Pear Power

 

 "Pear Power"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

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This pair of pear paintings were painted with the same limited palette - three tubes of color, plus white (OK, two whites). 

It looks like a lot more, doesn't it?!

You can click on this image for info on the colors I used:

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

 

 "Tangerines on Turquoise"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

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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. 

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. :)

Royal Reds, and A Show Announcement

 

 "Royal Reds"

14 x 18 inches, oil on canvas

$500

Click to buy

Painting Christmas ornaments before Thanksgiving.... that's like Starbucks busting out the pumpkin spice lattes in August! Which they do. In my defense, these pomegranates were just crying out for some sparkly holiday cheer - I love the little dots of light reflecting into the shadow on the lower pom - so fun to paint!

This palette was a red bonanza - I had Cad red light, Cadmium red, Quinacridone red, and Alizarin Crimson up there. Dioxazine Purple, too. Yum.

This painting, and 14 others, is on display at Out on a Limb Gallery here in Eugene this month. The opening reception is tonight, during the First Friday artwalk! Starting at 5:30. Hope you can attend. And read this lovely write-up on our town's newest arts publication: The Eugene Review!

Cozy Cantaloupe

 "Cozy Cantaloupe"

12 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

$300

Click to buy

There are some truly tricky and subtle oranges going on in cantaloupe. I suspected as much, but I'm not sure I've tried this subject before - at least not in color!

 

 As you can see, I threw pretty much everything-but-the-kitchen-sink at it, warm-color-wise: clockwise from bottom left - yellow ochre, hansa yellow, cadmium yellow, cadmium orange, titanium white, cadmium red light, cadmium red, alizarin crimson. That's a lot of tubes, for this limited palette girl! (The blues are cerulean, ultramarine, and ivory black, in case you're curious).

Figuring It Out

 "Humble Prayer"

12 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

Available here

I've been doing a lot of figures lately. I actually spent most of May working on a portrait commission, which I hope to share with you soon. Two figures in that one! I'm also teaching a figure painting workshop this weekend (a couple of spots still available - info here!), and have been drawing, painting, and thinking up a storm in preparation. 

But first, this piece. Painted over two sessions with a live model. And believe it or not....this is Zorn palette! Ok, not entirely. I added Alizarin Crimson to the mix - so the full palette is Titanium white, Yellow Ocher, Ivory Black, Cadmium Red, and Alizarin Crimson. As my painting buddy Farley said, Yeah, Zorn is turning over in his grave.

Sorry, Anders.

 

Left to right: first session, second session.

Want to watch me paint a live model? You can! This Friday night from 6-8 pm, at Whiteaker Printmakers, in fact. Belle will be my model.  

Here is all the info. Hope to see you there!

La Belle Muse

"Belle"

12 x 24 inches, oil on canvas

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I painted this with....you guessed it! The Zorn palette. Which I believe I will henceforth be calling the Sedwick palette. No, just kidding. 

Cadmium red, yellow ocher, and ivory black - look how beautiful!

I'll be teaching a workshop on this method of figure painting May 28th and 29th, in Eugene. There will also be a two-hour demo on Friday evening, which is free for workshop students, but anyone can attend.  Details on that can be found here.

The Primary Palette

 "Cut Apple" 

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

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This weekend, I taught at two-day oil painting workshop called "The Primary Palette," painting still lives using a three-color palette. Color choice is up to each artist - any red, yellow, and blue combo they like.

I chose Cadmium red light, Azo yellow, and a new-to-me color, Maya Blue, by Rublev paint. 

Painting with a palette like this is a great way to get acquainted with new-to-you colors.

Above, you can see my color wheel - beautiful oranges and greens, very dull (but beautiful) violets. That's the result of a yellowish red combined with a muted blue - and my demos of the awesome "Stroke Economy" exercise. A workshop favorite!

And here is some of my students' work. Fabulous!

Peaceful Pears, Primary Palette!

