April M. Rimpo Art: portrait

Showing posts with label portrait. Show all posts

Monday, May 11, 2020

Moment to Relax, 15.5" X 15.5" watercolor on Aquabord

Guatemalan Girl by April M. Rimpo

Moment to Relax

watercolor

15.5" X 15.5" on varnished Aquabord™

$525

Available through HorseSpirit Arts Gallery
info@horsespiritartsgallery.com
301-490-2001
www.HorseSpiritArtsGallery.com

Normally I paint on watercolor paper, but not so for Guatemalan Girl. Ampersand™ has a product called Aquabord™ that has a deep cradle made from 2" birch plywood strips that are attached flush with the back edge of the pane. They make a nice presentation, so framing is not required. The medium on the board is designed for use with aqueous media. I found it had some of the same properties as watercolor paper, but I did have to be careful about how long I worked on an area to keep it from getting too soft. When the painting was complete I varnished the surface so it can hang without glass.

I wanted to fragment the image so I chose 5" square aquabord and designed the piece so each segment would be an interesting painting in its own right. The exact placement of her body in each frame was carefully crafted to create interesting abstract in each panel.

I considered an exhibit where each segment could be purchased separately. If sold separately the girl would be shared among the various buyers. It would be interesting to bring the buyers together to meet and foster new relationships through my art.

The more I thought about the logistics I feared it would be very difficult to hang the segments so they remain properly aligned when hung as a whole. It seemed like aligning the segments might be a nightmare for me and the gallery, so in the end I attached the 9 panels to a sheet of Plexiglas™ and drill a slotted hole in the Plexiglas where it could be hung from a nail.

I still like the idea of displaying art so separate pieces form one image while the individual works are sold separately. Perhaps if I do this as a single line of paintings instead of a square of nine paintings the logistics of hanging would be reduced. Let me know what you think about this idea.

IInterested in April's artwork or taking one of her classes? Consider becoming a Studio Friend by signing up for her twice-monthly email. April segments her newsletter so you can select topics you'd like to hear about when you sign up. For those who Select the General Interest topic you will receive emails about twice-monthly. If you are only interested in classes, then the emails will be much less frequent discussing upcoming classes and how to register. Thank you for your support of April M Rimpo Art.

Contact April and see more of her art on her website

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Water Sprite 24" X 24" watercolor

Water Sprite a 24" X 24" watercolor by April M Rimpo

Water Sprite

Watercolor

24" X 24"

Water Sprite is a tribute to a friend who loves fish. I know this because she bought a painting I did of fish and explained how much she enjoys them. She clarified that she did not mean she liked eating them. When she told me this, my thoughts immediately turned to doing a painting of her swimming with fish with a smile from ear-to-ear.

Shortly before this conversation I had started a series of paintings with a goal accentual the inner story of a person. The story may be something few people or know or well known. Sometimes these inner stories are my reaction to the person, in other words, how I feel about them. So does that make it my inner story about the person? Maybe not, but my point is that these are not traditional portrait but something deeper. I hope you enjoy this painting and the others in this series.

Water Sprite was selected for the Northwest Watercolor Society's Waterworks Unchained exhibition. An online exhibit to be on display April 28 - September 12.

Other paintings in this series include:

Contact April and see more of her art on her website

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

"Transitions: A Self Portrait" Watercolor 16" X 16"

Transitions: A Self Portrait, a 16" X 16" watercolor

I've considered doing a self portrait for years. I wanted something that would represent my life from the early days through the present. Previously. I wasn't quite sure how to do that. In this portrait, the ribbons represent phases of my story. I decided to use ribbons of history to capture memories about my life through the symbols on the ribbons, which you'll notice run over my head and make their way into me, depicted by the shapes on my face and neck.

After finishing the painting, I decided one of the ribbons actually served a dual purpose since some of the shapes reminded me of hieroglyphics. I was always fascinated with the ancient Egyptians, doing a report on hieroglyphics in either the fifth or sixth grade. Later, I went on to study anthropology, including archaeology, ancient cultures and modern cultures, long before switching to a path in electrical engineering and semiconductor design, which was the original thought behind that ribbon. I won't share the meaning behind other ribbons so you can have your own interpretation.

Recently, I've created portraits where I want to capture more about the person than their image by using unusual colors and symbols to represent their life or how I interpret their inner being. Now I just need an opportunity for a photoshoot where I can capture a more dramatic shot than a typical family photo.

