The Old In and Out

 "Calla Lilies by the Open Door"

8 x 6 inches, oil on canvas

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 OMG, I couldn't resist. This is exactly what goes through my mind every time I paint a scene that includes both indoor and outdoor elements. No one should ever watch movies, ever, really, right? My apologies aside, what's a blog for if not to expose your mental issues thought process?

Here's my work-in-progress, anyway:

 It's a huge challenge, capturing any subject backlit by a window. The trick is to keep the outside SO much brighter than the inside, but also very neutralized, or dull, colorwise, since it is seen through glass. I almost got there in this painting - I had trouble darkening the gorgeous whites of the lilies sufficiently to really sillouhette them. Can you blame me? I'm still charmed by my results. Charmed, I'm sure.

Composition by Attrition

"Lone Lilac"

6 x 6 inches, oil on canvas

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As previously mentioned, Lilacs don't last long in captivity. What is it with these guys? They think they're too good to hang out with me? Apparently. Well, this lovely Lilac was perfuming the air in another room, and for some reason didn't wilt like the others. Maybe it's the Gamsol fumes they object to in my studio....

Tomorrow morning is, sadly, the last installment of my workshop. Happily, though, it's Egg Day! I'm also packing a BUNCH of onions, in case any of my repeat offenders regular students want to tackle something other than eggs. 

It's going to be one hell of a good-smelling classroom!

 

P.S. What are you getting your mom for mother's day? It's only a week away (tick, tick). I have LOTS of paintings in my Etsy shop that I can ship tomorrow, with a custom-written note card attached! (And free shipping, for those in the know. Use the code SARAH at checkout.)

P.P.S. And speaking of undying love, I've entered a contest - and I'd really like to win. The prize is a free plein air workshop, here in Eugene, in August. All I need is tons of votes! So, if you have 10 seconds and a Facebook account, please help me out! Thanks. (P.P.P.S. you can vote once a day...)

The Lilac Thief, an Autobiography

 

"Lilacs and Tea"

6 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

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Lilacs don't last long as cut flowers, I'm finding. Not to worry, Lilac lovers, I'm out stealing more as you read this!

Another Purple Day: Playshop!

 

 "Purple Tea" 

6 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

$250

click to buy

Don't call it a workshop! The second ever teaching of "Painting, Fast and Fun" is outdoing itself in the fun department, with a great group of artists. Last time I took this exercise out for a spin, I used blue and orange, but today was all about purple and yellow.

 

 We started the day with a black and white painting, to get the whole value-first thing fast in our minds, and then dove in with our choice of complements. The idea is not to capture local color (the color of the actual object), but to use the paint mixtures to achieve correct value. If nothing else, it shakes you out of your comfort zone.....

Though there was plenty of laughing and banter (or was that just me?) for an uncomfortable group.

My wonderful students, with Liz's purple/yellow painting, unfinished at bottom right

I was having a particularly hard time photographing this intensely purple painting, so I thought I'd share some of my photo editing behind-the-scenes today.

I have a 5 year old Canon Powershot 10 megapixel camera. I always take my photos inside, in my studio, in between a window and my overhead halogen lightbulb, with the painting positioned to get the least glare --- and the pictures always come out too blue. iPhoto to the rescue! Don't ever be afraid to edit your photos prior to posting. They should look as close to the actual painting as they can. If anything, this particular piece is MORE purple than it appears on your screen. Believe it. I'm a purple person.

Portraits All Around!

 

"The Small Smile"

8 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

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Here's my work from yesterday morning at the Art Center. It was a treat getting to paint the same model twice this week. She has such a sweet personality, and always seems to be smiling while she poses. I toned the canvas, drew in the head, and rubbed out the light areas with a brush/rag before beginning to lay in color.

