Fishin' off the Pier

Fishing off the Pier, 24x24, oil on panel

Here is the finished painting of my brown pelican. I was struggling with the block in for this piece. Getting the Pelican correctly drawn should not have been a problem but sometimes these things happen. It seems the simpler the shape the more the errors show!

This is local tone, or three main values: light, medium and dark. Just as a reminder, local tone is usually a gray or overcast day.

Once I got my pelican drawn in the rest was fun to paint. This image was taken on the inter-coastal river along the eastern seaboard of Florida when my aunt and I were on a road trip. She was so gracious to stop whenever and where-ever I got a fancy so I could take photos. I zoomed in when taking this handsome portrait as I did not want the bird to fly away if I got too close for comfort. Not to worry. He had his eye on bigger fish than me.

Not only was I taken with the bird but I liked the graphic structure of the pier as well. A nice break up of the space. The juxtaposition of the organic on the linear intrigues me.

Sitting on the dock in the bay? I may have to take that for the name of this piece with a nod to Otis Redding.

Blood Moon - Denver Skyline

Blood Moon hitting the city at dusk, oil, 24x36

A couple of days after the Blood Moon rise a coworker showed me some photos on her phone. She and a photographer friend of hers had gone up to Lookout Mountain that evening to watch the moon rise. She initially showed me a photo with the moon in it, a big red orange ball in the evening sky. I really liked the photo and I asked her to ask her friend if I could possible use her image for a painting. She sent the original image along with another without the moon; shot earlier in the evening as the moon rose. The photographer was using her professional equipment that evening but I viewed them on an iPhone.

Image I thought I wanted to do of Blood Moon

After looking at the two images she sent me I decided I liked the orange light without the moon, so that is the one I ended up painting. I like them both and I may still end up doing the moon.  This skyline was not the 'piece of cake' I thought it would be. After I had it all done, I realized I had painted the skyline in a different manner from the rest of the landscape so it did not have an overall cohesive feel to it. I had to go back in and repaint the city so that it blended in texture wise with the rest. It was fun using orange and red in all the colors to unify the light. That was one of the most valuable lessons I think I ever learned; to use color in that manner. A blue green foreground has a lot of orange in it yet not as much as the middle ground so in relation to the middle ground, the foreground reads more blue green. Likewise, the sky has orange and red yet next to all the orange and yellow greens the sky looks more purple.

Flooded St Johns River

Flooded St Johns River - Fall, oil on linen, 24x30

Here is a painting I started a year ago. At that time I thought it was pretty much done but then I did a touch up that just destroyed it for me. It wasn't much but it doesn't always take much. Into the closet it went, face to the wall!

Feeling like it was time to salvage that 'so close and yet so far away' piece I got it out of 'time out' and decided to take a whole new approach to it.

Original "finished" loose painting

In the first rendition I was going for a loose, impressionistic approach, which as many of you know is not really my style, but sometimes you just have to get out of your comfort zone and try something foreign. I enjoyed the loose strokes and thought it a successful painting. Until I decided to darken and add depth to the trees at the water line. UGH. I used an almost black color and it just killed the painting for me. Not a hard thing to fix but I could not face it. So be it. I also felt that the reflection was getting too fragmented and not reading so much as a whole shape.

On this approach, using the same painting, I decided to break up the loose brush strokes with smaller, more directional individual strokes but still keeping the impressionist tone to it. The scene just calls for that. But this approach is also not 'normal' for me. I have done the broken stroke application before but I am still feeling my way around it. It certainly has its place I am discovering.

On this second run through I had finished it but it seemed to have taken on a somber tone that I was not thrilled with so I did another pass through lightening the colors back up. It is still a bit somber from the original finished painting, but for now I like it as is. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Block in for St Johns River-going for large color shapes

My first Flash Mob- at the Governor's Invitational Gala

In front of my paintings

Last Saturday night at the Governor's Gala Event at the Loveland Museum, just as things seemed to be at a lull, a beautiful tenor voice broke into song in the middle of the gallery. Then Carmen sang in response with the chorus joining in. It was so much fun and the Loveland Opera Theatre sounded so good. What a wonderful surprise. I heard one older gentleman in cowboy boots tell the tenor afterwards that "it wasn't Merle Haggard, but he enjoyed it just the same." My friend, Jeannie, took a video with her phone but it was too large to load here unfortunately.

The show looks great and you can tell a lot of thought went into the hanging of it. Lots of variety of styles and subjects. I think it is worth your while to get up to it as a field trip/outing. I saw a brew pub a few blocks away...for an 'arts and crafts' date.

