Friday, September 30, 2016

Revised Completely

So far, this is just an i phone image of this painting on my easel.
 Yesterday, while I was warming up, I took from my stack of "something isn't quite right after I have lived with these paintings" and repainted the vase.  I wanted it less tight. Next, I repainted the sunflowers to be a sunny yellow. Better with the yellow, I changed to more purple hydrangeas. The white on the coneflower petals cooled and dulled them. These changes meant that I wanted to brighten the background ....

One change in your painting usually means that something else needs to change...

Totally different
I will look again later and see if I am happy now!!

Monday, September 12, 2016

Summer Bouquet

Summer Bouquet/ oil on canvas board/ 7 x 5/

My garden is filled with clean, intense beautiful flowers including torch tithonia and zinnias. Usually daily, I paint some of them. Most days, I also wipe these little paintings. As soon as I add white to the colors, they lose their intensity. Consequently,  the painting is not at all what I want.
Today, I started again.  I painted with transparent colors as long as possible and then tried to keep from "snuffing out the life" of the painting with the opaques (including white).

Saturday, September 3, 2016

Designer Grapefruits

Designer Grapefruits/ oil in stretched canvas/ 8 x 10/

Another painting using thick paint. This time, I also imagined I as painting for a "designer kitchen".

Perhaps also interesting is that this painting was painted over some failed zinnias.

Friday, September 2, 2016

Little Puppy

Puppy/ oil on stretched canvas/ 7 x 5/

This is a little painting where I was working on getting the oil paint applied more thickly. I decided to try adding different mediums to do this. This painting used  Liquid Impasto. The description states This is a semi-gloss, quick-drying, non-yellowing impasto medium that retains crisp textures and brush strokes without any visible leveling. It also extends tube color, provides bulk, and allows more blending time. When dry, it forms a flexible, tough film that can be varnished in the normal way. Use it for heavier brush work or palette knives. It is not recommended for use as a varnish or final coat.

I have also been working through the lessons that Nancy Medina recently provided. I hope that you will se some of her color influences in upcoming paintings.