Turnip Study 3 Chiaroscuro With Grapes

Turnip Study 3, 6x6, oil on canvas, Sold

Last of the 3 turnip paintings. It's time to put this little fella to rest - in a salad.

I think I was able to accomplish what I was aiming for. Quiet, contemplative and a little old worldly.

Turnip Study 2 with holly and berries

Turnip Study 2, 6x6, Oil on Canvas, Click to Bid

Just a little more Christmasy than the last one. :)

Orininal Oil Painting - Turnips

Turnip Study 1, 6x6, Oil on Canvas, Click to Bid

Last week was turnip week. I'm working on that old worldly, atmospheric thing but trying to add a bit of color. Also, I wanted to try turnips in my salad. 

I have no idea what the red things are. Some artificial Christmas decor I think. They're really little bead clusters but I just wanted some red to see how that would interact with the cool lavenders and purple.

There's a little competing going on between the purple top of the turnip and the red berries but if not for that it would just be a painting of a turnip - which would have been okay but now there's a little something else to look at too.

Onion Study 1

Onion Study 1, 6x6, Oil on Canvas, Click to Bid

I was talking with an artist friend about staying motivated in the studio and the topic of weekly challenges came up. A challenge, called "The three amigos" happened to be near the top of the list on the Daily Paintworks site so we decided to give it a try. 

The challenge is basically to paint with 3 colors and white. My knee jerk reaction was to go with TOR, Prussian Blue and Yellow Ocher. That didnt pan out. I tried but I could not make it work with the subjects in front of me. Prussian can be a little hairy to work with anyway but I generally LOVE it with TOR. Not so much with Ocher. It wasnt happening. 

So... I went with TOR, Yellow Light (Utrechs yellow light which is deeper than the others, I think) and Ultramarine Blue Deep. And white. 

The result was a harmonious little painting that has the qualities I look for. Quiet. Meditative. And just enough "POP" but not an explosion. :)

I think I'll be doing more of these little challenges. I found myself experimenting and working through a few failures to SUCCESS!

Apple Study 2

Apple Study 2, 8x8, oil on Canvas, Click to Bid

This is the second study I did for "Bumper Crop" changing the background and keeping to a more analogous palette. I also thought it wise to play with the blossoms a little before attempting the larger painting. :)

Apple Study 1

Apple Study 1, 6x8, Oil on canvas, Click to Bid

Like many people in my area I was overwhelmed with apples again. I scanned the internet regularly for NON DESSERT apple recipes but when it was all said and done, I froze 12 gallons and dehydrated 13 gallons with a few extra gallons for my peeps. I need a larger dehydrator. Mine ran non stop for a month.

Still, I had a basket full in my studio with an idea for a painting but wrestled with the background color - as usual. :)

This painting was a first study with a dull green background to contrast the red in the apples. 

I also want to add that after it was 'done' I wasnt satisfied and realized the white jar was too strong and competed with the apples. That was an "Ah-Ha!" moment. I went back and repainted the jar adding more atmosphere which sent it back somewhat. I'm much happier with it now and I really learned something. Now you know why I call them 'studies'! :)

Grape Study 3

Grape Study 3, 8x8, Oil on canvas, Click to Bid

This is the last grape study. By the time I got back from our road trip the birds had eaten all that were left. All that was left were vines with little bare stumps where grapes used to be. :(

So much for that. 

Next year I will spend some time photographing my grapes for future paintings. They were truly unique to me in color.

Grape Study 2

Grape Study 2, 8x8, oil on canvas, Click to Bid

This is the second grape painting I did. I added the apples for a little variety and saturated color.

Grape Study 1

Grape Study 1, 8x8, Click to Bid

Washington State experienced a drought this year. We had a beautiful winter, or so we thought, with many days of clear skies and far less rain than usual - followed by a hot, dry summer. I enjoyed the change frankly. And so did my grapes. I had a bumper crop and they were delish!

I cant tell you what kind of grapes I put in so many years ago but they are mostly reddish and very sweet!

Do Over

Forever Study 2, 8x8, Oil on Canvas, Click to Bid

This is a do-over. I took the original painting back into my studio and repainted certain areas -removing the bottom rose and increasing highlights a little for a slightly different look. I do this all the time. For the original image see my blog here: Forever

Goose Study 4

Goose Study 4, 6x6, Oil on Canvas, Click to Bid

This is the fourth of 4 little goose studies that I did in preparation for a larger piece. I was a little surprised by how much fun it was to paint these white birds. I still have to hash out some issues that arent working so well on a larger piece such as the high contrast of bird to water which I think work well on the smaller pieces but look a little blobby on a larger piece (which is primarily dark grassy landscape).
All in all, I had a good time painting these. :)

Goose Study 3

Goose Study 3, 6x6, Oil on canvas, Click to Bid

Third goose painting in a series of 4!  :)

Goose Study 2

Goose Study 2, 6x6, Oil on Canvas, Click to Buy

Second in a series of 4. One of the lessons I learned is that direct sunlight is so reflective and bouncy on water.

