Jeff Goodsell Art and Fun

Good Heart and Then Some

2010-05-25T13:50:00.001-07:00

Today I am very proud of my son, Jaden.

I had one of those moments you always hope will come this morning when a friend of ours, Claire Taylor walked up to my car as I was dropping the kids off at school, and told me how proud she is of Jaden. Apparently her daughter told her that one day several boys were picking on another boy at school, and my son walked up, took this boy by the arm and said "come on". He walked the boy away from the bullies, and made him feel better. I don't know all of the details, but I know that I am so proud of my son. This isn't the first time something like this has happened either, Jaden has a kind heart and really cares about the people around him. I love this kid! I don't think words can begin to describe the depth of love this proud father has for his 9 year old son!

The Irish in Me

2010-05-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

This is by far the very best stew recipe you have ever tasted, I promise, or your money back! (well, since you didn't pay anything you won't see a dime, but I promise this is not a case of "you get what you pay for", this stew is DANG good).

Our family tradition for St Patricks day is to make this stew and watch Darby O' Gill and the little people as a family. Good times, except of course for this last year when I was in China for St Patricks day, the tradition was broken, but it is tradition (break into Fiddler On The Roof ballad).

Anyway, here it is, it is not an easy recipe, it takes time and patience to get it started, but once started it cooks itself in a crock pot, and I promise it is sooooo worth every up-front minute.

Irish Beef Stew

2 lbs lean beef stew meat

1/3 c. flour

Black Pepper to taste

3 medium onions chopped into bite size pieces

4 cloves garlic cut into slices

6 oz tomato paste

1 can Irish Stout beer (Guinness beer, can be purchased at Walmart (DO NOT omit the beer, it is one of the most important ingredients, I promise this recipe will be only a shadow of what it can be if you leave it out, and make sure you use the beer I tell you to, this is an Irish stew after all, for those of you worried about the alchohol, it cooks for 8 hours, which is plenty of time for the alchohol to be neutralized and cooked out, I know, I researched it)

1 c. beef stock

2 c chopped carrots (I just used a few handfuls of the baby carrots you buy in bags in the produce section, much easier, and this is already a lot of work, plus they look so perfect, do your really want to sand the ends to get them nice and rounded like the baby carrots you buy already are?)

½ tsp thyme

1 pinch cayenne pepper

4 diced potatoes

½ chopped green pepper (bite size pieces)

3 bay leaves

¼ c. brown sugar

1 tbsp worschestershire sauce

6 slices bacon (you can cheat and use some more for good measure, I usually do, after all who doesn't like extra bacon?)

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

Pre-heat your crock pot. Coat beef in 1/3 c. flour, cook bacon slices in a pan with butter and olive oil (I know you are thinking, "add fat to already fatty meat?" but trust me, do what it says!, crumble and set aside. Saute floured beef in bacon drippings, adding chopped onion for the last 3 minutes. Add Bacon pieces to the beef/onion mixture and place in the bottom of crock pot.

Deglaze the pan you just cooked the meat in with 1 can Irish Guinness beer, 1 cup beef stock, and worchestershire sauce. (for those of you wondering, I had to look up the definition of "Deglaze" the first time I made this, if you are still wondering, I'm gonna make you do the same :) Pour broth to the meat in the crock pot.

Layer the potatoes, carrots and peppers on top of the meat and broth, then add all the rest of the ingredients and let cook on high in crock pot for 6 hours, or on low for 8 hours. Stir occasionally after about 4 hours.

Serve with warm bread, while watching Disney’s “Darby O’ Gill and the Little People” with your family.

ENJOY! (you are welcome in advance, after all, I only post my best recipes :)

Dragon Spunk

2010-05-16T22:58:00.000-07:00

During my first visit to China I had a friend on Facebook mention that she saw a painting of a Chinese Dragon in my future. I thought it was a good idea so here is my version of a Chinese Dragon. I chose a pic I had taken while visiting one of the Buddist temples, and used it as inspiration for my own Chinese Dragon.

