Original Oil Painting Inspector Rooster

Inspector Rooster

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12" x  12"

Painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

Original Oil Painting Classic Begonia

Classic Begonia

12" x 12"

Painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

Original Oil Painting Rose Valley

Rose Valley

12" x 12"

Painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

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This was a fun painting. It has been gloomy around here lately with all the clouds that I thought a bright painting of flowers would lift my spirits. I used a combination of photos to paint this. I painted it in a more stylistic way to give it more punch. The red vase symbolizes the human heart and the flowers are the joy the heart seeks. Everybody Needs Love!

Original Oil Painting Strawberry Creamer

Strawberry Creamer

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12" x 12"

Painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

First Strawberries of the season and so good! 

Original Oil Painting Orange Cow

Orange Cow

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12" x  12"

Painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

Original Oil Painting Random Gathering

Random Gathering

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12" x  12"

Painted on  Ampersand Gessobord.

There is no real reason for these objects other than I felt like painting them. I arranged them in a circular composition making the vertical lines in the painting a nice contrast and balance to all the curved lines. It turned out to be a very complimentary gathering. 

Original Oil Painting Back from the Cottage

Back from the Cottage

12" x 12"

Painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

It has been awhile since my last post. I have been busy making baby shower center pieces and trying to get my plants in. I posted a photo below of the shower center pieces.

 As for the painting it was quite a challenge with all the color changes in the pinwheel. I had to use lots of patience and cleaning the brush every time the color changed. This painting wore me out or I am just a little rusty. Hope to paint more now that things have settled down but when the baby comes in June I will be a Grandma-ma for the first time!! Yeah!! 

Original Oil Painting Curly Top

Curly Top

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12" x 12"

Painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

Original Oil Painting Vintage Rose

Vintage Rose

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12" x  12"

Painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

Original Oil Painting Brown Jersey Cow

Brown Jersey Cow

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12" x  12"

Painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

Original Oil Painting Autumn Begonia

Autumn Begonia

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12" x 12"

Painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

Painted from a studio still life using my 2017 bright orange begonia!

Original Oil Painting Autumn Coming

Autumn Coming

12" x 12"

Painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

This painting was inspired by a photo from Ceadie on PMP. The photo reference was of Spirit Island in the Rocky Mountains. I posted the photo below.

Original Oil Painting Sunflower Veggies

Sunflower Veggies

12" x 12"

Painted on Ampersand Gessobord.

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This is a photo of my still life I was working with.

Below is a list of steps for this painting and a little about the thought process I go though.

I start with a simple sketch and then block in the color shapes.
This is fun, seeing how the colors and shapes work together. I am trying to play complimentary colors off each other: blue glass and orange carrots, yellow sunflower and purple turnip / red onion and background reds and greens. My goal is to make this painting very dramatic and powerful.

Blending the whole thing together with a fan brush helps to pull it together. I usually tone my surface first but with this I just jumped in. I little pre-planning was missed but it all worked out in the end.

I start adding detail with the blue glass first and moving to the flower next. I use pre- mix colors for things like the glass and onion. It makes it easier to concentrate on the placement and shape of the color with that done first. Taking breaks every 30 minutes to 40 minutes is very important to keep my energy up and concentration sharp. If I try to rush and push through with out breaks things become muddy and I loose my focus.

Most of the detail is in. Now is the time to really look things over. This is the most challenging part of my process. Right away I am not pleased with the top of the onion blending into the background and the sunflowers look too fake. I need to solve some problems. This is where Corel  Paint Shop Pro on the computer helps.

I took a photo of the last step I was on and up- loaded it to Paint Shop Pro. I played with ideas I think might work. I like the way I can try things first on the computer. I save it and use it as a reference. This saves me tons of time and it is fun. We are so lucking to have computers to help with your art. I bet if  Rembrandt, Monet or Leonardo could time travel, they would of thought: these kids have it so easy!

Well here is the final painting. The last step is to check everything. I look at every brush stroke. If I do not like it or it looks too muddy I will put a fresh stroke on. I also added glazes if needed. Unfortunately with this painting dog hair was the main problem. I messed up the background trying to get a piece of dog hair off, yikes. So the next day when I was calm and the dog was at the groomer I repainted the whole background. What do you think??

Original Oil Painting Mosaic Clematis

Mosaic Clematis

12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

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Original Oil Painting Hidden Crock

Hidden Crock

 12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

My main goal in this one was to put the paint down with out messing with it too much. So much easier said than done. This is the fifth or sixth still life I painted working with a wet on wet painting technique. I still find myself blending with a soft brush or palette knife along the edges of different color values. I guess this is my preferred style. Old habits that work well for me are hard to break but I do see my edges are improving.  

Original Oil Painting Orange Glow

Orange Glow

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

To create this yellow / orange glowing affect, I painted with lemon medium in all the oranges, greens and whites. The orange of course was done with the most intense oranges I could mix: permanent rose with cadmium lemon and Rembrandt's permanent red medium with cadmium lemon. The compliment of yellow: violet at the bottom only enhanced the intensity of the yellows more. I posted a photo of the still life I painted from below. I only had these bright shocking pink daisies to use but it helped with the drawing . I changed the color of the daisies to white and gold to work better with the other objects. Shocking pink would of competed too much with the center of interest: oranges. I hope you can feel the warm glow.

Original Oil Painting Tapestry Still Life

Tapestry Still Life

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

The only thing I can think to tell people is: "This was hard!"

I took a simple still life of a pear, red grapes and pitcher and complicated it by adding a tapestry. 

Am I nuts or was it worth it? 

I have taken several online courses. Currently I am taking Richard Robinson's still live lessons. I downloaded four lessons. This still life is from one of his photos. I posted it below. I have been very fortunate to find some good dvd/ online classes. Dan Edmundson was totally worth every penny and now I feel the same way about Richard Robinson's instruction videos. Thanks Dan and Richard for all the helpful tools! If you are an artist taking online courses and would like to recommend one please leave a comment. I am always looking and learning. 

Original Oil Painting Reds Everywhere

Reds Everywhere

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12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

Original Oil Painting Lily Bouquet

Lily Bouquet

12" x 12"

Painted on gessobord.

These are some of my lilies. They all bloom in the middle of summer. I took several pictures of them for later references. This painting was based on one of those reference photos. Lilies are a favorite of mine. They make excellent cut flowers because they are so sturdy and their bold colors are always a joy to paint. The vase is a rummage find from a long time ago. I can not believe this is the first time I painted it.  Thanks for viewing my lily painting. 

Original Oil Painting Winter River Bend

Winter River Bend 

12" x 12" 

Painted on gessobord.

I painted this using a reference photo from my class. I added rocks and adjusted tree lines, etc. Usually when I am painting from a photo that I took or someone else, towards the end I am painting straight with the painting. I turn the monitor off and just look at the painting and ask it what it needs. If my eye movement seems to fall off the page then I know to darken an area, minimize detail or add something to stop the movement. I feel this painting has a nice movement to it. I hope you think so too.