Sorry for the early post today. I'm on the fly today and had a bunch of stuff to do before heading to my drawing group. I decided to try a small format to get something quick done. Fun, fun, fun! I loved doing this! I learned so much from the brief exercise, I'll be doing a bunch more just for the kick. OK...I'm off to my group.
I've been spending more time on figure sketching these days. Sales have been a little slower than usual and this has reduced some of the pressure on me so I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to explore and improve in other areas. I'd really like to work on my figures more and hope to do some more oil and pastel sketches during the winter. Here's one I particularly liked. The model was quite relaxed during this pose and consequently I was able to relax as well. It shows, I think.
Amber is a beautiful girl who has modeled for our group on a few occasions. A former student of mine, she took to modeling like a duck to water. Our group is in love with her but unfortunately she is moving out of the area and some other lucky group in Oregon will win her. Amber was kind enough to sit for my friend George and I one last time. I did the initial sketch and color notes from life and then worked on the piece from photos. It's tough to get the color right in this photo but the painting really has a beautiful glow to it when you see it in person. If you're interested in seeing more of this work up close, e-mail me and I'll happily oblige. "Amber" is painted on unstretched canvas which is perfect for mounting on board or matting and framing under glass.
Just a quick sketch today of a gentleman who poses for my group. Dennis is a loyal model who shows up rain or shine. Without models like him, we wouldn't be able to continue our little life drawing group. Models are hard to find and we can't let them know enough how much they are appreciated.
I was intrigued by the shape of a pitcher when I visited a friend recently and she was kind enough to lend it to me. I wanted a simple still life (sans flowers) and really was focused on getting the texture of the pitcher along with the color of the apples down. I was happy with the apples but think I'd like to do the pitcher again in different light. I'm stuck working under artificial light until my new studio is done. They've built the new studio on to the old one but haven't yet broken through. The new structure cuts off all light entering the old studio so I'm really in the dark. Artificial light is more difficult to work with as the color appears different (to me) and it falls a bit less softly. I've put to work some of the principles I learned at my David Leffel workshop though and despite the frustration, I'm happy with this piece. The sides of this canvas are painted so you can hang it without a frame if you please, or it's standard 9" x 12" size makes it easy to frame.
I have a small but growing collection of statuary and plaster casts that I use for myself and for my drawing students. Today while one of my students tried to capture this statue in charcoal, I used the opportunity to knock out a quick oil sketch. It actually proved to be a challenge - no so much in the rendering of the saint, but in how to achieve some life in the painting. I didn't want a monochromatic piece but then, the statue is white. So I opted for a livelier background. The cross in the upper left hand corner emerged of its own accord with brush strokes, but I opted to enhance it a bit and worked it in as part of the composition. I spent some extra time with this exercise because I'm trying to get a deeper understanding of how color can work for me. I changed the background several times before settling on this warm one.
I was short for time today with dentist appointments and my life drawing group scheduled. I've been meaning to use these short days for exercises and color studies. This little one is numbered "1" as it's the first in a series I'll do of floewrs with different color combinations. I was aiming for something entirely different than what actually transpired here so I have some work to do in this arena. Still, it was fun and absorbing for the hour of work it took. Enjoy.
It's a funny thing about painting. Often artists resist the one thing they love the most. It's been labeled a lot of things like "resistance", "block", "creative anxiety", etc. But what it amounts to is this. Just before I'm due to arrive in my studio, I find a thousand other things to do. Like vacuum, wash dishes, do the laundry, call my long lost relatives, even do my taxes! What I need to remind myself is that once I get in there and get going, all that resistance disappears.
Today, though, I actually found myself getting excited about squeezing out some paint and getting elbow deep in paint. The pastel I did the other day was just a warm up. I found today's little painting a lot easier to do than I thought I would, having been away from the easel for over a month. I got quickly into the piece and was just humming along to the busy sound of construction guys hammering on the new studio roof just outside my window.
Well, here it is. I chose something simple for today's exercise. Hope you like it. I used lots of paint and a palette knife to apply it with. I'm trying to utilize that tool more than I have in the past and find that it is wonderful for getting the look I'm after on some of my vases.
Well I'm back. Almost a complete month away in Europe and on the high seas! Wow. I'm still recovering from jet lag. Can you believe I've been falling asleep everyday at 7:00 PM? On a transatlantic crossing, the ship turns back the clock one hour every day for six days. While that sounds gradual - trust me, it isn't! Then that final five hour flight back home and another three hour change. What time is it, anyway?
I haven't had time to pull my pictures from the vacation and sort through for some good resource material. I was going to paint a still life, but felt like working in a well lit studio which I can't do for still life. My friend, Patti Cline is a fabulous photographer. This painting was done from a terrific photo she took of Bonny Lake in Alaska. I asked her permission to use it for a reference and she graciously gave it. I don't use photos much these days as I have been focusing on still life and Plein Air. But I just don't get to Alaska very much and besides - it's too cold to stand outside there!
I really like the way this painting turned out. I haven't painted in pastels in quite awhile so I really enjoyed being able to just walk away and come back without fear of dried paint. There's a lot more happening in this painting than the photo reveals but, after all, I'm not a photographer. I'm a painter and my friend lives too far away to help me out on that account.
This painting comes shipped in it's own secure case to make it easier for framing. The pastel is lightly fixed to protect it. Framing and matting is available upon request. Closeup photos are also available upon request.
Please be sure to visit Patti's site and e-mail her to let her know how beautiful her work is! I'm trying to talk her into blogging so you can all subscribe, but she's a busy girl and is resisting at the moment.
You may remember that I posted an image of this piece before it was completed many months ago. I finished it recently in time for my show. Although it isn't a "daily" panting I decided to post it as a final piece before taking my leave for the next month. Although I don't leave until the 18th for Europe, I have much to do between now and then and won't be able to get into the studio except for teaching. We were fortunate to find a house sitter at the last minute so my furry family will be well taken care of. The past few days have been spent in a Seattle hospital helping my Uncle attend to my Aunt. She's quite ill and it just seems that the nurses can't do everthing that's needed to keep someone comfortable. I would have liked to stay longer, but things here at home needed attending and so I only returned this morning. I'll be taking lots of photos while I'm gone and hope to be able to create some new pieces when I return based on my experiences in Europe. I'm very much looking forward to this vacation as a chance to get "reacquainted" with my poor husband who, because of our busy schedules, I hardly every get to see before dinner or bedtime. I intend to spend the time dancing my little feet off and ogling every piece of art I can. We'll be spending three days in Padua and Venice before leaving on a cruise of the western Mediterranean. Then we finish off with a transatlantic cruise. In the meantime, my studio is framed and they start the walls this week. It's very exciting. The walls are nine feet high with a cathedral ceiling. I find myself walking around on the sub flooring imagining where everything will go. Right now my main goal is to have as little actual furniture in the new space as possible. I want to leave it open for students and work. It's amazing how fast clutter can fill even the largest space! So I'll be signing off for now. Wish me bonn voyage. I wish you all a lovely fall. Keep safe; keep warm, keep loving art! Warm regards, Susan
