Lemons & Tile

Lemons &Tile

8x6in  oil on canvas panel $140. SOLD

Artist Note.

I have this beautiful old tiled area 

with a shelf and have not painted 

it for a while. 

Back when I painted more 

realistically

I would really get into painting

all the the details so 

I felt like I was actually 

painting the tile itself...

but now I can suggest the pattern

 with imperfect

suggestions of color and shape.

I am not sure why, but it 

takes even longer somehow

than when I used to  

tightly render the details.

Now, it is all about the 

light and mood 

I love being an impressionist!

Daffodils and Hyacinth #3

Daffodils and Hyacinth #3

8x6in oil on canvas panel  $125. SOLD

To purchase click HERE

Another one of the daffs while they are still blooming.
This time in a more formal setting.

Artists Note
There was considerable interest shown on my previous
post when I mentioned using a wax finish on watercolors.
I have used it previously and I personally love the more
mellow finish it gives than a regular varnish.
On one of my pieces, a certain brand of wax lifted some of
the color, but I have another brand I am testing on
watercolor/Yupo and wax coating. It is perfect, but Yupo
has a smooth finish and the Aquabord has a slight pebble
type surface...makes a difference. Will let you know how it
goes. Here is KIM's comment yesterday.

 Beautiful painting!!!I am working on a painting 
I plan on mounting on a board and coating. After doing some research 
I cam a across a great video by Birgit O'Connor, Framing Watercolor 
without Glass. She recommends using Golden Acrylic Spray with 
UVL protection. 5-7 coats and you must let it completely dry in-between 
coats or you may get clouding. She uses a few coats of gloss for clarity t
hen follows with the last coats matte. I'm going to try this. 
Hope this helps!  by Kim Minichiell

Thanks, Kim, I enjoyed the video.

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.

Red Vase From a Friend

Red Vase

8x6in oil on canvas  $125. SOLD

First, I want to thank everyone who purchased
my video and for all the encouraging comments.
I have placed a link on my side bar for anyone
interested who missed my first announcement.

I love the shape and color of this vase.
A friend from the Artists Guild
brought it in for me yesterday so this is
my first time painting it.

Artist Note.
It usually takes a few attempts at painting a new subject
for me to get where I can  'feel" it in paint.
This particular vase has horizontal, multiple ridges
which I found, after a struggle, will take some exploration.
I went for the basic shape instead. Simplify, simplify.
Do you remember KISS - keep it simple stupid! 
I do not hear it used anymore but it is still as
appropriate today  Very valuable lesson for
painting a complex vase..

Straw Broom

Straw Broom

8x6in oil on canvas panel $125. SOLD

My second painting for the 30 in 30 days Challenge.
Sticking to my self imposed rule of painting something
I have never painted before. This time - A broom!

Desert Sunrise

Desert Sunrise

6x8in oil on canvas panel  $125.

Sunrise is a personal, favorite time.

This is for the Daily Paintworks Sky Challenge
|Jill Bates came up with the challenge. Click on her name
to see her beautiful work.

Artist Note.
This was done very quickly and there are areas which
could be tidied-up, but I know if I start fiddling around
with it I will lose part of what I like.
I am sure I am not the only one who has messed up
what could have been a fresh, nice sketch by trying to
make it perrrfect!

Apples and Plums

Apples and Plums

6x8in oil on canvas panel   $125.  SOLD

This is for the DPW Emotion Challenge.
I do not want to feel sad so I avoided painting anything serious.
Been there - done that.

COLOR - now that is what makes me feel happy

And, an apple a day keeps the doctor away,
so that makes me happy too!
Throw in a couple of plums and hopefully I will never
need a doctor again.

Oranges and Grapes

Oranges and Grapes

6x8in  oil on canvas panel  $125.

The stores are starting to get in these smaller oranges.
Almost tangerines, but not quite.
I can't wait for the Clementines.

Artist Note.

I split this with a dark and light diagonal... with a couple of
interesting shapes breaking into each side. At top, the
white bowl and at the lower end, a line of the grapes.
Curves are repeated. See below.
All of the round shapes - grapes and oranges -  are linked
to another shape, breaking up the possibility of getting
the dreaded "headlights"
(two separate, similar sized, round shapes,
usually kerplonk in the middle.)

A clever person can do the diagrams on the computer but
I printed out the picture, drew the curves,
photographed it, cropped it and then downloaded it
so I could pick it up!
In case you are wondering...
I do these Artist Notes for the artists I teach and several
artists who have let me know they do not have
access to instruction.
It is good for me because it makes me think.

Albuquerque Garden Gate

Albuquerque Garden Gate

8x6in  oil on canvas  $125. SOLD

Having taught painting all day I found this was a pleasurable
way to do something  impressionistic for the blog.
Color, sunlight and shadows - they are what I am
attracted to.

Fruit Plate

Fruit Plate

6x8in  oil on canvas board   $125. SOLD

This was actually inspired by my hubby, Jim, making a fruit salad.
I had come up from the studio and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw
all the rich colors together and asked if I could borrow the bowl and
fruit for a little while... and this, all knowing lover of mine, actually
said, "NO It could be hours before I get them back!"
I can remember the day when anything I wanted to paint, I could have.
That was before he took over the kitchen. Seeing I do not want the kitchen
back I smiled sweetly and picked up my camera!

Artist Note.


There was not really a leaf on the peach, I put it in to link the two
areas of fruit together. I deliberately placed the bowl behind the plate
instead of off to the side, to try something new, and I like it.
I am going to play around with this set-up some more.

Goodbye Yellowstone - Hello Jenny Lake!

Goodbye Yellowstone - Hello Jenny Lake!

6x8in oil on canvas panel   $125.

