Old Mill Stream

Oil on gessoboard. 6"x6"

Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.

Henry  David Thoreau

Three Cherries

Oil on canvas. 5"x7"

Click Here to Bid

I think that if you shake the tree, you ought to be around when the fruit falls to pick it up.

Mary Cassatt

Strawberry Gateaux

Oil on RayMar panel. 5"x7"

Stressed spelled backwards is desserts.  Coincidence?

  I think not!

Author Unknown

Rhubarb Tart

Oil on gessoboard. 5"x7"

Well, Art is Art, isn't it? Still, on the other hand, water is water. And east is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now you tell me what you know. 

Groucho Marx

We stopped for coffee at Metropol Bakery this morning and admired the pastry in the display case. Painting a rhubarb tart might be the next best thing to eating one.

Summer Roses

Oil on gessoboard. 5"x7"

Nature always wears the colors of the spirit. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dublin Bay Rose

Oil on canvas. 8"x8"

Click Here to Bid

Love and a red rose can't be hid.

Thomas Holcroft

Slices of Summer

Oil on gessoboard. 5"x7"

Watermelon is the chief of this world's luxuries,

 king by the grace of God over all the fruits of the earth. 

When one has tasted it, he knows what the angels eat. 

It was not a Southern watermelon that Eve took;

 we know it because she repented.

Pudd'nHead Wilson

This week's daily challenge was to paint from an upside-down reference photo of watermelon slices. It was a great exercise in learning to paint what I see rather than what I think I see.

Serenity

Oil on gessoboard. 5"x7"

Painting peonies is a wonderful way to relax after a hectic day. Flowers can calm the soul.

Pink Peonies

Oil on canvas. 5"X7"

These are beautiful flowers, but just a bear to paint - however, I'd happily spend an entire day painting peonies!

Peony

Oil on gessoboard. 5"x7"

Beautiful birthday peonies from the Reesors graced the table for Father's Day brunch.

Apple Acrobats

Oil on gessoboard. 6"x6"

This week's Daily Paintworks Challenge is "The Balance Challenge." These apples seem pretty unbalanced...the one on top is ready to take a flying leap!

Purple Iris (102)

Oil on gessoboard. 6"x6"

I was in Bend from Monday through Wednesday. What a beautiful place. It was too bad that my time was spent in an office. The weather was perfect and the sky was clear blue - you could almost reach out and touch the snowy Sisters. It would be a great place to try some plein air.

Pear in a Bowl (101)

Oil on canvas. 6"x6"

Today I worked on a painting of iris. I actually spent several hours on it. It was so frustrating! I finally wiped the canvas and did this painting instead. I'll try another iris soon...after I get over my exasperation!

Iris Gardens (100)

Oil on canvas. 6"x6"

Today was one of those joyful Oregon days - warm and sunny. This painting was done en plein air at Schreiner's Iris Gardens. Schreiner's is just a bit north of Salem. There are acres and acres of iris with a garden for visitors. "Riot of color" is a good description of the place - it is absolutely breathtaking. This painting of one of the garden paths is a bit more colorful than the online photo shows.

This is the 100th painting since I began this blog on January 1 of this year. The blog has been a good way to keep a record of my progress and has been the prod that I sometimes need to continue practicing.

A Pair (99)

Oil on canvas. 6"x6"

I'm trying to get the values right. I know what it should look like, but I'm having trouble painting what I have in mind.

Snoozing (98)

Oil on canvas. 6"x6"

The pear on the right wouldn't cooperate. He insisted on lying on his side rather than standing up with the others. I decided to let him snooze.

Afternoon Tea III (97)

Oil on canvas. 8"x10"

This is the third pass on this painting. I'm still struggling with color.

Teacup and Spoon (96)

Oil on RayMar panel. 5"x7"

Oh happy day! I finally figured out how to use my camera. My photos were so dark that it was difficult to see the colors. The postings are a little closer to the true colors now. Yay!

