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Greg Cartmell

Fine Art, Custom Knives & Jewelry, Art Lessons and more!

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Spring 2020 Art Show

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Below you will find all the pieces which are a part of my Spring 2020 One Man Art Show. Each piece is a mixed media piece and they’re available in either 20″ x 20″ or 20″ x 25″ respectively. The pieces are available for $250 each (which includes shipping). Please email me directly for further details (by clicking here) or feel free to call 1-601-479-5659 for more details.

Or you can make a purchase here https://gregcartmell.com/product/spring-2020-art-show/ and confirm the specific piece from the show that you’d like sent to you.

Splash of Japan

Wise Guy Raven

Ode To Klein

Broken Bumblebee

Eye Candy

Broken Black and White

The Figure

Chroma Layers

Ink Attack

Gulf Coast Cottages

Chroma Collide

Nature Fights Back

Thank you and please feel free to contact me at Greg@gregcartmell.com or call 1-601-479-5659 for more details.

Or you can make a purchase by claiming the piece and making a purchase here: https://gregcartmell.com/product/spring-2020-art-show/

Franz Kline: The Magic of Black and White

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There is something magical about the combination of the colors black and white. Something about it lures you in and captures your attention.

Just like black and white photography, truly there is nothing else like an old black and white photograph that speaks to the viewer. A quality black and white photo captures the essence of the souls in the photo focusing on the subject and composition. The same is true with an artist that paints in black and white. If an artists can capture the essence of the soul with the use of black and white paint on a canvas, he is a master painter.

There are arguments over the theory that black is a color or that it is the absence of color. If you are an artist, you see it as a color. At least, that is how I see it. There are 15 animals that are black and white. Some of the most beautiful, striking animals have both of these colors a zebra, a panda and a The Killer Whale, The Orca are just a few. So, to me, it is a color.

franz kline painting

Decorators, designers, and artists use colors as a way to relate to someone and to bring out a thought, a personality, a style or a concept. Black is a very strong color relating to power, authority, and strength. White is a clean, pure, and peaceful color. Black and white paintings are clearly a play of opposites. They make a classy combination. Together they are a powerful connection creating a sense of completion and complexity. Working with the theory of opposites, the two colors create such a simple, profound statement. Black and white paintings to me communicate a sense of depth and a sense of mystery.

There is one of my favorite abstract artists that certainly nailed it with the use of black and white, Franz Kline.

Franz Kline actually called himself, the “Black and white man.”

Kline was trained in traditional art, illustrating and drafting.

After years of painting portraits and landscapes, Kline evolved into his own personal abstract style. At forty, he had his first one-man show. At this time, he had finally mastered the black and white abstracts style he had been searching for his whole life as an artist. I study Kline’s large black and white abstracts and his sketches over and over. I spend time observing the use of space both negative and positive looking at the how they interact with each other. I am inspired by the large brush strokes and specific use of where color is placed. One thing I love about Kline’s work, is he that followed his own rules for composition.

He created his own boundaries.

Some of his sketches were actually drawn on telephone pages. I can relate because recently I have been sketching on any kind of paper I can get my hands on. I have not been sketching abstracts lately, instead, I’ve been creating sketches of bearded old men. My sketches are small, black and white sketches of interesting old men. They have recently caught on and my collectors seem to really be enjoying collecting them for small, quaint spaces. Also, some collectors are buying an odd number of the small, framed old men and grouping them, which makes for an interesting collection in any home or office.

Franz Kline has a powerful style and a precise attack on the canvas. It is an undeniable strength that he brings to the canvas. His art is a complete thought-provoking process with a powerful, creative outcome. Franz Kline has influenced my work with the way he mastered the use of black and white on the canvas.

So, here is to the magic of the “Black and white man.” Thank you for your inspiration…I am inspired to paint today. Check out my new pieces on the gregcartmell.com homepage.

I Stopped Painting To Focus On My Corporate Artwork

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I stopped painting…

I recently stopped painting pieces to release to the gallery/studio.

Why?

cartmell corporate art

Well, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve been putting a stronger focus on my corporate projects which I have been commissioned with completing.

While I love creating small pieces and testing out new creative ideas via sketches I do in the studio and on location, I really love creating large pieces that the public and groups of people can appreciate.

That’s been my focus lately. It takes a tremendous amount of time to complete these large pieces, especially those with specific requests but I love doing them.

Which is why I’ve been spending most of my time working on them.

That said, unfortunately, I don’t have a new piece to share with you this week.

Between creating the Miami Series and the corporate commissions, I’ve been out straight.

I guess the good news is that if you’re interested in acquiring 2018 pieces that I’ve released, I do have some still available.