Originally I was going to really "Jeff" it up with lots of filigree and ornamentation, but when I had the dragon itself painted, and it was time to add the filigree, I decided there is beauty in letting this painting just be itself. I did curl the whiskers, so that will have to be enough "Jeff" for this painting. Sometimes too much is too much and simple is better.

This is the pic I used as inspiration, the painting is done with Acrylic paint, chosen because I didn't want to worry about whether oil paint was dry enough to pack into my suitcase.

Snickerdoodle Heaven

2010-04-25T20:42:00.000-07:00

I have had a few requests for my snickerdoodle recipe, which by the way is not my snickerdoodle recipe, my wife, Sara tells me it is actually the Farley's recipe. (I actually have a really great Lemon Snickerdoodle recipe I have made by altering this recipe, it is really good, but that is not the recipe I was asked for so here is the normal Snickerdoodle recipe) According to Sara when she lived with the Farleys, Chad Farley used to love snickerdoodles and this is the recipe he would make, so now credit is given where credit is due.

This is a great basic snickerdoodle recipe for anyone who loves a great snickerdoodle:

1 c shortening (vegetable)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 c sifted flour

Mix shortening, sugar, and eggs together. Add dry ingredients, and mix well.

Chill dough and roll into balls the size of a small walnut (I personally like much larger snickerdoodles, so I make bigger balls, like the size of golf balls). Roll in a mixture of 2 Tbsp Sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon.

Bake 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, should be barely golden brown around edges, do not overcook, or they will be to crispy, the secret of a good snickerdoodle is getting the baking time right so they stay soft, crunchy snickerdoodles are just not right.

There you have it, enjoy!

Jeff (the rocketman) Goodsell

Death, Dumbledoore, and the Stage of Life

2009-09-06T00:11:00.000-07:00

I just got back from taking Sara to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, excellent movie by the way, very well done, acting on the main character's parts leaves a little to be desired, but excellent performances by the others, perfect Horace Slughorn, the cinematography is beautiful, more than just great angles, the color and lighting is eye candy I love being an artist and looking at things from a very visual perspective. But that is not why I am writing, I had a though as I watched Dumbledoore die, and I wanted to type it out.

As we go through life there are a great many people who come in and out of our own life. I suppose our lives are each like a stage, we are always on our own stage, and other people drift on and off at various intervals, some leave and come back making many appearances. Each person who enters our stage, no matter how briefly, influences us in some small or large way, for good or bad, and we are the sum of our life experiences (what is played out on our stage) and the relationships with the actors on our stage. We sometimes we can choose who is on the stage, and other times we are forced into relationships with people, good or bad, but no matter the situation, we can choose whether to let that influence become a part of who we are, or to discard it, ultimately we are the masters of who we become.

I watched Dumbledoore hit with the killing curse by Snape, then fall off the tower to the courtyard below, and the thought occurred to me that Dumbledoore was now taking a permanent step off of the stage of Harry Potter. Then a step further, his own stage had just closed curtains, at least on this mortal existence. I realized that in my own life, my time on this earth is finite, I only have so many years to live, and so does everyone else, whether our lives rub against one anothers or not we all get on this earth and step off, and while I can have some influence in someone's life, for good or bad, I am ultimately only have control of my own life and the choices I make. My children, my wife, my mom, dad, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends, work associates, all have their own lives to live. The best I can do is to make sure that mine is a positive influence for whatever duration I am on their stages performing.

I can control the part I play on their stage, but I cannot control what they do with it.

We are each the sum of all of the parts being acted out on our own stages, let's make the most of each and every day, and work hard to act the good part.

Jeff

Taliman Bread

2009-08-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

So, I found 5 rather pathetic, quite black looking bananas siting on my counter, perhaps they weren't really noticed because my counters are dark granite, and the bananas blended in, but whatever the case I found 5 very forlorn, forgotten rather over-ripe bananas.

