About The Joe #4

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#106

I was afraid that picking an image so "precise" might push me to relapse into my over-controlling, obsessive-compulsive, picky and perfectionistic, anal, uptight, and stressed-out painting self. So it was risky. To say the least.

Alas! I survived. I was able to finish this without all the above tendencies re-surfacing. Maybe all my Daily Paint Works therapy sessions are working! 

This was a fun painting. Even tho it may look somewhat "tight", it wasn't painted that way. I'm learning to put paint down and leave it alone. I'm learning that "close enough" sometimes works better than "dead on perfect". Who'da thought?

Almost Caught Up! (3 more!)

#105 - New School Jitters (Back-to-School Challenge)

I took this picture on Jackson Square (French Quarter, New Orleans) back in the spring. I've been wanting to paint it ever since, but because I'm really not a figurative painter, I haven't tried. What better time to do it then "A Challenge!"

There was actually a whole group of children; apparently, they were on a field trip, all lined up in their matching uniforms. They were there for soo long that they all looked just miserable! Boy, remember those days!?

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I posted two others that aren't really numbered DPW pieces. This first is one of my larger pieces that I just finished (link below for the story behind it).  It's called Cloud Farming:

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Here's the other one: It's called Cabo Girls (click link for story).

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To The Gods and Goddesses Of Coffee (three so fa

#103 - About The Joe

I've been out of town a lot this summer. And even though it's been mostly vacation time, it always fills SOOOO good to get home. What I've realized is that one of the things I miss the most is MY COFFEE! Nothing tastes better than that first sip of coffee, in your favorite spot, AT HOME!

To show my gratitude to the Java gods and goddesses, I'm planning to do a small series about coffee. This is #1.

This picture was awful to take without getting reflections. This was the best I could do.

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#104 - About The Joe II

This is the second of my salute to coffee!

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#106 - About The Joe III

Whew! Started this as the "next in series" for my Coffee Salute. I didn't have a lot of time when I painted it, but I figured it'd be pretty easy. HA! I spent my time that day just trying to get the sketch right! It was a lot harder than I thought it'd be.... all those flattened circles at slightly different angles. UGH! The next day, I finished it up. That was the fun and easy part!

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Will post number #105 tomorrow!

Three Fog Paintings

Ok. Back again in my catch-up mode. Next 3 (drum roll, please........!)


#100 - Fog I (DPW Fog Challenge)

This was painted for the weekly challenge. I gessoed the canvas panel a couple times with a lightly tinted gesso (with purple and umber), then sanded in between to try to smoothen it a little. As you can see from the picture, it didn't work that well. Something you might not be able to see in the photo is that the water is a hint warmer than the sky. I used cerulean and raw umber, and alittle sap green for the tree line. Oh, and obviously (and mostly) titanium white. A fun, maybe 10-15 minute painting. :)

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#101 - Fog II 

The fog was a fun challenge, so I had to do another one! This one took longer to photograph than paint! 10 minutes to paint, 1 hour to photograph! haha
Same palette as first one. No pure white.

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#102 - Fog III

Ok, so I had to paint one more fog painting that day. This challenge was just too fun!
Thanks, Leanne! :)

I ended up getting a lot of comments on this one. Sometimes when you paint something, you don't know whether you really captured what you were trying to capture. Apparently, I did on this one. Ya just never know!

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What?! October?!

I know that summers always whiz by, but September? It's been over a month since my last post, and I really have no excuse. I just lost that entire month. While I keep thinking I'm going to get out on the lake for one more swim, the leaves are changing color before my eyes. True, I've been busy, but I HAVE managed to paint about 15 small daily paintings since my last post.

Below are the first 5 of them (#s 95, 96, 97, 98, 99). I'll post the rest over the next 2 days. Then I'll be caught up! again!


#95 - Lemons For My Water

Getting back into my warm-lemon-water-first-thing-in-the-morning routine!

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#96 - Slice of Sunshine

Wow! This was a lot harder than I thought it would be! And it still doesn't look back lit. I should probably try it again another day, when I'm seeing better. Instead of painting what I was seeing, I seemed to be trying to paint a lemon. Do you know what I mean?

