Serendipity

Serendipity, 16x20, oil on canvas.

Tonight is the Anniversary Show at the Cole Gallery and I was fortunate enough to have two pieces juried in.  

This piece was inspired by the flurry of hummingbirds around my feeder all last summer.  I ended up planting a row of a variety of honeysuckles as well as a butterfly bush last fall to see if I could attract even more of the little guys this spring/summer.  Time will tell. 

Dad

8x8, oil on canvas.

This is the last 8x8 canvas in my studio.  I'm expecting an order to arrive next week but then I'll have to re-ground and let them dry another week before I can proceed.  I'm already in portrait withdrawals. 

A Few Years Prior

8x8, oil on canvas.

So this is mom only a few (maybe 10?) years prior to the reference used for last painting. 
Aahh well, if I do more paintings of her at this stage maybe I can erase the images in my mind of her last moments.  But enough about that. 

I am hooked on portraits!  Having said that, I have a landscape on my easel now that I'm having fun with but I secretly want to get back to portraits.  I have a few ideas burning in the back of what's left of my mind that I really cant wait to try.  While I'm happy with the progression of these paintings I think they lack the seriousness and drama of, say, Rembrandts portraits.  Might as well aim high, right?

Dazed & Confused

8x8, oil on canvas

Some paintings are harder than others for different reasons.  This one pulled my grief chain a little.  I lost mom to Alzheimer's in 2012 but fortunately I had taken a short video clip of her just before she died.  A video can give several frames of different expressions for reference.  Sadly, she didn't give me very many expressions by that time.  I highly recommend taking videos and pictures of your loved ones before it's too late.

Up

8x8, oil on canvas

Painted, re-painted, photo'd, re-photo'd.  Sometimes a photo tells you as much as looking in a mirror but the mirror is much less of a hassle.  Still, this photo makes the whole painting look funky and, well, you'll just have to take my word for it that it just didn't photo well and I'm just not wanting to learn all the ins and outs of photography and Photoshop.  I like the painting a lot more than this image of it.  Ahh well, someday maybe I'll take the time to learn the idiosyncrasies of my camera.

I DID say I liked this painting but the truth is that in the reference picture it appears his head is tilted even more so upward.  I'm clearly a beginner at this but I'm hopeful I will see progress later on this year.  Onward and forward.  There are a lot of heads out there that need to be painted.

Seriously?

8x8, oil on canvas.

This is my 4th portrait.  My third one is going back on the easel today. This one, like the others, was cut from a photo with a lot of other information in it.  By the time it was cropped and enlarged it became somewhat fuzzy so I photoshopped it with the palette knife filter which helped to turn the subtle into definite plane changes.  With all that it was still challenging for me!

I am having so much fun that I'm going to start carrying my camera around so I can start collecting candid shots for painting!

It's All Good

Dustin, 8x8, oil on Canvas.

Two down.  I'm not sure I got the expression as I saw it but I was happy that his four year old son recognized him in the painting. 

A Brush With Portraits

Blake, 8x8, oil on canvas.
Thanksgiving, 2013.   This is Blake as I know him.  Lighthearted, compassionate and at times a little goofy. 

I have a curious need to paint portraits now.  I'm not sure where that is coming from but it's not going away so I'm going for it.  Bear with me while I get my bearings on this difficult new genre. 

I guess it's similar to painting still life in that you paint what you see but I'm finding it does help to know a little bit about anatomy - which I don't - but I'm discovering as I go along.  For instance, why doesn't the mouth look right??  Because of subtle plane changes around the muzzle that I didn't consider.  Kind of makes a difference.  Especially if the plane is going in the wrong direction.  Yikes. 

And of course I didn't start with a standard, out of the box, straight forward pose.  This pose defies some of the standard proportions I've read about so I did a little eyeballing.  Speaking of which, (the eyeballs) are a little larger than life but kind of helps the overall expression, don't you think?

