Paintings – Chris Beaven

Norupo is an ancient Old Norse poem, written in a form of proto-Scandinavian called Proto-Norse. The poem is about the Old Norse gods and goddesses, and their interactions with the natural world. I chose to name this painting because of the influence of the song of the same name by the band Heilung.

The Days End

Fire Sky

The Arc Toward the Sun

Water, Wind, Flame

The Meeting

Black Sea V2

Black Sea V1

Where I Crossed Over

Infinite

Burning Sun

All to Ourselves

Ceiling of Expression

A Little Bit of Warmth

Planning

He wasn’t sure how to kill him. There were so many other parts and pieces that needed to fit in place just right along with his death. It needed to happen at the right time and the right place. What would happen afterwards? What needed to happen before? What would the others think and feel? […]

Anywhere

It didn’t matter where they went or how long it took to get there. They wanted to go somewhere. Anywhere was fine.

Waiting

The season was turning, soon it would be colder. The waiting would be harder then. In a month the ground will be covered with snow and she will have to wait next to the tree, standing. Or behind the tree when the wind picks up. She would have to remember to bring some warm tea […]

All That Matters

She hates this game. How does he even have WiFi here? We’re in this beautiful place, away from everyone, and he insists on playing on his phone. I just want to spend some REAL time with him, not having to act like I’m interested in what he’s playing just to get close. I’m interested in […]

Stillness

The mountain spoke to her. She started to hear the mountain’s first word before she knew how to say her own. It sounded somewhat like a long drawn out “s”, or the sighing of the wind between its peaks. You had to not move and be very quiet to hear it. Adults always confused it […]

Mesmerized

The camera was set to take a very long exposure of the night sky so there was nothing left for him to do but wonder around the mountainous landscape and make sure he stays out of site of the camera. It was cold. Wearing shorts was a perfect choice while on the long hike. It […]

Reverence

When he thought of Hawaii the first images that came to mind were beaches and women in bathing suits. But, when he had a chance to go there his urge for hiking and experiencing nature brought him to features of the landscape he had no idea existed. The pinnacle of his trip was when he […]

Captivated

A young boy who had been playing on the beach all day. Digging holes, finding small creatures from the sea, some dead, some alive and generally having a great time suddenly realizes that it’s getting too dark to see. He morns the end of the full day of playing, he wants it to go on […]

My Heart Beats and Birds Fly

I spend a lot of my time alone. It’s not a bad thing. Most of the time I prefer solitude. I think most of us do. Think about the last time you went on vacation to a beautiful natural place. Where you happier when it was crowded or no one was there? My guess is […]

The Tower

I’m exploring my thoughts and feeling more than I’m exploring the technical aspects of art. After 10+ years of doing art every day I’ve realized that I don’t have a clear understanding of what it means for me to be an artist. What I want to spend the rest of my life creating. I don’t […]

Drowning in the Day to Day

I’m beginning to see narratives everywhere. Random images from Unsplash can have so many stories that I would love to paint. Not all good, not all bad. Watch me paint it. Total time: 2 hours

Burning

This painting was done later in the day when my focus was not the best but I was still able to paint something that has a very strong emotion. Watch me paint it. Total time: 2 hours

Breaking Away

I’m beginning to break away from my normal way of working. I’m having fund putting down the initial idea of the painting then blending it all together or scrapping it all off to see what randomness happens, then react to that. Watch me paint it. Total time: 2 hours

Gray Tabby Kitten

Today I relaxed all constraints on creating an image with a narrative and just tried to paint a kitten. I feel like I failed miserably but this is the first kitten I’ve ever painted. Watch me paint it. Total time: 1.45 hours

Epiphany

Remote. Solitude. Peaceful. Calm. Reflection. Continuous reflection is a big part of my life at the moment. I keep looking inward and hoping for an epiphany. Watch me paint it. Total time: 1.25 hours

Determination

The awe inspiring beauty and majesty of a colossal mountain. “I feel so small and insignificant next to natures wonders but my mind is inspired to achieve something momentous.” This was a fairly simple composition but the challenge was in the edges. Especially with the clouds. I want to have a large variety of edges […]

All This Time on the Wrong Path

Working so hard and achieving so much to realize that you’re on the wrong mountain and the place you need to be is a whole other climb away and there is no clear path to get there. “I thought I had achieved so much and I reached my goal but I’m on the wrong path […]

Where do We Go From Here?

