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)

Existing Separately

 

Click Here to Purchase - $200 - 6x6in. - oil on panel

Seeing as it's cyber Monday and all, I put a few of my paintings on sale. You can see everything of mine that's currently available here. : )

As for this painting, in case you are confused, I put down the maroon-y paper first, then a big piece of glass, then the light pink paper, then everything else. I thought the reflection-y bits were really cool, but in hindsight I wonder if it might be confusing...

Standing By

 

Click Here to Buy for $200 - 6x6in. - oil on panel

In case you don't know, Daily Paintworks (the website my husband and I created and run) has a monthly contest with cash prizes! There are only 29 entries so far this month, so there's a real chance to win. Please consider entering soon (it can be any 2-D fine art - no theme - and you don't have to be a member). The top 15 picks get a free month and a featured spot on the front page. : )

Alone Together

 

Click Here to Buy for $200 - 6x6in. - oil on panel

I was enamored with the little bits of pure blue in the bowl and its shadow where it meets white. Colored glass is so fun to paint. I keep looking for new bowls, but they are hard to find.

Standing Together

Click Here to Buy for $200 - 6x6in. - oil on panel

We have a fabulous little junk shop in downtown Missoula with bottles galore displayed in the front window. We walk by it pretty regularly, so I get to see any new additions. I just acquired this tall, skinny one from there for my collection. You'll definitely see it again.

Higher Ground

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - "Higher Ground"

Sometimes cups (the kinds with handles) can be aggressive. You wouldn't know it by just looking at them. This pear had to find higher ground one way or another.

Buy Now - 6x4in. - collage - "Curves"

Pears in Formation

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - "Pears in Formation"

Buying pears in the winter is never optimal. My choices were slim and they didn't last long. Maybe I should move to a tropical climate ... nah.

Serious Business

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

In order to test out my new palette (specifically the black portion), I needed to paint something really dark. And I will say, it was MUCH easier, especially that black cup! If you notice, part of it is in light, and part is in shadow (and parts have reflected light). To mix those piles and get those subtly different values & colors "right," is hard! But mixing them all on top of black made it much easier, because I was comparing them to a value that was much closer to what it needed to be (closer than white).

Which brings me to a discussion about palette color in general. I started out with a white palette in college. Years later someone suggested a gray palette was "better," so I tried it for about a month. And it completely threw me for a loop! Because I was so used to mixing on white.

But some people love a gray palette (or natural wood). And I like white - and now with a black portion! So I've come to the conclusion that it is completely a personal preference!! There is no better or best. Figure out what works for you, and screw everybody else's opinion. : )

No Comparison

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

Alan Conrad asks:

"Your work always looks spontaneous and fresh. I would tend to take that same painting a step further and create "bad realism" rather than "great impressionism" (if that makes sense). I guess the question is "How do you know when to stop" ?"

Thank you, Alan! I thought about this all day. I think of my little paintings like little poems. I try to summarize what I’m seeing – to paint my subject with as few brush strokes as possible, just the important ones, and not much blending (if at all). So I spend a LOT of time observing (squinting). And mixing. Because once I put down a stroke, there it is. It is not often possible to “fix” it, especially when it overlaps previous strokes. In this way it’s kind of like a dance, or a golf game. You do your best, and once it’s finished, there’s nothing to be done about it except try it over again. Many of my little paintings go in the trash. None of them are ever perfect! But sometimes they are good enough, and that’s what I show. So when do I stop? When I’ve put down every stroke that seems important, and not one more. : )

You Had Me at Hello

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

One thing I love about chasing other subjects for a while, is how nice it is to come back to still life. Feeling a teensy bit rusty though - it took two tries for this one.

Reflected Reflections

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

MINI LESSON: CUPS (4 of 8)

Here I've drawn four versions of the same cup. This cup has completely straight sides when viewed at eye level, as you can see in the left-most drawing. The second version was drawn at about a 20 degree angle (I don't do math, so please forgive me if this number isn't quite correct). You can see that the sides are angled a little bit in this view, in other words, they aren't quite parallel. This is because of perspective - these two lines would eventually converge somewhere far below us. When we tilt the cup again, this time at about 45 degrees, the lines angle more, and more so still in the 60 degree version, on the right.

