Another Go at it

Ye Olde Beer Glasses, 12x9, oil on canvas

Ok, round 2 of these beer glasses. I know I am getting behind in posting the paintings I have been working on for this month of 30 paintings in 30 days (now amended to painting every day for 30 days). I decided to work this one up again. It is not quite where it needs to be but it is far enough along to talk about. The first go around I felt the beer and the table were too close in color so in this version I lightened the table and gave more orange color to the beer to aid the contrast. The table really is sunshine yellow formica from the 60's. I believe these glasses are also from that era. They appear to be hand blown as they are both heavy glass and very irregular in shape. My drawing is really not that far off, believe it or not. I am working from a phone photo not from life. I had given this pair to my daughter for Christmas so she sent me the image to show they are enjoying the glasses. I never thought to paint them from life while they sat in my cupboards for the past 20 years!! Shame on me. And I like wheat beer, which is what these glasses are for. Weissbier in German. Prost!

Creek Crossing

Creek Crossing, 12x12, oil on linen panel

Here is something a bit different from all the still life setups I have been doing this month. The direction I was going here was to keep every thing very simple and in that I think I succeeded. It may still need a bit of fine tuning but I made myself stop as simple is simple and maybe it is time to just let some things be. Hard as that is for me to do.

I was up in Parmalee Gulch on a plein air paint out a number of years ago and we were painting along this creek when these kids came into view. I had forgotten all about this image but came across it recently and it was just what I was looking for and didn't know it.

Queen Anne's Lace, plein air study, Parmalee Gulch

This is what I was working on when the kids crossed the creek near me. The shadows were deep that fine summer day.

Hildebrand Ranch - Jeffco Open Space Park

Barn, 12x12, oil on linen panel

Today was the first time I have been out with Plein Air Artists of Colorado (PAAC) in years. It was a gorgeous morning the day after a spring like snow that came through yesterday. I have had such good intentions to get out and join them before now, but it has been amazingly difficult to add that to my schedule. I painted alone but I did go over and say hi to the group clustered on the bridge. There were a few of us singletons spread around but most were on the bridge.

I know that this is a dangerous composition; square format and subject smack dab in the middle!  I had tried to trek through the snow to get to the sunny side view but then all my gear and my feet would have been in the snow. There was no dry place over there. So I stood in the parking lot and dry pavement. Sort of dictated my view. There are a group of bare trees to the right that I have not added yet and will help break up the even sides. I had thought to paint from the road and paint the shadow side but I liked this well enough to give it a go.

The meeting place was Hildebrand Ranch Park. I had never heard of it and the reason is that it is a fairly new addition to Jeffco Open Space. It looks like some place I would like to go back to and hike. It is right up against the foothills just past the entrance to DBG at Chatfield. I am thinking the views to the east will be worth it.

Playing around

Mum study, 8x8, oil on panel

I did not have a bunch of time to paint, but that is not an excuse not to paint. I grabbed an old painting I did not like, probably from a past 30 paintings in 30 days exercise, and got to work. I really only got this quick sketch done but I am not unhappy with it thus far and see potential with going further. I like the texture coming through and what really caught my eye once this was set up was the cast shadow. I decided to make that more the focal point. The texture coming through almost makes the surface look like rice paper...hmm.

Note: I have decided I am going with 30 days of painting versus getting 30 paintings done.

Gold and more gold

10x8, oil on canvas

I have this collection of French pottery that I really like, but it is brown. No getting around that. Here are a couple of pieces. The squat piece with the top I found out by watching "Downton Abbey" is for salt. I saw Anna get it down from a kitchen shelf and I was blown away that there was my piece of pottery, of which I did not know what the original purpose was. You learn something every day.  I inherited these three pieces from my mother. The tall skinny one I think is for olive oil or wine, but that is just a guess. The short little pitcher is actually from Spain and it is for olive oil. I had first thought to use the wall as the back ground for this still life. After doing the block in I changed my mind and put the gold doll screen back there. It does add a richness to all the earthen colors.

Blockin using wall as backdrop

Now I am not sure the gold screen was such a good idea. Maybe too much of the yellow and orange and brown going on. I did that color scheme on purpose working with the repetitious shapes. It might have helped to switch the pear with the clementine. (Pardon me while I think aloud here). I did use different browns in the pottery; ie more blue in the salt cellar, more orange red in the olive oil pitcher,  and a mahogany for the pipe bowl. It is hard to see all the subtleties with the glare on the painting. That is a problem with photographing wet paint,

Butterfly Alight

Butterfly Alight, 8x8, oil on panel

Almost did not make it today. It has been a busy last few days, and easel time not so much on the dance card. I am lucky I was a few paintings ahead of the game as I did skip a few days here and there not because I did not paint but just plain forgot to post them.

A dear friend of mine lost her mother this past year and she wanted to get a butterfly painting to remember her by. Apparently at the graveside service a butterfly (she could not describe it to me) kept coming and flying around the family and friends gathered there. I mentioned that I had started a butterfly painting that I could show here when I finished it. Then I got to thinking about it and decided that the image I was working on might not be the best option. I came across this idea and it seemed more appropriate somehow. This one then was done with her mother in mind. Simple, graphic but with a nice flow to it.

Split Between the Two

Split Between the Two, 16x12, oil on linen

Here is that gold doll screen again. I so like the way one side gets the light and the other panel, not so much. Breaks up the painting so nicely. The bottles' shadows make such interesting shapes and colors against it. I am not tired of it yet. I carried two of these bottles home from Europe when you could still carry bottles on board a plane. What a concept! And that tells you how long I have had them, too. Again, I was taken by the unusual shapes. I had thought about calling this piece 'Vitae' after the name on the center label. Maybe hold that for another version using the same prop(s).  Red rice paper was used on the table this time. It did great things to the screen I think. I am so enjoying myself.