tomatoes continued

This is my previous post continued. I had to wipe off the foreground, all the way back to the original tomato. When I say 'had to' I mean the painting direction wasn't working. Apply paint, push it around, try to get a vision for the painting....nothing! So, I just wiped the bottom half off and began again.

This is how the little painting looks now. I'm starting to see a story but anything could happen...

Well, every hint of tomato is gone. Obliterated by lots of green oil paint in this scene reminiscent of another part of the Washington Park Arboretum, this time in spring. I wanted to utilize the red of the tomato under painting but when I didn't insist, this little painting evolved on it's own. That's OK with me, especially during these weeks of playing.

bye bye tomatoes

For several months, I've been painting for upcoming shows at Cole Gallery (WA) and Attic Gallery (OR).  Now it's time to play - loosen up, experiment, take myself and my work less seriously.

The next best thing to creating a painting you are pleased with is obliterating a painting that isn't working. Digging around my studio, I found a painting of tomatoes that was pretty bad so I white-washed it a little, turned it upside down and began again.

After adding masses for a landscape, I used my gloved fingernail to scrape some grasses into the foreground so the tomato-red peeks through. Not sure where this will go...I'll keep you posted.

perseverance and studio sales

Today I'd like to pay homage to perseverance. I admire this attribute and I am grateful for those who are shining examples for me.

I'm impressed by the perseverance and bravery of those who find themselves in challenging health situations. A well known pastelist whose work I follow online is sharing her current health journey with the art community. She is an inspiration to me.

I'm impressed by those who persevere to paint no matter the weather conditions. While I'm deciding whether or not I to walk the dog in the rain, Haidee-Jo Summers is out painting every day in the cold and snow. She inspires me to paint more plein air this year.

And, I am in awe of the many artists who paint everyday in whatever limited space they have. One such person is a fb friend, Gary Edward Jennings. I asked his permission to show you his table-top studio. 

Here's wishing you (and me) the ability to carry on, to keep at it, to hang in there and to persevere.

On another note, (or maybe it's the same subject?) I have posted two new paintings on my Studio Sales blog. These are paintings from my studio flat files, directly from my studio to you. Thanks for taking a look!

garden pond with fingernail marks

Here is the end result of my previous post about the process: Garden Pond, 6x6 inches, oil on hardboard.

This little painting is in my gallery on Daily Paintworks. They have a great image magnifier tool there and using that tool, you can see the foreground detail of marks I make with a fingernail of my gloved hand. This is a technique I use often in my pastel paintings and I just can't resist putting my fingers in my oils too. Sold

garden pond in progress

Your personal process of painting may be something you have developed over the years, learned in a workshop or adopted from another artist's post online. Today I'm working on a 6x6 landscape of the pond in my flower garden. The steps of my work in oil on black gessoed hardboard are shown below.

 I print my reference photo in color and in grayscale. The X on the photo and on the blank panel helps me loosely layout the composition in medium-value green oil paint.

 The black of the panel is my darkest value. The initial composition in medium green is my middle value. Now I add the lightest values.

I continue to develop forms of the pond and trees by adding additional values of color. Click images to enlarge.

...and having perhaps the better claim

I'm framing work for my upcoming show with Sandy Byers at Cole Gallery, Edmonds, WA.  This oil, The Better Claim, is another from my meadow series; the title inspired by Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken. "…and having perhaps the better claim because it was grassy and wanted wear…"

two temperatures

Arboretum Winter Afternoon  |  oil  |   10x8 inches

Two more paintings of a scene from my Arboretum series of reference photos. This finished painting will be going to Cole Gallery, Edmonds, WA  next month. 

Arboretum Winter Afternoon  |  pastel  |   7.75x7.5 inches

This is the color study for the oil painting above. I kept this study beside my easel as I painted the oil. In the end, I glazed the oil with Indian Yellow and that warmed up the colors. Though not painted in colors thought of as cool (such as blue) the color study is cool when compared to the oil. Sold on the DPW Auction.

sweet hush

Today's oil painting is "Sweet Hush," 12 x 10 inches. Below the finished painting is the white foundation on black gessoed hardboard panel.

an all-day job

At least once each year I clean and reorganize all my pastels. This year the job was made much easier (though it still took most of the day) by using the Cherry Pastel Cleaner and grits instead of the corn meal I've used for years. I love this thing!

first snow on rose ground

We have freezing fog here in the Seattle area but east of the mountains where my brother-in-law lives there is plenty of snow. He kindly shared some photos so I have a chance to paint snow.  I think this is the first snow I have ever painted and I find it to be similar to painting fluffy grass but the colors are more subtle (and difficult to photograph). "First Snow" is 12 x 12 inches, pastel on 4-ply archival mat board with a  rose-colored gesso/pumice coating.

