Pansies

 

Pansies 8 X 10 Acrylic on canvas board.

I haven't been doing much painting since my hands are still very shaky. I'm grateful that my legs are still working pretty well after 3 years with Parkinsons. The medicines do help.

Life keeps me busy. I visit my husband daily in his group home and try to take him out when the weather is nice. He can walk slowly with a walker and we go to the park and sit by the water. I'm gradually adjusting to living in a small apartment. My daughter and her husband moved more stuff out of the small bedroom I'm using as an office and studio. I'm hoping I will be more motivated to paint now that it is arranged a little better. Someone ordered a cell phone case from my website so I know that is still working for anyone who wants printed materials.

Winter is coming, but it is not too severe in this part of Idaho (Boise), not like what I was used to in New Hampshire so I should be able to get out and walk every day or at least a few times a week.

I have 2 paintings on exhibit downtown at the Gem Center. They will be up for another month.

Shadowland. An oil painting from my imagination. 12 X 16.

Magnolias, acrylic on stretched canvas. 14 X 14.

Just for Fun

Just for fun I took an acrylic painting class on Learning from the Masters. This one was on Van Gogh. I had fun and did not attempt to make an exact re-creation of Van Gogh's irises. Learned a few new techniques and enjoyed the group class. There is another one in a few months on Georgia O'Keeffe. I might try that one too. This was at the same gallery where I have 2 artworks on exhibit. Avianne Gallery of Fine Art in Boise, Idaho.

Plein air painting in winter

 

I joined the artists from Plein Air Painters of Idaho yesterday at the Edwards Greenhouse in Boise, Idaho. It is too cold to paint outside now, but I wanted a little practice. I focused on the pretty bromeliads. This is bromeliad guzmania.  I didn't have the right shade of yellow with me, but I still painted and had fun.  I will do this again at some time. I had been there before and painted the outside of the greenhouse (it wasn't as cold that day). This was a small 5' X 7" gessoed hardboard panel. It was a nice break, getting out and meeting other artists and the flowers are beautiful in the greenhouse.

Before it got too cold, I painted with the group outside the greenhouse. I started this small one there and finished it in my studio.

Also 5 X 7, oil on canvas board.

Rosh Hashanah

 

The Jewish new year of 5782 begins at sundown on September 6th (first of Tishri on the Jewish calendar). I thought it was time to start designing our annual greeting. That way if I change my mind, I have time to think of a different design and verse.

Cards and other printed items available on my website.

Greenhouse inspiration

9" X 12" oil painting on stretched canvas

I was inspired by my first trip to the Edwards Greenhouse in Boise.  At first I was overwhelmed by all the flowers, but I saw other artists there so I decided to set up with my little pochade box. I think I forgot all my art lessons and tried to put too much in the painting (see bottom photo).  When I got home I was disappointed with my "plein air" attempt, but determined to keep learning.  I tried again with just a few of the trumpet flowers (below) but felt they were too flat.  Then I added more color and took an old toothbrush to spatter some cobalt blue over the painting to give it some interest.  I had not tried this in oil paint before, but had used this technique in watercolors.  I'm happier with the result now.  This is the first time I have used "permanent rose" as a background.  I was thinking about the expressionist painters and decided to go a little wild. :)

Attempting to put too much on the small canvas instead of just focusing on one or two blossoms.

Are we there yet?

I'm never sure when paintings are done. These have been sitting for a while in my studio and I'm not tempted to keep working on them, so I guess I'll call them done.  Top painting "Hot Springs" is from my trip to Yellowstone a few years ago. Oil on gesso'ed hardboard, 16" X 20". Middle photo "What's Out There?" are the tourists looking out at Glacier National Park, Oil on stretched canvas, 16" X 20". Bottom Photo, Bar U Ranch, (National historic site) oil on stretched canvas, 11" X 14". I haven't posted these to my web site yet. I'll do that this week. These two are from our trip to Canadian Rockies (Alberta, Canada).

I'm working on a larger canvas now, 20" x 24" of a scene from Idaho. I had sold the original one I did of this scene several years ago, that was monochrome, and now I'm working in color. I wanted a bigger picture to put in my new home when we move to Idaho in a couple of months. I'm not ready to post that one yet.

