Nesbitts No. 2

 

Nesbitts No. 2  oil 8x16 inches

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Here's a conglomeration of things in orange and blue.  I always enjoy painting glass.  It has been a very busy summer for me, making it difficult to get around to posting.  But here I am finally!  In the last few months I've had quite a few paintings sell before I could get them online.  I've included some below if you're interested.  

IN OTHER NEWS:  I have a local solo show up for just one more week.  The show is called "Out Of The Ordinary" and includes 17 still life paintings.  Location: Studio C, Claremont CA.  260 W. Bonita.  If you're local I hope you can stop by to see it.  Closes on August 30.

Demo On Cornflower Blue - 8x8 SOLD

Sunflower & Eucalyptus 6x6 SOLD

Beside Quiet Waters 9x12 SOLD

Quilts On A Shelf  9x12 SOLD

A Bird With Notions

 

A Bird With Notions     oil 8x10 inches

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I had a lot of fun painting this.  The torn bits and gold are particularly enjoyable.  The books came from a thrift store or used book store long ago.  Three of these little white ceramic birds hang out in my studio.  Curiously, two have shown up at different times hidden in or behind something on my desk.  I have a feeling that one of my friends who visits my studio has left them as a surprise.  And I think I know who it is.

Afternoon Tea With Lewis & Rossetti

 

Afternoon Tea With Lewis & Rossetti  12x12 oil

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I painted this in my backyard on a warm January day.  Tea and gingersnaps with two good reads: CS Lewis and poetry by Christina Rossetti.  This painting in on a homemade panel with rough tooth, so the painting is full of texture. 

 

I have a few spots open in my May 22-23 Workshop.  Open to beginners and intermediate painters in oil.  Email for more info: karenwernerart@gmail.com

Mighty Mandarin

oil 12x9 inches magnify/purchase Over the weekend I attended a workshop taught by Qiang Huang. My friend, May and I had a great time, and though I have been painting a while, I learned so much! He is an effective and methodical instructor, breaking down painting into 5 basic steps: placement, value, color, modeling and consolidation. Most helpful to me was how to keep darks transparent and lights opaque. A simple tip I had not heard elsewhere: rub a very thin coat of linseed oil on your blank canvas to ease the application of paint, then use a soft brush to paint in your darks. Below are pics of my set up and value stage, then Master Qiang at work.

Asian Influence -sold

oil 8x6 inches click for purchase information I found a boxed set of Xian Soldier figurines. So many possibilities! They have a peach dust on them that ties in nicely with orange. There's glare on the photo. The darks are much richer in person.

Studied Tangerine

oil 8x8 inches click for purchase information I bought fifty shades of gray fabric for drapery. Not really. Just seven or eight. Exploring different color schemes on gray, I have found that the gray is hardly noticed in the overall look of the work. It also allows me to adjust the gray to my liking. For "Emily and Madeline" I leaned it toward taupe. Here it's pretty much gray, and you'll see in the next post I leaned it toward green. I think I've finally solved my problem with backgrounds. I don't mean the gray, but rather reversing my process. Painting them first as a loose warm up really works for me. I get them out of the way, have a "support" for my objects, and can manipulate edges as I go.

Kid Stuff -sold

oil 10x10 inches -sold- Here are two in a set of nesting dolls. Not the famous Russian type, but hand painted and colorful just the same. The crayons and marbles are a bit out of focus in the photo.

Old Treasures -sold

oil on canvas panel 8x8 inches
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Here is the finished painting posted yesterday. The striped cloth proved to be too distracting, so I carried the burgundy all the way across. The books have a very solid feel, and I especially like the tear on the cover. I may add some more bright yellow to the sunflowers. It's amazing how colorful they were even though they were dry.

In Process

With this painting, I'm using a more classical realistic approach which I think is well suited to painting old stuff. The books and copper pitcher I picked up recently at an antique mall. Chosen just because they looked old, the books turned out to be quite interesting when I got them home. They are primary grade text books published in 1934, language and math. The young girl who used them did a lot of coloring, and some drawing throughout. This with the wear suggests that perhaps she was the last student to use them. On a back page there is a drawing of planes, bombs and tanks--her world in the early forties?


Here you can see my setup and start. I really like the color scheme and dried flowers. I know the striped drapery will be a challenge, but I like the colors.