Concerned Man with Ocean Village Landscape - Art print of an oil painting. I had originally hoped to create a scene with several people in front of an oceanside village. As I started working in the underpainting, I realized I didn't really have space for additional people if I wanted any of the landscape to be visible. I was on a scenic ocean overlook kick at the time, so I didn't want to sacrifice that aspect. But I was able to add one additional person sort of off to the side. I wasn't sure if this would unbalance the piece too badly, but I was hopeful the shape of the bay would focus the gaze towards the right a bit. I like this piece quite a bit and actually framed and hung up the original. Additional Details: Original oil painting by Jon Amdall using alla prima direct painting technique, Utrecht brushes, Gamblin and Utrecht paints, and Strathmore paper. Art prints are from FinerWorks on their Premium Giclee thick (21-mil) heavy weight (310g) paper. Scans of originals are 720 DPI, 48 bit color, to capture the smallest details and textures. For artwork with multiple size options, the first listed is always the original dimensions, with similar orientations in larger sizes following. For example, for paintings that were originally square, I'll offer a few square size options, then some cropped vertical or horizontal choices. See image gallery photos for examples of each orientation.

Mirror's Reflection and Shadow - Art print of an oil painting. Hard to believe it's already been three years since I started painting! I first picked up a brush back in September 2022, and since then I've painted 260 portraits. This painting feels like a good way to celebrate that 3 year painting anniversary, as it brings together a couple of concepts that I've found tricky - painting shadows and subject reflections in a mirror. I think I was finally able to achieve a result I like with this piece, implementing both concepts together. A nice way to celebrate this milestone! Definitely looking forward to more painting in the years to come. Additional Details: Original oil painting by Jon Amdall using alla prima direct painting technique, Utrecht brushes, Gamblin and Utrecht paints, and Strathmore paper. Art prints are from FinerWorks on their Premium Giclee thick (21-mil) heavy weight (310g) paper. Scans of originals are 720 DPI, 48 bit color, to capture the smallest details and textures. For artwork with multiple size options, the first listed is always the original dimensions, with similar orientations in larger sizes following. For example, for paintings that were originally square, I'll offer a few square size options, then some cropped vertical or horizontal choices. See image gallery photos for examples of each orientation.

Woman's Silhouette with Round Backlight - Art print of an oil painting. With this painting, I wanted to experiment with bright light and high contrast interactions. I wanted the portrait subject to be framed by a light behind her, experimenting with some light effects on the subject and to the viewer (like the blue and yellow around the edges). I also wanted to mess around with the light effects through sheer fabric. These are themes I've explored before, but I think this is one of my best implementations to date and is a painting I really enjoyed. Additional Details: Original oil painting by Jon Amdall using alla prima direct painting technique, Utrecht brushes, Gamblin and Utrecht paints, and Strathmore paper. Art prints are from FinerWorks on their Premium Giclee thick (21-mil) heavy weight (310g) paper. Scans of originals are 720 DPI, 48 bit color, to capture the smallest details and textures. For artwork with multiple size options, the first listed is always the original dimensions, with similar orientations in larger sizes following. For example, for paintings that were originally square, I'll offer a few square size options, then some cropped vertical or horizontal choices. See image gallery photos for examples of each orientation.

Ragamuffin Cat in a Basket - Art print of an oil painting. Although I mostly focus on portraits of people, I have tried to also practice animals to some extent. I've mostly painted dogs and cats, and the most frequent professional model I use is our family cat. This painting is of him sitting in a basket, which I think turned out quite well. Likenesses are kind of tricky for animals, but I think this really does look like him. This is another painting that I liked well enough to frame and hang up at home. Additional Details: Original oil painting by Jon Amdall using alla prima direct painting technique, Utrecht brushes, Gamblin and Utrecht paints, and Strathmore paper. Art prints are from FinerWorks on their Premium Giclee thick (21-mil) heavy weight (310g) paper. Scans of originals are 720 DPI, 48 bit color, to capture the smallest details and textures. For artwork with multiple size options, the first listed is always the original dimensions, with similar orientations in larger sizes following. For example, for paintings that were originally square, I'll offer a few square size options, then some cropped vertical or horizontal choices. See image gallery photos for examples of each orientation.

This post features a step by step walkthrough of my portrait oil painting approach. Although I've shared a few walkthrough videos on YouTube of my process, I wanted to create something that was a bit more sequential and organized, as well as a bit longer, to really capture how I approach these alla prima portrait oil paintings. It just so happened that this recent study of a woman holding a book really aligned with my typical process.

The vast majority of my oil paintings are done on Strathmore 400 series oil paper, which is a treated linen that feels somewhat rigid like canvass. I am very much a creature of habit, so part of it is that I'm used to how it feels and how paint acts on it. But it's also pretty cost effective, and storage is much easier than canvass.

I had an itch to get some practice with dark oil painting color blends, partially inspired by wanting to improve on a prior portrait painting that featured tons of darkness with small bright highlights. I thought I’d take a shot at similar concepts again, really pushing myself to practice some blends. With this piece, I used a few different mixes of varying proportions: Raw umber, ultramarine blue, phthalo blue, alizarin crimson, and burnt umber in various combinations.

One of the painting highlights of 2024 for me was getting to participate in the Postcard Art Exhibit (PAE). It's a charity event that is hosted in different locations, and the one last year was fairly close to me in McKinney, Texas benefiting the Millhouse Foundation. I don’t have much experience with art shows, but this was a ton of fun and I'm really glad I got to do it.

I'm currently experiencing an internal struggle with the start of my process. Most artists I follow start their oil paintings with a background wash or base layer of color, which helps eliminate the bright white from their canvass or paper and potentially makes blending easier. But, for most of my 240ish oil paintings, I have started my loose outline without this background wash.

Sometimes I just paint without any specific reason or goal, but with this piece I actually had a couple specific things I wanted to practice. I was talking with some colleagues about my appreciation for John Singer Sargent’s paintings, particularly Lady Agnew of Locknaw. I love the way Sargent captured the nature of light on fabric, and a nature instinct is to see if it’s something I could practice.

Almost from the start of my quest to learn to paint with oils, I've been captivated by expressive eyes in portraits. It's something I'm drawn to just when I'm admiring paintings by other artists, so I naturally gravitated to wanting to learn how to emulate the same effect. Unfortunately for me perhaps, I learned quickly that it requires a subtle touch and more experience than I had in the first year.