Spring has been a long time in coming to NH. The trees are finally blossoming, but there is still snow up in the northern part of the state. It's cold enough here that I had to turn on the heat for a little while this morning to take the chill off my studio. I still need a jacket and gloves to walk outside most days.

plein air vs. studio painting

A good friend of mine convinced me to try plein air (outdoor) painting (again). This is only the second time I have tried this. I also painted a couple of paintings in Vermont two years ago (see posts from August 2014), but finished them in the studio.  I'm not sure I'm even going to bother finishing these two since I was so unhappy with them.

It was hot and sunny. My friend provided a big beach umbrella and I sat at a picnic table.  I didn't get the sense of the farm in my painting (in my opinion), or the colors. She even had some bugs get on her canvas.  I guess I am a little jealous of painters that can just put everything down so beautifully no matter where they paint. In the 2nd picture the Canada geese came out looking like ducks. Of course they were moving around quite a bit too which made it difficult for me to render them and I didn't have the right small brush with me. I tried to pack a limited amount of brushes and pigments in my pochade box not knowing how far we would have to walk. At some point I might try painting the pond again from one of my photos. There were corn stalks growing in the distance and I would like to try to show them better.

The top photo shows a view of the sunflowers.  The farm was having a fundraiser and invited artists to paint the sunflowers so there were a few of us out there. The fundraiser was for the Make a Wish Foundation and I was happy to make a donation to them. They are a good organization.

Meanwhile I bought a couple of small aluminum panels, 4" X 6" just to play with.  I liked the way the colors show up on the aluminum, but I don't think I would like to work on this surface on a larger painting.

I decided to try again with the sunflowers in my studio this time. I like this one a little better and think it would make a good background for a card with a nice verse. All of these paintings were done with water mixable oils. I think I will go back to acrylics for the next ones I try.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this hobby, but I will continue to learn. I've had some physical and emotional issues to deal with this year and we are now planning on moving from New Hampshire to Idaho next year to be closer to family. That will be a big change for me, but I will keep painting, maybe even start writing poems again. Trying to stay positive.

Blossoms and other paintings

I never did learn the names of all the beautiful flowers and blossoms I saw while on my vacation in Ein Hod, Israel. The village is built with old stones, stone buildings, stone walls etc. I painted the blossoms above in my studio from a photo, but I had also done a small study while there. I posted the new image on my website so that you can order cards or prints. Acrylic on canvas board, 8" X 10"

I played with Liquitex light modeling paste on the wall to make it look more three dimensional. I used Liquitex, Winsor & Newton and Atelier artist grade paints.

This is an earlier study I did while in Israel (from a different photo). I brought small tubes of Soho acrylic paints with me and I was not happy with the texture and quality of the paints.  I bought a set knowing I needed some for travel, but they were not really artist grade. The colors were pretty though. The study is 5" X 7".

 

In order to travel with paints, you need to have a data sheet from the manufacturer along with the tubes of paints in your luggage (to prove to TSA that they are not flammable). I requested one from Jerry's Artarama where I bought the paints and they supplied me with the document.  I gave the tubes of paints to an artist friend for her students rather than bringing them back.  I already had enough stuff in my luggage! Another friend advised me not to sign any of my studies, just leave them as studies. I did not have an issue with this in Israel, but I understand that can be a tax problem in some countries.

 

I am working on the bottom study now. I did the top one while I was there. I need to fix my drawing. I was a little too lax when I put in my shapes on my canvas and lost the second arch on the right. The small painting on the right is another earlier study done in Israel of the pretty blossoms on the wall.

 

The views in Ein Hod were beautiful. I found painting this very challenging and I'm not done with this 16" X 20" painting yet. I still need to adjust the colors a little, but I think I got a sense of the place.  Always more to learn.

 

To learn more about the history of Ein Hod: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ein_Hod

To learn more about the village: http://www.ein-hod.info/

 

We rented an apartment through airbnb, but I checked it out with artist friends first. It was a great choice! Please contact me if you would like details.

 

Finishing up the month of August

It has been a busy month, but I finished up two small paintings.
Spring Magnolias at Wagner Park

After a long winter, I rode my bike one spring day to this park. It's real name is "Wagner Park" but the locals also call it "Pretty Park".  Many artists go there for some plein air painting, sometimes with models.

I was more interested in the blossoms than the "temple" structure at the park. It felt good to be out and about without boots and winter clothes.


This painting is mixed media, as I started in acrylic, then finished in oils. It is 9" X 12" on Ampersand panel.  I enjoyed painting on the panel as a nice change from canvas.

