Wanchese Sunset bid update

See the painting Wanchese Sunset- 6x12 a few posts below here

the high bid is now $20 from R.R. in Goldsboro. the painting now has free shipping in the u.s and $6 to canada.


previous bid was $10 from Craig in Toronto.

bid more than $20 and you may win it!

Wanchese Sunset bid update

I now have a high bid for $5 from S.P. in Raleigh, NC
do i hear a higher bid.
auction ends may 16th.
any bids over $10 will get free shipping in the u.s. $6.oo to canada

Friday May 9 second post of the day

thought you guys might like to see my 'quickdraw setup'. i jump out stand on the tailgate and throw the french easel on top of the truck. i use a more limited palette and try to do a small painting in half hour or so. when the suns dropping fast thats really all you have time for.
Wanchese Sunset- 6x12 AUCTION PIECE FOR THE WEEK- bid $1 and win! See below for details!

Starting a new thing!!!

my ebay stuff was a smash this winter and the free painting giveaway too, so i've decided to start a new thing on the blog. on ebay i did small paintings that werent as "finished out" (ie took less time to complete) and auctioned them off for cheap. it was a huge success. so now, i want to do the same thing here and cut out ebay fee. i'll post the small painting and open the bidding at ONE DOLLAR! i'll leave the painting on the blog auction for a week. as i get bids i'll post on the blog what the highest bid is so people can bid a little more and win the painting. the highest bidder will win the painting even if its only $1.
the other day i auctioned off a 16x20 painting i did as a demonstration and the winning bid was $20. imagine winning a $500 (if it had a frame on it) for $20!
it was so much fun i'm doing it here. you could win this painting for $1 if youre the highest bidder. but dont count on somebody letting you steal it for only a dollar!
so do i hear one dollar, one dollar, one dollar.
email me at rooneystudios@hotmail.com to bid. Right now $1 will be the high bid and you could be the winner. Bidding ends next friday night may 16th.
Very Important-Put the name of the painting or auction in the subject line or i wont open the email for fear of viruses.
BID ON!
Shipping is free on all winning bids over $10 (in the u.s.)
winning bids under $10, shipping in the u.s. is $5.00.

Trouble with Blogger today

if youre like me you love and hate technology! i absolutely love it when it works and curse it when it doesnt.
today when i tried to upload the photos i had done as another mini-demo it wouldnt work. yesterday it wouldnt upload the DVD jpeg (thus the link to flickr i had to put in the text to get you over to it) now more problems with uploading. what the *^%^%&^
anyway i'm leaving nags head in a few more days so unless this problem corrects itself there wont be any pics. on top of that it started raining yesterday and today so i'm holed up in a room thats costing me money and am not producing anything that will pay for it! aaaaaghhghhhh.
thats my rant for the day. you can return to the regularly scheduled programming now. i feel MUCH better having gotten it out.
i feel like i can tell you anything! :)

Two Entries for Thur May 8th

thought i'd share the exciting news! click here to see the cover for the new DVD i taped a few weeks ago, straight from production.

this is a huge project for me as jerrys artarama is a chain of nationwide art stores with huge internet and catalogue sales. i'm hoping these DVD's (another to be filmed next month) will expose me to a nationwide audience, and could get me nationwide workshop gigs. that would be sweet.

the plein air book i'll be in is slated to come out before Christmas and will be in Borders, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Our State catalogue, among others. PBS (NC)is talking about doing a series of specials showcasing individual artists in the book for their network.

my head is swimming at the prospects of what all this media and print attention could do for the old career. its in Gods hands one way or the other so, as jackie gleason so aptly put it......"away we go!"

Hello from Hiway 12

SOLD

Barrier Island View- 8x20

done on the way up hwy 12 north to nags head from hatteras island ferry(and ocracoke).

the shape to the left is the Bonner bridge at oregon inlet. this is the stretch of hiway 12 that always goes underwater and under sand drifts when theres a hurricane.

i love these warm sand dunes against the hazy atmosphere in the late afternoon. and the phone poles that seem to go off into infinity is an image deeply seated in anyones subconcious thats ever been to the outer banks. this painting just screams OBX!

today is NOT the giveaway day but stay tuned for when i announce it is the day to register to win a Free Painting. even the shipping is free.

