Snow fun

For Christmas this year we had a ton of snow, a beautiful white Christmas! We also got to have Julie and Kyle and their kids come stay with us a few days, so we took our kids out sledding.

Jaden came home and bragged to his mother about how he "caught 50 feet of air on the jump"

I took tons of pictures, and finally asked Julie to take a few of me and my kids, so here I am with my girls.

Adrianne and I

Kyle, Me, Paris, Skyler

Jaden and I went down together.

Jaden and I

Jaden

Skyler and Adrianne

Paris

Adrianne

Aspen

Snow Bunny

Snow Stud

Julie and Jaden

Adrianne

Talon

Jaden

Aspen

Talon

Jaden

Adrianne

Lest We Forget

I was sitting in church today listening to a lesson a portion of which was entitled, "lest we forget". The teacher brought out a red poppy pendant which he wore on the lapel of his suit coat and explained that it is a British tradition to wear the red poppy in remembrance of the sacrifices made in World War I on Flanders Field:

It made me think of the poem "That Ragged Old Flag" by Johnny Cash:

That Ragged Old Flag

I walked through a county courthouse square
On a park bench, an old man was sittin' there.
I said, "Your old court house is kinda run down,
He said, "Naw, it'll do for our little town".
I said, "Your old flag pole is leaned a little bit,
And that's a ragged old flag you got hangin' on it".
He said, "Have a seat", and I sat down,
"Is this the first time you've been to our little town"
I said, "I think it is"
He said "I don't like to brag, but we're kinda proud of
That Ragged Old Flag

"You see, we got a little hole in that flag there,
When Washington took it across the Delaware.
and It got powder burned the night Francis Scott Key sat watching it,
writing "Say Can You See"
It got a rip in New Orleans, with Packingham & Jackson
tugging at its seams.
and It almost fell at the Alamo
beside the Texas flag,
But she waved on though.
She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville,
And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee and Beauregard and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on
That Ragged Old Flag

"On Flanders Field in World War I,
She got a big hole from a Bertha Gun,
She turned blood red in World War II
She hung limp, and low, a time or two,
She was in Korea, Vietnam, She went where she was sent
by her Uncle Sam.
She waved from our ships upon the briny foam
and now they've about quit wavin' back here at home
in her own good land here She's been abused,
She's been burned, dishonored, denied an' refused,
And the government for which she stands
Has been scandalized throughout out the land.
And she's getting thread bare, and she's wearin' thin,
But she's in good shape, for the shape she's in.
Cause she's been through the fire before
and i believe she can take a whole lot more.

"So we raise her up every morning
And we bring her down slow every night,
We don't let her touch the ground,
And we fold her up right.
On second thought
I do like to brag
Cause I'm mighty proud of
That Ragged Old Flag"

- Johnny Cash

The idea of the poppy being to remind us, "lest we forget" of the sacrifices that we all must make for freedom.

It was brought home to me today that freedom is not something we are entitled to, we must be willing to fight for it and make the necessary sacrifices to maintain it. Over the past year and a half as we have watched the world economies in commotion, I have seen very keenly that wealth or riches are "slippery". What a day may bring, a day may take away.

Perhaps freedom is really just as slippery, and in order to maintain the freedom we all take for granted we need to be willing to step up and work for it. Our society of entitlement cannot uphold freedom, we must each accept the responsibility in our own lives to work for the freedom we love. Perhaps it is up to us, individually, making wise decisions on our own use of time and talents every day that allows us to have the freedom we so love, not waiting for or relying on our government to give it to us. The United States, after all, is supposed to be "For the people, by the people". In other words we each need to learn from the lessons of the past, do our part today and envision a bright future, lest we forget, and live to see our freedom slip out of our grasp.

Jeff

Art Classes!

This is so exciting!

I am going to be teaching art classes starting October 2008 at the Hobble Creek Learning Center!

Here are the class schedules:

5-11 years:

Painting

Tuesdays 4-5

Begins October 6th

Cost: $30

Kids love to paint! In this class we will learn new painting tricks and experiment with color and texture.

