Floribunda Study

Floribunda Study

Demo for Guild  - not for sale.

A neighbor gave me these beautiful roses out of her garden.
They have many, many petals and they can have five roses
on a stem. The amazing thing (to me) is they are all different
shades of colors on the same stem.

Artist Note,

This was this mornings demo for the Guild.
I didn't have to worry about setting them into a still life
as this was to be about exploring the colors in light and shadow.
I started with blocking in the the shapes first with middle to dark tones.
I painted the background as I was painting the flowers, being
careful to place some of the background color into the individual
rose color, especially in the shadows.
Remember what Chagall said.
"All colors are friends of their neighbors."

The afternoon demo I did I will show tomorrow.

Calla Study

Calla Study

8x6in  oil on canvas board    100.

Busy day today, but time to do a quick study of my favorite flowers.
They are elegant at every stage.
This is the time of year they are starting to bloom in some lucky areas
of the country.

Artist Note.

This study was all about warm and cool colors.
The sun cast a warm yellow light and I placed the callas where
the shadows formed a strong diagonal.
The green changes are the most noticeable. They are a strong yellow/green
in the sunlight and a much cooler blue/green in the shadow.
The white on the flowers had so much light bouncing around them
they did not get too dark, but the sky cast down its color in the shade
and produced delicate hues of blue and mauve.

After the Storm

After the Storm

8x6in oil on canvas panel  100.

This was done from a photo.
The dull colors with the light starting to break through
onto the lake, speak to me of clean, fragrant air and sunshine ahead.
I love my sunshine!

Artist Note.

This is a palette knife and tonal painting,
Golden rule of reflections...they are the same height/width and shape
as what they are reflecting.
Moving water can change that rule somewhat!

Start of Sunset, Santa Fe, N.M.

Start of Sunset, Santa Fe, N.M.

8x6in  oil on canvas panel   SOLD

During our stay in Santa Fe, the four of us would take a walk in the evening.
I was walking with my back to this view when my friend's husband
called out for me to turn round and enjoy the cloud formation.
It was a stunner. Camera..click...click!

Artist Note.

This was painted from a photo on my computer screen.
I was careful to make the foreground lighter than it looked on the screen.
I have discovered by painting plein air that the sky still casts its brightness
onto the ground before dusk and although it is getting darker,
it is never as dark as the typical photo shows.

Golden Field and Great Tip.

Golden Field.

6x8in oil on canvas board     100.

I used a contemporary design to make a statement about the field.
Simple without detail. It is all about a place reduced to its basic shapes
and colors.

Artist Note.

Have I got a tip for you!

When pouring from my Gamsol can I always had to use a funnel,
and still would have drips. Look at this simple solution.
You pour with the spout at the top! Clean flow, no drips!

Those that know this already maybe rolling their eyes, but let me tell you
that all the artists I have told so far, none had known to pour this way and
neither had their family members. My husband didn't even know
about this tip. Works with any size can of this type.
We all have been pouring with the spout at the bottom - closer to the
container we are filling.

Try it this way. I got it from our handy, handy man, Bob.
Pass it on.

Painting in the Car

Painting in the Car.

6x8in  oil on canvas panel  100.

I received a few inquiries on how I could paint in the car
when the landscape changes so fast.
Good question with an easy answer.
I start on something in the distance and paint that first. For example,
yesterday's blog had the Sandia Mountains, Albuquerque, in the distance
so I did that first.
 Next I look to see what is around me at that point and fill in the bottom half.
The colors are usually in similar tones due to the sun, land or weather patterns.

The painting above was actually started as the one below.

This is a typical, metal roofed house with a dirt road
leading up to it. I painted the house, mountains and trees first.
Then from memory I did the dirt road, fence and bushes, looking
at the colors as we were whipping on by.
This kept me happily occupied until we reached the start of the
farming areas in the Mesilla Valley, when, lo and behold, I looked up
and saw the beautiful fields, so I quickly scraped off the bottom half
and brushed in the new pattern -  leaving the top part of the
painting as it was.
The sun was warmer as it was later in the day and I went back into the
top part and made the colors warmer where the sun was hitting.

It doesn't matter if I liked the painting as it was before or not.
Is is not precious. For me, these car paintings are purely about
the enjoyment of painting.
(And preventing car boredom)

Looking towards the Sandias

Painted in the Car - Looking toward the Sandias

6x8in oil on canvas board  Not for sale

I managed to do a few painting in the car on the trip. Some of them have wavy spots where
the car hit a bump but all in all they will be good color studies for a future painting.
Here is a photo for those who have not seen my set-up.
My little painting box rests on my open glove compartment. I hang a trash bag from it too.
This doesn't show it, but I rest my palette in a pizza box just in case we stop suddenly.
I use water based oils so no solvents are in the car. Brushes and water go in the door.
A pack of baby wipes for my hands and I am all set.
It sure makes those long car trips fly by.

