SOLD via Etsy
Completed commission, just shipped to Texas. Acrylic on 16 x 25 panel.
Source snapshots, from which I “photoshopped” the composition together:
Latest
Practice Painting on Cardboard
Practice painting, just for fun, not a likeness of anyone. Acrylic on 9 x 13-1/2 cardboard (double ply Schwinn bike carton). For sale on Etsy.
I had some extra paint left at the end of one session, so I applied it thickly, let it dry, and then put some iridescent paint on top — it changes appearance depending on viewing angle, kind of like a hologram…I like it.
Anniversary Portrait
SOLD via Etsy
I worked on this anniversary portrait at the show, getting it about 90% done by Sunday. It was fun to be able to ask passersby and other OSA members for critique and recommendations. It’s for an Etsy commission; I sent my customer a digital image of it for approval last week and he said, “You are a genius! I love it! It is amazing! I am so grateful to you. I will pay for it tonight. No changes necessary. Thank you!!!!!” Music to my ears…very encouraging. I hope his wife likes it as well as he does, or better. It’s acrylic on a 16 x 26 hardwood panel, from customer supplied old snapshot:
Show went very well!
All the hard work preparing for the show was worth it! I had a great time painting for five days in a row, it was like a painting retreat. I received lots of positive comments, and many people said they would contact me for future commissions. I’m in communication with two prospects from the show who I think will follow through with commissions. I also got invited back by the show manager to be a demo artist at the Fall Home & Garden Show, Oct. 4-7, 2012 at the Expo Center. I’d like to be positioned with the Oregon Society of Artists again.
My booth (above) at the Spring Home & Garden Show about a week ago. As a designated “demo artist” I painted much of the time between 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. except for breaks.
I finished up a painting of one of my grandsons while at the show:
…thanks to Joel Bock Photography for permission to use one of his photos as reference. It was fun to work on Espen’s characteristic crooked little half grin.
I’m mostly recovered / caught up / unpacked from the show…and MORE than ready to dive back into painting.
Newlyweds Portrait
SOLD via Etsy
Commission for newlyweds in Texas, acrylic on panel. 22-1/2″ x 16″; given as a gift from relatives, who had this to say about it: “This is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!! It’s perfect!!!!!!!! My dear–they are going to LOVE this!!!!!! Amazing!!!!!!!! Thank you!! You really captured their beauty–aren’t they a stunning couple? <Name withheld> looks like a supermodel.”
Come see me Feb 22-26 @ Portland Home & Garden Show!
Yes it’s been awhile since my last post, but I’ve been getting a LOT done on the painting front! (including making frames, above)
Portland Home & Garden Show Feb 22-26 @ the Expo Center
Most importantly, I was invited by the Oregon Society of Artists to be one of their “anchor artists” at the Portland Home & Garden Show, next week: Feb 22-26! I’ve done shows for sculpture before, but this will be my debut with my “new” medium: portrait painting. I hope my banner and business cards arrive before Feb 22…and I finish making frames on time…and figure out how to light my booth…etc etc x etc. At least paintings will be a hell of a lot easier to transport than ceramic sculpture!
I will be demonstrating painting for five days straight! I also plan to set up for doing mini photo shoots of willing passersby — head/shoulders shots for portrait painting reference. So come visit me and get your mug shot 
The show is at the Expo Center near Jantzen Beach, Feb 22-26, 11-8 Wed Thur Fri, 10-8 Sat, 11-6 Sun, costs $10 to get in, but check around for discounts. There are three giant halls, the northernmost of which is staged with fully landscaped gardens, decks, fountains, koi ponds and so on. Around the entire perimeter of the garden room will be welders, sculptors and painters demonstrating their various crafts. I spoke with the show coordinator who has been fine tuning the ambience of this room of the show for the past dozen years. He loves art, and wants this giant indoor garden room to be one where show attendees will want to just hang out, relax, and enjoy themselves rather than scurrying to “do the show.” The OSA prez says the same thing — to just have fun like we do at the OSA center. Several OSA members will be demonstrating painting along the west wall of Building C, plus promoting the club and recruiting new members. Membership is just $30 per year.
Hope you can drop by for a chat! Bring a favorite hat/scarf/whatever for your mini photo shoot!
I’ve also been painting more portraits, including a commission from Texas, but am literally too busy to post the photos! Will do so after the show.
