Green Loops

 

 "Green Loops"

10 x 20 inches, oil on canvas

$500

Available, click to buy

It's been a while since I ventured out of the square format canvas - thought outside the box, if you will - and it feels good! 

I paint a lot of red delicious apples with my students.  I always choose red delicious over other varieties of red apples because they have the fewest striations, variegations, freckles, etc, to confuse an eye that's trying to discern clear light and shadow patterns. And their velvety garnet color - so rich it's almost purple - gets me every time. 

Here's how this piece came together.....

And here's the still life. Just a side note: I'm actually drinking one of these apples in a smoothie as I'm writing this. Talk about multitasking!

You can see more behind-the-scenes studio pictures like this, all day every day, on my Instagram. ;)

A Plein Air Still Life on Whidbey Island

 "Five Lemons"

12 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

$350

Click to buy

In my last post, I shared pictures from my recent opening at Brackenwood Gallery on Whidbey Island. It was a fantastic opening, and the fun didn't end there! The next day, I did a plein air still life demonstration outside the gallery doors, enjoying the cool island weather, and the gallery-goers who stopped to chat. I even had a canine audience, as you can see!

The light was a little strange, as it was cloudy and hazy with smoke from nearby wildfires - a kind of grainy, golden light. Not bad, but not as dramatic as the stunning summer sunlight I got for my demo afternoon last year!

Here's a look at my process: a simple black and white oil sketch (in a sketchbook) to plan the value pattern and composition, an underpainting on the canvas in sepia tones, and color laid directly over that, alla prima.

"Reflecting Pool," A Solo Show, and Gallery Gratitude

 "Reflecting Pool"

14 x 18 inches, oil on canvas

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Ta Da! My sole solo show of 2017 opened earlier this month at Brackenwood Gallery on Whidbey Island, Washington, and I got to be there in person to enjoy the festivities. 

I've been saving this painting, "Reflecting Pool," not blogging it, waiting for this show to open. It's the last - the final! - painting I will be posting from my artist's residency at Playa earlier this year, and it's my favorite piece made there - my favorite of the twenty paintings that I brought home from that powerful, miraculous month of work. 

Here it is, hanging in the gallery:

 And here is another shot of the show:

Here I am posing after the opening with the other artist who has a solo show in the gallery right now, Pete Jordan. His beautiful Whidbey Island landscapes are such a perfect counterpoint to my still lives... majestic in every way!

Thank you, Brackenwood, for making me look so good!

Six Cuties, and Stages of the Painting Process

 

 "Six Cuties"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

$250

Click to buy

Here are the stages this painting went through: still life setup, underpainting, and color application. My favorite phase of the painting process is definitely the underpainting. Still life setup is the hardest part, and the finishing touches are so agonizing...but the end stage can be fascinating.

What's your favorite stage of a painting?

(Click the link to tell me!)

"Tangerines on Turquoise"....and Tons of Teaching!

 

 "Tangerines on Turquoise"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

$250

Click to buy 

July was a whirlwind month, busy and full. This painting was a demo I did for students in Portland, over a two-day period. Here's my palette - heavy on the red-oranges. I really wanted to emphasize the red glow that reflects back and forth when oranges cuddle up together, and those saturated contrasting colors on the oranges and the plate.

 

...And this, believe it or not, is some of the student work from that class! What a talented bunch - not beginners. They did great. 

Strawberries for the Fourth!

 "Four Strawberries"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

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Red, White, and Blue. Happy Fourth of July, all!

Red Red Radishes

 "Red Red Radishes"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

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Why are so many artists drawn to radishes as a subject? Is it the complementary color scheme? The texture contrast between the smooth radishes and their feathery leaves? The challenge of capturing something that is literally wilting before your eyes? The movement in those twisting root threads? Or just the inviting, saturated reds?

Check, check, check! I resonate with all of it.

Here's the palette I used for this piece - a before and after:

 

And here's my model, my work-in-progress, and the finished piece. You can see more images like this on my Instagram page. It's like an ongoing mini-blog, with lots of behind-the-scenes stuff - and even a few selfies!

Oh, one more thing! I snuck an unblogged painting onto DPW auctions - it's starting at $100, you can check it out here. :)

Boundary

 "Boundary"

12 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

Framed, $500

Click to buy

 This is about as close as I have to a work-in-progress for this one - it's also an artist's-residency-in-progress shot - from my time at Playa back in February of this year. I've almost finished posting all twenty of those paintings here - but I still have a couple up my sleeve! 

Here's the finished painting. No clip lamp in sight -  I used only window light on my subject, making this a pretty rare piece for me. If you click on the picture for a larger view, you'll see my clamps and screwdriver sitting there on the easel - the unsung supporting cast of painting tools. The only one missing is the pliers. For opening stubborn paint tubes.

...And here's "Boundary" in its truly finished state. All framed up and hanging out with his friends. All four of these paintings are available, framed or unframed. Visit my Etsy shop or send me an email anytime. 

Thanks for reading!

Three-And-A-Half Lemons

 

"Three-And-A-Half Lemons"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

$200

Click to buy

 I'm able to bust out these little black-and-white oil sketches so quickly because I keep a pre-mixed value scale palette on hand at all times - in my freezer. Oil paint will develop a dry "skin" after a day or two when left out on the palette, but frozen it will keep for weeks. 

I also find it incredibly helpful in my color work, not to have to start from scratch each time I set out to paint. If the thought of all the preparation involved has ever stopped you from heading into the studio, consider keeping a pre-mixed palette on ice!

 

So many tips and tricks stored (like palettes in a freezer) in the recesses of my brain... I'll be unpacking lots more of them this weekend at my still life painting workshop, here in Eugene. Spaces are still available - click here for info! 