Party Time! around here we get excited when we have old bananas because that means Taliman Bread Time! We have the greatest Banana bread recipe, it is perfectly moist, mouthwatering, and smells so good you can taste it while it is baking.

We have a great little 5 year old Son named Talon, who we nicknamed "Taliman" thanx to us having a luau party for our oldest daughter's 8th birthday/baptism party, at the time Talon was about 3 months old, and we made a luau sound track for the party which included Harry Belefonte's "Banana Boat Song". The "come Mr. Taliman, tali me bananas" caused us to start calling Talon "Taliman" and it has stuck every since. Even Talon's little brother Tristan knows him as "Taliman".

So, of course when we found the most amazing banana bread in the world (thanx to Sara finding it) we adjusted it slightly and named it "Taliman Bread".

This bread is so scintillating, you won't be able to resist and will be eagerly awaiting it's debut from the oven as it's aroma fills your house, believe me, this bread is not just a great banana bread, it is an experience. We made it last night and Talon aka: "Taliman" was jumping up and down in eager anticipation of having the bread for breakfast this morning.

So, here is the recipe:

Taliman Bread

1 1/4 c margarine

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp coconut extract (optional, but really yummy, use in addition to the vanilla)

1 cup crushed pineapple

2 c mashed ripe bananas

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3 cups flour

2 cups chocolate chips

In a large bowl cream margarine and sugar, add bananas, vanilla, coconut extract, crushed pineapple, and eggs and mix. Next add the cinnamon, salt, and baking soda, mix. After that is well mixed, add the flour and mix thoroughly. Lastly, add the chocolate chips. Turn the batter into 2 greased (I use Pam, first because it works really well, second because it is easier than using Crisco, and third because I think of my Aunt Pam who I love dearly every time I use it) bread pans (8" x 4" x 2"). Bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes (use the clean toothpick test to tell when they are ready, the toothpick won't come out completely clean tho, because even fully cooked this bread is very moist and full of yummy chocolate chips, so just go with mostly clean). Cool 10 minutes and turn out onto wire racks for slicing.

This bread is really good hot with melted butter, or cool with white vanilla frosting. Yum! so good!

Believe me, you are most welcome.

Jeff

Elephant Painting

2009-03-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

I just started this new painting to enter into the Spring Salon here in Utah. It is a continuation of the "Journey" series, and has some cool twists which are not yet represented in this underpainting.

And yes the elephant's legs are really long, that is on purpose. I love the elephants in Salvador Dali's elephant paintings which have really long legs (much longer than these) but I didn't want to exaggerate it as much for this painting because I am trying to teach a point with the imagery. I won't go into it here, you will just have to watch as it develops.

Imagination's Pathway

2009-03-07T23:08:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I woke up at 3:00 in the morning last Sunday and couldn't sleep so I decided to come down to my studio and paint.

I had seen a landscape painting while browsing through online artist portfolios, and decided I would like to create a similar painting just to learn the use of color. The painting was quite loose and as I am on an "experiment with loose painting kick" I decided to try it, adding of course my own touches. I had this odd shaped strip of hardboard so I adapted the portion of the painting I most liked to fit the board.

I think the painting turned out rather successfully and it was a great learning experience as I copied the painting, putting together colors I normally would not have. I am learning that in order to make color vibrate and "sing" on canvas it is important to add color you normally wouldn't think to ad. Certain colors "vibrate" when placed next to each other, and this can create the effect of life and depth in a painting when simply using a color and it's tint and shade makes a painting look dull and lifeless.

Death Knight

2009-02-27T01:19:00.000-08:00

I'm almost finished with my "Death Knight" painting. It sort of matches the other painting I (last post). I not sure what to think of this one, but it was fun to paint, I am learning to paint quickly, yet in some areas the paint looks really good, in others it just looks slopped on.

