Repeating Apples

Wishing everyone a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year.
My plan for the new year is to teach.
To view my profile and teaching agenda, click on the link in red
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Blue Plastic Cup

This little still life was fun and quick. I love the blues and a bit of lemon yellow.

Most Viewed 2016

    These are some of my most viewed images from 2016.

Thanks to everyone for a great year.

Leeks and White Enamel Pot

It's taken me awhile to complete this painting. I worked on the colors of the wooden cutting board and the bottom of the leeks. It's done and I'm pleased.

My concern was how to make the bottom of the leeks interesting. I wanted the viewer's eye to roam the painting without getting stuck at the textured ends of them. Vegetables have such beautiful color and interesting shapes, I don't know why they get the short straw in painting genres.

How I Develop a Painting

I spent the evening thinking about what I'd like to paint.  

The idea came to me in object and color combinations. I was inspired by paintings I've seen in the past in magazines, in museums and those of my favorite contemporary painters. I wanted the challenge of painting several objects on a larger

 20 x 16 horizontal canvas and not my usual 10 x 8.

It took a while, I had to buy the produce and gesso a canvas. 

I put things in and took them out and did a lot of rearranging. 

It actually took a lot of time.

 This was my original layout. It ended up with too many items.

 It was too busy and awkward.

 I liked this layout with the canvas vertical, but in the end, I didn't like the knife in for foreground. It was too heavy and it reminded me of a slasher movie. Although I liked the way it led the viewer into the painting.

I took the knife out. I squared up the image in photoshop to fit a 12 x 12 canvas and the perspective worked. I liked the foreshortening of the leeks. I could see this still life as a finished painting.

I drew it in and started with the hardest object to paint and those were the leeks. I paint from life with smaller paintings and also use a photo reference for larger work. 

The next session I might have to touch up what I've already painted and then go from one object to the next in the painting process.

Vacation Drawings

I went to Florida for 10 days to visit my mother and my husband met us there so we could all be together for Thanksgiving. It was wonderful to be with her. She's 93, vibrant and so sharp. We had a great time. Thanks mom. I couldn't not draw every day. Above are two of my drawings. The hand was inspired by the article The Drawing Board in this month's The Artist Magazine.

Three Apples

I'm back from vacation and happy to be painting again. Today these three red delicious apples were painted larger than life with a 1" bright brush. I pushed the darks and tried to get the shape in as few strokes as possible. 

Oakroom Artists' 60th Anniversary Exhibition

Hope you all can make it to this Sunday's opening reception from 2 - 4 PM.

Red High Heels

I've changed my mind about these red shoes, actually about the background color. The painting is now more about the shoes and less about the message. 

It's a good feeling when you've realized your vision. My goal was to reference Wayne Thiebaud in this painting. He always made me think of the objects and people isolated in his paintings in a personal way. Likewise, I hope these shoes and their background makes you think of the wear on the shoes and the woman who wore them.

Below is an art show I'll be participating in through November, opening this weekend at the Uncommon Grounds in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Art News for November 2016

Below is a list of shows that I'll be participating in next month. Some are small and others large, but all will have a wide variety of art. 

Members of the Beekman Artists Coop. will be showing at Uncommon Grounds 

 402 Broadway, Saratoga, NY.

November 4 - November 27

Reception Friday, November 4th from 6 - 8 PM

Oakroom Artists will be having their 60th Anniversary Exhibition 

at the Fenimore Gallery 

at Proctors Theater

432 State Street, Schenectady, N.Y.

Reception Sunday, November 13 from 2 - 4 PM

&

Saratoga Art Annual Members' Show 

320 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

 Reception Saturday, December 3 from  6 - 8 PM

Saratoga Arts Annual Members’Show

November 5 - December 31

Victorian Streetwalk | Thursday, December 1, 2016 | Gallery Open Late 

Opening Reception + Holiday Potluck | Saturday, December 3 | 6-8pm 

First Night | Saturday, December 31 | Gallery Open Late

Rainy Day Business

Studio Lighting 

It's getting darker outside, so I added another fluorescent light fixture. 

Much brighter and easier to see what I'm doing.

I'm drawing more. Here's a link to my  Pinterest Board of Drawings. These drawings have the shading and highlights of a few works I like. 

Click here to purchase

Yellow Apple on Pale Green Square. An analogous color scheme.

Blue Cup and Green Glass and Ecard

Clear colored glass, plastic solid Melmac dishes and plum. That's what this should be called except that title is a little too long and descriptive. In the meantime, I'm in the process of deciding what paintings to submit for three local shows next month.

Here's the ecard to the Oakroom Artists' 60th Anniversary Exhibition which, should be wonderful.

Drawings

I've been drawing lately. Both drawings are on 18 x 24 inch white sketch paper. The boxes above are an idea for a painting that I have been playing around with in my head. I love the simplicity and clean lines. The bottom drawing is of a Wayne Thiebaud painting called Boston Cream 1962.  He's a favorite painter of mine whose work always inspires me. 

Mack at the Park

Mack, a dog of a friend, is a standard poodle who visited me at this summer's Saratoga Art in the Park. He's a good looking sweet dog who didn't shy away from a head-on camera shot. Dogs are my tonic when I just want to have fun. 

Deep Purple Vase and Tulips

Here's a new image taken with my phone. My old point and shoot may need to be retired.

I'm finished with this painting. It's more vibrant than this image shows. It was a challenging painting, but it turned out as I had hoped. As for the painting process, I learned an important lesson; I have to have a clear color plan before I begin each day. If I don't, then I can't paint. I'd paint and wipe it off too many times. After a while I'd walk away. Other artists don't paint like me, I know; I guess there are as many different approaches as there are painters.