Storm Over the Tesuque Hills

Storm Over the Tesuque Hills, N.M.

6x8in  oil on canvas panel   100.

This was a quick study of an approaching storm viewed from
my friend's studio window. Her windows must be 12 feet high
and they provide a dramatic vista on stormy skies and sunrises.

Artist Note.

It was the sky I wanted to capture, but the clouds were moving rather fast
so I squinted to get the overall colors and values of the sky and hills,
and I was mixing the different shades as I compared. Once I had the colors
I painted a dark sky going cooler as it moved back and put in the shape of
the hills...and I waited.
As soon as the sun broke through I quickly painted the light pattern
on top of what I had already put down.
 I even had time to catch where the sun fell on part of the
back hills. The foreground I did after waiting for
similar light.
This is the method I use for capturing fleeting lighting conditions.
Having the colors premixed makes speed possible,.

The Pink Adobe

Pink Adobe, Santa Fe.

8x6in   oil on canvas board   100.

We are back home from out little trip and we both agree
life doesn't get any better than visiting good friends and
catching up.

Artist Note.

This has a strong horizontal format so placing the tall trees
was needed to break it up.
This may sound elementary, but I was careful
not to place them above, or too near the peak
of the roof...even though that is where they were. 
As an artist, I have permission to do
some landscaping chores!

Spider Mum Study

Spider Mum Study

8x6in  oil on canvas panel  100.

Using the same flower arrangement I painted from yesterday,
 but concentrating on the Spider Mums.
They are more of a delicate flower than I realized. I think of mums as sturdy
because they last a long time but the long thin petals easily bruise and droop.


Artist Note.

I had to concentrate on breaking the background into the oval mass of petals
in an uneven manner to show the long, thin petals.
For those of you who like to have a more painterly approach the following
is how I do it.

 First, make a mass of base color
in general shape.
Sargent used an olive color to mass
in his whites. I used transparent
Indian Yellow with
ultramarine blue and a little bit
of transparent oxide brown (if too green.)
I also find orange and a yellow green
is very good but I wanted it to be transparent.

    Next I placed my cool color reminder...
    underneath and in the shadows
    and then I found the center which in the
    actual flower is a green shade.
    I used a soft blue/violet gray
    for the shadows areas.

  I get a general idea of the petals and
  use a cool color in the shadows.
  It helps not being too careful with this stage
  - just plunk strokes down and leave them alone.
  Having some of the base color between the
  petals is good.

This is the important part.
I painted the background into
and between the petals, which
merges some of them softly and allows
me to have a few crisper edges.

This method can create 
the desirable, uneven negative 
areas.
Even if the flower looks perfect
all the way around, (in real life)
I find it is better to cut back into
the circle, here and there.
It creates a more interesting shape.

Flower Study

Flower Study

6x6in oil on canvas panel  85.

We arrived at our friends house in Santa fe to find they had bought these lovely flowers for me to paint.
This was done very quickly as an exploration of the forms and I think Iwill do a more complete painting in a larger size for pure pleasure.

Artist Note.

I was trying something new. This panel was gessoed to make a brush textured panel.
I think the idea is for the texture to break up the edges.
I have seen it used quite successfully in landscape painting.
If you click on the image to enlarge it you will clearly see the ridges.

Overcast

Overcast

8x6in  oil on canvas panel  100.

What a difference in ambiance when the sun is not shining.
The stream was rushing along due to springtime melting snow.
A heavy mist was settled into the atmosphere creating
a very tonal painting. After the brightness of what I had been
painting, it felt more like England than New Mexico.

Artist Note.

This is all about subtle value changes so I kept my colors
on the palette in a circular pool so it was easier to compare
the gradations...step by step up or down in value.
I let my palette do the work!

New Mexico Gate

New Mexico Gate

8x6in  oil on canvas panel  SOLD

I think most New Mexicans take pride in the unique and
wonderful gates found almost everywhere.
This one is very old and is set in an adobe wall. Nothing ever really matches
in these older doors and that is part of the charm.

Spring Green

Springtime Green

6x8in oil on canvas panel  100.

Here I am painting with my least favorite color...green!
I must admit to being blown away by the beauty of the
springtime, vibrant, green color of these trees.
The little creek was full and the shadows were perfect.
There was a white house in the back of the field,
 but artist choice prevailed.

Artist Note.

I mixed my greens from warm and cool blues
(cerulean and Ultramarine)
and a warm or cool yellow.
(lemon and cad yellow med.)
I always put red into my greens but with wanting the
special, springtime green I mixed a little alizarin with white
to make a medium value of pink and lightly added
just a touch into the mixes

Abandoned

Abandoned

6x6in oil on canvas board  $85.

