Pansy Patterns - day 25 in the Challenge

Pansy Patterns

8x6in oil on canvas
work in progress.

Day 25
A colorful jolt to the senses!

Artist Note.

This is an older one I re-worked.
It is purely a decorative piece and I
still love having it around to
experiment on.

Back in late 2011
I did a series based on influences

from Picasso's work and cubism.
Using pattern and color as the main
focus it completely made me free
from the realistic motif of
light creating volume.
Good to have a change every so often...
especially near the end of a
Leslie Saeta 30 Day Challenge!
See all the beautiful paintings HERE

Oh No...A Redo. How embarrassing!

A corrected version of my previous day's post

SOLD

day 12.

Artist Note
We all learn from others mistakes - right?
I am sharing this in the hope that it
will help someone else.

I noticed the weak design when I saw it with
  fresh eyes this morning.
Groan...and it was sold too.

Here is what I thought was wrong.

Two competing shapes and sizes .
What do you see - chair or fireplace
OR BOTH.
Eyes flicking back and forth between them
indicating no focal area?

Top it off with  a (floating) brown shape
see below

It did not link to anything - it just was there.

Oh My...what to do?

Can I sell something I feel is not my best

at that given time?

I know others must have gone through this same dilemma.

I struggled back and forth all day and then I pulled 

out the trusty glass and made a shape of another 

chair across from the one painted.

(shown below. - excuse the ratty taped corners on the glass!)

I knew right away that I preferred it this way.

It solidified the intimacy of the setting.

The fireplace becomes the area you 

should see first.

So I set about painting it and it solved the problem

of the dark pot too.

I do hope the person who had bought it 

agrees with my choices, and

if not, I know a neat couple who would be 

delighted to get it.

I did paint this today so I think it qualifies as

a challenge painting - in more ways than one.

Feathers and Eggs - day 5 of the Challenge

Feathers and Eggs

8x8 in watercolor on paper $NFS
Day 5.

These are Flicker feathers.
(Woodpecker)
I am in awe of the markings and colors
these birds have.
Nature is truly a marvel.

I found it difficult to capture the luminosity
of the orange spine so I deliberately made the dark
background cooler.

Here are some Flicker
feathers from my collection.
Beautiful, eh?

Waiting To Be Sliced

Waiting to be Sliced.

6x8in  oil on canvas panel  SOLD

This is a re-post. I have always liked this painting.
I see things I would do differently now, but have no urge
to  try and make it "perfect"...there is no explaining why some
paintings are like that and others drive me crazy.


Artist Note.

I have painted this cheerful, red colander before and it doesn't get any easier.
Especially with the fracturing technique. I am still figuring it out. Some things
are easier than others.

My colander was not a full circle because of my viewpoint which was not
directly overhead.
This is how I do a slight ellipse.

First I draw a square in the size I need.
Corner to corner to find the center
then half it both ways.
Make your circle as shown

Estimate the depth of the bowl and
the size of the base.
As I was looking into mine I could see
the full bottom with more of the sides
showing on the far side.
First I drew the horizontal line below,
but parallel to the first one (see in red)
add to existing center vertical - as
a reminder - and do a smaller, full circle
for the bottom of  the bowl.


In my case I did this first before I placed the lemons back into the colander.
It helps me understand the depth of what I am working with.
It is is not perfect, but it beats the heck out of making a box
in perspective to make the correct ellipse.

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?

Blue Shutters - France.

Blue Shutters

8x6in oil on linen panel  $130. SOLD

This is the same french house as in my last post.

 Ivy covers the walls in this area 

and the table with the plants has an old,

 but more elegant chair than I would ever have outside.

(I love the french flair!)

Obviously someone sits there while potting the plants.

Talk about having a green thumb.

Another Peony Painting #3

Peony #3
8x8in oil on canvas board  $175. SOLD


I am really enjoying painting the peonies.
It is the season...I see so many artists painting them.

