Two more "starts"

Here are two more mini-studies on 6x8 birch panel.  These are homework for my oil painting class.  Not finished pieces, just starts.  Both are from photos I took.  First is from our boat on the SF Bay, and the second is after a big storm on the beach in Carmel.

What does this say about me??

I haven't posted in quite a while because, well, I'm in a class - and yes, that means I should be suddenly creating great works!  But not so fast - many basics to cover and exercises to do and absorb before I can improve.  But I found it funny while doing my "homework" this last week how very differently I approach things - is it just a different day, a different mood, or a different subject for inspiration??

These are all 6" by 8" "studies" or "starts"; meant to be simple value studies in native/local color.  Yikes - the first two look correct in that they are just simple shapes that lay out the darks and the focal point.  But look at the second two!  I got totally carried away.  Oh well - I think my b&w value sketches in pastel were correct, anyway!  It's fun to chronicle one's progress =)  Maybe when the class is done I'll post my progress on the b&w value studies, too.

Help Hibisicus!

This piece has been sitting since December in a state of helplessness, poor thing.  It's an adaptation of a Terry Madden watercolor in terms of composition, but done in oil on a large canvas and trying to do justice to the yellow color of the hibiscus' in my Mom and Dad's yard (Terry's was pink).  I have changed it so much and so many times, my head is swimming =)  The background used to be light in a watercolor sort of fantasy look, then my teacher said "no, it needs to be dark".  So now it's dark.  Not sure I like it.  And, I still have to correct the flowers for highlights and such, but - it's a work in progress.  Maybe publishing it will really get me to think about it and get it done!!

Baylands Morning

Another plein aire paint-out!  Marshy baylands, huge eucalyptus, and distant foothills.  Cloudless sky, but a with wonderful morning glow!  Later in the morning, this little reflective stream became a veritable lake! 
Colors show more yellow in the photo than in the painting =(  Nevertheless.......perfect fall weather, wonderful friends, talent abounding around me!

Santa Cruz Boat Harbor

Overcast morning, but very comfortable.  Except for the fact I had real serious trouble honing in on a subject today!!  And, that always makes me get jittery and feeling a little intimidated =( 
But - I dove in and decided to paint this wonderful "schooner" and try to find some rhythm in the distant eucalyptus trees and the docks in the foreground.  It turned out to be fun - although I just can't do any more with this until it dries - if I do indeed decide to go back into it.

Too Much FUN!

Nope, I just couldn't leave it alone, so I "finished" my rose garden plein aire attempts "in studio" (ha - aka kitchen!)  I had to have a little more fun with these and see if I could learn a little more about how to paint roses!  I'll keep trying =)

Rose Garden Beauties!

Second attempt at real-life plein aire painting!  So much to learn - my colors weren't true at all, since a foggy morning changed to one with me looking straight into a bright sun with a shaded canvas.  Alas, I had so much fun painting today I couldn't resist posting my work even if it is really not that good ;-)  I guess what I should say is that these are "studies" for "real" paintings I will do in my studio, uh huh!  Maybe that's true!

Plein Aire Retouched!

Okay, so yes, it is my very first real plein aire painting, with a few touches back here at "the studio" as it were (my kitchen). I consider it a real plein aire because I was on the balcony of our vacation rental condo on Pebbly Beach Rd. in Avalon on Catalina Island, with my guerilla painter's box and the stuff I thought I needed packed carefully from home.

The light was changing, the boats were bobbing in the harbor, and Dan and Michael were calling to me from below on the street on their rental bikes. What could be better?? I completed this in about 2 hours or so, beginning with the challenge of first-ever use of the guerilla box on a tripod in a cramped space! Acrylics as a base coat, then oils to finish. Clearly I need a BIG lesson on landscape - but you can tell my focus was the Casino.

Did you know that the Plein Aire Painters of America was founded on Catalina Island in 1986? If you love Plein Aire painting - please look for the book "Enchanted Isle: A History of Plein Aire Painting in Santa Catalina Island". It is a treasure!

Cheers to "Firsts"!

