ARTFINDER: Getting Aquainted by Richard De Wolfe - When I was a very young boy, my father kept a f...

ARTFINDER: Getting Aquainted by Richard De Wolfe - When I was a very young boy, my father kept a f...

"Getting Acquainted" by Richard De Wolfe 18 x 24 alkyd oil on canvas

When I was a very young boy, my father kept a few farm animals, as well as flocks of chickens, ducks and turkeys to help provide for our large family.  He had already stopped keeping cattle by that time, but I was very familiar with cows and calves on neighbouring farms in our rural community as I was growing up.

"Getting Acquainted" is a fanciful interpretation of my father introducing a 3year old 'me' to a young calf in the barnyard in spring.  For many poeple, it represents a nostalgic memory of life on the family farm in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

I love creating paintings that bring back memories of my childhood in farm country along the St. Lawrence River, in Ontario, Canada.  Life seemed so simple then, but that is more a product of the innocence of childhood than the reality of those times.  We had polio, World War 2, DDT, the Korean War, Vietnam, the Cuban missile crisis and many more life-threatening situations to cope with, not so different from today.  I think the difference is that the past is 'known' and the future must always remain 'unknown'.  Enjoy life and tell someone that you love them.

Creating a Silver Coin for the Royal Canadian Mint

It has been a year since I was commissioned by the Royal Canadian Mint to design and produce a painting for a 20 dollar silver coin.  Now that the official release has finally arrived, I can take the wraps off of the art and tell the story behind the project and the painting that I created!

It all began in October, 2013 when a product manager at the Mint came across one of my hockey paintings on rdewolfe.com and decided that this was something they would like to see on a Canadian collector coin.  I was then contacted and commissioned to come up with a new design featuring Canadian children playing the much loved game of pond hockey.

The production work for a new coin is long and arduous, so it was imperative that I immediately begin working out the design for the new coin.  Country, kids and hockey are favourite subjects of mine, so I eagerly began working on the project.  Sketches were soon approved and painting commenced!

Original sketch for Pond Hockey painting

The first sketch was received with enthusiasm but because it was decided to reproduce the background buildings in bas-relief rather than full colour, it was necessary to separate the figures in the foreground from the objects in the distance.  I submitted a new drawing that was then deemed perfect for the job!

Final sketch for Pond Hockey painting

Once I received final approval for the drawing, I transferred it to canvas to begin the painting.  The next step was to apply a thin blue wash overall to create a 'cool' atmosphere.

Now I begin painting in dark areas using acrylic paint for speedy drying.  This allows me to move forward quickly.

When I begin adding local colour throughout the painting, things start to come together.  At this point I have switched to alkyd oil paint.

Now I add in colour and texture on the ice surface and the background scene.  All the basics are there, so now it is a matter of finishing up by adding more colour and detail to the painting.  Originally, I intended to do a circular painting as indicated by the initial painting of the sky.  In the end, however, I decided it would be more attractive to extend the scene into a square format, resulting in a more complete, square painting.

Finished painting "Pond Hockey" 

And here it is....the finished one ounce silver coin, available for purchase at themint.ca or one of the dealers listed on their web site, including Canada Post Corporation.  One of the really neat features of this limited edition silver coin is the full colour treatment, making it a very unique collectible!

Snow Day!

One of the great things about living in Canada when you are a child is winter. Adults may dread it, often finding the cold and snow a hardship to deal with, but children look forward to it all year long. The great thing about a northern winter to a child is lots of snow! When the weather gets stormy, most school buses do not venture out and many schools close for the day entirely. This creates an unscheduled holiday that kids really appreciate.

I created this painting as an illustration for art licensing. I wanted it to be colourful and dramatic in order to convey the excitement of the children. I used my granddaughter Ashley as a model for both the boy and the girl. My work boots fit Frosty perfectly! I added the glow of the sun to warm up an otherwise cool setting. The painting is 9 inches by 12 inches, painted in alkyd on board.

