Creating Art Inspired by AI

With all the buzz about AI art, I decided to do a little experiment with it to see how it could be applied to an artist or art teacher.  Here's a video I made of the process along with some quick painting examples I made using an app called "Leonardo AI":

AI Generated Reference Image

Reference #2

Reference #3

New Paintings - Winter 2023/24

Flatirons in Winter - Prints Available

Embracing the cold this winter, I did a painting of the Boulder Flatirons caked in snow.  Funny thing is that this photo I used for reference was take in MAY after a mid spring snowstorm a few years ago!

We also spent a weekend recently in Colorado Springs and I took a stab at doing a 1 hour plein air painting in the cold.  Wow!  That was revealing.  I now see how slowly I normally paint.  I definitely left wishing I had another hour or two.  Below is a comparison of a one hour painting of Pike Peak and a 20 hour painting of the same peak done years ago:

Pikes Peak - 1 hour plein air

 

1 hour

20 hours

New Painting - Indian Peaks Wilderness

 

Just finished a brand new painting titled "Indian Peaks Wilderness".  Boy does it feel good to finish a painting that takes so long to complete!  This one is of a sunrise scene I capture years ago at Lake Isabelle in the front range of Colorado.  I remember this morning well.  It was very cold and windy and overcast.  Daryl and I woke up and hiked here way before dawn and were sure the clouds would block the sun from hitting the mountains for sunrise.  To our surprise, they lifted just as the sun came up and illuminated the peaks with a bright orange.  It was breathtaking!  

Below are some progress photos and the actual photo of the reference shot used to make this artwork:

Reference photograph of the scene

New Paintings - Summer 2022

 This was the first summer we've had that Cami has been working while I stay home and play Mr. Mom.  It's been an adjustment, but we found our groove.  We all spent a few hours in the mornings painting and jamming out to Skillet in the studio before we went on to chores and the rest of our day.  I was able to finish a couple paintings during these sessions with the kids.  The first one features an awesome sunset I shot a couple summers ago from up high on the rock cut formation along Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park:

Blocking in color

Finishied acrylic painting - Prints Available

The second is of a peaceful waterfall inspired by an off the path discovery in the Bighorn Mountains of Northeasterrn Wyoming.  This one took a bit longer with all the flower details.  I've learned that I enjoy rocks.  I could paint rocks for days.  Grass?  Not so much!

Flowing - Prints Available

Painting - Rocky Mountain Bull Elk

This is my latest painting of an autumn landscape with a big bull elk bugling.  It represents what I view as a classic Colorado fall scene.  The elk reference I used in this picture was taken from a photograph I took years ago in Rocky Mountain National Park.  The autumn landscape was taken near the Silverthorne/Vail area on a fall colors photography trip, while the sagebrush in the foreground was taken from yet another photograph.  Putting all these images together in a rough composite allowed me to tweak the composition exactly the way I wanted it.  I then adjusted the lighting so they fit together.  Artist license... it's allowed!

Elk reference photo

Inpiration background photo

Photoshopped reference photo

 Recently, I have been working on my technique with the goal to paint faster without sacrificing quality.  I try to use a larger brush for much of the piece to fill in sections faster giving the illusion of texture and detail, especially in the background.  Another thing that I'm learning is that using a solid reference photograph goes a long way toward creating that realistic, engaging image.  It's fun to compare images from the past to see how you've grown as an artist.  Below is a similar painting I completed when I was in college 15 years ago.  Side by side with this current one, you can see a lot of technical improvements:

15 years ago

Today

Last, here's a complete time-lapse video of the entire painting process:

Flower Vase Painting Tutorial

This video is a step by step narrated tutorial on how to make a sunflower vase still life.  We use basic painting techniques and instructions that are easy to follow.  Don't worry if you don't have painting experience or don't feel like you're good at art.  I'm convinced that if you follow these steps, you will be able to create a painting that looks very similar to this one.  Art makes a great personal gift for special occasions.  Don't just buy someone flowers...paint them flowers!

Painting the Lion and the Lamb

This is my latest acrylic painting called "The Lion and the Lamb".  It's a symbolic piece displaying two animal portraits that represent the one man Jesus Christ from the book of Revelation.  The Lion stands for the "Lion of the tribe of Judah" who is the dominant king who has been given all authority on Earth and in Heaven.  The Lamb stands for the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to forgive the sins of God's people.  The painting is done in a realistic style around the faces which slowly fades to an abstract and expressive style around the edges.  Overall, the painting took about 10 hours to complete and was fun and inspiring to work on!

