30 Paintings in 30 Days September Challege!

Haut Baran Twilight, 8x8" Oil on Canvas, $100
1 of 30

 And so it begins again.  The 30 in 30 challenge as put forth by Leslie Saeta.  I am going to play, even though we are traveling for a week this month, taking the daughter back to SCAD Savannah.  We like to spend a few days on Tybee Island before leaving to her last year of student apartment life. I plan to paint with watercolors when on the road to simplify things a bit.

This piece is from our trip to France in July. We stayed at www.hautbaran.com, a painters paradise. I was honored to take a plein air workshop with Bill Farnsworth and leaned a great deal about traveling with oils.  I have tons of photo reference to use for this challenge...

Photo reference

I paint using my IPad on a tripod. I also love my Carol Marine panel holder! 

I start by laying in a transparent underpainting, then work opaque colors over that.

Its really fun to capture all this lovely color...

Once more, into the fray!

I am grateful for the many blessings of my life as it is today. 

Start where you are

Love what you have

Do what you can

6 of 30!

Bosco, 5x5", oil on panel, private commission

I have gotten behind in both my painting and posting.  Yet I give myself cudos for continuing to paint.  Posting became problematic when my laptop crashed and had to go the the nerd hospital for a bit. All is well now, thank heavens!

Thought I would share with you some of my process:

I start with an image supplied by the pet owner, crop it for a "head shot" and get approval to use it.  I upload it into an ap called "AccuView" on my ipad.

I have a special Ipad holder and tripod that I set up next to the panel holder.

I use a grid to sketch the image quickly onto the panel, 

then do a transparent underpainting

I then start laying in the opaque colors

there are many moments during a painting when I think, "oh dear, this is a mess!"

I love it when the personality emerges from the paint!  I really enjoy painting "head shots" of pets. I find I am not all that interested in painting bodies or rendering patterns of fabrick.  Funny how preferences emerge once you paint enough paintings!

I am grateful for the many blessings of my life as it is today. 

Start where you are

Love what you have

Do what you can

5 of 30

Cottonwoods, 5x7" Watercolor
5 of 30

Ooops, painting two today, stay tuned for #6...

Today I chose a photo reference from our trip to New Mexico last October.  Far better to dream of the cottonwoods at Embudo Station, NM, by the Rio Grand than face the 3 degree temperature outside at the moment. I do pan to walk the dog in a bit but keep putting it off.  It looks so quiet outside at the moment but the wind chill is expected to be below zero soon.  My mind just can't wrap itself around this weather at all.

I love the cottonwoods and the aspens each fall. Such a brilliant display of cad yellow everywhere against that torquoise sky...

Ohio just can't compete (IMHO).

I am grateful for the many blessings of my life as it is today. 

Start where you are

Love what you have

Do what you can

4 of 30

Goldfinch, 5x7" watercolor
4 of 30

Snow is expected tomorrow. Then really, really cold temperatures. Today, like most of Cincinnati, we went to Krogers. What a zoo! Good thing everyone seemed to enjoy the joke, even the employees.

I seem to be on a bird binge. I love watching the finches at our feeders all year round. Right now they are pretty darn dull but midsummers are glorious.  This perky fellow seems to surveying his kingdom with great pride.  I like that this small piece seems to be both loose and a little tight in places.

Hope you enjoy it as well.  Feel free to leave a comment or sign up for updates.

I am grateful for the many blessings of my life as it is today. 

Start where you are

Love what you have

Do what you can

2 & 3 of 30!

Grumpy Cardinal, 6x6" watercolor
2 of 30

Today I am playing catch up.  Yesterday I spent my time hanging out with our daughter on her last day of winter break. Today we took her to the airport and I am happy to report she arrived safely in Savannah, GA, to start her winter quarter at Savannah College of Art & Design. (SCAD) I was sad to see her go this time.  And very happy to have my "empty nest" back. We are all ready to get back into a regular routine again after the holidays.  I am still working at home due to the weather so am creating watercolors.  This is my first bird painting!

Bella,10x8, oil on panel
3 of 30

Bella is an oil that I created to have in reserve as a "catch up" painting.  She is a Yorkie/Maltese cross and her owner says I managed to capture her.  I really enjoy pet portraits because no dog says, "Can you make me look thinner?"