Anyway, that's my excuse... and I'm sticking with it!!

And for those artists that nail back lighting every time, I'm open for some pointers!! Thanks!

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#97 - People Watching People (Crowd-Of-People Challenge)

What a challenge for this week's challenge!! Whew! Before I do a small figurative piece again, I'm going to learn how artists paint these small figures and make it look so easy!

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#98 - Decision

I did this study today on a 5x7, because I'm actually considering painting this image on a 24x30 canvas (with a different background). I may have truly lost my mind! lol

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#99 - Lake Shea

I wanted to paint something different today, and on a larger scale than most of my daily paintings. This one is 16x20, and took me about 4 1/2 hours. The reference was from MorgueFile. I don't think Ive ever painted a waterscape -- and only a handful of landscapes -- so decided on this one. The foggy mist grabbed my attention. Because this is a "daily painting", I'm keeping the price lower than my larger show pieces.

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Morning

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#094

First cows ever for me! I always enjoy paintings of cows by other artists. In fact, I love them... cuz I love cows. Don't most people, really?  For me, it's the eyes, especially --  those eyelashes!!  And their gentle, sweet expressions ... that look. Awwwwwwwwwww......

If it weren't for last week's daily painting "cow" challenge, I probably wouldn't have painted these. Thanks DPW! I like 'em, and they were fun! Moo

Oranges II

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#093

Painted two of these on the same day, trying to loosen up. HA! ...Not so much. (First one was posted on yesterday.)

Oranges I

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#092

Last week I painted three paintings of various pear poses.... quickly. This is an exercise I keep doing because I'm always trying to loosen up the "stiffness" in my paintings. It went pretty well - last week - so decided to try oranges today with the same "attitude". Well, all I can say is some days ya have it, and some days ya don't!  (But it's ok; cuz as Stuart Smalley would say, "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and, doggonit, people like me!")

Instead of three paintings, I was only able to finish two, and didn't have near as much fun as last week. The second of these will post tomorrow. :)

Pears III

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#091

My hurdle is ALWAYS to stay loose!! This is the third painting from my afternoon exercise in just that. This one took about an hour. It was an interesting practice because my paintings actually loosened up as I painted, instead of getting tighter. I love it when that happens! 

This calls for a celebration! 

Happy Friday, and Cheers!

Pears II

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#090

This is the second one of the three pear studies I painted in an effort to loosen up. The first was posted yesterday, the third and loosest (is that a word? lol) will show up tomorrow.

I love painting pears!!

Pears I

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#089

One of the primary reasons for my joining Daily Paint Works was to loosen up my style. I've noticed I've gotten too tight again, so today I quickly completed 3 paintings. I equate time with looseness (tho I know that isn't necessarily true). The thing I try to do is not give myself time to start obsessing over a painting; so, for me, fast does equal loose(r).

This painting was first. The other two will follow tomorrow and the next day. Surprisingly, the paintings got looser as I went. Normally, they get tighter.... for me.

In The Beginning

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#088

The hand-made clay olive oil pitcher (it's probably actually called something else...?) is one I bought at an art show this spring. I love the smooth feel and shape that it has. I named this piece "In The Beginning" because everyone knows that if you start any dish with some good extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, and lots of garlic, you just can't go wrong!

​It took me two days, and multiple frustrating attempts, to get a photo of this that looked even half way decent. I have a terrible time getting a good shot of darker paintings. Sorry!

Takes All Kinds

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#087

This one came out nothing like I thought it would! But here it is, anyway. Thought about throwing some garlic cloves in there too, but decided on "onions only." Kind of like a photo of you and the kids, minus the cousins. :)

Quiet Invitation II

Currently On Exhibit

This is one of my paintings that will be showing at the "Reflections" Exhibition for Women at the Quinlan Center in Gainesville, Georgia; August 20th through October 10th. View exhibition opening, gallery photos and more online here or at qvac.org. Thanks!

