Orange Re-do

I started this painting a few days ago, and ended wiping it off.  I was trying too hard for too much detail on the sliced orange.    I set it aside and tried again today.  I like this version better.

After I wipe off a painting, there is still a faint image of the prior efforts.  Jennifer Bellinger once described it as a "ghost painting".   You can use that faint image as an underpainting.  It made the second attempt easier.

7" X 9" oil on canvas panel

Value study Apple and Leaf

This was done in today's class.  The instructor had me buy four transparent paints--transparent brown, yellow, red and green.  I used those four colors in the value study.  All the previous value studies I've ever done were with regular paint using burnt umber.  I like the tints of color these paints provide to the value study.

So today wasn't a total loss.   (See today's prior post.)

7" X 9" oil on canvas panel

Nothing to post yet today

This morning I attempted to paint an orange that was sliced in half, but I ended up wiping it off.  I set the timer for an hour in an attempt to keep it nice and loose.  That didn't happen, and there's a reason.  I'll start at the beginning.

I have three wonderful daughters.  Now that they are grown, they all like each other and me.  (Not always the case during the teen age years.)  One of the fun things when we all get together is all four of us end up sitting on my bed, laughing and telling stories.  Sometimes I learn things that I'd rather not know about, but that's another story.

One of the things they laugh about ME is that they inherited my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  I say they didn't get it from me, because I still have all of mine.

Anyway, if I do have OCD, they all benefited from it.  I like things neat and clean.  I would move through the house picking up, putting things away, wiping and fluffing and dusting, putting the chairs back under the table, stuff like that.

Let's see, I had a point here.  Oh yes, why I wiped off my painting.  When I paint, I find if very hard to suggest things.  That's why so far my paintings are very realistic.  I don't WANT to paint like that.  But my OCD kicks in, and I find myself trying to paint  Every.  Little.  Segment.  of that sliced orange.   When the timer rang, I stepped back and looked at my painting and I didn't like it.  So I wiped it off,  and I'll try again later.

Anyway, this afternoon, I have my second class with the ladies.  I'm supposed to do a value study of an apple.  Maybe I'll post that.

Lemons and water glass

Lemons again.  I enjoyed trying to get the different planes and colors that are in the lemons.

The water glass was a new challenge.  I've tried to paint a water glass only once, and I think this is better than my first time.  My ellipse isn't great, though.  The thing I like best is the shadow of the glass.

I started this painting two days ago and was very unhappy after several hours.  Today I was tempted to just start a new painting, but I lectured myself and made me try to finish this one.  I'm glad I did;  I need the discipline!  I'd always rather start something new...a fresh canvas, a new possibility.  But I don't want to have a bunch of unfinished paintings, so I trudged on.

These were the same lemons I used in my prior painting.  When I was cleaning up today, I discovered that they were getting very soft.  Several days in the set up and hours under the light hastened their demise!  I'll have to find another subject for my next painting.

7" X 9" oil on canvas panel

Saturday Lemons

I've been working on a larger painting, so I wanted to do a small study today. This is a totally different style than the pear. Much more informal. I actually like this better than the pear.

I don't have an expensive camara, plus it's a cloudy day, so I don't think the colors are true. I think the colors in the painting are richer.

7" X 9" oil on canvas panel.

(Click on painting to view larger.)

Painted pear

This is my pear from yesterday's painting class.  I took my value study (see September 2nd post), and she had me apply color.  The right side of my pear looked flat--I was using burnt umber, yellow ochre and burnt sienna to try to make it dark.  My instructor told me to add green, and that was it.  The shadow took on dimension.

This is a very classical style of painting, not how I hope ultimately to paint.  But I hope to continue to learn lots, and I LOVE the class.  There are five ladies of approximately my age (plenty-nine I always say).  And they are fun and kind and very nice.  Just what I had hoped for.

Painting class today

My son-in-law brought home too many bananas, so I spent this morning cooking.  I made banana pudding for tonight, and a loaf of banana bread for tomorrow.

My new painting class resumes today.  It was cancelled last week because of the storm and flooding.  I will be working on completing the pear underpainting that I did last session.   Hope to have something that I can post!

Gala Apple Bowl

I keep saying I just want to learn to paint apples!  What I really mean is I think they are a fairly simple shape, so it's good practice.

I painted these apples to enter in the September challenge at Artists Helping Artists website. There are lots of interesting and varied entries for this month.   Check them out.



8" X 8" oil on canvas panel

American Beauty

It's been a busy week, and I didn't get to paint much.  First, San Antonio got heavy rains from tropical storm Hermine, and our roof sprang a leak.  First time I've ever had to get a pot to put under a leaking roof. So I dealt with the roofing estimator.  Then the AC started leaking from the overflow spout and I had to get a repairman out.

Plus my daughter and son-in-law are thinking of selling their house.  Their neighbor told a friend of his at work, who wanted to come see the house even though it's not on the market yet.  So I spent two days cleaning and staging the house.  That involved throwing a lot of stuff away!

