A friend lent me this Persian vase. It really deserves more time than an Ala Prima Painting can give it, but here it is anyway. Still a pretty thing. The Magnolias seemed to fit right in. I put a floral tapestry under it and hung some behind also. I like the way the painting holds together. Hope you do too.
I have been painting a lot of figures lately. In part, this is because I participate in a figure drawing group every week. But mostly it's an outgrowth of my interest in portraits. This model is one of my favorites and most of you will recognize her. She has such a lovely back, that I had her turned away from me for this pose. I love the way the light plays on her. This is just a small study for a larger piece I plan to do. Thanks for looking.
Early every morning (almost), I drag myself from my warm bed and go walking with a friend. Sometimes I remember to bring my camera. This one particular morning this fall, the fog was just lifting off of a field behind an old barn. The sun was low and was spreading out over the field lighting up the fog. The light effects were spectacular! Oh crap. I forgot my camera. Soooo..this piece is from memory. I think I pretty much got it the way I remember though. I stood staring at that scene trying to commit it to memory as much as possible. I gave two sizes here. The bigger size is of the painting framed. The price includes the frame. If you're interested, just click on the e-mail link above. Shipping is extra. I'm happy to e-mail a picture of the piece framed as well. Thanks for looking. Have a GREAT New Year!
Although I've taken a break from daily painting in the last two weeks, I've still been busy at the easel. Here's a piece I just finished for an upcoming competition. As you can see, it's polished but lacks a lot of the spontaneity of daily pieces. I'm working on retaining the freshness of brush stroke in my larger pieces but have a ways to go. It's very easy to get too involved in detail on these larger pieces. I am happy, however, with the light here and with the color and values. My edge control was good and I like the composition.
OK. So it's not a painting. Dailypainters.com asked all its participating artists to post photos or paintings of their studios today. As I've been working on a large project for Oil Painters of America's annual juried competition, I was too engaged this morning to get into a painting of my studio. This afternoon was figure drawing, so a photo it was. Besides, I'd rather paint in it than use it as a subject. My studio is rather long and narrow - about 30 feet by 17 feet. I didn't bother turning around here, there's not much to see behind me except for some flat files and a large cabinet. I actually manage to squeeze five students in here on Wednesday mornings. It's tight, but we're a cozy bunch anyway. Hope you liked the brief tour. Thanks for stopping by.
I'm taking a brief break - actually started a few days ago, to finish my project and won't likely post again until after Christmas. Have a wonderful holiday! Susan
I had a sick day today so I decided to post one of my more finished pieces. This definitely is not a "daily painting" having taken several sittings to complete. The work is done on panel and represents some of my better work. I've had some difficulty in getting a good picture of it but this seems to be a fairly good representation. The whole painting is a bit brighter but if I brighten it on photoshop, the flowers just get too bright. Haven't figured out how to compensate there. There's more subtlety in the flowers than is shown here. Hope you enjoy it. Click above if you want to inquire about purchase.
There's nothing like hot tea on a cold day. I threw the Tiger Lily and fruit in for color. I've been having to paint a lot under warm light because I've been getting started later in the studio. Daylight fades about 3:30 here so it doesn't leave me much time for painting if I get started after 2:00 PM. I rather miss the cool light and will try to make a concerted effort to get into the studio earlier. My eyes have been acting up a bit. The cool light will certainly be more comfortable to paint in.
It's been so rainy and gloomy here in Washington, that I thought I'd bring some sunshine into my studio. So Tiger Lilies were the pick of the day. These were fun flowers to paint. I used warm incandescent light for this set up as I started late in the day and there wasn't enough natural light in my studio. I love the way the light plays on the lilies and shines through. See the detail below.
Poppies are such warm delicate flowers for such a hardy breed. I love the way they take on a glow in the light. This one has some nice thick paint in the blooms and leaves. See the detail below. It's also pretty contemporary for me. Has a nice kind of abstract feel to it. I was in an expansive mood today so I pulled out a really huge canvas and got to work. Boy am I pooped.