This morning, I took a turn on the other side of the canvas, and sat for my friend Patti McNutt. Patti is a fabulous landscape painter (Here I am with my very own piece of her work), and when she mentioned she was making a series of portraits of woman artists, I didn't hesitate to volunteer. It was a blast! I was very comfortable sitting still for the two hours she worked, and we chatted about our shared Ohio roots, the local art scene, and our mutual boyfriend - John Singer Sargent! 

(She claims to have had him first.)

Her studio is gorgeous. I mean, it has a greenhouse attached to it, hello! She keeps her skull collection out there, and she let me hold her Real. Human. Skull. I had a great morning.

Next week, Patti comes to my studio for her turn on the model stand. If she plays her cards right, I might even show her my skulls.

"Sarah Thinks About Art" ©Patti McNutt 24x36" oil on canvas

I Invent a Verb

 

"Sultry Sleepy Eyes"

8 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

$200

click to buy

 I pulled into the parking lot of the Art Center last night still not knowing what I wanted to do, palette-wise. Because I'd been busy all morning, my travel palette was a mess, and with no time to clean it (between the 3 year old's dance class, making dinner, blogging, you know...), I threw a disposable palette in my paint box and ran out the door.

It seemed like as good a time as any to pull something out of the "I've been meaning to try" bag:

The Zorn Palette

Image source

  Red, Yellow Ocher, Black, White. That's it! So simple.

 And I'm going to declare my use of "Zorn" as a verb totally acceptable. I'll even give you permission to use it too.

Here's another Zorn spectrum. Great Zorning, dude!

image source

Someone took me up on it!

 

"Green Scarf, Green Eyes"

8 x 10 inches

oil on canvas

$350

click to buy

Remember when I threw myself at you put out a call for portrait subjects a few weeks ago? And the crickets chirped very loudly? ...Well, someone finally took me up on my offer, and in lieu of wine (which I was more than willing to consider, nevermind that it was 9:30 am) all she demanded was a little online art-selling chat. As some of you know, there's not much I love to gush about more than Etsy --- Daily Paintworks being a close second. She got an earful. I got to hear all about her work in the Flemish masters' painting method and her continuing efforts to remove all petroleum products from her studio. AND I made my second painting of the week with "Green" in the title. 

It was a good day. Thanks, Sarah!

The talented Sarah Ciampa, with her portrait, by me. Also Sarah. Because it's the best name there is.

My Valentine's Date

 "The Pale Pink Dress" 

8 x 10"

oil on canvas

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Below is my progress, from one to three hours. For some reason, I didn't take a "full-body" shot the first hour, but I was having problems with the legs at that point, so it was probably subconscious.

At the halfway point, I checked my values using a photo-editor on my phone. I find this extremely helpful and usually do it two or three times during a sitting. The app I have is called Camera+, but there are a ton out there that do the same thing.

 As I was organizing my thoughts before writing this post, it occurred to me that I spent last Valentine's Day painting this very same model! She's a total pro, and I've been lucky to paint her (ten million times.) Thank you, Miranda!

"Brown Eyes" oil painting original fine art portrait

 

8 x 10"

oil on canvas

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The model for this painting is my gorgeous sister-in-law. She is blissfully ignorant that this painting even exists, as I took the reference photo years ago, during a previous phase of being big-time into portraiture. So, hi Jen! And thanks for posing way back when.

Whenever I'm painting a portrait, I try to keep in mind that different areas of the face have different color casts. I guess this happens because you have more blood vessels closer to the skin in your nose-and-cheek area, but if anyone has a better reason, please speak up! Sargent was a master at demonstrating this effect.

(Pulled from my "Art Lessons" board on Pinterest.)

....And here's another 15 minute warmup painting. I'm loving doing these lately, and have noticed a difference in my work overall as a result.

"The Cloche Hat" original oil painting art portrait clothed model figure figurative

 

8 x 10"

oil on canvas

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My second time painting this model. I was loving her retro-chic outfit, especially the wooly gray skirt. As you can see below, it was the first thing I painted.

A model break. Cool filter courtesy of Instagram.