This apple is all I've had time for this week, but I'm hoping  to try again tomorrow.  I found it difficult to mix different shades of red for the apple.  And the reflected light looked green to me, but I couldn't seem to get it.  But I learn something every time I get to paint!  I like the highlight.

8" X 8" oil on canvas panel.

Lemon Challenge

I painted this for a painting challenge on Rookie Painter.  I've never entered a challenge before, and I was inspired by Linda Popple's entry.  It is fresh and has an abstract quality I like.

I had a hard time getting the correct values on the lemon.  It was a good exercise, though.  I think I'd like to enter another challenge.

8" X 10" oil on canvas panel
(Click on painting to view larger.)

Clementines and coffe mug

I fell in love with this little mug in a thrift shop.  It has orange undertones, and a shiny reflective glaze.  I like how the little oranges reflect on the surface of the mug, and the blue background is reflected in the handle.

My new painting instructor told me she uses Naples Yellow to lighten paint, rather than white.  I tried that with the oranges, and I liked the effect.

8" X 10" oil on canvas panel
(Click on painting to view larger.)

New Painting Class

I started a new painting class this week.  The instructor told me beforehand that she would have me paint a pear so that she could show me how she teaches, and so she can see where I am as a student.  I took several canvas panels that I had toned with burnt sienna.  She asked me if I had one that wasn't toned, because she uses a different method.  Luckily I had one.

She had me use transparent umber and transparent burn sienna to make an underpainting and then lift off paint to make the lighter areas.   Her teaching method involves making an underpainting for every painting. This is unlike any teaching I've ever had.  I hope I have the patience!

8" X 10" oil on canvas panel
(Click on painting to view larger.)

Peach trio on acqua platter

These peaches were so beautiful, I had to paint them first.  Then I sliced them, added a little sugar, and we ate them for dessert.  I love fresh peaches.  Yum.

8" X 10" oil on canvas panel

Susan Carlin Workshop

What's on the menu? 

Reclining reader

Last weekend I attended a two day workshop taught by Susan Carlin here in San Antonio.  Her website is here:   http://susancarlin.com/    The subject was painting the human figure. NOT portrait painting. Susan taught and did a demo the first morning and then we painted from a reference photo in the afternoon.

I didn't manage to finish the first painting. Susan urged us to finish at home, but I didn't get to paint this week, and the painting isn't calling me. I think it's more fun to start something new than to go back and work on an unfinished one. I don't think I'm the only one who has unfinished paintings lying around!

The second day we painted from a live model while Susan gave lots of helpful individual feedback. I painted the legs in the morning, and after we came back from lunch I had trouble getting the same colors for the arms and face.

We had a great time and Susan is a great teacher!

Recommendation

I want to recommend that you visit a blog named "Pilgrim's Breakfast".  The artist posts beautiful still life paintings of fruits and vegetables.  It's fun to look at her earliest postings and see how her style has evolved.  I think she deserves to have lots of followers! 

You can visit her blog here:  http://pilgrimsbreakfast.blogspot.com/   I recommend you check her out. 

I haven't been posting because I am in Houston this week helping out my daughter. She's a working mom and her husband is out of town, so she needs a hand with the kids. A good excuse for me to visit my grandchildren!

Sunday Morning Mango

My husband fingered the mangoes on the counter and announced they were ready to eat.  I've been saving them to paint, so I painted while he went on his morning bike ride. As his reward for biking and exercising,  I cut up the mangoes and served them to him for Sunday brunch.

I should have gone biking with him, but hey, I have my priorities!

9" X 12" oil on canvas panel

Sunflowers in a glass jar

I've been wanting to try painting flowers,  so when I went for my morning walk I picked a couple of wild sunflowers and brought them home.  I totally wiped off my first attempt.  I'm somewhat happier with this version.

Is it just me, or does everyone else have self-doubts about their paintings?  I know I'm just learning, but I hesitate to post something I've done, because I don't think it's "good".  I keep looking at what I think is wrong.  Or sometimes I don't even know what's wrong!   But I know it doesn't look right to me.

Hope this doesn't sound like I'm whining or begging for compliments.  I'm not.  I really would like to know if other people felt like this when they started.

(Click on the painting to view larger.)

9" X 12" oil on canvas panel

Lemon Study with blue background

This is all I had time to work on yesterday.    My other life gets in the way.   Family and household work still come first.

6" X 6"  oil on paper

Lemons and blue bowl

This was fun.  I painted this yesterday afternoon and decided it was finished.  No going back and "fixing" it.   This is a comfortable size for me for a daily painting.

I am learning on these paintings that getting values right is my biggest challenge.  I have a hard time getting the darkest values--I keep thinking "a lemon can't be that dark".  But when I stand back from the easel I see that I haven't made enough contrast between the lights and the darks.

(click on the picture to view larger)

8" X 10" oil on canvas panel

Lemon studies

I wanted to practice painting lemons with different colored backgrounds to see how that affected the colors in the lemon.

