Painting of a Jade Plant

Journal Entry, Thursday, March 26th.  Done. I've been on a mission to finish this piece so that I could get started on a landscape commission. I brought the piece to a finish over the last three studio days and let it rest between to see what it needed. Overall, I'm happy with the painting although my vision for it was a bit different, the end result was satisfying. I'm pleased with the fabric and the vase design came out well. The last change I made was to the vase where I darkened it with a glaze a bit on the right side.

So, off to the gallery and onward and upward.  

Painting of a Jade Plant

Journal Entry: March 6, 2015

Today was a teaching day but the class was small so I was able to do some work on the piece.  The cloth is starting to come together and I'm finding great satisfaction in the way it's evolving. I can see where it will take on more dimension and feel once I start to add some compliments and some blue as well to the lights and shadows. I've been experimenting with this as I go along. I'm not an impressionist but I do love the way color can enliven a traditional painting when added in the right place. One of my favorite painters is Howard Terpning. His use of color is pure magic and I'd like to add some of that to my work. The metallic threads in the cloth are fun to do as well. The use of tiny pieces of white along with yellow ochre and cad yellow in certain places really work to bring these out. One of my students accused me of using metallic paint! Ha! Overall, very satisfied with the progress today. 

Painting of a Jade Plant

Journal Entry, March 2, 2015

I spent the better part of the morning contemplating this possible disaster and trying to decide where to go next. The plant itself didn't take long to get a first pass in a few days ago but I can see that the fabric will be more of a challenge. The light in the studio is best now around 2:00 PM. It wafts softly onto the setup and the shadows are deeper and warmer at that hour. But the light soon fades after that and I'm back to artificial light. I can't wait half a day for one hour's easel time. I can see that I'll have to work on this problem before my next piece. It's never been this much of an issue before. Why am I so focused on it now?                                                           

  
In tackling the tapestry, I considered painting it alla prima or working flatly and then describing the lights and shadows with glazes and scumbles. I decided on a combination of the latter. It's a challenge because the shadows are rather shallow and poorly described in the morning hours. By working it in glazes, I have the option of darkening and brightening selective passages when the light is right. (An apology to my readers about the easel light which blows out the plant.) I worked the darks and lights on the areas of cloth that didn't have design on them and left the design relatively flat. Much of that will have to be described later.

My container looks sick and lopsided. I can hardly stand to look at it. Definitely a lesson in getting the drawing right before starting work. I covered a lot of canvas today, but the real meat of the work still lies ahead. 

The Painting of a Jade Plant

I usually reserve step by step explanations of paintings for my teaching blog (www.musensbysusan.blogspot.com), however I haven't been working that blog in some time and I thought this blog would be a better platform because this is a not so much a step by step lesson but more an insight into the mind and heart of what this artist is thinking from the inspiration and inception of a painting, through its stages of growth and into its final and painful birth. So join me for awhile as I share with you entries from my journal as the painting emerges. As I'm already quite a ways into the piece, I'll be putting down here the first few stages and corresponding entries in one shot. I'll break it into two separate blog entries bringing it to where it is today and then further developments will be shared as they take place.

Journal Entry, February 24, 2015

The inspiration for this piece came as a whispered prayer from the Jade plant itself which has been growing patiently in the foyer of my home under the soft, filtered light from my northern skylight. The plant loves it there I think. I can tell by the way the stems reach straight up toward the light. I fear that the painting may be taking too long and that the poor thing regrets its request and wishes to return to the sanctity of that quiet false rain forest atmosphere where it has been for a very long time. It is, after all, rather gloomy in my studio. I turn the set up directly to the light of my over large studio window when I'm not at work. The race is on now to finish before the plant suffers for its vanity.