Step by Step of Ocracoke Morning-SOLD

Ocracoke Morning- 12x16

here is the finished painting done behind where i was staying on the island. imagine waking up and having this scene out your back door.
let me show you how i did it step by step.

here's a photo of what i was working with. i chose to eliminate the grass from the scene and concentrate on the deck chairs and sailboat.
i begin by drawing the shapes and filling in the darks with magenta oil paint in washes. super thin so it doesnt mix in with the top coats.
now i put in the whites and the darks. i do most if this squinting down and looking thru my eyelashes. this gets rid of all the detail and helps me see the big shapes and values.
here i've blocked in all the major shapes in their respective real-life color and use the knife to bring the edges of all the shapes closer to each other which eliminates alot of the magenta, but i leave a good amount too. now go back up to the finished picture to see the finishing touches like water colored lines in the chairs to show the slats. i warmed up the concrete under the chairs, variations in the water, sky, and tree line in the back.

hope you enjoyed this step-by-step of my process. this painting is available at Down Creek Gallery in Ocracoke.

be sure to keep checking the blog for the free painting giveaway contest day. its not today but could very well be soon so keep checking back to WIN!

Ocracoke and Painting Give-Away Details

Blackbeards Path- 11x14

May Painting Give-Away!

i will be giving away a FREE original 6x8 oil painting this month and all you have to do is check the blog frequently to register to win. i will even pay to ship it within the u.s. to you for free.
heres how it works. i'll announce on a random day that that day is the give-away day. you have 48 hrs from that day to send me an email with "free painting" in the subject line to rooneystudios@hotmail.com with your complete mailing address in the body of the email. i will draw out a winner and ship them a beautiful 6x8 original oil painting absolutely free!NOTE-- if "free painting" is not in the subject line i wont open the email (afraid of viruses) so be sure to do that. Good luck!
View of Springers Point- 12x12

several done today on ocracoke island for down creek gallery. i like the light in these... clean, and crisp like it was today. temps in the 70's and clear light. a big storm yesterday made the light great to paint today. i hate storms because i cant paint that day but i know that the next day is going to be great! not to get philosophical but that applies to life as well. hang in through the rainy days, guaranteed that good days are just around the corner. its always this way... the cycle of life.

watch this blog for this months giveaway painting contest. i'll give a painting away absolutely FREE (even the shipping).

Workshop update part II

The Belltower at State- 12x9

we finished up the second day of the two day raleigh workshop today, again with beautiful weather and light.

two more joined us today that have 'real' jobs during the week and couldnt make yesterday. we did block-in exercises/warmups this morning and we painted the infamous NoFo restaurant in historic Five Points after lunch there.

Everybodys paintings were awesome. so many people who saw us painting said " i wanna paint!!!!" they were so jealous because we were having such a blast!

everybody enjoyed themselves, and had really nice finished pieces at the end of the day. when i can see the light shapes separate from the shadow shapes in everybodys painting i know ive done my job right!

next two workshop dates are this coming saturday in manteo. and two days that next week at carolina creations in new bern. check the right hand side of this blog for exact dates and times and contact me if youre interested in signing up. i dont do summer workshops so this month is it until fall!

Workshop update

Teaching in raleigh today and we had beautiful light and temps. here are two of the students hard at work. if painting was ever hard or work....

connie from gaithersburg, maryland really gets into her painting. Literally! it is all over her face, hands, and arms. she was covered in paint from the first exercise at 10 am until we quit at 5. she's a hoot.

rob, my vet buddy from goldsboro looks like all those pro plein air painters from the midwest like scott christiansen doesnt he?

he's catching on to this outdoor painting thing like a champ. where he's standing looks like a quiet wooded area when in reality he's standing a few feet from Oberlin Rd. where cars wiz by about a thousand every hour. he looks unfazed doesnt he. the sign of a future plein air pro. rob used to work on a painting for thirty hours and since taking my workshops is down to about three hours each and has sold six paintings in the last few months. way to go Rob!

more tomorrow.....

Workshop and I won a Free painting!

one from the archive. did this last early summer in charleston. it was like... 100 degrees that day and 90% humidity so they said the heat index made it feel like 110 degrees. i think i was using acrylic back then, thus the hard edges. i like oils wayyyy better.

painted two in raleigh today but dont have good light to photograph them. i did a popular little old neighborhood grocery store on oberlin road called "Community Grocery" and then the NC State belltower on hillsboro street. folks love landmarks in the raleigh market. sales are a little slow until the tourists show up at the coast (around memorial day) and i need some "shore things".

teaching a two day workshop at artsource tomorrow and saturday and then painting a free demonstration at jerrys artarama on sunday. then off to ocracoke to paint. hope to get what i painted today on here tomorrow.

talk about kharma... i entered another artists free giveaway contest for a painting and i won!

i gave away a painting this week and then i win one. how about that!?