We are anticipating some bad weather tomorrow and very cold weather in the upcoming week.  I anticipate more watercolors in my future!

I am grateful for the many blessings of my life as it is today. 

Start where you are

Love what you have

Do what you can

30 in 30 challenge again!

"Sunny Face", 6x6 watercolor
1 of 30

Here we go again!  Leslie Saeta has put forth the 30 in 30 challenge for January and I have to say that I was conflicted as today went on & on. I spent the afternoon clearing out a huge closet in my studio with a friend and did not get my oils going.  So, honoring this commitment I went to my drawing table after dinner and got out my watercolors.  I can't use oils at home due to my cat since he gets up onto any surface he wants to check out.  Oil paint paw prints are not a good thing...

I am really enjoying watercolors because they are so juicy. I will be doing more pet portraits in oil.  A friend suggested that I "travel" during this challenge and revisit vacation images. This sounds like fun so perhaps I will revisit Paris, Giverny, the beach and New Mexico this month.  It is about to get really cold and nasty here in Cincinnati so I will NEED a break for traveling in my art.

Stay tuned!

I am grateful for the many blessings of my life as it is today. 

Start where you are

Love what you have

Do what you can

8 & 9 of 30

Gaillardias, 5x7", watercolor 
8 of 30

Beach Flowers, 5x7", watercolor 
9 of 30

So today is September 12 and I am posting paintings 8 & 9 when I SHOULD be posting painting 12. Oh well.  I forgive myself for being human. I am allowing myself to do this process imperfectly...

Today was our last full day at the beach & it was wonderful.  I was able to take a retail break in the afternoon, leaving daughter & husband back at the condo.  It was really fun to talk with a local artist about her work and share some images of my own work.  I had a great deal of fun painting this morning as well.  I am happy as to how loose these small paintings are.

My painting set up on the front deck...

Unfortunately my right knee has gone a bit wonky so I skipped the beach walk.  We had dinner at our favorite restaurant, Sundae Cafe. (www.sundaecafe.com)  It looks totally unimpressive on the outside but offers wonderful selections at both lunch & dinner. A perfect way to end our brief stay on Tybee Island.  Can't wait to return next year.

Tomorrow we pack up the car early and head into Savannah to load the daughter back into her SCAD apartment for the year.  Then we head homewards towards Cincinnati.  We like to stop in Cartersville, GA for the night.  It gets us past Atlanta, making the next days drive easier.  Going all the way to Knoxville is just too hard at our age.  One year we drove all the way back in one L O N G day.  Never again!

And then the lovely empty nest begins again...

I am grateful for the many blessings of my life as it is today. 

Start where you are

Love what you have

Do what you can

6 & 7 of 30

Breezy Morning, 5x7", Watercolor (6 of 30)

Container Ship, 5x7", Watercolor (7 of 30)

We are on Tybee Island, near Savannah, GA.  This is one of my favorite places on earth.  Our daughter moves back into student housing on Friday to continue her studies at Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD).  Last year we began this tradition - taking a few days on the beach as a family before moving her into her apartment and heading back to Cincinnati.  Savannah is a very busy port so container ships pass by the beach where we are quite often.  I am having fun experimenting with painting loosely with watercolors...

Since we have been on the road since Saturday I am a bit behind in the "official" 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge.  I intend to keep plugging away. Since the car was filled with our daughter's back to school stuff I only brought watercolors on this trip. I plan to get back to oils next week and will hopefully get my numbers up.

I am grateful for the many blessings of my life as it is today. 

Start where you are

Love what you have

Do what you can

5 of 30!

Windy Day, 7x5, acrylic on paper

Onwards toward 30 in 30. I will have to play catch up over the weekend and post several on Monday.  The important thing is to just keep painting (like Dori in Finding Nemo says.  Oh wait, that was swimming...)

