Water Lilly WIP 2nd layer of color

Remember that Bill Murray movie "Groundhog Day" where he wakes up and repeats the same thing time and time again... I am kinda starting to feel that way about this painting. All in all I am enjoying learning something new and all that but it is starting to feel repetitive and that I am not so crazy about.... but I will continue. Not sure how many layers there will be ... I guess when ever I feel like it is finished....

Water Lilly WIP

OK... so this is the first layer of color.... this is soooo different from the way I have always painted and I am having a hard time determining just how detailed I need to be on each layer... but it is progress and I am enjoying doing it very much... the idea is for the colors to intensify as the layers are added. I feel I am losing a lot of detail because I am blending so much.. but hopefully I am on the right track and it will all work out in the end.

Water Lilly WIP

I think this is all I am going to do as far as the grisaille layer goes.... this is a learning process for me so if I mess up... I mess up... well I am a bit of a perfectionist so I hope I am not screwing up too badly. Once this dries throughly I will start the color glazing. I am enjoying this so far. The reason I wanted to try a painting using this method is because I think glass painted this way would look awesome.... so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Water Lilly WIP

Second layer of the grisialle applied.... will probably do one more layer before starting the color glazing.

First of many layers....

This is the first layer of the newest painting. It is the exact opposite of the way I have always painted and I am struggling with applying my paint thinly. This layer is called grisialle pronounced "grizz- EYE" . I will be applying several layers of these tones to create the various values of the painting. Then I will be glazing thin layers of color over the values. I have to wait for each layer to dry before I can lay on the next. Like I said .. VERY different for me and really fun to be learning a whole new approach to painting. Too early to tell if I will ever paint this way again... stay tuned!

ps ... I have no clue how this is going to turn out!

Trying something new

From the very beginning of my art adventure I have painted wet on wet. I am now experimenting with a whole new way to paint.... in layers... letting each layer dry before applying the next. I have no idea if I will even like painting this way but it is something I want to try. So I am currently waiting for new supplies I have ordered before I begin. In the mean time I have been prepping a canvas by applying layers of gesso and sanding in between layers to get a smooth surface with no canvas thread showing... stay tuned. When I have something to show you I will post a wip... right now I have a bright white 20 x 20 smooth blank canvas!

the barn 20 x 20 oil on stretched canvas

I found a great buy at my local art supply shop of Windsor Newton canvas on sale... so I bought some. This is a new size for me to use and I like it. I have always enjoyed painting large so this is not too big (pain to ship) but large enough when framed to give the feel of a substantial piece of art ... as I told a friend the other day... sometimes bigger IS better!

I am off next week to visit family in TN so will not be posting for a little while. I have a new painting all ready to start when I get home... it is another in my marble series. The canvas is sketched and ready for paint ... check back in a few weeks.

Keepsie 12 x 12 original oil painting

I love the name of this one... it took me some time to come up with a fitting title and when I found it I just knew it fit! I was doing some internet browsing about marbles and came across an article about the rules of different marble games. One of the games is call Keepsies..... soooo I figured if I had won this marble in a game (instead of winning it in a bid on ebay) I would surely have kept it! So Keepsie it is!

The Triplets 12 x 24 oil

I have not been able to paint for a while ... life happens. I was so glad to have the time once again and of course I went back to what I love.. glass. I made a few changes from the original set up I created and I think it works. I tried to keep the eye moving round the painting instead of the swirls leading the eye out... hope you like it.. I had such a good time painting this one.

Cottage

This was an experiment... I have always painted in a very realistic style and I wanted to really give a try at painting in a looser more impressionistic way... so I did not premix my palette or put any type of sketch onto the canvas... for me this is really a huge jump. It was very scary for me to have this blank canvas in front of me and just start putting on paint... I like the results... and may do this again.

Fresh Cut

Maybe the glorious weather we are having made painting flowers seem like an enjoyable subject... it was and then I also belong to a group of artist who have a monthly challenge and July's painting challenge was flowers. It is kinda fun to make your self do these challenges as you sometimes have a subject that you normally would not be drawn to. I enjoyed this one very much and hope you do too!

Evening Blush

I finished this one this morning.... I have painted several skyscapes but this one is by far the most colorful. I like painting clouds and sky... it is very peaceful and soothing. 12 x 24 oil on canvas.

Standing Strong in Old Hickory

This scene is in and area of Nashville Tn. that is surrounded by industrial building, shopping centers, office buildings and subdivisions... hope it will continue to stand it's ground and survive all the changes going on around it... makes me reflect on my childhood as I grew up not too far from this area and this is what I remember it looking like way back when.....

Size is 12 x 24 oil on canvas.

