Burnsville Paint-Out

Watercolor with Colored Pencil, 8x10ish"

A few weeks ago, I participated in a paint-out held by the Toe River Arts Council (TRAC) in Burnsville, NC.  This is  NOT the painting I did for the paint-out!  Actually, I painted two similar starts, and the underpainting for this one was the first start.  The second start, I completed for the Paint Out, and it has been hanging in TRAC gallery for the month, until recently when the show ended.   Another artist was kind enough to pick it up for me when the show ended, since I live further away, so I still don't have the painting back.

It has been very odd for me to not have easy access to that painting for the past month, and I realize now that a big part of my painting process is looking, looking, looking at my painting after it is sort of finished.  In fact, I can be in the middle of doing something completely different (laundry for instance) and suddenly take a notion and be compelled to drop everything and go look at a recent painting.  More than once.

After a couple of weeks of not getting to look at my paint-out painting, I realized that I had the original start at home and could play around with it.  I took liberties with the grasses in front of the trees, obviously embellishing the colors, with the intention to play and see how the colored pencils worked with the paints.  Playing and learning, great fun! 

Thank you for looking and for being with me through these experiments...

'Tis the Season

Acrylic, 8x8"

 Season's Greetings!  Here is this year's offering of my version of rose.  My model quickly drooped in the studio, so had to resort to imagination and a silk rose stand-in to complete the painting. 

Thank you to everyone who has contacted me to check on me, since it has been awhile since I have posted.  I assure you, all is well.  I am still painting, quite regularly, actually.  I have hinted to you in a prior post that I have been working in a different medium, and I thought I would give you a glimpse at this time.  I have been playing with watercolor, sometimes mixed with gouache and sometimes even adding some colored pencil. 

I'm finding that I especially love working with these mediums for plein air (outdoor) painting.  The watercolors seem much more relaxing to use outside than acrylics.   So wonderful!  So far, I am just doing studies/sketches, but the feeling of ease about the process is such a joy.

I think I owe you one, so here is a recent little study (it is teeny):

Plein Air Watercolor, about 3x6"

Looking at it after the fact, I see "things" about it that could be fixed, but this little study makes me so happy.  I sat on a rock in the stream, relaxed as could be, and just sketched and learned.  I'm doubly thrilled that the scan of it is pretty close to the original.

Thank you so much for being here...

Lady Bug Dress

Acrylic with Palette Knife 10x8"

My latest in my new series of toddler legs.  Legs courtesy of my OTHER niece!  I am now out of nieces, so if anyone has any photos of little toddlers they would like to share as painting references, feel free to send them my way!

If you have read my blog for awhile, you will know that I am on a quest to improve the photo images of my paintings (now there's a positive way to put it!).  Thanks to Rick (photoshop guru who is helping me tremendously with my prints) at Henco Reprographics, I now know that the color and values are even affected by the ANGLE TO THE MONITOR the image is viewed from.  Artist friends, did you know this???  Try viewing one of your paintings on your monitor from various angles, and you will see for yourselves...

P.S.  Guess whose dog needs surgery on her other knee?

30 in January 2014, Is it really possible to sum up this amazing experience?

I have already stayed up way too late trying to create this collage, so will hopefully be brief and will get to bed soon.  The issue with the collage, created at PicMonkey.com, was that the site kept wanting to change the format (shape) of my paintings.  This was a compromise I could live with, but it took forever!

I am filled to the brim with gratitude to everyone who participated in this challenge--what a privilege to see all your wonderful work,  meet new artists via our blogs and Facebook, deepen relationships with artist friends I already had, and learn so much more about myself as a painter.   I am so proud of all of you and look forward to seeing your work on an on-going basis. 

One of the artists who contacted me through the challenge is actually fairly local to me and is part of an artist guild that I am going to join.  I am so excited that my world of in-person artist friends is about to expand, and some of them will even go out plein air painting together!
 
I painted way more paintings than I imagined I would, WAY more than I have ever completed in any of the previous two challenges!  I serendipitously began the use of the palette knife with my acrylics and find that this is a method I want to continue to explore.

I found an area I want to continue in a series, namely, the little legs in tights above.  I have another one on my easel that I was not willing to rush to finish tonight,  just to have one more completed painting.  I will show it to you in its right time.  If anyone has photos they are willing to send me to work from--little toddler legs in interesting tights, clothing, or shoes, I would love to increase my file of references for this series.  THANKS!

Thank you to Leslie Saeta, our wonderful leader and convener of this challenge, for giving us all the gift of this opportunity!

Finally, a question for the artists in the group--does anyone have any ideas on how to continue the community we have developed here, along with the obvious idea of continuing to visit each others' blogs?

Leggings - Acrylic with Palette Knife, 30 in 2014

Acrylic with Palette Knife, 8x10"

This photo was shot about 6 years ago and painted sometime that year.  The owner of the legs is also the owner of the original painting, my niece T.  I wanted to see how it would work to use a palette knife to paint it again.  Unfortunately, T and the painting live far away, so I will have to rely on my sister to tell me how this one compares with the original.  Funny how an image can stay with you for years!

Congratulations to all my artist friends who are completing the 30 in 30 Challenge.  I am so proud of you.  Congratulations, too, to my good friends who decided not to do the challenge this time.  You all are also doing fabulous work!

Spiral Tree - Palette Knife (30 in January 2014)

 

 Acrylic with Palette Knife, 8x10"

 Sorry for the glare on this photo.  It is from my scanner.  The painting is quite shiny.  I need to adjust my proportion of gloss to matt medium.  In a couple of weeks, I can put some matt varnish on this piece and then scan it again.  I'll try to remember to show it to you then!