Time-lapse videos of the process:

 

Finished painting - Prints available

Painting - Icons of the Front Range

This painting is the latest in a series of artworks depicting classic views of some of Colorado's highest peaks.  The view here is from near the city of Boulder looking toward the jagged foothill rock formations known as the Flatirons (center/left).  Above is the towering 14er Longs Peak and Mt. Meeker in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Below and to the right of center you can see the National Center for Atmospheric Research buildings contrasting the giant landmarks.  It was a fun process that took approximately 10 hours.  These iconic mountains are special to me and symbolize our home in the Front Range.  

The video below shows the entire process in time-lapse:

Painting - Rocky Mountain Road

This fall I took a drive on one of Colorado's increasingly not-so-hidden gems called Last Dollar Road.  Its a rough 2 wheel drive that goes from the Dallas Divide to Telluride.  It is increasing in popularity for good reason.  The views of the aspen groves and 14,000 ft. landscapes are top notch.  One of the spots along the drive has an aspen stand with a winding country road and snow capped mountains in the distance.  All the elements you need for a great painting/photograph come together in this single composition.

This 16x20 painting was an experiment with a palette knife.  I've watched other artists use palette knives to quickly apply paint on canvases.  The knife makes a very unique look and texture where the paint is gobbed on thick.  I'm still not sure how I feel about the tools, but it was a fun experiment and worthy of further attempts.

Here's the photograph used for reference:

"Telluride Road" by Aaron Spong

Painting - Aspen Leaf Progression

Just finished a series of watercolor paintings of an aspen leaf as it changes colors in the fall.  I used the same leaf template for all four images.  The first leaf (left) is summer green.  The second is half turned from green to orange/yellow.  The third leaf is showing the peak autumn color, and the fourth is withered brown from when the season ends. 



Click on the images below to view on the artist website/order prints:

Painting - Teton Milky Way

Teton Milky Way - Prints available

There's something about starry skies that can bring about a sense of awe and inspiration for me.  The same goes for mountains.  The infinite space and giant rock forms make us seem small...or make God seem big.

This acrylic painting was taken from multiple images of midnight photo shoots of the Milky Way and predawn images of the Grand Teton Mountain Range from northwestern Wyoming.  In my opinion, the Tetons from near Jackson Hole are the most majestic and jagged peaks in the lower 48 states.  I've wanted to paint them for a while, but have been focusing on summer trips and photography.  A couple of rainy days in the mountains have kept us home giving me the opportunity to paint.


This time-lapse video is approximately 6 hours of painting time condensed into about 4 minutes:

Star Wars Helmet Series

Yep...Star Wars paintings.  Why?  Because it's cool!  With the new movie coming out and an empty wall down in our "game room" I decided to do a series of quick portrait paintings of some of the characters from the Star Wars movies.  They are all villains or dark side characters because...well...their masks look awesome.  Each of these paintings was made using a palette knife instead of a brush to create the cool texture and put the paint on thick.

The Maroon Bells - Acrylic Painting

The Maroon Bells - Fine art prints available

Just finished my latest artwork in progress featuring the Maroon Bells and Maroon Lake from Aspen, Colorado.  I looked through hundreds of images of these peaks from different times of day, from different vantage points and in different seasons.  This was a compilation of what I believe is the most idealistic/iconic view of this scene.  The sun is rising and hitting the peaks and clouds above turning them bright orange.  The aspen groves have turned yellow and orange in the fall.  The lake is still and calm creating a perfect reflection of the 14,000 ft. peaks.

All together this painting took almost 30 hours.  It measures 4 feet wide by 3 feet tall. 

Murals at the Church Building

KD's first painting

We recently finished our last mural downstairs in the children's classroom area at the church building.  I am not above painting cartoons, but this job was a bit ambitious for just Cami and myself.  We called on some reinforcements for the giant Noah's Ark painting that covers a whole wall of the toddler room.  It was a fun time.  Thanks for your help Grandma and Grammy!

Finished!

A few years ago Cami and I spent a summer painting murals of Bible stories in the hallway downstairs as well.  She's not super artistic, but was a huge help in filling in blocks of color, much like a paint by number. Then, I would go over the details and add shadows and highlights.  Here's a few of the murals.  We tried to keep them in chronological order:

Adam and Eve

The Flood

We thought it would be a funny prank to pull on Edward (our preacher) by painting his face as one of the characters in one of the Bible stories.  Originally, the plan was to put his face on Jonah getting swallowed by the giant fish, but we decided that was mean so we settled for Moses parting the red sea.

Moses

Turns out Edward just thought it was funny.  He posed in front of the mural to show a resemblance:

David and Goliath

Jonah and the Fish

Birth of Jesus

Feeding 5000

Crucifixion

There are a few other murals I didn't get photos of, but you get the idea.  If you're ever visiting Longmont Church of Christ, go downstairs and check out the hallways!