First of 4 - Goose Study 1

Goose Study 1, 6x6 Oil on canvas, Click to Bid

This is the first of 4 geese paintings I did as preemptive to a larger piece. I don't paint a lot of animals so I wasn't sure it would hold my interest but it certainly did!

This and the next 3 paintings are of my only 2 surviving geese on one of ponds on our property. Nasty creatures that you cant get close to without the risk of being attacked. Sure, they look graceful. Even peaceful. But don't let that fool you. They have serrated beaks that have bruised my shins through my blue jeans. Their wing span is like an eagles and they will charge you with their necks stretched out and those wings flapping like nobodies business. But it's the beaks that will mess you up. Coyotes don't seem to have a chance with these two remaining birds.

These paintings were done from photos I took for a Craftsy photography class (in which I used a telephoto in order to keep my distance). 

I did 4 with the idea I would frame them and hang them as a set in my powder room but I'm not ready to take down my little sparrow paintings so I'm offering them here. But all four are painted with the same palette and would look adorable together, in my humble opinion. :)

Ninja Painter

Field Day, 10x20, Oil on Canvas, Sold

After doing a handful of pansy studies I set out to paint my original idea on a larger canvas. At the very beginning of this new painting, I adjusted my mental attitude that this painting was by me, for me and nobody but me would ever see this painting so I would feel free to explore any and all ideas and make any radical moves I felt inspired to make. No one would ever know. I would be a ninja painter. :)

So that was effective for a little while then came that nagging little voice to clean up edges and blah blah blah... I fought the urge, mostly.

Here's to the freedom to be me! Baby steps people. Baby steps.

White Pansy Study 3

White Pansy Study 3, 6x8, Oil on Canvas, Click to Bid

One last pansy study before the full size painting. 

The one thing that I keep focusing on is "is it in the light or shadow". I've read and studied that the darks in the light should be lighter than the lights in the shadow. This is a fairly interesting opportunity to practice that concept because of the twists and turns in the petals which contain both white and deep purple. 

After opening the image in photoshop I did some playing with the paintbrush tool and I believe I am improving in that area. Improving but not mastered.. I still have a lot to learn but that's what it's all about right? :)

From Photograph To Canvas..Sort Of

Yellow Pansy Study 1, 6x6, Oil on canvas, Click to Bid

This pansy painting was done from a photograph and I had to pick and choose which blooms I wanted to use and where to place them.

Pansies (at least the ones I have) tend to bloom in little bursts of color that are scattered willy-nilly so in order to create any kind of composition I had to do a little layering. Sometimes it gets a little confusing when I'm looking at a photo with a ton of blooms to find the particular bloom I wanted in which particular spot on my canvas.

I'm liking these little color spots though. Fun to paint; fun to see all lined up, drying on my auction table! :)

Purple Pansy Study 1

Purple Pansy Study 1, 6x6 Oil on Canvas, Click to Bid

Round one of purple pansies. It's a pink purple but it's definitely purple. Adjusting the values has been a real challenge but worth pursuing.

There are, in fact, shadows but there are also delicate mutations of color on the petals so I was teetering between technical accuracy and overall effect. What I really want is an overall effect so from across the room the painting has character. I like looking at this one lined up next to the others. I'm able to see the sun catch the tops and edges of the petals.

Effect wins over realism in my studio. :)

White Pansy Study 2, 6x6, ​Round two of my white pansies. 

​Round two of my white pansies.  Another white pansy but different flower entirely.  The center color spot on this flower was much bigger and bolder.

As for the process, I cooled the shadows and backed off on the values a little - which goes against my instincts.   I'm still exploring and have a few other pansy colors to look at.

Dont Be A Pansy

White Pansy Study 1, 6x6, Click to Bid

So I'm moving on to pansies now and exploring edges, values and brushwork along with color temperature.

I just bought a few 4 inch pots to work from as well as some old photo references I have but some of the photos are lacking in the strong light / shadow that I like to work with so I find myself enhancing and embellishing once again.  But I guess that's what it's all about anyway.  If I wanted a perfect copy I'd stick to taking pictures, right?