Keep Up, Harry

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#086

This is one of those "just for the heck of it" paintings. I saw this couple during my last visit to New Orleans.... I ran into them a few times, actually. She was always leading the pack, talking to people, buzzing in and out of shops, absorbing the city. Her partner (let's call him Harry), just... kept... up. He really didn't seem to be too interested, or too bored, or to be entertained, or amused. He was just keeping up. I got the impression that he'd defintely had lots of practice at it.  :)

Five O'clock Somewhere II

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This is not a daily painting. This is a painting I started over a year ago, left sitting in my studio, and just recently finished. I painted most of this in a day, and was really on a roll. It was almost finished, then I stopped to run out and meet my husband for an impromptu dinner date! Oh, the date was awesome and it's great to be spontaneous, but really. It took my so long to get back to this that I never could get back in the "feel" or "zone" of this thing. Now I really don't care for it, but am sick of painting over and over again what little of it I had to finish.  I've painted a similar piece before and it just flowed onto the canvas like it painted itself. Don't you love it when that happens? 

Lesson learned:  Next time when I'm in the "zone" and loving a painting, I'm not walking away from it until it's finished!! Sorry, honey! I'll take a rain check!

Blue

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#085

A few years ago, I did a small series of paintings inspired by the lives of those who are homeless. I sold them to donate the proceeds to a homeless shelter.  That was not my only intention. I also wanted to help us all (the buyers of these pieces specifically) remember these folks. The life circumstances that lead to homelessness are as touching as the images. I remind myself of that always, and make a point of showing kindness when the opportunity arises.

When I came across this photograph in morguefiles, I had to paint him. This was a quick painting. I tried to keep it spontaneous and heartfelt, and resisted the temptation to over-correct or tighten it up.

Three Grannies

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#084

Ok... So I've been out on vacation for about two weeks. But it's been a month and a half since my last post!! What the heck?! There's really no excuse except that summer's really been flying by! And it's been a fantastic summer so far. Lots of time for friends, and lots of time on and in the water, either kayaking, tubing, or pontooning -- All my speed, by the way.

Because I have so much catching up to do, I'm just gonna spread out my last 10 daily paintings over the next week of so, starting with this one.

Hope your summer is going great!!

Cheers!

Sketch With Whites

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#083

One more for the shadow box! Really enjoying using it. If you don't have one, it only takes a little time to make, costs virtually nothing, and it's easy! I explained mine back on post #079. You should try it, if you haven't!

Bisque With Oranges and Mint

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#082

Another shadow box painting. I haven't had very many views of this on my daily painting site. Wondering if it might have something to do with the fact that the pitcher is bisque. (A pottery that hasn't been glazed and fired again, so it's dull, almost powdery looking.) Maybe viewers expect highlights, so it doesn't look right to them. Or maybe it's just too ordinary or boring looking overall. I'll never know, but I like it.

The spearmint was picked from my deck. Love, love, love fresh spearmint. Put it in my water everyday and just keep filling up the waterbottle over and over until I've had a gallon of it. A sprig of mint lasts through all of that. Cinnamon sticks are another great thing to add. Even fresh ginger. It makes drinking all that water everyday actually enjoyable. Cheers!

Lavender With Blue Jar

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#081

On a better note (from last post), this is a second from my cardboard shadow box -- the one I talked about two posts ago. I really like this painting. The jar came from my favorite thrift store for 50 cents. The lavender is from my yard. With this one there was the added pleasure of enjoying the scent of the lavender while painting. Wonderful.

Challenge Gone Wrong

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#080

Another challenge. This one was to paint something surreal by putting items together that don't belong, changing the colors, juxteposing, whatever. Quite obviously, I DON'T DO SURREAL. haha

Almost didn't post this one, but want to keep true to post my dpw work, in sequence.

  

Duck. Duck. Chicken.

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#079

There's an artist on Dailypaintworks.com I've really been enjoying. I'll have to look up her name .... not enough coffee yet this morning to remember it. She paints still lifes using a shadow box that she made. I got so excited, I asked her if she would mind telling me how she did it. Then without even waiting for her answer, I grabbed a flattened cardboard box and simply spray painted the inside black (including all the flaps).  I close one end, set it up on a small stool to get it to the height I want, clip a small night light from the outer flap, and viola! a shadow box! You can also do back lighting with it by simply running the light through the back flaps. I also change out between a 4 watt and a 7 watt bulb. At the hardware store I picked up an extension cord with the socket on the end. I worked perfectly. I just clip it on with a binder clip. You can hang a piece of black fabric over it too, if you want... for extra darkness.