Artist Note.
I did the total underpainting with the fan brush using the technique
shown HERE
Of course, I used different colors but everything was laid in
in the same way. I even started the peonies and leaves
with the chisel motion. Then I came in with my fracturing technique.
See HERE  - using most of the side edge  of the fan brush to finish
the forms. I have used three different techniques to explore
the peony with and have enjoyed them all.
Next, a drawing!

Thank you for all the great comments.
I will be sure to get round to all your blogs. I genuinely love seeing
what everyone does. I have found the difference between Facebook
and blogs is the depth of information. Facebook is quick and easy but
some of the ones I get the most out of are the blogs.
 Does anyone else agree?

Daffodils and Hyacinths - Study

Daffodils and Hyacinths - Study.

8x6in oil on canvas panel  $125. SOLD

Click HERE to purchase

A friend brought a huge bunch of daffs and
hyacinths to the Guild for me to paint.
Such cheerful colors - I felt my spirits lifting
as I started to mix them.
Thank you Karen Curry. You are a treasure!

Crab-apple Blossom Study

Crab-apple Blossom Study

6x8in oil on canvas panel  $125.

Click HERE to purchase

Getting ready to paint crab-apples in a larger size.

Best to do some studies first.

Artist Note.

Anyone else relate to this?

Cleaning out the stash of old paintings I always thought I would get back to do

some magic brushwork on and improve them. Found just over a 100.

What to do...

Pour black tar paint over them - Ahhh...that made me feel so much better!

Yep, Julie must still be having a hard time and cleaning is the way to better mental health!

Georgia' O'Keeffe's Casa at Ghost Ranch, NM

Georgia's Casa and Pedernal. SOLD

Georgia loved the mountain called Pedernal and reportedly
claimed God made it just for her. As she requested, her ashes
were spread at the top of it.

Artist Note.
I had to take my references from over the wall which
surrounds the O'Keeffe home on Ghost Ranch.

I have been having the dickens of a time painting something
which satisfies me. I hate to think how many wipers
I had with this one. I will share some of the painting
journey with you.

This is a photo
I took of a view
of the house in
Abiquiu.
Thought it would be
easy...Wrong!

I tried making the
windows more
prominent. That was
my error.
Wiped it off.
Did it again and
wiped it off...
three times in all!



Just like the song, Georgia on my Mind, I still felt
compelled to say something relating to O'Keeffe
with paint so I found more photos, location sketches,
 and using the same board wiped clean...

Ugh - the scale/size is
off  between the distance
of foreground to house
and bush in front
looks too much in
the middle

Wiped and made
the house smaller.
Bush at side larger...
Oh boy, house looks
like a school bus!
That mountain called
Pedernal, is very,
very difficult

House smaller - better?
Nope!
Noticed too much of a
row lined up at bottom,
Added more sky and
tested grey cloud
Scraped off bottom

Put more blue sky in and
weeds at front. Enlarged
casa a little bit, but now
I have the darned house
ending in the dead middle!
- take gun and pull the
trigger someone. Put me
out of my misery.

And so it goes.
Here is what I settled on.
(heeello...is there a house in there!)
I shortened the edge of the
house to prevent it being on
a tangent with the center by
making the bush into a
larger shape.


I suggested a path of dirt from the front up. I placed some more
clouds in the sky and made them appear further away by making
the shadows lighter.

I am going through some emotional stress at the moment and can see
how it effects my art. Everything is a struggle.

Denim and Broom

Denim and Broom

16"x12"  oil on canvas  unfinished

My demo piece from yesterday.

It was my husband who asked me to do
a repeat of a small painting I did last

January. It was one he had always liked

It was a warm and friendly group.
I relaxed pretty quickly when some of
my support group turned up and made
me laugh.