On the easel: Inspired by drive down I-70 from Vail

Vail Pass Descent, 30x30, oil on linen

Last Thursday and Friday I was in Vail for the FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) State Conference. On Thursday I judged the Graphic Design competition and on Friday I helped in headquarters. The storm reports for Friday-Sunday were getting more and more horrendous so it was recommended I leave sooner than later. When I left Vail it was not only snowing and hailing but also thunder clapped. Hitting Vail Pass it was clear, although not sunny. This image is coming down from Vail Pass. Just before getting to Frisco I hit a white out. That was quite terrifying and took all my concentration. I slipped in behind a semi-tractor trailer and prayed he could see better than I could.

I wanted to get this painting started as not only is part of a new series I want to do, I wanted the freshness of the memory from the drive.

My first thought was to do this painting 24x24 but after looking at that size decided it was too small. Even 30x30 is looking a bit undersized but I don't want to go out and get a larger canvas when I have so much stock on hand. Plus, this is a good size for me. I must admit though, the more I work on these larger for me sizes the smaller they are tending to become.

This one started as per my usual approach of very thinned down paint color to just get the canvas covered and the big shapes blocked in. Then I go with a bit thicker paint and correct the drawing if that is needing to be done. There usually is some adjustments. Then I really start to lay on more color and paint. This is as far as I got but I am quite pleased with it thus far. I love this stage in the development. I could start paintings all day long. Just don't ask me to finish them...until I am good and ready.

Blockin Pelican develops into struggle

Pelican Block in, 24x24, oil on panel

Pelican structure, 24x24, oil on panel

Loosely blocked in on the slick oil gesso I had put on the Masonite, makes for a very thin coverage of paint in the first photo. I am now building up paint layers. I added that sea green color to the sky to be under and behind the darker blue gray clouds that are building up in the sky and will pop the pelican's head out. I solidified the river's light color but I will be adding the darker edges of the waves that are rippling with the wind.
 I am still undecided whether I will leave the trash can in that is peaking out behind the tail feathers. I thought it might be a good balance to the beak but know am not so sure I like it. It seems to be competing instead of complimentary. There were two figures on the bridge that I have so far left out. One figure is fishing and has his back to the viewer; the other is peaking out from behind the pelicans shoulder and looking over his shoulder at the viewer. My husband said to take them out but I am not yet convinced they don't belong.

Pelican Drawing Correction

The Pelican's head, neck and beak just felt off to me so I had to redraw the whole thing. The only part I did not move was the back of the head and neck. The bird's body didn't seem able to support the head. I think the proportion's are better. I finished blocking in the feet and legs, too. Good drawing is so important to the whole painting's success. I was convinced I should take out the trash can but now I am waffling on it...again.

Those nice straight lines that I like so much will most likely be softened once I get down to really laying down the color. The slick surface forces me to layer, which is a good thing. I like having the depth of color. I still struggle with the good coloring book syndrome of 'keeping within the lines.' Which for me translates to cover everything flat within those lines, ie not allowing the underlying colors to come through. It is a challenge for me but I have been working so hard on that aspect I think I got it. It is my yin and yang fighting! In one sense I like the rigid Mondrian linear quality against the organic shape of the Pelican. Then I think, flatten down the Pelican to a more abstract linear image to go with the other lines...Then, no, soften edges! I am still not sure which side of me is going to win the fight on this particular painting.

Governor's Invitational Gala Tickets now on sale!

The Gala Event of the Governor's Invitational Art show and sale is fast approaching. Saturday, April 23 is the day of the Gala. I am not sure if there are any tickets left but you can always check via the website.  350 artists applied for the 55 spots. For some reason, I thought there would be more artists applying for this show. The exhibit will be up from April 23 - May 29, 2016 if you get a chance to get to Loveland to see it.

Drove up to drop off the paintings Tuesday. I meant to take a few photos but I get caught up in the moment and forget. It was a very easy drop-off using the loading dock area at the back of the museum. Two people checking you in and many hands moving the paintings out of the drop off area.

I talked to one of the main organizer's and he said that there is a big surprise planned for the Gala evening. I had complimented him on the Sponsor's Evening that was held last Friday at the Embassy Suites in Loveland. There was a dance artist using parachute type 'clouds' that she manipulated while she danced to the live music. The cloud of fabric hung from the ceiling with quite an array of wires. She had three handles she would use to move the fabric to the music and her movements as if it were a giant marionette. I, again, just am not yet tuned to using my phone to take photos, so no photos. We will just have to wait and see what this surprise will be.

On May 7 there will be a plein air event in conjunction with the Governor's Invitational. 50 artists will be participating in a prescribed area around the museum with the auction to start at 2 pm. My friend Jeannie Paty and I will be participating. Hope to see you around!