Thursday, January 29, 2009

"Solitude" by Bernie Rosage Jr.

"Solitude".... 8H x 6W x 1.75D" Oil on panel, alla prima, 1-2009.
SOLD @ New Bern Artworks and Company Gallery

Click on image to see a larger view...



Can't you just picture yourself enjoying the peaceful solitude of nature on a journey down this country lane? A lone tree at sunset is the focal point of solitude in this peaceful scene. I painted this scene from imagination from memories of the Irish landscape still fresh in my minds-eye from a trip there last summer.

This painting, on wood, is box-framed and ready to hang.

All my paintings are signed originals using artist grade oils and archival surfaces.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Fun in the Snow... Arctic Blast Continues!

No School... No Work... No Worries... Just fun in the snow!


Instead of plein air painting in the snow I opted for snowball fights with Livie... afterall... this may be the only snowfall we get while she is still a child. I can't even remember the last time we had snow on the ground... someone told me they thought it was 2004????


Livie and her miniature snow-woman. Joe Miller would be proud... She put a Cheap Joe's art hat on her Frosty the Snow-woman!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Arctic Blast paintings... Snow Scenes from the Blue Ridge

The United States has been hit hard this winter and finally the Arctic Blast (as it has been dubbed by our local TV forecasters) has hit Southeastern NC. Every morning I cut on my computer to look at local news, check emails, and see what's up with the weather. In fact, my opening page shows the temps for Jacksonville NC (where I live), Fleetwood NC (where our family mountain lodge is), and Oakland MD (where my wife is from)... this morning the temps read... Jacksonville @ 18 degrees, Fleetwood @ 0 degrees, and Oakland @ -9 degrees... BRRRRRRRRRR! I realize there are people throughout this great country who are laughing at my 18 degrees... the tables are turned in the summer when we get the 100+ temps and it doesn't bother us.
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Here are a few "Arctic Blast" paintings I did last year. The scenes are set in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Boone, NC.
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Click on paintings to enlarge...
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"Snowy Barn"... 6x8" Oil on Panel, alla prima, 2008.
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"Snowy Path in the Blue Ridge"... 6x8" Oil on panel, alla prima, 2008.
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"Winter's Rush"... 6x8" Oil on Panel, alla prima, 2008.
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These original oil paintings by American Artist, Bernie Rosage Jr. are available for purchase... Email Bernie about purchasing details HERE... please include the paintings title in the subject line.
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Stay warm... thanks for dropping by... feel free to leave a comment and let me know what the temperature is in your area.
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Bernie
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PS... I have included Olivia's (my Lil' painting buddy) painting that she brought home from school today...
"Blizzard Snowman and Dog"... 9x12" Watercolor and Crayon by Olivia Rosage, age 7, 1-2009.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Vintage Camera "Hawkeye Brownie" by Bernie Rosage Jr.

"Hawkeye Brownie".... 8H x 8W x 1.75D" Oil on panel, alla prima from life, 1-2009.

This original oil painting by American Artist, Bernie Rosage Jr. is available for purchase... Email Bernie about purchasing details HERE... please include the paintings title in the subject line.
Click on image to see a larger view...



Anyone who has followed my work knows that I love to paint old vintage cameras. American nostalgia can not be better exemplified than by this painting I did from life of the famous Brownie, the name of a long-running and extremely popular series of simple and inexpensive cameras made by Kodak. The Brownie popularized low-cost photography and introduced the concept of the snapshot. The first Brownie, introduced in February, 1900, was a very basic cardboard box camera with a simple lens. With its simple controls and initial price of $1, it was intended to be a camera that anyone could afford and use. The camera was named after the popular cartoons created by Palmer Cox. The model I painted here is the Brownie Hawkeye Flash Model introduced in 1949 (1950 for the flash synchronized model). The original price was $5.50 and the flash was $7. It was discontinued in July 1961... one month before I was born.

Everyday objects painted from life is the essence of the "Painting a Day" art movement that is gaining momentum in the art collecting market.
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This painting, on wood, is box-framed and ready to hang.
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All my paintings are signed originals using artist grade oils and archival surfaces.
Thanks for dropping by...
Bernie

Friday, January 09, 2009

Whoops... Forgot my brushes! Plein Air Knife painting by Bernie Rosage Jr.

