The Overlook - SOLD

The Overlook
Oil on Canvas Panel, 12" x 16"
SOLD at $35 plus $10 shipping.



Another wild and sketchy landscape today, and I'm pretty happy with how it came out.
The buyer should be aware that this is painted over an old canvas (hydrangeas), and I didn't realize until I was almost done, that it has a slight smush-bend in one corner (wear and tear.) Hence, the relatively low price for this size painting.

Sunlit Back Alley - SOLD

Sunlit Back Alley
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 8" x 10"
SOLD at $20 plus $10 shipping.



Some days you just don't have a clue what to paint. It's been raining all day, and I just couldn't get out of my own way. Ever have a day like that? So instead of starting something new (I had three ideas and couldn't get excited about any of them) I just decided to revise this little guy, which I have always liked, and lower the price. We'll see if it sings to anyone. Below is what it looked like before.

Summer Creek - SOLD

Summer Creek
Oil on Canvas Panel, 12" x 12"
SOLD



This one was an experiment today, I used ONLY big brushes, and tried to paint loose.
Not easy for me, I tend to fuss too much. So it's rough and loose and lacks detail, but oh, aren't the colors wonderful? Purple, turquoise, pinks, yellows and oranges, besides all the greens.
Rough, though. What do you think?

Garlic Cloves - SOLD

Garlic Cloves
Oil on Gessobord, 6" x 6"
SOLD at $22 plus $10 shipping.



What to say about garlic cloves?
They have such interesting shapes, and who doesn't like the taste of garlic? This is actually a practice painting for a commission series that includes garlic.

It's a Start - SOLD

It's a Start
Oil on Canvas Panel, 12" x 12"
SOLD at $40 plus $10 shipping.



I just love painting on square canvas.
This time I also remembered to shoot a few process shots, which are below.
I didn't set up lights and curtains and fuss, so these are pretty rough. You get the idea though.
The thing in the middle top is the shadow of my easel clamp.

Step 1: Notan, start with darks.

Notan step, really just picking out the darks. I wish I had gone a little further, the darks are so fragile.


Step 2: Midtones, starting to add in the mid values.

Step 3: Sky and Reflections

This is actually out of order. I should have completed all the midtones first, but since there was so much light blue, I decided to put it in at the stage.


Step 4: Midtones,  Light and Details

There were a couple of other steps in here, which I didn't shoot, but I thought I was doing pretty well to stop and take a few photos at all! I like this one very much, those lovely cool shadows, yum.

Mango Mango - NA

Mango Mango
Oil on Gessobord, 6" x 6"
Not available, gifted.



I can hardly wait to cut into this baby and enjoy that juicy, slippery sweetness.
Mmm, mmm, mmm. It's slightly soft now, so maybe one more day.

Queen of Lumps - SOLD

Queen of Lumps
Oil on Gessobord, 6" x 6"
SOLD at $20 plus $10 shipping.



My pear was not happy to be upstaged by the mango in the last still life, so I dubbed her "The Queen of Lumps" and gave her a painting in which she is the only star. You need happy fruit around you, after all.

Lake with Reflections - SOLD

Lake with Reflections
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 11" x 14"
SOLD at $50 plus $10 shipping.



I love this one, and even better, it more or less painted itself. As sometimes happens, I had an old canvas that didn't really work, and so sanded it down and reused it. I think sometimes it helps to not care so much, figuring the painting is a wash anyway. Then voila, you get a winner.

This is the one I used, so there might be tiny bits of orange or pink showing thru, here and there.

Mango and Friend - SOLD

Mango and friend
Oil on Canvas Panel, 6" x 8"
SOLD at $20 plus $10 shipping.



It's been awhile since I've done an oil. First I have been messing about with watercolors, and then a life drawing class, which was glorious! (photos below, a couple of modest ones) -  so it felt good today to be back with my oils. This one took me longer than usual, though, getting the rust out.

Here's Omar:

Iris in Mauve - SOLD

Iris in Mauve
Watercolor on Hot Press Legion Paper, 9" x 12"
SOLD at $20 plus $10 shipping.



