New Site announcement

Hello everyone,

First I want to say I appreciate the many emails concerning my art as I know I have been gone for awhile from the internet scene.

But not from working on my art. I have taken a different path and stepped away from the Daily painting scene to re evaluate some things. Mainly to get centered again and I feel the time has been so rewarding.

Besides my oils I am working on some other exciting areas I hope you will find of interest. I have spent the last year on learning to see. I will explain more what that is all about by inviting you to come to a new blog site I am working on.

The site contains some of the new work I am working on and have finished as well as my daily painting art. I will soon be adding my larger oil pieces on the site I am working on that I am getting ready for a show.

I am mainly doing figurative work in oil now and in pencil. But I will also add a still life now and then as I do love doing them. My focus is no longer daily painting, instead its daily Art.

I still think Daily painting is a great thing in fact I am painting and or drawing daily, only my pieces take much more than a Day. The drawings alone on average take 60 to 100 hours to complete. A painting a week or more depending on size and subject matter.

Anyway, here is a link to the new site. Please drop by often, and I would love to hear from you, leave a comment or email me.

God Bless and see you there

Mark Branscum
click here MBStudiosArt

8 Ball Corner Pocket - - - Final

8 Ball Corner Pocket
5"x7" Oil on Gessoed Board

It is done!. Still wet, but finished just the same. I will now focus my efforts toward building my auctions for the paintings. I hope to start the Auctions on Monday, Feb 5th.

Stay tuned! More to come! Prior to Auction this Painting's Buy it Now offer is $100.00 but will go up at time of Auction or sold to highest bidder.

Mark

­8 Ball Corner Pocket

8 Ball Corner Pocket
5"x7" Oil on Gessoed Board

Here is the Final Step by Step images. It is finally completed. Now to work on whats next as well as get my auctions going.

Mark

8 Ball Corner Pocket
5"x7" Oil on gessoed board

Nearly completed though still a lot of refinement still yet. I just started washing in the colors for the balls as well as the pocket. However, at this stage is where it begins to really come together.

My favorite stages are finally here. Refining the painting to its final layer is a stage I long for, but have to be careful not to get to anxious because so much must happen before you can arrive there.

More to come!

Mark

8 Ball Corner Pocket
5"x7" Oil on gessoed board

Here is an update showing what stage I am at on the pool table. A lot of refinement and detail to add still yet. However, it is starting to come along very nicely. Be starting the pool balls soon!

Having a lot of fun with the wood.

Stay tuned.... More to come!

Mark
Warning; If you click on this image please understand it is quite large! If your not PC challenged then you've nothing to worry about! :)

8 Ball Corner Pocket

8 Ball Corner Pocket
5"x7" Oil on gessoed board
Here we are! Another one begins. This is a first in a series of billiard themed paintings. I just got the itch I guess to do some and so now it begins.


I really like this composition, and how it just looks like its going to be fun to do.

I will be doing step by steps of this one too. I hope you will enjoy them.

In this step, I used the grid system to insure accuracy in my free hand drawing. I want my detail tight on this one. I am more than satisfied with the initial drawing.

I will ink it in. As I said before, inking does not mean I will use ink it simply is a borrowed term instead I will use a Burnt Sienna thinned with a little turp.
In steps 2 & 3 you can see this process. After completely going over the pencil sketch with my burnt sienna. I then wipe away any pencil that might still be present making sure I don't wipe away any of the burnt sienna used to ink it in.

Now, I will begin laying in my background colors and work forward. So, theres More to come!

Mark

Broken with Purpose

Broken with Purpose
5"x7" Oil on gessoed board

An Egg, it has so many purposes that might come to mind. But what came to my mind was that even when broken it has purpose. In fact, with one of its uses it must be broken in order to fulfill its intended function.

Sometimes we might feel broken and of no use. But just perhaps we need to be broken so that we too can fulfill our intended purpose.

