Many of August's Paintings

Lots of warm colors in this group of summer paintings!

Now that I have completed my fundraiser pet project for 2013 and my alphabet ABCs, I have decided on my next small daily challenge. I am going to paint a single subject under various light conditions. During this series, I will share what I have read (and the references) about how different light is painted. It may mean that I have to repeat this series (changing the subject) before I am able to succeed at this. Time will tell!

Sunstruck

Sunstruck/ watercolor sketch/ 6 x 4

I am reading the book "Catching Light in Your Paintings" by Charles Sovek. He describes the value range used in paintings to catch sunlight. He reminds us that black in shadow is only the half step between black and dark grey and black in light is medium grey. White in shadow, because of all of the reflected light from the sky and from the surrounding light-struck objects lightens to a a half step between light and medium grey. All the other colors fall in line with these guidelines.
This is a small sketch thinking about these relationships.

Watery Flamingo Sketch

Watery Flamingo Sketch/ watercolor/ 5.5 x 7.

The goal for this painting was to paint it using lots of water and clean vibrant color. I wanted the bleedbacks to define the softness of the body contour and suggest the presence of feathers.To accomplish this, it is easier to use all transparent colors in the first wash. The best transparent orange is Schmincke's translucent orange. It is a true orange color with lots of strength and none of the chalky opacity of many of the other watercolor oranges.

I have just completed the alphabet book and ordered a prototype to check for errors. I have also created a 2014 calendar with many of my favorite paintings from this past year. I hope to have some of these available for purchase at the "Artist Demonstration Event" in Sutton's new courtyard on September 26. During this event, the artists hope to answer questions and share processes. If you are local, I hope you will drop by.

"Y" is for and Fisherman Sketch

Yams. I love the beautiful inner orange color of this vegetable.  The alphabet is almost completed!

Fisherman sketch/ watercolor/ 8 x 6/ SOLD

In preparation for several upcoming events, I am painting some loose small watercolor sketches. This one is of a sunstruck fisherman at the beach.

Jam Jars #10

Jam Jars #10/ oil on board/ 5 x 7/ SOLD

The weather is cooler again so I wanted to start a series of jars with another year of painting experience.
This is the first of this year's series. My numbering will be from #10.

Artist Note: One of intriguing things about these jars is the way the colors bounce onto the lids, onto each other, reflect into their surroundings etc. I found that the highlights are not the "white" paint in any but the brightest ones. Instead, the highlights were cool blues, greens and yellows.

"X" is for

"X" is for/ oil on board/ 4 x 4/ $75/available at Suttons Gallery

Xigua Fruit which is the Mandarin Chinese word for a small watermelon.

Artist Note: This painting used the visual compliment again. I found that the background needed to have some visible changes in brush color. The flat blue seemed too uninteresting.

"W" is for

"W" is for/ oil on board/ 4 x 4/ available at Low Country Gallery )(HH)

winter squash. This leaves "x" as the last difficult letter. I hope to have a little book of alphabet fruit and vegetable book of paintings available at the artist demonstration later this September....

Artist Note: Many of this series used complementary color schemes.

"U" is for

"U" is for/ oil on board/ 4 x 4/ available at Low Country Gallery )(HH)

Ugli fruit.Ugli fruit is a citrus fruit available from December through April. Ugli fruit is bright orange with a teardrop shape. It grows wild in Jamaica and is thought to be a hybrid of a grapefruit and tangerine. The peel is very thick and the segments taste like a ripe orange.

Artist Note:I wanted to make this warm background color to set off the orange-yellow colored fruit. I used persian rose, bohemian green and white and a touch of black where it is darkest.

"T" is for

This is a tomatillo. Beautiful to look at but I haven't looked up how someone eats this, so I can't tell you much about that.

Artist Note:
I used mostly complementary colors again for this little painting.
Approaching the end of the alphabet soon.

