WIP #3

I worked a little today on this painting, base coating the fruit on the table and doing a little more modeling of the fruit. I will wait until it dries a little more to darken up the shadows and finish it up. It will not be long now before i am finished.

WIP day #2

I worked on this painting a little today, modeling the peaches and plums (?). I will go back and tidy up the fruit at the end, adding some more hightlights etc. but they are mainly finished now. I will tackle the fruit on the table probably tomorrow.

20 x 16 inch oil "Tarnished Bowl of Fruit" WIP

I decided to start this one today in my usual style of working oil. Everything is pretty much one layer of paint with a little blending. I found this lovely photo on Wetcanvas.com. Due to the size of this one it will probably take a couple of more sittings to finish. I love the contrast of the red and orange fruit against the dark background. I think this is my favorite type of still life to paint. After looking at this for awhile I noticed that my bowl is looking a little lopsided. I guess I will have to fix that.

8 x 8 inch oil "Cobolt and Orange"

I recently bought Susan Sarback's book "Capturing Radiant Light in Oil" and tried the demonstration that she did in the book. I love her impressionistic style of painting and tried to capture the light as she does. It does somewhat look like the demo although I am not quite there yet. This way of painting starts out by blocking in the main shapes with whatever color you like, keeping the lights with warm colors and the darks and shadows with cool colors. After the 1st step you keep adding colors, mixing only on the painting, until you get the color you want, adjusting the value as needed by adding white. You do all of this using a pallet knife, just to add to the difficulty. This little painting took me around 3 hours. I do not have the skill yet with the knife but I think it will come more naturally as I work with it more.

9 x 12 inch oil "Baldy Mountain"

This is another painting done with the knives. I used a lot more color than I usually do in this painting, trying to loosen up. Using the knife helps me in that respect, as I cannot blend and I can not get every detail in as with a brush.

8 x 8 inch oil "Ghost Trees #2"

I have been getting a lot of painting done this weekend. Having a lot of fun with the pallett knives. These paintings are quick and fun. Hope you enjoy.

8 x 8 inch oil "Ghost Trees"

This is another attempt with the pallett knife. I am really enjoying using the knife although I believe there is quite a technique to be learned to be successful with it. More experiments to follow.

8 x 10 inch oil

This is a scene I have painted before but I wanted to do a little experimentation using a pallete knife and lots of thick paint. I put on bright block-in colors first, added another layer of local color and scraped back a bit with the knife. This was totally out of my comfort zone, especially with the bright colors but it was a fun little painting.

4 x 6 inch oil "Low Tide"

This painting was done on location at a favorite spot of mine for watching birds and wildlife. I had just set up my paintbox and it started to rain, so I managed to do a quick sketch on location and finished the rest up in the studio.

11 x 14 inch oil "Apples and Pot"

This painting is a departure from my normal style of painting. Instead of brushing on the paint, I dabbed it on after putting a layer of color in the forms. It didn't start out this way, but I was not liking how it was turning out, so I switched my technique. Sometimes you just have to do that!

8 x 10 inch oil "Bowl of Grapes"

I had a very sucessfull weekend as far as painting goes. This one just seemed to just flow effortlessly. I decided that I was not going to do any layering of my oil , just lay the color where I wanted it and leave it be. Also I did very little blending and I really like the effect. The total painting only took around 5 hours versus many hours if I was to layer. I think I will try this technique again. I have another still life all picked out.

20 x 24 inch oil "Orange Rose"

I have been working on this one for a couple of days, and for the size of it, it has gone pretty quickly. I discovered it is really hard to get a decent orange with only cadium yellow pale and permanent alizarim red. I think I will get another yellow to add to my pallett.

6 x 8 inch oil "Mill Bay Beach"

I did this little plein air today while relaxing at the beach. It was a beautiful day for painting by the sea!

16 x 20 inch oil "Cobble Hill Wild Flowers"

This painting is hot off the easel from my own reference taken from a farm very close to my home. The photo was taken late in the evening and I loved how the sun highlighted the grasses in the foreground. I did struggle with the wild flowers and the foreground grasses, but overall I am happy with it.

8 x 10 inch plein aire "Poppies"

This is my very first attempt at doing a "plein aire" painting. I had to try out my new portable painting box so I went into my backyard and spotted these poppies and gave it a go. This was a quick, fun way to do a little painting and I definitely will be doing this again.

20 x 16 inch oil "Blue Jug"

This is another go at using The Carder Method. I don't think I quite have the hang of it yet, but i am learning as I go. It is hard painting from real life! It is so hot out in my studio lately, that I had to finish this one up faster than usual. The paints were drying too fast, even with all the Delq added. I really need to buy a small fridge to keep my paints and palett in.

8 x 10 inch oil "Narrows Inlet # 6"

I really felt like doing a landscape today and did this one very quickly from a photo taken last summer at Narrows Inlet. It was nice to get away from the tightness of the still-life set ups and do something a little more looser.

14 x 18 inch oil "The Study"

This is my first attempt at painting "The Carder Method" (http://www.thecardermethod.com/). I purchased the video in the hopes that I would learn to see color more accurately. For me it really worked. Although there is a lot I don't like about this painting it did force me to check each color before I placed it on the canvas. The method was quite tedious for me to follow but since it is a direct method of painting with very little blending and no layering of colors it went a lot faster that some of my other paintings. I just need to slow down and learn to check each color before putting it on canvas. Hopefully my next one will be better. For anyone wanting to learn how to paint with oil, the Carder Method is well worth the money.

10 x 8 inch oil "Narrows Inlet #5"

This is another in my "Narrows" series, a logging road that we travelled on while on vacation last year. I am trying to decide if I should put a black bear ambling down the road. I will have to wait until it dries to do that.

8 x 8 inch oil "Narrows Inlet #4"

I just finished this painting, the 4th in my "Narrows" series. I am really enjoying doing these little paintings, mainly I think, because they are finished so quickly. This is the view looking down onto the inlet from atop one of the mountains. I took this picture last summer while exploring the area with my husband on an ATV. Great fun!