Back to School

I have started back to school again, taking an oil painting class at New Hampshire Institute of Art. This is an evening class for continuing education students.  So far we are doing still lifes, definitely not my favorite. I struggled with them in my drawing classes too.  The other part that is hard for me is that I have no emotional or spiritual connection to oranges, apples, pitchers, cubes etc. However, as an artist, I need to look at the shapes and their relationship to each other. Then I try to get them on the canvas somewhat in proportion (definitely not doing too well with this yet). Once the images are on the canvas, I am learning how to mix the colors (also not too accurate yet) and values (light/dark) on the objects.  I'm hoping that my struggles with this medium will be worthwhile and will help me with other media too.

Lesson 1 was dreadful. When I brought it home, I fixed the color on the orange a little better, but the objects were not in proportion. I sort of remembered how to do the folds in the drapery.  I liked the feel of the paint.

Lesson 2 was a little better. The teacher had to help me with perspective. He also showed me how making the shadows a bit darker really helps the image.  Again, I enjoyed doing the drapery folds.

Lesson 3 was on white objects with a splash of color. I didn't get the pitcher shape right (again, I need more practice with measuring objects), but I liked the way it came out.  I didn't pay close attention to the dark drapery in the back and later on realized it was a dark blue, not black. Good thing I don't have to worry about getting graded on my artwork!

Meanwhile, I am still working on my 4' x 5' canvas project with acrylic paints. I am enjoying that and hope to finish it within the next 2-3 weeks.  Then I can focus more on the oil paints. As a landscape painter I would like to be able to do more plein air painting and that definitely works better with oil paints. Acrylic paints dry too quickly.

On the positive side during this week, I sold a painting! Naturally, it was a beautiful flower. A good choice to look at when there is so much snow outside, over 80 inches so far (this is higher than 2 meters). Cards and prints are available on my website of that painting. I'm happy with the winter, but a little tired of shoveling so much snow. 

A snowy winter and painting process

It's been a good winter for cross country skiing, but we are getting a little tired of shoveling and snow blowing. I feel sorry for the birds too. Any time I put out seeds, they get covered by the snow, or the squirrels dig them out first. Anyway, I still like snow and cold weather, but I'll be happy when the seasons change too.

Meanwhile, I have been enjoying painting.  I have started on the 4' x 5' canvas for my art project with Friends of Art Manchester.  We are painting big panels for Webster House.  It has been interesting just figuring out how to paint this size canvas since it is not on a frame or stretcher bars. We tried curtain rods (and that is how they will be hung when finished).  I took down paintings I had on the wall in my studio and stapled the large canvas up.  The wall already had some holes in it and needs repainting anyway, so I will do that in the spring. We bought the primed canvas online. I posted a review (before I started actually painting).

This is the same scene that I have at the top of the blog.  The top painting is 16" X 20".  In my last post I think I wrote about scaling up from 8" x 10" to 16" x 20".  I did a grid for those studies.  I borrowed a projector to scale my original photo up on this big canvas.  It was much easier than doing a grid and I'm thinking about buying a small projector for myself (although I am happy with 16" x 20" and don't know if I'll go much larger with my painting).

Meanwhile I signed up for an oil painting class (continuing education) at New Hampshire Institute of Art and I'm back to doing still lifes.  I don't actually enjoy them, but I'm determined to learn how to paint with the water mixable oils so that I can eventually do more plein air painting (that's very hard to do with acrylic paints as they dry so quickly).  I am not going to post that first painting here since I was very unhappy with it. I'll try harder this week and hope to get the proportions and colors correct. I did learn one very important thing to share - do the darkest darks first. (With acrylics, you can always add layers). Because the oils take so long to dry, you really can't keep going over them to make them darker. Hope this helps some of my readers.

I'm also working on another urban painting scene, but this one has to wait for me to finish the big canvas first.  Here is a little glimpse of this work in process. I have been taking photos of this painting along the way and I will post some of the steps when it is all done.

