Attic finds two: Where's the Cheese?

Where's the Cheese?

Oil, Still life 

7x5 oil on gesso board

$45.00

So here's the second in what I'm sure will be an ongoing series of still lives from our attic finds. This stars two Hall pieces, a knife with a bakelite handle, and a roundish green bottle.

I have quite a few pieces of the Hall, many of them the mugs. I have some of the teapots, but not very many, as even way back they seemed expensive and we were on a budget. The knife is one of several pieces I bought just cause I liked the color. And the bottle is one of the zillion bottles I have. I guess it goes with the other glass I picked up here and there. I just like glass. 

Ever onward my starring friends.

May I help you? "Now Serving: Pod!"

Now Serving: Pod!

Still life oil

8x10 oil on gesso board

$125.00

We have been in a major decluttering phase in our lives, Himself and I. That means, all the kids things we have been hanging on to for them til they got a house need to get to them. They have had houses forever now! And the spare room needs to be reclaimed into something other than full of stuff that we'll get to one day. And best of all the attic is getting cleared out! That is like visiting a thrift store for me. All these things I've bought over the thirty something years just for the fun of collecting or decorating or the little antique place I had for two minutes of my life are finally resurfacing. 

And all you painters know what that means: still life material! I was going through the boxes saying, I thought I had a teapot shaped like this, and I always wondered what happened to that, and I don't remember this! So I'm gonna hafta rearrange my shelves down here in the studio to accommodate this Christmas morning rush of new goodies.

I've gone off my limited palette. I looked at Karin Jurick's work and watched her video about her palette. My thought was, well, lots of color works for her. Why am I limiting myself? It's not like I'm on a field expedition or something. I really like the way she paints...where I have been that I didn't find her before now? I like her subject matter also, so interesting. But it's the way she catches light that intrigues me the most. 

So tho I didn't have her colors ( did order some last night) I tried to think more along the same path when I painted this. And it seemed to help my values and especially my light filled colors. I want to keep going down this same road, I think it's leading me in the right direction.

Ever onward my traveling friends.

Still Life - Yellow Study

Still Life - Yellow Study

8x8 oil on gesso board

$50.00

The reason this is called Yellow Study is because every part of this has yellow in it. Even the cup and the cloth at the bottom. I like the color yellow as much as I like sunshine! Hhmm... do we see a relationship here?

In full disclosure, I must admit the cup is really a pitcher! But I really envisioned a cup here, so being the queen of my studio, it was "off with its spout". The pitcher is this cute little handmade thing that seems so delicate and strong at the same time.

Worked hard on values and edges for this piece. I think I added lots of new wrinkles from all the partial eye closing I was doing to get those values right!

Ever onward my non-wrinkly friends!

Hungry? Fruit Flavored Bottles!

Fruit Flavored Bottles

Still Life

oil on canvas board

$45.00

So it's snack time here at the old log cabin in the woods. Now do we want fruit or candy? Oranges, strawberries, and blueberries? Or how 'bout some lollipops, gum and sweet and sours? Your choice. You decide when you look at the bottles. Are they the fruit from trees and bushes, or the fruit from wrappers and stores?

I set this still life up for the color first, then the refections, and lastly the shadows. The purple doesn't read quite as true as here in the studio. I tried a million times to get it right, and just couldn't. Today wasn't a purple day for the camera I guess.

News flash: We had sunshine today!!! That's one. I'm counting.

Ever onward my sunshiny friends.

Flowers For a Gray Day

Flowers for a Gray Day

Still Life

Oil on canvas board

$45.00

From the Laura A Pace blog:

"This is a little still life I put together this morning after a particularly rough time of storms last night. We have had nothing but rain and gray skies for about three weeks now, and it is just getting, well boring. So I set up this still life to cheer me up! Looking at these bright colors while I painted and using those bright colors on the brush, was just so enlivening. I was quite cheerful during the whole process. "

I painted this in the "normal" way. Mostly mixing paint on the palette today. I find it does tend to speed things up a bit. I'm going to keep doing that for a while as I use up a bunch of canvas boards I gessoed and sanded and gessoed and sanded yesterday. Also did some panels, but I'll save those for later. 

Himself finished the wall and floor opposite my easel so I can push everything back now. That's how I was able to do the still life finally. I still have a couple of random pieces of furniture in here I need to unload and relocate to other parts of the house. And the main huge work table need going through and emptying of the final mixed media things. Then it will be used for packaging, gessoing, and framing. And anything else that needs a big surface. Plus storage underneath.

Ever onward my cheerful friends.

Caution! Hot Metal: Working at the Smithy

Working in the Smithy

10"x8" oil on gesso board

Impressionist figurative oil painting

$125.00

This is a blacksmith from one of the many 18th century restored villages or forts we have enjoyed over the years. This was part of the hobby we had as a family. I found one of the coolest things was watching the blacksmiths forging their hot metal pieces. Sometimes it was a horseshoe, sometimes something for the kitchen. But it was always exciting to see him at his craft.

For this painting, I opted to mix most of my paint on the palette. I did do some mixing on the board. Just couldn't do it completely the other way! I started out with a palette knife under the brick portion to get some texture. All in all, it was an interesting painting for me. 

