What I do when I don't feel like painting....

Well...I paint...

I do what I call "block ins" and lots of them.  Here's a few from here in my RV.  

If it looks like they're done in chalk, that's because I do a lot of my block ins in black and white oil paint.  I love this process!  These are some small format paintings, but by putting things in black & white, I can see if I want to continue.  Because they are at such an early stage in the painting process...I don't stress about them.  It's very fun for me!

If you look in the middle of the above photo, you'll see the block in of this little ballerina I have up for auction on Daily Paintworks.

These small paintings are a nice & fun change for me.  Sometimes I feel like I'm always trying to come up with class paintings (for the painting classes I teach) and it feels good to just paint.  :-)

Happy Painting!!

My Sketchbook is ugly.....

In school we had to do small thumbnail sketches as prelim work for larger paintings.  Consistently, I was "encouraged" to put a bit more detail in those drawings.  I still don't.  

Much like my handwriting, my thumbnails are "rough".  However, my sketchbook is an extremely valuable tool to me.  

I use it to work out formats and compositions, paintings for classes I teach, & to help me decide if I even want to do a larger painting.  

I'm always in awe of artists who show their sketchbooks & they truly look like works of art.  

That works for them.  My crazy sketchbook works for me.  :-)

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Gridding out tough subjects....

I use a grid method to get tough subjects, specifically portraits of people & wildlife looking right.  If you're painting someone you want them to look like them...just like if I'm painting a finch...I want it to look like a finch, not a warbler.  

I just make a grid on both my sketchbook or canvas and on the reference I'm using.  

Then I draw a line drawing, each square at a time.  When I'm done, I remove or paint over the grid lines.  This little guy was featured in one of the classes I teach. (Those of you in KY who took this class will remember this little guy.)

Are there other ways to do this?  Yep.  Are there better ways to do this?  Maybe, probably.  But when I don't have the option of "taking liberties" with a subject, I use photo references.  In art school, this was not allowed in my initial drawing classes....for good reason.  I needed to do the work so I could get better as an artist.  Now that I'm teaching and selling my work.  If I have a reference, I use it.  

Happy Painting!

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Blocking In....

I block in very roughly on most paintings.  Usually I go dull, then brighten up.  Sometimes though I put in colors that are brighter than the local color of a subject.  Case in point is this little portrait of a desert flower from Bryce Canyon.  The rocks there are amazing and this painting is about the ledge and the flower.  In the foreground, I put the pinks a little brighter and deeper than they read to me.  Then when I completed the painting, some of that brightness comes through.  Just enough to bring out the wonderful shades in the formations.

You can see the bright red of the rock underneath the plant.  It's more understated in reality, but when I put in my final darks and lights, enough of it shines though to intensify those cracks.

I knew I wanted that red banding and to ensure I didn't wash it out too much in the final painting, I push it in the block in.
Happy Painting!!!


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Summer paintings...

I love the growing season here in Kentucky.  I can remember as a young girl walking thru my grandparents fields and appreciating the beauty of the tobacco as it grew in rows on their farm.  We did get a surprise in one of our fields behind the new construction on the house.  We aren't and have never grown hollyhocks.  Yet, three sprang up in the middle of the hay. 



I took a bunch of photos for future paintings.  Such a sweet surprise!  

 For this or other little paintings I have up for auction this week, just click on the link at the above right.

Little Blaze....

She's about a week old now, but was only two days old when I took these photos.  She was still very clumsy..it was so cute.  Needless to say, she's gotten much more agile and is a little cutie.  I would love to have gotten some better photos of her, but she was too curious about my phone. 

 

I love seeing these cool rushing waterfalls we have here in KY and this one in Tennessee. 

For this or other little paintings I have up for auction on ebay, just click the link at the above right. 





Saying goodbye to Florida for the year.....

 

 

Well, here's a few shots of us walking Chassie on a few of our favorite parks and trails here in Florida.  We're heading home to Ky and hope to bring the warm weather with us.  I'm looking forward to doing more paintings out on the farm in Bracken County and I also can't wait to see all of my students and paint with them.  See ya soon!!

 

The below painting is available for sale on ebay by clicking on the link at the above right.  Thanks for your interest in my work!

 





Where has the year gone???

We were talking this week and it will only be a few weeks before we head to Florida for the winter!  What!!!???  Where has the time gone???  Though I am down to the last of my beach paintings from earlier this year.  Can't wait to do more. 

 

For this or other paintings I have for sale on ebay, just click on the link at the above right.



Watercolor from a photo.....

Many of you may not know, but I started out using watercolors.  My first art "lesson" at my church was a watercolor class.  I think I was only in Jr High at the time.  I saved my money and bought a real watercolor set, the tubes, not the pans.  I hadn't worked in this medium in years, but I really do enjoy it.  I just completed this one last week.



Working alone...

I don't know how many of you feel about this, but I prefer to work/create when I'm alone. I seem to get so much more accomplished that way. Now it could be that because I'm a bit of a "talker" (those of you who know me personally probably think that's an understatement!!), I don't get as much done because I'm chatting too much. I think that's part of it, but I also think that I don't like for people to see my "process". I prefer to only show my completed work. I used to hate in college when we had to work in class and I constantly had someone looking over my shoulder. I got around that by working very slow, then finishing up at home. I'm sure I didn't fool my professors, but no one called me out on it!

For this or other paintings I have for sale on Ebay, click on the link at the above right.

Dramatic Sky

5 x 6 inches, Oil on board

Available for sale on Ebay after 1/30/2011

Friends

Most Sunday nights you can find me and my boyfriend over at one of our friends homes. We call it life groups, or Bible Study. We all meet at someones home, bring something yummy to eat, and dive into God's word. I can't tell you how much this time means to me. It's just the re-charge I need to get my week going and it's nice to just be able to kick back and be yourself.

What does this have to do with my art journey? Everything!! Our friends shape us more than we can ever imagine. Sometimes more than our own families.

Neighbors, local, or online, I hope everyone has the great support group of friends that I've been so blessed with.

For this or other paintings I have available for sale on Ebay, click on the link at the above right.

Florida Channel

5 x 7 inches, Oil on Canvas board

Available after 11/27/2010

Autumn

Well, the fall colors are in full swing all over the country. Here, because of the drought, we didn't have our usual fiery colored hillsides. It's still been pretty none the less.

Much of my time recently has been working on school projects and trying to keep up with my daily painting. I also help my boyfriend bring cars back (he has a small car lot) from different parts of the country. When I'm alone in the car on the road, much of my time is spent looking at the countryside, envisioning how I would paint it. It's the artist in me no doubt, but I can't help but to look for the purple in the trees.

Autumns Colors

5 x 7 Oil on board

Scheduled for Sale on Ebay 11/1/2010

Small Island With Trees

Small Island With Trees

5 x 7 inches

Oil on canvas board

Sold

Canyon Creek

Canyon Creek

8 x 10 inches

Oil on Canvas

Completed 2010

Sold

So...why do I choose to paint the paintings that I do each day? Unknown. Some days it could be my mood. Other days it could be a book or magazine I've finished reading. Again other days, it just may be nostalgia from my memories and it simply feels good to capture a moment on canvas.