a favorite from 2013

As I look back on my work of 2013, one of my favorites is "Ambiance," a 6x6 inch pastel now available online at my Daily Paintworks Gallery. sold

warming it up

I put my iPad in a cello sleeve to protect it from paint spatters. Today I added a Transparent Oxide Red + Cobalt glaze over the Viridian + Cobalt foundation to begin to warm up the painting. I'll need to set it aside for several days to dry before more glazing. Time to paint is over anyway because here comes Christmas!

a very bad photo

Each year at this time, I rearrange the studio furniture to make additional space for our Christmas Eve family gathering. Here is a photo of my new compact painting area. In the foreground is my Hughes easel for oil and behind it is my pastel area - old Mabef easel with Artist's Air filter system.

I just started a new painting based on a reference photo my mother took years ago. Isn't that about the worst reference photo you've ever seen? My best guess about the scene is that there was some flooding from the Green River and my ever-curious mother drove around Auburn, Washington and took photos with her ancient little camera. More about that on my Golden Years blog.

together on the easel

Here is the pastel color study with the work-in-progress oil painting.

The finished painting, Day by Day, oil, 16x20 inches can be seen here. Go here to see the small pastel color study with the magnifier.

6x8 color study for Day by Day

Color Study for Day by Day  |  pastel  |  6x8 inches

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The painting process

pastel for oil

My comfort level is working with pastel, not oil paint, so when I began to feel unsure of what to do next to the oil painting I'm working on, I set it aside and painted a small pastel of what the finished oil might look like. I call these little paintings color studies and most end up on my Daily Paintworks Gallery for purchase.

I keep color samples of the pastels I used and cross reference to my Richard Schmid color charts to mix the correct colors for the oil painting.

no place like home

Another painting done with a painting knife instead of a brush. Yummy thick color.

No Place Like Home  |  oil  |  6 x 7.38 inches sold

16x20 oil - two more steps

Step 2 (above)  

In my last post, the beginning thoughts for this painting were very faintly roughed in with a pale oil wash. In this photo I have added the darkest darks. 

Now I ask myself, "Is the composition of the darkest value pleasing to me?" 

Step 3 (below) 

I have softened the value transitions. I am not using reference material so I really don't know how the finished scene will look. I'm working by intuition and emotion. Now I will set this aside and do a small pastel color study to guide me in the completion of this 16x20 oil painting. No title comes to mind yet.

a new easel

It arrived by common carrier in two boxes with excellent protective packaging inside. Yes, it really does go together with just two screws but thankfully, there is also a dvd with step-by-step instructions for set-up.

The long-awaited Hughes Easel. This purchase represents a productive year, a milestone birthday and the hope for a long life! Remember my painting sabbatical? Well, apparently it is paused because I couldn't wait to start an oil painting on this beauty. Made with love and packaged for a safe delivery, I look forward to many years of happiness with my easel, serial number #B797.

everything old is new again

What do a French Mistress and a wooden wheel have in common? My oil painting taboret! See it HERE.

resting and drying

Well...yes, I'm on a sabbatical but maybe it isn't a painting sabbatical as much as it is a pressure sabbatical. Until we finish our house building project, my galleries will be receiving fewer new works and I won't be entering juried shows. That takes the pressure off for painting larger pieces.

But last week, I came across some small oils from earlier this year that were left in the value foundation stage. And, because I'm taking year-end inventory of art supplies and handling each tube of oil paint in my studio, before I knew it I found myself squeezing out a basic palette and painting on the little foundations. Very fun! They are resting/drying now while I ponder them.

By the way, I'm once again adding work to my Daily Paintworks Gallery.  If a painting doesn't sell within a week on DPW, it is still visible there but I move the sale to my Etsy shop, BBNewtonART. Prices on several pieces at the Etsy shop didn't get updated but they are correct now if you'd like to take another look for an inexpensive gift for yourself or a friend.

 Memory Lane  |  oil  |  7 x 5 inches sold