Morning Glory

I also like to paint on a black background from time to time, especially flowers.  I used black gesso on a canvas board to start this one, but eventually had to add some black paint when I was finishing up.

I usually see blue morning glories in the summer, but this one I spotted on my walk was white with just a touch of color.  The vines were growing down from the fence post as well as around it.

8" X 10", oil painting on canvas board.






I'm not sure when I'll start back on the larger paintings, but I prepared a little color study with acrylic paint on canvas paper.  This one is not a real place, just a combination of images in my head, from sunsets to beaches, maybe a jetty sticking out into the ocean. I liked the colors.

I signed up for another oil painting class that starts next month. I'm hoping that will get me to loosen up a little bit. The class is called "Explore, Exploit, Express".  I liked the title and the description: A visual art studio course designed and developed to: “get your drawing and painting beyond the mundane and mechanical cliché!”  This is a link to the NHIA catalog.
 http://www.nhia.edu/assets/Uploads/PDFs/CE--CT/2015/CE-FALL-2015.pdf

Meanwhile I'm getting ready to celebrate the wedding of my middle son at the end of this month. It will be my first time as "mother of the groom" and I'm looking forward to dancing and celebrating. That will be a good way to end the month.

More painting progress

This is my first painting from the trip to the Canadian Rockies.  It is a view of Moraine Lake in the Valley of the Ten Peaks (in Banff, Alberta, Canada). I still struggle with composition and colors, but I'm happy with the way this came out. It was a magnificent view of the mountains and glaciers.  I hoped to give some sense of the massiveness of all those mountains.  As usual, it was hard deciding whether or not I was finished or if I would still do a little touching up, but I think this is done.

Oil painting, 16" x 20". You can buy a card or print here.

Meanwhile, I decided to do a couple of small panels.  These are not done, but I'm having fun with them.

This little guy seemed to be watching us. I'm going to continue working on the panel this week. I'm calling it "watching the tourists". Oil on canvas board, 8" X 10"

I planted dahlias for the first time this year in front of my house. I took a photo of the first one to open. I'll be working on this one and hope to finish it this week. I'm happy with the way it looks so far. Oil on canvas board, 8" X 10".  The background is black gesso. I think I'm going to leave it that way as I like the way it sets off the flower and leaves.

Back to School, Final

By the Sea, 16" X 20", oil on stretched canvas. I finally finished this painting that I had started in my oil painting class.  I really enjoy seeing the different colors in the oceans and seas when we travel. They are very different than the colors of the Atlantic Ocean as seen along the coast of New Hampshire and Maine. This scene was of the Mediterranean Sea from Caesaria, Israel.  I had taken photos when we traveled there. I had made a very abstract painting of this scene on Yupo paper years ago and decided to do something more realistic this time.  We hope to go back to Israel in 2016.

Meanwhile, I was tired of painting with oils and did a gouache, pen and ink painting (see last post). Then I gesso'ed a hardbord panel and painted some day lilies in acrylic, but in an oriental style, not a realistic one. I have painted these before too, but with watercolor.

Day Lilies 3, acrylic on hardbord, 9" X 12". You can see the earlier painting and this one on my website. I think it was a good break to switch off from doing the complicated realistic oil paintings and just play with other materials.

After that I assembled another canvas using stretcher bars (with primed canvas I had in stock). I have decided that it is not worthwhile to do this. It's easier to buy the canvases already mounted. I had difficulty getting the canvas squared up properly. Anyway, I started an underpainting with acrylics, of the Grand Tetons. I did a sketch first to change the composition around a little from my photo (which I had already cropped).  I blocked in the shapes and now I need to decide whether to proceed with acrylics or oils. I might do this one in acrylics and a second one later on in oils.  I love the way the oils blend and spread, but I get frustrated with the long drying time. Decisions, decisions. . .

This is the first block in. The final composition will probably be a bit different.

Back to School, Part 4

Erev Shabbat (sabbath eve) in Tsfat (Safed) Israel, 16" X 20" oil painting on stretched canvas. I enjoyed working on this despite my difficulty with greens.  The teacher and my classmates were all very helpful. You can buy a card or print directly from my website. The original is also for sale. More information is available on that site too.

One thing we all agreed about in class is that no matter how hard you try to photograph or scan an original painting, the colors never quite look the same as the original.  I have two monitors and when I look at the same JPG photo, it looks different on each one even though the monitors are from the same manufacturer.

