Kodak Color Bar

If you are wondering what the little color bar is that appeared in each of the paintings in my last post, here it is. I shoot all my work with this color bar included in the photo to help me adjust to correct color. I left it included, as well as NOT cropping to the art, for the images I sent to the Publisher for their approval. 

FYI - I have posted an August Update to my Golden Years Blog.

August Project Update

Golden Afternoon

Since my last post I've been working on my August Project - seven new paintings based on seven old paintings.

The challenge was to capture the essence of what the Publisher saw in the original painting that prompted them to add it to their list of favorites. At the beginning of this project, I thought it would be interesting (to me) to change the medium. As an example, the painting above was originally an oil, this time I painted in pastel. But, the deadline changed and I didn't have the luxury of working in oil because it takes time to dry. The process of RE-painting wasn't as much fun as creating something new but also involved less angst because decisions about color, technique and style had already been made in the original paintings.

If you follow my work you know that since moving to my new smaller studio, I paint primarily in small format for sale on Etsy and DailyPaintworks. By painting small, I can keep prices affordable and move work out of my studio on a regular basis. But, small paintings simply aren't big enough to be photographed at the high resolution needed for larger reproduction. The seven new paintings range in size from 16 x 20 inches to 25 x 25 inches.

The amount of detail to include in each painting was tempting. My small paintings have less detail simply because they are small, usually quick and loose. In fact, one of my challenges is to translate the freedom of my small work to a larger format. I could use some giant pastels! But, when eyeing a passage of color that is the same size as the entire small 6 x 6 inch painting, I am tempted to give it a little dash or spatter of color or additional attention to a stroke. I may go into some of these paintings and do that later. For now, I consider them complete and I can move on to focus on my September Workshop for the Northwest Pastel Society.

Nuance

Ruby's Canada

A Bright Tomorrow

Frame of Mind

December Rain

Lake Morning

From oil to pastel

Golden Afternoon (again) in progress, 24 x 24 inches,  8-9-16

I have painted this scene before. This time I'm using a photo of my previous oil painting, Golden Afternoon, oil, 20 x 20 inches, (sold) for my reference. Though the scene is recognizable, a different medium changes the texture and interpretation. I'm having fun painting large again in pastel!

My August Project

July workshops are complete (what fun!), my retrospective show is hung and future art commitments are scheduled for September.

My project for the month of August is to repaint seven old paintings that have been selected by an art print publisher. Of the seven, two are in my Collection of the Artist but are too small for reproduction so they must be painted again in a larger format. The other paintings have been sold so I printed out color copies to work from as my reference to repaint them.

Several are in oil so my studio has been rearranged to accommodate 24 x 24 inch panels for priming. I'm also working one or two of the paintings in pastel. The paintings will not be duplicates because my stroke and interpretation has grown in the years since they were painted.

On another subject, you may have read posts about my separation of office from studio when we moved. My little office is upstairs with big iMac and file cabinets. But, I find I need a surface to write on and an internet connection IN my studio. I set up a mini office along one wall. Now my life is a continuation of going between left brain and right brain instead of an intentional separation. I like it better.

My Retrospective Show Online

Thanks, Sue Anne for suggesting an online version of the 18 piece retrospective show I just hung. There is a link in the sidebar or click here.

Retrospective at Covington City Hall

Yesterday Jay and I hung 18 paintings at the Covington City Hall. These are colored pencil and mixed media (watercolor with colored pencil).

Watercolor, wc with colored pencil and two small oils from my workshop several years ago with Qiang Huang. I'll be spending August working in oil then back to pastel in September to get ready for my three day Pastel Workshop for Northwest Pastel Society.

We hung pastel landscapes in Council Chambers along with two oil still lifes. The most challenging part of putting together this Retrospective Show was gathering up all the paintings. I wanted to show work from each era of my painting life: colored pencil, then watercolor with colored pencil, then watercolor alone, then pastel and finally oil. Paintings are on view at Covington City Hall, Covington, WA for the month of August. It's convenient to show so close to home!