If you are in my area, you may be interested in the monthly workshops that are described on the web site. My web site (link) has been sorely neglected until recently when my talented daughter agreed to help with this. If you like it, send me a comment and I'll pass it on.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/sue-churchgrant/t-is-for/162156

"S" is for

Star Fruit. This is a beautiful fruit. After I painted it, I tried it and have to admit it may take some getting used to.
Artist Note: The color of this fruit allowed me to experiment with a new color for the background. I think I used persian rose, naples yellow and unbleached titanium.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/sue-churchgrant/s-is-for/161971

"P"is for

"P" is for/ oil on board/ 4 x 4/ Available at Low Country Gallery (HH)

Back tracking from "R", here is the missing "P" for plums.

Artist note: When I remember, I am using complimentary color schemes through the alphabet. Here are both the mixing compliments of red and green and the visual or light compliments of lime green and purple. The visual compliments make things appear more vivid.

"Q" is for

"Q" is for/ oil on board/ 4x 4/ $75

Quandong. This was suggested by an internet search and was inspired by internet photographs since I have never seen a quandong and certainly not one that is hanging on a tree. Quandong is a native Australian fruit rich in vitamin C. It was a food for Australian Aborigines, eaten raw or dried. Quandongs were also used medicinally as ointments for skin sores, brewed to make purgative teas or infused to treat rheumatism. Europeans made chutneys, jams and pies from quandongs. Presently, state law prohibits the harvesting of native quandongs. Commercial quandong plantations are the current source.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/sue-churchgrant/q-is-for/161526

Looking at you

Looking at You/ watercolor/ 10.75 x 8/ sold

I wanted to experiment with a deep dark background and these magnificent oranges. This was painted from an image I shot in The Landing Zone at Sylvan Heights Bird Park.

Artist Note:
The dark background used cerulean and Bloxx Blue, olive green and lamp black in three layers dried between each application.

"R" is for

Radishes!. No worries, I have paintings for "P" and "Q" but I wanted to share this one today.

Artist Note:
I wanted to make the radish leaves interesting. Most of my students struggle with "boring greens" in their paintings. In addition to mixing a pile of cool (added blue and white to a sap, cad yellow green, cinnabar mix), a warm (added yellow to same mix), I then added some orange, red and blue to the stems and leaves.

Snowy Egret Study #1

Snowy Egret #1/ watercolor/ 9.75 x 8/ sold

I have many images of this snowy egret that I hope to paint.  I was working on outlining the white with a textured background in this study.

The watery paint mix was achieved by spraying paint while it was wet, gently blotting with a tissue and finally spattering.

"O" is for

"O" is for/ oil on board/ 4" x 4"/ sold

Oranges! Problem letters are upcoming......

Artist Note: This was also painted over a coral underpainting. Using a modified "fracturing" movement of paint (see Julie Ford Oliver's tutorial here), I left the underpainting very visible in this little painting.

"N" is for

oil on board/ 4 x 4/ $75/ available at Suttons

Nectarine. I painted these first without cutting them but the composition was not very interesting. I like this with the center pit better.

Artist Note: I like to paint on a darker background, often black. When my subject will have vibrant colors, however, I find that a red or coral background adds to the richness of the painting. Here, I allowed bits of the underpainting to warmly peek through.

Chillaxin'

Chillaxin'/ watercolor/ 9.5 x 15/ SOLD

I am not sure whether I spelled this word correctly but I thought it described the painting. Can you feel the breeze?

Artist Note: The colors are bright warm sunny colors to create the feeling of heat









New Book

Here is the link for the book of pet paintings (link). You can see the book there, if you click preview. If you buy it, all the profit ($2.00 per book) will be donated to Animal Crackers. Thanks, in advance!!

Running Sketch

Today, I wanted to paint movement.I searched through images and found this horse. The colors expressed the majesty of this animal.

Artist Note: Movement can be expressed in a painting by line (mane and tail), and by lost edges (the hooves and foreleg). I am  interested to see what this might look like in a cooler palette.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/sue-churchgrant/running-horse-sketch/159954

"L" is for

"L" is for/ oil on board/ 4 x 4/$75/ available at Suttons Gallery

Lemons and Limes. I love to paint citrus fruit. I love the bright colors, the "angular" circles and the fantastic planes and highlights. This one seemed to want the warm background again.

