SF's taxi

SF's taxi - Oil on canvas (24 cm x 33 cm) by Benoit Philippe

My painting on the cover of JMCP

A few months ago, a non-profit pharmaceutical magazine titled JMCP (Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy) contacted me and asked if they could use a reproduction of my “Cable Car Ride” painting for the cover of their March 2012 issue.

Some copies of JMCP that arrived in the post last week-end

The magazine is published nine times per year, and features a different work of art on every cover. The magazine’s audience is mainly pharmacists and physicians and the circulation is close to 20,000 copies.

They were looking for a painting of San Francisco because the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy AMCP is holding a conference in this city in the spring.

They also wrote a nice full page article with an interview. The editor did a great job reviewing my website and past articles on the blog before asking me a number of questions.

Article by Sheila Macho published in the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy - March 2012 

It is always very exciting to see your work in print!

You can read the article in the March issue of JMCP which is available online as a PDF on the website of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy.

Arriving at the Mark Hopkins San Francisco

Arriving at the Mark Hopkins San Francisco - Watercolour and graphite (16" x 12") by Benoit Philippe

The InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco opened in 1926 and is located at One Nob Hill (in tersection of California and Mason streets). The hotel was named after Mark Hopkins, a founder of the Central Pacific Railroad.

On the website of the hotel, it says: “The 19-story hotel's architecture is a combination of French chateau and Spanish Renaissance, embellished with elaborate terra cotta ornamentation.”

Arriving at the Mark Hopkins San Francisco - Detail. You can see the texture added with the graphite on the dark suit of the doorman.

I took the reference photograph I used for this painting while walking around San Francisco. What I really liked in the picture is the doorman caught in motion while he carries the suitcase from the taxi to the hotel’s entrance.

Arriving at the Mark Hopkins San Francisco - Intermediate stage with watercolour only.

   Technorati Tags    :  Mark Hopkins hotel    San Francisco    InterContinental    watercolour    watercolor    mixed media    graphite   

                                                 

Bike ride in Derby Street

Bike ride in Derby Street - Oil on canvas panel (6" x 8") by Benoit Philippe

I painted "Bike ride in Derby Street" from a reference photograph I took in Berkeley (California – USA) in 2008. 

Although the photograph was taken for the house, I found the passing bike to be a good subject. I always try to see how far I can crop a photograph and how many potential painting subjects I could get out of it.

SF mounted police

SF mounted police - Oil on canvas panel (6" x 8") by Benoit Philippe

Crossing China Town

Oil on canvas panel (6" x 8") by Benoit Philippe

The making of Isabella's - Oil painting

Watch the making of the painting of "Isabella's", step by step. This painting which is part of the Californian Dream exhibition.

NOTE: This video contains (nice) music.

The pink pick-up truck

The pink pick-up truck - Oil on canvas panel (6" x 8") by Benoit Philippe

Homage to Philip K Dick

Philip K Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982) was an American science fiction writer. He lived in Berkeley, in the San Francisco Bay area, for some times. He wrote many novels (like The Man in the High Castle, UBIK or Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) short stories and essays. Several of his stories have been adapted for the big screen: Blade Runner, Total Recall, A Scanner Darkly and Minority Report.

Homage to Philip K Dick - Oil painting (60 cm x 50 cm) by Benoit Philippe

Rather than painting “another view of the Golden Bridge”, I wanted to make a playful work. This is why I patterned the sky with Space Invaders and there is also a portrait of Philip K Dick hidden somewhere (I let you find it – click on the picture to enlarge it).

For the Space Invaders, I made a printing block.

I first tried to use small foam square that are used as spacer for card making. This did not work well as it was difficult to line-up the squares.

I then made a printing block with some cardboard. It was not perfect but gave me enough to fill the gaps and paint each individual Space Invader with a small brush. The main issue was that when I cut the strips of cardboard with a sharp blade, it created an edge on each side. As the strip was not totally flat, the imprint gave me only the outline in some places.


This painting is part of the series I painted for my Californian Dream Exhibition.

Californian Dream Exhibition Opening and slideshow

The opening went well and the paintings look good in the gallery of the Wyvern Theatre. I put together a slide show with all 21 paintings in the show.

Californian dream exhibition

View more presentations from Benoit Philippe.



If you are an artist, you should really consider Slideshare as another way to present and share your art with the public. Presentations are easy to upload and you can then embed them into your blog or website in no time.

Isabella's

Isabella's is an American Italian restaurant located on the pier in Monterey (California). I like the oversized clock and the two men"talking with their hands" by the entrance.

Isabella's - Oil on linen canvas (50cm x 60cm) by Benoit Philippe

This painting is part of the series for my Californian Dream exhibition.

Cafe de la Presse - Oil painting

This is the painting I did over last week-end at the Swindon Open Studios. The Cafe de la Presse is located 342 Grant Avenue in San Francisco.