Teaching the Classics- 4x20

Liked the long format on this piece. and the somewhat diagonal composition and how the teachers hand with the pen in it, leads you down into the shape.

i'll be teaching a plein air workshop in raleigh at Art Source friday and saturday and we'll be painting around the historic neighborhood called Five Points. call them if you'd like to come. i think there is a spot or two left. class size is small for individual attention. i'll be teaching in Manteo at the Dare Co. Arts Council next weekend. you can contact them to sign up as well.

i'll be teaching alot about "center of interest", and this piece has a very evident one. the teacher with her white papers against her dark coat, her outstretched hand, and the fact that she's taller than the kids makes her the focal point of this painting.

i can really identify with the last little guy at the end on the right. a part of the group but he's kinda doing his own thing!

Finished WIP from rooftop in Wilmington

High Atop the Port City- 24x30 SOLD

the sun finally came out today and as forecasted we had blue-bird skies and beautiful light and
temperatures. the perfect plein air day. so i went back on the parking deck to finish this monster 24x30 (see below for the block in and notice the changes). i really like how loose and "knifed" this looks with some super thick paint in places and sloppy edges in the peripheral areas. kept things close to the bridge a little tighter in places but not all the way across or it would cut the painting into almost a perfect third (a no-no)
so far this is the center piece painting for the New Elements show in late june. unless i do something i like even better between now and then! *)

Front and Market St. at 2:43 pm SOLD

After the 24x30 i went down on street level and banged this one out in about 2 hrs. on top of an old painting without even gessoeing over the old one first. thus the lack of my signature magenta underpainting peeking out in places. this was super fun, hardcore alla prima using knives, fingers, and my much beloved homemade "stubbies" (old stubs of brushes used to smear on small shapes where a knife blade is not advantageous. anything you can make a mark with becomes a tool in my world!

Beach Girls and River Scenes

Crossing Over- 9x12

Here's a painting done during the plein air paintout in kinston last weekend. the weather was very nice and the reflections of the tree and bridge were beautiful in the neuse river

In the Woods- 9x12

the rythm of these shapes are what caught my eye on this one. problem was i killed the painting.... i should have left it alone about 30 minutes before i "finished it". geeez... i overworked the mess out of this one.

Two Friends in the Surf- 8x6

on the other hand .... i really like the feel of this one. looks like a summer day and you can feel the heat! these girls are having fun in the surf....makes me wish i was in that water too.

Noon Delivery- 6x6

having a ball painting these from the digitals i took from the parking deck the other day. i love the perspective, looking down with them totally unaware that i'm even photographing them.

technique was as follows:
tone white gessoed canvas panel with light wash of magenta acrylic. you can see it peeking out if you look hard where big shapes come together. this gets rid of the white canvas, setting a nice warm tone
then draw the shadow shapes in straight magenta acrylic
fill in all the shadow shapes starting with the darkest and working towards the lightest shadow
fill in all the light shapes
then, hit some hilites and some real dark areas. boom, finished!

leave a comment below by clicking 'comment' and tell me if you think these would make nice larger paintings.... maybe like 12x12 or so?

Nicki Brown- Come on Down!!!

Nicki Brown from greenville, nc is the winner of this painting entitled "persimmon abstract" in the FREE Painting Give-Away for the month of april. i'll ship it first of the week nicki! congratulations.

the First Annual Kinston Paintout is in the history books and Stephen Greer from the OOPS group in jacksonville took home first prize and $500. Dodi Groesser from greenville took second prize and Bernie Rosage Jr. from OOPS jacksonville took third. John Groesser and Stephen Greer got honorable mentions as well.

Judging was waayyyy harder than i thought it would be. there was so much quality stuff to have to say these three are the best. jeeezzzz. i saw five to eight that all qualified but you have to be decisive and somebody has to take first second and third and out of a dozen or more participants thats tuff. it was a huge success and mary page whitley said they would try to do it again next yr. mary- thanks for excluding yourself from the competition and helping me judge. folks. mary does some amazing plein air work as well and could have placed high in the standings. thanks for her sacrifice!

the greenville group says they want to hold one and so does OOPS. who knows maybe we'll get as nationally known for holding plein air competitions as the laguna plein air scene one day. lets hope!