 "Peaceful Pears"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

$150

Available here

I painted these peaceful pears alongside a private student of mine, in her tranquil, sunny home studio. 

We both worked from a limited palette of three primary colors, plus white. For my three primaries, I picked cadmium yellow, azo coral, and ultramarine blue. 

 

 Working with a palette like this has so many benefits - like simplifying your color mixing, and creating nearly automatic color harmony in your finished piece. If you'd like to learn more about this method of painting, I've got a workshop coming April 23-24th, in Eugene. Click here for all the details!

 

Introduction to Oil Painting

 

 "Demo at OAS, January 2016"

9 x 12 inches, oil on Arches oil paper

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I just wrapped up the first-ever session of my new workshop, Intro to Oil Painting. It's funny that I've been teaching for three years now, and this was my first beginner-level class. The most challenging part was keeping it simple - especially when it comes to talking color!

Luckily, the first day was all black-and-white. First, we mixed up a value scale, then we painted with it: all-white geometric objects, then red and green apples.

The second day, we mixed up a full-spectrum palette from the primaries. I like seeing my demo painting in sequence with the palette and color wheel: 

I've got plenty of workshops coming up - you can check them all out in the right-hand sidebar. Don't hesitate to sign up if you're interested - all levels of experience are welcome in all of my workshops!

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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Red Reverie

 "Red Reverie"

14 x 11 inches, oil on canvas

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For this painting, I used a limited palette of Cadmium Red, Viridian, Yellow Ocher, and White. Here's how my palette looked at the end of the three-hour session:

 What a mess!

And here's my work-in-progress:

From Palette to Painting

 "Blue Shadow"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

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I've been doing a LOT of limited palette lately, so it felt good to wallow around in my normal array again. My palette got more complex, but my subject is nice and simple: a contiguous color scheme (yellow-green-blue), and an old standby, lemons!

Here's my palette:

And here's how the painting came together:

Thanks for looking!

In Which I Confess

 

"Bountiful Camellias" 

12 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

$450

Available through The Gallery at the Watershed

A funny thing happened last Friday.  Hanging out at my new gallery during the artwalk, I was randomly introduced to the very same neighbor of mine from whom I've been stealing these gorgeous red Camellias for the past four years. I immediately came clean and thanked her profusely (some Japanese-style bowing was involved), but she laughed and thanked me. I assume for helping tame a slightly out-of-control bush. Or possibly for making her an unknowing, (but valued) patron of the arts. 

So, Anna, now that I actually know who you are I can publicly thank you for all the flowers. 

*Thanks*

 oil sketch for "Bountiful Camellias"

 6 x 6"

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Anders Zorn, I Presume?

 

"Bright Eyes"

16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas

$500

click to buy

Since this pose was set for three weeks, I decided to attempt a two-weeker after my first piece, or a six-hour painting, in the large-for-me size of 16x20 inches. And since simplicity is something I'll take where I can get it these days, I chose the charming Mr. Zorn as a painting partner:

Titanium White, Cad Red, Yellow Ocher, Ivory Black. The Zorn Palette

 Here is my progression from the first week, at 1, 2, and 3 hours roughly. I blended it a bit after I got home, and resolved to face my fear of painting "alla segundo" (the opposite of alla prima: Thanks, Joy, for that one, by the way), and work back into it.

God, I loved this piece after 45 minutes. I should have just left it that way, but you know, closure is good, too.

And now, some shots of my painting friends! Left to right, Farley Craig (or as I think of him, the font of knowledge), the lovely Joy, such a dedicated student, and Barbara, who finishes a powerfully expressive painting in the time it takes me to get my drawing down. Also a delicately rendered drawing by Lisa, a regular whose picture I didn't get to snap last night!)

 

 I would strongly encourage anyone who is interested in the arts, even in an amateur way, to seek out a group to paint or draw with. The camaraderie and interaction is so important. Contrary to popular belief, I say that art is not a solitary pursuit. It's a community of creation.