Buffalo Mountain Zipline Tours Sasquatch

Buffalo Mountain Zipline Tours commission

Right about now, our Sasquatch is looking like Chewbacca. Buffalo Mountain is in the background. Should be finished before the week is over, and this is off to its new home. 

President William Henry Harrison

9. William Henry Harrison

11x14

Graphite

Ever watch Pawn Stars on The "History" Channel? William Henry Harrison is related to the owners of the hit show. The 9th President of the United States, William Henry Harrison's father, Benjamin Harrison V, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. His grandson, Benjamin Harrison, would go on to serve as the 23rd President of the United States, and after giving a 90 minute inauguration speech, he got sick and died 33 days after assuming the office of the presidency, being the first to die in office. 

Buffalo Mountain Commission Work In Progress

I took the canvas off the wall and put it on the floor. It's easier to work on the floor as opposed to climbing up and down the stairs. Getting ready to move, so I need to be finished with it before boxing everything up. 

Buffalo Mountain Zipline commission

Measuring out the height of this 8 foot tall Sasquatch. This is going to be a fun project.

President Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren

8th President of the United States

Graphite

He is the first American born president, inspired a fake gang on Seinfield, married his cousin, Hannah, and he never remarried, making him one of the few presidents who served without a 1st Lady. All presidential portraits can be found in order on my Facebook art page https://www.facebook.com/landscapesbyjohnprice

Buffalo Mountain Zipline Tours commission

Toning a canvas of an 8ft tall Sasquatch commission for Buffalo Mountain Zipline Tours

Finishing up old work ...

Taking a break from commissions to work on some personal projects tonight. I have 2 old James River Bridge paintings I've been working on for years that I want to finally finish up, "close those old chapters" so to speak, and move on with some better paintings. My life has dramatically changed over the last few months, and these older paintings that no longer excite me, well ... it's time to move on from them and start new work. 

Portrait Commission work in progress

I love doing these oversized portrait commissions. 

President Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

7th President of the United States

Graphite

Known as "Old Longface" this is the president that sits on the $20, who killed a fuck ton of people in duels, took a bullet to the chest and kept it moving, and murdered thousands of Native Americans.

Let me just say this ...

If you ever get a chance to go zip lining through the Blue Ridge Mountains, do it! Just ... yeah ...

Why I Plein Air paint

A few weeks ago, I stood at the site of the Lee Monument to paint what I saw - the graffiti that was plastered all over the statues. Within an hour, I'd painted a quick plein air of a historic moment as it took place. It was a moment where people of all races came together in unison to deface a monument dedicated to an oppressive regime. The Confederate sympathizers who run their mouths on Facebook, were too much of a pussy to get out and defend their precious statues. When I posted the image online, I didn't expect the feedback I got - NBC12 posted it on their page, close to 1000 shares in different groups, and a slew of requests for prints. I also didn't realize the backlash that would come from it. From a ton of 'Go fuck yourself' and 'You're a piece of shit', to 'Your art sucks' and 'Paint one with the n*ggers hanging from it'. It got pretty bad for a moment there.

When I looked out at the amount of people taking photos of the monuments, there was a part of me that wished they would just stop and take it all in. But I was no different. I took a few photos myself. Even though I was taking the photos for references to use in my work, I was no different. 

As a plein air painter, I enjoy getting out and painting what I see. I will often take the images I plein air paint back to my studio in Richmond and recreate it in high quality detail. 

Think about the countless pictures on your phone, and many of them, you may not even remember where you were when that photo was taken. You might remember something about it, but damn ... that one person ... I can't think of his/her name ... I think they were with us ... I don't even remember what was going on when I took this pic. 

But in a plein air painting, every detail is a decision, every color is on purpose, chosen to capture the spectacle of nature, creating a memory with each stroke. While I'm not discounting photography, (God knows I use reference photos daily) snapping hundreds of pics while the iPhone or android filters give the best view of what you saw, is easy to forget. There's no real process to it ... filtered snapchat pics that you share with your sidepiece, overexposed and enhanced digital images, point and click ... it's so easy to do. But a painting ... one simple plein air piece of a moment that can take an hour to do, forces you to remember whether you want to or not. 

