On my easel today

I decided to make a comparison as I am learning how to use different kinds of paint.  The photo of the Bird of Paradise flower (strelitzia reginae) was cropped from one of the photos I took in May while I was in California. (Photo upper right)

The painting on the upper left is my first attempt to use oil paint on a canvas paper. Just trying to get used to the flow of the paint, I made a color wheel. This was done from an example I saw online.  The outer colors are put down and gradually mixed with the next color. The inner circle is white. Then the outer colors are brushed into it to see the tints.

The painting on the bottom left was done with acrylic paints.  I'm not sure if I like the 2 color background, but I'll leave it for now.  I can always change it to black later.  Both paintings are on stretched canvas (not canvas board).  I did the acrylic painting first.

The painting on the bottom right is my attempt with oil paint.  I used black gesso first as the background.  I had to use some again after I finished the oil painting to darken the background.  At first I didn't have the correct colors and couldn't mix them from my beginner set.  Then I ordered more colors and attempted to finish the painting. I changed the composition a little, felt that some of the leaves in the acrylic one did not stand out well, were too small.

It takes a long time for oil paint to dry before it can be varnished and considered done.  I did enjoy the flow of the oil paint so I will continue to learn more. I am working with books and DVDs now, hope to go back to a class in the fall.  I am working with water mixable oil paint (Winsor & Newton Artisan) as I do not want to work with solvents and strong odors.

Currier Museum Poster Contest

The Currier Museum is having a poster contest based on the state motto ("Live Free or Die") from John Stark and the revolution. They changed the words to "Live Free and...."  I choose "Hike" since I love hiking and made a little collage with prints of two of my hiking paintings.

 I'm very happy today to report that the original painting of Franconia Falls has been sold!  It's always exciting to me to sell an original since I still consider myself a student, although I think I have passed on from the beginner level to something more interesting and semi-professional.  I enjoy selling the cards and prints too, but an selling an original gives me a sense of validation for my work.

The voting for the poster contest is on FaceBook.  Looking at the other submissions, I think there were definitely some professional artists there.  This is the link if you are on FB: Currier Poster Contest

Experiments

This is my experiment with palette knife painting. You can see the earlier view in the last post.  It was fun to do and I think I'll just leave it as is.  This started out as a photo of lily pads in a pond with trees in the background. Since I usually paint somewhat realistically, this was a nice change for me. Acrylic paint on canvas board, 11" X 14".  Original photo was from Round Pond on one of the trails at Lake Pawtuckaway State Park (NH).

This one is just a quick study for a larger painting. It is acrylic paint on medium texture artist canvas (that comes in a pad, not mounted). I taped it to a board to work on it.  It is 8" X 10" and I will be doing a 16" X 20" canvas later in the summer as a donation to a group home.  I took the photo of the sunrise when I was in Costa Rica last winter.  Sunrises can also be metaphors for a new day, a new start so I thought that was appropriate for the site it will be going on.

I have started to learn how to paint with oil paints now.  I started a painting today of a Bird of Paradise flower done with acrylic paints. When I finish it, I will do a second painting of the same image with the oil paints so that I can compare them.  So far I have only painted a color wheel with the oil paints to see how the paint goes on the canvas.

Time seems to be going very fast this summer.  Meanwhile, I also submitted an entry to the Currier Museum's poster contest -- "live free and ....."  Naturally, my entry was about hiking. I don't expect to win, but you never know unless you try.

Franconia Falls

I think this acrylic painting is finished now. I will leave it for a couple of weeks before I varnish it to make sure I don't change my mind and see some other little thing that I feel I need to fix.  There is a point where too much fiddling around with the final details can ruin a painting. I don't want to pass that point, but as an art student, I'm never really sure when a painting is done. This painting is 16" X 20" on stretched canvas.

Meanwhile, I decided I wanted to paint a pond picture in dawn colors.  However, I got carried away with the palette knife and started something that seems to be completely abstract and doesn't look anything like a pond.  I don't know where I'm going with this one, but I'm having fun.

I did start this with a grid from a photo I had of Round Pond at Lake Pawtuckaway State Park, so I was intending to paint the pond with water lilies and pine trees, a little beach in the background.  The grid was so I could put the shoreline in the right space from the smaller photo. Anyway, I'll figure out something interesting to put on the background later on. This is an 11" X 14" canvas board, acrylic paint.