Stay tuned for more of these portraits of life.

Contact April and see more of her art on her website

Thursday, July 4, 2019

"Wondering" 18" X 24" watercolor

"Wondering" 18" X 24" watercolor © April M Rimpo

Wondering is an exploration into telling a story, about a moment in a person's life and what I image may be her thought, through colors, lighting, and shapes. Leveraging full strength, non-representational, wet-into-wet watercolors for the shaded side of her face, I then juxtaposed this strength with very pale natural colored washes on the brightly lit side of her face. Hard lines add texture to her hair, along with a few touches of splatter, mimic the splatter that forms the feathers in her hair. The addition of some geometric shapes in her face, in the foreground and background contrast with highly organic blends surrounding her. These organic blends are repeated in the squares on the left side of the painting, serving as a means to pull together the organic and geometric contracts found elsewhere.

I'm delighted that "Wondering" was selected by juror, Joseph Becherer, for the International Society of Experimental Artists International Exhibition. Joseph Becherer is the director of the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame and formerly founding director and curator of the sculpture program at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This exhibit will run from September 7 - October 26, 2019.

This painting is available on April's website, where you can see a larger image.

Contact April and see more of her art on her website

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Portrait, Landscape, and other Commissions

A Commission by April M Rimpo

I don't talk a lot about doing commissions since I have so many ideas for my own to painting, but I find when someone approaches me for a commission that it ends up being a great experience. If you have an idea for a commission let me know and we can see if I can create a great memory for you. Most commissions I've done have been given as gifts to a family member. Consider a gift of art.

I've done portraits of people, as you see above, and also portraits of favorite vacation spots which can be images of sunsets, cityscapes or landscapes. I like trying to get a sense of the people or of the place before I start and it's important for me to understand what the person requesting the painting likes about my artwork (e.g., which are their favorite paintings of mine). This helps me understand what style they are looking for in the painting. We also talk about color scheme. I evaluate the reference photographs provided by the customer to see if the image quality is sufficient for me to be able to see the details and colors well enough to produce a good painting.

The portrait above is in watercolor. I figured if I could get the background right the rest would be fine. I know some artists start with the faces because they find those the hardest part. I've painted enough people that I don't worry too much about getting the people right. The husband gave the painting as a gift to his wife and daughters, who are now in their late teens. Upon receipt the feedback from the husband was "fantastic", which was great to hear. I'm looking forward to hearing his family's reaction.

Painting places excites me as much as painting people. Here you can see some of the commissions I've done of places and a portion of a commission of an old family truck. I enjoyed creating each of these.

Commissioned Paintings

At the top is a DC street scene, next a family at their favorite camping site, a family's '52 Chevy truck, view of San Francisco Bay. All were great projects. The three landscapes were for people that I didn't know before the commission. Each allowed me to create a special place in their life. What an honor.

You can see the '52 Chevy Truck and learn more about that commission by following this link.

If you're interested in a portrait commission I can do these in a variety of styles. Samples of portraits I've done using different approaches can be seen here.

To read about my commission process take a look at this commission blog.

Interested in April's artwork or taking one of her classes? Consider becoming a Studio Friend by signing up for her twice-monthly email. April segments her newsletter so you can select topics you'd like to hear about when you sign up. For those who Select the General Interest topic you will receive emails about twice-monthly. If you are only interested in classes, then the emails will be much less frequent discussing upcoming classes and how to register. Select as many topics as sound of interest. Thank you for your support of April M Rimpo Art. Oh, and please be sure to click on the link in a second email to verify your interest in joining my newsletter. Without the verification you will be left in a limbo state where you will not receive my emails and I can't complete the verification on your behalf. If you receive a response that you are already subscribed, email me to confirm and I can send you a different link to update your profile and get the verification email resent to you.

Contact April and see more of her art on her website

#HoCoArt

#commissionedpaintings

Friday, June 23, 2017

"Time at the Bus Stop" fluid acrylic 12" X 12"

Time at the Bus Stop by April M Rimpo

Time at the Bus Stop

Fluid Acrylic

12" X 12" in brushed silver frame

Available for Purchase Here

Time at the Bus Stop portrays a family having a few moments to talk and catch up while waiting for their ride. The morning light causes wonderful highlights and long shadows that caught my eye. As I was painting the family I couldn't help but wonder where they were headed. Are the boys on their way to school? Is this a family outing? I decided your context heavily influences how each of us perceives the scene. Perhaps they are really headed to the fields to work.

