Granada in 1970 - finished

Finished this one over the weekend. Just touched up a couple of spots. I posted it on my website too. I am working on several other paintings at the same time, some acrylic, some oil and do not have any other finished work to post this week. (See September 3rd post for more information about the painting.)

I'll be out and about with my camera this weekend. The fall foliage colors are just beginning in our area of New Hampshire. I hope to get some good pictures and post them next week.

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).

Granada in 1970

I've had a camera since I was a little girl. My parents gave me a small brownie camera in the 1950's when I was about 6 or 7 years old.  Every once in a while I look at my old photos and several years ago I scanned some old 35 mm negatives into my computer too. This painting was from a photo taken in 1970 when I was on a car trip from Belgium (where I was living at the time) through France and down to Spain.  We stopped at many of the famous tourist sites and I took pictures.

This view of Granada was taken from the Alhambra.  I thought it would be very challenging to make into a painting.  I'm not sure it's completely finished, but I like the way it came out.  I'll leave it for a few weeks and see if I want to do anything else to it.  It is an 8" X 10" acrylic painting on stretched black canvas.

I've also learned that I don't need to buy black canvas if I want a painting on black.  I bought some black gesso (Bob Ross brand) and that works just as well.  It is better than black paint over white gesso.

Photo above is also from 1970, the same trip.  I haven't been back to Spain since then, but I still hope to take a trip there in the future.