Tyler Darden

Sargeant Portrait

2010-01-12T11:36:00.003-05:00

Recently, I enjoyed the opportunity to study the methods of John Singer Sargent and paint from a photo copy of one of his portraits. I chose the portrait of Mrs. Fiske-Warren and her daughter. My copy was a bit darker and more yellow than other prints I have seen, but the result was stunning regardless. The warm palette and rich dark background was very appealing to me. These new explorations into traditional oil realism has been a fun adventure. As a result, friends and colleagues have inquired about commissions. Please contact me if you are interested and I can give you more information and pricing. For a more affordable option, I offer graphite and charcoal drawings. My website will reflect this new work and prices by the end of January.

Richmond Ballet Nutcracker

2009-12-06T02:36:00.004-05:00

Here, a painting commissioned by the Richmond Ballet for The Nutcracker. They wanted to have more figures from the story involved, but the Nutcracker had to be the primary focal point. My solution was to have the characters jumping out of his hat— not unlike a hollow Russian wooden doll. Many thanks to Aaron Sutten for the assignment!

No Man’s Land

2009-12-05T16:16:00.010-05:00

I had great opportunity to work for my church, West End Assembly of God. The Christmas production this year is an original story and score called No Man’s Land. I received a call from Bob Laughlin, the Music and Fine Arts pastor back in July to start concepting ideas. We created a logo, program cover, t-shirt designs and marketing materials including web flash animations for banner ads and press releases. The production, as it does every year, includes over 300 people and runs for two weeks, 18 performances. Oh, and Ann Tyler is in two scenes!

Smithfield Foods portrait

2009-09-08T11:54:00.004-04:00

Here is a very quick portrait done of Joe Luter III, CEO of Smithfield Foods at the last minute for the September issue of Virginia Living. The only art I could get was a very unflattering corporate photo. Here he looks more friendly and the art fits better with the interview.

Me? In the newspaper?

2009-05-20T15:11:00.003-04:00

A funny thing happened on the way to the masters painting workshop. A reporter and photographer visited the studio I attended last week. They interviewed everyone and graciously took photos and made us feel really newsworthy. Lots of questions were asked like, “Why are you taking this workshop?” and “What do you hope to do with your newfound skills?”. I had to think about it for a moment. No, not the classic artist’s struggle for satisfaction or too good of an opportunity, though the latter had a ring of truth. I had to say something more substantial. I wanted to prove to myself if I dedicate the time I can create at a substantially better draftsmanship. You know, take my work to the next level. Of course, in our conversation, the reporter used my comment that I’ll hang the painting at home and I might just tell people it's my great-grandfather. I didn't think I would be a part of the story or that they'd use my photo so prominently (and got my good side, I might add). My dad saw the article a couple days later when it published. I don't think he was pleased with my comment about my great-grandfather.

I am working to add more pieces to my illustration portfolio, draw and paint more portraits, finish a few images for a gallery submission and become a master painter myself.

Two Weeks with Ingres

2009-05-19T16:53:00.004-04:00

For the first two weeks of May, I took vacation time to attend a painting workshop here in Richmond. The objective was to learn traditional realist painting technique by copying a master painting reproduction. The result is astounding, see above. I thoroughly enjoyed the process and taking time to see the minute value and chroma changes. I worked with a portrait of Joseph Moltedo by Jean-Dominique Ingres. Great draftsmanship is a key part of the process. I hope to be able to incorporate this into my illustration and paintings immediately. The instructor was Cindy Macmillan from the Academy of Realist Art in Boston. For future Richmond workshops see the Art Richmond website for updates. Now draw, draw, draw!

Green Thumb—Beautiful Gardens

2009-05-19T11:28:00.004-04:00

This is a piece for a garden story in Virginia Living on the Beautiful Gardens program. The initiative highlights the discovery and promotion of new plants varieties yearly that do well in the Virginia climate and facilitate economic growth.

Poe on a Button

2009-05-19T11:15:00.002-04:00

These buttons were designed last week for an AIGA (the professional association for design) leadership conference I will attend in June in Portland, Oregon. I enjoy being a part of the Richmond AIGA chapter and these buttons are part of an icebreaker function in which each city chapter submits designs that represent them. We Richmonders love Poe. He may have died in Baltimore, but he spent more time here with his adopted family. The portrait button ultimately got the approval and I hope it is a hit in Portland!

