Getting Behinder and Behinder

June seems to be a month of catching up, but I got a little painting done in there. I had a nice three days to concentrate on the Hibiscus and then had to let it sit. Am still not convinced that I like the background; wish I had Photoshop so I could see what it looks like with a very out of focus background. I think that has to be my next art related purchase. I have been working on West Cave Preserve, during my studio sessions at Noel Robbins' studio, and I believe that I'm done! I don't even think that I'll compare it to earlier versions for fear that I'll second guess myself on bringing in all the warm tones that I did last night. I just feel the light better now that it's warmer.

Yeah, Yeah, I Know

I was sitting in the hot tub today, squinting at the trees in my yard and way across the street, and knew that the problem with my background is that I've not gotten it light enough. But, since I tend to work in layers, dark to light, maybe that was my intent more than three weeks ago when I last painted on it. I should make notes.

West Cave Preserve

This is slowly getting the depth of field that I wanted. The main thing that inspired me to do this painting was the light, so I have to work at getting the light on the ground brighter and lighter. I think the contrast is okay elsewhere, but am willing to work as slowly as I have to to really see what's going on with the composition.

Hibiscus Sure Is Colorful!

I worked on this for a few hours (palette knife) and may not get to it again for a while. My daughter is moving to Brownsville for 10 weeks and I am caught up in her preparations. In the late afternoon sun, in my dining room, the colors in this are soooo vibrant! It's definite eye candy.

Hibiscus is Bloomin' Fun!

The blocking in of this painting is still a lot of fun. I'm trying very hard not to get into detail yet, but sometimes it appears just from the change in value/color on some of the leaves. I already changed the composition by getting rid of a big patch of white sky on the upper right. The pool might be next, or maybe just the patio whiteness that is so distracting. I have so much green in this painting that it is nice to have a little bit of something breaking it up, but right now it's battling with the hibiscus for viewers' attention. The West Cave Preserve painting is also slow going, but I'm okay with that. As long as there is positive direction each week, I consider that important progress. Both paintings are being done with palette knife and fun! What's not fun is the pain in my hip which will start to limit my painting sessions in the next year or two, until I get another hip replacement. I bet you thought only big dogs had Hip Displasia...little women can have it, too, as I found out. It eventually causes arthritis in the joint because it has too much pressure hitting too little area. It's not life threatening, but does impinge on my quality of life when it gets to the bone on bone stage.

Studio Painting and Finished Painting

I just realized that I haven't put up the finished version of Aloe Flowers. And, I started a new painting for working at Noel Robbins' studio (West Cave Preserve) from a photo of trees that my daughter, Sami, took. She takes some lovely dramatic shots that I appreciate so much!

Starting A Fun One

Last week, my brother Ski sent me a few photos of an hibiscus in his yard that I could use for inspiration. I absolutely loved how open and lush this bloom was and felt it needed a big canvas to express how fun it was. Fortunately, I had taken advantage of a sale at Aaron Bros. a while back and had a 36x36x2" canvas just waiting for something this strong and vibrant. I'm still blocking in, but of course can't help but use my paintbrush to describe the shapes and lines within the shapes, so it's developing form already. Fun!!

Mother's Day Painting

Howdy Fellow Painters! Just thought I'd share this little painting I did for my mother for Mother's Day. It's actually from a photo she took of some tulips last year. I was going through some old emails and came upon the photo and the light just spoke to me, so I figured it would be a wonderful tribute to her artistic photo if I were to paint it for her. My back-up plan, if the painting refused to cooperate with me in time for Mother's Day, was to do a really good print of her photo and mat and frame it for her. That would actually be a better tribute to her work, but this painting needed to be painted. You know how that is? Sometimes the subject just won't let you alone until you do something with it. I'm a little surprised at how it turned out. I've been working with a palette knife so much that I expect something rather painterly with everything I do. This has much more the look of something by Andrew Wyeth (out the window) and "I don't know who" in the foreground, but I don't hate it.