Videos

This is a collection of video samples from the Amdall Gallery YouTube channel. They are typically included with a post on the topic on this blog. More videos be found on the channel.

The thrill of painting, oil on paper. As you can probably tell by how much I do it, I love painting. This might sound kind of odd, but there are specific steps that I can best describe as thrilling. The entire process is enjoyable, but even thinking about some aspects in advance really gets me excited. When I was painting this portrait, that thought crossed my mind a couple of times - when I started blocking in the face shape, I realized how much I loved doing that and that I was actually looking forward to that specific step. Also, when you start to see features crystalize, when the eyes take shape, and when you finally see contrast from a dark background. Seriously thrilling! I think this is what Bob Ross meant by his show’s title “The Joy of Painting.” Portrait of Holocaust Survivor Max Glauben, oil on paper. Early in my painting journey, I was asked if I could do some portraits for a Holocaust Remembrance display - I made two pencil portraits and two paintings of survivors for this event late last year. Now, there is another similar event coming up, and I was asked if they could use the artwork again. Of course I said yes - but I also offered to do a fresh portrait. Unintentional Aerith from Final Fantasy 7, oil on paper. Strangely, this is actually the second time I've accidentally painted someone that makes me think of this FF7 character. What's odd about that is that it's not even my favorite Final Fantasy game, or my favorite character from that game, yet somehow it's an immediate recognition. Perhaps FF7 is just memorable from when I was younger? I did sort of mimic her unique hairstyle with the way it's arranged - and make that hair brown, add a red shirt, and you've suddenly got a FF7 character. Maybe aspects of that game are just imprinted on my brain like so many things are when you're of a certain age. Zelda, Link, and Pikachu, oil on paper. This is the second part of a larger painting featuring a bunch of video game characters. As I mentioned in the first post, it's a "commission" from a non-profit organization, but I'm donating the painting so it's more of a request/giveaway situation. I'm always excited to paint or draw for a purpose though, so this was really fun. Michelangelo the Ninja Turtle and Tom Nook from Animal Crossing, oil on paper. This is part of a larger painting featuring a bunch of video game characters. This is a "commission" from a non-profit, but I'm donating the painting so perhaps more of a request/charity thing than commission. I'm always excited to paint or draw for a purpose though, so this was really fun. Dark Background Portrait, oil on paper. With this portrait, I tried to emulate a specific look I really like in some paintings. A lot of these are by current experts in portraiture and old masters, so that might be part of why I like them so much. But it's also just a look I generally appreciate aesthetically - basically a very dark background, with soft details and brighter highlights in the portrait. Examples can be seen in some of John Singer Sargent and Rembrandt's paintings (especially self-portraits for some reason). Singer Jon Secada, oil on paper. I heard the song "Just Another Day" on the radio recently, which is one I really like. I have a soft spot for 80s and 90s music that is unashamedly all-in on the vibe of the day. Like Hall and Oates "You Make my Dreams" for the 80s, this song just feels like ultimate 90s music. And since I heard it a few days ago, it's been stuck in my head...so I figured, well maybe I'll just paint Jon Secada. Office work, oil on paper. Now that I'm back on track with my art supplies, I decided to branch out again and try some panned out views again. Perhaps not quite a figure study, since it doesn't really test or practice the human form, stances, or anything like that. But at least it's not my usual head and shoulders portrait! Purple hair portrait, oil on paper. I finally received a fresh batch of art supplies! Including my long awaited strathmore oil paint paper, which I'm incredibly relieved to have. The last couple of paintings were on drawing paper, which feels like having my brush stuck in the mud. A saved portrait, oil on paper. This is one painting I really thought was going off the rails in early stages. The initial underpainting and outline were good, but as I started filling in details, I really wasn't liking what was going on. But somehow fortunately it came together in the end and turned into a result I feel good about Yellow Shirt Guy, oil on paper. I ran out of textured oil painting paper, so for a couple of paintings I had to use regular drawing paper. When I first started painting back in October, I sort of thought it was all similar. But now, I realize how far off base I was! Very red hair, oil on paper. This is a leftover painting from last weekend. Sometimes, I end up landing on a subject that is very similar to something I've already done. It happened recently with my attempt at a sad expression and an AI generated subject. Then it happened again with this one! It's pretty similar to one I did that was supposed to be sort of a capstone/showing what I've learned type thing. Real Painting, Fake Person, oil on paper. Some time ago on a youtube video, a more experienced artist recommended I could get more reference photos from AI people generation sites. Basically, computer generated people that don't exist. I thought that might be fun so I checked out a couple of them, created a bunch of fake people, then used one as a reference for painting. Not Lance Henriksen, oil on paper. This was an interesting painting for a couple reasons. First, I ran out of texture oil paint paper, so I had to use plain old drawing paper. It's much smoother, so the experience is a bit different. I was also using paint that had been sitting on the palette for a few days, so the paint was really stiff and didn't flow freely. I tried to loosen things up with some linseed oil, but it was still not as smooth of a blend. The result on paper is kind of cool looking though. Definitely different. Listening on Speakerphone, oil on paper. This one started out with some promise, but sometimes paintings just don't go the way you thought they would. At some point, I kind of lost control of this one. In particular, I think I moved the eyes, hand, and mouth into an awkward place, and then tried to smooth things