I thought for a long time about how I wanted to do this painting. Should I work in pastels or Oils? I decided on oils and then I took another month to consider my concept. After all, I have always taught and been taught to have a concept. How else will I know when I'm done? When I have fulfilled my concept, the work is done. Or so I've come to believe.  Though I do have a concept in mind, I've decided to honor the request of the Jade and ask the painting what it requires instead. It seems to call for a background that would speak of it's ancestry or at the very least lend some viability to its name. Hence, the Asian wallpaper in the background. Now, mind you, I don't know that Jade plants are at all descended from Asian ancestry. But who am I to question a plant after all? While I wanted to honor this request, I had to consider the how of it all. I'm really not very good at calligraphy and, for that matter, my own handwriting is terrible. I settled on some paper that had Korean writing on it and scanned that into my computer, printing it out through the magic of Photoshop onto archival paper. This was affixed to canvas - which had some problems of its own. Won't go into that here, but I've learned a lot about this kind of application since. Being a classical painter and having had the importance of archival materials beat into my head, I struggled with this whole idea of mixed media for another couple of weeks. A call to Golden relieved my anxiety and I moved forward. (Please comment on the blog if you have any questions about how I proceeded here.)

Journal Entry, February 26, 2015

I transferred the drawing this past Sunday and spent the better part that day just getting some glazing down. I used combinations of burnt sienna, burnt umber and permanent alizarin crimson to lay in the color. Today, I felt that I could start in on the container or is it a vase? It doesn't seem quite the right word. I was a bit stymied by the light. The cool light coming in from my north facing window just doesn't seem to set it off right. I was definitely frustrated over this unexpected conundrum. I changed the temperature of an additional light bulb several times. I'm still not happy. The plant wants natural light. I can hear that and obviously it needs it to survive this process as well. I can easily see this painting taking a month or more. Just artificial light won't do and besides, I dislike working from it. I settled on a combination but can see that I'll need to use my internal vision more than my physical sight to get the quality of light I envision. But the whole trial and error thing took the better part of the day. Sigh. I didn't get far, but at least I made a start. 

Journal Entry, February 27, 2015

Well, things are moving ahead although I can't say I'm completely satisfied. I struggle to integrate the background with the foreground. The leaves of the plant are trickier than I thought, and as is the manner of plants, it keeps changing as it endeavors to turn toward the light. Still, the plant is dictating this painting. It thinks it's the client and has commissioned the work. So I have to deal. The under painting could have been done better but the ground on which I'm working has its own challenges and so I made do with a very basic wash in and allowed myself to forego the usual detailed grissaille. I hope none of my fellow graduates from Georgetown Atelier see this once I post it. The container is off a bit and this first pass is not what I was aiming for.  But the Jade is taking shape. I've experimented a bit with some broken yellow/green in the background and think I'll keep it. So much still to do.

Stay tuned for the next installment.

"Jen"
Oil on Linen Mounted on Board

Jen models for my Monday life drawing group. This time around she wore a white satin wedding kimono but dropped it off her shoulders. The little painting is only 6" X 8" but it carries a bigger impact. To check out the auction at www.dailypaintworks.com, click here.

Tin Teapot with Eggs

"Tea for One" Oil on Linen Mounted on Board, 11" x 14"

My friend Anne, routed out her lovely kitchen looking for pieces that I could add to still life and I settled on this little tin teapot.  One of my students is a farmer and has been bringing me these wonderful brown eggs. Actually, of late, they are many different colors, but these just happened to be creamed coffee color and so that's what ended up in the painting. Some days, I decide which ones I'll eat by how many I have left of a certain color.

I'm happy with this piece. I find that since I left the atelier, I have internalized my teacher's voice. Drives me crazy. But it also keeps me honest with myself. I don't settle anymore. And if it's not my best effort, it doesn't leave the easel. Hope you like it too.

Still Life Study of Chinese Tea Pot and Rose Hips, 12" x 11"

It's been a very busy and hectic year. While I've been a full time artist for years, sometimes working 60 hour weeks, I never dreamed that the top item on my bucket list could be more stressful than that. Attending an atelier is both an exhillerating and exhausting journey. I attend four days a week (day five I have to teach at my own studio so I have enough money to attend school the other four). Because I live so far from Seattle where Georgetown Atelier is located, I have to spend those three nights with a friend and a relative. Then I drive the three hours home late on Thursday after class.

