Spring Fever

We have finally gotten a day in which we can go outside without a sweater. I am not feeling like sitting at the easel, but did manage to augment the dark grain lines on the tabletop before succumbing to Nature.

Two Spoons, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Taking photos of bees in the azaleas—

 

Dessert Of The Day

I promised myself I'd work through three more of the dessert paintings this week.

Hot Fudge Sundae II, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

The Wind Blows Through And Changes Everything

 Some of my artist friends are making major changes to their styles. Lots of us are taking advantage of "The Pause" to ruminate on what direction to take going forward. And I just finished watching "Making The Cut," because I am a sucker for shows about designers creating wearable art (fashion design).

One of the two finalists was an extremely talented person, but she only designs in black material. The other finalist put on a show of inventive, interesting pieces with a limited but effective color palette that made the other designer's collection look (forgive me) like a snooze fest. Though the judges were supportive of the woman's decision to stay true to her "universe" of black, I felt like she was limiting herself and her creativity by refusing to work with color.

The painting below was intended from the start to be an abstraction. You can see how well that went. So; while it is very pleasant to look at,shouldn't I be trying to push myself into less comfortable territory?

Sky Over The Sudbury River, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 Worked on sky and clouds today; clouds somewhat better but still lacking form. But maybe form is what I need to give up?

Another Wet Sunday

I've been growing some seedlings, and along with the plants I've been overwintering in the house, they are champing at the bit to get out into the garden. The weather as you know (I've been complaining a lot) has been dismal, cool, and wet, and today is just another example. I left all of the plants out overnight because temps were supposed to stay above 50, and today everybody looks fine. It's great to get the greenery out of my cramped little studio, and I'm hoping the temperature remains stable.

Anyway, I couldn't pull weeds today because, mud, so I got back to this painting until the cat came in and told me it was time to stop.

Sara Driving Across The Desert, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Bitten By A Bug

No, not COVID-19; the Sewing Bug. I used to make a lot of things on my sewing machine years ago, but then life got too busy and the machine gathered dust. But having discovered I can design my own fabrics and send the files off to a fabric printer has been a game changer. The sewing machine has been oiled and lubricated, and I plan to spend the rest of the weekend indulging in clothes-designing bliss.

Meanwhile: I did more work today so I won't feel too guilty about stepping away from the easel for two days.

Hot Fudge Sundae I, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

A Sunset For Karla, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

Subtle Changes On The Plate

The plate is going to need a couple more sessions; its edges are light on one side and darker on another. And there's a slight depression where the rim meets the flatter bottom part. Then I'll need to refine the green rings. But I did change the values very subtly here and there.

Banana Cream Pie, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Taking A Break Today

Trying to catch up on some domestic tasks. Hope everyone out there is doing well and staying safe!

Soft-edged Shadows

I tried softening the edges of the shadows today and played with the color a bit.

 Light And Shadow, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Just The Spoon

I do think this one is very near completion; the spooon needs some finessing, but otherwise I might be able to call it done after the next sitting.

Mocha Treat, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Ceiling Subtleties

The ceiling in this room is an odd blend of pinks, neutral beiges, and blues, all influenced by the rich browns of the walls. I have trouble mixing tones dark enough; even when I broke out some Payne's Gray and mixed it with Raw Umber it turned out to be lighter than the area I was trying to darken. The ceiling colors shift gradually, so I'm trying to even them out.

Specials Of The Day, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Flowers For Tuesday

Some of the daffodils are odd combinations of colors; the petals look white or yellow, but achieving the proper hues means mixing viridian with Cad or Winsor Orange, or Raw Umber with three or four shades of yellow. I'm trying to communicate a sense of light.

Blue Vase, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Moving on, I picked out a lot of detail in the bottom of the canvas:

Sky Over The Sudbury River, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Unfortunately, I made those white flowers in the foreground too white. Will have to grey them down a bit, next time. They're very stark.

Driving For Pleasure

This is a fun painting to work on. I love the orangey glow on the lower cheek/jawline.