Woodland Stream 8x6 inches

I worked intermittently on this 8 x 6 inch oil for a few weeks. It finally came together and is currently on the auction at Daily Paintworks. Years ago I painted this scene in a much higher key in colored pencil as a gift for a friend. Sold

a one brush day

Today I painted all afternoon with only one brush as I worked on seven 8x10 inch oils. I love this brush! Princeton Art & Brush Co., 6200B, Angular Bright, Size 8. I've been using it for about seven years - probably time to replace it.

wild one

For several days I've been looking at "Arboretum Winter Color" hanging on the wall above my desk (a good time to look at it is when I'm on the phone). I don't see anything I want to change and am enjoying all I love about it, remembering the wild areas of the Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle.

This piece is 25 x 25 inches and when painting that large in pastel, I work from the top down with no jumping around until the details at the very end. I kept the reference photo (in color and in grayscale) as well as the little color study (sold on Daily Paintworks) beside my easel. Now I'm anxious to see this one framed.

today it's yesteryear

Ever since I came across that word...'yesteryear'... a couple days ago, I've thought about it as a title for a painting. So today's painting is Yesteryear, 18 x 12 inches, pastel on Wallis paper. This is along the Oregon Coast in early September a few years ago (as in yesteryear). Love those fluffy grasses!

Thanks to everyone who visited my Studio Sales link. Lots of visitors per the stats. I'll try to find something to offer there around the first of each month then move the previous month's paintings that haven't sold to Etsy for sale.

winter marsh - finally!

Last September I was working on two 18x18 inch oil paintings. One of them has finally resurfaced. This is Winter Marsh, a late afternoon scene from reference photos taken a couple years ago in my home town.

studio sales

Something new for the new year! If you follow this blog, you know that occasionally I rip my studio apart and start over...rearrange, paint the walls, clean out shelves, etc. Today I went through my flat files and came across a few paintings from yesteryear (what a great word).

I'll sell them directly from my studio on a new blog titled Studio Sales. You can CLICK HERE to see the first two offerings. I'll also add a link to Studio Sales in the sidebar of this blog. Thanks for taking a look.

a value check

This is the 'value check' for my first painting of 2013, "Arboretum Winter Color," pastel on paper, 24 x 24 inches. I'm pleased with the values that portray a winter afternoon in the Pacific Northwest - mostly mid and dark values with just a touch of light on the white-barked trees.  I will hang it on my Studio wall and look at it for a few days to see if it needs any color or detail adjustments before signing it and calling it done.

For a value check on your painting, photograph it and switch the mode to grayscale in your computer with Photoshop Elements or the photo editing application you use. Remember, 'Value does the work, color gets the glory.' (quote from Richard McKinley)

a loose look

I love the first interpretation of a scene when I'm working out the color and composition for a larger painting. Colors and shapes are experimental, less contrived than in a larger, 'finished' piece. Detail is minimal because the studies are usually quite small though this one is larger than most at 7.75 x 7.5 inches.

At top are the three steps in creating this little study, beginning with an oil paint wash. Next, the darkest and lightest pastel colors are added. Favorite parts of this one are the spontaneous, random branches and indication of leaves of the trees. This painting is sold.

color study steps

When painting a color study for a larger painting, I try to keep it fast and simple. These are the steps of the 7x5 inch color study for "Sunday Walk:" Sold

1. Apply black acrylic in several values to mass in the dark values (just add water to make a lighter value).

2. Add pastels of the lightest values to complete the value range of the painting.

3. Add color choices -  warm colors advance, cool colors recede. 

4. The completed study. View it with the magnifier at Daily Paintworks.

big-deal news

I have big-deal news to end 2012 and to start 2013.

To my amazement, I just learned that my painting, "Heartbreak Morning" received enough votes on Katherine Tyrrell's Making a Mark blog to be declared Best Portrayal of a Place 2012!