I haven't been writing every week as I have been busy with the Passover holiday, my painting, family and gardening. Now that winter is (hopefully) finished here, I have lots of cleanup work in my yard to catch up with. I cleaned my vegetable patch and planted some onion sets. They are very hardy and will survive another frost if we have one more.

Meanwhile, I finished two more paintings.

Monarch Amid the Mums, oil painting on canvas board, 9" X 12". I painted this from a photo I took several years ago.  The monarch butterfly was kind enough to stay long enough on my flowers that I had time to grab my camera and take some photos.

Birches at First Connecticut Lake, 9" X 12", oil on Ampersand panel. I found it more difficult working on the Ampersand panel instead of canvas.  I have ordered a few different types of panels to try out and experiment with. I enjoy trying new processes and playing with new art supplies.

Meanwhile, I have started two new paintings with ocean/sea views. One is of the Pacific Ocean at Laguna Beach with Pelicans on a big rock. I am doing that one with a palette knife.  I only have one more class left in this series, so I may not get it done by the end of the semester.  I also played with colors and did a small painting based on the colors in a scarf that I like.  I don't know if I'll do anything to finish that one, or just use it as a background for a card later one.

The other painting I started is a view from Caesaria (Israel) of the Mediterranean Sea. I had done that one before in a very abstract manner. (It was done on Yupo paper)  The oil painting will be a little more colorful and realistic.

Happy Spring!

Back to School Part 3

I was getting tired of looking out my window and seeing snow, so I pulled out an old photo and made a small painting. This one is an oil painting, 8" X 10" on canvas board.  I was pleased with my teacher's comments. He said my painting was an improvement over the photo. :)

I posted it on my website and you can order a card or print here.

I finished the painting I was working on earlier and gave it a title: Valor and General Stark, those are the names of the horses. This one is 16" X 20".  I'm enjoying the oil painting class and learning more than I was learning on my own from DVD's and books.

My acrylic painting of the bridge is now up on the conference room wall at Webster House and I stopped by yesterday to deliver more paintings and had my picture taken with my painting. Seeing it this way gives a better idea of the scale of the painting. It is 4' x 5'. I'm very happy with the way it looks and I changed my image at the top of the blog to this one.  My smaller painting of the same scene is on display locally and I'll be bringing it back home next week.

I didn't work on my painting of birches this week, so I still have to finish that one. I decided to start a new painting instead, one that I felt more emotionally connected to.  I picked out two photos I had taken in Tsfat (Israel), just as the Sabbath eve was beginning (not quite sunset yet). Last week I brought a sketch to class since I had to combine photos and rearrange them a bit to get the image I wanted.  This week I started with a color study on oil painting paper. I taped the paper to a white board. This was the first time I had used this paper and I wasn't really comfortable with it.  (Also the teacher suggested I do a value study next time as well as a color study.)  

I liked the way the composition worked out from my combination of photos. I worked on it more in class and will continue next week with more detail.

Still learning about values - the sky is the lightest light (even though it was getting to be sunset). I'm starting to get a little more comfortable with my brushes and oil paints now.  Some of the other students thought the image might be from France or Italy. I will probably title it "Erev Shabbat" which is Hebrew for eve of the sabbath.  That is Mount Meron (Israel) in the background.

Nancy's Fuchsias

I think this painting is finally done. I couldn't get a good photo of it, the greens kept coming out too garish even though I tried to fix them with Photoshop. I finally decided to use my scanner. That worked out much better and the colors look close to what they really are. (Full disclosure, I have cataracts and greens are a problem for me.)

The painting is 8" X 8", Winsor & Newton water mixable oils, on gallery wrapped canvas. I took suggestions from several other artists and I'm happy with it now. I posted it on my website and you can order cards or prints there.

I'm also playing with two other canvases, but they are not finished yet.  I started on the heifers this week (I had prepared the canvas board quite a while ago).  I think I'm going to call it siesta time when it's all done.  I don't like the red I used for the tags and I have already washed that off and will try a different red when I go back to working on this one.  This is my first time paintings cows, although I've done other animals.  The cows were resting behind barbed wire at the Four Corners Farm in Vermont.  I don't think I'll include the wire in the final painting.

I played with some different mixtures of paint for this one. I mixed burnt sienna with viridian for one mixture, then with cerulean blue for another.  I tried adding yellow ochre to some of the mixes too.