World Art

Tuesdays 4-5

Begins October 7th

Cost: $30

Students will explore the art of Asia, Africa, South America, and Oceania and make their own world art.

Sculpture

Monday 4-5

Begins November 3rd

Cost: $40

Students will use clay, Model Magic, and recycled materials  to create unique 3-D designs.

Modern Art

Tuesdays 4-5

Begins November 4th

Cost $30

Modern art is all about color and new strange techiques. We will be using non-traditional methods to create exciting vibrant artwork.

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Ages 12-18

Instructor: Jeff Goodsell

Cost: $75 per month, student is responsible for materials.

Fun with Art

Tuesdays 4-6

October 7th-December 9th

An exploration of the fundamental building blocks of art. Students will build a foundation for visual art that they can build upon in subsequent classes.

Drawing

Wednesdays 2-4

October 8th-December 10th

This class will explore basic drawing techniques including line, shading, line variation, blending, etc.. Students will use a variety of media.

Painting Basics

Wednesdays 4-6

October 8th-December 10th

Students will learn techniques for using watercolor and acrylic paint, then create unique artwork using their new skills.

Oil Painting

Wednesdays 6-8

October 8th-December 10th

Students will learn techniques for preparing painting surfaces, applying paint, blending, and finishing surfaces, while exploring different artistic styles and genres.

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Adult Classes

Instructor: Jeff Goodsell

Oil Painting

Saturdays 10-noon

October 7th - December 13th

Cost: $175 for 10 weeks, Student is responsible for materials. Students will learn techniques for preparing surfaces, applying paint, blending and finishing surfaces, while exploring different artistic styles and genres.

Call the Hobble Creek Learning Center today to sign up for classes: (801) 491-0825. If you have any questions please feel free to email me at: jeff@jeffgoodsellart.com or call me directly at: (801) 602-3594.

If you have any other interests in art and would like to attend a class that teaches other areas of art, please let myself (Jeff) or Julie know, we are interested in creating classes that are valuable for all of our students.

"A sincere artist is not one who makes a faithful attempt to put on to canvas what is in front of him, but one who tries to create something which is, in itself, a living thing." -William Dobell

Assuming The Mantle

I have completed this beautiful portrait of our prophet, Thomas S. Monson entitled "Assuming The Mantel. I have never painted any leader of the church before, so I decide to give it a try. I am very pleased with the outcome, one person I showed it to said "it has soul".

Of course the original is best in person, but this is a pretty good scan.

I spent a good deal of time coming up with just the right pose, I wanted something that shows his loving personality, a happy smile, and the characteristic "Monson tilt" (when he speaks his head is often slightly tilted to one side).

President Monson is the personification of a man who loves his life and all those around him. From his compassion toward the widowed, to his amazing memory of those he has met, he makes those he comes in contact with feel good, uplifts them, and helps them to know that they are a loved son or daughter of God.

Thank you for you life President Monson!

I am hoping to have the opportunity to present this painting to him as a gift, if anyone knows any way to get into contact with him or a secretary please let me know.

Also, I am selling prints of this portrait, if you would like to buy a print, please visit my portfolio site at: www.jeffgoodsell.com and click on the Fine Art->Portraits->Portaits in the drop down menu at the top. You can then add it to your cart, choose the size you wish to purchase, and order it right there from my website.

Please feel free to call me if you have any questions or compliments!

Jeff

Rosmary Rita

This is a recent painting I completed of a character for a ghost story we created as a family one evening at Thanksgiving Point (truth be told we were trying to scare Jaden, my oldest boy, he was six, and it worked, we let him in on the story tho, great parents eh?) Anyway, the story has become a family tradition. I am thinking about writing it and having it published with the kid's illustrations. We will see.

The Main Character's name is Rosemary Rita, and she haunts Thanksgiving Point Gardens in search of kid's stickers to steal.

Justin Portrait Slideshow

Here is a slideshow showing the progression through different phases of painting this portrait. I think it would be great to so a painting and film each brush stroke so you can actually see the painting "paint itself" right before your eyes.