And a few more winter scenes from cross country skiing in Auburn (NH). The top scenes were in Hooksett, NH at Dube's Pond. It was a much sunnier day on the trail in Auburn.

Palette Knife Painting

Spring Blossoms, Oil 8" X 10"

I have been working hard on a detailed painting of the Merrimack River under the bridge in Manchester, NH. So I gave myself a break and took out a sheet of canvas paper, taped it to a board and just played with a few oil colors and a palette knife.  I had seen a video as an example, but used my own image as an inspiration (crabapple blossoms in the spring).  I thought about using a more oriental style for this, simplifying my photo, just keeping the basics.  I used four colors only, titanium white, burnt umber, cadmium yellow and alizarin crimson. This was really fun and I can understand why people are attracted to palette knife painting. It does use up much more paint than a brush. Next time I'll try it with acrylic paint and see if I like that as much.

I liked my initial study of "By the Bridge", 8" x 10" on board and decided to make a 16" X 20" on canvas as well.  I painted these from one of my photos that I took recently (on a very cold day, but very little snow around.)  The image is for a proposal for my art group, Friends of Art Manchester. We will be doing a project for Webster House in Manchester during the winter. You can see the proposals that were submitted on their website.

By the Bridge study, acrylic, 8" X 10"

This is my initial study with acrylic paints. I think I might play with it some more using the oil paints now.

By the Bridge, acrylic, 16" X 20", WIP

I am almost done with this one now.  Every time I look at it, I see a few more details I need to fix. That is why I enjoyed painting the blossoms - no details!  I actually like doing both kinds of paintings, with details and without. I find it much more enjoyable when I don't have to worry about straight lines and perspective. But I do enjoy the final product when I have worked my way through all the issues.

I have signed up for an oil painting class at New Hampshire Institute of Art.   It is a continuing education class in the evening.  I have taken classes there in the past and I hope this one will help me with my struggles learning how to paint with oil paints.  There's always something new to learn with art.

Exhibit and Reception on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015

I have two paintings on exhibit through the Manchester Artists Association. While the reception is this Saturday, the paintings will be up at the Audubon Center in Auburn through the middle of February.

There are hiking trails at the center. If there is enough snow, these trails are also available for cross country skiing and snow shoeing. There is no fee to use the trails.

For more information and directions: http://www.nhaudubon.org/about/centers/massabesic/

Painting from photos

Max and Abe by the shore. Oil, 8" X 10". A little study from a photo I took in Israel in 2012.

The composition of  the original photo (above) left a lot to be desired. I didn't want my friends to be looking out of the edge of the painting. I tried using Photoshop to rearrange the composition, but eventually decided that cut and paste would work better for me.  So I printed out the photo, both in black and white and in color and moved the pieces around. I decided that less of the lake would look better too as I wanted the focal point to be on the men, not the lake. I didn't think the bird was needed either.

I'm not sure if the painting is done. I'll leave it for a few weeks and see if I feel that I need to do something more. It is study and I didn't like it enough to make a larger painting. The photo was taken at the International Birding and Research Center in Eilat, Israel (this is at the southern tip of Israel). I don't remember if this was an actual lake, or just an inlet from the sea.

Meanwhile I started a more abstract painting in brighter colors of clouds, mountains and water. I'm not sure when I'll figure out if that is done or not. I'll post it next week.

I'm also working on a study for an urban painting that will eventually be 4' x 5'.  This is for a canvas panel that will be donated to a non-profit children's home and is part of a project from my Friends of Art Manchester group. My husband and I went down to the millyard in Manchester one cold day and took photos of the bridge, mill buildings and the river.  My study is of an urban scene for the painting which will eventually go into a conference room.  It should be interesting if my study is approved as I will have to grid it up from 8" X 10" to 4' X 5'. I know how to do that, but it can be tedious. Even if it is not approved, I may do a larger 16" X 20" painting since I have that size canvas in stock and I like the image.

