Howdy – Portrait Painting Tips from Los Angeles Gallery of Art K.L. Britton

Howdy

Oil on Panel 8″x8″

Available at Flower Pepper Gallery 

So this was an interesting small portrait I wanted to do because, as you may know, I am a Southwestern type, and I love Western Art.  I grew up in Arizona, which had a huge influence on me as I was surrounded with traditional realism and fantasy combined.  When the rest of the art world went modern, Western art stayed strong, depicting gorgeous images of desert landscapes, horses and cowboys, Native Americans, and so many other wonders of historical and modern times in the West.

Growing up, my home was full of artwork, from a detailed landscape with lightning, to some fun plein air paintings in the bathroom, and colorful coyotes in a bedroom, art has influenced my life forever.  I stared at paintings for hours, picking out details I’d never seen before or simply wanted to appreciate one more time.  I plan to enter more into the world of Western art, because it’s so much in my blood.

Thank you for reading.

Sold Out – Flower Pepper Gallery Pasadena – Los Angeles Artist K.L. Britton

Hey guys!

I’ve been continuing on the portrait lately, as well as some colour studies, so instead of posting updates on it, I wanted to let you guys know about the show at Flower Pepper Gallery that ended on Saturday.

It was Flower Pepper Gallery’s Sixth Anniversary, so I submitted 6 paintings, and they all sold out before the weekend.  Surprisingly, I had also had a dream that they had all sold, but I wasn’t sure since they didn’t sell until after the opening.  I’m very proud to be a part of Flower Pepper Gallery in Pasadena, among other phenomenal artists who’s creativity is off the charts.  The gallery owner is one of the most generous, kind people I’ve ever met, and I’m lucky to have participated in this wonderful event.

Thank you for reading!

Open Studio at Situ Art Academy – AllaPrima Portrait by K.L. Britton Los Angeles

On Sunday I began taking a class at Situ Art Academy in Covina.  It’s only a 30 minute drive to and from DTLA / Koreatown where I live, and it’s well worth it.  Before the class is an open studio, every Sunday from 2pm-5pm with a costumed model.  I brought my Edge Pro Gear Sketchbook, however it was a bit small for my efforts.  I painted on a 9x 12 panel, and couldn’t get my paint piles large enough to do enough mixing, so it came out quite dry.  This would be solved with a larger palette.  That’s a great excuse to get the larger setup for myself for Christmas 😉

In all of my paintings, I like to block in an idea of where the final product will end up, so I can understand the composition.  This one is not what I’m used to, I like lower left to upper right compositions, but with the lighting and hair, I had to do the opposite.

You can see the struggle here!  I’m trying to paint the face, then the hair, then the collar, and I’m trying to keep them to compare them, but it’s not possible to get much bigger piles on this little baby.  Still the best for anything under 8″ though!  I will try a smaller panel next time (or plop my larger palette on top :D) The open studio was great, there are a ton of master artists painting there, and I always enjoy seeing each person with their own view and depiction of a similar subject.  There was such variety and I was lucky enough to sit behind two extremely creative guys who painted beautiful and exotic depictions of our gorgeous model.  Looking forward to next week at Situ Art Academy!

Thanks for reading!