Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums, 6x6 oil on board

Mother's Day found me with little time at my easel, which was perfect for another small painting. I don't grow nasturtiums but I sure found their color stunning on a cloudy wet day in California. These were the only blooms on the plant at the time. I may have to readjust my thinking on this plant and add some to my garden. It needs some refreshing color such as this. I had fun painting these twirling type leaves.

From the Informed Collector

Today I  was highlighted in an email newsletter called "Informed Collector" that is connected to the website where my web site is hosted. Here is the link to read the post online. I am very honored and loved the blurb that was written about my work so much that I plan to use it! How this came about was there was a blog post last week about this feature and the author said to contact her if you were interested in having your web site viewed with the possibility of being featured. I got a non-committal response so imagine my surprise when I was chosen the very next issue!

Surfer Girl

Surfer Girl, 6x6, oil on board

Here is another in my series of 6"x6" paintings. I so enjoyed painting the beach scene at Half Moon Bay, CA on the Pacific side I went through my photos from Florida to do a scene from the Atlantic. That little speck off the end of her surfboard is someone in the water.

Easter Sunday on Half Moon Bay

Easter Sunday Beach Walk, 6x6

I took this photo while we were in Half Moon Bay, CA visiting our niece this past Easter. It was a cool and breezy day, but there was still plenty of activity on the beach. I have switched to this smaller format for the time being as I felt I was getting bogged down in my larger paintings lately. I needed to have some sense of accomplishment and the smaller format, while it has its own challenges, allows more room for that. I got 5 done last weekend, this is one of the better ones. It is simple in its composition and color structure, which is suitable for the smaller format. I do see a few tiny fixes that need to be addressed now that I have looked at it for a week. The footprints in the sand in the middle left hand side distract from the over all viewing experience due to the fact that they are all similar in size and shape. They need some variety and to recede. ie they are too static.

I have discovered an auction site online for artists; similar to eBay but strictly art. I would like to give it a try but want to start with small paintings. With that in mind I had my husband cut a stack of 6x6 boards. This is my second attempt to paint in this format, as I started last fall with the intention of submitting to a show in California that is devoted to 6x6 inch format. I did not submit to that show, so I have those paintings ready too. I am using just birch boards as the surface so again, it forces me to lay thick strokes down. Once I get my account set up and running I will post the link here with a view of the corrected painting. See you then!

Cattle Crossing

Cattle Crossing, 12x24, oil on board

I have spent more time on this painting since I posted it a few months ago as a work in progress. I have broken the larger shapes into smaller shapes and added more variety of color into those smaller shapes. I also had someone who knows horses look at it and she did have some corrections for me to do on the horse in the background, which I am very grateful for.  I have enjoyed the change of scenery of these last two Wyoming paintings.
I wrote this blog post a month ago and forgot to post it!

Upper Bear Creek revisted

Upper Bear Creek Meadow, last week, 2012

Upper Bear Creek, first revisited, 2010

Upper Bear Creek Meadow, Original 9x12 2008

This painting has been hanging in our home for awhile and it has been bothering me enough that I finally took it down last weekend. Time to try again. In the bottom photo is the original as painted plein air. The expressive brushstrokes I like but the meadow does not read as a meadow. It is a jumble. The bushes look like I don't know what. I do like the trees on the left but that is about all. I like the blue of the mountains but I don't think they are pushed back enough into the distance.

In the middle version, I can't remember what I was thinking but I can see that I added more color to the meadow and the brush of the bushes but did not necessarily make anything better. I don't like the mountains being purple or the added color in the grasses because it still is not reading as a flat meadow with variations of grasses in it.

Last week, I did have a plan to flatten the meadow, push the mountains back, clean up the bushes, and then I added the deer yesterday. I did not reference the original photo of the painting, but I came back to more of the colors and feel intuitively. The large bush on the right has always bothered me, and so I have put the painting back up yesterday to see how it reads now.