For example, I’ve got a number of rooster centric pieces like this one here, Cuban coffee pieces (like this and this), an old man portrait, and a few more. The Calle 8 Rooster is once again available. A restaurant owner put it on hold but they instead had me create something working in their brand.

All that said, if you’re looking for new artwork and you need something for your home, office, or any other type of business, feel free to reach out. Until then, I’ll be painting until my fingers fall off and loving every minute of it.

Afterall, when you love what you do, it makes working that much more enjoyable and I enjoy painting more than you could ever imagine.

Back to the easel!

Here’s the corporate art brochure: https://gregcartmell.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Cartmell-Corporate-Art-Brochure.pdf

One Thing I Do Daily And My Claude Monet Artist Review

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Happy Tuesday everyone! I do one thing every single day and most likely don’t think they have the time to do so or they just choose not to.

I’ll get to that soon, but first, I’ve gotta tell you how excited I am that spring is officially here!

I’m itching to start painting on location again.

I’ve got a couple of things to share with you today.

First things first, I’m a huge fan of Claude Monet and the work that he’s done.

So much that I wanted to recognize him and share some information about the artist and his work. Check out the blog post below which shares some information on his work.

claude monet plein air painting

Next up, I just launched this new piece which is part of the Miami Series. It’s an 11×14 watercolor on paper.

Wake Up Calls

I have to get my hands dirty and dive into some corporate commissioned projects this week, so these types of quick release sketches are going to have to take a back seat for the rest of the week.

Now, wanna hear something that I do everyday? I spend time connecting with nature, every single day.

I wish you a great day and I encourage you to spend some time to connect with nature if you can today. Even if it’s just listening to the birds for 5 minutes while sipping your coffee. It’s a game changer if you’re not appreciating it, trust me.

Life is too fast, and taking the time to smell the flowers, hear the birds chirp, or just admire the foliage can be life-changing when appreciated consistently.

When you can’t admire all that during the cold winter months, you can always admire a landscape painting in the comfort of your home.

Have a positive day.

Claude Monet Painting Outside Plein Air Style – Our Common Passion

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I have a true love for some artwork out there, for sunsets, and for nature in general. But wait, what does nature have to do with art? One famous artist summed things up like this…

For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment; but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life – the light and the air which vary continually. For me, it is only the surrounding atmosphere which gives subjects their true value. – Cluade Money (This is a perfect quote from Claude Monet on the subject of landscape painting.)

claude monet plein air painting

Monet – Impressionist Artist That Loves Painting Outdoors

Claude Monet was a French Impressionist artist. Did you know that the word “impressionists” came from the title of one of Monet’s paintings called Impression: Sunrise? Check it out if you are not familiar with the painting. As for me, I am thankful to see the sunrise every morning and the sunsets which bring closure to my busy days. Monet loved to paint from nature and found being outside drove his passion to paint.

If you study his paintings, you can tell he was passionate about his art and his relationship with nature. When looking at his paintings, you can see and feel the connection. It is a oneness of nature and his bond with art and nature is portrayed in each painting. He spent hours upon hours outdoors painting and observing nature.

He enjoyed seeing the way the colors reflect on the water at different times of the day. He also watched the clouds and the way they change throughout the days. One cool thing Monet did was fixed up a boat and turned it into a floating studio. He traveled up and down the rivers, lakes, and streams observing nature and painting what he saw. He must have had tons of fun painting and being outside.

That is a very interesting way to paint. I too spend hours upon hours painting outside. I have a very dear artist friend, Cooper French, that I plein air paint with. I try to paint with him as much as possible. Painting outside helps make us grow as artists and honestly it is just a good time. Even Monet turned on a group of his artist friends to the concept of plein air painting by sharing his passion for painting outdoors. I have lots of books with Monet’s paintings in my personal library. Another book in my personal collection is one I published in 2004, of my paintings called Mississippi Light. It showcasing the beautiful landscapes across Mississippi.

claude monet review

I traveled across the state of Mississippi capturing the southern beauty of the countrysides. I painted gorgeous sunsets, dirt roads, beautiful trees, ponds, lakes, streams, fields, and sunrises. I have sold tons of copies, donated many books to charities and donated lots of boxes of my books to Mississippi Arts Alliance for them to sell as a fundraiser for funding their organization. It is sold on Amazon and on my site if you are interested in purchasing a copy. It is a coffee table book that makes a great gift or the perfect addition to a home or school library. I have some great memories of traveling, painting and publishing Mississippi Light.

As Claude Monet was traveling on a train, he looked out the window and saw the most beautiful place in Giverny, Normandy in Northern France. He ended up purchasing the land and later the land adjourning the property. He lived in this home from 1883 to 1926. So, for forty-three years he definitely knew how to live. This beautiful property is where he painted the subjects you see in his paintings. He painted the Japanese bridges, huge paintings of waterlilies, weeping willows and gardens in bloom.