Breakthrough

Breakthrough, 12x12, oil on canvas.

New year,  new challenges.  Every year my husband and I put together a list goals for the upcoming year.  Resolutions?  Not really.  Just putting something in the cross hairs so we don't fly aimlessly through the year.  A path but certainly not a concrete path.   A little direction I suppose. 

 My challenges for this year strangely resemble last years challenges to the effect of: time in the studio, blog posts..  blah, blah, blah. This year I added a few cheat notes that I read on the  Oil Painters of America Blog .  Here is a list from that post (Technically, this is a subcategory of "The First of Three Elements of One Artist Goal Plan".  Also, I hope I'm not infringing any copyrights by listing them here)  Please see the link above for expanded info and full blog post.  It's quite interesting.

1. Get better
2. Painting from life and on location
3. Seeing better as an artist
4. Continue developing a critical eye
5. Expanding my boundaries.

As far listing these as goals, "get better" and "Seeing better as an artist" is a little vague for me.  How do I put a check mark by that?  Also #4 is a little weak in my opinion.   I think I need something less abstract.  Something I can measure without question.  Something like, "enter a show".  That's something I can do - or not do.  And by Dec 31st of 2014 I can either put a check mark by it or not.

Vague or not it provided me with some sound, encouraging direction for my 2014 painting year.  And he (Roger Dale Brown, OPA) provides us with a little insight as to what each subcategory looks like.

I particularly like the quote he added with which coincides nicely with my yearly goal of time management.  I pasted it below:

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
- Calvin Coolidge 

So, persistence will be a subcategory for my 2014 goal plan under "time in the studio".  In fact, I may just print off a copy of this quote and put it next to my easel. 

Good Fortune

Good Fortune, 12x12, oil on canvas.

 

A recent interest in birds led me to incorporate them into my paintings.  Still, my focus is conceptual and more than pretty paintings my objective is to interpret a current emotion or frame of mind through painting. 

 

Feelings are abstract by and large.  Your interpretation of 'Good Fortune' may be a high key, light blue image. Mine remains a little darker still.  And simple.  What is a good fortune to you and to me may differ wildly. 

 

I just finished the book The Cure For The Common Life by Max Lucado which started some soul searching for my own 'sweet spot' as he puts it.  So far, I've discovered that I am, by nature, a deep thinker.  I like to research and test theories.

 

Enough said on that subject except that it is what drives my spin on artwork. 

 

I may have mentioned in an earlier post that a high school art teacher once said, anyone can draw a picture, it takes a REAL artist to put emotion into it.  Hmmm.   Real artist or not, I stand for hours daily, in front of an easel, imagining how to say what I feel with paint.

Midnight Eerie

Midnight Eerie, 12x9, oil on canvas.

Better late than never, I guess.  A spooky little painting better suited for October than early winter.  Still, it's sitting over my TV and I like looking at it.

So this pumpkin is what is left form my pumpkin patch.  My favorite pumpkins, Snack Jacks, have hull-less (or naked) seeds.  They are getting increasingly hard to get ahold of and I'm wondering if the day will come when I'll have to start shelling seeds again... bummer. 

Nostalgic Interlude

Nostalgic Interlude, 24x36, oil on canvas. 

Another edited version of an old slide.  Those who would know who these people are have all passed away.  However, my mothers childhood friend guessed they may be my great grandparents.  Who knows?  But the connection between the couple was simply adoring to me.  And the fact that someone caught it on camera was a gift!

It turns out that this one needs a little more editing.  The purple is a bit too strong.  I've been given some good advice on how to approach it but I have 2 events to paint for right now so my easel is booked until February!  This one will have to sit for a while. 

Nostalgic Epitaph

Nostalgic Epitaph, 14x18, oil on canvas.

Honestly, I think this is one of my favorite paintings. Sometimes I look at it and wonder who painted it.  I'm the red head running.  The others are my sister and brother.  It's a collaboration of two different slides that I found in my parents collection. 