A little bit of an experiment today. I was working too fast on this painting and not caring about the drawing. That was a mistake. Then I ended up seeing how it would work out if I scraped it all off and worked back into it again. What I do like about it is the […]

Once in Tandem, Now Alone

I’ve always been drawn to dramas and sad stories. There is a power in sadness and loss, as long as a person is strong enough to get through the hard times, we always come out on the other end stronger and more resilient than before. Everyone loves the hero story and we all can be […]

No Apologies, This is Me

I’m moving away from to much outside influence and closer to my true inner voice. The artist that I want to be. No apologies, this is me. Watch me paint it. Total time: 1.5 hours

I’ll Take My Chances

I’m very influenced by Quang Ho right now. I love how he’s able to completely obliterate an image almost to the point of abstraction yet it still represents what he’s painting. I love the energy and power within it. I attempted the same today. I began drawing with a brush rather than a pencil and […]

Looking at a Different World

My paintings are taking longer because I’m taking my time trying to understand how I can simplify each shape into one stroke and not touch it again. It’s take deep focus and planning. This generated image didn’t have the figure in the foreground. The figure is me, there is a gap there and I’m looking […]

Radiating Warmth

Before I used to avoid the overly sweet and emotional imagery but now I’m thinking differently. These moments are becoming more and more important to me. Watch me paint it. Total time: 1.75 hours

Observing the Indefinite

Trying to get the majesty of a mountain communicated on a 6×6 panel is super hard, almost impossible. But I’ll continue to try. Total time: 1.5 hours

Walking Home

I’m getting better. Every painting I’m seeing some improvement which is wonderful. At some point that will slow down. But, I’m turning these daily 6×6 painting into Deliberate Practice by taking notes after each session and deconstructing what I’ve learned and how to improve next. Plus, I’m reviewing the notes from the previous day to […]

Where Do You Start?

We are moving to Hawaii. When you have so many attachments to stuff and you have to move all that stuff across an ocean you begin to question why and where do you begin to start moving it all. Total time: 2.5 hours

The Autumn of Our Youth

I’m only 47 years old at the moment but for some reason death is on my mind a lot lately. I’ve gotten too many emails about people my age or younger dying. Our parents are getting closer to their 80’s as well. All of which leads me to take action and enjoy the time I […]

Time Together

My wife and I read the book “The 5 Love Languages” and we discovered that we both give and receive love in the same way. Time spent together. Watch the creation of this painting here. Total time: 1.25 hours

Empty Halls to Echo Grand Self Mythology

The title for this painting comes from this song. I like figures that show empowerment, especially for women. Watch the creation of this painting here. Total time: 2 hours

Among Giants

On this painting I was trying really hard to limit my brushstrokes down to only the essential ones. I want to be able to describe an object as simply as possible. Watch the creation of this painting here. Total time: 1 hour

Pause and Appreciate

Too often we see paintings done with people in it that look like their living in the 1800’s. I like to depict our current time, yoga pants and all. But with the tried and true wisdom of the ages. Watch the creation of this painting here. Total time: 1.25 hours

It All Begins With a Single Step

The title of this painting was inspired by this quote. Watch the creation of this painting here. “The journey of 1000 miles begins with one single step.” Total time: 2 hours

Love on the Edge

I painted this during my live stream. You can watch the live stream here. Total time: 2 hours

The Struggle is Worth the View

The fade of the sky was surprisingly hard to pull off on this one. I spent most of the time on that. Almost every mountain we’ve hiked the view at the end, regardless of how hard it was to get there, was worth it. Watch the creation of this painting. Total time: 1.5 hours

Power Comes from Within

I’m painting these figures from generated Ai art. I’m embracing the beauty that Ai is able to create and adjusting it to make it my own in oil painting. True power comes from within. Watch the creation of this painting. Total time: 2 hours

Epic Quiet

I can feel the silence in this one. The slow degrade of the sun over the horizon and the clouds slowly billowing. I could watch it for hours. Watch the creation of this painting. Total time: 1.25 hours

We are All Greater Than We Think

Regardless of the size I find myself drawn to figurative work. I like the statement I’m trying to make here. Empowerment. Watch the creation of this painting. Total time: 1.75 hours

