About Me

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Paramus, New Jersey, United States
No, this in not a blog about gardening in any way, but a journal of my journey to become a professional landscape painting artist. For years, I’ve given my paintings as wedding gifts without thinking of profiting in some way from it. I worked for 18 years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC as a computer programmer. I have been a painter since 1990, coincidentally, when I started working at the Met. I watched Bob Ross do his thing on Channel 13 in New York and decided I could do this, too. I have no formal training. I incorporate Bob's wet-on-wet technique for sky and water. My subject matter is covered bridges, lighthouses, fishing village scenes, barns, etc. Maine, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Nova Scotia and Spain are some of the places I have painted. My style is detailed and sometimes people think a photo of the painting is an actual photo of the scene. I hope to continue and grow in this medium. I also like to cook & dance. I am also a committed Christian. I am taking commissions - painting your landscapes style photos or your vacation home. Prices on request. contact me - Jackmck@juno.com my website is www.artofjackmckenzie.com

Saturday, April 30, 2016

New Painting - Blue Rocks, Nova Scotia I

I  look thru the various social media, looking for pictures to paint, especially of places I've already traveled to. There are many professional photographers who are pleased as punch to have someone paint their photos. I just did 5 paintings from the Vineyard Colors FB  page that documents many sunrise and snow pictures of Martha' Vineyard that I would not ordinarily get when I go there in June on a weekend biking trip. They even post them on their page, side by side with the original.
Nova Scotia is another favorite place (Ive done a few from there)  and I've come across photographer Catherine Rose work as she goes around the Province and other places. She did a series of Photos around   Blue Rocks,Nova Scotia  and I am about to do some from that series, with her permission, of course, starting with this one, which I am calling Blue Rocks, Nova Scotia I

It seems that little gray fishing shed in the water is one of the most photographed building in the area, similar to the fishing shed in Rockport Mass called Motif_Number_1 (I've done a painting or two of that one myself). I'll be doing one or two of this one, too. My preference goes to the red building in this painting.
She also has a series from Peggy's Cove, a fishing village that draws artists like flies (including me)

Monday, April 11, 2016

New painting - Whaleback Lighthouse with Sailboat

Being a painter also means being familiar with how your camera works, since you need to take a photo of the painting to post on all your social media and other places. I found this out when I photographed this one.
This painting is from the FB page Eric Gendron Photography and is of the Whaleback Lighthouse on the border between New Hampshire and Maine. This is the second on I've done, the first showed a fishing boat going past it. I did the painting and took the picture, but the sky came out gold.
I posted this picture on Eric's FB page with a mention of this problem, He suggested I change my camera's white balance. My white balance on the camera was set at automatic, so I experimented and tried incandescent  and it worked. Never really had this problem before but the camera will be on that setting everytime I take the picture

If you remember about a year ago, there was a controversy about the changing color of a certain dress. It looked one way in a photo and another way in person.  All the explanations I came across were either psychological or difference in human perception. I suspect part of the problem was that it was a white balance issue with the camera.