over in a less than successful way. Older guy pondering, oil on paper. Continuing this long holiday weekend painting with a relatively quick study of a guy thinking about his next move. There should have been a chess board here, but it was getting late and time to run off for dinner. And I'm more likely to just start a new painting than to return to one later - maybe I weird impulse, but I love a fresh painting. So why not just do what is most fun in a hobby? Anyhow, I wrapped this one up as-is in favor of the "mysterious unknown project" (haha too dramatic? I mean just whatever captures my interest later) A sad expression, oil on paper. I was thinking about how often I paint similar things - head and shoulders portraits. I enjoy it of course, so it makes sense that I follow paths that are fun to me. And I like being able to see progress over something similar. But I do want to learn and try new things too (one of the reasons I tried painting in the first place). Woman in a dark room, oil on paper. Another portrait study in my efforts to practice various aspects of art that aren't my strongest. There are a few, but one big one is, even before I started painting (the colored pencil days) I've always relied on measurement for portraits. I also need practice when it comes to contrast, deep shadows/dark areas, and color selection, which I think this portrait somewhat gets to. There are other things to work on as well - it's why I've been trying some figure studies lately, to keep pushing myself. Self portrait, oil on paper. I decided to try another of novice painter and spreadsheet enthusiast Jon Amdall. Although I did a self portrait fairly recently, I'm about 35 more paintings down the road since then, so I thought it might be a decent marker of progress with a face I'm a bit familiar with. Relaxed pose, oil on paper. I started this painting with the idea of treating it sort of like a capstone project. Since my first attempt to paint in October, I've now done 44 of them - a really surprising number when I think about it. That is a lot of painting in four months, and through all of that, I think I've learned quite a bit by forcing myself to practice specific areas of weakness. Things like freehand outlines without measurement, figure poses, using different brush types, and color blending. A lady with sunflowers, oil on paper. I really like how this one turned out. My last couple of paintings didn't turn out quite how I hoped, so I was really glad to have a satisfying result this time. Sometimes, I find just moving on with a fresh portrait and clearing my mental palette can really help. It also seems like continued practice without too many days in between helps me. My hope is that once I get more experience painting, those longer gaps between portraits won't matter as much. A guy looking at his computer, oil on paper. This is not supposed to be Nicholas Cage! Although now that I noticed it, I can unsee the full Cage-ness of the painting. I'm not sure how that happened, but perhaps this is one of those things that happens as you are in learning mode and trying to improve. A woman behind bushes, oil on paper. This was an interesting one because I tried to purposefully have three planes instead of my usual two. It hard to see here in the vertical social media crop, but there are bushes behind and in front of the subject. This is another freehand practice portrait as I try to improve technique. I wasn't sure if I wanted to share this one because it didn't turn out like I hoped. But sometimes it's good to share even the rough stuff. This was supposed to be another Mike Patton - this time a figure study based on Faith No Mores Ashes to Ashes video. There was a point where it was looking decent, but I overworked it and lost any subtle details I was building. I liked my other Patton portrait better...I definitely still need practice on figures. Dua Lipa, oil on paper. This is part two of the "portraits requested by my kids" series. After I painted my favorite musician Mike Patton, my little pals said I should also try their favorites Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa. The Taylor Swift was not a great likeness, but still a decent enough overall painting. This @dualipa one I think is a more accurate depiction, although still not right on the money. Ah well, life of an amateur painter eh? Almost Taylor Swift, but not quite. This one is by request from my kids - after I finished my Mike Patton portrait, I told them I'd also paint their favorite musicians @taylorswift and Dua Lipa. So, I tried Taylor Swift first, and just couldn't quite get the likeness. I think it's close, and not a bad portrait generally. But something is off - I think perhaps the mouth and nose, but could also be some subtle facial shape details. Here's another attempt at freehand figure painting. Just trying to get more practice in without measuring or using any of my favorite tools (like pencil sketching, ruler, or proportional divider). Still having some issues with starting the head too large, but at least oil paint is forgiving and let's me adjust on the fly. Portrait of a woman against a green wall, oil on paper. This one is a bit of a palette cleanser - I had a fun painting of one of my favorite musicians, then a failed figure painting. After that rough go of a figure painting, I decided to try something more along my usual path - a head and shoulders painting. A portrait of Mike Patton, one of my all time favorite musicians. Oil paint on paper. I've been trying to practice painting outside of my comfort zone, without pencil sketching or measuring. But when I want to actually get a likeness close, I still have to rely on my trusty pencil. So for this one, I used my old tools. I'll get back to stretching myself, but sometimes it's good to just do something fun that doesn't have a learning purpose. The scene here is Patton in the video for Faith No More's Last Cup of Sorrow, which is a great one. My 2nd attempt at a freehand figure study without any measuring. This is of a woman looking up, sitting on a couch - oil paint on paper. The painting took around 3 hours total. As with my first figure painting, I started with the legs too short, but was able to mostly correct it as I progressed. I think more practice will help there.
“Painting to Music” Playlist. Time-lapses set to classical music.
YouTube Shorts Playlist. 20-30 second time-lapses.
Art Discussion and Walkthrough Playlist. Conversations about art.
Product Reviews Playlist. Mostly art products, but some other things too.