Converging on Red

 

Click Here to Purchase - $400 - 10x10in. - oil on panel

A while ago I saw an add for some cadmium-free paints (red & yellow) from Utrecht. I figured there would be compromises, but I finally bought some small tubes to try out. And after using them a few months, I am genuinely impressed! They are just as saturated as my cadmiums, and I can't see any chalkiness or other problems in any of my mixes. And if I can be just a little safer with my paint, I'm all for it.

Have any of you tried them? I'd love to hear what you think. (btw, I am not sponsored by Utrecht)

Should We Hide the Sake?

 

Click Here to Purchase for $200 - 6x8in. - oil

Here's another one that's been sitting around my studio. I'm still not able to paint still life, but I have started to paint from photos (less difficult for my healing neck). As it is after any long break, my skills are rusty. I know it will take a little while to get into the groove and start doing work I'm proud to show you. Until then I'm enjoying the process.

Neck update: I'm feeling better every day! I started PT today and it's going really well so far. More and more I'm able to do the things I couldn't do for almost an entire year! It's like starting over with my life. : )

Minna by the Creek

 

NFS - 23x16in. - oil - "Minna by the Creek"

Here is another one of sweet Minna. Her grandma came to pick both paintings up yesterday and seemed very happy. This one is my personal favorite so far.

A Meditation

Click Here to Bid (6x6in. - starts at $100)

One thing I'm trying to experiment with is not being quite so tight with my rendering. It's a habit that I fall into very quickly. So I'm using my squeegee to literally mess up my painting when it starts heading in that direction. I am finding that this leads (sometimes) to happy little accidents. It also means it takes longer to paint, because I inevitably spend time redoing things - but I'm happier in the end. Well, sometimes. Ha!

Ruby Lake From Above

Click Here to Bid (8x8in. - OIL - starts at $100)

This is the last one (that turned out) from my trip to the Sierra Nevada Mountains last month. This one is from a solo day hike to Ruby Lake (from base camp at Garnet Lake). I found this scene not far from the trail, and while this trail is not heavily trafficked, for some reason a bunch of people walked by right as I was in the very ugly beginning stages of this painting. I was working fast because this light was changing by the minute. And some guy said, "Oh, are you painting?" Ummm, yes. "What you are you painting?" This scene. "Are you going to paint the whole thing?" Nope. "Which part are you going to paint?" Uhhh, it's hard to explain? 

At this point I think the inflection in my voice, and the fact that I turned my back to him so I could focus, convinced him to stop asking questions. The next time I looked back he was gone. Sorry dude. I'm not great at answering questions when I'm painting.

I was only able to get a rough sketch and some color notes that day. I took a bunch of pictures and finished it in my studio. I'm really happy with how the blue shimmers against the green.

Up and Over 1 & 2

 

Click Here to Bid (8x10in. - OIL - starts at $100)

Next up from the Sierras are two very similar paintings. I started one of them outside, on location, on a slightly smoky day, near the beginning of the trip. The wind started to pick up that day, which ended up blowing out the smoke, but also blew over a couple of easels, including mine. This was incredibly frustrating, mostly because up to that point my painting was going really well. But my turp can was emptied (all over myself and my new backpack!), so I had no choice but to return to camp to get more. But by then the light had changed and I knew that to finish the painting it would have to be on another day.

So I returned a couple days later, at the same time of day, only to find my scene had changed considerably without the smoke. I ended up repainting it quite a bit, and the result is this second painting below. And I really like it, but I also liked the original feel, so I painted another one at home, from photos and memory, and that is the painting above.

Click Here to Bid (8x10in. - OIL - starts at $100)