Inception of the Aero Series

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July 25, 2012 was a special day in my art career. On July 26, 2012, I told the world about it. And now exactly 2 years later, I want to commemorate the anniversary of the inception of the Aero Series, a collection of cloudscape, skyscape, and aerial view paintings.

A trip to New Mexico in 2008 planted the seeds of the idea of painting clouds and views out airplane windows. Since then, I've accumulated thousands of photos as reference material. It wasn't until a flight from Chicago to LA in July 2012 that the idea became a plan of action and commitment to name the series, envision the paintings, and make a public declaration of what was about to happen before I had even put brush to canvas. See for yourself here:

(NOTE: My new Facebook page is www.facebok.com/reyesfineart)

Two years and over 40 paintings later, the numerous public exhibitions and multiple sales of these travel-inspired works are living proof that the Aero Series is alive, well, and thriving. The following Aeroscapes are currently featured on my website:

See them all full size at www.aeroscapeart.com

The Aero Series grows every time I look up at home or out my window seat flying to my next destination. The move to my old studio on 6th Street created the environment for the Aero Series to come into being. Who knows what creative breakthroughs the move into my new studio on Hill Street will bring?

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Reyes Fine Art on Location

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Today marks 90 days on location in the suburbs of Detroit, MI. After working days building sets for the feature film "Batman vs Superman", I've been diligently planning and producing new paintings at night in an impromptu studio I put together in my hotel room. Here's a little insider tour for you…

The setup.

The tools. 

The palette.

The action and the output. Pictured is "Angeles Sky".

While the act of painting itself becomes a spontaneous free-for-all, the planning in terms of size, base colors, etc. is not. These are some roadmaps for cityscapes based on trips to Paris, Montreal, and Barcelona. 

Sometimes I draw out the compositions, sometimes I don't. In the case of these three, I did! 

"Angeles Sky"
Acrylic on canvas
8" x 32" (Four 8" x 8" panels)

"Aero 2014.1 (High Tension)"
Gouache and graphite on paper
8" x 4" 

"Montreal No. 1"
Gouache and ink on paper
4" x 8"

"Aero 2014.2 (Cotton Candy Sky)"
Gouache on paper
8" x 4" 

"Montreal No. 2"
Acrylic and graphite on crescent board
12" x 6"

"Aero No. 40 (Oasis)"
Acrylic on canvas
20" x 10"

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Skyscape Paintings See the Sky for the First Time!

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My live/work loft in Downtown LA has the added bonus of a rooftop deck where I take occasional breaks, snap pictures of amazing clouds and sunsets over the city, AND do the occasional photo shoot of my finished artwork. The weather conditions and light were just right for a photo shoot recently and the half-day adventure was on! I've come to learn that creating the art is only the very beginning of the complex life cycle of each artwork.

Here are some behind-the-scenes pics of this specific stage of the art life cycle for you...

Essential Tools & Tips for Your Art Photo Shoot:

1)   Bring lots of finished art!

2)   An easel or two to get the art off the ground at the right height

3)   A backing board to provide a uniform background (piece of cardboard here)

4)   A length of 1x2" lumber to prop the art up off the easel ledge

5)   One or more tripods to mount your camera(s) for stability

6)   Digital SLR (7mp or higher) and/or your iPhone

7)   Overcast day with diffuse light (avoid the shadows/glare of direct sunlight)

8)   Sunblock...even when overcast you can still get burned!

9)   Lots of patience to deal with the wind, the changing cloud/sun

10) Even more patience to take way more pictures than you think you should

11) A willingness to carry all this up AND down 2 flights of stairs!

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