Happy Holidays

Whatever holiday you celebrate, I wish you peace and creativity. This prayer is available as a video you may enjoy listening to and watching, with Judy Collins and Richard Stoltzman:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRejYkJOYJM
If you like the image above, it is available on my website. I have two different images there with the same prayer.

We are celebrating the 8 days of Chanukah (also spelled Hanukkah) now.  It is interesting to see the various spellings when taking a word from a different language (especially one with a different alphabet) and trying to put it into English. I've also had a good laugh this year seeing all the parodies available online with Chanukah prayers (some new/some old) set to popular music.

We will be having 10 for dinner tomorrow evening, some will be celebrating Chanukah for the first time.  I wrote a little poem thinking about that.

Chanukah – 2014

What brings us together on this holiday?

We come from many different places,

cultures and religions

but we have all settled in America.

My father came here 100 years ago from Minsk,

my mother’s family came from what is now Ukraine,

others at the table came from the Philippines

and still others were born in America,

but their families came from Poland and

other European countries.

Yet we gather here to light these Chanukah candles,

join in a festive meal, perhaps sing a little,

pray together a little and get to know each other.

What brings us together is love,

the respect we have for each other

and the love of our children for each other.

My hope at this time is that this love

will go out into the world

spread its sparks around

and help make a difference.

Chag Sameach.

©Linda H. Feinberg
(Chag Sameach is Hebrew for Happy Holiday)

Urban scene

I decided to try a sketch of an urban scene instead of my usual landscapes. I found that I didn't like this as much, probably because I find more inspiration in the trees, woods, mountains and lakes of my region (New England). When I travel, I tend to look for the same kind of scenery too.

Meanwhile, these buildings have stayed in my mind since 2006 when I was on a trip to Israel.  I found the apartment building in Tel Aviv interesting (photo below of actual building). I had taken a picture from the hotel balcony, so I was looking down at the scene. I was impressed with all the solar panels on the roofs of so many buildings in Israel. These are not as practical in our climate, but some people do have them (including my son).

I found that I do not have any desire to paint this scene, but I did enjoy sketching it in pen and ink (in pencil first).

We had a big storm here on Thanksgiving and lost power for two days. Brr.... It was very cold and we spent the third night at my son's house (he had power and heat). We were very thankful when we came home to find that the power was back on. I still like winter, but we do not have a fireplace or woodstove.  Several of our neighbors have purchased generators. Some photos below of my wintry neighborhood.

The snow was very heavy and broke some of the branches off the pine tree. We cleaned it up and now most of the snow has melted (until the next storm).

We have one more craft fair this weekend. I have been very disappointed with sales at fairs this year. I probably won't do many next year. I'm going to continue painting as I enjoy it, but I'll have to figure out another way to sell my artwork locally. My cards have been selling well on my website and I'll continue to post new work there as well. You can now buy cell phone covers and throw pillows with my designs directly from the website.

Big and Small

Waterfalls, Red Butte Garden (Utah)

I love visiting my daughter in Salt Lake City and walking around there, both in the city and in the parks. I think I have finally finished this painting. It took me quite a while since it is oil paint (Winsor & Newton Artisan, water mixable) and I had to let it dry for a while so I could continue doing some layers.  I'm starting to get a little more patient with this process.  This is the largest canvas I have worked on so far, 18" X 24" (stretched canvas), and I like working larger on some pieces. Red Butte Garden

Siesta Time

This painting is a lot smaller, 8" X 10" on canvas board. The calves were resting quietly at the farm I visited in Vermont. I guess they are used to seeing all the tourists and customers at the farm.  They were behind barbed wire, but I did not include that in my painting.  This is also water mixable oil paints.  It was my first time painting cows, but I have painted and sketched other animals before. You get see earlier versions of these two paintings in the previous posts.

Fall is finishing up here in New Hampshire.  While we still have leaves to rake up, snow is on its way. Meanwhile, Joe and I took a walk in a conservation area in nearby Londonderry, NH. I'm looking forward to the snow and getting out again on my cross country skis.

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.