Okay, I’d better get back to building frames!
Rosey again, different pose
Practice portrait of Rosey by Steve Eichenberger, acrylic on corrugated cardboard bicycle carton, 9-1/4 x 13.
I enjoyed the process on this one, which is part of my goal in keeping things loose: to have fun painting!
( 1/5 addendum: I e-mailed a high resolution jpg of this to Rosey, who is currently in NYC, and she replied: ”Hey Steve!! This is awesome. I look simultaneously angry and proud. I love it. The loose style captures something really great. I showed this painting to my sister, and some friends — everyone has been so impressed! My sister said, ‘Whoahhh…that’s so badass!’”)
Practice Painting
Portrait by Steve Eichenberger, acrylic on acid free paper, 14 x 17. SOLD
Another piece in my continuing effort to practice keeping things loose. I even crumpled up the paper before beginning, to make it less “precious” (which came back to haunt me after I finished the piece and decided to adhere it to a foamcore backing, but it turned out okay).
The background is pretty wild; I got a new set of palette knives and used one of them to pile on the paint.
The hair is just roughed in, but I decided it works with the background so resisted refining it.
DPW Challenge
Portrait by Steve Eichenberger, acrylic on corrugated cardboard, 12.5 x 24.
Done in response to this week’s DPW challenge to emulate an artist we admire. This is my second exercise in as many days to experiment with the look and feel of some of Egon Schiele’s 500+ works.
Thanks to friend/neighbor/photographer Willy Paul for permission to use a photo he took of his wife, Kris, for me to use as painting reference. Achieving a likeness was not my focus, but rather to experiment with the broad white accenting strokes, black outlining, unfinished areas and so on that Schiele often uses.
DPW challenge
SOLD via Etsy
Very quick sketch in acrylics on corrugated cardboard, 12 x 16. This week’s DPW challenge was to try painting in the style of an artist we admire. I started out “thinking” Egon Schiele, but then forgot all about it much of the time I was painting… It served as a good “loosening up” exercise.
Portrait of Rosey
Painted portrait by Steve Eichenberger, acrylic on panel, 17 x 22. Click on photo above for close-up (may need to click again on the next screen to get full size).
I may continue to fine tune this painting, but I’ve been working on it for so long I wanted to post it at this near-complete stage for a sense of progress! This was a challenging project for me, I learned a lot from doing it. I took other, easier-to-paint photos of Rosey as well, but there was something about the overall composition and expression that made me want to paint this one, so I went for it. The receding angle of the hand was a challenge, as well as the wonderfully curly hair. It’s always daunting to face such things, I just have to dive in and paint *something*…and then keep revising that something to look gradually better and better until some part of me says “OK” (or sometimes “Uncle!”).
I couldn’t get rid of all the distracting reflections on the glossy background when taking the above photo with the point and shoot camera I normally use for blog shots. May have to break down and actually set up our photo room with strobes, diffusers etc. to get a better shot.
90% complete, working from photos I took of R.D. a few weeks ago in my studio.
Likeness Practice
Painted portrait by Steve Eichenberger, acrylic on panel, 17 x 26.
Thanks to .mosa for permission to use his photo (below) as reference.
Local gal
Portrait by Steve Eichenberger, acrylic on panel, 15-3/4 x 20-1/2.
Thanks to Stephen Sheffrin, Portland photographer, for permission to use his photo below as reference.
Marc Anthony acrylic portrait
Acrylic portrait of Marc Anthony by Steve Eichenberger, on 15-3/4 x 19-1/2 panel, using another photo by Damon Winter as reference (below, and previous entry).
I experimented with glazing this time: brown tinted glaze on yellow background and face (except for eyes); yellow tinted glaze on shirt.
Matt Damon practice portrait
Matt Damon practice portrait by Steve Eichenberger
acrylic on panel, 14 x 20-3/4
Reference photo from magazine cover (Fast Company, July/August 2011 issue) used by kind permission of New York Times photographer Damon Winter.
Yes, unfortunately it’s been awhile since I’ve had a chance to post anything… Travel, moving our handmade tile studio (again!), and other art related busy-ness has required all my waking hours for the past couple of months. As far as I know there are no further crises looming, but in these strange times — who knows?!? Better paint while I can.
