Farmers Market Scale

Farmers Market #5

Sold

This is a re-post.

I chose it because it has what could be

a valuable insight for you on a way I 

change my focus

when painting from a photo.

See

http://juliefordoliver.blogspot.com/2013/07/farmers-market-5.html

Artist Note.

I have had so many inquires asking about 

my lack of posting

I thought I had better do something positive 

instead of feeling glum.

I am going through a dry period.

It is not an artist's block...

there is a root cause that I do not want 

to go into, and thankfully,

 I do know it will pass.

Thank you for caring and sticking with me.

It means a lot.

A Couple of Mums

A Couple of Mums

6x6  oil on gallery wrap canvas  $115. SOLD

Play on words here. In England, Mum is used
like Mom is here

Artists note.
I am doing a demo this afternoon for our local
art association and am
soooo nervous. I can go somewhere where people
do not know me and relax and enjoy myself, but
locally...failing locally...Oh boy!
I was doing a demo last year where I was fine until I
turned round and saw a huge crowd had gathered.
I proceeded with the demo... and I think 5 wipers
happened. Honest, no exaggeration at least 5.
Afterward people reassured me, when my dismay was
obvious, that they learned  so much from watching that
demo.
Oh sure...RIGHT!
But, here I am doing another one again,
 and another in March.
I question why I cannot say NO!

O'Keeffe's Pedernal

O'Keeffe's Pedernal

6x6in oil on canvas panel  $100. SOLD

Cerro Pedernal is a narrow mesa (mesa means flat/table top)
and is the Spanish word for Flint Hill. Abiquiu Lake lies at its feet.
Georgia O'Keeffe loved to paint Cerro Pedernal. She apparently
loved to hike up it too and would clamber right on up there...
all 9,862 feet, just for the view.
She would also lie under her car for shade during the hottest
part of the day.
That's what I call one amazing and sturdy woman
Her ashes were scattered from the top of Pedernal at her request.

Artist Note.
There are deliberate repeats of the mesa shape in the clouds,
ground, and bushes. I was testing something I recently read.
My internal jury is still out on it.

Painting a "site specific" view is hard on an impressionist like me.
A lovely blue blur of a shape would have been much easier.
Georgia Okeeffe was a modernist and clearly defined shapes
were what made her tick.  I am confident she would never have
considered working on a 6"x6" format...especially to capture
a vista view of Pedernal.
Forgive me Georgia -  but I do love your work.

Snow in the Arroyo, N.M.

Snow in the Arroyo, N.M.

14x11in  oil on Raymar canvas panel  600.

This is a truly beautiful area of New Mexico,
on the outskirts of Santa Fe. I have painted this
arroyo quite a few times.It can be very dramatic
when the storm clouds hover and it fills with rain.

Artist Note.
Recovering quite nicely from the challenge and
enjoyed relaxing and finishing this piece which
was started as a plein air painting
in the early spring. The white snow does not
photograph well to show the texture.

The Blue Gate

The Blue  Gate

8x6in oil on canvas  $125.

DAY 27
On a recent trip to northern New Mexico I
managed to get some plein air starts in.
I call them "starts" because they are not completed
paintings but are handy for capturing the colors
as I see them. Usually I am marking the path of
sunshine and shadows with warm and cool notes.
A photo does help me with the details I did not get in,
but I find a photo on its own makes it very hard
for me to capture the special feeling I had when
I was making the color notes.

My First Cupcake

My First Cupcake

6x6in oil on canvas panel  $100. SOLD

DAY 26

I never thought I would ever paint a cupcake because
I see so many great ones out there, and could not see
the ridges of the paper done in my technique.
BUT a friend challenged me to try.

Artist Note.

I do not bake so cupcakes have to be bought.
Drum roll for Hobby Lobby...these cupcakes below
are fakes! Two in a box. Different types.
They will take the heat of the lights
and will not tempt the artists to nibble.

Watercolor Weekend -Trumpet Flowers

Trumpet Flowers

5x7in watercolor on acid free paper

DAY 16

These trumpet flowers are all over the place
at the moment.  I love the pods.

Artist Note

I attempted several interpretations of these flowers,
and I found I had to emphasize the cool against the
warm areas to come up with an image I liked.
I have always had difficulty with a red and green
color harmony and to make this one palatable to my
eyes, I had to nudge some lavenders and blues
in there.
Do any of you have a favorite way of
handling  painting red and green that you feel
comfortable in passing on?

Farmers Market #6

Farmers Market #6

8x6in oil on canvas $125. SOLD

This is another complex market scene. It is a  lot on a small canvas.
The lady in the yellow dress really caught my eye.
For me, the enjoyment of the farmers market  was observing the
different people getting far more involved with what they were
buying than how I see them buying similar items at my local supermarket.

 Artist Note.

When I first started this I painted in only the lady in yellow. I really liked her
but discovered I lost the feeling I was after.
The painting somehow became about only her and not a colorful and
busy market scene. So I popped in the tall lady in white.
She does balance the plastic bags hanging down on the top left.
If you place your hand over the lady in white  you can see
I would have had a perfect square format with the yellow dress
and hanging bags.. But... I had started with the rectangle.
It really doesn't matter because I love painting these scenes and
solving my problems. I did do a couple of thumbnails first and it
did not show up as a problem in black and white. It was the color yellow
that attracted the eye too much and kept it there. Once I had painted her
and liked her I was scared to touch her ( I am learning!) so I moved
the color around and over to the right side using a variety of different shades.
(The shadow side of the blue boxes is not quite as saturated as shown.
 - that is a camera problem I could not solve)

Talking about solving problems...
I had an accident where I lost most of my big toenail a couple of weeks back
and when I was invited to a party I decided the band-aid did not look
too appealing in my party sandals so I painted the shape of a toe nail
in the matching color nail polish right on top of the band-aid.
Obviously this photo was taken without the pretty sandals!

It was suggested I pass on this hint on my blog.

Thank you for all the encouraging comments on my last post.
Sorry I could not get to answering them all but you made me
really great.