"M" is for

"M" is for/ oil on board/ 4 x 4/ available at Low Country Gallery (HH)

Mango. I didn't forget "L" but I wanted to post this cool background next to the hot background of the jalapeño yesterday.

"J" is for

"J" is for/ oil on board/ 4 x 4/ $75

Jalapeño: hot, hot, hot! It was so much fun to paint this little painting. Of course the red-green is always visually interesting!

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/sue-churchgrant/j-is-for/159065

Red and Green Study

Red and Green Study/ watercolor/ 14 x 9

I am playing with figures done loosely with color left as shadow colors. I hope to be confident enough to try this on a larger loose painting. I think the fresh watery colors express more than the controlled perfect skin tones. That. however, may be today's mood.

Ethereal

Ethereal/ watercolor/ 6" x 6"/ $75

I wanted to capture the "softness" of this cat. To do this, I painted a soft-edged, soft colored, light valued background. Does it for me.

Artist Note: The whiskers were "saved' with a toothpick and Richeson liquid masque.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/sue-churchgrant/ethereal/158690

"I" is for

"I" is for/ oil on board/4 x 4/ available at Low Country Gallery )(HH)

Iceberg Lettuce. There is a site that has fruits and vegetables listed by the alphabet and this may have been the only "i".

Artist Note: It was fun to make marks to express the lettuce: the sweep of the base and the frills on the top. I chose a cool palette to make it "feel crisp".

Animal Cracker Wrap

These are most of the paintings that have contributed to Animal Crackers Fund Raiser. At this moment there is  a total of $455.78. There may be another 1-3 paintings to add to this. I am expecting the proof of the little book of collected pet paintings very soon. As soon as this is available, I will publish details.  Any profit from sale of this book will be a 100% donation to Animal Crackers!
Thank you to Kinnie, Tommie, Connie, JoAnn, Beth, Susan, Martha,  Cornelia, Ashley, and Millie and your beautiful pets!

"K" is for

"K" is for/ oil on board/4 x 4/available at Low Country Gallery )(HH)

Kiwi Fruit. I have "I" and "J" done but I really loved "K", so that is why it is posted out of sequence.

Artist Note:
I was thinking of compliments when I worked on the background: visual (light) and mixing compliments and I absolutely love this combination: lime green is the visual compliment of purple: red is the compliment of green, blue is the compliment of orange...

Beach Reflections

Beach reflections/ watercolor/ 7.5" x 15"/ available at Low Country Gallery )(HH)

I loved painting this image: fairly large and spontaneous.

Artist Note: The goal was to keep the values correct and play with color: keeping it clean and fresh. Can't wait to do another tomorrow!

A Neat Way to Frame Daily Paintings on Boards

Yesterday, Ashley of Suttons Framing (link) and I worked on an option for framing the boards that many daily painters love to paint on.
If you are not a "DIY" person, Ashley or her people are happy to help you.



For the "Crafty" people:
Materials:
stretcher frames (ideally sized one inch smaller than the board length)
(For 4" size, the smallest stretchers available are 4". These can be obtained at FrenchCanvas (link))
Flat acrylic spray paint color of your choice (we used )
excellent glue (E6000)
screw eyes
hanging wire
bumper corners

1. Assemble the stretchers. Line them up so that all the flat sides are on one surface and the ridged sides are on the other.
2. Spray paint all the surfaces. Don't miss the slits on the sides.
3. Attach the ridged surface to the back of the painting board with good quality glue. (The flat surface will have the screw eyes attached).
4. Measure the length of the vertical frame and divide by three. At 1/3 from the top, mark the position for the screw eyes and attach them.
5. Add the hanging wire and the bumper corners.

If you collect paintings, this method of framing will also allow you to arrange the paintings in a variety of ways.