Contest Extended One More Day

Ambulatory Abstract- 9x9

Have decided to extend the contest deadline so people can enter if they visit the blog today. tomorrows the deadline for sure so if you havent entered scroll down a few days and get the details to win a free painting.

Todays painting is a result of a parking deck shoot yesterday. the sun kept coming and going behind clouds so i decided to shoot pics down on the street from the 5th floor of the parking deck. saw this guy and the sun came out just long enough to shoot him with a shadow. i really like this painting alot. it may stay with me until i'm tired of looking at it then i'll let someone else take it off my hands.

Judging the Kinston Paintout today and tomorrow. i'm planning on sneaking away and painting some myself so i 'may' have something to post tomorrow? if not i'll still try to post how thats going. lots of out of town plein air painters are coming so i cant wait to see what they paint!

24 hrs. more to Enter Give-Away

Thought you guys might like to see my plein air setup in action. i'm on a rooftop in wilmington. i use the beauport easel, also called a gloucester easel. this WIP (work in progress) is pretty big- 24x30 and its blocked in with a large brush and then knifed over top of that to get the loose feel.

WIP- work in progress

notice how the color scheme of the painting doesnt resemble the real thing. thats why i had to quit painting. the clouds came in and grayed everything out and cooled off and darkened all the shapes. the scene actually did look like the painting for the first hour. i'll go back at the same time of day with similar weather and finish the painting.
this will be in the New Elements show in July if it comes out.

Remember, you only have 24 more hrs to register to win the free painting. send me your mailing address in an email with "contest, free, giveaway" in the subject line. if i draw your name i'll send you the painting of your choice from the blog entry i did yesterday.

Today's Free Painting Give-Away Day!!!

Persimmon Abstract- 6x8
Tool of my Trade- 6x8


Pink Casa by the Sea- 6x8

Decided this month to give y'all a choice of which painting you wanted.
Now to get one of these original oil paintings done from life, you have to send me an email with your name and full mailing address in the body of the email within 48 hours of the time stamp on this post (around 8 am on Wednesday april 23) So deadline is 8am friday morning the 25th)

this is very important!!!! i will not accept or open any emails that dont have "contest, giveaway, free painting, etc" in the subject line of the email. i'm scared to death of viruses and wont open your email if it doesnt have those words in the subject line.
in the email tell me which one you want. i'll draw out of my hat and the winner will get his/her choice sent free.
Remember--- you only have 48 hrs from 8am the 23rd to register.

you dont have to but i'd love it if you'd write one sentence in your email about why you like to come to my blog. this way i can make it better and more informative.

thanks. now send that email and WIN!

Update on Upcoming Events

Kinston Paintout- Friday and Saturday April 25th and 26th
Paintout competition with $500 first prize
9am-5pm both days. Paint plein air on the Neuse River or in downtown Kinston.
I'll be judging and Best of Show receives $500 first prize. dont quote me but i think second and third get some money too.

Workshop at Art Source in Raleigh- Loosening up by Simplifying- Friday and Sat. May 2nd and 3rd. 9am-5pm

Free painting demonstration at Jerrys Artarama in Raleigh- Sunday May 4th- 1 pm -4pm- come and see how to simplify subject matter and how to paint quick and loose and it wont cost you a dime. Like a free workshop huh?

Workshop at Dare County Arts Council- Sat. May 10th-9am-5pm
learn how to loosen up and paint quickly by simplifying.

Workshop at Carolina Creations in New Bern-May 13th and 14th - 9am-5pm- Loosen up your painting by Simplifying. go to http://www.carolinacreationsnewbern.com/NewFiles/rooney%20workshop.html for details.

Workshop at Jacksonville Arts Council- Sat. May 24th- 9am-5pm- Loosen up your painting by Simplifying.

Filming of Plein Air DVD for Jerrys Artarama - June 6

Two Man Show at New Elements Gallery in Wilmington- starts Friday June 27th thru July

Coral Bay Resorts Show- June 29th and 30th- City Art Gallery

if you are interested in any of these events or workshops drop me an email and i'll get you signed up or whatever.