Persimmon Season, Once Again.

"Candle in Glass (Persimmons)"

12 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

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So grateful to have been gifted some beautiful persimmons to paint this month. And I always love painting candles. It's been too long - for both subjects!

One Last Egg

 "Farm Fresh"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

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The last egg painting for a while! I'll have 5 of them on display at the Small Pleasures show, which opens December 4th, in Eugene. 

Here's a shot of my underpainting. With this limited palette, I use a simple mix of Alizarin and Yellow Ocher for the underpainting. Makes a nice Burnt Siena-ish tone to work into.

 And here's the card for the show. Look at that list of artists! (click on the pic to see it larger...)

Painting Eggs at the Duck Store

"Morning Eggs"

12 x 12 inches, oil on canvas, framed

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I was invited to demo at the University of Oregon Duck Store (what might be called a "campus book store" at a less football-crazy institution) during their art supply trade show last week. Two full days of painting and talking about painting. It was a blast! 

I decided to keep working on my series of limited palette egg paintings. Here's my palette, all mixed up. The "parent" primaries are yellow ocher, alizarin crimson, and ultramarine blue. From those three, I mixed a color wheel, and then an "inner ring" of tints:

 

 I'll be showing this whole series of egg paintings next month at the Jacobs Gallery's Small Pleasures Invitational, in Eugene. If you've never attended this yearly show, it's truly a showcase of the area's best - at seriously affordable prices. Opening reception is Friday December 4th!

 

"Quiche To Be"
8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas
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Limited Palette Portrait Painting in Oils

 "Daniel"

11 x 14" oil on canvas

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It's always a treat when I can rope a friend into sitting for me. It's not that they're unwilling, my friends, but busy lives being what they are, it's rare to actually nail someone down for an entire afternoon. Hmm.... rope, nails...sounds painful! 

Daniel was still smiling at the end, though:

 

I've got a two-day portrait painting workshop coming up next weekend - November 21-22nd, in Eugene. Limited palette, live models, lots of fun. There are a few spaces left - join me!

(work-in-progress)

Simply Cracked

"Simply Cracked"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas, framed

Available Here

Another in my new series of limited palette egg paintings. I'm aiming for six of these. Three down, three to go!

I'm ready to paint up a storm this month, after hitting up Oregon Art Supply's semi-annual canvas sale this morning. Here's my haul, hanging out with some friends that have already been painted and framed. Before and after!

A New Series: Limited Palette Eggs

 

 "Shell Game"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

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I enjoyed this limited palette demo at my last workshop so much that I've decided to do a series based on it. This trio of colors is a strange choice for painting eggs since the yellow is so muted - and egg yolks are such a vivid, vibrant yellow - but the subtleties and harmonies are pleasing. And, as with all limited palettes, in the absence of anything "Yellower," Yellow Ocher does just fine!

My colors for this series: Ultramarine Blue, Yellow Ocher, and Alizarin Crimson - with Titanium White, of course!

The paint brand is M. Graham - my favorite.

Below is my underpainting. I put a wet tone on the canvas - with this limited palette, I use a red-orange, but any warm neutral orange (such as Burnt Sienna) works well - as long as there's no white added. Next, I sketch into my tone, pulling out the lights with a clean brush or rag and Gamsol, and deepening the darks by adding some red, purple, or blue to my toning orange. 

I think of the underpainting as the first two "stages" of my three-stage painting process. The first is layout, or drawing - the second is values - and the third, of course: color! I'll be discussing this and much, much more during my still life workshop at Winslow Art Center this weekend. There's still time to register, if you're interested!