He was involved in everything to do with making the home very special to him and to his family. He picked out the colors of the home to match the palette of the subjects he was painting surrounding him. He not only was a painter but he loved to garden. He picked out special flowers for the grounds creating the colorful palette that he captured in his paintings. His home and grounds are open late March until November to tour. It is a place of interest if I am ever in the area I will be sure to check it out.

Tuesday, March 20th is the first day of spring and I can not wait to get out there and paint on location. Here in Mississippi, it has been a very cold weather and I am beginning to see the daffodils and Japanese Magnolias blooming, hear bullfrogs croaking and birds singing like a chorus. I am ready to grab my paints and go plein air painting with my buddy, Cooper French. I relish the times I spend painting nature and there’s nothing I’d rather do, seriously.

Pablo Picasso – Do You Have The Potential To Be A Genius?

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I’ve been studying and researching artists for years. Recently, I’ve taken the time to share my thoughts, bits, and pieces of various artists. People like John Singer Sargent, Vincent Van Gogh, and now Pablo Picasso. If you have yet to learn about this artist and you’re a collector or just an art lover in general, then the article below is for you.

Pablo Picasso painting
Copyright: Picasso

Pablo Picasso – Genius Potential

Pablo Picasso’s father was an art teacher and wanted him to become a successful artist one day. As we know, he surpassed just being an accomplished artist at a very young age and evolved into the genius we know him as today in the art world. He created paintings, sculptures, ceramics, drawings, posters, made costumes for plays and wrote books. His artwork began when he was young and he continued to create art right up until his death. His collection of works are massive. His art is still just as fascinating and mesmerizing today.

Picasso’s father taught him to paint at a very early age. Picasso surpassed his father’s ability to paint at age 13 moving onto formal art school and having his first art exhibit. I too started painting with my father when I was 3 and I have not put the brush down. My father was and still is my hero and my role model. I think about him every day. He is still very much a part of my life.

Picasso painting black and white

Picasso was born in Spain and was influenced by the things he experienced with his family while living in Spain. I traveled to Spain on a very special trip, actually the trip of a lifetime, with my father. It had a strong influence on me as an artist: the culture, people, art, music, and food.

One of the things I admire about Picasso is that Picasso’s earlier works were traditional and he used his formal art training to morph into an abstract artist like no one else had ever accomplished. He mastered every form of art that he worked with. He never copied anyone. Each style of his work was original.He manipulated his subjects working to create the new style of cubism and his unusual abstract paintings. He truly is in the history of the art world a genius.

He never stopped reinventing himself as an artist. If you have painted as long as I have, then you are constantly reinventing yourself as an artist. It is what I have to do to grow intellectually and grow artistically to continue to perfect my craft. I have to push my ability to the limit for myself as an artists. It is important to me; it is that simple. Picasso understood the power of reinventing, pushing and evolving as an artist.

He was a master with the way he used composition. However, he broke the rules of composition but at the same time reestablished them in his new, unique one of a kind style. He always hit the mark in every painting. As an accomplished artist, I understand the power of composition and how to use in it my landscapes whether they are tightly painted abstracts or loose abstract landscapes.

The same is true with abstract paintings. Even abstracts must have a strong composition for the painting to stand on its own and become a successful work of art. After studying works of art by Picasso, I go back to my art and push the idea of composition just as Picasso did with his abstracts. Stretching and trying new techniques pushing the use of symbolism and composition.

Picasso Oil Painting

Picasso used a lot of symbolism in his artwork. Today people are still trying to pick apart the symbolism in his work. It is endless the theories and ideas about his use of symbolism. One particular painting that is a very famous work of art by Picasso is Guernica, it is still relevant today. It is a humongous painting. This painting represents his view on war and politics. This painting still makes a statement and is definitely a conversation piece with his use of symbolism and composition there is plenty to study and to learn.

Right now, I am currently working on a piece that I consider a conversation piece. It is a very large abstract for my Miami art collectors. Hopefully, I will be sharing it very soon. But for now, I have to continue to push, evolve, reinvent and paint.

John Singer Sargent’s Portrait Painting Hatred

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I hate to paint portraits?!?!? A famous quote by John Singer Sargent, “I hate to paint portraits! I hope never to paint another portrait in my life. Portraiture may be all right for a man in his youth, but after forty I believe that manual dexterity deserts one, and, besides, the color-sense is less acute. Youth can better stand the exactions of a personal kind that are inseparable from portraiture. I have had enough of it.”