But in reality their destination doesn't matter. What inspired me to paint this family is the interactions between them. The young mother seemed to be listening closely to her youngest son, while the older boy looked on while eating some breakfast. I suspect the oldest woman may have been the grandmother who appears to be a bit lost in thought. It was catching that happy moment in time that compelled me to paint. I hope my painting makes you smile.

Click here to Contact April

Interested in learning more about April's art inspirations, tips about her painting process, or art business tidbits? Want to know when her art is in exhibits? Consider joining her friends and collectors by signing up for her twice-monthly email.

Copyright April M Rimpo 2016 All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Having fun with portraits

A couple years ago I decided to do a book of family portraits as a surprise gift for my mother. Since these were for my family I thought I should experiment with a variety of styles to help me learn and also to keep the project fun and exciting. There is nothing like trying a new technique to keep you work fresh and challenging. Many of these were based on black and white photos taken in the 40s and 50s. In some ways that gave me to opportunity to play with color since there was no bias introduced by the photographs themselves.

Here are some examples and a little bit about each approach and why I selected the style for each painting. When doing commissions of portraits the customer and I discuss the color scheme to ensure I understand their goals. These samples are to help with that discussion. Some of these are commissioned work.

We have all seen the ads from the '40s of the woman holding a coffee cup and of Rosie the Riveter. These ads used bold colors, bright yellow backgrounds, and a graphic style. This painting gave a nod to that style, where I simplified shapes using contours and exaggerated colors. I didn't want the stark yellow background used in many of those ads, so I muted the yellow slightly and sprayed it with water to create spots and soft areas to contrast with the figure.

This painting was based on a photograph of my son when he was drawing. Most of his drawings are line drawings in graphite, which he then scans and augments on the computer. I wanted to bring in the feel of his line drawings, so I used watercolor pencil to add outlines to his features and to create his beard. See the closeup at right to better see the approach.

Capturing the love between mother and daughters drove me to use warm colors in the background to wrapped this touching moment with the emotions they shared.

Since this painting was of my brother and I as children, I wanted a soft painting that portrayed young innocence. Using soft colors for our clothing and the shadows on the birch trees kept the painting light while the dark bark and grass at the base helped force the view back up into the center. My brother always protected his little sister so his pose with his arm up, although likely unplanned, made me feel like he was providing a shield. I strengthened the color in his arm to keep that gesture from being lost in the background.

When on vacation in Deep Creek, the innkeeper where we were staying asked whether I ever painted in sepia. I couldn't recall if I ever had, but thought that would be a wonderful way to paint one of these portraits since sepia toned photographs were common in the era of some of the source photos. I started this painting using a grisaille approach, using shades of gray, to capture shapes, their hair, and the patterns in their clothing. Then I added pale washes of burnt orange reminiscent of old sepia tone photographs.

Similar to the approach used for the portrait of my son above, I used line-work in this painting. However in this painting I used charcoal, instead of watercolor pencil, to achieve heavier lines. I had used a bright background that I didn't want to become the focus of the painting and I felt the heavy lines added interest and kept the focus on the boys.

This painting is called Speed. My brother was so happy in his new sports car that I wanted to paint it as though he was streaming down the road. I abstracted some of the shapes of the interior of the car to keep the focus on my brother, then intentionally blurred the background as though the foliage along the side of the road was out of focus as he flew by. I incorporated some of the red from the car in the background and formed it into flames to help emphasize a sense of speed.

Some portraits are more about the inner story of a person, capturing a bit of their spirit or perhaps something they love. This piece was focused on the spirit of this person. The additional of graphic elements is something we could discuss if you are interested in this type of portrait.

I think it is important when doing portraits to include notes about the person or the times to create an interesting story and help communicate a bit about the person. I think choosing the approach to the painting ended up being an important part of telling each story in a unique way. The same is true when telling stories about places and things and hope my art succeeds to convey a place and time.

Let me know which of these paintings spoke most to you and why. I'd love to hear whether the approach I used conveyed a bit of the story before you read my explanation.

You can read more about commissioning a painting here.

Contact April and see more of her art on her website.

© Commissioned paintings, like all of my other artwork, is an original design, concept, and creation of the artist, April M. Rimpo. The copyright is owned solely by the artist for the protection of her original work. Although you have purchased this painting for your pleasure, the right to reproduce or copy in any form is reserved solely for the artist and is forbidden by law. You may share my work with attribution to April M. Rimpo and a link to www.amrart.org, but all other uses are prohibited. Thank you for honoring this protection of creative work.