 

I found myself feeling a little nostalgic while attempting to transfer slides to my computer.   Much of this painting had to be invented due to poor quality reference but I was really happy with the result. 

Morning Sun

Morning Sun, 8x6, oil on canvas.

It appears my husband is a cow collector.  He buys a few.  They have babies.  He decides to dump the 'herd'.  Then, as they are trailering down the road, he is already on craigslist making yet another transaction deal for more cows. 

Our newest cows were show cows and were BEAUTIFUL.  As far as cows go.  Sadly, and for the first time on our farm, we lost both babies before the cows even started to show (for the record, cows always look pregnant to me).  So we brought in a bull for round 2.  Bingo!  Last spring we had a set of twins and a single.  But sad to say, all heifers.  Bummer for us because we needed a steer for the freezer.  We did a little bovine trading and now have a handsome bull. 

The painting above is one of the heifers from last summer.  She took a good picture so I couldn't resist the opportunity to paint her. 

Sparkle

Sparkle, 6x6, oil on canvas.

 

The third and final in my baby bird grouping.  I think they are barn swallows.  The kind that used to give me grief by building mud nests under my eaves. 

 

And Viola!  Fini!  Framed, hung in a little cutie grouping for all who use my powder room to see!

 

 



 

 

 

Sunshine

Sunshine, 6x6, oil on canvas.

Late last summer I found 3 baby birds hopping back and forth along my fence line outside my kitchen window.  Fortunately, I had the forethought to grab my point and shoot camera and start clicking away.  Unfortunately, pictures taken through a window and at a distance make for shakey reference material. It is what it is.  I took a few artistic liberties, framed them lightly and hung them as a grouping.  So sweet!

A side note:  It turns out that reference material is just that... reference.  One does what one will.  That is to say, some may copy inch for inch, others refer to and take many liberties.  I prefer the later when using a photo.  In fact, I extend the "liberties" liberally when painting from life as well.  It is, after all, a painting that I'm making - not a photo!

My reference photos, cropped, enlarged and on an 8x10:

Morning Glory

Morning Glory, 6x6, oil on canvas.

I'm seeing a trend in my posting.  I post a few times, fall away, then start posting again.  Regardless of my posting frequencies, I continue to paint away. 

That said, my normal painting schedule was interrupted for the month of October as I dipped my toes into the pool of teaching.  I was fortunate for the opportunity to take on 2 very enthusiastic students.  It was as enlightening to me as I hope it was to them.  Teaching, it seams, re-enforces the lessons back onto the teacher. 

It was intended to be a "workshop" style experience but we added several extra classes just for grins consuming most of October. It was a good experience, to say the least.  But now it's over.

Now it's time to get back to some serious painting - and posting - again.  I have several events I want to paint for and so many ideas floating around in my head I can hardly wait to get back into the game full time!

Summer Gala, 8x8 oil on canvas.

Some scary news yesterday.  My horse was noticeably "ouchy" when he walked in from the fields for dinner.  Usually, it's a race between horse and goats (who always get a head start).    But this was more than ouchy and I suspected it was his shoulders or hips because he's 30 years old after all and has had a hard time balancing for the shoer for some time now.  So we called Doc C out.  Nope.  It was in fact, founder.  We knew it was a distinct possibility but expected it more during the spring, not late summer.  The unusually wet weather made it possible according to the vet. 

Spring of 2012 we began to turn him out 24-7 as opposed to locking him up in the paddock at night.  Doc said in light of his age, dramatic weight loss from the hard winter and dental condition what he needed was grass.  Not hay.  Regardless of the threat of founder.  So doc did some dental work on what was left of his teeth, we put him on rice bran morning and night along with his vitamins and turned him out to graze the rest of the 24 hours.  He looked fabulous by the end of that summer.

The rice bran and grass helped him hold his weight all winter and I was always impressed to see him running in with the goats for dinner.  He had a beautiful coppery coat and silky flaxen mane.  He's an Arabian.  Need I say more? 