Sara Driving Across The Desert, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

And: more adjustment of the sky color near the horizon line. The original plan was for the sky to have a yellow glow...

 

After Eaton, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

Red Rings

This is not going to be easy to do. Those red rings are going to require a lot of patience.

Île Flottante, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

A Better Image

This is the painting I mentioned as being photographed in low light a few days ago; here it is in better light.

Coming Of Age In The Year 2018, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Marble

The marble tabletop still needs some highlights, but otherwise it's nearly done.

Banana Cream Pie, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Tile, Tile, More Tile...

I am really sick and tired of working on the tiles and you would think that there's nothing more to do to them, but I still have to clean up the grout lines, darken them a little in some areas and make them lighter in others. Plus, I want the tile to lose the very dull look they have now, and that means a layer of glaze. I worked on this for two hours this morning.

Waiting At Le Diplomate, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Trying To Make The Scalloped Plate Round

All of the plates in this series need readjustment, none of them looks believably round. But this one in particular baffles me; the undulating edge seems to be irregular even in its scalloped-ness; plus, we're viewing it on an angle, and that affects the perceived roundness of the plate.

I've already repainted it a couple of times, but a few days ago I sanded off the paint in the plate's lower right-hand corner. Here's today's iteration:

Pot De Crème, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Atmosphere

Now that the dark wall panels are filling in, this painting is beginning to develop a sense of atmosphere. Worked mostly on the right side, on the deer head and portrait.

Specials Of The Day, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Nearer and Nearer

The boy's back is too blank, so I'll have to pick out some details on it, and maybe I'll work a little more green into the water, but this is close to being done. Also, this is a very dark photo: I finished work on the painting after sundown.

Coming Of Age In The Year 2018, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

Next: I did say I was going to paint over those distracting little purple clouds on the horizon.

 

After Eaton, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

And, one more for today. Much work on the clouds.

 

Clouds Over The Sudbury River, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Sara Driving

This painting is really fun to work on.

Sara Driving Across The Desert, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

And: some more experimentation with Impressionist color.

 

Light And Shadow, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

Second Attempt

Note my little friend, sitting quietly under the easel.

Sara Driving Across The Desert, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Layering More Color In The Sky

I'll never get the color to look the way it did when I took the photo for this painting; that's the pitfall of working with pigment instead of light. I'm planning to use more of the transparent glazes of blue over the magentas.

A Sunset For Karla, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Because It's The Right Thing To Do

Math has never been my strong point, and some days I make mistakes; this was one of them. I failed to notice that I was working with an 8" x 48" canvas instead of the 9" x 49" size of the reference photo I was working from. It wasn't until I started painting design elements at the bottom of the canvas that I realized I was an inch short; then I had to decide whether to keep going (it didn't look that bad) or wipe it all out and start over.

Well, after fretting for a while, i decided to wipe it out and start over. But it's aggravating.

I'm Calling This One Finished

It is such a rare thing for me to finish a painting. Some of what you see in this blog, I've been working on for 2 years. Finishing this should be cause for celebration but it's a measly 4" x 4"!

Tiny Sunset, Leesburg, © 2020 (click on image for larger view)

Bits, Here And There

Mostly just cleaned up a few spots: picked out a little more detail on the trees, evened out the blue shadow on the sidewalk, etc.

For Rent, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

A Clean Background

Today I'm trying to make the background as uniform as possible in preparation for redrawing the plate's contour, which is still a bit wonky.

Île Flottante, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Morning Cheer

Bright colors this morning; I'm working on the irises and extending the height of the vase.

Blue Vase, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

And Another Attempt At A Luminous Sky

Forgot to post this one yesterday!

After Eaton, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

I'm going to paint over those small violet clouds near the horizon line; something else would be more interesting.

Maybe A Step In The Right Direction?

I lightened the shadow areas and made them somewhat uniform in color, and I think it looks better. I studied the Charing Cross Bridge paintings of Monet over the weekend, looking for ways to work some interest into the blue shadows. He used a little white, a little turquoise, but mostly just changed the values on the bridge supports. I'll mess around with it some more, but overall, I think this is an improvement.

