Tag Archives: tropical

Lift Someone Up

23 Replies

This kind of says it all, but it’s something I try and keep in the forefront of my daily thoughts. Sharing your love could be acts of kindness to strangers, support for a friend or telling a love one how much you think of them. There’s enough negativity in the world and none of us are perfect, but sharing your love not only creates positive thoughts and feelings to the receiver, but in my mind comes back to you 10 fold in many ways. Thoughts?

Please visit my main gallery: TheWallGallery (All domestic orders over $50.00 – free shipping!)

Follow my work:

Facebook: TheWallGallery by Kirt Tisdale. (Page likes are always appreciated!)

Twitter: KirtWallGallery

Instagram: Kirttisdale

 

Old World Look to Tropical Resorts

17 Replies

Seems like kind of a strange thing to create art prints with an old world gothic look using current tropical resorts, but there is a method to the madness or a reason I went down this road.

A number of years ago I toured this old historic victorian mansion in a midwestern town and let me just say it was truly a very large mansion. It serves as a museum with the house furnished as it was in its’ glory years. The decor is very formal and truly stunning throughout. The surprise factor was in the basement. The original owners loved to travel to the tropics and had a large bar (almost cantina in size) decorated in an old world tropical motif. What does that mean you might ask. The furnishings, including the artwork reflected a tropical paradise, but not in bright tropical colors. The color scheme was earth tones reflecting a look you would expect from an era of old worldwide explorers. The art work was all done in a “gothic style” from the middle ages. The whole look worked really well in creating a very subdued, casual and inviting atmosphere. That look really stuck in my head all these years.

So, fast forward to current times and I have taken that same look using a “gothic” technique on scenes from various resorts we have visited over the last number of years. I attached five prints created using this technique.

Thoughts?

Please visit my main gallery: TheWallGallery (All domestic orders over $50.00 – free shipping!)

Follow my work:

Facebook: TheWallGallery by Kirt Tisdale. (Page likes are always appreciated!)

Twitter: KirtWallGallery

Instagram: Kirttisdale

Ocean Sunset – Carlsbad, Ca.

19 Replies

After spending the month of September unpacking (yes, we have a lot of stuff), my wife and I took an R&R and spent last week at the beach in San Diego County. We had a place in Carlsbad where we stayed with a fabulous ocean view. I have attached two shots I took of two separate sunsets.

Carlsbad Sunset 2

The lighting obviously is different between 1 and 2 with the first sunset captured as the sun emerged from behind a cloud versus the second sunset which was taken as dusk had settled in and the last sliver of the sun was ready to slip below the horizon

Having lived and raised our family in San Diego County for 24 years, we spent the week catching up with old friends, former co-workers and employees. My sister and her husband also live in the county, so was great spending time with them. It dawned on us that we did have an ocean view from our house (albeit 3.5 miles inland), but nothing compares to having the ocean at your door step so to speak. Was fun sleeping at night listening the sound of the surf and getting up each morning with surfers flocking to the beach to catch some waves before starting their day.

We left almost 6 years ago and have been back a couple of times for family functions with my sister, but it just felt calming being back in the “hood” where we had lived so long. I will be sharing a number of shots from that week over the next few.

For those of you geographically curious, you probably know San Diego lies south of Los Angeles (120 miles) and is adjacent to the Mexican border. What you may not know is that it’s the 8th largest city in the United States and the 2nd largest city in California. That last fact surprises most people as they assume San Francisco is. The Bay Area surpasses the metropolitan area of San Diego by a long shot, but San Francisco (the city of) doesn’t encompass the population you would think. The county itself follows the Pacific Coastline on the west and includes a mountain range on the east. The city proper encompasses a large portion of the county but there are numerous towns along the coastline going north to Camp Pendelton such as Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad and Oceanside and then inland along the northern tier.

One more fun fact: San Diego Bay is the site of the first European setting foot on what is now known as the West Coast of The United States.

Thoughts?

Please visit my main gallery: TheWallGallery (All domestic orders over $50.00 – free shipping!)

Follow my work:

Facebook: TheWallGallery by Kirt Tisdale. (Page likes are always appreciated!)

Google+: TheWallGallery

Twitter: KirtWallGallery

Instagram: Kirttisdale

 

 

 

Pastel Palm Grove – Featured Art Print

35 Replies

I created this art print using a colored pencil and chalk technique. This technique uses strong drawing lines with softer chalk strokes filling in. The colors are in pastels, giving it a soft modern look.

The setting is a grove of palm trees in a local park near our home here in Arizona. It reminds me of a similar palm grove I came across on the big Island of Hawaii along the shoreline. I love the look of a group of palm trees creating a small “forest”. The fronds create a shaded canopy from the hot day sun and invite you into the palms to relax and enjoy the afternoon.

I have only used this particular technique on a few of my art prints and welcome any feedback. Thoughts?

Please visit my main gallery: TheWallGallery (All domestic orders over $60.00 – free shipping!)

Follow my work:

Facebook: TheWallGallery by Kirt Tisdale. (Page likes are always appreciated!)