Meanwhile, the artist I asked about it very graciously got back with me with all the details (and more great help!), and I wasn't TOO far off.  Mine is just more basic, I guess. Simple minds. 

Oh Yeah! This painting is of two beautiful greenish duck eggs and a brown "fancy" hen egg. The duck egg in the front was HUGE! These eggs are going to become a permanent addition to my weekly farmer's market list, for sure! 

Jeanne's Marsh

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#078

Recently we went to southwest Louisiana. I love this part of our country, but I love the culture of its wonderful cajun people even more. And I especially love MY cajun family. Of course, it's really my husband's, but I adopted them.... Or I guess they adopted me. I'm a very lucky girl!

This painting was done on the porch of the family camp. Same idea as the previous post, but not exactly. I'm not really a landscape painter, but these last few have been fun. Back to still lifes tomorrow. :)

Challenge - Terra Cotta Turtle

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#077

Daily Paint Works has a weekly challenge. It's fun, because most often it involves trying something new, then getting to share the results with others that accepted the challenge. This particular one, had to do with placing your canvas right next to (visually) your reference, then painting it the same size. I decided to see if it would work for plein air too.  As you can see, I didn't quite get it.  To my defense (haha), taking the picture of this in plein air is hard to get accurate because it really isn't sitting right next to the reference (it's pretty far in the background). Moving the camera (or your head) a little bit will change the whole thing.  Does that make sense? It was fun, never the less. Try this challenge sometime to see how it works! :)

My Hosta Garden

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#076

I had soooo much fun painting this one! And for so many reasons! First of all, I painted this plein air on an amazingly beautiful spring morning.... in my yard. I wish you could've been here and experienced it... The sun warming up the cool dampness of the night, birds singing and darting around; and oh, the smells of spring! Plants popping up everywhere, in all shades of greens, blues, and yellows. The dogwoods and cherry trees were covered with blossoms, and the peonies were begging to bloom at any moment. 

This was painted a few weeks ago, but it feels like it was yesterday. You just can't forget the feeling that only early spring gives you! I guess it's that feeling of freshness and possibility. I'll hang on to that all year.

This was also my first plein air painting with my new outdoor painting gear. I've got a great set up now for plein air, so I'm really looking for to more out-door painting! 

And Another

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#074

And another avocado painting! The third one for me, and I noticed that other artists really enjoy painting them too. If you haven't painted one yet, you should really try it. They've got that wonderful organic shape, with simple dramatic shadows. And mixing the luscious color of the "meat" feels buttery... almost like guacamole on your palette.

The background is that Torrit Gray that I got as a free promo from Gamlin. It has a buttery feel too, and reminds me of suede when its down. Very rich and almost creamy looking. 

Bite Size

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#073

Speaking of watermelon.....

We've already had four this year! Each time, I ate way more than anybody else. And damn, are they filling! I've had images of turning into a watermelon and exploding! Kind of like Violet Beauregard in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I had to roll myself to bed one night! My poor husband!

Anyway, the melons (this post and last post) were fun and quick exercises to paint. The background color is called Torrit Gray (Gamlin). It was a free sample with my last Utrecht order. I didn't think I'd like it, but I actually do. It saved time for sure. 

Slowly catching up on my blogs after vacationing. Hope everyone's getting a great start to the summer! :)

First Melon

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#072

I'm usually not that much into melon. Usually. But something has happened to me this year, because I can't get enough of it! Especially watermelon! This cantaloupe may have started it all.

I painted this about 3 weeks ago (I've been out of town for 2 weeks, hence the delay). It was delicious, and yes, the seeds looked all haphazard like this. And there were a TON of them.

Questions: Is this the same thing as a musk melon? Or, as we called it as kids, mush melon? 

Which One Was Painted First?

These are daily paintings #070 and #075... not necessarily in order.

I painted the first one, and no one seemed to like it (including me)... so I changed it a bit. You'll probably notice the background color especially. After I changed it, it sold... but there's still something "unlikeable" about it to me.