Ever onward my restored friends.

Cool Day, Warm Spots: Rocky Branch Falls

Rocky Branch Falls

5x7 oil on gesso board

impressionist landscape

$85.00

This was one of those days where the air was crisp and the sun picked it's spots. When you found those sun-warmed spots you soaked them up before walking on into the shade.

The large rock, has one of those spots, but you can't sit on it, you'd fall in the cold water! The water going around in the pool just above the falls, reflects multicolor leaves. These are on trees behind the little rocks in the background. It was a fall day, where the leaves were at their best!

I have seen these logs down in our pond enough times to almost have them memorized I think! I like their dark colors from the water and how the bark comes off with time. The mossy rock in front was very soft to the touch, until you got down to the water part, then not so much.

There is a little glare from the wet paint in the darkest bits. I tried many camera shots to get rid of that, and just couldn't. Sorry, wanted to get it out to you.

On the studio front... Himself is hitting the last wall today with plastering and sanding and wait for it... paint! I will finally have a white wall across from me instead of a torn up dark red wall, where the bookcase used to be. So happy. 

Ever onward my crispy friends.

There was a Crooked Building: Pirate's Window

Pirate's Window

7x5 oil on gesso board

Impressionist Architecture

$85.00

To quote from the Laura A Pace blog:

"The window above is found in Savannah, GA. We were having lunch at the Pirate's House Restaurant and found out that it had a long and storied past. Then as we were walking around outside after leaving, I spied this wonderful little window. I enjoyed it for the color first. But the boards above coming at such a wonderful angle onto the old brick story of the building was a delight!  All those built up layers of paint on the bricks was fun too. 

There is video of this also. That's the final. I started off with the drawing and then made 2 more approximately 45 min. to hour long videos. The only thing not recorded is the final dark notes I added this morning."

I just heard some of the video as I had to get the address for the link. Brother... my friends were right.  I am talking really low. I think it's partly because I have throat issues due to sinus and cough. But some of it is because the camera and the mike are right next to my head when I am painting. So it seems like I do shouldn't  have to speak any louder than that for the mike to pick it up. (guess I do!) Also, I'm in the room by myself, well plus some cats, probably. And why would I talk any louder than that by myself?!

So I must talk louder from now on, on the videos. I'll put up a note to remind me!

I decided to take a much "looser" approach to this painting. I have been painting very detailed pieces the last few goes. I needed a break from that. I am finding that I like more detail while still retaining that impressionist attitude. The Impressionists (with a capital T and I!) managed to do this and they are who I look to for inspiration first and foremost.

Ever onward my pirate friends.

Final Final Touches to Nearing Rainbow Falls!

Nearing Rainbow Falls

6x6, Oil on gesso board

Impressionist landscape

$75.00

Thanks to an astute wonderful friend I was made aware of a lack of dark values in my forest. It's a funny thing values, seems I'm always having trouble getting to the ends of them, either light or dark. I had the darks in there early on, then proceeded to paint over them, and lighten them. Silly me.

So I went right in after getting the word and fixed it. I think the painting is so much better! Much better balanced. And the dark blue green forest looks as I saw it and as it looks in the photo.

The other thing I found out, by having to go back in with this painting this morning is something that will effect all my paintings also. But this time on the photography level. I get a more true picture if I turn the overhead led lights off.

So all in all a very learning morning.

Ever onward my learned friends.

New Year, Old Photos: Nearing Rainbow Falls oil painting

Nearing Rainbow Falls

6x6, Oil on gesso board

Impressionist landscape

$75.00

Our family took a hike up to Rainbow Falls many years ago and this is one of the stops we made on the way up, to enjoy these delightful little falls. We got a kick out of the big mossy "bumps" at the top of the rocks, and the huge rocks going back through the deep dark woods. There was very little sun coming through... hence all the moss. But there was very interesting light still. Bits of sun here and there. And light coming through the trees enough to make shadows, some quite deep and maybe a little scary?

I used a pretty limited palette. Ultramarine blue, viridian, transparent oxide red, cad yellow light, yellow ocher, terra rosa, dioxazine purple. I got all the hues I wanted from those seven tubes of paint! Probably could have tried to use less, but that wasn't something I was interested in trying. Just got the hues I needed from those particular colors of paint. Standard mixing on the panel, rather than that palette. I video'd the first part while chatting with some friends. It goes a bit slow due to the chatting, and it doesn't show the completed painting but it gives you an idea of the way I paint.

I got this photo reference while going through a box of old family photos we hadn't seen in years. It seemed a good time to go through them and see just what was in there. Boy one forgets so much of the little things you do in 35 years of being married and having a family!

On the studio front: I got a new computer table and chair yesterday. Now all my computer things actually fit on the table without spilling over on one another. Who would have thought when I started oil painting I would need 2 computers, a scanner, and a video camera? And of course speakers for music! The chair is a smaller chair that's fits me better. Now no more back aches after painting for so long. And I switched out the 2 weird old carts holding my palette, brushes and other general stuff for the old computer table. It feels much roomier inside my little painting/computer area now.

Ever onward my interesting, mossy friends!