During a wonderful art "retreat" with friends, I was able to help construct a still life and paint it with acrylics! My first ever painting from "still life" and also my first ever acrylic painting! I'm not unhappy with this painting even though the paint totally misbehaved in my opinion on the canvas (being accustomed to oils) and I struggled with the light and shadow in my first ever still life painting.

Still- this is a wonderful remembrance of best friends, a beautiful venue, lovely fresh sweat peas, and a fantastic blue and white vase!

Enjoy - more to come =)

Reunion!!

Wow, it's been a while! One should not take such a hiatus from their art "work" - that being the work of doing art! I have been a full six months without paintbrush in hand, so sad. But this past weekend, I had the thrill of oil painting in a workshop with my dear friend and mentor, Buck Paulson. What a wonderful time - and the result being that I am excited and committed to getting back into regular painting - AND - I have a really nice still life seascape to enjoy! Ahoy, Matey - there are some incredible techniques embedded in that piece..............

If you can zoom in, note my personal touches on the sails.

Thanks, professor Buck ;-)

Sisters and Girlfriends

Yesterday I had the pleasure of catching up with a girlfriend I rarely see anymore. A simple hour together, sharing all the going's on of our families - but moreover, learning new things about each other. We never new that we were both into art, being so busy with our husbands and families!

Isn't it always true that from our girlfriends, our sisters, we learn new ways to navigate all the challenges we face as our lives wind their way through time? The act of sharing - opening up about our fears, making each other laugh (laughing at ourselves!), and giving strength in tough times - makes us better people, more open, more confident, more patient.

This painting was done with love for my sister, with whom I share much more than a love of giraffes ;-)

Don't Finish Before You Start!

This morning I was watching my dear friend, Buck Paulson, teach on PBS, and I was struck by how he blocks in the beginnings of his landscape with such looseness and at the same time energy! And finally the light went on - my teacher always says to me "why do you try to finish your painting before you've even started?" Wow - she is so right. I'm always doing paint-by-numbers in the early phases, trying to capture details and highlights before I really get a solid start and lay the foundation.

Truly, I think I do paint best from my own photographs (like Beth's Flowering Plum, in my previous post) undoubtedly because in my memory is every depth of how the scene looked in full dimension, what was the temperature, the sounds around me and the smells! How did it really feel? That's how you get a painting that elicits real emotion from a viewer!

So today while I'm thinking about my next work and how I will try to actually start before I finish, I'm also reminded of a painting that I "finished" but haven't signed because I know there is something wrong. Guess what I did? I tried to start..............after I was finished. Can you see the mistake? I wonder if you can tell? Let me know...........

PS - the name of this piece is "Freedom", for a piece of knowledge I received during the time I painted her, and for my attempt at trying to loosen up a bit.

Gotta Lovett!

When one of my favorite watercolorists was asked "how to you decide what to paint", John Lovett answered in several ways, one of which is to go back to one of your last paintings that you were happy with and think of it as one in a series. So as I still ponder what to paint next since I've been off of painting for a couple months, I think of two paintings I did last year that I was really proud of. Maybe sharing them here will inspire me to indeed, make one of them into some sort of "first" in a series.

The first image I'll share is of "Beth's Flowering Plum", an original oil on canvas painted from an original photo........maybe the first in a series of flowers with water droplets?

Whine not?

To blog or not to blog? It's a rainy day and I was clicking around and enjoying many a fine art related blog and thought to myself - the technology is there, why not use it? One cannot whine about not understanding how to use the latest technology unless one dives in and gives it a try! Like digital photography! What did we do before having our digital cameras? Now we click away ad infinitum like we never would have in the days before digital. And so here I am...........

With a brand new blog, complete with some of my favorite blogs to share, and a slideshow of some of my original photographs.............

And I still don't know what to paint next. That's where it all started, you know - not knowing what on earth to paint next. Painter's block. Yep, so now I am a painter with a painter's blog, but also still.....................

Painter's block. (Do I look like I'm whining?) Maybe I should paint that bird................