A Self Portrait...wonders will never cease.

8 x 10"

oil on canvas

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Recently, I put out a call for skin-tone tips, and I got some really good responses. My favorite came from Bill Sharp - the infographic you see below. Sean Cheetham is one of my gods heroes - I'm totally blow away by his muted, yet perfectly modulated flesh tones.  So, I was really excited to try his palette. The idea is that you mix two main "mud" piles - a light side and a dark side, and then modify each one three or four ways. I couldn't believe how few piles of paint I was using to create such a range of expression. My normal portrait palette is, well, not this simple.

  

 What it looks like on my palette:

I needed a test subject, so I snapped a quick self-portrait with my phone, propped it up next to my canvas, and dove in. What do you think?

Do you like painting self-portraits? Do you always do them from a mirror, or do you prefer photo reference?
I really don't like painting self-portraits. Going back and forth between the mirror and my painting is very difficult for me, and no one ever EVER thinks I capture a likeness. I enjoyed the cell-phone method, though. I think I'll be doing these more often!

"Heart Shaped Box" valentines day gift art oil painting candy truffles chocolates

  

8 x 8"

oil on canvas

$150 

click to buy

As one who came of age in the glorious '90s, the phrase 'heart shaped box' will always bring one and only one thing to mind: Nirvana. I feel lucky to have been in high school during an era when music was 'alternative,' and women's fashion still centered around loose fitting jeans and combat boots. Hell, even the occasional overall. Not that I went there....that often. I don't want to even think about what the advent of skinny jeans would have done to my teenage psyche, although I do wear them nowadays.

Feels strange to be speaking of skinny jeans with such tempting, high-calorie subject matter this week! These evil cherry-heart jelly beans are almost gone, and I just picked up an 8 pound bag of oranges at the grocery store (they were all out of flu shots, so I figured it was the next-best thing), so look forward to some healthier paintings coming soon.

"Sweet Romance" art painting of valentines day candy and chocolate

  

8 x 8"

oil on canvas

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I'm really not a big sweet-eater, and it's been established that I'm not much for lipstick either. But I love to paint shiny gold things, and that cherry goo was the highlight of my painting week!

"The White Shawl" female nude figure painting figurative art

 

8 x 10"

oil on canvas

$200

click to buy

One of my resolutions for this year was to do something about the horrible cell phone pictures I've been posting on Facebook and Twitter. So, I did. With my new-and-improved photo technology, there should be lots of quality in-progress shots (like this one) ahead!

I'm pleased with this little painting. I tried to keep in mind some of the things I liked about this one while I was working, and a couple good suggestions from my friend Farley helped me overcome some drawing issues I was having early on.

"(Sketch for) Tahni" female figure painting nude woman girl original oil painting for sale on Etsy

  

9 x 12"

oil on canvas

$150 

available in my Etsy shop

Here is the preparatory sketch I did for the 18x24" piece I'm making this week, which you can see on the easel below. Isn't Gabriella's studio gorgeous? What you can't see is that the window on the left is actually a wall of six windows and the black cloth is covering up two more. Birds, squirrels, and, I'm told, a hawk frolic (and slay one another) in her backyard all day long. Bliss! 

 

 

"Jewel Toned Ornaments" Christmas painting xmas art oil painting holiday decor gift for the artlover

 

8 x 8"

oil on canvas

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I had a fantastic time last night! Our excellent local art store invited me to show some work and paint in their store during the First Friday Artwalk. Today's painting was my trial run. I painted the very same ornaments in a slightly different configuration for the live demo, and the painting (which I finished in just under three hours) is on view at Oregon Art Supply.

 I want to say a huge thanks to Rebecca and Robin at Oregon Art Supply, for hosting me, and to the M. Graham paint company and their awesome sales rep Dan for coming out! M. Graham is my paint of choice, and they're also an Oregon company, so it was great to meet a member of their team and find out even more about their products.