Lemons in Glass - And Videos!

"Lemons in Glass"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

Available through Tvedten Fine Art

This was April's demonstration for my Online Art Mentorship group, talking about painting glass - a subject many of us love to visit and revisit - including me! It was a great session, and I've got the videos to prove it. 

A two-minute time-lapse of the finishing stages: (click the link if you're reading this in your email)

And the longer version. Enjoy!

A New Painting of Some Oranges...With Videos!

"One Turned Away"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

$250

Sold

This was the painting demonstration for my online art mentorship students at our monthly group session in Februray. It's a fun little piece! I love composing with cast shadows, and this is an excellent example of why. 

I just published a full-length video of this demo on YouTube - walking through my 3-step process for alla prima painting. Here's a clip!

(If you're reading this in your email - thanks for being a subscriber! You may need to click this link to watch, though. ;))

A New Tarot Series Painting

 

 "The Juggler"

12 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

$500

Click to buy

The two of pentacles is all about juggling life's priorities. "There is a tendency to be distracted by day-to-day affairs and general busy-ness, so prioritizing your activities and carefully managing your time is essential." A good thought for anyone at any time, but particularly for artists. How do we do the thing we love - the thing we most want to do - but which doesn't necessarily get dinner served on time? Deciding to make painting a priority and balancing your life around that goal is a topic that comes up frequently with my online mentorship students. Self-motivation is endless and fascinating.

But, of course, I chose the juggler for this painting because of the way the round yellow shapes of his pentacles mirror the shapes of the two oranges. The significance, reliably, follows.  😉

The black-and-white oil study for this one is also available, here.

Thanks for looking!

It's One-Dollar Auction Time!

"The Red Snake"

approx. 8 x 11 inches, oil on Arches oil paper

One-Dollar Auction!

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This was kind of a demo for my Online Mentorship students, a couple of whom are working on loosening up their process this month with one-hour paintings. They are doing some incredible things! Here is a blog post one of them wrote - I promise, I'm not making her work THIS hard, she's just incredibly motivated. When I say I get as much from my students as they get from me, this is what I'm talking about. What an inspiration!

And speaking of inspiration, I had some help naming this painting. You know who you are, and thanks. ;)

Painting Together, Painting Alone

 "Blueberry Tart"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas
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I love a new project - and I have one this week! I've been attending open studio sessions to draw and paint the figure for years, and lately have found myself wondering - could that model (no pun intended) work with still life? Get a group of like-minded artists together to paint, chat, and share a still life set-up...why not?

The inaugural session of the Still Life Open Studio was this past Thursday at Whiteaker Printmakers' Annex - the same space where I recently taught a figure painting workshop. There were six of us in attendance, but I brought enough subject matter for a small army of artists. Tea and lemons....shocker!

The fruit tarts were a change for me. First time painting one - and I loved the shiny fruit! 

Underpainting to finish. I always start my still lives the same way: with a wet-toned canvas in a warm neutral orange, then a value block-in in thin paint. I recently made a video for my online mentorship students demonstrating my whole process. If you enjoy watching it, give it a thumbs up on YouTube - I'd appreciate it!

Talking to myself in an empty room....no wonder I was craving a group of painters to hang with!

Apricots, Fake Milk, and Art Mentorship

 "Apricots and Milk"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

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A very good example of a complementary color scheme: yellow-orange and blue-violet. Limiting the range of colors within your painting is a great way to keep it simple and harmonious - and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with using a limited palette (though if you're looking for color harmony, there's no easier way to find it than to use one). 

For me, setting up a still life is an exercise in color mixing - before I even take my palette out of the freezer. (What, you don't keep your palette in the freezer? You actually have food in there?) 

Speaking of food....in the interest of full disclosure, I admit that this is not real milk. I gave up eating dairy products four months ago, so almond milk is the model here. I never knew changing my diet would have such a profound impact on all aspects of my life! Ha.

Before I end this post, I will sneak in an announcement: I've begun offering online art mentorships, and I'm pretty excited about it! More information here. :)