Google+: TheWallGallery

Twitter: KirtWallGallery

Instagram: Kirttisdale

 

Pondering The Surf – Featured Art Print

32 Replies

This particular art print is something a little different from my usual norm. I typically don’t focus in on people, but in this case there was a mood element that caught my eye. The look of solitude and intense thought is what drew me to this scene of a man just standing and “pondering” the surf. To create the mood I was perceiving, I used the same technique I had used on the New Orleans series I featured last week. With that series, it complimented the old world look… in this case it helped create a subtle mood to highlight the sense of what I saw in this scene.  Because of that element, I have also used this print twice in my Inspiration Gallery with a prayer overlay on one and the Lord’s Prayer as on overlay on the other. 

Whether it’s a black and white or color photograph or one of my digitally painted art prints, my attempt is to capture a moment or a scene that invokes some type of an emotional or visual response. Thoughts? (side note: the setting for this print is a seclude beach on Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands. The beach is accessed by hiking a trail that takes you up and along the cliffs of the Na Pali coastline and then down onto this beach) 

Please visit my main gallery: TheWallGallery (All domestic orders over $60.00 – free shipping!)

Follow my work:

Facebook: TheWallGallery by Kirt Tisdale. (Page likes are always appreciated!)

Google+: TheWallGallery

Twitter: KirtWallGallery

Instagram: Kirttisdale

Sketched Palm Trees from Papago Park: Featured Art Prints

15 Replies

As a follow-up to a post I did early last November titled: A Pond at Papago Park, I have attached three art prints that came from that photo shoot. In these prints, I used a sketching and watercolor technique of the palm trees surrounding and reflected off the pond at Papago Park. I have recently added them to my Tropical Gallery.

 

 

Thoughts?

Please visit my main gallery: TheWallGallery (All domestic orders over $60.00 – free shipping!)

Follow my work:

Facebook: TheWallGallery by Kirt Tisdale. (Page likes are always appreciated!)

Google+: TheWallGallery

Twitter: KirtWallGallery

Instagram: Kirttisdale

Tsu: KirtWallGallery

Ocean Sunset Between Two Palm Trees- Featured Art Print

13 Replies

I love sunsets, especially those that light up the sky with vivid colors. The clouds and the sun have to be just right and when it is, it’s colorful magic in the sky. As you watch the hues build into brilliant shades of orange, pink and purple, you think it couldn’t get any better, but wait…it does! The art print I am featuring today celebrates just such a sunset. I chose “ Ocean Sunset Between Two Palm Trees” from my Tropical Collection. This particular art print is a sunset over the Pacific Ocean in Carlsbad, California. Located in northern San Diego County. The city is known for its beaches and seaside flavor. Along the Pacific Coast Highway is a walkway on a bluff above the beach in this part of town. The print depicts a sunset along the walkway as the sun is setting between two palm trees. I used an abstract watercolor technique to pull out the vivid colors with the shapes as suggestions. Using an abstract approach creates different elements to a print. The abstract aspect is typically less dependent on detail and more on shapes and colors. You can create an art print of the same scene in a traditional oil style and an abstract style and come up with two completely different looks. I have examples of that throughout my galleries. I can see a scene in a variety of ways and present it as such throughout the galleries. I recognize that abstract prints are not everyone’s “cup of tea”, for example; my wife likes more realism and I prefer abstract. To me, it’s “what does an art print say to you”. I create both types knowing that tastes vary. At the end of the day….just enjoy the sunset! Thoughts?

I invite you to come into the gallery to view the collection in Tropical.

Please visit my main gallery: TheWallGallery (All domestic orders over $60.00 – free shipping!)

Follow my work:

Facebook: TheWallGallery by Kirt Tisdale. (Page likes are always appreciated!)

Google+: TheWallGallery

Twitter: KirtWallGallery

Instagram: Kirttisdale

Palm Trees – Featured Art Print

8 Replies

With summer ending and fall just around the corner, I think it’s time to hit the tropics. The art print I wanted to feature today is from my Tropical Collection. It’s titled “Thick Palm Trees”. The style I used on this print is a gothic oil technique that emphasizes bold brush strokes and earth tone colors. The bold brush strokes create texture and dimension to the print. The earth tones create an old world look as well as a vintage feel. I think of this style more in terms of an old world traditional style, but when I use it with tropical themes it makes me think of a vintage Hawaiian look that I have seen. The palm trees are not Hawaiian, but Arizona based near where I live. This grove reminded me of a similar grove of palm trees on the Big Island of Hawaii where native Hawaiians had a village. The grove provides a great canopy for protection from the sun, but with very little undergrowth allowing ease of movement. Using the grove close to me, I tried to recreate the look and feel that I saw on the Big Island. I always try to create a sense of depth so your “minds eye” can picture yourself in the scene, walking into the grove and feeling the cool ocean breeze. The magic of art to create this type of illusion, but truly if I hadn’t told you the subject matter was in the desert, does it not take you to one of your favorite tropical locations? That place where time slows down and life seems more simplified? Thoughts?

I invite you to come into the gallery to view the collection in Tropical.

Please visit my main gallery: TheWallGallery (All domestic orders over $60.00 – free shipping!)

Follow my work:

Facebook: TheWallGallery by Kirt Tisdale. (Page likes are always appreciated!)

Google+: TheWallGallery

Twitter: KirtWallGallery

Instagram: Kirttisdale