But wait...there's more. By SEVEN, votes I also received the award titled Best Picture on an Art Blog in 2012! I can't begin to explain all that went into the process of these awards. To learn more, please take a moment to visit Making a Mark by clicking the link in the previous paragraph.

Thank you Katherine Tyrrell for nominating my painting.  I also want to thank all who voted for me - especially those special SEVEN!

Being an artist is a solitary occupation, especially now that I no longer teach. Sometimes I just need to connect with others and I do that primarily through this Art Journal blog and Facebook. Thanks to all who read my blog and take a moment to send me a word of support or a 'like'  or comment on Facebook. Hearing from you helps make my day. Happy New Year!

happy new year

As we end 2012, I am honored that my painting, "Heartbreak Morning," has been nominated for The Making a Mark Prize for Best Portrayal of a Place 2012. Click on the link to see art in all categories. I wish you a peaceful and happy 2013!

my top 10 of 2012

Casey Klahn selected his top 12 paintings of 2012 and recommended other artists do the same with their year of work. I tried it... I highlighted my favorite 10 pieces listed in my 2012 pastel folder on my computer. Images are posted below.

Heartbreak Morning

Winter

Forsaken

Edge of Winter

Golden Gardens Pond

Shadowland

October

Serendipity

Sunfall

Sweet Creek

a nice surprise

CLICK HERE to see which painting received this honor. And, thank you Katherine.

studio-time

Preparations for Christmas have kept me from painting for almost a week. I needed some studio-time to keep my sanity and finally managed to paint for a while today. "Sweet Creek" is a scene from a road-trip to California a couple years ago and will be my last painting (and probably my last post) until after Christmas Day. This painting is a rework. To see all recent reworks as they are now and how they appeared before the rework, click on the Reworked Paintings link at the top right of this page. Wishing each of you Happy Holidays!

wc paper experiment

When I unframed an old painting for rework I was surprised to find that I had painted on 140 lb Arches hot press watercolor paper. I'm not sure what I was thinking in choosing to work on that surface so I decided to try watercolor paper again. This time I used 140 lb Fabriano Classico cold press just because that is the first sheet of wc paper I came to in my flat file. The scene is from my Hometown Marshland photo shoot last weekend.

It was a challenge to paint with such minimal paper tooth. I left some areas lightly colored so the texture of the paper would show (see the enlarged section below). I'm not sure this painting will leave my studio but it was an interesting experiment.

stuck in the middle

I've been working on a pastel project since August that I'll be able to tell you about soon. At the same time, I was painting in pastel for several upcoming shows, preparing images for my web designer and I just started posting small work on Daily Paintworks again. I was feeling productive... until last week. It was then that I started again on two oil paintings that have been in the works for months because I just can't seem to pull them together. I am stuck in the middle on them.

When I get stuck, I'm sure every other artist I know is just painting away, knocking out gorgeous work with ease. This would be especially true when I think of Marla Baggetta but it is because of her post today that I am talking about my own painting difficulties. See Marla's post HERE.

Yesterday I went back to my hometown and shot 90 reference photos of a marshy area for another round of 'Hometown Marshland' paintings - this may become an annual theme. Nothing motivates me like new reference photos. I started three small oils and I am hopeful that I'm coming out of my 'stuckness', at least for the three new paintings. As far as the two others, I may just paint them black and start over!

a not so bright idea

At this time of year, I begin to think about the future direction my work. I had this bright idea: what about creating still life images from my many years of colored pencil still life work but this time in pastel?

It sounded interesting and here is my first experiment - Cherries, pastel, 8.5x13 inches. This composition was originally painted as a commission in 1998 and titled "For Every Thing There is a Season."

I don't believe this idea is going to work because somewhere within me is the memory of painting these cherries before - in precise colored pencil - and when painting them this time, I had difficulty finding my pastel-voice. I think the answer is to work from new still life set-ups and reference photos. But, it was good to once again make marks to form the fruit I already know so well. You can see some of my colored pencil cherry examples HERE.

website face lift

My website has been given a face lift by Dewar Design! CLICK HERE TO SEE.

color study for Where the Heart Is

The painting I posted several days ago, "Where the Heart Is," 11x8.5 inch pastel, received a warm welcome. It will be going to Attic Gallery, Portland, Oregon for a show early next year.

This post is the 7x5 inch color study for that painting. I have also posted three steps of the process. This color study is available at the Daily Paintworks auction. (sold)