Two Peaks

I tend to focus on landscapes for the beginning of these 6×6 paintings. I’m not as skilled as I like to be with such a small canvas and a limited time so simple landscapes help me bridge the gap between my effort and success. Watch the creation of this painting. Total time: 1.25 hours

Slow Fade of Light

I love how the light intensifies as the sun goes down and the termination of warm colors slowly sink into blues. Watch the creation of this painting. Total time: 1.5 hour

Love and Stars

After a big change with my art recently I’ve decided to focus on smaller paintings, 6×6 to be exact, for a long time. I want to complete paintings daily and have fun doing it. This small size can do that and so much more. Watch the creation of this painting. This is the first of […]

Perseverance

This was the first oil painting I’ve completed on my live stream. It took around 55 episodes on the stream to finish the painting and this was one of the most complex oil painting that I’ve ever done. I started this painting as a comprehensive tutorial on how to take an idea from nothing to […]

The Dreams of Two Brothers

This painting started out as tremendous motivation from Ai art that I had generated on Midjourney. It was a combination of 5-10 images that I had generated and edited in Krita. Through the progress of the painting I began to feel a connection to the two young figures and seeing them as avatars for my […]

The Passage

This is my second painting that was influenced by Ai work that I generated. I love the vast landscape and the epic scale as compared to the figures. I imagined a story of a youth traveling to a far off barren place to face a difficult trial before the leaders of his people. The working […]

Other Worlds V1

This is my first large painting that was completely influenced by Ai work that I generated. The previous were of smaller size. This painting was a revelation of freedom for me in creative expression and may mark the turning point in my art career of breaking away from strict representation of the real world. This […]

Valley Aflame V2

This is almost the same exact painting as Valley Aflame V1. The difference is that I got my digital art printed on a canvas then I painted over it in oil. I wanted the conversation of digital Ai influenced work and traditional materials to come closer together. It was a joy seeing how more intense […]

Valley Aflame V1

This was another painting influenced by art that I generated using Ai. This one was deeply influenced by the epic landscapes by Albert Bierstadt. I also wanted a human element within this landscape to create some sort of narrative. The long journey or a journey into the unknown. Total time: 8 hours.

Estuary

This painting marks a huge turning point in my art. Before this painting I didn’t have much of an idea of what to paint. After this painting I have hundreds of paintings I want to paint. Why? Because this is also the first painting influenced by Ai generated art. I was with my family walking […]

The Pear Tree

I don’t have any models that I can pay. Or, to be more accurate, I don’t have any models that I can afford to pay. This leads me to using myself as subject matter. At the beginning, the purpose of this painting was simple. Get a great photo of someone and paint it. The execution […]

1853

With this painting I discovered my love for portraiture more than figurative work. I love the subtle emotion on the face and trying to capture that while instilling my own style is fantastic. Also with this painting I’m borrowing ideas from video production and will begin playing with depth of field throughout many of my […]

Veiled

I was a reticent in painting this image because of the nudity. Before I didn’t care but when I start showing in galleries and painting I love are rejected due to nudity I start to question if I need to show it or not. I painted it anyway. I could paint for others, I could […]

Faded

The title “Faded” was created when I was developing the composition for this painting. Originally the figure and the background was going to be faded together with lots of subtle tone. That didn’t happen so the title really doesn’t match. Regardless I’m going to keep the title as is because I really don’t like coming […]

Curvature

In the spirit of Vulnerability Three I’m working this painting up in many layers of strokes that go across the form. I want to communicate depth in the form as well as depth in the skin. My ultimate goal with these latest paintings is to try and get the figure to look “hyperalive”. I want […]

Vulnerability Two

Part of the purpose of my vulnerability series is about the subject and part is about myself. I’m trying to be vulnerable. By trying new things, pushing boundaries, getting comfortable with failure or ridicule. This painting was the first step out of that comfort zone. A step into less detail and more abstraction. I would […]

Vulnerability Three

I’ve taken a lot of chances in this painting and pushed a lot of boundaries. Even calling the painting finished at this point is a risk for me. I’m definitely pushing beyond my comfort zone. I could work on it so much more and smooth out all of the strokes but I want to do […]

Vulnerability One

I was surprised that I completed this painting so fast. I think it was because there is so much open space and the figure has large areas of skin with not many details. I love that this painting is so simple also. There is an impact that a painting has when it’s simple and striking. […]