It has been said that our trials in life only serve to make us stronger! So, should we feel broken down or perhaps that we should even be discarded. We should pause and consider that this might be the beginning of one of our greatest moments. The moment when in the hands of the Master we are "Broken with Purpose"!


Mark Branscum


Warning the above image may take time to load for those that might be on dial up or PC challenged!

More to come!

­Doing the Splits (Final)

"Doing the Splits"
5"x7" Oil on Gessoed Board
Its Finished! I am starting a new painting which will also have a step by step progress of it.
I love the Cherry here, how it seems to be cuddled up so softly within the whip topping.

Trust me when I say the cherry was very good and as tasty as you would want a cherry to be.

I decided to go with Doing the Splits as it had the most response.

More to come!

Mark

Doing the Splits (Updated Step by Step image)

Doing the Splits
5x7 Oil on Gessoed Board

Ok here is an update and where I am at the moment. Time just wouldn't allow me to finish it tonight but I made some good progress considering the little time I had to spend on it. Anyway,
I have begin in several stages to lay in the base colors or foundational colors to build upon.

FInishing up is done in the last few stages. At this stage it is beginning to give a glimps of what the final stages will reveal and unfold. I am very pleased with the foundation colors and overall composition.
More to come!

Mark

A Little Cheesecake

A Little Cheesecake
5"x7" Oil on Gessoed Board

Yet another though still on my easel wet but completed and drying.

I can't remember when a piece of art ever made me so hungry while working on it. But this one did. I kept imagining if I only had a fork I could get one of the tasty looking cherries and just gobble it all up.

Alas, all I have is the memories of how good it really was. But what good memories they are :)

Enjoy, and soon I will be opening auctions for this as well as several others. After which each painting there after will have an auction created upon completion or added to my store.
Mark

A Little Cheesecake

"A Little Cheesecake"
5"x7" Oil on Gessoed Board
Auction coming soon!

I was rewarded by my wonderful wife with my favorite desert, cherry cheesecake. Mmm mm good!

It wouldn't be right to not paint something so delicious. So, I started by getting the composition I liked the best and since I am very satisfied with that, I will begin blocking it in with color.

This one shouldn't take me very long at all but it is already proving to be quite enjoyable. After all that is whats so great about being an artist... enjoying the process from start to finish.
My only hope and wish is you enjoy the results.
Mark

P.S. More to come!

"Check Mate" Final

Check Mate
5"x7" Oil on Gessoed Board
Auction coming soon however I will
consider all inquiries to purchase via email!

It finally came the moment to say, its done!

I really enjoyed this painting and I am looking forward to revisiting this theme real soon of chess pieces. I already have some planned.

I wonder where I will journey to next? Stay tuned as I am starting the next one right away.

Mark

Check Mate Update

Here is an update to Check Mate!

In the first part of the image... to the left.. I wanted to lay a base color to start blocking it in.

Then I focussed on the King. I didn't block it in solid at first as I was trying to check its symmetry

I wasn't completely satisfied so in blocking it in I reworked its general shape. Once I had it where I was satisfied with the overall shape I made it a solid black. Well, actually not a true black but you get the picture.

Then I decided to block in the first layer of the background. I like where its going and look forward to when it is a bit drier so I can better blend it to the chess board.

Once this stage is near dry or sort of a tacky feel to it then I will focuss in on a finer detail and blending.

Not to far from the stage where it will begin to pop as I call it, and I am so looking forward to that stage.

I hope you are enjoying the step by step progresses of my work. I hope to in the near future do some videos for You tube to be placed on here so you can see the progress in action.

More to come!

Mark

Check Mate

Check Mate
5"x7" Oil on Gessoed Board

This is as you can see a work in progress. Here are two stages showing a little of the sketching process.

In the progress you will see a variety of approaches I use for a painting. This one as the one before this (Waiting for the Master) I am sketching out the composition before actually applying color.

I am doing this because of the perspective involved. At this stage I am mainly concerned about the central figures the chess pieces themselves. I'm not happy with the chess board but at present its nothing to be too concerned about as I have established a strong start and the problem areas are easily corrected in the next few stages.