I apologize that the painting moves slightly in each frame. This about a week to do so you can imagine that it was difficult to keep the easel and tripod in exactly the same position the whole time.

View Album

Get your own

Photograpy (my other passion)

I love photography, I started when I was a kid taking "fashion" shots of my sisters by dressing them up in every article of clothing I could find as "Punk Rockers" of the 80's, posing them and taking roll after roll of film of them. I look back at the pics now and see how funny they were, but I loved it.

In college I took a photography class and enjoyed photographing my artwork to submit to shows and galleries.

About a year and a half ago I picked up a Nikon D200, and it has been a love affair every since. So here are a few shots I took of my Daughter. I didn't have my camera with me at the time so these are taken with a simple Kodak point and shoot camera my wife has. I forgot about the time stamp or I would not have had it on when I took the pics, let alone stamp the wrong date onto the pic.

These are obviously not photoshopped images, they need some retouching, but not bad for a simple point and shoot.

Lil Boyz and Big Dragons

I just started a painting that has actually been waiting in the wings for several years now. I first conceived the idea when pitching a portrait concept to a client.

I like to create portraits that are very different from the norm. So I thought of a way to do a portrait of 2 boys playing in their room after bedtime. Half of the painting would be reality, while the other half would be imagination. I pictured the boys with their toy swords and super hero capes fighting off an imaginary dragon.

When I first thought of the idea several years ago it was for a client that had 2 boys, but they chose not to do the painting, but I have always felt it was a great idea, so I decided to do it with my 2 boys. As time usually does, I haven't gotten around to it until now, so I have 3 boys, and decided to incorporate all of them into the painting.

What you see here are some of the pictures I took to do the painting from, and the preliminary "sketching" where I am trying to work out the composition for the piece.

I chose to sketch it in paint this  time, usually I do a pencil drawing of the piece first, but I chose a different approach, and went straight to paint. I like it so far because I have been able to use a paper towel and turpentine to "erase" mistakes and areas I wanted to change.

I will post updates as the painting progresses.

Capture your loved ones in a work of art!

Owning an original, hand painted, portrait of your loved ones just became affordable!

Jeff Goodsell Art studios is currently accepting commissions to do one color paintings from your favorite photos.

Pricing starts at just $249 for a single 9 x 12" portrait. Send your photo via email or regular mail, and we will hand paint a beautiful painting from it.

These are original, hand painted oil paintings on canvas. We offer 5 sizes for you to choose from:
9 x 12" $249
12 x 16" $299
16 x 20" $399
18 x 24" $549
24 x 36" $799

These prices are based on one person/figure in each photo with a simple background. If you would like to include more people in each painting the cost will go up by $1.50 per square inch for each person you add.

Unless specified, each portrait will be painted in Raw Umber, (similar to Sepia Tone but slightly more yellow).

If you are interested in commissioning a portrait, please email me at: jeff@jeffgoodsellart.com.

For full color portrait pricing please email me with your ideas at: jeff@jeffgoodsellart.com.

Justin McGuire Portrait

This is a portrait I recently finished. I originally started this as a study I wanted to do off of a photo I had taken of him while doing a photo shoot for a family portrait.

As I progressed, it went from a study to a full color portrait. and is one of my best yet.

I used washes of orange and green in the background covered in layers of neutrals to darken them. The orange creates a nice contrast for the blue shirt which I then had to darken with subtle washes of orange and dark neutrals because it popped way too much.

To view this larger click Justin Portrait.

Here is my first test movie, I'm going to be using this to create mini movies to show the progression of Painting a work of art.

Welcome!

Welcome to my first ever blogsite!

Be prepared to see some really good artwork, and some works in progress.

I will be continually updating the progress of works of art as I create them, I would love your critical feedback. What things create value for you about my artwork? Do you see any technical problems? Would you hang the work of art in your own home? Do you dislike it? If so, why? Honest, constructive criticism is very helpful in working towards artwork that is meaningful to you, my family, friends, and patrons of the arts.

I am also selling prints of my completed work, if you are interested in purchasing a print, please email me, I will be happy to give you a price quote.