Yesterday I was finally able to see "Eternal Summer" at the Cincinnati Art Museum (www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org) featuring the art of
Edward Henry Potthast. (1857-1927)  This native Cincinnati artist was to beach scenes as Monet is to water lilies. Amazing use of high key colors to indicate bright sunlight.  They had even digitized his sketchbooks so you could scroll through them via a computer screen.  I found this very inspirational.  I am very hard on myself for NOT sketching often and it was great to see all the incomplete sketches in his books.  As a point of interest the museum displayed bathing costumes of the time period.  Can you imagine going into the ocean in a wool bathing suit?  I was so inspired by this show I bought the exhibition catalog for future reference.  I plan additional beach scenes for this 30 in 30 challenge!

I am grateful for the many blessings of my life as it is today. 

Start where you are

Love what you have

Do what you can

4 of 30

Flowers a la Carte, 7x5 acrylic on paper

I am juggling packing the daughter off to college with creating & posting paintings this month. This painting was inspired by a workshop I took last month at the Vermont Art Event with Robert Burridge (www.burridgestudio.com).

I encourage you to visit his site and seach www.youtube.com for videos of him working. He's a real hoot and very talented.  The wonderful part of taking workshops with him at the Vermont Art Event was that this event is sponsored by Holbein paints. All supplies were included in the entrance fee for each workshop.  I was very impressed with the quality of Holbein acrylics.  What I learned from Robert had to do with playing with paint.  I know it will help me continue to become more loose.  Have fun, what a concept!

I am grateful for the many blessings of my life as it is today. 

Start where you are

Love what you have

Do what you can

3 of 30!

Playing catch up today. According to Leslie we have 48 hrs to post our paintings to her blog so I can go to her "Day 3" and add this image:

Sunny Daze, 5x7", oil on panel

I am fascinated by sunflowers and working to get their impression into a painting. This year I had several "volunteers" show up in my front garden since I had a sunflower feeder up all winter.  Very small compared to the giant varieties I see at the farmers market...

Once again I started with a transparent underpainting:

This shot shows my Ipad set up next to my easel.

I used a combination of brush and palette knife for this painting. I like using both thin and thick paint, then scratching into it.  I declare that 2013 is the year I loosen up in my painting style. I have spent too many years wedded to reality while I see other artists having a heck of a lot more fun!  I vow to USE my art supplies and stop hoarding them.  These 30 in 30 challenges are really good for that goal!

I am grateful for the many blessings of my life as it is today. 

Start where you are

Love what you have

Do what you can

Painting 2 of 30...

Mz Nora "B", 5x5", oil on panel, private commission

Today I actually sat down in my studio and completed a commission as part of this challenge.  In January I started doing 5x5 or 8x8 pet portraits and have continued this. It's fun to get close up & personal with someone's pet.  This kitty is a very special resident of my friend Polly's house and I am happy to "represent her". She has the most amazing green-gold eyes!

Here's a glimpse of my process:

Step one: use a grid to establish the likeness on the panel.  I use an app that allows me to grid my images and it really helps get me going.  Creating with a grid helps get me going quickly.  Once the paint goes down the image disappears...

Step 1: the grid

As you can see my drawing is very basic.  No need to freak out about the likeness yet...

Step two: establish the transparent underpainting...

I use a panel holder to secure the small 5x5 gessoboard. Since Nora is a grey cat I was able to play around with several years worth of Gamblin Torrit Greys as I worked opaque colors over the transparent under painting.

More opaque colors going down.  Just for fun, I will share my source photo now...

Nora of the glowing eyes...

I went over to meet Nora to get a better understanding of her eye color before painting the image. I also took alternate photo reference shots.

In the final image I made the background dark and rich to offset the cool grey of her coat.  I think I captured her "cattitude"

I am grateful for the many blessings of my life as it is today. 

Start where you are

Love what you have

Do what you can

September is another 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge Month!

September 1, 2013

Here I go again joining Leslie Saeta's (www.saetastudio.com) painting challenge!  This month should be really interesting because we are traveling, taking our daughter back to college. I will take some basic art supplies on the road and do my best to produce something each day.  Last January this challenge really got my juices flowing and helped me cope with my January blues.  Perhaps this months challenge will help me ease back into my "empty nest"...

Vermont Sky, 8x10 pastel on paper

My first painting is based on an image I captured with my ipad as we were crawling through road construction in Vermont in early August. It was fun to capture the clouds, even through the windshield of our car.  You never know what will show up when you do this.  The camera in an ipad is surprisingly good.  I enjoy using mine to paint as well.  I invested in a simple case that hooks onto my tripod.  It's far more effective than printing an image out to use for reference.