My waterfall painting is moving along nicely.  The addition of the tree branch in front helped push back the rest of the landscape.  I still have more to do on this one, but I like it better now.  Because I was trying out different painting techniques, I was getting very discouraged at first.  I am still learning how to manipulate the water mixable oil paint and sometimes get very frustrated, but I keep at it. This painting is based on a photo I took at Red Butte Gardens in Salt Lake City, Utah a few years ago.

Nothing Finished

I started on this painting of fuchsia flowers a couple of weeks ago while painting with a friend in her studio. I brought it home, but did not make too much progress.

I worked on it a little more, but I am frustrated with the greens and need to go back to it. As usual, life provides many distractions and interruptions.  This is Winsor & Newton Artisan (water mixable) oils.  Yes, I am still struggling with learning to paint with oils.

Meanwhile, I took a set of 12 videos out of the library on Bob Ross and his style of painting. He was a wonderful presenter on PBS stations years ago.  While he is no longer around, his videos and books are still very useful.  I tried using his techniques on a large canvas (18" X 24"). I enjoyed spending the time and learned a few new things, but decided that this is not for me.  I like to have more of a relationship to a painting, not just some mountains, some clouds, some trees etc.  I am letting my canvas (photo below) dry and then I will go back and detail it with the way I usually paint.  His style of painting is wet on wet, with a layer of "Magic White" paint below so everything lightens up as you go down and moves around easily.

I used my own photos for practice. The basket of fuchsias was from a photo I took while visiting a friend in Vermont. I cropped in closer for my painting.  The waterfall scene is from a photo I took in Utah several years ago while at Red Butte Gardens.

For more information, or to see free videos on Bob Ross, just type his name into your search engine. You can also find recipes online to make your own Magic White, or you can buy his products online or at most art supply stores.

Catalpa Blossoms

The finished painting as it looks on my website. I'm happy with the way it turned out. It was fun working on gessobord instead of canvas and I'll probably do this again in the future.  You can buy cards or prints of any of my designs directly from my website.

Cottonwoods at Arches

Finally finished this painting. It is acrylic on stretched canvas, 16" X 20".  I loved hiking at Arches National Park, seeing the massive rock formations and spending time with my daughter in Utah. This was really the first time I paid attention to the cottonwood trees and the aspens.  Their fall colors are different from the fall colors I see in New Hampshire. I took lots of photos and had a hard time choosing which ones to paint. I may do some more in the future.  Meanwhile, I have started on a painting of Arethusa Falls in Crawford Notch, New Hampshire.  Maybe I'll have that done to post in a few weeks.

Just for play, I wanted to work with some bright colors.  I remembered how pretty the butterflies were in Costa Rica last year on my trip.  I decided to paint some in a less detailed way.  Usually I paint from my photos, but this one was just from my imagination. This is acrylic on canvas board, 8" X 10".

I am glad that the craft fairs are over for the season.  I sold a couple of originals, several prints and lots of cards.  It is hard work setting up, being there for many hours, then breaking everything down.  I didn't do as many this year as last year.  I do enjoy talking to everybody who stops by my table. There are lots of interesting people in New Hampshire.

We have about 10" or so of snow on the ground now from two storms. The winter sunsets are beautiful and so are the sunrises. I'm not so enthusiastic about the snow shoveling as I get older, but it is good exercise and I'm grateful that I can still do this.

To purchase a card or print of this image: Cottonwoods at Arches National Park

Oil & Acrylic - WIP

I think this painting is almost done. It was inspired by the wild flowers in the spring at Emek Hashalom in Israel. (We were there in 2012.) There were more flowers than what I show here. It is 16" X 20", acrylic painting on stretched canvas.  As usual, I'll leave it for a few weeks, then I'll decide if I need to do something else to it.  I may bring it in to my painting class and see what the teacher and other students think about it.

This is my first serious try at a landscape in oils. It is 8" X 10", also on stretched canvas.  I have been a bit frustrated with the media, but I want to learn how to use it.  I bought water mixable oils so I don't have to deal with solvents and bad smells.  The view was from a photo I took last month while we were on retreat in Rindge, NH.  There was a dirt road that we walked on where we saw some farm houses and Mount Monadnock in the background.  I will bring this back into class next week and continue on it.  The sky needs another coat of paint, the farmhouse chimney is too bright and I still need to put in the foreground ferns. My teacher has suggested that I need to do about ten 8"X10" canvases in oil before I will feel comfortable with it.  I hope I will have enough patience to continue.

For my readers who celebrate Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) at sunset tonight and fast, may it be easy for you as we begin another year (5774).