It’s kind of interesting to look back at this portrait. It was my 49th oil painting, which at the time of writing this, was 64
The Latest Blog Posts
Portrait of an Older Guy Pondering
I’m so incredibly far behind now in sharing paintings, and it seems like there’s not much I can do to address it. I’ve tried batching
A Sad Expression, Portrait Oil Painting
Around the time of this painting, I was thinking about how often I paint similar things. As you can tell from a quite browse of
Portrait of Lady in a Dark Room
This painting of a woman in a dark room is another portrait study in my efforts to practice specific areas that aren’t my strongest. There
Jon Amdall Self Portrait
It might be sort of weird how I’m phrasing this title – a “Jon Amdall Self Portrait”…painted by Jon Amdall…written by Jon Amdall. That’s a
Relaxed Pose Capstone Figure Painting
When I started this painting, I had some vague notions of treating it sort of like a capstone project. Although I’ve done over 80 paintings
Lady with Sunflowers Oil Painting
I might say this too often, but the oil painting featured in this post seems to represent somewhat of a milestone for me. It’s of
Mike Patton Portrait Oil Painting
The subject of this post is an oil painting I did of my all-time favorite musician Mike Patton. Patton is a man of many bands
Not Quite Taylor Swift, a Portrait Attempt
The subject of this post’s oil painting is the second of two requests from my kids. This time, it was an attempt at a portrait
Dua Lipa Portrait Oil Painting
The subject of this post is an oil painting I did by request of my kids – it’s a portrait of one of their favorite
Oil Painting Blog Catch Up – Two Paths
I’ve mentioned on a few blog posts over the last few months how far behind I am sharing artwork. This has been a continuously building
Contributing to Online Ecosystems You Value
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I value different technological tools I have at my disposal, particularly those large scale online services I
Hiring Portrait Models for Art Reference Photos
This post is broadly about reference images and where to get them, but really the purpose is to discuss my first experience actually paying someone
Initial Structure Importance Despite Oil Paint’s Flexibility
This post is going to be about the importance of a painting’s initial structure. Basically, how the build and forms that you start with can
Composition and Color in Portrait Painting
With this post, I want to talk a little bit about painting composition and color. At the point in time when I did this painting,
Thoughts on Light Sources and Lighting in Art
This post is all about light and my struggles with it – I want to give my thoughts on lighting for a studio/workspace, but also
Fixing Mistakes and Redoing Artwork
This post is all about messing up artwork, which is something I have a decent amount of experience with. I’m going to share some of
Comparing Art Video Time-Lapse Lengths and Styles
In this post, I want to take a step back and compare the different types of art videos I’ve shared on the YouTube channel. Basically,
Catching Up on Blog Posts, Thoughts on Priorities
This post is basically about how far behind I am on blogging. I came across a great quote from the artist Richard Schmid who said
New Years 2023 Portrait Painting Giveaway
My last custom portrait giveaway was several months ago, but a lot has changed for me in the art realm since then. With previous giveaways,
More Random Selections from the Archives
Second Healthcare Worker Drawing (10/11/2020) - Way back in April (which feels like it was years ago now somehow), there was a healthcare worker "portraits for heroes" thing going around on social media.… (click to read more of this randomly selected old favorite)
Digital Painting Capstone (6/8/2019) - Welcome to the grand finale of this series of posts on digital artwork! In the first post, I discussed my past struggle with digital art and resurgent… (click to read more of this randomly selected old favorite)
Oil Painting Blog Catch Up – Two Paths (5/16/2023) - I've mentioned on a few blog posts over the last few months how far behind I am sharing artwork. This has been a continuously building situation since… (click to read more of this randomly selected old favorite)
Dirk Nowitzki Portrait with Trophy (10/7/2022) - This is going to be yet another piece of artwork dedicated to Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki. Considering this is now the fourth drawing I've done of… (click to read more of this randomly selected old favorite)Historical Timeline
4+ years of blogging on Amdall Gallery
The very first blog post. Site was abandoned fairly quickly afterward until 2017.
Returned to the site, started analyzing data. The beginning of continuous blog posts for the next 4 years (and counting).
First artwork post, returning to drawing after over a decade. Didn't know at the time this would become a major hobby.
Early attempts at using colored pencils. Initial efforts were rough and poorly blended.
Artwork started to feature a thicker layering and blending style, which has been refined during the last couple years of practice.
Published my first book! Essentially about my experience returning to art after being away from it for so long.
Rejected by a local art show. A bit of a setback, but didn't impact me as much as I expected.
Start of the pandemic, stayed busy publishing a new book, drawing, and getting organized.
Launched a YouTube channel to show progression videos instead of .gifs.
Launched a new website focused on product impressions and reviews.
I have shown improvement over the years, but know there is still much to learn.
What's next? More drawing for sure. But will I attempt to enter another art show? Finally try painting? Perhaps get some formal training by taking a class? All great ideas - we'll see!