Deep Purple in Progress

Here's a progress shot of my current painting. I tried to find colors that work and are accurate. Tomorrow I'm sure I'll see it with fresh eyes and make changes.  That's ok.

I've reworked my Website on Weebly. I've made some changes to include current paintings, but kept the current look.

Here's a painting tip:  I use glass cleaner for the final wipe down of my tile board palette.  It's good for wiping off oils at the end of the day. If you wait a day, it won't take out stains.

Deep Purple Vase and Tulips Conception

Remember, I wrote a post about a friend giving me a box of glass objects and it felt like Christmas in September?

Included in the box was a large, deep purple vase. I didn't think I could use it because I don't usually paint such dark objects other than plums.

In the meantime, I renewed my subscription to the Artist's magazine and discovered a pastel artist whose work moved me, Arlene Richman (check out her chair paintings!). The article was called Chromatic Compositions and it included the piece below.

I saw all the colors I liked, including the deep purple vase, and knew I had the other colored objects in my still life stash.

I set this still life up in my light box and tried to capture the feeling of the pastel painting which inspired it.

Below is my drawing which I drew from a grid and adjusted it to paint from life.

Yesterday I painted the orange and today completed the lower left hand corner.  I'm hoping I can figure out the colors of the vase. I have to work on seeing it abstractly and not what my mind tells me to do. 

If anyone can give me some color options for the vase, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Pink Bowl and Three Plums

This painting looks modern and I hope it makes a bold statement. I laid out the bowl on a horizontal plane to match the panel's rectangular shape and I used a large brush to follow the forms. I'm happy with this painting because I accomplished what I wanted to do.

Saratoga Art in the Park

 

Art In The Park 2016

Fine Art Show & Sale

Saturday, September 17th, 10am-4p

For more information - Saratoga Art in the Park

I'm looking forward to a fun day. Hope to see you there.

Need another reason to come to Saratoga? Check out the  Saratoga Arts 30th Anniversary Invitational.

NN

Amber Vase and Black-eyed Susans

Sometimes a box comes to you in September and it feels like Christmas. That's how I felt when a friend gave me a box full of beautiful glass objects to paint. This vase was the simplest object, but had the most beautiful colors when backlit. Admittedly, the other objects are the stuff of Janet Fish paintings, hobnail bowls and carnival glass.

Poodle Double Portrait

The photo image of these poodles, mother and child, was emailed to me by a woman who saw my work at an outdoor festival. I loved the pose and their sweetness. Here's how I painted it, I didn't use my usual colors, but used the three primary colors, naples yellow and white. This made my color decisions easier and I think made the composition more cohesive. 

Pink Rose

I painted this pink rose at a Karen O'Neil workshop in July. I'm not quite sure why I didn't post it except that I had to go out of town two days later and I had a lot on my mind.  It's been hanging in my studio and I've come to like it. So I thought I would share a couple of things I learned; deep in the shadows the colors get warmer and more saturated and the tips of the petals reflect the background color. 

Dressed in Pink

This golden retriever stopped by my booth to pose at this summer's Strawberry Festival in June. She looked so lovely in her pink bow and neckerchief and so eager to please. I couldn't resist. 

Pink Bowl and Oranges Adjusted

This painting has been sitting around in my studio and I always thought it wasn't quite complete. It had two oranges so I added another one and it finally feels right. I now like the composition and the contrast between the translucent bowl in front and the solid oranges behind giving it more depth.

Yellow Pitcher and Cherry Tomatoes

Click to purchase

This little yellow pitcher was a bit of a challenge. It's taken me a few days to work it out.  I'm not complaining because I understand painting is a matter of problem solving. I worked with small value shifts and pushed to make some of my yellows darker than they appeared. I have to admit that yellow sometimes feels like my undoing, but I persist.

Rose of Sharon 2016 Study

This is a color/value study I did on gessoed mat board. I wanted to practice some new color combinations without feeling like I had to complete a finished painting. It's funny how painting without expectations can be freeing. The violet is a combination of Quinacridone Magenta and Cerulean Blue. This is my fifth year of doing a Rose of Sharon from my bush.

Karen O'Neil Rose Demo

I am fortunate twice-over. I attended an advanced Rose Workshop by Karen O'Neil at the Woodstock School of Art this July 18 and 19, and I also purchased her demo. This image doesn't do her painting justice. She used a small value range between #3 and #5 and within that range many half and even smaller value ranges! Her painting is also a delicate gray lavender which looks pinkish here. It took me a while to post this because I had to go out of town and I'm just getting back. I hope to put into practice the lessons I learned at her workshop.

White Enamel Pot and Fruit

There should be a new category of daily paintings called weekly paintings. That's how long this painting took to complete. My goal is to work towards larger works and this is one step closer. I'm creating a composition with lots of items. I have other ideas I can work on in the future. 

Cooperstown Art Association National Juried Art Exhibition 2016

I'm proud to say I won the Margaret Bevier Wright Memorial Prize for oil painting for my painting

 "Tulips in Jar".

Drawing of At the Farmer's Market

I was going through my drawings and found this sketch of the painting, At the Farmer's Market. I always liked this painting and drawing too. It's one of those paintings that you keep for yourself.

Plum, Cup and Fork

I worked on the format of this painting to include diagonal, vertical and horizontal elements which add a clue to its design and engage the viewer. That's my story to this painting which won't be found in its descriptive, but (I have to admit) mundane name.

Art in the Park this Saturday in Saratoga

Hope the weather holds out and there's a nice crowd of people. I'll be there showing my paintings. :)