47. Painter in the Park, 12 x 12, digital photograph, 2011

This image was based on a photograph I took of an artist painting flowers in a park in Boston the summer of 2007.  Click on the image to enlarge.

46. Acrylic Fine Art Class I Taught at Michaels as a Certified Grumbacher Fine Art Instructor in 2010

I am not teaching a fine art class at this time, but I did teach an acrylic fine art class as a Certified Grumbacher Art Instructor at various Michael's stores at several locations in Tarentum, Monroeville and Greensburg, Pennsylvania in 2010.  It was a pleasure being able to teach art classes once again and I look forward to doing something similar at some point in the future. The acrylic fine art program will go on and Grumbacher has replaced me at most of these Michael's stores, so be sure to check with them to see if Acrylic Fine Art Classes are being offered at these locations.

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Other posts about my time working with Grumbacher and Michael's can be found at posts 52, 46, 34, 33, 32 and 31 and on Bob's website here.

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The following are some of the materials and paintings used in the acrylic art classes at Michaels which may assist you in exploring acrylic painting.  While these may not represent some of my more finished work, they are examples of what can be done with acrylics in a two-hour class.

LANDSCAPE

The image at bottom is the reference photo given to me by Grumbacher for the landscape painting, and the other images are paintings I taught.  As the classes moved into autumn and winter, we shifted the landscapes to reflect the outside conditions.

FLORAL
The flowers on the left are paintings and the reference photos are show on the right.  The first reference photo at top and the one at bottom center were given to me by Grumbacher.  The other two photos are mine.

SEASCAPES
Below are the Seascape paintings I taught at Michaels and at bottom the reference photo I was given.  

STILL LIFE
Below are the still lifes I taught with my reference photos at the right.  At bottom is another reference photo which you are free to use to practice painting.  The

 

(Right) My final acrylic art class as a Grumbacher Instructor at Michaels on 12/18/2010.  Pictured with me are two of my most loyal regular students, Wei-Duan Liao at left and Judy Zeman at right.   Sincere thanks to all of my students. It was great fun while it lasted.

45. Duff Park in Winter, 12 x 16, digital photograph, 2011

This was taken in Duff Park in Murrysville, Pennsylvania close to where I live.  The original photo lacked any color and while it looked just fine as a standard black and white image, adding a sepia tone to the picture, I think, definitely makes this photograph stand out.  And yes, it was very cold when I took this. Click on the image to enlarge.

Edited on April 14, 2012:  After looking at this image for a year, I have decided that yellow snow is not all that appealing after all and I like my black and white version much more, especially when mounted in a nice modern chrome frame.  So here it is.  What do you think?

Duff Park in Winter by Bob Bickers, 2011, photograph

44. Winter Fences, digital photograph, 2011

Winter Fences by Bob Bickers, 2011, digital photograph

One of the things I like about living in Murrysville, PA, is the fact that I am never very far from the rural countryside. This view is not far from my house. I digitally altered my photograph in order to make it resemble an impressionist painting.  Click on the image to enlarge.

43. Sun and Shadow, 9 x 12, digital photograph, 2011

Here's another photo I took from the highway in Ohio which I managed to salvage.  Besides the tree catching my eye, I really liked the contrasts in the sunlight and shadows on the winter grass.  Click onthe image to enlarge.

42. Branches, 8 x 10, photograph, 2011

This lonely tree was photographed from the highway while I was traveling through Ohio last month.  Click on the image to enlarge.

41. Acadian Sailing, 12 x 16, digital photograph, 2011

This is my interpretation of a scene taken in the waters off of Acadia National Park in Maine the summer of 2009.  I have many more images from Acadia that will be a source of inspiration for me for many years to come.  Click on the image to enlarge.

40. Cody's Catch, 18 x 24, oil on canvas, 2010

Cody's Catch by Bob Bickers, 18 x 24, oil on canvas, 2010

I begin this New Year by wrapping up a bit of business from 2010.  At right is an oil painting commissioned last year, Cody's Catch, 18 x 24, oil on canvas, 2010.  The person who commissioned the painting had accompanied Cody and his father on a fishing trip to a remote area of Canada a few years ago.  While there, Cody had caught a huge Northern Pike with an ordinary fishing line.  He struggled with it for a long time before bringing the exhausted fish to his kayak.  Unfortunately, the fish got away before any pictures could be taken, thus the desire to forever re-create the moment in oil.  I used photos of Cody taken on the trip, as well as pictures of the lake and I pulled reference photos off the internet ont he fish and the type of kayak Cody was using.  I then had my daughter pose for Cody's body holding a fishing rod and kneeling in a sled.  Eventually it all came together for a complete painting.  I have a page on my website showing the steps I took in creating this painting here.

I had a good time working on this painting and I hope to get more commissioins this year.  Meanwhile, I plan to post each new painting I do right here on this blog.  Most will be a bit smaller than this one, and each will be for sale.

A couple of years ago I tried to post a new painting every week, but stumbled a few months in as I got involved in other matters.  I am going to try to do the same again, although I may need to post one of my photographs once in a while.  I am hoping 2011 will be the start of a wonderful new decade of art!  As always, click on the image to enlarge.

39. Yellow Flowers on the Edge of Darkness, 18 x 12, digital photograph

Yellow Flowers on the Edge of Darkness by Bob Bickers, digital photograph

I read that the original Tron movie was excluded from consideration for an Academy Award for animation back in 1983 because any use of computers was considered by the Academy back then as "cheating", even though most of the movie itself was animated by hand.  Now we view computer-generated images (CGI) as an art form all it own, one that incorporates the skills and talents of hundreds of individuals during a major production.

Given that apparent shift in people's attitudes, I present you with the image at left.  Is it a painting?  Is it a photograph of a painting?  Is it "true" photography?

It is a computer-altered digital photograph made to resemble a painting.  Is it art?  It did take some effort to set up, photograph, and work out my vision on the computer.  It is not an accident or a random creation, like throwing paint at a canvas, but is the end result of an idea or image that first existed in my head and with some effort, was made into a form that could be seen and shared with everyone.  From that perspective, it clearly is art and I am the artist.   

Still, if I were take a brush and painted the exact image by hand instead of using a camera and computer, how would you feel about it?  It is obvious that while we may admire the technical and perhaps even the artistic skills of photographers, and to a lesser extent, computer geeks, we still have a prejudice for the painter who uses his own two hands to create a beautiful image. 

Perhaps it has something to do with the miracle of a person transforming blobs of mere pigment into something that can not only be recognizable, but even move the human heart.  In that sense, and as the late television artist Bill Alexander often said, being an artist is probably as close to being like God as mortals can ever come. Maybe.  And if that is true, then maybe all that comes with being an artist, the ability to acutely observe, see, appreciate and express all the beauty (and the ugliness) in the universe around us, maybe that is a unique and special quality in God that we all should seek in ourselves.  Click on the image to enlarge.

38. Snow Trails, 12 x 18, digital photograph

Snow Trails by Bob Bickers, digital photograph, 2009

This was the inspiration for the painting of the same name posted below.  Images like this make me want to go outside and paint all winter, or at least take my photos and run back to the studio to paint in warmth and comfort.  Taken in Export, Pennsylvania last January.   Click on image to enlarge.