"Attack" Dog

"attack' Dog/ oil on board/ 5" x 7"/ SOLD

Here is another challenge painting. Remember that my theme is "color" for the Thirty in Thirty Challenge (link). Today is day 13.
This happy dog couldn't find anyone who wasn't a friend!

I continue to be interested in defining what makes a good painting but I have stalled on my own larger painting at the shape plan and edges. This little painting does have lost, soft and hard edges and I like the contrast of the orange in its fur and the blue background.

Sunlit Iris

Sunlit Iris/ watercolor/ 5.25 x 5"/ $75

I am continuing to work on the large painting of the value studies from a couple of days ago. I am also completing some commission work, As a warm up, on a busy day, I painted this little iris from my garden last spring. It is 70 degrees here, and all the poppy seeds have germinated, so perhaps I am getting ahead of the season! This is day 12 of the Thirty in Thirty Challenge (remember my theme is "color".
















http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/sue-churchgrant/sunlit-iris/113745

Summer Days: See What a Difference a Color Makes

Summer Days/ oil on board / 5" x 7"/ sold

I was asked about the colors I use in my paintings. As I work on a post of how I might be able to describe "how" to see more colors, I decided to post two versions of this painting that continue to illustrate mass or shape pattern.

Squint at them. The earlier version (lower) has a large dark mass (the tree) isolated from the smaller dark masses (the shorts and shoe) and a bright mid valued mass (the shirt). Then there is the isolated light of the water and the small whites of the shoe.

Now, squint at the improved top version. Here, the darks connect: tree, shoe, shadow, shorts, rod. The lights connect: top water, down the side of the trunk, shoe, highlight, shirt, face top of hair, water. The "before" version (lower) is too "jumpy" and there is no color harmony: just bright, shouting colors.

Second of the Boys

Second of the Boys/ oil on board/ 6" x 6"/ sold 

I loved all the colors in this beautiful cat's fur. Although this is a tiny painting and it is a portrait of a cat, this little painting still has a reasonable mass or shape plan. Can you find the lost and soft edges I was working to make? Hope you enjoy this as much as I did painting it!!

This is day #10 of the thirty in Thirty Challenge.

One of the Boys

One of the Boys/ oil on board/6" x 6"/ sold

This beautiful cat was a true pleasure to paint. He is also perfect to post while I continue to work on attempting to define, describe and most importantly to illustrate the elements of a good painting.
This little cat is a great example of  the use of shapes or "masses" in a painting. The dark areas are connected, as are the mid valued areas and the light areas. From far away, because of these interesting shapes, this painting has an "abstract" interest. This painting also  has a variety of edges: soft edges : seen mostly where the fur blends as the color changes: lost edges: as the fur continues into the background and hard edges: most easily seen defining the eye.

Let the Sunshine In: Edges in Planning a Painting

A painting is planned starting with its shapes or masses. In addition to the tonal pattern, edges will be important in pointing the viewer toward the main focal area and then guiding the viewer around the rest of the painting. There are three types of edges. Hard edges are what most(?) of us first paint, especially as we attempt to paint a likeness. Hard edges attract the eye.

The camera often records more hard edges than what we actually see. Look outside at  an object ( a bird feeder in the backyard). The bird feeder is hard-edged (it is in our central vision). While you continue to look at this feeder, however, the trees around it, the swing set behind it, the house in the far yard are all more soft-edged (in your peripheral vision). A photograph on "auto" presets will often show the entire backyard well defined, hard-edged.

In a painting, that is not photorealistic, there should be hard edges, soft edges and lost edges. Soft edges suggest shapes and lost edges connect the shapes together.  

This is where the painting study was left last night. Imagined full-size, there will be a lot of "empty" blue space. So, thinking of masses and edges, here are some alternatives:

I like the "truck", soft edged, darks setting off lights, soft lines leading around the painting or the lines connecting the figure to the edges of the painting. I'll need to look at this again tomorrow

Today's Thirty in Thirty challenge, now day eight.

Let the Sunshine In/ oil on board/ 6" x 6"/ gifted

Venice from my Gondola: Shape Plan for a Painting

As the year begins, I reviewed recommendations about "Blogging".  Most authorities suggested that the interesting blogs contain content: best, if it is useful content. Therefore, I shall attempt to add content to my daily painting post.

One of my friends commented that she had been missing watercolors lately. That is because I have been working every day for weeks to create a watercolor painting worthy of submission to the very best watercolor associations. Perhaps because I want this so badly, I have many large, beautiful sheets of watercolor paper that have paint (not paintings) on the now "back" sides of my future paintings. So what would a "successful painting submission" look like? I have decided that I just need to paint and the deadline will come whether or not I have a worthy submission. However, what makes a "good" painting will be my first blog topic for this year.

1. A good painting has a good "shape" plan. The masses or shapes provide the structure of the painting composition. From far away, a viewer should first be interested in the large pattern of lights and dark.This pattern will be abstract but interesting enough to be drawn toward the painting to look more closely. Closer, the medium sized masses make the larger shapes more understandable. The  medium-sized masses vary in tone, value, color or precision. Lastly, the details or small masses must be observed from close-up and are achieved by further often maximal contrasts in value, color or definition. To have a good shape pattern, the darks in a painting will often be connected to darks, mid tones to mid tones and light values to light values. Isolated small shapes distract the viewer's eye.  

Here are color/value plans to illustrate this.

Value plan not well seen in pencil. There are three values: dark, medium and light: these areas connect (the dark coat runs into the bricks: the dog's white fur areas run into the sky, as does the light part of the hat: the tops of the knees will be lighter and also merge with the sky.)

Finally, today's challenge painting for the Thirty in Thirty Challenge:

Venice From my Gondola/ oil on board/ 5" x 7"/ SOLD