You remember the environment, the mood, the emotion, and the moment you're recreating. Sometimes it's something complex, like a cityscape, while other times it's a waterfall off in the mountains that few will ever see.

It's a sunset on the mountains ... a sunset that, while countless others have watched and shared a special kiss from, very few created it as it was happening. 

It's the cows on the side of a random hill somewhere in a place we've all seen as we drove through the country.

It's a shed falling apart, with vines growing up the side, partially covering most of it. It's a place abandoned, forgotten, and lost to the memory of those who may or may not still own it. It reminds us of something from our past that we remember and miss, but are deeply glad that we've moved on from it. 

It's the story of an old General Store, that sits by itself, forgotten to time, and often overlooked by those who drive by it daily like a graveyard with decaying bodies. This will be an upcoming painting of mine.

It's a place that is common to us all that we know, but forget that it's still there. 

It's an escape ... a place that the artist can journey to day after day, and remember everything about it, and why it was so special to them. Some of the paintings above are not plein air paintings, but paintings I did from a plein air study. My purpose for doing a plein air painting is to potentially paint it into a Fine Art piece. I paint for me. If someone wants to buy it, that would be great. But if not, that's okay ... I paint the things I love, and the stories behind them, are the stories of me.

President John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams

6th President of the United States

Graphite

Imagine a president arguing on behalf of slaves. That's exactly what President John Quincy Adams did. He was a strong opponent of slavery, and defended the illegally abducted slaves aboard The Amistad.

President James Monroe

James Monroe

5th President of the United States

Graphite

James Monroe, the 5th President of the United States, is mainly known for Monroe Doctrine, that told European countries that the United States would not stand for further intervention or colonization in the Americas. Under his presidency, 5 states were admitted to the country. He was the 3rd President to die on the 4th of July and is considered the last of the Founding Fathers to become president.

Monumental Change: The Voices of the Unheard

This is a Fine Art Print of a painting I did of the Lee Monument in Richmond, Virginia. The name of the painting comes from Monument Avenue, where statues of the Confederate Soldiers are. The idea of Monument Avenue was to place Confederate Generals along the road to intimidate and ward off minorities from moving to the area. Had the monuments been built as a true memorial, it would be one thing. But they were placed there specifically to remind black residents what part of the south they were in; "It's the capital of the Confederacy ... and don't you forget that." 

But as the tide has shifted, police brutality has been allowed to continue on, and residents, most of them having no affinity to the Confederacy, believe that the idea behind the statues was always wrong, and need to be torn down. 

The graffiti is the voice of the unheard, which is a take off of Dr. King's 1966 interview with Mike Wallace that riots are the language/voice of the unheard. When people are oppressed and not being heard, rioting is the language they turn to. 

These prints are on high quality Archival Matte prints. 

$8.46 of each print sale goes to The Innocence Project. This organization is essential to the innocent who are wrongfully convicted, and uprooting injustice in the legal system.  

If you'd like to donate to either organization, the websites are listed below:
https://www.innocenceproject.org

To purchase a print, follow the link to my etsy page:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/820543548/monumental-change-the-voices-of-the?ref=shop_home_active_4&frs=1

Daybreak

Daybreak

24x24

Oil

$1200

I've experienced a lot of sunsets and sunrises, some more memorable than others. When I was out in Calloway, VA about a month ago, there was this moment where the sun peeked over the mountains just off to the left and the tree to the left looked almost like it glowed. The mountains off in the distance looked almost like clouds, and the shadow from the trees looked like they stretched on for days. I had to paint it and it's one of the most beautiful paintings I've ever done. 

Lee Monument

This is the completed painting. I have slight touchups and I have to sign it, but I'm really happy with the end result.