Some people use the old phrase I feel Like a King.... I wonder how many feel like this King?

This thought sparked the Idea for this painting... "Check Mate"!

More to come!

Mark

Waiting for the Master

Waiting for the Master
5"x7" Oil on Gessoed Board
Building Auction soon but if
you wish to purchase this before I set it up then
email me at MBStudios@Hotmail.com

Paint is still wet but at least its done.

I really enjoyed this painting and I hope you enjoy it too.

This can be framed or not, what ever you wish as it is on
gessoed board and will look good either way.

Mark

Waiting for the Master

Waiting for the Master
The idea came when I was looking for my next painting to get started on. I looked over
and saw them waiting so patiently to be used once again. Waiting for their Master.
Of which they serve well.

It is good to be back and able to work again on this discipline of daily painting. Though other projects took me away from the Daily Painting, it didn't take me away from painting all together.

This painting is still wet and unfinished... it is a 5"x7" Oil on Gessoed Board. I hope you enjoy this one and the many more to come.

Mark

­Waiting for the Master

­ An update on WIP

Just wanted to give an update on the work in progress. I wanted to at least give more of an idea of what the composition was before I dive in on the actual painting process.

Once I begin the painting I will probably hold off on updates until it is finished, then I will be putting together a WIP presentation explaining each step. I know I have always enjoyed seeing the steps each painter takes and have found little nuggets from each of them, so I felt it was time I also contributed.

I hope you enjoy them! If you do, let me know if you would like to see more of them I will start working more Works in progress on the blog here.

Mark

­ A work in progress

This is a work in progress .. I thought it might be good to show the process of the painting.
I will have an update to this soon. About this image. I was with my family at the mall and we were walking toward the escalator and it just jumped out at me, so I pulled out the faithful digital
camera, of which we take everywhere with us at snapped the picture.

I felt this would go great with my movement series, my working title at the moment is Up&Down. It is an 8"x10" Gessoed Board. More to come!

"Three Amigos"
5"x7" Oil on Stretched Canvas
Click to Bid on this painting!

I really enjoyed painting this and it looks pretty on my mantle.
So I know it will be beautiful on your location of choice!

Mark

"Three Amigos" a WIP
This is an another update the work in progress.

The image is much darker than the actual painting but the purpose of this post is just to show the progression.
I nearly forgot and progressed a little further than I wanted before taking an update pic... Sorry :(

Mark

"Three Amigos"
This is another update of the work in progress shots I am doing.
More to come!
Mark

"My Little Friend"
by Mark Branscum
6"x8" Oil on stretched canvas
Click Here to Bid on this Painting!

"Looks So Sweet"
6" x 9"
Oil on Canvas

This is a study piece where I was trying to find that aspect of an apple that makes you say... " Looks So Sweet" hince the title!

"Apple a Day"
A 5" x 7" Oil
on stretched canvas
Click Here to Bid on this Painting!

About the Artist
I have been an artist for as long as I can remember. My earliest childhood memories is drawing my first figurative piece of a lady playing a piano at our church.

I was around 7 years old, and the likenes was good enough at that time that after church people were able to identify Her and were amazed I was able to acheive likenes at such a young age.
The rest is History, now I enjoy both Painintg on canvas as well as Digital Painting.

My influences are John Howard Sanden, He really opened my eyes to painting portraits. Which led me straight to Figurative paintings.

Now my interest in Still Life Painting is growing, I find myself impatient in waiting for the next one to begin as I find the journey of creating a realistic piece quite facinating and stimulating.

The discipline of painting daily, and the rewards of my painting skills increasing I have found a great blessing. Though ebay is a new approach to art, I am looking forward to this endeavour to better paintings. I would like to envite you to come along on this journey with me. I will be making my Daily Paintings available on Ebay as well as by Email for those that are interested.

Thank you for your interest and I hope you find my work enjoyable!

MBStudios