This spring he even shed his coat for the first time in several years.  Wish I had known about rice bran earlier.  However, we had some fluxuating weather this late summer which caused the grass to grow hot and sugary.  Also, says doc, the days are starting to shorten and apparently that affects the pituitary gland.  That's about all I know about that.  There was also some mention of cushings disease.

My beautiful, trusty friend who taught me to ride and face my fears is now on bute and some other liquid that goes under his tongue.  10 days is the magic number. 

Doc says if we cant get the inflammation and pain down in 10 days then we have to consider his options.  There aren't to many for an old gelding.  He's already out to pasture.   

Summer Song

Summer Song, 8x8 oil on canvas.  www.studio54gallery.com

Ahhh, the fleeting days of summer.  Here in the PNW we have been experiencing a few previews of fall.  A little misty, a few short showers, a hazy day.  Currently, as I look out my window, I see a spot of cerulean blue surrounded by wispy strokes of warm grey with dabs of lemon yellow atop.  It's all good.  Change is good.  I probably wouldn't appreciate summer so much if it were here all the time.

I promised myself I would get a portfolio of landscape photos this summer so I would have much to keep me busy this winter in the event I wanted to branch out from my still life.  Unless I get out soon my photos will be lack luster in that they will be lacking luster.  No sunshine, no strong lights against deep shadows.  No heat.  Oh well, I did go to Jackson, WY this summer and got plenty of photos there.  I also got a little plein air in this summer and so have some studies to work with.  All that is in the event I migrate to landscape. 

I have migrated somewhat but not to landscape.  I took a workshop with Michael Maczuga on portraits.  Whatever possessed me to do that???  I can only say that I am mesmerized by his work and wanted to get inside his head if at all possible and see how it ticks in there.  Following the workshop I immediately ordered the Asaro Head and went to work.  So far, I am not a portrait artist.  :(    But I haven't given up.  I did, however, learn a bit from Mr. Maczuga and how he thinks.  One has to be tuned in to pick up subtle clues about the inner workings of others.  It's the inner workings that translate to the canvas, right?  We paint our character - so to speak. 

Okay, enough about that.  With the exit of summer comes the re-entry of Routine, my long time friend.  Routine and I go way back.  We indulge in each other and melt into the studio while the leaves drop and the wind blows.  Just me and Routine.  We have long winters here in the PNW but they are survivable by and large. 

Perhaps I'll squeeze in a trip to Arizona again.  :)

Summer Heat

Summer Heat, 8x8 oil on canvas.  www.studio54gallery.com

I started painting pansies last winter from a photo.  My initial impression was how difficult flowers were going to be compared to my many foodie subjects.  The reality is, it's all the same in that I approach it the same way one would eat an elephant:  One bite at a time!   Rather, one petal at a time. :) 

I became hooked on pansies and did several studies but was limited to the one and only photo I had and superimposed pansy faces to meet my paintings needs as necessary.  Frustrated because no fresh pansies were available at the time.  I waited.. 

Once pansies hit the shelves I purchased several colors and took many (MANY) photos for my next winter paintings.  Finally, I could set up my pansies in my light box and begin painting from life!  Glorious, glorious painting from life!  Woo hoo!

Boy-- did I have a lot to learn about pansies.  Apparently a COOL weather flower, mine didn't last long because once I was done with one painting I set it in the sun to "flourish".  It got leggy and awful.  So I hit the stores once again only to fine out that they are sold out for the summer and wont receive anymore until Fall.  So I wait again... 

Fortunately, I still have my leggy, awful leftovers (now in a cooler locale) and I can set them up in my light box.  And because I'm an artist, ;)   I can enhance them from leggy to squat and from scraggly to abundant.  I can push them and pull them and prop them and you, the viewer, will never know the difference, unless I tell you.  So this is my little secret. 

Don't tell anyone.