Fallen Angel

I like to do art photography as well as painting. This is a shot I took of a cement cast angel that usually resides on a raised portion of a bird bath in our back yard. I also like to write, and I am currently working on my first novel. I am considering this photo as the basis for the cover design, should it ever make it into print. I also offer this photo as an art print on Fine Art America. You can find many more of my photos and art prints at: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/richard-de-wolfe.html

Puppy Love - Step Five

I have resolved the dilemma of what to do with the bedding and cushions by using a colour scheme that is primarily purple with golden yellow accents. The purple is a restful, nocturnal colour and the gold is on the opposite side of the colour wheel, making it the complimentary in this case. It ties in nicely with the colour of the girl's hair, the puppy and the teddy bear, too.

I have created some dramatic, low lighting on the cushion in the background and deepened the dark brown behind them. There is now a distinct background, middle ground and foreground in the picture. This creates a feeling of depth in the picture and helps build a strong, interesting composition.

Detail and depth of colour are added throughout the painting, and finally, highlights are added at the very last as the finishing touch.

Puppy Love - Step Four

I continue to add detail, slowly building up colour and form primarily with thin washes and glazes using mat medium. I darken the background with a mixture of burnt umber and black to really punch out the foreground. Everything other than the bedding and pillows seems to really be coming together at this point. I am still undecided about what to do with the cushions in the background.

Puppy Love - Step Three

At this stage I begin introducing local colour throughout the painting. I wash in flesh tones on the face and arms of the sleeping girl. I begin accenting details on all three characters in the picture. Simple washes of colour are blocked in on the blanket and cushions behind the figure. I block in the hair with a wash of colour, then add initial detail with burnt sienna. I do the same with the puppy and the teddy bear, then concentrate on adding the most detail to the central character, the puppy.

The teddy bear leans into the picture and the girl's arm leads the eye to the puppy and then to the girl's face. The flow of the hair leads the viewer's eye to the cushions in the background. These cushions act as a 'backstop', leading the eye back to the teddy bear and the cycle is repeated, keeping the viewer's eye within the picture, always returning to the puppy and the girl's face.

Puppy Love - Step Two

Once the drawing is well fixed, I tone the entire surface with a thin wash of blue-gray acrylic paint, thinned heavily with mat medium and water. I add some slightly darker washes of the same colour, particularly in the bedding. Next, I begin building form and detail to the teddy bear, puppy and sleeping girl. The last thing I do at this stage is to block in the background with a heavier wash of burnt umber.

Puppy Love - Step One

I thought it time I posted another painting progression, since I haven't put one up for quite a while. This is a picture I am painting primarily for licensing. Companies pay me a fee to use this type of art to illustrate a product such as puzzles, calendars, greeting cards, soft goods, etc. for a specified period of time.

This piece is titled "Puppy Love". I started out by doing a detailed drawing on illustration board. Once I am happy with the drawing, I spray it with workable fixative, then seal it with acrylic mat medium. I also give the back of the illustration a quick application of mat medium to prevent serious warping as the picture dries. If you only paint on the face side of the board, it will often curl due to tension caused by shrinkage of the drying paint. An application on both sides of the sheet counter acts this tendency.

Lost In Thought

This painting is a little bit of nostalgia from my youth. I grew up in farm country, and though I did not live on a farm at that time, I did spend much of my time exploring farms and of course, fishing whenever possible. What could be more idyllic for a boy than a clear summer day, accompanied by his dog, with a can of worms and a make-shift fishing pole?

I painted this picture on stretched canvas, using alkyd paints. It measures 18 inches high by twenty-four inches in width. Prints are available.

Painterly Illustration

During the 1980's, I shared studio space with several other artists and a photographer. One of these artists (we were all illustrators in those days) was Stewart Sherwood, one of the most talented and prolific artists I know. Stewart has produced paintings and illustrations based on a wide range of subject matter. He is also amazingly fast, often producing a number of finished pieces in one sitting.

Stewart handles any subject with warmth and humour. Today, Stewart paints primarily for the art licensing market and is one of the most successful artists in this field today. As I mentioned, his subject matter is broad, including Christmas, nostalgia, portraits, sports, animals, landscapes and so much more. I particularly love the many paintings of children that he has produced over the years, many for the Bradford Exchange, as collector plates. For more information on Stewart Sherwood and many more examples of his wonderful art, visit his web site at: www.stewartsherwood.ca