Franconia Falls - WIP

Still working on this 16" X 20" canvas. I have a class on Thursday and hope to get it almost to the finished stage then.  It has been quite challenging and I'm enjoying it.

This is the earlier view, before my last class. I had most of the leaves in.  You can click on the pictures to see a larger view and you will be able to see the differences easily. It was interesting getting the people in the painting. I just wanted them there to show scale. I wasn't concerned about detail since they are a minor part of the painting.

Paintings - finished & WIP

I finished the painting of the roseate spoonbills from last week.  I posted it to my website as well and printed out a few cards to test it out.  I'm not sure if I'll paint any more birds for a while. My mind is back on the trail painting idea.

This is a larger canvas, 16" X 20" that I have started of Franconia Falls (Lincoln Woods Trail) in New Hampshire.  It is an easy trail to hike. In the summer, people jump into the little pool made by the falls. The water is icy cold so I prefer to just look at it (even though I like swimming).  When the painting is finished, I will have several figures in it to show scale.  I think this will take me several weeks to finish. Yesterday I worked on the rocks for two hours in class and they still have a long way to go.

The photo below shows my first block in of the shapes.  I used a yellow ochre mix for the underpainting of the rocks and a neutral gray for the underpainting of the trees. I think this will work. I'm enjoying working on the larger canvas for a change.

Roseate Spoonbills WIP

On my easel, work in progress. These were roseate spoonbills that I photographed while I was in Costa Rica.  I hope to finish the painting in next week's class. This is an acrylic painting, 11" X 14" on canvas board. My teacher suggested I leave out the jungle background and just focus in on the birds at the water's edge.

Another 11" X  14" acrylic painting on canvas board.  This was done from a spring photo of magnolias.  I didn't want too spend much time doing detail, so I made them more in an oriental style.  I felt that the verse from Psalms went well (I left that space empty deliberately so I could put a verse there) and made some cards from it.  I will sell these at craft fairs.  The actual painting doesn't have a verse. I take a digital photo and then manipulate it, either with Photoshop, or simply in Microsoft Word.

I am happy to be back home and back in my studio again.  I cleaned it up a bit today. There has been a great deal of pollen (from oak trees) blowing in the windows. I put a fan in the windows for today. Suddenly it is hot in NH. Weather is very variable in New England, so in a few days it will be mild again.

California

Traveling this week. Short post only. This mural in Laguna Beach, California reminded me of Diego Rivera's murals.

We saw this sign on a store at the marina in Santa Barbara. Loved it.

I posted more in an album. Not sure if this link will work. If not, I'll fix it when I get home.

Snowy Egret in Costa Rica

I finished last week's painting in my class and posted it to my website. I also worked on the exercise I was doing from the book (see last week's posting for more information).  I was not happy with the finished painting, but I cropped a part of it and made some cards.  I can sell those at a craft fair.  This technique is probably one I wouldn't use in the future, but the book was worthwhile in other ways.  I liked the way the author showed the painting mixtures and their ratios for each lesson.

This is the cropped version I will use for cards.

A beautiful weekend with art, hiking and more

I'm having fun experimenting with some new work. The snowy egret (on right) is on "Ampersand Hardbord". I gessoed it and sanded it first.  I am working on this one in my class. I enjoy getting the shapes of the branches and leaves in so that there is some dimensionality to it. I still need to work on the top layer of leaves (not in yet at all) and the layer underneath that also needs to be lightened up. Then I can put another layer on the egret and work on the reflections in the water.

The painting on the left is an experiment from a book, "Brilliant Color, painting vibrant outdoor scenes" by Julie Gilbert Pollard. The book is really for oil painters, putting acrylic undercolors on the canvas first, but I'm planning on using acrylic for the whole piece. That is on the standard canvas panel.  Both of these are 8" X 10". The under layer is done with watered down acrylic paints, just like watercolors.  It is an interesting process.

We did some hiking over the weekend and took the trail up to the fire tower at Oak Hill Trails in Concord/Loudon, New Hampshire.  Fire danger is very high now. Beautiful views from the tower. I saw some pretty blue, very small, butterflies. I think they may have been Karner blues because they are in that area. I think that is Mount Monadnock in the distance on the first photo below.

And to finish off a wonderful weekend, we took part in an event in Derry, New Hampshire at the Etz Hayim Synagogue. Joe & I had a craft table there and sold cards, prints &  books.