Cafe de la Presse - Oil painting (14" x 18") by Benoit Philippe

I took a few photographs along the way to show you the progression of the painting.

Cafe Zoetrope‎ (San Francisco)

Cafe Zoetrope‎ is located 916 Kearny Street San Francisco, CA 94133. The whole round tower is covered in weathered copper, which gives it its unique look.

Cafe Zoetrope (San Francisco) – Watercolour (31 cm x 39 cm) by Benoit Philippe

Serene gardening (San Francisco)

The Japanese garden in San Francisco is a great source of subjects.

Serene gardening (San Francisco) - Watercolour (31 cm x 39 cm) by Benoit Philippe

Sitting on the dock of the bay

I chose the title of this painting in homage to Otis Redding whose “Sitting on the dock of the bay” is one of my favourite songs.

Sitting on the dock of the bay - oil on linen canvas (50 x 60 cm) by Benoit Philippe

And as it happens, the lyrics fit very well what was happening this morning, as I was walking along the docks, on my way to Pier 39:

I left my home in Georgia

Headed for the 'Frisco bay

'Cause I've had nothing to live for

And look like nothin's gonna come my way

So I'm just gonna sit on the dock of the bay

Watching the tide roll away

Ooo, I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay

Wastin' time

I walked all the way to the end of Pier 7. It was early morning and I was alone, apart from some amateur fishermen. There was no fog, I was lucky; but the wind was strong.

When I came back, I saw this man with his trolley. All his possessions were stacked on that trolley, secured with ropes. And he was watching San Francisco Bay, the light sparkling on the water, the boats and Bay Bridge in the background.

I wanted to do a painting using mainly greys. This was an ideal subject for it with the backlit man, the railing and the strong shadows.

I started using greys, black and white. The result was dull. So I decided to play on the contrast between blue and yellow and use greys tinted with both tones. The painting is mainly in the cool spectrum. The only warm colour I used was a Naple Yellow Reddish colour.

Here is the full palette I used for this painting:

• Titanium White (Griffin Alkyd – Winsor & Newton)
• Naple Yellow Reddish (Rembrandt)
• Cadmium Yellow Pale (Winsor & Newton)
• Davy’s Grey (Winsor & Newton)
• Payne’s Grey (Mussini / Scmincke)
• Cobalt Blue Tone (Mussini / Scmincke)
• Ultramarine Blue

Oil painting San Francisco Pier 7 Bay Bridge Californian Dream exhibition

Californian Dream exhibition

After some delays (see my post Invest in the process, not in the outcome), everything is set in motion now for my Californian Dream exhibition starting late September.

Here are the details:

• 27th September to 26th November 2010.
• Private view: Wednesday 29th September 5-7pm
• Wyvern Theatre, Theatre Square, Swindon SN1 1QN - 01793 524 481

“Californian Dream” exhibition is an evocation of California from the wild nature of the Yosemite to the buoyant city life in the streets of San Francisco. I will show some oil, watercolour, pastel and mixed media works.

The making of Morning fog in San Francisco

While painting “Morning fog in San Francisco”, I stopped many times to take photographs of the work in progress.

I put the sequence of photographs into a slideshow that you can now watch it as a YouTube video.

Note: if you are in the office, turn the sound down or put your headset on. There is some music in the video.

If you cannot see correctly the embedded video, click on it to see it in or YouTube follow the link to The making of Morning fog in San Francisco video on YouTube.

painting demonstration oil painting YouTube art demo Step by step painting Californian dream exhibition Wyvern Theatre Swindon

Racing the cable car - oil painting

During the Swindon Big Arts Day, I did a demonstration of oil painting. I tried to take photographs at regular intervals to show you the process.



Usually, I work on tinted background, but I did not have any canvas ready for the size I wanted.



The whole surface is covered with paint thinned with Sansodor (the odourless solvent from Winsor & Newton)



Time to put in the people on the cable car and the cyclist.





I treat the houses in background are treated in an abstract way.





For the foreground, I use a palette knife.

Time to refine the details.

Nap time at Willard Park

Nap time at Willard Park - Watercolour (31 cm x 39 cm) by Benoit Philippe

Willard Park is located 2720 Hillegass Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705. It is a neighbourhood park in Southeast Berkeley and includes a large grassy area and a children play area.

The house visible in the background is on Derby Street, one of the streets along the park. On May 8, 1982, ceremonies were held to name the park after Frances Willard, a suffragette, educator, and temperance leader.

Cable car ride

This one took me a couple of weeks. The canvas is a really nice linen canvas made in Italy by Belle Arti that I bought from Jackson's art. The canvas is extra fine grain, very smooth and springy.

Cable car ride - oil on linen canvas (50 x 60 cm) by Benoit Philippe