I'm pointing this out because our brain knows the sides are "actually" parallel, so it is going to have a hard time allowing us to draw them at these crazy angles. Even when I was drawing these a few minutes ago, (from a real cup) I had a hard time really seeing it. But it looks right, right? I sometimes feel like I'm even exaggerating it a little bit, but it never looks that way when I stand back and re-assess the drawing. Of course not all cups have straight sides to begin with, but they still need to be angled more as the perspective changes.

Ignore the Pear

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

MINI LESSON: CUPS (2 of 8)

When I draw/paint cups, I am always shooting for pretty accurate proportions, so that the cup makes sense in the scene. If it's a little fatter or taller than in real life, that's ok, no one will complain, but if the proportions of the ellipse don't jive with the height of the cup, it will look "weird," and that will make viewers uncomfortable.

So, I measure, and here's how. I hold my paintbrush straight out from my body, with  my elbow locked, brush parallel with my face, and my thumb near the end. First I measure the height of the ellipse, as shown in the picture, with the tip of the brush at the top, and my thumbnail at the ellipse bottom.

Next I measure the front (side) of the cup, with my thumb in the same place. I'm basically trying to find out how many of that first measurement (we'll call that 1) will go into the side. You will see from the pictures that the ratio of ellipse to side is 1 to almost 4. What I normally do is place my boundary marks first (from yesterday's lesson), measure the cup, then measure my drawing to see if my guess was correct. The more cups I draw, the less often I need to re-establish my boundary marks.

You can use this tool to measure other parts of the cup too, like over-all width to over-all height or ellipse width to ellipse height. You can also use it to measure, well, just about anything that you're drawing/painting. It can be especially helpful when you've got objects receding in space. You know they should get smaller as they recede, but your brain is going to try and keep you from drawing it that way. Believe me. So measure and prove it to your brain.

Martini Before Lunch?

sold. (6x6in.)

Painting this was an odd experience. When I was arranging the objects, I was really frustrated because I didn't think they looked all that great together. I decided to paint them anyway, because it was the end of the day and I was tired of arranging and re-arranging. And I ended up liking the painted version WAY better than the real life version! How can I make this happen again?

And no, I don't drink martini's before lunch. Not even while on vacation in Germany. : ) This is the last painting I will post here - I'll be home on December 1st (unless the Lufthansa strike continues).

A Little Lie Down

sold. (6x6in.)

Happy belated Thanksgiving! This isn't a holiday in Germany, but we will be having a little party here today anyway. And afterwards, we'll all have a little lie down too, probably from eating too much!

Pear Fare

sold

painting by Peggy Kroll Roberts

The other day I listened to a podcast interview with Peggy Kroll Roberts about creative blocks. I've admired her work for a LONG time, and after listening to this, I also highly admire her as a person, and a teacher. Here's an example of her work. --> I'm sure you can see why I like it.

Pear Parkour

sold

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! Ours was low-key, but wonderful. If you missed our family holiday photo, see below. Meanwhile, here's a little pear parkour, albeit quite tame. (see far less tame parkour)

Pear Bath

Click Here to Bid

I am sitting in a little cottage right off of Cannon Beach, on an impromptu getaway with my husband! The pear I left at home. Poor pear.

Pear Love

Click Here to Bid (8x8 in)

I borrowed this bunny from my friend James. When I first started painting every day I did a few stuffed animals and then completely forgot about it. Now I remember why I enjoyed it! I will be on the lookout for some good animals at the thrift store next time I go.

One Helluva Party & Red Sweater

Click Here to bid

Last night I went to another figure session with Sarah. Our model had some mega dreadlocks, and a fuzzy red sweater. About an hour into the 3-hour pose I started over. I decided on the second try to experiment with wilder colors in shadows. The part I'm happiest with is the suggestion of a hand. I find I spend about 2/3 of the time on the face and 1/3 on the rest (ha! - just read that was Sarah's experience as well)!

Click Here to Bid - 8x10in

And below is the belated group photo of last week's Sedona kids. It was a really fun group!

Stack Groupies - SOLD

Click Here to Bid

Another oft-painted subject of mine - stacks - getting so much glory the group has acquired some groupies. I was a little worried the pear wouldn't read, but seeing it again here I think it does. Yeah?