Oh Boy - just when you think you cannot see anything more beautiful,
along comes Jenny Lake and the Grand Tetons National Park.
We stayed at the Lodge and really had  wonderful time...
wishing we had made this amazing vacation years ago.

Artist Note.

This is a heck of a lot to put into a small format, but I wanted to try it.
I painted it from a combination of sketchbook watercolors and photos.
It has a very brightly colored under-painting which peeps
through here and there.
I used a combination of palette/painting knife and brush.
I use a Hobein knife. Trowel shape,  Series S,
and on these small paintings I use a slant brush.
I used my handy tool to move the paint around first.

Fracturing the Roses

Fracturing the Roses

6x6in oil on canvas board   SOLD

Had a lot of fun with this one. Guess what...No LEMONS!
I guess my series has finished. It only took 17 lemon paintings!!!!

This is completely from the imagination. I was drawing on memory
from the series of roses I did in October/November last year.

Fracturing is a term I came up with for my own work in this technique.

Artist Note.
For those of you who do not do a "series" or wonder why I would
do them, this is my story.
Yellow bothered me. I disliked some of the acid tones I seemed to get.
I never used raw or burnt umber  on my palette - which is
common to darken yellow.
I used purple, the complement, but still had a struggle.
If the purple was too bluish then I would produce green...too red a purple
and I would get an unpleasant brown. Plus, it all depended on the type
of yellow or brand, but now I have found a comfortable way of using yellow
which I did not have before the series.  The series was successful.
This morning I came to the studio and started to paint
the underneath part and found myself getting rid
of the lemons and putting in roses.

Spring Beauty

Apple and Cherry Blossoms

11x14in Unfinished demo - not for sale.

This is one of two demos I did yesterday. The apple blossoms have beautiful pink buds and the cherry Blossoms grow in clusters of round shapes  and are creamy white.

Artist Note.

I started with a pale, blue toned canvas and lifted the light areas off with an old cotton sock.
(I have a wonderful friend who passes on her sport socks to me...still pristine.)

Next I painted transparently to establish
important dark areas. I find it helps for me
to keep loose at this stage
so I use a big brush. #12
I have a habit of painting yellow
for the light
areas if the light source is warm.


                                                     Moving into opaque paint I

  

shape the cherry blossoms balls
to establish the values and form.
This is a close-up of
the foundation for the Cherry blossoms.
(Looks like a little cabbage!)
When I paint the flowers in top
most of the green will be gone

I mixed two batches of blue for the
pattern on the vase.
Paler for in the light and a darker
blue for the shadow area.
I ended up changing this in the painting
as it dominated too much. I had to decide
if the blossoms were the point of interest
or the vase.

Tomorrow I will show the other demo I did yesterday .

3 comments:

1. 
   JaneApr 3, 2012 11:35 PM

   Just love your tutoring, this piece is stunning, looking forward to seeing next demo.

   ReplyDelete
2. 
   Virginia FloydApr 4, 2012 04:34 AM

   Lovely. I like the looseness of the blossoms. Very interesting how you painted those green "cabbages". It worked out beautifully.

   ReplyDelete
3. 
   KarenApr 4, 2012 06:55 AM

   I especially appreciate the photos and explanations under "Artist Notes". I'm saving them all. Thanks.

   ReplyDelete

Lemon Slices

Lemon Slices.  Detail from a larger painting of mine.
not for sale.



Artist Note.

Continuing how to prevent Cookie Cutter paintings  - no matter what your style.
The whole point is not to surround your object with the same value or color.

On my painting above you can see the linkage by values. 
The shadow side of the small bowl links into the larger vase.
The shadow sides of the lemons are a transition value into the silver bowl. The grape is linked too.

Here are how some well know artists prevented the "Cookie Cutter" syndrome!
You may click to enlarge.


                                                    Grant Wood.  Detail: American Gothic

Everyone knows this piece.
 It is a painting of precise realism,
but notice the value of the peak
area of the house being very similar to the
flesh so it links the two heads together.
If it had been a bright blue sky cutting in a straight line 
their heads would have been too cookie cutter.
His right ear gets completely blended in parts.
Her neck and collar in the light create a nice
lost edge next to the house and the same
blend of values where their clothes meet.
The whole painting is full of ebb and flow
so no cookie cutter here!
                                                 

Cezanne. Detail: Apples and Oranges


Notice on the plate a light yellow apple.
It is a similar value to the plate and it links
into the yellow on the apple behind.
He chose not to heavily outline it like the others
so I think it is a deliberate passage of light
to break up what otherwise would be a
big, round, clump of color against his light cloth.
The background apples are a beautiful
merging of value and color into the back area.
                                                    Brilliant artist. I love his work.

Henry Ossawa Tanna
Detail: Banjo Lessons  (1893)

The boy's hair is obviously the highest contrast
creating a deliberate small area of a cookie cutter
effect with the end of the banjo and mans hand,
but his arm and shirt are a more gentle contrast
against the very light background and the pant
legs are very similar in value/color to the floor.
Deliberate linking of the dark area of the crotch,
up into the vest and shadow side of the banjo,
sets off the round face of the banjo, which is
a perfect value - not competing with the background light.
Tanner was one of the most successful African American fine artists of the
19th century, enjoying an international acclaim. He is worth exploring
further if you enjoy the romantic, European style of that period.

Now you know what to look for I hope you go back over some of your old paintings
to see if there are areas which a too "cookie cutter."

Being an artist is not easy and I still paint something too cookie cutter
and then I sigh, mutter, mutter, and fix it!

Experimenting With Plums

Experimenting With Plums

6x8in oil on canvas board   Not for sale

Continuing with pushing myself into trying techniques I am not
familiar with.
There is something I really like about this so I am going to keep
it for a while to see if I can repeat it.