Winnie

I painted Winnie years ago and I’ve always wanted to redo that painting better. After Sullivan’s death I felt it was time. But before I memorialize Sullivan in a painting I owe it to Winnie to finish hers first. I wanted her beautiful eyes to be the center of interest. So I composed the whole […]

Impermanence

I started this painting while I was waiting for an order of much bigger canvases to come in. I didn’t have much plan for it other than to kick off a commitment to figure painting for a long while. That being said, I learned that this size of canvas is just way too small for […]

Paper Triangle

The main thing I wanted to accomplish with this painting it toget a golden glow from the paper. I want it to feel as if the light isbouncing off the paper and glowing. Like the other paper paintings, there is a lot of subtlety in this painting that is lost in the photo. Total time: […]

Paper Cross

The main thing I wanted to accomplish with this painting it to get a golden glow from the paper. I want it to feel as if the light is bouncing off the paper and glowing. Thanks to lots of color study and the Munsell system I feel I was able to accomplish that well. But […]

Paper Chevron

I love the subtle color of the photograph of this paper sculpture. It has a glow to it that is golden. This is what I’m trying to capture. But I’m also trying to make it look like the light is bouncing off of the paper not that the paper is colored. Total time: 35.5 Hours

Resurgence

The motive for this painting is simple and to the point. It’s an example of my return to painting after months and months of drawing. A resurgence from black and white and into color. I had been working so long in black and white that I wanted to use super bright complimentary colors and get […]

Paper Star

Years ago I had started a series called “Elevating the Mundane” that ran for over 30 paintings. I’ve sold most of them and didn’t look at the posts for years. A few weeks back I happened to look back on those posts and was blown away by the beauty of the photographs I had taken […]

Paper Flame

Years ago I had started a series called “Elevating the Mundane” that ran for over 30 paintings. I’ve sold most of them and didn’t look at the posts for years. A few weeks back I happened to look back on those posts and was blown away by the beauty of the photographs I had taken […]

Satsuma Still Life 2021

Before this painting I had been drawing daily for months and not touching any paints. Because of this a lot of time time was spent getting familiar with my regular oil setup again. For this painting I just focused on establishing the major masses, covering the canvas with oil, setting up my value ranges and […]

Patrick

Part of my series of paintings where I attempt to depict all of who the person is. What their thinking, their mannerisms, their loves, their wants. A true since of their presence at the moment caught into the painting. Patrick is a man deep in the now of life. Celebrating what comes and cherishing the […]

Pattie

This is the second painting in what I hope to be a very long series of portraits. The first was of myself, the second is of my wife and the next will further expand out to people not as close to me. Total time: unknown This painting took me 125 sessions to complete so I’m […]

Who is This? (post kidney transplant)

After my transplant I was looking in the mirror at the apartment we were staying in close the hospital. We needed to be close very close to the hospital just in case rejection happened and I needed to get there within minutes. I stared into the mirror, drained, forlorn and wondered aloud “Who is this?”. […]

Fatigue

Throughout this whole painting I was tired. I felt the fatigue that the figure displayed. My kidney disease was physically and emotionally draining and for most of the sessions I could only manage my minimum of 30 minutes a day. I painted this figure as a representation of myself at this stage in my life […]

Living Room

We were in the middle of organizing all kinds of stuff we had in storage by pulling it all out in our living room and sorting through it. As I was sitting there in the middle of a mountain of stuff with the light streaming out of the skylight I could picture myself buried in […]

Satsuma Still Life 2018-1

I’ve painted satsumas many times in the past 10 years. I love how challenging yet simple they are. Total time: 3 hours

Me and Kiddie

This is a self portrait of myself with the best cat ever. His full name is The Kid, but we always called him Kiddie. Total time: unknown It took me 36 sessions to complete this painting and I would guess that the total time in hours would be around 20.

Feet and Hands

These are my feet and hands. I’ve always been very vascular in my hands and I wanted to try and paint all of the colors that exist in skin. From greens to bright yellows. Total time: 13 hours

In the Bend

The purpose of this painting is purely academic. I have a love for figure painting and what I want most out of my art is to have the skill to render any figure well. Once I have this I feel I can begin interjecting myself into the work more and more. This painting, just like […]

Recovery

The purpose of this painting is purely academic. I have a love for figure painting and what I want most out of my art is to have the skill to render any figure well. Once I have this I feel I can begin interjecting myself into the work more and more. This painting, just like […]

What’s Up?