These are 6" X 6", which I find difficult to paint on.   I have large handwriting, and I feel comfortable painting on larger canvases.  I think those two things are related.

When I was a little girl, my grandfather told me he liked getting letters from me (revealing my age...we used to write actual letters) because my handwriting was large and he could read it.  I used to like getting assignments where the teacher said to write a page on a subject.  Didn't take me all that many words to fill up a page.  I felt sorry for those girls who wrote with little bitty handwriting.   They may be the same girls who can paint little bitty paintings.  Not that there's anything wrong with that!  It's just hard for me.


6" X 6" oil on paper 

Thrift store treasure

I found this little pitcher at a thrift shop.  I loved its sturdy little shape.  My challenge in painting this was the white interior.  I thought I had the interior shadow too dark, so I lightened it.  Now that I've taken a picture, I can see its too light.  I'll have to try painting it again.

6" X 8" oil on canvas panel

Red gala apple

After I practiced the apple studies, I painted an apple without a time limit.

I've learned several things since I've been painting and posting small paintings.  One is that I can't paint such small studies with a big brush.  All my painting instructors have insisted we use a large brush, and that's ok on a larger canvas. But it doesn't work for me on a small painting.

Another thing is that  even though I have spotlights and a room with lots of natural light, my colors look different when I take them outside to photograph them.  I'd love to paint outdoors, but it's too hot and humid in San Antonio in July to enjoy being outdoors.  Give me my air conditioning!

Apple studies

Today I decided that I'd practice something we did at a Carol Marine workshop.  I set my timer and tried to paint an apple within five minutes.  I taped off sections on a large sheet of paper.  Each area is about 6" X 6".   I used a very large brush in order to get the paint on the paper in five minutes.

My husband asked what I was doing, and I explained it's sort of like practicing the scales for someone learning  piano.

Not a red apple

I struggled so much with the reds of the apples in my prior post, and then this one just seemed to glide off the brush.  Painting was fun today.

This mug came from the mother lode--Goodwill Thrift Store.  I love to poke around to find things there to paint.  And I can get a sack full for just a few dollars.  Two thrills in one--stuff to paint and a bargain!


8" X 8" oil on canvas panel  

Windfall apples

Windfall apples are those that fall from the tree without having to be picked.

Someone gave my son in law a large box of apples, which he brought to me. So you could say they were a windfall.

I made apple pies, apple cakes, apple sauce, put them in salads--anything I could think of to use them up! These last three I saved to paint.

I haven't painted in a good while, and I worked over these apples too much. I even wiped it off once and started over again. If I'd worked any harder, they'd be applesauce!

August 15th is the last day to file Income Taxes!

I've been working on tax returns, and I won't let myself paint until I finish! It's both punishment and incentive!

Let's paint bananas, she said!

I inwardly groaned.  I can barely paint a lemon.  "Bananas are HAAARD", I whined.

"Come on Mom,  I've been wanting to paint bananas."  I had just been to HEB, and there was a beautiful bunch of pale yellow, perfect bananas sitting on my kitchen island.

"All right", I sighed.  So I put the bananas into my canvas art supply bag, and off my daughter and I went to our art class.  When we took them out to put on the set up table, they had broken out with brown speckles during the ride!

Our instructor was puzzled at why we had brought brown bananas to paint.  We were laughing and trying to assure him that they were beautiful when we left the house.

So we painted them without the spots.  I guess that's artistic license.

11" X 14" oil on canvas
(Click on the picture to see larger.)

Lemons, silver pitcher, green grapes

I painted this morning.  I like that this is much looser than my last painting.   I just have to make myself stop, even though I continue to look at the painting and see things that I need to "fix".  I could fix it forever, but then I get tighter and tighter.

The reflection of the lemon really was that elongated.

11" X 14" oil on canvas

(Click on the picture to see larger.)

Blue bottle, lemons, red apple

I'm not fond of this, but since it's what I've been painting, I'm posting it.  Part of having a blog is to post my progress.

I'm painting much tighter than I'd like--the lemons and apples especially.  I used a large brush for the bottle, and then I switched to a smaller brush on the fruit.  That's when it go so tight.  Oh well, on to another canvas.


8" X 10" inch oil on canvas panel

(Click on the picture to see larger.)

Making a run for it

I bought a box of these little yellow tomatoes. We had most of them for dinner last night.  I cut up 1/2 an eggplant into small cubes, drizzled the tomatoes and eggplant with olive oil, added salt and pepper and roasted them for an half hour.  Yum!

I saved these tomatoes to paint.  I loved the contrast between this bowl and the yellow of the tomatoes, but the bowl was too large.  So I leaned it against the wall and let the tomatoes spill out.  It looks to me like the two on the table are trying to organize an escape.  It didn't work though.  They were salad tonight.

The color of my photo isn't quite right.  I usually take my painting outside on a sunny day to photograph, but we've had rain for three days now.   So this is an indoor shot.

(Click on the painting to view larger)