Thursday, April 30, 2015

AHHH

AHHHH/ oil on board/ 8 x 8/ SOLD

I painted this twice. The first was a wipe. Then I underpinned the board with black acrylic paint and allowed the figure to "emerge" . This was greatly more successful.
The mood I was going for was peaceful. Hence the many horizontals in this painting. Makes me wish I was there!!

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Duck, Duck, Duck, Little Brown Duck


http://www.zazzle.com/joaquin_sorolla_y_bastida_after_the_bath_poster-228465346972568903

This is an image of a Sorolla painting that is from the page above.
The feeling of intense sunlight in this painting is wonderful.

I wanted this light effect in my recent painting "Duck, duck, duck, little brown duck"

Here is a version before I read an article by  Charles Sovek (link)  about the Sorolla's painting of light and color.



 This article reminded me that

Every object in light should be painted a middle-grey value or above
Every object in shadow is painted a middle grey value or below

Therefore, I adjusted lightened the  values of the shadows of the white ducks and darkened the values of the dark duck






Duck, Duck, Duck and Little Brown Duck/ oil on board/ 8 x 10/HH Gallery





I then increased the chroma of the water.

I like how the little ducks "glow" in this painting.

Monday, April 27, 2015

Mostly Complimentary Colors

Cow Studying/ 8 x 10/ oil on board/ SOLD

This painting is of a cow that was in the path while we were hiking. To create its form, I decided to use warm and cool yellows and purples. These are also compliments which was interesting to work with.

Friday, April 24, 2015

Writing a List

Writing a list/ watercolor/ 9 x 12/ SOLD

I have not updated my blog recently and I will update with what I have learned from that absence soon. Most recently though, I have finally finished hours of yard maintenance which happens each spring (to provide the many flowers I paint each year...)

This watercolor is one of the first I am happy with after my recent workshop with Charles Reid. Rich color and looseness define Mr Reid's work. I am still striving for this effect in mine. In addition, I want the "light" to read in my paintings so I am working on ways to have that communicated. More on this subject soon.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Commission Shepherd


This is a commission that will be gifted sometime Easter weekend, so to insure a surprise, I didn't share it  until now.  This dog has the most beautiful eyes. It was such a pleasure to paint.

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Repainted Edges

This is a painting that didn't quite work for me (see below), so today, I worked to make the little bird less hard-edged.



















I especially like the less defined legs on this newer version. As the bird is made less hard-edged, the beak and eye are more easily seen.

I love the edges achieved by Quang Ho and Carolyn Anderson.
You might enjoy Carolyn's blog (link) that features her beautiful paintings and an interesting thoughtful discussion.

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Spring Fancy

Spring Fancy/ oil on board/ 4 x 4

Another small bird working on loose colorful brushwork.

Sometimes I have to repaint a painting like this thinking about each different stroke instead of "coloring in" that is so hardwired..