Number 43 - Olive Oil

Olive Oil, 10x8, Oil on Gessoboard

After painting the galvanized steel water can and the sunflowers, I decided to tackle glass. I really liked this little exercise for all the colors and lines and reflections. I tried to put everything in this one - hard edges, soft edges, a little warm, a little cool, and even an attempt at marble (or at least a representation of marble, LOL!!!). I went quickly and lost a little (OK, a lot) of the realism, but I think it turned out pretty well.

I really like the look and feel of this one and I hope you do, too!

Thanks for stopping by and looking. Enjoy!

Number 44 - Sunflowers in a Water Can

Sunflowers in a Water Can, 8x6, Oil on Gessoboard

It's been a while again since I've painted. I've been traveling, but I had the opportunity to visit not one but two art museums! I stopped at the San Diego Museum of Art to see the exhibition of Spanish art. Wow! Folks aren't kidding when they say they are mesmerized by the works of Sorolla. Absolutely amazing and most beautiful! They also had a couple of works by Monet on display in their permanent collection. Then, I flew down to Atlanta and visited the High Museum of Art and finally got to see my first Sargent! I do have to say that the painters in the late 19th century and earlier had VERY dark palettes. It seems as if everything was dark...

Anyway, this past weekend I decided to paint something a little more colorful. When I got home I found that the sunflowers are blooming, so they became my subject. I've also been looking at a lot of works with metal and glass in them. So, here it is - Sunflowers in a Water Can.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look! Enjoy!

Number 45 - Morning

Morning, 7x5, Oil on Canvas Board

This little gem is a 'happy little accident' that resulted from a lot of overnight frustrations. It started out as something else, scraped away, then something else again, scraped away. I began to notice that when I scraped away the paint from the canvas there were a lot of different hints of color that seemed to be playing with each other and calling me to join them. Perhaps that was just a lack of sleep getting in my head, but it caused me to deviate from my norm and go WAY outside my comfort zone.

I scraped in the land mass with the palette knife I use to mix with. Then, as I was playing around I decided to add some foreground water by mirroring the land mass and making the darks lighter and putting in the water's edges. I didn't know what to do with the sky until I stepped outside and saw the predawn light. I knew I had to add it!

I'll be doing a lot more with my palette knives as they create a very free feeling, impressionistic effect that I've been looking for. And they're easier to clean!!!

Thanks for taking the time to look!

Enjoy the Morning!

Number 46 - Mug Shot

Mug Shot, 7x5, Oil on Canvas Panel

This is my mug. There is no other mug like it. Others may drink their concoctions from their mugs, but this mug is mine. It is special.

OK, this is my entry for the Daily Paintworks challenge for this week, the Paint Your Mug Challenge. If you haven't checked out the site, you should. A good number of very talented painters hang out and post their works. The weekly challenges are open to all, but the other areas are for members to post - and DPW has some wicked good daily painting members!! Perhaps one day soon I'll be one of them...

Thanks for stopping by and looking at Mug Shot!

Enjoy!

Number 47: Thistle Study

Thistle, 8x6, Oil on Gessoed Hardboard

The weed that is everywhere you don't want it to be is my subject for the day.

I usually look at these things with disgust before I cut them down and dig up their tap root, but today I looked at this one with the eyes of an 'artist'. All of the different greens, the way the light plays with the tiny petals of the bloom, the multitudes of little spikes covering the seed pod, and the pointy thorns all the way up the stem.

I hope I captured it all with this little study.

Enjoy!

Number 48: Cherry Exercise

Lone Cherry, 5x7, Oil on Canvas Board

I learned from this one not to take the picture when it is wet. Well, this one is fresh, right off the easel! I'll take another pic for comparison after it dries.

I like these little cherries. They make great little models and they each have their own individual personalities. I'm hooked, so watch out for more of these little guys!

Enjoy!

Number 49: Challenge Inspiration - Daisies

Daisies, 8x6, Oil on Gessoed Hardboard

Here's one that was inspired by this week's challenge at dailypaintworks.com. 

 

The challenge:Choose some flowers on the ground and stand from one to six feet away from them. Use only these colors: Ultra Blue, Cad Yellow Med (or Lt), Cad Rd Lt and white. Limit your painting time to one hour (don't cheat!). Using only three brush sizes (large, med and small) start with a large brush and cover the canvas with thin paint (not runny), getting most of the large, dark areas blocked in. Then work dark to light, thin to thick. Have a focal point with darker darks, lighter lights, more intense color, thicker paint and fewer sharper edges. The rest of the painting should support that area with less visual energy (softer edges, less intense colors, less contrast). Use the smallest brush only at the end and in the focal area only (last 15 minutes). Use a value scale of at least 8 to 2 (dark to light). And try not to use white to lighten unless it is a cool color (blue or purple). 

 

Since I only use the primaries anyway, this one was REALLY easy! I even finished in about 45 minutes. Unfortunately, I'm not a member of the site yet, so this was just a good practice. I'll be joining soon, though!

Enjoy!

Number 50: Little Project (Completed)

Well, here it is! I'm halfway through my first 100 and beginning to get the knack of things and how everything works and comes together. I may even be developing my own style, but the evolution continues. I keep thinking of a caterpiller in a cocoon developing into a beautiful butterfly. And, even though I took a year off, I feel as if the development continued in my mind as I never had a moment when I wasn't thinking about color, composition, mixing, lines, edges, etc...

For this big milestone I thought it appropriate to do a little something special. I took on a little project, a request from my best half for her sister and brother-in-law for their first anniversary. I already posted the study I did for this project here.

I started out by penciling in a drawing to get an idea of where things should go.

While I tried to figure out where to start, I painted in the sky.

I was really interested in seeing how the values of the 'crow's nest' would work with the sky color, so I started with the roof area.

I got into a groove and just kept moving down the canvas. I like how it's all coming together at this point, but there's still a lot that can go wrong, er, still a lot to do.

I changed colors for a while, the whites and blues were getting a bit monotonous, and I need to see what the other main areas of color would do to the composition. I'm really liking how this is looking at this point.

Got the stairs, walkway, and driveway in and looking good. I spent quite a bit of time on the curb, but it turned out looking really nice.

This is the part that really had me worried. All the work done so far and something so small as stair railings could ruin the whole thing. Well, I didn't have to worry very long. I did a little swipe with a couple of Qtips and laid down the paint. Nice little trick I learned from Richard Schmid! Finished up with the railing shadows and some water run off stains on the steps and voila!

Pilot House, 16x12, Oil on Canvas on Hardboard

Here it is! This photo was taken in warm light from an incandescent light and still looks pretty good to me. This is the largest project I've done to date and I learned quite a bit about mixing colors and using medium, values and edges, and most importantly patience. There were so many times I thought things didn't look right, the colors were off, the values were off, and the whole thing wouldn't really fit on the canvas. But in the end, it's all good. I'm happy to have done this project and look forward to doing more 'big' paintings in the near future.

I hope Kelly and Anthony love their first anniversary present as much as I loved painting it!

Number 51: Parrot (Macaw)

Parrot, 7x5, Oil on Canvas Panel

I decided to spread my wings a little for this one. Forgive the pun!

Enjoy!

Number 52: Old Oaks

Old Oaks, 6x8, Oil on Gessoed Hardboard

This one is just a quickie of a couple of oak trees that I spotted on my daily drive to and from work. They've stuck out to me because they look so old and they're the only trees on their respective hills. A lot like the old farms around here...

Enjoy!