I'm on a brief vacation now and I have quite a few pieces I'll be posting over the coming weeks to show off a bit. This small piece which is only about 11" x 12" is a small color study for a larger still life I'm still working on at school. We generally do these as they help to iron out problems which occur during the painting process before we actually get to them. Some areas didn't come out well in the photo. Another student took them at the atelier during the past two weeks and forwarded this to me so I can't account for the the faded area in the lower right hand corner. But otherwise, it's a good representation. The edges need a bit of work and you can tell it's not a finished painting in and of itself, but over all, I'm pretty happy with it. The large piece is proving to be quite a challenge. I'll post it when it's done and perhaps share some of it's development along the way.

Painting of Ancient Teapot and fruit, 11" x 14", Oil on Panel

"Old but not forgotten"
Currently NFS

I've been so busy since the holidays I've hardly had a day to spare. But as I just finished this piece as an entry for a show, I decided I'd better take the time to post it. This piece was definitely not a daily painting. While some parts were done partially ala prima, for the most part, it took me several long sittings to finish. Photographing Oils is always a challenge as they tend to reflect light. It's so hard to prevent this from occuring that it can take me a week or more before I can create the right lighting situation to photograph them. This is the best I was able to accomplish. Hope it works for the competition.

School continues to be a challenge and a passion. I spend two days in Seattle now and then race home to teach two classes back to back on Wednesday. Not much time left for other things. Hope you like this. Next piece is a pastel landscape.

Oil Painting of White Orchids and Red Tapestry, 13" x 21.5", Oil on Unstretched Canvas

"Balance"
I've been meaning to do a wall hanging for some time. A recent trip to Korea gave me the nudge I needed to get started. I chose some unstretched canvas for the job and then got busy. This painting is not yet for sale as I need to add the fabric and tassels that will complete it as a wall hanging. To see how this painting was done, to www.musensbysusan.blogspot.com and follow the links.

Asian Jar with Pears, Oil on Panel, 11" x 14"

I locked myself in the studio today. After having been tied up with classes and teaching for days, it was nice to have the studio to myself for awhile. I started this piece the other day but had to stop in the middle because of other committments. Like marriage. While I'm happy with the jug in the back, there are still things that I'm not satisfied with. I believe I'm still at a juncture in my painting and not entirely certain of where to go to next. It's sort of like being at the edge of a cliff. Taking the next step is like a leap of faith. My classes are going well enough, but the pace is slow and it will be awhile before what I'm learning translates itself to my work. I think, I'll try for a stronger sense of realism in the next substantial piece. In the meantime, you may see a small one or two. I have a couple of weeks before I go back to class. I'll be staggering for a few weeks until the end of the June session because of the Hood Canal Bridge Closing here on the peninsula. It takes an extra two hours to drive to and from Seattle so I'll be taking it easy on myself by skipping a couple of classes. School is out then from the end of June through mid September. I'll be glad for the break. Heavens! It took me five hours to come back from school on Tuesday.

Oil Painting of Asian Tea Pot on Woven Cloth, 8" x 10", Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas

"Blue China Tea Pot"

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Time for detail. I took an extra day to let things dry so I could put a bit of detail into this piece. I adore this little blue tea pot and have used it in a few other paintings. I've yet to capture it's sweet essence. I picked up this red woven scarf in Spain in October and I had a lot of fun painting it. Imagine what I could do if this was a weekly painting instead of a "daily" one?

Figure of Asian Woman Reclining, 5" x 7", Oil on Panel

"Letting Down Her Hair"

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I started ploughing through my collection of photos today. I have hundreds of models I've worked with that never see the light of day. That's because they often don't catch the light or ambiance I'm after. As I take dozens of each pose just slightly different, that amounts to a lot of unused photos. I decided this pose of Julie would work pretty well. I wanted to try some ideas I had on color temperature. Overall, I like the way it came out. Some things I think warrant changing but I think that I may do a larger piece of this same pose. Any thoughts?