Light And Shadow, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Cleanup On The Right Sides

Both of these paintings needed refinement on the right sides. I still can't match the vivid blue-purple on the tower of wine bottles, so this will have to do.

  Tuesday, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

And I cleaned up the floor shadows on this one:

 

  For Rent, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

Stop Before You Ruin It, and Face Coverings

My intentions were good this morning: I set out to make the rim of the plate accurate, but things went wrong very quickly. Rule #1: DUST OFF THE PANEL BEFORE YOU START TO PAINT. I will never learn! The brush kept picking up extremely fine cat hairs and they in turn kept picking up wet paint and dragging it into areas where it didn't belong. Finally I had to stop. But at least a little progress was made.

Banana Cream Pie, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

My cat friend, who has very soft, very fine hair/fur, relaxing in his closet cave:

He is wondering why I feel compelled to take yet another photo of him and disturb his nap when I already have 3000+ pictures of him.

Meanwhile: I found an excellent tutorial on making face masks yesterday— or as they want us to refer to them, "face coverings," on YouTube by a woman named Leah Day. I'll link to it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNX0cRrYj6U

I went through some of my sewing fabric stash last night and figure I can make some of these and donate them to hospitals. They have a pocket for easy placement/removal of filtering material, like paper towels or vacuum cleaner bag filters. Need to look into this more carefully, but what a great idea.

Hacking Around

I don't feel like I did anything useful on these four this morning, but at least I wasn't lying on the couch eating bonbons.

The first one: Maybe slightly better than it was? Still trying to get a handle on the color.

Light And Shadow, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

Next: Still kind of "meh." I'm going to look at a lot of photos of clouds tonight and try to find something that communicates the mood.

 

Sky Over The Sudbury River, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

Moving along: Trying to get a better sense of what I want the sky to look like, sort of more ephemeral. Added more color, let it dry a bit and then smooshed it around.

A Sunset For Karla, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

Finally, picking out some details in the bar window.

 

Waiting At Le Diplomate, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 

 

 

 

 

Up And At It Before 10 A.M.

For once, I was ready to go early today. And I'd wanted to get back to the dessert series, which I've been ignoring lately in favor of more fun stuff. The red color of the Strawberry Shortcake painting beckoned, so I squeezed out some color and went at it:

Strawberry Shortcake, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

Then moved on to this; forgetting that I had been planning to stick to finishing just a few of the desserts, I caught a glimpse of the close-up photo of the crackly-surface detail and hatched a plan on how to proceed; First, a midtone layer of squiggly, diagonal strokes in a combination of Yellow Ochre Pale and two yellows; then some Brilliant Yellow Pale (more squiggles) and highlights in white. Every stroke had to be rounded and organic, too.

Crème Brûlée, Guilty Pleasures Series, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

 It looks more realistic. At the end, I placed a few spots of that odd dark color— don't know what the ingredient is— in just a few places here and there. Next time I work on this I'll have to tone down the table color, which looks too bright and very artificial. And every piece in the series needs some refinement on the plates.

Buckle Up, Buttercup!

Hauled myself back into the studio and worked on the decoration-laden left side. Those weird looking things are fake poinsettias and sparkly silver painted tree branches. They might be too distracting; I may have to knock them back a bit. Astonishing how much there is left to do on this one.

Specials Of The Day, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

A Wasted Day

At least so far, it's wasted. I can't seem to get into gear with the painting today, and I blame the weather. It's ANOTHER dank, dismal, dreary, damp, overcast, miserable day. And the news isn't too good, either.

Moved one of the sunflowers forward, and it makes a big difference in the mood of the piece. Some of the white daffodils have petals that are unusually colored due to being in the shadows; painting those is fun. But I'm going to go do something else now and give up for a while.

Blue Vase With Irises, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

This Needs Something In The Foreground

Also: not happy with those parallel purple clouds near the horizon.

After Eaton, © 2020, work in progress (click on image for larger view)