The planes and subtle shifts of color in the face, compounded with the task of actually making it look like the person, are a lot to handle for a beginning artist;  It reminds me of the time I tried to learn to play guitar on a twelve string, because learning on a twelve string, as opposed to a normal six, would make me that much better in the end (music buffs shake your heads now).  I sold the guitar after an awkward two weeks and stuck to art.  The oil portraits were a lot easier to undertake, in part because I already had so much art training and in part because it’s easier to learn something if you truly enjoy it.

While oil portraiture no longer commands the market it once did, due mainly to the improved print quality and lower cost of photography, it still holds it’s place as the Rolls Royce of portraiture.  A commissioned oil portrait will be around and looking great a hundred years from now (though you might not care – you’ll probably be dead).  Also, the vibrancy of the colors and texture in a painting simply outclass a photograph;  the inks used in photography cannot compare to the thickness and richness of the pigment in high grade oil paints.

There are existing oil paintings that go back five hundred years, when the medium was still new, and the color still looks fantastic; they just need to be cleaned once every hundred years or so.  A Rembrandt from the 1600’s still has the power to astonish the eye with it’s level of depth and color.  In contrast, we have all seen that photo prints fade after only a few years.  An oil portrait is a unique piece of artwork that will survive for generations – a photograph will slowly diminish.

Here are a couple of my favorite commissioned oil portraits.

The first one is of a Chicago area bank president.  In truth, it was my first real commissioned portrait.  I followed a a fairly safe composition and prioritized bringing out his personality.  It was really slow work at first but the real turning point for me was after watching a dvd of one of my favorite artists, Dan Gerhartz.  After watching the confident way Dan made decisions and applied paint, I remember going to my easel and just going for it.  The painting came together very quickly after that.

Bank President Oil Portrait

This is my most recent commission.  I really like it.  I painted it a couple of years ago and my projects have just veered me away from oil portraits since then.  I tried to make this as much a fine art piece as a portrait and that’s as it should be.

A commissioned oil portrait

I’ve been commissioned to paint a quadruple children’s portrait sometime this year.  I’m really looking forward to it as a lot has changed in the way in the way I approach painting.  I’ll be posting the progress on that when I start.

A couple of months ago I was approached to do a couple of designs for some Disc Golf tournaments.  I agreed to be paid in discs and gear (disc golf has not yet reached the lucrative heights of other sports), but my main motivation by far was that it sounded like fun.

The designs would be stamped on the discs and used for promotional materials.

The first tournament was titled First Flight and I was given free reign to do whatever I wanted.  I chose the theme of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun and fell from the sky – true story.

The disc logo had severe limitations in terms of what could be stamped – black and white, thick lines, simple design; I couldn’t do any fancy shading or other subtleties.  Just a strong design was needed;  challenge accepted.

I created the black and white drawing using only photoshop brushes, added some text, and hoped it would print well.

Chicago Muralist Artwork for First Flight Tournament

I then moved on to colorizing it.  Using the black and white artwork, I built upon it for the colored version, which would be far more satisfying aesthetically.   I tried to keep it simple and open for the text that would be added later.

Chicago Muralist Artwork for First Flight Tournament

… and that’s it.  I’ll be designing for a few of these tournaments and will be rich in disc golf gear by the end of the summer.  The first discs arrived in the mail just yesterday.

The country was entering into a recession when I graduated college and no one was hiring.  My father in law was working at Caterpillar in Purchasing, Castings if you must know, and he got me a cushy job as a storage handler. I was originally slated to work on the line assembling tractors and breaking my back, but he arranged a last minute change that switched my assignment with someone else’s;  I got the cushy job and someone else got the opportunity to develop a lot more character.

It was essentially a desk job out on the factory floor with occasional runs finding parts to ship out.  I got to drive a little yellow scooter while looking for those parts; on slow days I’d meander through the factory and buildings, taking new and inventive paths to avoid being seen too often doing nothing.

It was a great thing that my father in law had gotten me this easy and unsatisfying job versus one that required hard work and pride in accomplishment. Had I built some tractors I may have actually enjoyed it there and never left, but I became discontent, and amidst all that freetime I did a lot of drawing that kept me aware of what I really wanted to do.  I determined that I would find any other job, so long as it had something to do with creating artwork and improving my skills.   My job at Caterpillar lasted about a year until I found that job working for a mural company.

Here are some sketches I found a few weeks ago.  I did them on Caterpillars dime.

The first one is a sketch of my favorite co worker, Doug. His goal was to amass 1 million dollars before he would allow himself to retire.  He was at $750,000.00 when I left.  He read books and financial magazines all day, considered every task “an opportunity”, and taught me what nepotism meant.

A drawing of Doug colored in Photoshop

One day I found this dead dragonfly blown in from the dock doors.

Dragonfly sketch done from actual specimen

I drew this 6 by 7 inch caricature of George Bush off of a postage stamp sized photo in a newspaper.

A George Bush Drawing

Originally the Mural was meant to serve as a backdrop for some lettering that would advertise the dentist’s name and slogan.  The day before I was supposed to put in the lettering, the dentist’s wife came in and saw the mural and decided the lettering would ruin it.  She wanted to leave it as a fine art piece and told me she would talk to her husband.  He agreed and the lettering never went up –  I have to be honest here;  I was pretty sure this was going to happen before she ever came in and saw the mural.  It’s happened before with other clients,… and it’ll happen again.

If you like this post, please share.   And if you have a Google+ account, it helps me immensely if you click on the blue +1 icon down below; this site is new and needs a little help with the Google rankings

I’m working on a mural for a dentist office in Naperville, IL,  that falls into the category of dark, tight spaces.  The wall I’m painting on is in a hallway, outside of the entrance to the waiting room.  When the mural is finished, I will paint the name, slogan, and website of the dentist over the landscape, … and no one will even notice the fire alarm, emergency light, and wall plate…

The fact that the hall is a tight space is one of the reasons for the mural.  I am trying to open up the area and replace the gloomy, closed in feeling, with an open and pleasant atmosphere.

Already the depth and mood have been established, and once that is in place, the rest is gravy.

Here are three pics of the mural in progress.  I’ll be adding the finished mural within the next few posts.

Also, I just added a Twitter feed (on the bottom right of this page), so you can follow me on my muralist adventures and see the progress pics of any project I’m currently working on.

Thanks for stopping by–

Eulojio Ortega, Chicago Muralist

Chicago Muralist dentist office mural

Chicago Muralist Dentist Office Mural

In a previous blog, I posted the progress of one of these murals and I’m now happy to post the finished art, including its progressive stages.

This mural was designed to enliven and add interest to a wall between two strong areas – a spacious grand foyer and a gorgeously designed kitchen.  The client and I went through several ideas, but in the end she really took to the concept of a trompe l’oeil stone woman, which was great, because it was to her taste, and on my end, would be a lot of fun to paint.

Chicago Muralist Tromp L'oeil Drawing

Chicago Muralist Marble

Chicago Muralist Trompe L'oeil mural

Chicago Muralist Trompe L'oeil mural

Chicago Muralist Trompe L'oeil mural

In some of my future posts, I will be doing some light tutorials and explaining my process.  I invite you to subscribe or share with someone you know who might be interested.

Thanks for stopping by.

-Eulojio Ortega

Chicago Muralist

I came up with this while sitting in a car dealership waiting to sign some papers. I saw the outline of the Chicago skyline on a plaque, and suddenly it clicked that I should turn the buildings into brushes. People don’t always see the brushes right away, but when and if they do, I’d like to think the logo becomes a little more memorable.

-Eulojio Ortega