Secrets (95)

Oil on RayMar panel. 5"x7"

Sharing information that only apples can know...

African Violets (94)

Oil on gessoboard. 5"x7"

It's Memorial Day weekend, but the weather doesn't know it. It's overcast and dripping wet. Terry's not giving in, though. He's been making trips to the nursery and ignoring the raindrops while planting new starts in the garden. He's a true-blue Oregonian!

27th Avenue (93)

Oil on gessoboard. 5"x7"

The view from the front window. Oregon is so beautiful this time of year - if only it would stop raining for a bit so we could get outside and enjoy it.

That said, I count our blessings that rain is our only complaint. My heart goes out to the folks in the the Midwest.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Challenge/AS5010PD-5016-4E3E-87F2-8333F79BAG63

Blue Vase (92)

Oil on canvas. 20"x16"

I'm lucky to have a supportive spouse who encourages my love of painting. He brought me this beautiful pink bouquet in a blue vase so that I'd have something to paint this weekend. How sweet is that?

I'm still unable to capture the true color on the paintings. I've purchased a "photo cube" on E-Bay that is supposed to help with glare. It will be interesting to see if it makes a difference in the quality of the photos.

Copy (91)

Oil on canvas. 6"x6"

One of my favorite contemporary artists is Dreama Tolle Perry. (There is a link to her blog on the right side of this page.)

While it's important to develop an authentic painting style, it's also good to study the work of other people. After trying to copy one of her small paintings, I have even more respect for the work that she does. Unfortunately, my camera wasn't able to capture the true colors.

Graham

Oil on canvas. 7"x5" (90)

Graham's smile always makes me laugh. He's my love bug!

(This is the 90th painting since January 1, 2011 - I'm starting the countdown to my first milestone of 100.)

Hoody Guy

Oil on canvas. 7"x5"

Jonah looked sharp at the Mt. Pisgah Flower Fest. He got to wear his brand new U of O hoody.

Charlie

Oil on canvas. 8"x10"

This is Charlie. He had a lovely tail that curled up over his back when he was happy. The white of the tail and hind legs were difficult to capture in the painting.

Jeff

Oil on canvas. 5"x7"

A beloved family character. Nobody likes warmth and comfort more than Jeff!

Lily Girl

Oil on canvas. 8"x10"

This is a painting of sweet Lily, a grand-dog that we loved very much. As I painted her portrait, I had pleasant memories of the joy she brought to all of us.

KitKat

Oil on canvas. 8"x10"

This kitty was the subject of this week's Daily Paintworks Challenge. It was so much fun. I enjoy painting animals and plan to do more of them.
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Challenge/69971AF9-D076-477B-93B5-26A408C9E1C7

Little Tomatoes

Oil on canvas. 5"x7"

The truth is, I'm not too crazy about tomatoes. I love the idea of tomatoes. I like the way they look, but they just don't taste that great to me (unless they're home-grown, drizzled with olive oil and served with mozzarella and fresh basil).

They're lovely to paint, though...glowing red little orbs with complementary green stems. They don't make many unreasonable demands on a novice painter.

Ian

Oil on canvas. 8"x10"

I did more work on this painting, but it's still not right. Last night's effort was so scary that I'm pulling it off the blog!

I agree with the sentiment that portraits are "frickin' hard!"

May 10, 2011
Below is the first pass of this painting. I often forget to stand back to view the painting as I'm working on it, and that's what happened with this one. Although the color changes looked ok up close, when I moved back (and when I took the photo), I realized that the painting looked flat and washed out. That also created problems with form. Unless you viewed the painting from about 12 inches away, you couldn't see color changes and the painting looked pretty funky.

It was frustrating, but by painting often, I'm learning, and I feel like I'm reinforcing the knowledge I've gained (painting kata).

Mushrooms II

Oil on canvas. 8"x10"

Here are the mushrooms again, with more color. I'm still getting acquainted with color combinations on the palette and on the canvas. There seems to be a fine line between rich color and mud.