John Singer Sargent Portrait Painting
Copyright: John Singer Sargent

This is a quote I LOVE to hate. I can totally relate to this quote because portrait painting can be tiring and frustrating due to the perfectionism involved. When I paint portraits they must be absolutely perfect to my eyes, to my commissioning client’s eyes, and to the portrait sitter’s eyes.It takes the total immersion of one’s self to pull it off.

As a reader you might wonder, has this feeling of “being over it” come over me. Has this ever happened to me in my life as an artist? I would be lying if I said no but only for temporary periods of frustrations. I still have the gift as a portrait painter and still have the passion it takes to pull it off. Over the past 50 years as a portrait artist, I have painted over 2,000 portraits.

I was told by my early mentors, “If you want to be a successful, accomplished portrait painter you need to paint 1,000 heads.” I took their advice and painted 1,000 heads. It took me 3 years to complete them. After that, I started painting portraits professionally and have painted over 1,000 and still counting. These are often done as commissioned pieces and they take a great deal of time to complete.

While visiting New York, I could not resist going to visit The Metropolitan Museum of Art to study one of John Singer Sargent’s most famous paintings Portrait of Madame X. It is a large full-length portrait. The story has it that he actually convinced the husband to paint his wife and the full-length portrait did not go over as well as the artist planned at the show. However, Sargent considered it his best painting. It was and is considered a grandiose portrait painting. I often spend lots of time studying John Singer Sargent’s portraits. Each time learning something new. This particular portrait focuses on the play of opposition.

Full portrait paintings take at LEAST 80 hours to paint. Now, that is passion and commitment! It demands the artists’ full attention to details, clothing, hair, face, posture, body, and the ability to capture the sitter’s character and personality. I am currently working on two full-length grandiose paintings for two of my private collectors. In these particular portraits, I am taking what I have learned from John Singer Sargent and implementing the play of opposition.

It is so difficult to really categorize John Singer Sargent as an artist. Not only was he a master at portrait painting, he also painted murals, landscapes and was a plein air painter. He worked in oils and watercolors. These are all areas of interest to me. I use every medium and relish the times I can paint plein air with my dear artist’s friends. With that in mind, I plan on taking a road trip to New Orleans for some plein air painting. It is a city bubbling with inspiration for artists.

I love everything about New Orleans, Louisiana: food, wine, music, art and the people. I have so many memories and good friends that live there. My good friend Frank owns an italian restaurant there. Here’s a blog post on that NOLA trip.  Every time I travel to New Orleans. I make time to go to the New Orleans Museum of Art to see the art exhibits and to study the old masters. John Singer Sargent’s Portrait of Mrs. Asher B. Wertheimer is one I always take time to study.

After studying this portrait and Portrait of Madame X, I understand exactly what he meant by his quote. He painted a full-length portrait of Mr. Wertheimer and another of Mrs. Wertheimer. Then, Mr. Wertheimer commissioned him to paint every person in his family 12 more portraits. It took him 10 years to complete all the portraits. He complained of having “chronic Wertheimer.”

I can relate to the chronic syndrome he suffered from but like John Singer Sargent I must get back to portrait painting.

Collect original art, be creative, and paint with the most passion possible…

Afterall, what more is there to do!

The Cuban Cigar Smoking Man Painting (New Piece)

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Every Wednesday my nephew gets me one way or another. He’s always sending me memes, gifs, and other fun social postings provide a quick chuckle or two to get me through the day.

These typically come on hump day, which couldn’t be a more perfect day to send them, lol.

Given that the work week is just about half over,  I figured I’d release this week’s latest from the Miami Series.

I spent a significant amount of time just observing all the wise old Cuban men hanging around Little Havana. Given that I’m not a shy guy (I know what you’re thinking, shocker right) I like to mingle with the locals.

In doing so, I had some wonderful conversations with a couple of old men who came over from Cuba. They were hanging out at one of the cigar shops by the Cuban Art Museum and the Domino Park.

It was a great experience speaking with these men. If I learn something new from someone that’s older and wiser than myself, then I consider it a win.

This piece is titled, “Mr.Cuban Cigar” and it’s an 11″ x 14″ watercolor on 300lb high-quality paper.

The piece is for sale – click here to check it out.

Here’s a quick image of it…

Mr. Cuban Cigar

Also, I’d like to share this recent plant piece that I had fun painting. It’s called “Mary Jane” and the leaves couldn’t have screamed “paint me” any louder.

It too is a 11×14 watercolor. Check that out here.

Lastly, I’ve started sharing my views on some artists. Those showcased, I respect the heck out of. Being a professional painting is a never-ending learning process. I’ve learned from a lot of artists. One I admire is right here – Van Gogh – read my blog post on him if interested. He was insane, no doubt about that!

Have a good hump day.

Back to the easel…