 After spending a chunk of yesterday morning on a painting that wasn't going to work out, I spent a chunk of yesterday afternoon playing on this one.  I think the playing won out over the working!  This one was purely for my amusement, seeing what moves I could make with the palette knife and just enjoying seeing colors next to colors.


I remember when I took the reference photo this fall, what attracted me to the scene was the way the leaves seemed to spiral around the tree.  I hope I have managed to convey some of that effect here...

Thanks for looking!

Five Things I Know So Far about Acrylic Palette Knife Painting

Acrylic with Palette Knife, 8x10"

 "You can't hurry art..."  Like this one--this one took two days of my spare time to complete.  I've actually painted from this photo before, with brushes, oil paints, and the help of a teacher.  Yesterday, I was staring at the GOBS of leftover paint I had on the palette from doing the quilt painting.  I recognized that the palette was perfect for this reference photo!  Of course, I couldn't find the earlier version of the painting until today, so I didn't have the benefit of what I had learned the first time until round two, today.

This kitchen belongs to one of my blog readers.  Extra points to you if you figure out it's yours!  Don't worry, though, if you don't figure it out.  I just got my artistic license, and I used a lot of it with this painting...

I missed a few days of the 30 in 30.  I wasn't feeling well, and needed downtime with my family.  But don't feel bad for me--I'm not mad at myself or anything.  In fact, yesterday I bought myself some presents as rewards for what I have accomplished so far.  I am now the proud owner of a new ArtByte from DPW and two out-of-print art books from Amazon.  I respond well to rewards!  I'm so encouraged, I'm going to continue to paint--maybe I'll deserve even more...

This is the most ambitious palette knife painting I have completed.  Here is what I have learned so far about Acrylic Palette Knife painting:

1) Use medium!  I am still experimenting to determine my favorite medium--what I do know for sure is that medium adds body to the paint, which makes the paint behave better for palette knife painting.  As a bonus, the medium really stretches the paint!

2)  The paint stays wet a long time.  I have to learn to use wet-on-wet techniques, for at least part of what I am doing.  I am used to wet-on-dry!

3)  And when the paint does dry, those palette knife ridges can sometimes get in the way of what I need to do next!  I don't mind any of the ridges once the painting is complete--the ridges are just a function of having used a knife.  But the ridges can be tough to work with when I still want to do some overpainting.

4)  Sometimes I want to use a brush in the middle of the palette knife painting.  So I do.  And that's ok.  Except when it's not.  And then I can fix it.  

5)  I have a lot to learn about Acrylic Palette Knife Painting, but am so excited to practice and learn.

Thanks for visiting and Watching!

Practicing Scales

                                             Acrylic with Palette Knife, 6x6"

I wanted to merely practice my palette knife technique without having to focus on all the elements that go into making a painting, so I decided to paint this quilt pattern, as a musician would practice scales.  I thought it would be simple and I would probably knock out a couple of these tonight.  Ha!!  The maniacal laughter you're hearing is me, contemplating how much work it was to even get the drawing onto the paper, let alone to make sure the colors were in the right place, not to even mention using the knife to get the paint into all the little spaces.   This is probably a good time to note I have a truly renewed admiration for quilters!

I started at the upper right, and you may be able to see that I was quite focused in the first few upper right squares to get the paint on smoothly.  After several squares, I wanted to hang it up.  But I stuck it out, soon realizing that the nature of palette knife is that things are not going to be perfect and that's why we use the knife.  So, slap on some more paint and get on to the next shape!

Remind me next time I create an exercise to practice the looseness of palette knife technique, I should be painting rainbows or something else where I can make sweeping motions with the knife!

 I want to remind all the artist bloggers out there that the important thing about this month's challenge is NOT to end up with 30 paintings.  The important things are to learn more about your working methods, your materials, your preferences, and your sources of inspiration.  We don't want anyone finishing this challenge being burned out on painting.  Please be kind to yourselves and give yourselves a break when doing so would be wise.

Stormy Sky - 30 in January 2014

                                           Acrylic with Palette Knife, 6x6"




I started this one with 20 minutes of my lunch hour yesterday and finished it last night when I got home.  This one is from one of my photos.  I found it very difficult to get soft cloud edges with the palette knife and ended up using my finger, which is very strange for me, since I normally paint with gloves on to avoid touching the paint.  I wonder if I can prevail upon two friends who usually paint with palette knives to do a demo of clouds on their blogs--Carol, Jacklyn? 

How is everybody who is in the challenge doing at this point?  I find myself needing to be more into my own thing and having less time to look at everyone else's work.  Yesterday morning, I used my time before work to scan and blog the painting on yesterday's post, and that is what I will need to do this morning, too.  Then, my next time to check email and Feedly is normally my lunch hour, but I painted on my lunch hour.  And last night, I also painted.  I haven't had time to look at all the paintings on Leslie's blog in a few days.  I know it's a good thing for my painting life to be more focused on my own process, but I do miss all the inspiration!  So, how are you guys doing???

Warmer Winter Morning Plein Air, acrylic with palette knife

                                          Acrylic Plein Air with palette knife, 6x6"



 I got up early and went out plein air yesterday morning...yes, Watchers, this one was completed actually outside, not huddled inside looking out a window.  The temps are up and my acrylics (not to mention myself) can be outside again!

I see I am getting some glare from the scan, perhaps due to having used some gloss medium in with the mix of mediums I am using.  I've been experimenting with mediums to use with the acrylics and palette knife, to give the paints more body.  Also, in the painting, the sky is much grayer than the blue my monitor is showing.  You would think that would be an easy fix in Photoshop Elements, but so far it is not!  It probably means the rest of the colors are off, too. 

Have a great day everyone...