What to paint?

                                 

                                                         In the Vine- 22x30

What do you do when you run out of things to paint?  

   I've been taking lessons for two years, which means every two weeks I go to class and try to bring something fresh that I'm working on as well as some older work I'm finishing.  Working on the series of neon signs for my upcoming show was becoming a little wearisome.  They are highly technical and my brain was turning to spaghetti!!  I needed a small break before going back to them.  Relief for me was spelled BOTANICAL. This subject matter always refreshes me, so out to the yard I went with my iPhone.  These grapes grow near my front porch so I didn't have to go far for inspiration.

   The point to this little drama is, paint what you love.  What excites you?  What refreshes you?  What do you want to look at over and over again?  Often those things can be found close to home.  These grapes were intriguing to me for several reasons-  the varied colors of the leaves are part of Fall in the Pacific Northwest.  But in order to make them really pop, the negative spaces around them needed to be interesting in shape.  I added a few "hot holes" and enlarged some others so the leaves had more breathing spaces between them.  I chose warm darks for depth and tried to create a trail of light thru the grape cluster and down thru the foliage.  Don't be afraid to put your own spin on a photo and have some fun!

   

Deja vous

I have a pile of failed paintings in my studio.  Old friends that just didn't quite cut the mustard!  What causes a painting to fail?  Bad composition is the main culprit.  I'm famous for becoming so enthralled with rendering a subject that I don't recognize the flaw until I'm done!  Sometimes just a lack of control of the medium or your materials.  Life is too short to use cheap materials.  A bargain on paper, brushes, or paint can turn into a disaster. I have finally been painting long enough to know what works best for me and I stick to that.

Why keep the fails?  Sometimes you can find miniature paintings in a failed composition.  Run a small mat over it until you find something in that window that has fresh appeal. I recently did that with this painting of Pansies.  I painted this on Arches 300 lb. Cold Press and could not get the texture and the rigidity to work with my style of painting.  The composition didn't lay well either.  It's been in my studio for a year- and pulling it out I had fresh eyes to evaluate what went wrong.  I took the scissors to it and got two delightful minis from it.

   Next, I decided to try the painting again, this time on 140 lb.  Arches paper and with a years experience behind me, produced a more successful painting.  Pansies make me happy.  They have little "faces" that always look like they are smiling at me.  You would think painting the same thing again would be boring but it wasn't.  It flowed so much better and I felt like I was saying hello to an old friend.  I painted it almost in one complete session (of course I stayed up till the wee hours of the morning with Chick flicks on the TV to keep me company). 

The moral of this very long story?  Don't be afraid to give a painting a second chance.  You'll be surprised at how much your skills have grown and who doesn't need a do-over now and then?

Don't forget to draw

Got drawing?  It's so easy to get so wrapped up in the pursuit of a great painting that you forget to hone your drawing skills.  Drawing is the basis of all art.  It is the fundamental language of imagery.  How fluent are you at drawing?  Just like learning a language you can teach yourself the basics of drawing.  Here are a few things I try to remember about drawing:

   Drawing gets easier the more you do it.  Challenge yourself to draw something every day.  Carry a small journal with you and draw while you wait in line or when you talk on the phone.

   Train your brain.  Draw something you can see, not just something you imagine.  Look for shadows and light.  Find basic shapes like ovals, squares, rectangles, circles in your subject.  Make yourself look and look and look.

   Learn values.  What is the darkest dark on your subject?  What is half as dark?  What is the lightest shapes?  Studying values will serve you well as you compose paintings and as you work with colors.  

My great uncle Leonard was an artist in the early days of Disney Studios.  He would visit us and draw for hours while my sister and I sat transfixed at the images coming to life on the paper.  I remember thinking then that I had to become an artist!  I wonder what he would think of this picture I drew of Carlie and a little girl she met while visiting an orphanage in Mexico recently.  The girl put on her sunglasses and posed for this photo.  I often think of him especially when I draw.  He gave me a precious gift-  the magic of art.  Grab some paper and a pencil, it's all you need to make a little magic of your own.

Stormy weather

You would think by late June we would not be preoccupied by rain.  But alas, we live in Oregon!  I have been experimenting with mixing abstract techniques to convey images that are more subjective.  Skies are something I never tire of looking at.  Here are a few recent results.

Just paint!!!!!!

I recently took an abstract painting class. The instructor was Linda Rothchild Ollis and for three days she bent my watercolor brain into a pretzel! I admit I was skeptical at first that the only thing I would get out of it was a better understanding of design. I was not prepared to actually like some of the paintings. Her work was reflective and showed great depth. She skillfully guided us through uncharted waters, exposing us to seemingly random techniques with surprising results. Is it legal to have this much fun? I guess if you can't have fun, why paint, right? Here are some of my workshop pieces.......look for more abstract to come.

Who Let the Dogs Out?

I'm the annoying woman who wants to take her little dog everywhere. You've seen the dog in someone's lap at a restaurant or on a plane- that's me! When do they cease to be just an animal and become a companion?
Gus is a Jack Russell Terrier who has had boundless energy and has delighted his owner with his antics. He recently suffered some type of stroke and for days just layed around. He recovered and is back to his zippy self! I painted this watercolor of him to celebrate.
Farlin was a graceful Greyhound that went to work with her owner at a title company. Everyone at work loved her and when she passed, they all went together and commissioned me to paint her.
Tigger the kitty loved roses! She would attack them and play with them for hours. Her owners gave her a rose every year for her birthday. When she passed it only made sense to include a rose in the painting.

Have Brush Will Travel

I have been ruined for normal!
Ever since taking my first watercolor class almost two years ago- I can't go anywhere without my sketchbook, some brushes and a little paint. I have had an unhealthy hesitation about what to put in the sketch book. It had to be worthy of that beautiful paper. Which defeats the entire purpose of a sketch book. I had to get over myself and decide that the book could reflect IDEAS about masterpieces and be more about possibilities for studio works. There is fun to be had in just exploring the creative process with new images in new environments. Here is a peek into my sketchbook. Maybe it will encourage you to take your art on the road!