Mesilla Barn, New Mexico.

Mesilla Barn, New Mexico

6x8in oil on canvas panel     100.

This was obviously painted during the summer. Leaves on the trees being the first clue!

This was painted plein air with brush and the palette knife was used for the texture of the plowed soil.

I still remember very clearly how amazing the reflected blue from the sky was
as it hit the metal roof in the shadow areas.

The Crumpled Paper Challenge

The Crumpled Paper Challenge

8x6in  oil on canvas board   100.

Back home again.
I  feel little bit tired today so I decided to do the Challenge. That way I would have to think of what to do.
Kim Remple came up with the new Challenge on Daily Paintworks.

Take a piece of paper, crunch it up, put it in a well-lit setting and paint! It's a great exercise to study shapes and relative values. I would suggest a plain paper in order to see value shifts more clearly, but it's up to you! I look forward to seeing all that beautiful crinkled, balled-up paper! 

For some reason I found I wanted to put some color in and the tomatoes were easy to get from the kitchen.
I try to stay true to the challenge when I do it so I did stay with the recommended plain paper.

Artist Note:

My first attempt was very photographic with no juicy paint strokes
so I scraped it off and started again.  (always good)
Most likely this was because I had been drawing, not painting, for several days in a row.
My first few attempts were pretty pathetic because I had not touched any paint for 5 days and it always takes me a few runs to get into the feel of the paint. I mixed some linseed oil in to make the paint flow better and it helped.

1887 Steinway B

1887 Steinway B

sketch - not for sale

The house where am staying has a beautiful music area overlooking the water and this
magnificent 1887 Steinway B, is the star occupant.
My friends are both accomplished musicians so this room gets a lot of use.
They played Ava Maria for the memorial....David on the flute, Kate on the piano.
It was a magical and very moving moment.

Sunset Over the Inlet.

Sunset

oil on canvas   SOLD


I am having to pick up an older piece as my cameras is not working. I did draw today and will post it later.

Sun going down over the bank of clouds which seem to
hover over the bay. I painted this from a photo I took two years ago...the last time I was here.

I leave New Hampshire tomorrow. We had beautiful weather today so we sat out in the garden, laughing and talking...a little bit of teary eyes, but all is well in the world.
I am so glad I came.

Commission for a Friend.

Commission for a Friend.

Egg tempera 10x8in  SOLD

I was asked to do this painting by the sister of my friend, whose memorial
celebration I am out here to attend.
She asked for a rose to symbolize her sister, Lorraine, so I painted a beautiful one
in full bloom but partly in shadow because she lived with the shadow of cancer
over her for the last 20 years. She never gave up and she made the most of ever
year she had...taking a trip to Russia a few months before she passed.
She was a fighter for sure.
The shawl was asked for too because it is the one I paint a lot and Lorraine loved it.

Artist Note:

Egg tempera is a wonderful medium.  The oldest one after encaustic.
For those who do not know it, the same dry pigments
are used for oils, watercolor and acrylics.
It is the binder which is different.
The yolk of an egg replaces the
 gum of Arabic for watercolor, oil for the oil paint
and the polymer for acrylics.
The colors are uniquely beautiful and egg tempera paintings have stood the
test of time... from Ancient times.

Meet Master Hershey Murray!

Meet Master Hershey Murray!

pencil sketch   NFS

Still in New Hampshire.

I arrived at my friend's house to find the most adorable puppy
I have ever seen. He is a Havanese and is 10 weeks old.
The colors in his coat are gorgeous. He is subtle shades of white, taupe
and browns. His ears are amazing - they go out sideways.
Amazing to me because I have a Blue Heeler with ears which stay standing
straight up and they make her look like she is always listening...which she does!
These are my first attempts at sketching Hershey.
Easier to do when he actually fell asleep and stopped moving,
see the one on bottom right... that is the one most like him.

I am using my phone camera to take the images while I am here so the quality
is not great. Sorry!

View from my Window in New Hampshire

View From My Window

sketch on craft paper  NFS

I am a guest in a beautiful home in New Castle, N.H.
This is the view from my bedroom window...looking over
the water to Portsmouth, N.H. It is really beautiful.
The tide comes in and out so the view is constantly changing.
I find I am completely absorbed with the different lighting conditions
and could sit by this window all day.

I am here for the memorial celebration of my dear friend,
Lorraine Gaire who died just before Christmas.
(I wrote a tribute to her on December 23rd on my blog.)
It will be an emotional but healing time with my American family.

Artist Note:

I knew it would be a busy time so I brought some paper and pencils
to do drawings instead of paintings. I did this one this morning.

Experimental Fracturing.

Experimental Fracturing.

6x8in  oil on canvas board   100.

The third painting of these amazing freesias.

Artist Note:

Same flowers, same arrangement but trying for an abstract.
I painted them first in my normal, direct method and then took my
palette knife to break up the structure. It came and went several times,
but I enjoyed seeing what happened with each attempt.
I found I was making a focal area with a couple of the white freesia
by adding a little more definition...but I liked it and kept it in.

The three of these freesia paintings were all demos for the class.
Each painting had its own group of supporters but this one
received the most interest.

A Different Way

A Different Way

8x6in   oil on canvas panel  100.

Continuing to paint the gorgeous freesias.


Artist Note:

This is from the same set up as yesterday, but painted
on white, oil primed linen. I chose a more contemporary
viewpoint and expressive painting technique to take advantage
of the qualities that oil primed linen offers.
If you click on the image to enlarge it you can see how freely
the strokes and paint are applied.

Linking the White

Linking the White

8x6in  oil on canvas panel  SOLD

Artist Note:

This was a demo for this morning's class.
Whenever flowers are the extreme opposite in value
you have to give some thought to how they are arranged.
It is easy to end up with a dark, light, dark, light polka dot pattern.
After deciding that I wanted to have the white flowers link together
I placed them in an arc and then carefully made sure that
different values were behind them for a more impressionistic
painting.
This was painted on a peach color base and the color is
peeking through.

Here are the Freesias.