Asian FLoral of Two Red Poppies, Oil on Panel, 5" x 7"

"Two Poppies and a Chinese Vase"

Today was just a crummy day. I was tired after my long haul back from my Seattle based atelier class (three 1/2 hrs) the night before I had to get up early to clear the studio and set up for teaching. The class was good but I finished tired and then after lunch couldn't get myself moving again. I was just brain dead. Nothing inspired me and I seriously considered just fading into the couch with a good book. But guilt, the driving force behind my self discipline, got me moving -- trudging actually. As I set this still life up, the lamp came apart and hit me in the head, I turned too fast and knocked the newly primed board off the easel, knocked over the space heater and scared the bejesses out of my cats! I need to take a copy of this post and pin it to my studio door. One of the things I should know about myself by now is that the discipline of focus on a painting will usually chase the cobwebs and fatigue away. I felt abut two hundred percent better about half way through this little. And now I'm fully recovered - well about ninety percent. I'm going to make dinner, try not to have an accident, and then fade into the couch with a good book. Guilt be damned.

This painting is also available framed. Email me for details.

Dogwood and Chinese Apples Oil Painting, 5" x 7"

"Dogwood and Chinese Apples"
SOLD










I recently sold a small nude to a collector and framed it for her in one of these hand finished frames. It looked so good that I decided to offer them as an option on some of my other pieces. This little floral was so charming, I decided it needed its own little frame. The painting is available both with and without the frame. This frame is available for all my 5" x 7" pieces.

Oil Painting of Antique Vase with Yellow Flowers, 9" x 12" Oil on Panel

SOLD

I actually painted two paintings today but decided to rework the other a bit in the morning. I was striving for just the right tone in the background here and more texture on the vase.

Peonies in Asian Vase, Oil Painting, 18" x 24"

"Full Bloom"SOLD

This is a recent commission I completed just yesterday. I really enjoyed getting my teeth into something big again. The painting was done in layers for the most part although there are some wet-in-wet worked areas. My collector loves it and that's what's most important. Hope you enjoy it too! To see how this painting was done, click here.

Painting of Asian Woman by a Bridge, 24" x 36", Oil on Canvas

"By the Full Moon Bridge"Click here to inquire about purchase.






You may remember that I posted an image of this piece before it was completed many months ago. I finished it recently in time for my show. Although it isn't a "daily" panting I decided to post it as a final piece before taking my leave for the next month. Although I don't leave until the 18th for Europe, I have much to do between now and then and won't be able to get into the studio except for teaching. We were fortunate to find a house sitter at the last minute so my furry family will be well taken care of.
The past few days have been spent in a Seattle hospital helping my Uncle attend to my Aunt. She's quite ill and it just seems that the nurses can't do everthing that's needed to keep someone comfortable. I would have liked to stay longer, but things here at home needed attending and so I only returned this morning.
I'll be taking lots of photos while I'm gone and hope to be able to create some new pieces when I return based on my experiences in Europe. I'm very much looking forward to this vacation as a chance to get "reacquainted" with my poor husband who, because of our busy schedules, I hardly every get to see before dinner or bedtime. I intend to spend the time dancing my little feet off and ogling every piece of art I can. We'll be spending three days in Padua and Venice before leaving on a cruise of the western Mediterranean. Then we finish off with a transatlantic cruise.
In the meantime, my studio is framed and they start the walls this week. It's very exciting. The walls are nine feet high with a cathedral ceiling. I find myself walking around on the sub flooring imagining where everything will go. Right now my main goal is to have as little actual furniture in the new space as possible. I want to leave it open for students and work. It's amazing how fast clutter can fill even the largest space! So I'll be signing off for now. Wish me bonn voyage. I wish you all a lovely fall. Keep safe; keep warm, keep loving art!
Warm regards, Susan