Interested in April's artwork or taking one of her classes? Consider becoming a Studio Friend by signing up for her weekly email. April segments her newsletter so you can select topics you'd like to hear about when you sign up. For those who Select the General Interest topic you will receive emails about twice-monthly. If you are only interested in classes, then the emails will be much less frequent discussing upcoming classes and how to register. Select as many topics as sound of interest. Thank you for your support of April M Rimpo Art. Oh, and please be sure to click on the link in a second email to verify your interest in joining my newsletter. Without the verification you will be left in a limbo state where you will not receive my emails and I can't complete the verification on your behalf. If you receive a response that you are already subscribed, email me to confirm and I can send you a different link to update your profile and get the verification email resent to you.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

"Flower Vendor" watercolor 22" X 17.5"

Flower Vendor by April M. Rimpo

Flower Vendor is my third painting about vendors. In each case the vendors seem to be small business owners. This painting and The Vendor are based on people here in the United States, while Fruit Vendors features Guatemalan vendors. Perhaps I am drawn to these because I grew up in a family that has a small business and know the long hours it takes to make a venture succeed. Each of these paintings capture the vendors concentrating on their wares.

Flower Vendor

watercoclor
22 " X 17.5" image

28 " X 23.5" framed

$1100

Although the vendor is an important character in this painting, it is the flowers I wanted to highlight. To accomplish this, I used blue pigments to mute the background and the woman while keeping the central flowers bright warm colors: yellows, reds, and pinks. The woman has a red apron to help create a consistent color scheme throughout the painting, but the red is more subdued than in the flowers; I added blues and purples to reduce the vibrancy of the apron.

I also reflected golden and red colors from the bouquet in the vendor’s face but again used blues and greens in her flesh tones to keep you focused on the brilliant flowers. Of course I want you to look at the woman, but when all is said and done, it is her love of the flowers that I want you to admire.

At left is the triad color scheme I chose for the painting. I ended up shifting the yellows toward gold and the reds toward pinks, but I did retain the concept of the blue triad. Primarily cobalt blue is used in the initial wash to help push back the background and much of the woman allowing the bright colors in the flowers to be the star. I used a very wet wash in the background so a wide variety of colors could mix on the page creating a beautiful backdrop. After the first background wash had dried I added a second dark wash created from a variety of dark pigments. As the second wash was drying I sprayed it with a mist of water to create water spots, which further diffused the background and revealed some of the underlying color.

I happen to love drips in watercolor paintings since it reveals the fluidity of the medium. I wanted drips across the bottom of the painting. Although the woman was placing flowers in a vase I decided to change it to wrapped flowers where the stems are sticking out of the bottom of the wrapping. This way the stems could also be created from drips.

Other "vendor paintings" include:

April has prints of many of her paintings, if you don't see one in her online store ask her about availability.

* Contract April regarding purchasing outside the United States

Monday, July 23, 2012

A Favorite Color Scheme demonstrated in "His Dugout"

His Dugout, 32.5" X 23.5", fluid acrylic
and watercolor, by April M. Rimpo

His Dugout

acrylic & watercolor on paper

32.5" X 23.5" image

39" X 31" silver brush frame

One of my favorite color schemes is a triad that uses primarily blue and orange with smaller hints of green.

Source: www.colorschemedesigner.com

I use www.colorschemedesigner.com to preview the triad and zero-in on the shade of blue and orange that I want to use. Often the next step in my process is to use Adobe Photoshop to vary the colors in my reference photo(s) to try out my plan. The Photoshop version never looks quite like the final painting, but gets me close enough to know whether I want to go forward.

His Dugout is an abstract, representational painting that shows a Guatemalan man beside his dugout. He was getting ready to repair the dugout using a molten, tar-like substance in his wooden boat. As I mentioned in my blog post on Basket Maker, few of the Guatemalan men wear traditional clothing, but many of them build and use these dugout boats. I'm sure I'll paint examples of these boats in the future.

His Dugout received an Honorable Mention Award at The Pennsylvania Watercolor Society's 34th Annual International Juried Exhibition. Many thanks to Pat Dews for selecting this painting for the exhibit and to Frank Webb for granting this award.