I did this painting of a scene from the Linkin Park video "Numb", I was trying to do a very quick painting going for recognition and emotion.

I guess the gist of this is that I am honing my painting skills and searching for a style I love and can call my own.

Dead End Princess?

2009-02-16T23:49:00.000-08:00

I have finally finished this painting, it is a little odd, and I am not sure exactly why I painted it, but here are a few of the thoughts that went into it:

1. I wanted to paint something quickly, I get bogged down and creative energy doesn't flow when it takes too much time to paint something.

2. I wanted to do another "journey" piece based on the idea that on life's journey, sometimes God closes doors, but he always opens windows.

3. I wanted to paint a dead girl. However, my love of the macabre never goes farther than the "fun" level, I wouldn't paint an actual corpse, or something that would be considered "evil" it just isn't in my nature. I love Tim Burton's approach to death, he just adds that element of "fun" to it.

4. I wanted to paint more loosely, anyone who has followed my style up till know knows that I paint rather tightly. Yet I find that the paintings I really love are mostly rather loose, allowing the brush strokes and placement of paint colors that "vibrate" next to each other to really make the painting come to life.

5. I don't really like cats, especially the ones that are pooping in my kid's sandbox all the time now.

So while I find myself constantly wanting to be a fine artist, I think I am more naturally prone to illustration. I am interested to see where this direction takes me.

I have included the beginning of my next painting. I decided I wanted to paint a more masculine painting this time, yet have it continue the series, so I have drawn this knight, dead again of course. I love knights, and suits of armor, and swords. I also wanted the door to be larger and more imposing, it is closed to him, and he will now need to set out and find a new door or window, kind of like me right now, being forced to reinvent myself, hence the push to really paint and produce artwork, I have a goal to be a successful artist, and that means I have to get going on reaching that goal now.

I love harlequin, and usually carefully measure it out when I use it, but since I am on a "loose" kick I thought it would be fun to paint it on by hand letting it be very loose.

This is the sketch of my Knight

Step One

2009-01-21T23:26:00.000-08:00

Step One is a journey piece.

I have been through so much over the last few years, culminating in the literal hell I have experienced over the past months, a hell of the mind as I have struggled against things of which I have no experience.

As I have searched deeply my relationship with God through these trials, the saying which says "When the Lord closes a door, he always opens a window" has come to my mind repeatedly.

I asked many times over, as I watched the door closed, bolted, barred, chained, nailed, welded, and glued, "where is the window, where is the light, will I every find the abyss fleeing before the tiniest light of hope? God are you there?"

Sometimes God expects us to try our faith by allowing us to step into the dark for a few steps before he actually opens the window.

The bride is beginning her journey, she is not looking up at the window which is the goal for which she begins the journey, but rather she begins the ascent without her eyes fixed upon the goal, rather her heart set on achieving the goal, trusting that the steps will lead where she wants to go. This is like the faith I have discovered and strengthened over the last several months.

The Journey begins when we place our trust in the divine and take our first step into the darkness.

Jeff

Miracle of Creation

2009-01-03T16:24:00.000-08:00

I have been commissioned to paint a mural for a friend, and have been working on it the last few days, here are some pics of the unfinished mural:

Believe it or not, I have never painted clouds using an airbrush before, I am not trying to brag, but as I stood back and looked at the sky I had just painted, I marveled at how easy it was for me, and how realistic it looks, I took a moment to thank God for the gift to be able to create like this. It seems that anything creative I do with my hands just comes naturally to me, such a contrast from when I try to do things like real estate, or accounting!

Snow fun

2008-12-28T06:50:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-23T21:47:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-09-19T21:18:00.000-07:00

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.

***************************************

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.

*************************************

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

2008-07-07T11:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-01T22:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-01T22:01:00.001-07:00

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)

2008-05-19T22:49:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-09T22:30:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-03-24T14:35:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-03-11T00:02:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-01-10T22:48:00.000-08:00

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.