"Impressionistic Marsh".... 8x16" Oil on panel, alla prima "en plein aire" with palette knife, 11-2008. .
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This original oil painting by American Artist, Bernie Rosage Jr. is available for purchase... Email Bernie about purchasing details HERE... please include the paintings title in the subject line.
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This piece was on display at the Baysden Gallery for the Invitational Show titled "Water World" on exhibit through January.
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Click on image to see a larger view and experience the texture and colors better...
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My Lil' Painting Buddy, Olivia, and I set out on another plein air painting adventure recently. We went to one of our favorite spots at the Cedar Point branch of the Croatan National Forest. I got my Lil' Buddy all set up and painting and I picked out a good view for myself. As I began setting up my french easel I discovered something... Whoops... I forgot my brushes... they were on my desk at home just where I left them while packing my gear. Adapting to the dilemma I decided to do my painting totally with my palette knives which were luckily packed in my easel. The result was something totally different than you are used to seeing from me... I enjoyed the freedom of doing something totally different and fresh. You may see more of these in the future... I didn't hold back and piled the paint on thick.
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Close ups showing impasto texture from palette knife work...

This painting has 1 3/4" deep painted sides and is ready to hang.

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All my paintings are signed originals using artist grade oils and archival surfaces. "Certificate of Authenticity" included.

Saturday, January 03, 2009

Plein Air Painting Demo from Appalachian State University Campus by Bernie Rosage Jr....

There's a small park in the center of campus at Appalachian State University (ASU) in Boone, North Carolina that is one of my favorite spots to paint en plein aire. My wife dropped me off with easel and painting gear in hand buying me two hours time while she took the kids to the library. The weather was clear and warm for Boone in late December... around 55 degrees... perfect painting weather!
I positioned myself along a walking path in the park with a great view of the campus bell tower... my focal point.

I met many nice folks walking and jogging along the path... it's a wonder I finished the painting before my wife returned with the numerous conversations I had. Knowing the short time frame I had to work with I had to do some mental editing and only included the
elements necessary to make the piece work compositionally.

Stage 1... First I sketched a "rule of thirds" grid to help position the focal point on my panel. I then began to block in the important shapes with burnt sienna and ultra marine thinned with odorless mineral spirits.
Stage 2... I began to block in with more opaque paint defining the shapes and values more. I mixed Liquin Impasto Gel with all my pigment mixtures to speed drying times knowing I would be transporting this one back to the coast in a Honda CRV packed to it's gills with luggage, kids, and two cats.

Stage 3... I began working in some detail. Note my editing consisted of leaving out a few trees and the gazebo. Often times you know when something in a painting just isn't working... that's how it was with the evergreen tree on the left for me. My evergreen looked more like a sycamore giving half the painting a visual tension with the bare tree on the right... it was as if I had two seasons (summer and winter) within one painting.

Stage 4... With that said... the best thing to do was wipe it out... I could have licked it to death trying to fix it but I learned sometime back it is better for me to wipe it clean and start fresh. Many times the plein air painter has to wipe his whole panel clean... we call that a "scrapper".
Stage 5... Adding more detail and refining areas. My palette for this painting consisted of cad lemon yellow, cad yellow medium, yellow ocher, terra rosa, burnt sienna, alizarin crimson, viridian, cerulean blue, ultra marine blue, and titanium white.
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Stage 6.... The Finished work... just in time... my wife showed up just as I was signing it.
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Click on image to see a larger view...
"ASU Bell Tower"... 8x6" Oil on Panel, alla prima en plein aire, 12-30-2008.
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This original oil painting by American Artist, Bernie Rosage Jr. is available for purchase... email Bernie with the title in the subject line... click HERE... for price and details...
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This painting, on a gessoed panel with painted sides, is easily framed or displayed with a decorative easel.
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All my paintings are signed originals using artist grade oils and archival surfaces. "Certificate of Authenticity" included.
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Packing up and looking forward to the next plein air adventure... Hope you enjoyed this short demo.... Happy New Year!
Bernie
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Here's another plein air demo I did in 2005 in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains that you may glean some info from: Impressionistic Demo by Bernie Rosage Jr.
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