This one is on Hot Press paper, a surface I don't normally choose, since it's very smooth. But it seemed to work okay, as long as I took it slowly. The blending isn't quite as easy, and seems to work best if I wet the entire surface to be painted beforehand.

Bright Pink Iris - SOLD

Bright Pink Iris
Watercolor on Legion CP Paper, 9" x 12"
SOLD at $25 plus $10 shipping.



If you're not too proud to beg, and I'm not, you can sometimes get good art freebies from different companies. I asked and got some nice samples from the Legion Paper Company, including this cold press, and a pad of hot press, which I haven't tried yet. I'll do a couple more pieces before I review the paper, but it's certainly worth the trade. Free samples for fair reviews.

A Summer Day in June - SOLD

A Summer Day in June
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 8" x 10"
SOLD at $30 plus $10 shipping.



Another Notan study, then adding form thru midtones and color.
I took a couple of photos at the beginning, then forgot to keep shooting.
Here's the Notan:

And an additional process shot:

And after that, I just kept going to the end.

Forest Sketch with Notan - SOLD

Forest Sketch with Notan
Oil on Canvas Panel, 9" x 12"
SOLD at $25 plus $10 shipping.

I've been listening to some videos about Notan by Dianne Mize, who has tons of great information, much of it free, online. Here's a link if you're interested. Compose is simply her blog. Anyway, much there to read and explore. So I tried thinking in terms of dark and light for this one. I really like the Notan sketch. Then I built the midtones and then the highlights on top. A fun way to work.

Haven't posted in a couple of days since I've been working on a couple of commissions.
It was time to play!

Black and White Strawberries - SOLD

Black and White Strawberries
 Oil on Canvas Panel, 6" x 8"
SOLD at $20 plus $10 shipping.



 I've been working on a fairly complex commission piece, and had some strawberries left over.
 So today I grabbed a small canvas panel, and found the best of the berries, and did this little guy.
What do you think? Too stark?

Drama in the Garden - SOLD

Drama in the Garden
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 8" x 10"
SOLD at $30 plus $10 shipping.



I decided on something simple and dramatic today, and what could be more of both than a single, beautifully colored iris. Still and always my favorite flower.

Spring Creek - SOLD

Spring Creek
Oil on Canvas Panel, 12" x 16"
SOLD

I revised the one from 5/23/17, figured it had been sitting around long enough. Sometimes it's fun to just "go for it" on one of these older pieces, see what happens. I punched up the color considerably.

Pines and Lake Sketch - SOLD

Pines and Lake Sketch
Oil on Canvas Panel, 6" x 8"
SOLD at $20 plus $10 shipping.



This one is a sketch, done with a large brush, even though the canvas panel is fairly small. You can see how rough and sketchy the brush marks are here. I wanted a landscape, loose, today, after the radishes yesterday, which were pretty complex. I am studying the work of Katheryn Stats, who is an awesome painter out of Utah. You can see her work here, and see how I'm trying to imitate her colors and style and brushwork. I guess every artist has ideals, painters that they would like to follow.

Radishes on Red Plate - SOLD

Radishes on Red Plate
Oil on GessoBord, 6" x 6" x 3/8"
SOLD at $25 plus $10 shipping.



Detail of Side Painted Below:

This one is an easy hang. There is a hole for hanging in the back, and the 3/8" sides, top and bottom are painted as a continuation of the front view. No framing needed!
I wasn't sure what I was going to paint today, but when I stopped at the Food Pantry for my monthly food allotment, there was a choice of two fresh veggies. I chose these guys to paint! (Plus some salad greens.)

Cannon Alley Two -NA

Cannon Alley Two
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 8" x 10"
Revised on July 6, 2017



So, with a good covering of bug spray and a hat to keep my hair out of my eyes, I ventured out again today. I was much calmer this time. Sat a little ways off the path, so any cars could get by me, and from where I was sitting, I could see the back end of one of the houses, a little beige house. The sun was bright, so there is an intensity to the colors.

June Rose - SOLD

June Rose
Oil on GessoBord, 8" x 8" x 3/8"
SOLD at $40 plus $10 shipping.
See Side Detail Below:

This one has a hanging hole in the back, and is painted around the 3/8" sides, top and bottom, so no frame is needed. It's a feature a lot of my collectors really like.