ZION: A Fall Artist-in-Residence Experience

ZION: A Fall Artist-in-Residence Experience (cover)

The new book has finally been submitted to the printer. (Yea!)

This is a hardbound, premium-quality, signed, limited edition art book. It measures 8.5"x11" and is intended for anyone who would like to have high resolution reproductions of all of my Zion series paintings in one volume - or for anyone who has wanted to own my artwork but been unable previously to afford an original.

The volume contains 79 images, with 54 in full color. It also contains a number of black & white compositional studies, and several step-by-step demonstrations of my working process.

If you'd like to own a copy, email me (artist@earnestward.com) for further details and availability. (It would also make a great holiday gift for special art-lovers and national park enthusiasts!)

Coming Soon!

Coming soon - a new series of step-by-step demonstration videos and instructional workshops to supplement the video snapshots I've recently begun posting. 

The step-by-step demos will generally run no more than 3 minutes with minimal text and voice-over. The narrated "full-length" workshops may run up to 1 hour but will likely be posted in 15-minute installments (allowing you to refresh your cup of coffee before starting a new chapter), and may include PDF materials lists.

Techniques and materials will be covered in shorter videos. Longer videos will cover journaling (nature and travel), drawing, and painting, with works covered from beginning to end. And we'll be doing a mix - alternating studio works with on-location plain air. (Watch for visits to some exciting destinations just as soon as we can put the pandemic in our rearview mirror.)

So, bare with me as I get the video studio back up to speed (and work out a few bugs - like remembering to turn off the metronome "click" in the audio track.) Watch for regular "test videos" to be announced here and - depending on their length and format - posted to my Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram/IGTV channels. And join me for the new art adventures.

Oh! If there are particular topics, techniques, or subjects you'd like to see covered - please let me know by leaving a suggestion in the Comments.

Thanks!

Video Snapshots

I've begun creating and posting a series if short videos (I call them "Video Snapshots.") to my Instagram account recently. Each video runs 13-60 seconds in length and provides a step-by-step insight into my working process on a painting or drawing (or, in some cases, a scrolled pan of an elongated drawing or journal entry.)

To date I've posted 7 snapshots. (If you don't currently have an Instagram account, you can view the first 6 on my DrawntoAdventure YouTube channel.) And, going forward, I'll try to post a new short to Instagram every 3-4 days.

Once I have a steady following I hope to expand the offering by adding slightly longer (up to 10 minutes) IGTV demo and instructional videos to the mix. 

So, take a look. And, if you like what you see be sure to "follow" me on Instagram.

Oh, if you have an idea for my future videos (Want to see instructional videos? Demos? Studio work? Plein air? Painting? Drawings? Journaling?) let me know in the comments below and I'll see what I can do.

Thanks!

Art in the Age of Covid

 Like so many others, I've been experiencing an increasing level of stress since the onslaught of the global health crisis. Thanks to the internet and 24/7 news feed (which was SO accurately described by one observer as the "Doomsday Scroll"), we are all bombarded during our every waking hour by a steady stream of political, social, and health crisis that most of us are powerless to resolve.

So, I've decided to join the growing number of people who are choosing to focus on the things that we do have some control over. I've deleted the news feed apps from my phone, stopped reading newspapers, stopped listening to radio talk shows, and stopped watching broadcast TV.

Instead, I've turned my attention to making art, fly fishing, and riding my bike (which frequently gets me to places where I can make art, or fly fish, or both.)

And - with this post - I'm renewing blog posting on a regular basis in hopes that these posts may prove helpful to others who are seeking a healthy, stress-free alternative to the current day-to-day grind.

I invite you to get comfortable, dust off your pens & pencils, get out your paints, and let's get started. 

To get things rolling (and get some rust out of the system), I decided to complete a couple of paintings from my Zion National Park series. First was In the Shadows (First Snow), 12"x12", oils on panel (above), followed by Along the River/Zion Canyon from the Temple, 9"x16", oils on panel (below). (And, if you'd like to see more works from this series, please visit my website gallery at http://www.earnestward.com/Earnest_Ward/Zion_NP.html )

In future posts I will share additional works, discuss art supplies & materials, offer suggestions on a variety of subjects and techniques, and demonstrate helpful step-by-step art-making processes.

As always, thanks for letting me share. And I hope to see you next time.

Oh, and if you'd like more frequent updates on what I'm up to, please follow me on Instagram! (https://www.instagram.com/earnestwardartist/ )