Iris

The poor irises didn't last too long around here...we had soooo much rain, but I managed a few pictures of some colorful beauties...this little painting is titled "Royal" and is on display at Frog Hollow State Craft Center in Burlington.  Rich, royal purples and hearts of gold....

Stare down

This little painting (7"x7") is titled "Stare down"...I get that feeling when I photograph these feathered friends that they either give you the hairy eyeball and send a warning of caution your way or they simply don't care and go about their business...I know I take a few steps back if a large rooster stares me down!

Tasty Tulips

This little painting: "Tasty Tulips" (7"x7" image size) will be part of the following show: 2nd ANNUAL GREEN MOUNTAIN WATERCOLOR EXHIBITION, JUNE 29– JULY 28, 2013 Thursday thru Sunday, 1:00 to 9:00 pm, Red Barn Gallery at Lareau Farm Inn Rt. 100, Waitsfield, VT.  I will have 3 other pieces there as part of this multi artist group show.

Opening Receptions

Just a quick reminder that this weekend my show at the Bronxville Women's Club hosts an opening reception from 2-5 p.m. on Sunday the 9th.  If you are in the neighborhood stop by and say hello!  Pictured: "The Pleasure of Peonies" 12"x16"  Click the link to go to their website.  Also the VWS juried show opens tonight at SEABA, 404 Pine Street in Burlington.  5-7 p.m.  I have one painting in the show

polka dots

More pear portraits!  This time the little green pear sat on a green cloth with white polka dots...I exaggerated the dot pattern and pushed the background color to a rich red..

small pear

Little pear paintings...they are super fun to do...I love the shape of pears and they have all sorts of landmarks and curves plus their own personalities.  This little piece is in a sketchbook and is small..I love the hit of turquoise on the left.

Strong light

I started painting some strongly lit portraits...working with some unique color combinations and leaving the pure white of the paper as the lit side of the face...this is the most straight forward portrait...for some of the others I used purples, greens, yellows and blues in the face...I'll try to post those some time soon.

Mill in Red

Another one from my week long retreat...this is the main building where you eat all your meals and they are tasty.  My studio was a little further away from the main campus so I managed to walk most of my meals off, plus gather inspiration like this view on my way there!

pear portrait

 

I made myself another sketchbook recently that I filled while I was away at a week long artist residency.  This little painting was the last one I did in the sketchbook on the last day and was of this red pear that kept me company most of the week in the studio and I thought I'd better commemorate it with its own portrait! (actual size 3.5"x2" or so)

Value

When I first started painting I didn't understand the importance of value..this was the hardest thing for me to grasp...now that I've been painting for many years, value has certainly become more clear and is such an important part of a successful painting.

color and color

This piece is 22"x15" and shows some fantastic tail feather colors..I don't think there is such a colorful rooster out there for real..but I certainly exaggerate the pigment choices and hope it makes for a more exciting painting.

drippy double pears

This was a fun experiment while I was away all week at an artist residency.  I tacked a large piece of paper on the wall from a roll I bought for $5.00 at Ikea and then painted these two pears that I had placed on a nearby table.  Fun to paint so extremely vertical...hence the drips. The paper is about 24" wide by 36" long.

subject revisited

Here's a rooster done a few weeks ago and got me back on a roll for painting my feathered friends..so I will be posting those over the next several weeks...painting marathons or lulls hit everyone...sometimes a subject gets put on the back burner for a while, but resurfaces when you are ready to tackle it again...

is it finished?

This is the last installment of my progress pictures...I don't know if the painting is finished at this point or if there is still tweaking to do...but I hope you got to see the major steps involved in my process.

next step

The next step in my process...While I was painting these sunflowers I really had to continually remind myself to stop and take a picture.  Plus you want to take a picture at a stage where it looks like you've done something and it's still possible to see how you achieved the steps vs. doing so much that the viewer can't decipher how you got from stage 2 to stage 3...so hopefully I've been able to  document in a clear way my process a little bit anyway.

Working technique

This is the second stage of my sunflower painting.  I gradually build up layers and darken sections to let the negative spaces define leaves, petals and other shapes.  The most important thing is to let pigments dry in between applications or else everything mixes and can turn muddy or if you overbrush or overwork areas.  Dry paper=hard edges  wet/damp paper=soft edges.

process pix

I had a chance to photograph a painting in progress and I'll post the pictures here the next several blog posts.    It is hard to remember to stop while you are working, especially if you are on a roll..This is a full sheet of 22"x30" and was composed from a few picture references that I took from sunflower bouquets.

navigating

I am working through growing pains with a new laptop...it's not easy trying to navigate the new Windows apps.  Oh well...Plus the systems come so stripped down that I need all sorts of software...any one have any suggestions for some software for photo editing...besides Photoshop or Elements...anyone have any experience with any of the free downloads?  Thanks...