Weekly check-in: Mock Apple Pie, Summer Super Sale

 I never do this but I just can't help myself from sharing this recipe with you. Are you growing zucchini? You need this.

SUMMER SUPER SALE

I'm posting many small pastel paintings for my annual Summer Super Sale. I was going to post a couple each week but people are beginning to ask about them so I will try to post them ALL within the next few days. If you see something you like here on my Studio floor, let me know and I'll set it aside for you. Or, go to the sale on my DPW Gallery and also on my Website.

Orange Vase and Mini Pastel

Happy Saturday Everyone. Posting each Saturday morning as a recap of the week is working well for me to keep in touch with all of you. Off the easel this week is the finished oil painting from last week's post.

"Orange Vase," oil, 10x10 inches
©2020 Barbara Benedetti Newton

During the week, I gathered up 23 small pastel paintings for my annual SUMMER SUPER SALE. These are paintings that need a new home, practically just for cost of shipping ($10) within the US. I posted the first one on DailyPaintworks several days ago with a starting bid of $12. Click here to learn more.

"October Sunrise," pastel, 5x7 inches - update: sold

The next pastel on the sale will be a mini (6x4) matted and ready for a 5x7 frame. It is unique in that it is a study done on a gesso'd surface for added texture. Click here to learn more.

"Color Study for Two Apples," pastel, 6x4 inches - update: sold

Glad about Glads!

 

"Glads," oil, 10x10 inches ©2020 Barbara Benedetti Newton

I'm glad I painted this subject and I'm glad it is done. What a lot of pink paint decisions in those flowers; warm against cool, bright against dull. It is getting a good response from online viewers and I'm glad about that. Here are the three paintings still on the easel.

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

Yellow Begonia

"Yellow Begonia," oil, 10x10 ©2020 Barbara Benedetti Newton

What yellow is that? 

When in doubt, consult Richard Schmidt color charts! 

I've been using these for nearly 10 years. 

Violets

Violets #2, oil, 10x10 inches
©2020 Barbara Benedetti Newton

Block-in of color

Darks

Lights

Last week I dug out my vintage Daniel Smith Venetian Red Gesso and prepped 10x10 hardboard panels.  I call it vintage because it is about 10 years old and I don't think it is available any longer. After prepping the 10x10 panels, I was left with a brush full of gesso and hated to waste it so I also prepped two sheets of black Fredrix canvas that I see every time I open my flat file. I can't remember why I bought black. Now I can put them back in the flat file and wonder why I gesso'd them red (it was because they were black).

Sweetpeas with Lime

Sweetpeas with Lime, oil, 14x11 inches
©2020 Barbara Benedetti Newton

Just off the easel this Saturday morning.

Blueberry time

Our blueberries are beginning to ripen which I find amazing since we have had so little sun. They remind me of the first colored pencil artworks I entered into competition - the 1992 Western Washington State Fair. I think I entered three pieces and one of the three was a small drawing of blueberries. In that show I received a Third Place and an Honorable Mention. The blueberries sold.

So... self-isolating and self-entertaining as I have been doing since March due to COVID-19, I thought it would interesting to compare my previous art with how I interpret blueberries now. I've just done a search of both computers and can't find an image so instead of the comparison, I'll just show you today's finished piece and a few of the progress shots. Happy Summer and happy painting to you.

Blueberries, oil, 8x8 inches ©2020 Barbara Benedetti Newton

On the easel...the Hoh river

On the easel this morning, another virtual plein air with the Puget Sound Group of Northwest Artists. This time, the Hoh river. I pan, zoom in and crop the Google photos to make them my own unique view. I also change the light, value and color of the reference image.

This is the underpainting in thin oil paying attention to hue and temperature.

Underpainting detail shot.

Ahhh...nothing like a new blade in the scraper to really clean the palette.

One on the easel, three off the easel

On the easel this morning, "Skyline Trail," from a virtual plein air paint-out with Puget Sound Group of Northwest Artists last weekend. This is the view of my easel from my newly placed contemplation-chair.

I am continually re-inventing my process. I've added my Grandma Rose Benedetti's sewing chair as a place to take breaks and contemplate the work on my easel. This chair is probably 100 years old. I remember Grandma sitting on it in her Morganville (Black Diamond) house as she embroidered and crocheted. Love this chair; it has a right-hand slide-out drawer under the seat.

Hot off the easel this week:
"Paradise, Mt. Rainier"
"Devotion"
"Oh Happy Day"

"Paradise, Mt. Rainier," oil, 10x10 inches
Purchase Information

"Devotion," oil, 10x8 inches
Purchase Information

"Oh, Happy Day," oil, 10x8 inches
Available for purchase through upcoming online show.  Contact me.

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.

Is it your work? or not...

It is a rainy June Saturday morning here in the Pacific Northwest. A good day to paint! On the easel this morning is the larger version of "First Peonies."

At left, the reference photo. In the middle is the painting I'm working on and on the right is the small study I painted in preparation for the larger work.

In November 2019, when I decided to set aside 2020 as a year of study to become a better oil painter, I enrolled in a year-long painting course with Colley Whisson. I have long admired his art and have thoroughly enjoyed working with him.

I submit the painting to Colley for critique and he makes great suggestions about how it can be a stronger painting. Most of the time I take his advice and paint more on the same painting or, if I am happy with my original version, I paint the same scene again. That was the case with "Yellow Mug and Lemon."

At left, my original. At right, second version after advice.

NOTE: Once I incorporate his suggestions, it is no longer my work - it becomes classroom work and not eligible for competition. I can show the work, sell the work, but I can't enter it into a competitive show as my original work. Carefully read a prospectus when entering shows. Most professional shows (that are juried and judged for awards) will state that work must be the original work of the artist.

I recently painted "June Morning." Colley made some good suggestions but I didn't make those changes to the painting or paint it again using his advice because I wanted it to be my original work.

"June Morning," oil on panel, 10x8 inches

So, back to "First Peonies," the painting on my easel this morning shown at the top of this post. I painted it once, submitted it for critique and I am now painting it again (larger) incorporating my mentor's advice. I am a huge fan of mentoring and I try to apply what I have learned from my mentor as I begin each new painting. Happy painting to you.

By the way, I had to disable comments by others on this blog because of spam. You can still reach me by email. Barbara Newton at Comcast DOT net.