This abandoned building was about two miles from the Nichols Ranch
and we stopped to photograph it on the way home.
The light hitting the roof made for a really bright spot against the
soft shadows of the hillside.

Artist Note.

In a small, square format it is hard to place a building and not
have it kerplunk in the middle. I think this piece works though because of
repeating some angles...the hillside bushes, the lean-to,
green bushes and the fence..

Spring at Nichols Ranch and Orchards

Spring at Nichols Ranch and Orchards

6x6in  oil on canvas panel  85.

Almost too pretty and lush to believe, here in the drought stricken,
southern part of New Mexico.
The ranch is nestled in a hilly area located up about 6,000 ft, so cooler weather
prevails in the scorching heat of summer. The ranch also has its own water to
irrigate with - a huge advantage,

Shown is part of the huge lilac bush I posted yesterday. The cherry tree
on the left is one that my friend grafted and planted when he was 7 years old
...many moons ago! Beautiful views are everywhere you turn so we all felt
blessed to have been invited to paint here.

Artist Note.

As I said yesterday, when painting on location it is hard for me to decide
what I am going to paint so I look for light /dark pattern flow... a linkage of light or dark areas.
Here the light areas ( building, cherry blossoms, trees in sun and path)
link by eye flow leaving the dark areas to hold some stability.

Lilac Time

Lilac Time

8x6in oil on canvas panel   $100.

 A few of us from the Artist Guild went to the Nichols Ranch to paint the lilacs, cherry and apple blossoms. We all enjoyed the day and the weather was perfect.

Artist Note.

When painting directly on location it can be hard to decide what spot to pick.
I wanted to paint the lilacs but found it overwhelming so I did a small area of the huge bush.
The light changes so quickly I only had an hour or so to paint this.  I tried to be careful about not making the lilacs appear too spotty so I linked them as much as possible.
I used a knife for most of it.

I was able to do another painting and will post it tomorrow.

Iris Time

Iris Time.

8x6in  oil on canvas board  100.

These are some of the several different iris growing in my garden

They are Dutch Iris and are spectacular. In the bottom photo
it shows two more varieties.
The white one has speckles of lavender and the yellow is two tones of yellow.

Artist Note.

I usually like to paint Iris in watercolor as I find it much easier to capture the
delicate quality of the petals, but today I had a go at fracturing them.
It was hard as I still do not know exactly what works and what doesn't...
so this is part fracturing and part impressionism.
I used a warm purple and cooler blue on the front iris. If you check the photo
you can clearly see the warm and cool colors on everything.

On the Edge

On the Edge

6x8in  oil on canvas panel    100.

We have all seen this...a thriving tree right on the edge of a cliff,
growing out of what appears to be solid rock.
I can plant seeds with tender care into perfect soil...
only to see some survive better than others.
Weeds leap out of places where there has been no water.
Mother Nature continues to astound.

Mountain Meadow Flowers

Mountain Meadow Flowers

11x14in  oil on linen. Demo - Not for sale.

I did this a demo in class this morning. It is from a photo
I took in southern Colorado. We were driving to our destination
and I nearly dropped my jaw when I saw this amazing carpet of flowers
in the middle of nowhere. When I opened my mouth to yell, stop the car,
I found my own Mr Wonderful was already pulling over.
The years together do have their benefits!

I am not sure what flowers they were, but they looked to be in the wild aster family.

Artist Note.

This months focus in class is painting on a colored background.

I covered the canvas with a pinky/purple color and I lifted
out the light of the sky.

I chose this color as it would give me a good idea
of the placement of the flowers without having to put paint on top
too soon. I like to keep everything in a transparent paint quality
for as long as possible. Two reasons. It is easier to lift off cleanly anything
you are not comfortable with, and I like the dark areas to be painted
as transparently as possible. Richard Schmid along with many other artists,
stress this theory.
Unless I am making soft grays I never use raw umber. (as a dark)
I do use a beautiful transparent brown by Rembrandt which is
wonderful mixed with Ultramarine Blue or Viridian to achieve
rich, non chalky darks.

New Mexico Mailboxes

New Mexico Mailboxes.

6x8in  oil on canvas panel   Sold.

One of the delights about living in New Mexico is
discovering communities full of creative people.
I have painted this group of mailboxes before and have enjoyed
ruminating on the different owners who painted them
The second one in from the left obviously loves balloning.  The blue one has a large
rain cloud with rain drops - maybe they like to grow things?
And I bet the owner of the red one has a happy personality.

Artist Note.

When painting with a strong horizontal design, placing in a vertical
shape helps with balance. The posts provide that, but they are all in a row so having the
evergreen pop up behind the mailboxes helped a lot.
Another thing to watch when painting a group is to have a focal point.
The two tallest boxes should provide that.
They were lower down so I raised them slightly.