Four Elements

 "Four Elements"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

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This still life was not originally intended to be an allegory of the four elements - it got its name because it has, literally, four elements. Looking at it just now, however, it came to me that they could be symbols - the fish dish for water, the orange ribbon for fire...the blue cup for air, and the white for....earth? It's "feet" are on the ground, anyway. 

I recently visited an astrologer, and was told that I have a lot of the Air element in my birth chart. One interesting thing about that: air signs are connected to birds and their feathers. Go figure!

A black and white oil sketch for this piece. Paint in my sketchbook - something I've been doing a lot lately!

Propagation

 "Propagation"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

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Before I became a full-time artist, I was a plant lady - watering plants in office buildings, mainly. That was a decade ago, but my personal plant collection, though it's constantly evolving (along with everything else in life), remains a thing. A pretty big thing. Sometimes people even give me plants! That's how I came by this one, which broke as I was moving it back and forth from my studio, and spawned this cutting... And this painting! 

Propagation.

Here's my underpainting, alongside the finished piece:

And the model: 

 

Thanks for reading!

Green Onions on Blue - And Thoughts on Using Black Paint

 

"Green Onions on Blue" 

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

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 Here's are the colors I used for this painting. You'll notice that I have black in there - in fact, I almost always have black on my palette. Rather than using it to paint black things, or to darken other colors, I treat it like a blue - a very dark, desaturated blue. Usually, I mix dark greens with it. 

 

I also used it to whip up that little preliminary value study, right in my sketchbook. Ten minutes of planning makes a huge difference in the finished product - oil sketches are a practice I highly recommend!

The Blue Jay Feather

 

 "The Blue Jay Feather"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

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This feather is actually from a Steller's Jay, which just might be my spirit animal. They seem to hang around me in flocks, and I've been lucky enough to find two of their feathers. Feathers have been a recurring theme in my life these past two years, symbolizing many things - among them presence of mind and awareness - both of myself and of the small things around me - the beautiful gifts life offers when our eyes are open.

 

The Orange Ribbon

"The Orange Ribbon" 

10 x 20 inches, oil on canvas

$500

Click to buy

I love painting ribbon! It's basically a custom-made tool for creating movement in a still life - and lots of fun little shapes to paint. 

I'm in Louisiana teaching two workshops this week - still life AND portrait painting. To follow my adventures, check out my Instagram page. It's really the best way to keep track of me these days!

The Green Teapot, and a chance to watch me paint it - live!

 "The Green Teapot"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

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As an artist, I don't often feel that I'm in a "helping" profession. Yes, the arts benefit society hugely, and I'm proud to be a part of that. And yes, when I'm teaching painting, it's incredibly rewarding to be able to pass on my experience to my students. Donating my work to charitable organizations is a different kind of difference-making. I'll never be a social worker, but I truly know how important social work is to my community. So! This Thursday, I'll be participating in a great benefit for Sheltercare, here in Eugene.

I say it's a great benefit, because it really is - it's at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on the U of O campus, there's live music, great food, a silent auction of local art, and this year, my talented friend Heather and I will be making art, live, during the event. AND our paintings will be part of the raffle - along with our subject, this lovely green teapot.

So, today's painting was just a warmup, you could say!

Click on the image above for more info about the event - and click here to read an interview with yours truly, on the Sheltercare blog!

Swedish Ivy: A Painting and a Video

 

 "Swedish Ivy"

12 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

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This painting began as a demo for my online students - unbelievably, my art mentorship program is almost one year old! Time flies. And time certainly flew while I was doing this demo - in over two hours, I only got as far as the image on the left. As usual, the group and I covered a wide range of topics - and I DID edit the recording down to about 90 minutes, so you just get the good stuff!

Watch this painting come together! If you're reading this in your email, click here for the video.

Interested in studying with me in person? I've got a list of upcoming workshops in the right-hand sidebar of the blog -----> including this weekend, Intro to Oil Painting, in Eugene.

Rogue Valley Honey

 "Rogue Valley Honey"

12 x 12 inches, oil on canvas
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I went South last weekend to spend a couple of days hanging out by a large, beautiful river. It rained the entire time, which kept me from even attempting to paint plein air. To be honest, that was more than OK with me, since there was a Camellia bush in full bloom right outside our front door - and this gorgeous, glowing jar of honey, calling out to be painted from the moment I spied it on the kitchen shelf. So this still life is the product of true serendipity; my artistic journey is like a never-ending scavenger hunt with so many precious treasures hidden along the path, absolutely guaranteed to be found by me if I just keep looking. It's still exciting every time I find one.

 

When I did eventually brave the rainy outdoors, I was rewarded with visual treasures of another sort:

Oregon is amazing! After ten years of living here, I'm still in awe.

Green Olives and Tea

 "Green Olives and Tea"

12 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

$350

Click to buy

Here is my thumbnail sketch for this painting:

And here is a studio shot with my work-in-progress - the still life, my thumbnail sketch on the floor, for reference, and my easel cuddled up close to all of it, for a bird's eye view. In the background, by the window, you can see the still life setup for "The Pattern Beneath All Things," which I was painting at the same time as this one, in the afternoons, with the blinds open.  I had tape marks on the floor, and I just shifted the easel over.  

The thumbnail sketch for this piece snuck into this random shot of my studio desk as well - along with some objects from the painting - the garlic, the blue-rimmed plate. The olives are even hiding in this shot. (Hint: they're in their jar.) I think my motive for taking this picture was to document the excessive number of sketchbooks in play at once. Or maybe I just found the overall scene pleasing. I do love a good jumble of objects.