Mushrooms

Oil on canvas. 8"x10"

The Daily Paintworks Challenge subject for this week is vegetables. Are fungi considered vegetables?
 http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Challenge/D5D664F1-DB99-4238-AA32-46D6A93481BB

Me III

Oil on canvas. 8"x10"

Here I am again. This is a second pass on the previous painting.

Color Studies

Oil on canvas. 16"x20"

Color studies from last evening's color class.

Apples

Oil on canvas. 5"x7"

My heart wasn't in painting this evening.

I read that when you sleep, your mind works on what you've learned during the day and processes the knowledge. I'm not really sure that's true, but I'm willing to take it at face value.

If it is true, I will be processing red apples tonight.

Moi

Oil on canvas. 8"x10"

Here's me again with some adjustments to the lower part of the face. I think it looks a bit more like me than the first version (which I've removed from this site).
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Challenge/85C8095F-A49E-41B2-823B-E26B94D87276

Break Time

Oil on canvas. 8"x10"

Here's my usual afternoon pick-me-up...a mug of tea and an apple.

These small paintings are just for fun. It's back to doing more color studies this weekend. We've had two dripping, sopping wet days, but the forecast is for sun tomorrow. If it's warm enough, I may even venture out to try some plein air.

Lisa Z's Tulips II

Oil on canvas. 20"x16"

This is a continuation of the painting that I posted on Saturday. I didn't feel it was complete, so spent some time on it this evening. I'm trying to keep in mind the idea of painting color rather than form...easy to slip into old habits. I changed the background color, darkened the dark masses and lightened the lights. I like it better, now.

Easter Tulips

Oil on canvas. 16"x20"

These are the same tulips I painted yesterday. They're quite beautiful and worth painting twice.

I didn't finish this painting, but I think I'm done for today. I'll look at it later and decide whether to continue working on it.

Strawberry Season

Oil on canvas. 8"x10"

It's not quite time for Oregon strawberries - these hail from Watsonville, CA. We try to eat local, but these looked so tempting, and it's been so long...

Lisa Z's Tulips

Oil on canvas. 20"x16"

My friend, Lisa Z, gave me these beautiful tulips on Thursday afternoon. They were tight buds on Thursday, and have just blossomed into the most vibrant yellow-pink flowers. I love flowers and think tulips are my favorites.

Color Study 16/Homework

Oil on canvas. 16"x20"

Another color study using a palette knife. Each section of the canvas was allotted 15 minutes to complete.

I used colored gels to cover the light source (the gels are used for stage lighting). The top left section of the canvas was painted under green light, the top right section was painted under red light, the bottom left section was painted under yellow light, and the bottom right section was painted under natural light.

Another great exercise in learning about color. I had to paint very rapidly (not my forte), and mix colors quickly.

Going Green

Oil on canvas. 14"x11"

More color work.

I'm very grateful to my art classmate, George, who shared a great tip for keeping oil paint fresh. Putting the covered palette into the freezer between painting sessions will keep the paint from drying out. It works! I haven't had to toss any unused paint. Thanks, George.
________
Color Study #15/Homework

Three Little Pots

Oil on canvas. 16"x20"

Here's today's exercise in painting color. Below is the first stage of the painting in progress.

Experiment

Oil on canvas board. 7"x5"

It's past 1:00 a.m. and I'm still painting...so ridiculous. I made the mistake of reading a painting blog that had the best description for how to lay on paint. The blogger (I'll locate his name tomorrow) said to put on the paint the way you lay tiles. Licking the paint (isn't that a disgusting term?) will mix the paint on the canvas and cause it to look flat. If the paint is placed on one layer after another, the previous colors will show through and give off a sort of vibration. (You have to trust me on this - sometimes you can get colors to vibrate.)

Of course I had to try it...that's why I'm still awake.

The painting itself is nothing to write home about, but I think the "aha" moment that goes along with it is really a step forward for me in understanding how color works. Now I get why the color studies are so important.

Good night.