Reproductions can be purchased at:
Powers Fine Art Print Shop

Rusty Milk

2009-11-09T17:26:00.000-08:00

Rusty Milk - 10.25"x14" - $200
Click Image Above For Enlarged View

This old milk canister had been sitting around our house for years. We had no idea what we wanted to do with it so I thought I would add it to my collection of watercolor paintings. For some reason, I had the absolute worst time trying to get the blues in this piece to scan correctly. I have always had trouble scanning the Lapis Lazuli but this one was a particular nightmare. The piece is painted with a combination of Rublev 18th century reproduction watercolor paint and Daniel Smith Primatek paints on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper. The paper and paint combinations really create some interesting textural effects. The original piece is 10.25"x14" in size.

Reproductions can be purchased at:

Powers Fine Art Print Shop

2010 Calendars Available

2009-10-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

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I have several calendars of my work available for 2010 including an extremely new one which focuses entirely on the mundane objects which surround us and are taken for granted every day. Many of the pieces in "The Mundane" calendar were chosen for their special significance in relation to the month they represent. These fine calendars are printed and shipped from RedBubble.com and are of the highest quality. The calendars are available now and will provide months of enjoyment.