A Little Problem

I'm very happy with my mini-studio. However, I do have a little problem. Well, sort of a big problem. I can't find my paintbrushes for oil and acrylic. They are all in one box marked "Brushes".  They must be among the boxes still in the garage but I have looked there many times with no luck.

My watercolor brushes and watercolor paint are in the studio and I am eyeing them because the early autumn pastoral scenes here are spectacular. Lovely browns and golds due to the lack of rain. I am contemplating what to do - should I go back to watercolor until I find my bushes? I even have a chair for contemplation in the Studio now that my office isn't in my studio for the first time. Hmmm...coincidentally, I have also hung one of my watercolor paintings in the studio. Go to the end of this post to see it.

The view East from my contemplation chair. 

Looking West. There's the chair I plan to sit in to contemplate life (art, what to make for dinner, etc.). You may notice that my pastel workstation has rotated so I'm not blocking either of the north-light windows.  

Out the east window is the garden. Today we have smoke from fires.

Out the west window is the little shed where all my panels and canvases are stored. Yes, I've looked in there for the brushes. Not there either!

"Trust," watercolor, ©2004 Barbara Benedetti Newton

Collection of the Artist

Hog Bristle Brushes and "Morning Light"

 

Yay! My Ultimate hog bristle brushes from Rosemary & Co. arrived today: long and short flats and filberts in sizes 8, 10 and 12. My old hog bristle brushes are an assortment of brands accumulated over the years. This is my first educated purchase of hog bristle brushes. They arrived when I was almost done with the 12x9 inch oil on my easel, "Morning Light." It looked like this...

With a #12 brush I simplified it to end up like this...

"Morning Light," oil, 12 x 9 inches

©2020 Barbara Benedetti Newton

On the easel, off the easel

 On the easel today:

Lace Cap #2 in progress. 

I'm working on another version of the Lace Cap hydrangea - slightly different view from my first painting (see below). This time much larger at 24 x 24 inches and hopefully much looser. Suddenly my #12 brush doesn't seem  big enough. I may have to move to a 3" chip brush or some spatulas.  And, speaking of brushes...LOVING my new Princeton Aspen brushes! Thank you to Howard at Princeton Art & Brush for helping me with my purchase.

Off the easel this week:

"Lace Cap," oil, 14x 11 inches
©2020 Barbara Bendedetti Newton

"Sweetpeas with Blue," oil, 10x10 inches
©2020 Barbara Benedetti Newton

Oh, Happy Day

Still on the easel this morning, as it has been all week, is "Oh Happy Day." This has been a two steps back, one step forward painting for me.  Started off great but one day I realized I had a tiny brush in my hand making "important" corrections. Alarm! Alarm! Step away from the painting. Get a big brush and finish it off in 5 minutes. I would have liked to have done that but I realized I hadn't fully contemplated the color temperatures and values. So, I did get a big brush but instead of trying to finish the painting, I painted out all the flowers and began again. Now I am working from the reference photo because the live set up is long-gone.

 In-progress, "Oh Happy Day," oil, 10x8 inches,
painting limes is next + corrections as shown below.

After a good foundation, I got out my new brush, Rosemary #10 Long Flat series 279 (a brush Colley suggested but in a size 12). It is a badger blend and I painted most of this painting with it. Aha! this could be the same situation as when I taught myself pastel painting. As with the imprecision of a pastel stick, I have the imprecision of a big fat brush. Works for me as I continue to strive for less detail, bigger shapes.

Suddenly I find myself halfway through this year of studying to become a better oil painter. I have a few more months of study with Colley Whisson and after that will study on my own as I did when I taught myself how to paint with pastel. I have oil-painting books but I recently added two new ones. Actually, I KNOW I have The Art Spirit somewhere but I can't find it so now maybe I have two.

Happy painting to you.

Dock and brushes

This is how Marlene's Dock began

This morning was much cooler and overcast setting the subdued mood (no bright sunshine, no sparkly water or bright highlights) for painting our neighbor's old dock plein air. I started with a gessoed panel that had been toned with acrylic. Yes, you CAN paint oil over acrylic but NOT acrylic over oil.

Marlene's Dock, plein air, oil with acrylic underpainting.
6x8 inches ©2018 Barbara Benedetti Newton

I've been painting for months with Rosemary & Co. Ivory brushes which are new to me this year but I've been thinking about mark-making and how these brushes differ from the marks made by hog bristle. I already have too many brushes so today I sorted them to see what I have before I order more.

My favorites: Assorted hog bristle, Rosemary & Co. Ivory, Rosemary & Co. Shiraz and Princeton Umbria 6200 Series.