Introductions and Ferraris

[SLeahy]

I have been posting my paintings in the acrylic forum not knowing that you guys were even here. I am very glad that I found you all, some fantastic work here.

I have been painting miniatures for the past two years, mostly transportation subjects like this latest in the Ferrari series I have been working on and the Navy A-6 on a dog tag.

Thanks for taking a look!

[valchina612]

Welcome to the Miniature Forum Steven. Both of your Paintings are wonderful. The Ferrari is very sleek as it should be, but the second one is absolutely fabulous. Such a lot of work in a very small area. Beautifully done, and I hope we see a lot more from you. :clap: :thumbsup:

Val. :wave:

[champagneharley]

Awesome!

[champagneharley]

I'm glad you found 'us'. :)

[Yorky]

Amazing work!

Doug

[Diane Cutter]

Beautiful work!

Diane

[vmrs]

Gorgeous work. I like the frame around the Ferrari too, it really makes it stand out. The detail on the dog tag is incredible, I especially like that rolling sea behind the plane.
Nice to meet you!

[champagneharley]

Do you enter miniature art contests? There are many all around the country - many coming up soon.

[SLeahy]

Thank you so much for the warm welcome. I stumbled upon my love for painting miniatures and have since been absolutely blown away by the work that is being produced by everyone. It's an incredible inspiration.

The Ferrari series are all painted on small plates of titanium and I mask the border so when I am done the raw metal shows. It really is a beautiful metal.

I'd love to start entering juried shows with these paintings. While the response has been good in traditional shows, it really would be great to get them in front of people that really have a passion for them. Is there a good resource for call for entries?

[champagneharley]

A lot of miniature artists - some of the best in the world can be found chatting here - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/miniatureart/ and there are lots of resources within the group.

Sometimes, in the files/documents entry forms to shows are uploaded.

You'll have to contact and do your own research but most of the shows are outlined here:
http://miniart.wordpress.com/miniature-shows/

I'm not sure where you get your reference photos from, but I would suggest using your own reference material when entering shows, or at a minimum getting signed permissions. Trends are getting to be stricter on making sure it's the artist's vision that needs to be represented. But, that said, shows do vary.

The yahoo group you need to ask to join. But it's been around since 2003. Great galleries, and great resources - tools, and all kinds of suggestions if you need or ask. A great group of people, too. :)

All the best.
~Jillian

[SLeahy]

Awesome, thanks for the info!

One of the highlights of my career has been the places and people I have met taking reference pictures. Doing the research and setting up the paintings is nearly as rewarding as the final product. I am glad that the trend is moving towards artist's responsibility.

Going to go and check out the links, thanks again!!

[champagneharley]

Good for you!

Yes, please check it all out. :)

~Jillian

[champagneharley]

Please don't think I was doubting your source material. Just that I've seen rule changing, and wanted you to be aware 'up front' to perhaps save heart-ache later. And ... now envious of your 'connections' to get awesome source material. :)

~Jillian

[SLeahy]

Not at all! But it is natural to think that with military aviation subjects especially. I am SO lucky to have a brother in law that was an F-18 pilot for the Navy so I have gotten some incredible stuff from him. Certianly without that source I'd be dead in the water.

The topic you bring up is something that has become very important to me as I have moved further along. The deep respect for the artistic vision of photographers is too easily ignored and I am glad that jurors are really moving towards requiring artistic responsibility.

The payoff for the artist is enormous as well. For a gift, I wanted to do a painting for my brother who is a real Beatles fanatic. I thought it would be cool to paint John Lennon signing a photo of himself to my brother. The photo that immediately came to mind is the iconic Robert Gruen photo of John Lennon wearing the NYC t-shirt. Even though I was not selling the painting, I knew that if I ever wanted to post it on line or display it, I would need permission. I sent an email and honestly thought that I would never hear anything. It was Bob Gruen after all :)

I was blown away to get an email in return saying that it was no problem, and then afterward, when I emailed a pic of the finished painting, he said it looked good. I was like a kid. It was a great thing to happen just because I asked permission.

[champagneharley]

How awesome!
:)

~Jillian

[M.L. Schaefer]

I am so blown away with your art...the compositions are flawless! Your technique is flawless! Your cars take on a life of their own! And I have no words for the airplane, water, and the details, EVERYTHING about this stunning miniature!

Have you contacted any Ferrari groups---- they may love to have your art shown on their websites (they'd probably fisticuff over it just to have it on their website)..and word does get around! Maybe you can even have a "contact artist" link for selling via PayPal? :)

:heart: M.L.

[bluemoonstar]

Fantastic paintings, Steve! Cool story about your brother & the Lennon photo!