Can you tell which one was the original and which one was "improved"?

Timed Challenge - Flower

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#071

I've been out of town and gotten behind almost a month! Going to try to catch up before the end of the month. This painting was actually painted about 3 weeks ago. It was done in response to a challenge through daily paintworks that was timed. The challenge was to complete it in less than 2 hours. My time was 1:58:50.43. haha All I can say is WHEW!

Painting Walls and Huddle House

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#069

People always talk about how painting is therapeutic, how it's relaxing, reduces stress, and gets the endorphin's going. Most of the time people are referring to artistic endeavors involving oil paints, watercolors, pastels, canvases, brushes, etc. But, I've been painting walls -- with gray paint, of all colors -- and found it almost comparable. Almost! If it weren't for the limited palette, one brush and one roller, the last two weeks of painting might have felt as rewarding as when a painting turns out better than you expected. AND, I'm really on top of my trim game now! I must say, my technique has really blossomed... come into its own. No need for painter's tape here! 

Above is a painting of my husband paying the tab at our local Huddle House. It's down at the foothills, and one of the few places to go for breakfast if you don't feel like "dressing up" or driving too far. At HH you just throw on a hat, a favorite sweatshirt, and your most comfortable jeans (belt loosened, of course). It makes the grits and country ham taste even better that way!

And no, I can't think of a connection between painting walls and the HH (in case you were expecting me to draw some sort of conclusion at this point). But, if you think of one, let me know. 

Study

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#068

One of the main reasons I started doing daily paintings, is to help with my larger pieces. (I was getting bogged down, too tight, and loosing the "fun" inspiring part of painting.) Trouble is, I've had so much fun with the daily small ones that I've neglected any of my bigger work. Art shows have been coming and going and I have little new to exhibit anymore. MY BAD! Time really does fly when you're having fun. Anyway.... I've had a painting sitting in my studio for months .... ok, a year ... almost finished, with people asking about it. (It's part of a fairly popular series that I started a few years ago ... ok, maybe a decade.) 

Anyway... trying to get back into my larger works with this study. (Obviously) there's a hand in the painting. I had my husband pose for this. What I learned:  1. The positioning of this pose will work... mostly.  2. I need to add a lot more shadowing, and accentuate a very warm top-down lighting.  3. The cool shadows will have to be warmed up.  4. The inside of the hand can be softened.  5. My husband has an extra fold between his top two knuckles on his index finger! (How'd I miss that?) Guess I'll have to soften it or eliminate it entirely. The fold, that is. :)

Happy Painting!

Quick - Silver

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#67

I thought I was finished painting silverware for awhile, until I spotted these guys at an antique store. They were stacked and held together with a old piece of worn masking tape that read, "$6". I brought them home, polished them up, and painted them. Now they're in my drawer, ready to be put back in service.

I didn't have long to paint these, and they went much faster, and were much easier than I thought. Guess they were just happy to be rescued! 

Proper

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#065

If you saw this one on the Daily Paint Works site, I commented on how I seemed to lose the "vision" for it toward the end. I couldn't get the perspective to look right to me, no matter what I did to "fix" it. It's kind of like when you spell a simple word a couple of times and all of a sudden it just doesn't look right anymore. Maybe that's just "over thinking it"?

Anyway, I did capture photos of my steps UP TO my state of complete confusion. lol Here they are:

This background color is a taupish-gray that I'm really liking; it reminds me of damp clay. I used my white chalk pencil to sketch it in. At this point, I still liked the composition. (It's hard to see my half-point hash marks, but they're there.)

Next, found the  darkest darks. I love how this easy step gives so much dimension to your objects and sets your composition "in place."

Usually, I would save my lights at this point, but I wanted to get a little of this turquoise color down first. After I did it, I didn't really like it. It seemed over powering, and it wasn't easy to tone down. 

After saving my "whites", I blocked colors in, dark to light, one color at a time. 

Lastly, I added the background, keeping it cooler than the silverware overall. Then I tried to refine, working here and there. This is the part I over analyzed until I just could not see it anymore.

Sorry to get you to the end and then just say, "And this is were I lost it!" Ha! Almost sounds like an April Fool's Day joke.