I am grateful for the many blessings of my life as it is today. 

Start where you are

Love what you have

Do what you can

Breaking through procrastination to paint...

Slash!, 8x8 Oil on Panel, private commission

Yesterday I finally got into my studio and painted. This may not seem like a big deal to you but I have been wrestling with procrastination for months now.  There is always something else to do, or something that needs organizing in the studio that keeps me from wetting my brush. I was honored to receive this commission mid April and have had it sketched out for over a month.  I do not know what keeps me from painting because once I get going I feel energized and excited. 

It takes courage to work through the "uglies" and the necessary steps of painting development though.  I work "wet into wet" I start with a dark transparent underpainting then layer the opaque colors over it. There are many moments when a painting seems to have gone horribly wrong somehow and I have to persevere. I enjoy working from photo reference and doing close up portraits of animals in a square format.

"Slash" source photo

My studio set up, working from iPad reference.

Note the surrounding creative chaos in the studio...

transparent under painting, building the darks

Beginning the lights and opaque colors

The eyes start to bring the painting alive!

The pup's personality emerges...

I feel truly blessed to have the creative space in which to paint, plus the time to do so. I feel honored by the commission. As I drove home, energized by the experience I could only shake my head and wonder why it took me so darn long to just sit down & paint. The human creative spirit is a wondrous thing.

Then I went to www.ipiccy.com and created this banner:

Ipiccy is a free photo editing site that allows you to create collages and stickers and other fun stuff.  You can then save the image to your computer and avoid the "collage" fee at www.vistaprint.com if you use it for a promotional item.  The internet is such a vast source of inspiration if you only know where to look.  Recently I found a video by artist James Gurney on YouTube that was fascinating:

Watch a video of this little gouache painting being made at the Plein Air Convention in Monterey last Sunday. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKIfCxXe4L4&feature=youtu.be

I am grateful for the many blessings of my life as it is today. 

Start where you are

Love what you have

Do what you can

First Brush of Spring!

Spring Beauties, 8x10, oil on panel
See www.marioncorbinmayer.com for purchase information

Last weekend my husband Rob (aka "el Patron") and I drove to New Harmony, IN, to attend "The First Brush of Spring" - a plein air painting competition sponsored by the Hoosier Salon and the Indiana Plein Air Painters Assoc. (IPAPA).  It was a really fun event, even though the weather did not cooperate.  It was cold!  We rented a golf cart for one day and froze as we explored New Harmony.  The artists who braved the weather to paint looked far colder though.

 I only painted one day and kept very close to our B&B.  In fact I set up on the porch and painted the pansies.  Coco, one of the resident cats posed very briefly, so I utilized photo reference to add her to the painting.  She just wouldn't hold still!

First pass on ms Coco the cat

Transparent underpainting

 New Harmony is a very picturesque town on the Wabash River in the southwest corner of Indiana. Originally started as an "intentional community" it continues in spite of economic ups & downs as a destination for artists, musicians and writers.  It has attracted many baby boomers as a retirement community as well. The town really welcomed the invasion of artists for the weekend.  Since the weather was iffy people were painting in restaurants,  book  stores & wine bars.  The local ice cream parlor featured wonderful handmade flavors.  (http://newharmony.org/)

We stayed at Cooks on Brewery (http://cooksonbrewery.com/) and had a fabulous time.  Cooks has three rooms to offer and we lucked into the first floor accessible room. This was great since my knee had gone “wonky.”  It also featured a huge closet perfect for my stash of painting supplies.  The bed was comfy, the linens smooth and the shared living areas cozy. Each morning the breakfast was amazing and provided a terrific start to each day. Jonathan and David were excellent hosts.  We enjoyed the company of the resident cats as well but no cat hair. Wonder how they manage that?  Sure doesn't work that way at my house…

Cooks on Brewery B and B

It was fun to hang out with so many talented artists for the weekend. There was a fabulous art sale Saturday morning.  So many great little paintings for sale by many of the artists who attended the event! I did not enter the competition, but maybe next year. I was too busy exploring New Harmony and soaking in the art energy...

We plan to return next April.