The pressure I had shared was because I
donated a one-day workshop for
a fundraiser next Saturday.
Some of the sign-ups had come to see
me at work.  Can you imagine if they
decided to cancel based on what they
saw!!! All the wonderful and supportive
comments made me feel good, but
we all recognize that anyone using
hand/eye coordination can have a not
so good day. I saw David Hockney
walk out of one many. many years ago.
Anyway, I did some parts very well
and some parts not as well. All in all
a typical Julie demo.

Artist Note
I had two sheets of canvas.
One black gesso
and one white oil primed linen.
I wanted to show the difference in the
finished appearance between the two.
Unfortunately I did not finish the linen one.
The painting at the top was done on
black canvas.
It gives a solid appearance quickly. I used
opposing strokes to give some variation
of value and laughed with the audience
about the popularity of paintings on
black velvet -  back in the day.

I do not have much recollection of of
the steps I took but I remember

someone asked me
what brush I used so I took out my
fan brush to show the type of brush is not
as important in the beginning because
it should be all about getting down the 
basic shapes.
You can see the big shapes clearly below.

I wanted them to see the glow you can
achieve by using transparent colors first.
They peep through here and there as you
apply thicker paint.
This is as far as I got on this one, but am
looking forward to finishing it.
I should have asked someone to take
step by step photos but I will make sure to
take them as I finish this one

Freesia Arc

Freesia Arc
6x8in oil on canvas panel  $125.

Trader Joe's Blessings - flowers at a reasonable price
...and Triple Ginger Snap cookies!
Chewy little bits of ginger in the cookies...Oh YUM!

Artist Note.

I painted this one right after the other freesia painting
shown a few days ago. They were so beautiful I felt I
could have continued painting them all week.
I did a watercolor sketch of exploration and discovery first,
and I can see how after I started, I followed my internal
response to the rectangle versus the square.

I can also see how much more color is in the oil painting
than the watercolor sketch.. Must have been those cookies!

New Mexico Adobe

New Mexico Adobe.

6x8in oil on canvas panel  $125.

The old Adobe buildings around the Santa Fe area
are a feast for the eyes of an artist. This one is near Nambe.

And the WINNER is...

Artist Note.
My hubby really took his duty seriously
and read and pondered over each and
every comment. He had four he narrowed it
down to. Took him forevah!

And the winner is.....
Marjorie van Dorm.  
who wrote...
I love the COMPOSITION
I love the COLORS
I love the TEXTURES
I love the SUBJECT
I love the FRACTURING
I love how your painting gives wings to my SOUL
Congratulations Marjorie!
Jim loved your comment. Me too!

The other three he really liked were from:
Celeste Bergin, Carol Flatt, and Kim Minichiello
so if the three of you would like a print 
of the painting then
email me your postal addresses to
juliefordoliver@gmail.com


Thank you everyone for all the great comments. 
It gave me a real boost and I truly do appreciate the
fact you liked the painting and took the time to let me know.

I had hoped to answer them all before now, but
I was busy with another important project which
took place on Friday night.
I organized a fundraiser for Hospice
to honor my friend Kris who passed on at the
end of October, See HERE
It was important to her to be able to die at home
and Hospice enabled her to be able to do
that in comfort and dignity.

It was a one night event in the gallery Kris and her
husband, Jim, own.
Over thirty local artists generously
donated their work and the Hospice volunteers
were on site with their credit card machine.

Here is Kris with her radiant smile.

It was heartwarming to see
our community turn out in force and BUY for such
an excellent cause. It was a
take off the wall and carry to the counter situation.
100% donation to Hospice.
Very exciting to see the lines of activity.
Hospice folk were over the moon about the amount raised.
Out of 40 pieces of work only four remained and
I know they will soon be purchased.
I had lots of help from everyone
so didn't do it all myself, but I am bushed, and need
some down time. I miss my dog and I miss Kris.
Glad the 13 in 2013 has gone and 14 sounds much better.
I will soon be back to visiting all your blogs
and being stimulated by what I read and see.

