Jay Raymond Art

Cloud Study, 2013

Carlos Creek Winery Painting Completed I finally completed the large vineyard painting I'd been working on for the owners of the Carlos Creek Winery in Minnesota. This is 24 x 36 inches, acrylic on board. As can be seen through the vivid green of the field and foliage, this is the peak of summer with the sun fully lighting the landscape. It was a glorious day to be wandering the grounds enjoying the many interesting views of vines, trees, amazing skies, and the occasional company of the winery dogs. They are definitely favorite characters at Carlos Creek. Within this painting are many interesting sub-compositions I might end up using as references for other paintings or for some printed products. Here are a few:

Carlos Creek Winery, Oil on paper, 2.5 x 3.5 inches It's been a while since I last painted with oil paints, but I finally purchased a nice set of Winsor and Newton tubes from Dick Blick in Edina, Minnesota. I love these paints so far. This is a small study in the ACEO format. Oil on paper, 2.5 by 3.5 inches.

View of the Winery, Acrylic, 2.5 x 3.5 inches I built a pochade box and wanted to test it out in my studio before embarking on a field-trip. The pochade box is small and very light weight. It's perfect for small paintings in the 5 x 7 inches range. It should be easy to pack into the field for plein aire sessions. This small painting is the first to come off the pochade, and it's based on some photo's I took last summer during a research trip for a larger commissioned piece.

Mondavi Winery, 11" x 14", Acrylic on canvas I recently completed a commissioned painting of the Mondavi Winery located in Napa Valley, California. The person who commissioned this piece gave it as a gift to her son to commemorate his wedding anniversary. Photo's were mailed to me, and I supplemented them with research I conducted to better understand the layout of the facility. The Mondavi Winery is one I've visited with my family, but it's been several years since I was there. Working on this painting brought back some fond memories. Below are some of the ARTifacts related to creating this composition. The challenge for me was to provide enough of the architecture to sufficiently describe the buildings. Although it was difficult to clearly decipher the architecture from the snapshots provided by the client, a little research resulted in enough references that I was able to create a decent representation. Folks that have visited the winery...

I'm currently working on a larger vineyard painting for a Minnesota winery , and while I don't really like showing something that's not yet finished, I thought I could show a small part of this piece in progress. For me, there's a period during production where I really can't stand the work, and there are thoughts of abandonment and starting over. At this point in the piece, I'm emerging out of that phase kind of with one foot in and one foot out. There are areas that are starting to sing, but most of it is a fingernail on the chalkboard. At least I'm starting to feel the image, and design directions and decisions are becoming more clear. The next phase is the momentum phase in which I'll really start to make progress. Areas that are now ambiguous and weak will begin to resolve. Green is a very challenging color to work with, and this particular landscape is tough due to the fact it is dominated by very similar greens. I'll be departing from re...

    I'm currently working on a large painting for the Carlos Creek Winery in Minnesota. I've completed a number of small studies based on photographs I took during last summer's research trip. (Of course, I had to research their wine, too! It's excellent, by the way.) My studies have included pencil drawings, composite photo manipulations, marker drawings, and small paintings. This particular image re presents an area of the winery not included in the larger piece I'm completing, but it's one of the many beautiful areas that exist at the winery. It's my first try at working in the artist trading card format. It's a whopping 2.5 x 3.5 inches!