Meet Mr. Gull

Meet Mr.Gull

8x6in oil on linen  SOLD

Artist Note

This is a repeat from an old post .
This is a quick sketch from the photo of a gull on

Daily Paintworks Challenge

back in Sept 2012

I decided to repost some old posts during this month

and with vacation time/gull season upon us
I thought  it would be fun to revisit Mr. Gull.

Working from a photo is hard for me, but seeing I do not live

among the gullies, I gave it a go. I also used the fracturing

technique. Poor Gull!

I want to tell you about the canvas I used. SENSO

It is a primed linen, but the priming is a clear acrylic so the natural

color of the linen can be used to advantage as a middle value and

neutral color. I buy it in pads and if there is a painting I do which

I like then I mount it on a board.

I left some of the linen showing as this was a sketch and

I wanted to keep that casual feel.

I really like this product.

With picking up an "old post" I see that the
comments also followed along. I do not know how
to keep them with the 2012 version and not this one.
Does anyone know?

Jessica Seated

Jessica

12x9  oil on canvas

study - life class

I usually jump at the chance to paint from 

a model...especially a clothed one.

Jessica had a nice roundness to her body which I liked.

She fell asleep so was perfectly still. 

Artist Note.

I started off finding the shape and proportions in a 

transparent red. I had pre-mixed a batch of clothing 

and background colors while waiting for the right pose 

to be found. I painted fast and 

scooped up the paint for texture. The red showed through

in places and I liked the look so 

came back and outlined with red here and there.

Not my usual way to paint, but enjoyable and that's what 

it should be all about. Trying new ways and  

treasuring the moment.  Right?

Watercolor Studies of Mr. Chomp

Looking for Lizards

unfinished watercolor study

It has been a long time, but I have painted Mr. Chomp before.
He belongs to dear friends and is a rescued cat
...saved from a nasty traffic accident 

after being discarded in the road when he was
about 2-3 weeks old. My friend stopped her car
and dodged the moving traffic to grab him safely up.

(There has to be a severe consequence somewhere 

along the line for people who casually discard animals)

Much loved and taken outside on a leash for an hour

each day, Mr. Chomp rewards everyone by being affectionate

 and entertaining.

Artist Note

Using a Moleskin book, I didn't draw first, 

but went right into using washes of color.
Mr. Chomp was not staying in one position for long

The paper is smooth and buckles slightly with watercolor.
it adds nicely to a bit of puddling.

 Mr. Chomp kept moving around in different positions, but finally...slept!!!

Apples Blossoms

Apple Blossoms

14x11in oil on canvas  SOLD

This one was done back during the actual blossom time.

I have painted blossoms in this vase before...in fact I do 

one every year because I love the combination.

It is larger than my typical daily painting so I did not

post it - it went straight to the Phillips Gallery here in Las Cruces.

A beautiful gallery and I feel so fortunate to

be in there. I rather liked the painting so

I was delighted to hear it had already sold.

Artist Note

Classes are finished for the summer and before

I take off for the month of July I am having some

extra shelving put in the classroom.

Quite a project. One of the members of the Guild

is a top-of-the-line carpenter and he offered his help.

First, he hung plastic sheeting to keep the dust 

out of the gallery area. 

It impressed the heck out of me, but then I remembered

he is also an artist and would think about that type of thing.

I moved my easel back 

there too so I could carry on painting.

Saw horses were erected and wood cut to size

Here he is patching an area.

 More to follow next week. Rich is off visiting his son

who is a Green Beret, for the weekend.

Workshop Demo and Artist's Work.

Demo

Radish, Garlic and Scallions

6x8in oil on canvas SOLD

I always get pumped up when I do a workshop.
I keep it to six artists so I can really get around
to helping each one develop the fracturing technique
to suit what I see as the most natural way for them.

This one had 6 fabulous artists creating  

several new paintings each day.
But first they had to start off by watching my
different mark making using the full blown
Fracturing Tool technique.

this was the demo.
KNOW NO FEAR is the the motto!

We start off with basic exercises to learn the Fracturing.
I show some of those on my FREE Art-Byte tutorial called
Tools Needed for Fracturing
see HERE
(Have a look at all the other great tutorials
they have on Daily Paintworks.)

Here are some of the artists work
(Click to enlarge.)

 Everyone was encouraged to go about learning 
the Fracturing in a really free, "know no fear" manner.

Kathy arrived from Hawaii so water was a natural theme

to begin with. 

Here are the exercises by Phyllis above...

and Mary's apple below

Margaret went wild with beautiful colors

and then outlined as an experiment.

We all liked it!  

Below is Lindy's still life.

Not finished as it was a timed exercise. 

(I am looking forward to seeing it finished)

There were a few more I did not get a good 

photo of - an apology to the artists

Next we went into landscapes using a pink base.

Below is one by Denise. 

This is the view from her window

And the one from Kathy - glorious color!

That is Hawaii again!

Lindy produced the one below.

A more gentle use of color than the one above but

both artists see their local color very well

 Enjoy this one by Phyllis... a colorist by nature

(she worked on a much larger version of this later)

Next we went into more "refined" fracturing 

where each artist explored the degree of 

the technique they felt a comfort level with

Lindy did this little treasure

Kathy created a glowing fruit painting

Mary found she enjoyed 

just a little fracturing at the start

- helping her to loosen up.

 Mary also found the fan brush 

is fun - especially for fur

Lindy started painting larger as the days went by.

Margaret  found that "gentle fracturing" worked 

best for her

Kathy resisted the urge to "tidy up" too much and 

worked on warm/cool vibrations using beautiful color.

It was a wonderful group of talented, fun and generous 

artists who allowed me to work them hard and 

push each of them out of their comfort zones. 

I am incredibly grateful and humbled that 

they were willing to travel the miles and place 

their trust in me to help them in 

their personal quest to keep growing as an artist.