Hey everyone! My name is Brian Savignano (29), and I am new to painting. I live in SE Oklahoma with my wife and three small children (3, 2, 7mo) and our four cats. I have a feeling all of them will be painted at some point in time lol.
I do not have a drawing background or anything, just a will to learn and a neverending need to be good at what I do. I work IT for a hospital during the day, and in my spare time I would normally be playing/programming/3d modeling something to do with video games. I have always been enthralled by the art in games and had begun learning digital painting with a wacom tablet I picked up a couple years ago. While I like the images you can come up with there, it just means nothing next to an oil painting to me.
About 3 weeks ago I painted a landscape after watching several Joy of Painting episodes from the 80's. My friends and family think it looks great (I don't), but I feel I cheated. I learned how to do some quick sky/trees/mountain/water tricks, but that's what I feel they are, tricks. I did a seascape afterwards that looks much better to me, but still not the style I want.
I have been watching Mark's videos since then and committing everything to memory before I give it a try, which will probably be the weekend after Easter. I have acquired all of the paints Mark recommends and the majority of the ingredients for the medium (need clove oil and Venice turpentine). I still need to build the table for still life and a new easel (mine is too flimsy and leans back). I am thinking of pricing up some glass for a new palette table but for now I will use two pieces of acrylic that are about that same size.
I am really excited about learning to paint using Mark's method, and working on my own style as I go

Brian
Comments
What software do you use for 3D modeling?
Welcome to the DMP Forum.
Sounds like you are afflicted with the same obsession as we all have in here.
Denis
Thanks again for that clarification, Ron!
Brian
Update: My clove oil and venice turpentine should be here around Tuesday, one last weekend to get my other stuff built
And an update: too many easter egg hunts this weekend, so no still life table yet, but my Venice Turpentine is out for delivery
Guess I can go ahead and mix up my paints tonight with the medium I mixed up the other day, then stain a few canvases tomorrow morning. Should be up and painting in a few short days
Still have to drill and put the stuff together and mix paints, but no unexpected company for hours today so shouldn't be a problem
I have a whole slew of photos sized and ready to print for practice painting portraits, but a still life will be my first go.
Bragging edit: if you zoom in you will notice my shadow box is level, talk about perfectly square, booya! lol
Edit: found the black stain at walmart in the paints people brought back, only one I could find, almost had to use paint instead. Went with black walnut for the shelf, since I had some leftover from making treasure chests for my nephews (they love Jake & the never land pirates lol) love the color though, probably going to add some more after it dries so it's nice and dark
PS: even sanded off that back edge so it wouldn't scuff the canvas, but shouldn't have put the ply on til the glue was dry!
Edit: I also had some wood left over from the sheet i cut the photo holder and the rood for the shadow box from. So I now have a 2ft x 4ft table 18" high, with a drawer from a server rack I had lying around. Pics when I get my camera in, my phone apparently hates to focus.
Edit: Also @Mark_Carder, I had a little trouble with my drill eating up my screws, and realized I bought ones that were philips/square head, so my philips bits are getting eaten up, as well as the screw! I have plenty of square bits, just looked too small to me. I felt like a dumbass so I brought one to work to ask my buddy and he said it was square/philips, not just the philips that looks like that. So I have a couple screws to replace in the shadow box now, but glad I don't have to just get a new box of screws!
@David_Quinn_Carder thanks man! I've been wondering where would be the best place to get a bunch of cloth other than hobby lobby (I'd go get a roll at walmart but ours stopped carrying cloth and stuff a couple years back.) And I do love ordering stuff so I don't have to drive anywhere (sucks living in a small town!). Do you have one you recommend that was a reasonable price on there?
If you don't see a cheap roll in the quantity you need, you might want to give the guy a call, describe what you're looking for, and see if he can recommend a cost-effective option. The commando cloth is good and will totally work, and might even be ideal, but it's also relatively expensive.
P.S. — Finally saw that movie recently and it was wonderfully terrible!
@Mark_Carder would you suggest I tack cloth over a beige ceiling as well? My ceilings are 8ft in there.
Edit: looks like about 22 yards or so if it's 54/56" wide, so 11 would be commando, so yeah my wife might stab me for spending that much on cloth lol (especially after a camera, all this wood and paints and stuff to make medium and ..insert more shit here.. lol)
Also, tightened up the screws I had a problem with like nothing with the square bit lol. My Dewalt impact driver (hammer drill) was eating those screws up with that other bit
I think they make those screws out of putty!
Also got my camera in and a new sd card and 3 batteries (I ordered two becuase I didn't think they were sending one, sweet!), so I'll be able to take much better photos of my work, and subjects for painting
Only things left now are to cut the slot in the roof and stain it, get some glass monday, and put up my lights at the proper angle from where my canvas is.
So giving 48 hours for the stain to dry as Mark suggests, I should be on the road to my first still life Monday evening
Great looking work space. Don't forget about some ventilation.
Denis
Expect to see something in Post Your Painting in the next few days, good or bad.