Click the link at right to hear me discuss this painting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jht7P1m60bI

Like many of my paintings I used a combination of fluid acrylic and watercolor in His Dugout. Only two acrylic colors were used: Da Vinci Leaf Green 945A and Da Vinci Cerulean Blue (Hue) 921A. I wanted the bright intensity I could get with acrylic for these light valued colors. The balance of the painting was done in watercolor. Below are three photos:

A picture of my source photograph before I manipulated it to push it to my desired color scheme.
An initial work in progress (WIP) after lying in the first blues and establishing some of the darkest values.
A later WIP photo after many of the orange hues had been added.

Established dark values and a variety of blue hues

Below are some of my other paintings in which I used a similar blue/orange triad color scheme

Taking a Break

Woman with a Wrapped Hat

The Vendor

Related post on combining fluid acrylic and watercolor

To see available prints check my store.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

"At One with their Gondolas", 12.5" X24.5" watercolor

At One with their Gondolas by April M. Rimpo

At One with their Gondolas

watercoclor

12.5" X 24.5" image

20 " X 32" framed

$700 within the United States *

There is something about the mystery of Venice that attracts me. My family had the opportunity to explore Venice once. It was a very overcast, people were bundled up and ready for rain, but they couldn't resist the experience of a ride in a gondola. I had always envisioned these rides to be individual romantic rides, the Hollywood stereotype. The cluster of gondoliers traveling down the main canal altered my perspective. They really are taxis on the water, with charm.

I wanted to emphasize the concept of togetherness and, at the same time, capture the idea that the gondoliers essentially blend into their boats allowing their passengers to enjoy their ride without interference. In "At One with their Gondolas" I painted the gondoliers in a way that you can't tell where their bodies end and their gondolas begin. I also joined the three gondolas on the left to make them seem like one. Using light values in the gondola poles they stand out, clarifying the separate boats and providing an interesting repetition. The fourth gondolier on the right is slightly separated and holds his pole at a different angle from the others, reminding us each gondolier is truly unique.

April's other paintings of Europe include:

To see other work by April visit her website at http://www.rimpo.org/april/

* Contact April regarding purchase outside the United States

Sunday, June 24, 2012

"Basket Maker", 27.5" X 20.5" fluid acrylic and watercolor

Basket Maker from Guatemala in traditional men's clothing

Basket Maker, 27.5" X 20.5", by April M. Rimpo

Basket Maker is a little special for me. One reason this is so special is because this man was wearing traditional Guatemalan clothing that unfortunately not many of the men wear. Many years of revolution in Guatemala have caused the men to migrate from traditional clothing to wearing clothes more like ours. I assume this transition was to avoid damage to the clothing, but most men in Central Guatemala have not returned to wearing their traditional garments. The women continue to wear the clothing of their clan, but not the men. It was with pleasure that I could share this tradition.

When I travel I take thousands of photographs of the area. In fact I am so focused on the beauty of the area that I take few pictures of the people I am traveling with; something that I regret in hindsight. I photographed the man making the basket but, like many of my painting source photos, I had no idea how to paint this subject at the time. It was 4 years after taking the photo that I finally felt I had the skills I needed to accomplish the vision in my head. I knew I wanted to keep him in front of the stone wall, but had to do some shifting and rearranging to make a better design. The basket maker was in the shadow of the building so I also had to brighten the scene a little and reduce the shadow on his face.

Basket Maker

fluid acrylic and watercolor

27.5" X 20.5" image, matted in brushed silver frame

To see other work done by combining fluid acrylic and watercolor check this blog post

Shop my Online Store

Copyright April M Rimpo

Monday, May 11, 2020

Moment to Relax, 15.5" X 15.5" watercolor on Aquabord

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Water Sprite 24" X 24" watercolor

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

"Transitions: A Self Portrait" Watercolor 16" X 16"

Thursday, July 4, 2019

"Wondering" 18" X 24" watercolor

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Portrait, Landscape, and other Commissions

Friday, June 23, 2017

"Time at the Bus Stop" fluid acrylic 12" X 12"

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Having fun with portraits

Saturday, May 18, 2013

"Flower Vendor" watercolor 22" X 17.5"

Monday, July 23, 2012

A Favorite Color Scheme demonstrated in "His Dugout"

Sunday, July 8, 2012

"At One with their Gondolas", 12.5" X24.5" watercolor

Sunday, June 24, 2012

"Basket Maker", 27.5" X 20.5" fluid acrylic and watercolor

Most Popular Posts This Month

Most Popular Posts of All Time

Followers

Total Pageviews

StatCounter