winter cabin

This is the first time I ever tried a winter scene in oils.  The snow was a little more difficult then you would think!  I did this for an online project in my aci group.  This is based on a sketch by Nick DePaolo.

Sylvan Path...again

This weekend I redid my Sylvan Path painting..I did it in landscape orientation which is how it should have been done and tried to fix the muddiness I felt I had in the first one.  unfortunately, I made some new mistakes...I am not crazy about the motion in the water and I am one tree short on the right of the road.  It also looks in the photo like the first  tree is drowning into the water but that is the reflection...its better in real life :)

this and that

I worked on a couple watercolors this week.  The first one was a beach cave.  This was based on a photo shared by Gina in our WCW yahoo group.  Im not crazy about the painting I made..but the point of the project was to mix darks without using any black or gray.  I made my darks using  Aliz Crimson, Ultra Blue and Hookers Green. they are a bit darker in real life I think...This was difficult but I learned about color mixing and thats the point right?!

The next project I tackled was a rose.  This was hard and will be redone many time in the future :)

Sylvan Path

This is my rendition of Sylvan Path, another William Alexander painting.  I am not happy with how this came out...I may try it again later...

more pics of my studio..now that ive messed it up :)

my new studio

Well, I finally got tired of all the set up and clean up involved with oils.  Having painted with watercolors I never realized what a mess oils can be!  You can paint watercolors on your kitchen table, cover the paints and then re-spritz them if they dry up.  virtually no cleanup and any spill comes out with water :)

anyway...this room may not be perfect..but its mine :) and..it gave me an excuse to use the staple gun!!

 

its behind the pool table......It's about 12ft X12ft

monochromatic exercise

Here is an exercise I did for the online watercolor class I am taking.  You can find info on this wonderful class at http://www.watercolorsecrets.net/public/department36.cfm

There is a free ebook and rather inexpensive set of dvds (or downloads) by artist Bob Davies.

This painting was done with Ultramarine Blue only

How can fruit be so hard?

My latest mess is some fruit from a demo I watched by artist Bobbi Dubins.
As I am using these paintings as a learning experience I have noted below the paintings what I need to watch out for in the future.

 

not sure why my apple melted all over the cloth, hehe...

 

seems my grapes melted in this one....:)

notes:

need a good drawing for a good painting...block then outline.

know your values

stick to temperature

GOOD PAPER

more water for glazes

Dry thoroughly between layers!!

follow the curves..plan the lay of the land or shape of the object by the swipe of your brush

The candied apple

I recently did a painting of a candied apple for the January challenge in an online watercolor group I participate in.  I tried it three times :(  Although my apple was not up to the par of the rest of the participants it was a fun project and I learned alot about color, reflection, and shine :)

 

  

Here is the original photo for this painting......

  

3 unfinished watercolors sitting in my studio......

I am sure many of you have this same problem.  Sometimes their are paintings you just can't (or won't) finish.  I am not sure what it is about these three paintings I did under the direction of local artist Rebecca Montgomery.  Maybe it is the fact that the classes ended and I have no idea how to bring these paintings to a close.

 

  

 

Gabby and Nate's finished paintings.....

Not bad for a first oil for both!!

 

These were based on William Alexander's painting Sylvan Path

Fun with the kids

I have two children who really love to paint! My 13 year old Gabrielle and my 9 year old, Nathanael, .  Being snowed in today gave us a great opportunity to try some oils together!

 

 

Although I was not happy enough with my own to keep it...  ( I love the fact that you can scrape off oils and try again!) IT was a great learning experience for us all. 

First oil in 26 years

As I mentioned in my profile, I am taking certification classes in the wet on wet oil method.  Here is my first attempt at trying to learn this technique.  It is my version of Diane Andre's Waterfall.

 I am anxiously waiting a critique from my instructor, although I already see things I can improve on.  The water at the bottom of the falls is to "pointy" I need more foam and softer edges.  The right side of the upper pond needs a better shoreline.  Also, the rocks on the left do not jut out over the falls enough.  I think I should also stagger the height of the foliage half way down the left rocks.

My First Painting

In 1984 when I was a freshman in high school, I enjoyed watching William Alexander on our local PBS station and dreamed of being able to paint.  I received  a set of oil paints from my parents and took a chance.  While watching Bill Alexander work his magic with his wet on wet oil technique I tried my best to copy his strokes.  I wish I had the name of the original painting as I would love to try it again now that I am older (much older).   If anyone stumbling upon this blog recognizes it please comment :)
anyway...here it is...my first painting...

Shortly after this, I took a semester of art with Mr Garrett at CPP West High School.  Other than a brief drawing class at 171 Cedar Arts Center in Corning one summer when I was in middle school...this was my only art training.

This is the 2nd oil I painted and the last until 2010.  We will get to my newest foray into the world of oils in a future post as my fingers have ADD and can't type very long at one sitting :)

Somewhere in Arizona...1984
I used a photo from a trip there to visit our cousins in the 1970's.