Discharged -a plein air painting in oil

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase Saturday I met up with SOCALPAPA, (Southern California Plein Air Painters) at the Planes of Fame Air Museum. Amid all the aircraft, this truck caught my eye. I settled in and started painting. Soon I was informed that there would be some sandblasting going on not too far from me. The noise added to the feel of the place, but in a few minutes a cloud of dust and paint particles hit me. The painting was going well. I really didn't want to move, but I really couldn't breathe. Thankfully, a volunteer wearing a mask was able to get me one quickly. So I was able to continue and hardly noticed the mask.

Fountain Rest -a plein air oil painting of the Orange Circle

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase Our weather has been beautiful and I've gotten out to paint the last two days. Friday I painted this at the Orange Circle. It sprinkled a bit, but I just kept painting. My little dog Sandy went along and attracted lots of nice folks, especially children who wanted to pet her. I enjoyed painting and chatting with them as the cars swirled around the circle. They're swirling much faster than they did when I was a kid, and honking now too. We have become so impatient, especially in our cars. All those honkers need to sit by this fountain a while! I think this man discovered that I was painting him. He soon got up and left before I could get the dog in. I added the dog last by looking at my iphone shot.

Apple -an oil painitng plus value demos

These are some value studies I demonstrated for a student as a starting point to oil painting. I used a piece of Utrect canvas from a canvas pad 12x9 inches. (Nice stuff.) I taped it to a piece of MDF board (Home Depot) and divided it into quarters. I mixed just four values using Burnt Umber, Ultramarine Blue and T-White. (One of the values was pure white.) The set up has a clear division of light and shadow from a spotlight and having limited ambient light. If you're a beginner, I highly recommend doing a lot of these with simple objects. Avoid shiny objects, glass and flowers. When you look at your subject squint down A LOT while painting. It helps you see the large value shapes simplified. The bottom right quadrant shows how to draw an ellipse by picturing it inside a rectangle. It's not perfect, but close. (I wiped out the rectangle later.) Also pictured, different kind of stroke shapes made with a flat brush. I hope this is helpful to someone out there just starting out. The importance of getting your values right cannot be understated. I have read of art schools that require working in black and white for an entire year before painting with color.

Here is a little 4x6 I painted later just because I thought the set-up was so simple and pretty. It gave me a challenge! I have gotten used to larger sizes. It is for sale at $40. magnify/purchase SOLD

In The Entryway

oil 12x9 inches not for sale magnify This is an interior I've wanted to paint for a long time. We are not fancy enough to call it a foyer. In the morning, light streams in through a long narrow window beside our front door. So it's about the light, but... That's my grandmother's table from Arkansas. I remember it covered with homemade pies. The angel figurine was my mother's. And on the far right is Paula. Yes, the plant is named Paula. I adopted her from a couple moving to Connecticut years ago. They didn't want to move her, but at least they gave her a name. My, how she has grown. And oh, look! Who's that in the mirror???

Ginger Jar & Stuff

oil 12x16 inches magnify/purchase Here's a larger painting I finished recently. Lately I enjoy a set up that includes a variety of objects. A lot of what happens when setting up still life for me is intuitive, but I think what usually results in a good one is the right combination of color, shapes and texture. This is one of those paintings that is better in person. The camera doesn't get the subtle color shifts, and there is some glare in the background darks.

Backtracking

Look what I found on my iphone! I thought you might like to see "Cold Pond" at the cold pond. I was surprised to see how dark the photo is. It had really clouded up by the time I finished.

Below is my palette after finishing, partially cleaned off. Maybe some of you fellow painters would be interested in my current palette of colors. Counterclockwise from center bottom: Transparent Red Oxide, Thalo green I think, mixed green of Payne's gray and Lemon yellow, more Thalo green I don't know why, Cobalt, Thalo blue, Ultramarine blue, Alizarin, Permanent Rose, Cad red light, Cad orange, Cad yellow medium, Cad yellow light, Titanium White (2 blobs), warm white, cool white, palette sludge. That mixed green I learned from Kim English as well as the warm white (TW plus CYM), and cool white (TW plus cobalt).

And last but not least, my little malte-poo, Sandy whom I mentioned in my last post. Who could not love this sweet face?

California Pepper -a plein air tree study in oil

oil 8x10 inches magnify/purchase One afternoon it looked like rain again, so I stayed close to the RV and did this little tree study. I loved the shapes of the branches and cascading foliage. The backlighting became pinker as I painted which was even more fun. This day I learned the hard way not to put my backpack under my open turp can. Lost in painting, I was unaware that a family was approaching me from behind. Suddenly my whole set up came forward as if into my lap. My turp can fell and drenched my backpack. Paintbrush in hand scraped right through the painting as it fell toward me. What happened? My little Malte-poo lying on a blanket next to me had gone out and around me to greet the approaching children, her tie-out cord pulling my tripod over. Other than that, I had a peaceful painting session! I fixed the painting, then soaked the backpack in soapy water when I got home. Still smells like turp, though.