Cloudy Day

Cloudy Day

8x6in  oil on canvas panel $125. SOLD

This was painted plein air last week.
We actually had some welcome rain

Artist Note.

The front area was painted very abstractly.
just shapes of color and values to suggest
growth. As the painting is "site specific" I
tried to make it recognizable as the
Organ Mountains, but fudged on proportions
to fit my emotional response to light and shadow.
Fast - all done with palette knife.

Following my last post on the hurtful
critique where a peer said he would puke
if he saw one more mountain painting - a
wonderful and hilarious suggestion by
Celeste...to send a postcard of my painting
and write
... here...just for you...have a puke!
Love it, love it, love it! Thanks Celeste.
Brilliant. Wish I had the nerve to do it,
but just  the thought has been fun.
celeste bergin paints FABULOUS landscapes.
Check her out.

I received many excellent comments putting
into perspective the critique issue.
Very helpful and thank YOU all.

I am going to give away a painting in my
next post which will wrap up the year.

Squirrel, Mountains and Thoughts on Critiques

Still relaxing over the holidays.
Hope you are all doing the same.

We have a ground squirrel who loves
to relax and view the grandeur from
our deck. Below you can see him
stretched out in the sun.

These are the Organ Mountains in
Las Cruces, New Mexico. They are
different every day. Here are some
of the many different moods I see
from my window every day.

cold front
moving in

stormy

sunrise

clouds cast
shadows

the start of
a sunset

early snow










I love to paint my view and I remember being
crushed when a more Avant-garde type artist
said in a group critique - he would puke if he 
saw one more mountain painting. Cruel and
arrogant. If painting is from the heart then
who has the right to condemn it?

Unfortunately, his comment in front of a group
of my peers set me back on my heels and my
confidence suffered.
A year later I visited a gallery
where I saw this soulless exhibition of cartoon,
straight-edged, non representational hangings
which did not feed my art soul one bit, and
discovered the work was by the same man
who condemned my vision.  I realized I had just
silently done the same thing about his work
as he vocally had done with mine.
The perfect example of taste being subjective.

I feel blessed to belong to a group of supportive
bloggers who need not say anything if they do not
like a piece, but speak up with praise and
encouragement when they do.
I am grateful to you all.

Calla Lily Trio

Calla Lily Trio

6x8in oil on canvas panel  $125.  SOLD

These three callas were the last to bloom on the plant.
Drooping, I tried to extend their life putting them in water
I am always amazed at the different sizes callas come in.
These are the smaller ones you find on the house plant.

Artist Note.
First let me thank you for the beautiful messages of sympathy
for the loss of our much loved dog. They were gratefully received
and treasured. My husband was in awe of how many emails as
well as comments we received. So many of you understanding
because you, too, had lost a beloved pet.

I miss her when I arrive home from work so I asked my hubby
to meet me at the door with his butt wagging and panting how
pleased he was to see me!
It worked last night and it made me laugh.

When I look at the difference between the previous red teapot
and the painting above, I can see how mood enters into my art.

In Memory of a Devoted Companion

Our wonderful and amazing dog, Kat,
had to be put to sleep on Saturday morning.
She had cancer - lymphoma.
She was a Blue Heeler, remarkable in her tenacity
to carry on and only when her breathing became
very difficult did we see the joy go out of her.
The joy has gone out of our lives too,
but we will do what Debbie Nolan suggested in her
sensitive comment yesterday and only
remember the love and fun she brought into our lives
for 14 years, and for those we are deeply grateful.

Below is a large painting featuring Kat. It was
painted about 12 years ago when she was only young.
It records how in the studio she used to wait for
about two hours of my painting time
then sit and look at her leash - look at me then
back at the leash...on and on until  I could
feel her vibes. So I painted her doing just that -
staring at her leash. Titled  Time For A Walk,
This painting of her was
included in The New Creative Artist by
Nita Leland...happily
Kat will live on in this book.