My demo and talk at the Bellevue Artists Association went very well Tuesday night. I counted about 20-23 people. It was a lot of fun and I met some wonderful folks. I did forget my camera. Sorry no pictures. Thanks to artist (Kathy Jureck) for inviting me. I basically did the same painting as my practice one the other day. Only difference was I had about 1/2 hour to do it. Can you say "speed painting!"



I started another new schedule for myself. I desperately need to exercise and eat better. (more discipline wouldn't hurt)...So my new regimen is to do my Daily Practice Painting then exercise for an hour,(huh) then work on my studio pieces...... what are the chances I'll keep this up for more than a day? Maybe I should start a new blog... Daily Exercise and Eating Right Practice.



click on the image to enlarge the painting
An Apple A Day
original by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on canvas board
(Click Here to Bid on EBay) To start the new discipline off on the right foot I painted my snack for the day. See, I've already started...I took a bite.

OK, OK, I know, another baseball you ask? I'm having fun. These baseball paintings are a blast to paint and compose with. I have so many ideas for them I may do one a week. This is my third painting in the series so finding a title was easy.



This painting has a strange story behind it. Baseball announcers have always used colorful expressions and witticisms to keep the game interesting. They talk almost none stop for the entire game so the best ones can get very verbally creative. Bob Uecker is probably the funniest play -by play announcer I have heard. You have seen him in the movies Major League and Major League 2.



click on the image to enlarge the painting
Strike Three
original by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on canvas board
(Click Here to Bid on EBay)

I grew up listening to Phil Rizzuto call the games for the New York Yankees. His famous expression every time a home run was hit was "Holy Cow". I don't know where I heard the expression that inspired this piece, " Strike three- Ring the Bell". It probably was only said one time in the history of baseball by some unknown broadcaster trying his best to come up with something clever to say during a slow game, but it stuck in my head.

I placed the ball on top of the bell in the middle of the box to represent the middle of the strike zone.

click on the image to enlarge the paintingOn The Inside Corner
original by Peter Yesis
6"x6"
oil on canvas board
SOLD
I couldn't think of a good name... I started with Baseball No.2 or it could have been: Strike Two or Ball Two or Ball in a Box. But On the Inside Corner was the only one I liked.

I kept this one a little looser than the first, also used thicker paint. I was more interested in the light than I was in the detail. Some of the best practice pieces come when you don't care about detail. They always end up having more feeling to them.

Tuesday Night I am giving a talk and Demo at the Bellevue Artists Association. The talk is about Daily Painters, blogging and selling on Ebay. THe Demo is how I do a typical daily painting practice piece. The speaking part I will work on tomorrow. I have only done this demo /talk thing once before so I need a little practice to help me organize what it is I am going to do.

I thought I would demo how I used to paint when I started my daily painting practice blog.



For those of you who have read this blog for a long time, you may remember how I use to show the set up and the progress shot at the same time. Here's a look at the composition in abstract shapes of light and dark. If it holds your attention here you should be good to go.



I went back to the wipe off method I used for a while. This is fun but I get so much paint on me. I hope they enjoy watching me cover the canvas more than how I cover myself.



Something strange and mystical starting happening to my painting of the pear. I wasn't paying attention to the drawing side of things and didn't notice what was happening until I was finished...



click on the image to enlarge the painting
The Magical Floating Pear original mistake by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on canvas board

The pear looks like it is starting to float away. I was so engrossed in laying in the thick paint I never went back to check the position of the pear. This was a good lesson for tomorrow. Maybe I'll bring it along and show them. You never learn more than when you make a mistake....still, it looks pretty,floating in the air that way.

There are times when I think I should go back to doing my daily painting practice the way I did when I started. I used to set up one item, use my shadow box and paint away. I will be doing just that next Tuesday when I give a demo at the Bellevue Artists Association. Sometimes keeping it simple is a good thing...