Cyrus McCormick in Va Living

2009-05-19T10:22:00.004-04:00

For the June issue of Virginia Living magazine, I wanted to create a portrait of a young Cyrus McCormick, “father of the mechanical reaper” to accompany an article on his life and accomplishments. There was good photo reference on him as an older gentleman, but not as a young fellow. So it was a bit of a challenge to create the youthful version of him. I kept the palette limited to give it a period feel while keeping the piece fresh for the 2009 reader.

Mizuno Running shoes

2009-01-28T12:29:00.004-05:00

I recently had a blast creating a poster image for Ron Huey at Huey+Partners in Atlanta. Their concept was Adam and Eve in the new Wave Rider 12 Running shoe. I wanted to show the couple in entirety, but the client ultimately decided to crop at the thigh. Finding willing models on short notice was a challenge but my brother and his wife jumped in for me. They run a bit, too, so they were a good fit. Special thanks to Johnathan and Danielle for modeling and to Ron Huey and Scot Crooker at Huey+Partners!

VMFA Friends of Art Silent Auction

2008-12-11T00:48:00.005-05:00

Good news! I received email confirmation yesterday that my painting, Pear Unwrapped, was accepted to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Silent Auction. It will be a part of a silent auction at one of the weekly Art After Hours events in January of February. I will post more updates once I get the official acceptance letter this week in the mail.

Sally Fairfax portrait

2008-12-08T10:57:00.004-05:00

We featured Sally Fairfax in our July issue and I painted this portrait of her for the layout. She was a George Washington's neighbor before he met Martha. They were avid penpals and lifelong friends. Many historians like to suggest that their relationship was more than platonic, but there is no solid proof. That's what makes a good story, right?

The painting is in oil. I made the wood support and stretched the linen, also. The actual painting is large, 30x42 inches. It looks great in our living room, but it can look great in yours, too.

John Cephas, Piedmont Blues

2008-12-08T00:44:00.006-05:00

John Cephas, legendary Virginia piedmont blues musician, was recently featured on the music page in Virginia Living. I created a custom portrait to embody the man and the music. John is a Virginia treasure. Billie Jo and I saw him and Phil Wiggins in concert several years ago at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Check him out or his website, www.CephasandWiggins.net when you get the chance. His music is also available on iTunes. I love "Richmond Blues"

Men's Health magazine

2008-12-08T00:01:00.008-05:00

I recently completed a fun job of three spot illustrations for the Fashion supplement in the October 08 Men's Health magazine. The focus was on rugged guys and their jeans. I received an email requesting six illustrations of different activities: Rocker, Motorcycle rider, stuntman, bull rider, tow truck driver and stone mason. Later the next day, the job was amended to three themes and just showing portraits. Here are the sketches and final illustrations.

Special thanks goes to Mark Michaelson for the assignment.

Looking for Bears

2008-08-19T01:05:00.003-04:00

In July, we visited Billie Jo’s family in Ponzer in eastern North Carolina. Every time is an adventure. All of the aunts, uncles and cousins live at and operate Riverside Campground. It is a wonderful, sweet place full of Tom Sawyer fun and Huckleberry characters. The kids zoom around on bikes and golf carts, stage mini-parades and swim in the black silty waters. The excitement this time was a mother black bear and three cubs that had been seen frolicking in a nearby field. Of course everyone wanted to see and Grandaddy Bill was happy to oblige, piling 13 of us from 2 to 60 years of age in the back of his battered Nissan pickup. The bears were fascinating, of course, but what captured my attention was the kids, thrilled at seeing the wildlife out of a zoo in full view literally in their back yard. The expressions were priceless and inspired my sketchbook.

Bedford Plein Air

2008-03-04T13:15:00.002-05:00

This is a landscape I did en plein air while with my family visiting close friends at a trailer between Bedford and Smith Mountain Lake last fall. I like the sense of light and color. I couldn't seem to capture it as well in other paintings I did last summer.

Sermon sketches

2008-03-04T09:52:00.000-05:00

Here are a few sketches I started as doodles during the sermon on Sunday. I should be paying more attention, but can't help myself sometimes. I will post more, all done over a two year span. It's fun to see how they have evolved.

New blog illustration

2007-05-23T20:18:00.000-04:00

Here is a new piece I recently painted for the Park Slope Reader in Brooklyn, New York. Is it weird that I am posting an illustration about blogging on a blog? Maybe I just need more sleep.