The purpose behind this painting was purely academic. I have a love for figure painting and what I want most out of my art is to have the skill to render any figure well. Once I have this I feel I can begin interjecting myself into the work more and more. I surprised myself with […]

Form in Repose 2

I believe that my representational art cannot be achieved well without focus and motivation. If I’m not able to focus or I really don’t feel like it, I recognize it, accept it, and cut my session short. This is not an excuse to be lazy, it’s an acceptance of the flow and ebb of our […]

Form in Repose

If you read through all of the notes that I’ve made on this painting through its 11 daily art sessions you will see that the purpose of this painting is academic in nature. I’m working hard to render this figure the best I can. I want to be true to the human form. Not stylized […]

Sara

The purpose of this painting is purely academic. I have a love for figure painting and what I want most out of my art is to have the skill to render any figure well. Once I have this I feel I can begin interjecting myself into the work more and more. This painting, just like […]

Recline

I’ve been wanting to paint this figure for a while but I have been avoiding it due to the blatant view of the genitalia. But, thanks to another person out there opening my eyes to a fear I need to conquer I painted it. I consider the human body beautiful in all its forms and […]

Pounce

The purpose of this painting is purely academic. I have a love for figure painting and what I want most out of my art is to have the skill to render any figure well. Once I have this I feel I can begin interjecting myself into the work more and more. This painting, just like […]

Curl

The purpose of this painting is purely academic. I have a love for figure painting and what I want most out of my art is to have the skill to render any figure well. Once I have this I feel I can begin interjecting myself into the work more and more. This painting, just like […]

Waking

I was reticent in painting this image because of the nudity. Before I didn’t care but when I start showing in galleries and painting I love are rejected due to nudity I start to question if I need to show it or not. I painted it anyway. I could paint for others, I could paint […]

Cross

The purpose of this painting is purely academic. I have a love for figure painting and what I want most out of my art is to have the skill to render any figure well. Once I have this I feel I can begin interjecting myself into the work more and more. This painting, just like […]

Sitting

The purpose of this painting is purely academic. I have a love for figure painting and what I want most out of my art is to have the skill to render any figure well. Once I have this I feel I can begin interjecting myself into the work more and more. This painting, just like […]

Contemplating

The purpose of this painting is purely academic. I have a love for figure painting and what I want most out of my art is to have the skill to render any figure well. Once I have this I feel I can begin interjecting myself into the work more and more. This painting, just like […]

Looking Up

This painting is exactly what it is. It’s academic in nature and was painting as the next step in the progression of my skills. Although, I loved the contemplative nature of the pose. Just a man, standing and contemplating something above him. What is he thinking about? Total time: 4 hours

Looking Back

Looking Back was completed in December 2016. It was one of the first of a large series of figure paintings. A series that I’m still working on today. The inspiration for the image was pulled from a bank of reference images from New Master Academy, the model’s name is Rajiv. I didn’t know it at […]

Definite Process

The purpose of this painting is purely academic. I have a love for figure painting and what I want most out of my art is to have the skill to render any figure well. Once I have this I feel I can begin interjecting myself into the work more and more. This painting, just like […]

Clay

The purpose of this painting is purely academic. I have a love for figure painting and what I want most out of my art is to have the skill to render any figure well. Once I have this I feel I can begin interjecting myself into the work more and more. This painting, just like […]

Female Figure 2016

The purpose of this painting is purely academic. I have a love for figure painting and what I want most out of my art is to have the skill to render any figure well. Once I have this I feel I can begin interjecting myself into the work more and more. This painting, just like […]

Stuck with It

The purpose of this painting is purely academic. I have a love for figure painting and what I want most out of my art is to have the skill to render any figure well. Once I have this I feel I can begin interjecting myself into the work more and more. This painting, just like […]

Containers

There is something to be said for letting the viewer fill in the details. John Singer Sargent and a lot of his contemporaries knew this well. And I just read a quote from Harold Speed in his book Oil Painting Techniques and Materials. The fewer strokes of the brush you do your work with, the fresher […]

A Different Approach

At this point in my painting journey I had taken a different approach to my still life painting. The difference was not huge but it’s there, mainly it was a change in thinking. I painted on actual stretched canvas, it had been a long while since I painted on anything but boards. Mostly due to […]