...But on the other hand, I got bored doing just one item at a time, so I added one item to the compositions, then another and soon I was composing more and more difficult things for my daily paintings. This is getting out of control!



You know my Van Gogh obsession has gone too far when I sit at a diner eating breakfast and start arranging compositions at the table. I ask my self, "What would Vincent do?"



click on the image to enlarge the painting
Breakfast Tip
original by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on canvas board (Click Here to Bid on EBay) I am not sure what the waitress thought or the other people that were eating, but when inspiration calls, an artist must reply. Still, I think maybe I should go back to painting an apple... just an apple....what would Vincent do?

One of my wife's favorite things to do (other than manage my art) is baking bread. So, when she went crazy in the kitchen baking biscuits and bread I sat at the table waiting for the first sample. (my role as taste tester). The sun was very strong that day and caught the corner of the stove. "That would make a great painting." I said. See how easy it is to find something to paint.



Every time I paint something on the stove I think of Van Gogh. I don't know why but this always happens. Once I have Van Gogh on my mind it's all over. My style changes... I get a crazy look in my eyes as I paint. This can be fun and very disturbing at the same time.



click on the image to enlarge the painting
Baking Bread
original by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on canvas board (Click Here to Bid on EBay) That honey jar has done its fair share of posing for me. I think it has been in at least 4 or 5 paintings now, same with the tea pot. I haven't grown tired of painting them yet, so I am sure they will end up in many more pictures.

Spring must be close because I had the itch to paint a baseball. I have wanted to paint this baseball ( another thrift store treasure) for a few months but never felt ready for the challenge, until now.



There are so many subtle colors in a baseball. It is very much like painting skin.



The hardest parts for me is getting the texture to have the right feel and determining where to place the correct level of detail. As you know, I don't like to put the same level of detail across the painting. I think I mentioned this in the last posting of the grapes. I am practicing how to keep the viewer's attention where I want it in a composition but at the same time trying to control the pace the viewer's eyes move around. Who would think that so much thought could go into a simple painting of a baseball?



click on image to enlarge the paintingBaseball original by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on canvas board
(Click Here to Bid on EBay)

I could probably do a baseball painting everyday of the season. I could show it in a different light and different composition each time. It is an amazing prop. I call it amazing because it is such a simple device. You can't get simpler, just a sphere with some red stitching. But every baseball carries a story. Like the skin on a persons face, you can read its history.

This was a fun yet challenging in its simplicity. Everything a daily painting practice piece should be.

click on the image to enlarge the paintingGrapes
original by Peter Yesis
8"x10"
oil on canvas (Click Here to Bid on EBay)

This was fun but took me a bit longer than a usual daily practice painting. I think the effort was worth it though. The trick in this composition was not to paint all the grapes with the same level of detail or color. The subtle variations in light falling across the grapes needed to be expressed by having the top left grapes be the star of the show and the lower grapes playing a supportive role. Otherwise the painting might have felt very static.... There is nothing worse than a static painting... leaves you with a shock.

You know you have a good model when they can hold a pose for hours.



He never moved... even though I was stepping all over arranging and rearranging the toys and books.



I even changed the blanket several times. This only made him move his hand... which actually was an improvement for the composition.



click on the image to enlarge the paintingNap Time color study
8"x10" oil on canvas board

(Click Here to Bid on EBay)

It is nice to have a model that changes shape every few weeks. I can't wait to see what the next stage brings. This is a study for a larger painting so I don't feel bad about selling it. Of course if it sells, I may have a start to his college fund. He may ask for payment when he is older.

click on the image to enlarge the paintingJust Before It Snows original by Peter Yesis
6"x8" oil on canvas board

(Click Here to Bid on EBay)

The temperature was up to 55 degrees the other morning. Then it took a nose dive and the sky became winter gray again. I swear my bones could feel the snow coming. Winter is holding on but that doesn't discourage my wife /gardener from starting her vegetable seeds indoors. Planting seeds indoors in the winter is proof of an eternal optimist.