Glass Ribbon

It has been a while since I have picked up a brush.. busy time of year and I have been doing some traveling and just plain needed a break. Well I am now ready to pick up my brushes again and I have to say it feels great!!

While Gary and I were in a little town up north a few weeks ago I found this beautiful glass piece and just had to buy it to paint... I found the colors so pretty and the spiral coiling thingy very interesting. Size is 12x12.

Taking the long road home...

This is 12 x 24 composition and a variation in the cloud formations of an earlier painting I did of the same subject. I like both compositions and really can not say I feel one is better than the other... just different.

The Long Road Home

Size is 12 x 12 oil on canvas. I really did enjoy painting this one... besides glass my other favorite thing to paint is sky... I enjoy trying to get the feeling of depth and the illusion of reflective light... I may paint this same subject in a longer format... maybe 12 x 24... give it a different perspective .

Season to taste

Well, I seem to have this "thing" about glass once again. I think that painting the two marble pieces a few weeks ago got me all stirred up again. Not sure why I enjoy painting glass so much but I sure do. So I grabbed my salt and pepper shakers and put them in my shadow box and lit them up!! This is what resulted. Size is 12 x 12.

Viola!

I know I know... so this isn't loose and painterly... I just could not make myself paint this any other way than what I did. It just called for detail and as I put in a little detail it called for MORE!!! So I just went with what I felt was called for and I really have no regrets. I will just have to go loosey-goosey on the next one. (maybe) size is 12 x 12 oil on canvas

Hello Sunshine

I decided the first of the year that I was going to paint a few pieces in a looser or more painterly style than I usually paint. I got a little side tracked with the last two marble pantings as I find it impossible to paint a marble loose!! So here is Hello Sunshine.... in what I hope is the loose style I was striving for. I am going to do a few more this way and see if it starts to become more natural for me... I may be fighting a losing battle.

Little Twisted Sister

Last year I painted a larger version of the marble ... I decided to paint it in a smaller format and was a little concerned that painting the "same" subject might not be as much fun the second time around.... I was wrong! I had just as much fun and maybe more because I approached it with confidence (after all I knew I could do it) and throughly enjoyed myself! Makes me ponder doing a repeat of couple of others...

Size is 12 x 12.

Color Ball .. marble series continues!

I have decided to continue with the marble series in a smaller format. I enjoy painting glass so much and I have really missed mixing the bold colors and painting the interesting and wonderful reflections of these little marbles. This is a good size as it doesn't take a lot of time to paint... I did this one in two 4 hr settings... not bad.. I am getting faster and faster without effort or stressing out about it. Look for more of these in the days to come.

Pacifica FINISHED

I was able to complete this one this morning... one thing that I have noticed is I am getting faster with each painting... seems once I get the sketch completed and the palette figured out the actual time I spend laying paint onto canvas is a matter of days instead of weeks... that is encouraging!!

Pacifica WIP (work in progress)

This is a fun one for me ... Pacifica Ca. is just a few miles from me and this painting is being created from several photo's that I combined to get the best part of each one. One photo had great cloud formation.. another good waves were rolling in... one had good light and shadows the other good composition... so hopefully I will capture the best of all and come up with good representation of this beautiful area... this is for my niece Jessica.. I hope she likes it.

This is a good place to stop for the day as the super bowl is about to start.. and I must watch the commercials... lol

Berries FINISHED

One of my goals for the coming year is to try and have a more painterly style in my art. I tend to get caught up in details... maybe that is why I enjoy painting glass so much. When I began the painting I wanted to keep the beautiful details and reflections in the main subject and have less detail and light on the table top. So I did not paint every little swirl in the wood grain and hoped to give the "feel" of wood instead.. kinda let your mind put the swirls there.... hope I succeeded.

Berries WIP

While the rest of the nation seems to be snowed under.. I sit in sunny Ca. eating berries! I really do feel for some of my on line friends that have shared their snow misery stories... hope you all thaw out soon!

I am currently working on this still-life of a crystal bowl of blackberries. Size is 12x12 and I plan to complete it tomorrow.

The Release Finished...

I am calling this one finished.. I may make a few minor changes after Gary studies it but all in all I am pleased with the results. The first two photo's I took with auto settings on my camera and now that I have taken one with the correct settings the colors are much truer to the actual painting.

The Release

Next week is Gary's birthday... I saw this image on his computer screen being used as his screen saver... I was struck by the beautiful colors and knew it had to be one of his catches. When I ask him about it he confirmed it was caught and released by him last year. I decided I would paint it for him and this is my progress to date. He is an staunch "catch and release" guy so the title seems appropriate.