Cold Pond -a plein air painting at Prado Regional Park

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase Our camping weekend was cold and rainy, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. Can you see the cold in my painting? It tried to rain on me, but the clouds didn't really let loose until that night. I was interested in the branches of this tree/bush/thing and also the light on the water. There were big storks out there, so I included a few. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Winter Postcard -an oil painting that's a postcard!

oil 5x7 inches not for sale magnify Here's a little micro-view of my previous set up. Painted on one of those inexpensive canvas cardboards. Once dry, I'm going to glue paper to the backside and make it into a postcard. A friend in Arizona made me the cutest tote bag for Christmas. I owe her a special thank you note, and this will be it! We went camping over the weekend. In between rainstorms I got a little plein air practice in. Will post those next. Have a great week, everyone!

Winter Arrangement -SOLD

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase This set up was really exciting to me. It has rich warm color, the earthy-ness that I like plus some reflection and sparkle. Hope you like it too.

Orange Meets Blue -a still life painting in oil

oil 8x8 inches magnify/purchase Once in a while it just feels good to use some thalo blue. What a yummy color.

Prado Pond, Winter -a plein air painting in oil

oil 9x12 magnify/purchase Last day of 2014 I put soup in the crockpot and went out for some afternoon painting. The day was cold and brisk with migratory birds out and a few fishermen. Quiet and peaceful. The sun was strong and I had forgotten my hat. I ended up painting while holding a rain umbrella in my left hand to shade my eyes. I usually clean my brush with paper towels held in my left. So I wiped my brush on a folded up pad of paper towels laid next to my brushwasher instead. It wasn't a problem at all. I remember Carol Marine doing this, and Kim English doing the same, but with a terry cloth rag. In fact, it was kinda relaxing. Might try that again! It's been a while since the plein air workshop with Kim English, but I used a lot of what I learned: pre-mixing all the colors I see, no initial drawing, but rather laying in the large shapes with thinned paint. Once he said "Cover the numbers as quick as you can." I love that!

Assortment -a still life painting in oil

oil 8x8 inches magnify/purchase Today is about as wintery as it gets in Southern California...cold and gray and a "winter storm warning". I don't even know what that means! Anyway, here's a warm and cheerful assortment of stuff. Hope you like it. Special thanks to our friends, Audrey and Ken for sharing their lemons and tangerines.

Vying For Attention -a still life painting in oil SOLD

oil 12x12 inches magnify/purchase Here's a bold arrangement of color. Usually I know whether I'm satisfied with a painting or not. This one has me baffled. I'm going to tuck it back my studio for a long while and take a fresh look at it in a few weeks. If you have any constructive comments about it, I welcome them! Here's a black and white. I do like the values!

Our Christmas celebration was wonderful, and now I'm anxious to get back to my easel. Happy New Year!

Wine & Roses -a still life painting in oil SOLD

oil 12x12 inches magnify/purchase I approached this piece with some specific considerations: reduce the number of objects compared to my last few paintings, and allow more breathing room within the picture space. And as far as my progress in painting roses, the lower rose is my favorite so far. It has the freshness I'm after. Below are a few progress shots. The bottom shot is closer to the actual colors in the painting.

A Little Romance -an oil painting of roses and wine

oil 16x12 inches magnify/purchase Quotes and expressions stick in my head. "A Little Romance" was a piece of music for piano that I played a long time ago. It seemed to suit this painting. Another quote that stuck: "Never knowingly leave something wrong in your painting." I avoid going back into a painting, but the cast shadow on the pitcher was the wrong value and temperature. Funny how you see these kinds of things the next morning. I tried to ignore it, but it just kept gnawing at me along with the quote. So below see a few progress shots and how it looked before I fixed it. Still learning how to paint roses, but these are acceptable. They have some nice impasto you can see if you click on "magnify" and roll your mouse over the image.

Lemons -SOLD

oil 6x6 inches magnify/purchase Something simple on a Monday. Have a great week!

Backlit Nanners -a still life oil painting of bananas -sold

oil 6x6 inches magnify/purchase The perfect degree of ripeness, yummy and paintable. I have craved bananas lately. I painted this on a re-used canvas panel to which I had applied a coat of oil ground. The underlying brush marks give the painting a nice texture.

Silver & Stuff -a still life painting in oil -sold

oil 12x12 inches magnify/purchase Maybe I'm weird. I like my silver tarnished and my wine with pretty labels. And I love it when red, pink and orange come together. ADDITIONALLY, I'm really happy to be part of this show!!! (But that's not weird at all!) Opening soon!

Lily Pads -a watercolor painting

watercolor 7x10 inches magnify/purchase Painted from a photo reference. Watercolor and a bit of gouache at the end.