Sunday 30 January 2011

beach reflections - 12" square

Just realized I forgot to finish her hand! That makes you realize how important the value of an area or object is to a picture.......since the value is correct, it did not stick out to me. After listening to Aljazeera about Egypt all day and finishing this, I have to get out and take a walk so it will have to wait until later.

Thursday 27 January 2011

beach grouping - 22x10" underpainting

I am just beginning this one and am recycling a canvas as well. The texture of the dried paint underneath appealed to me so I decided to see if I can make it work.  I can't do my usual underpainting so I am forced  to discover new ways - who knows, it could be failed canvas times two! My entire neighborhood is white and they have been plowing the street so I should be able to get out a bit tomorrow. I am just soooo grateful I don't have to commute 75 miles each way to work anymore!

Tuesday 25 January 2011

sunset ice - 12" square

Sorry about the glare but we had snow ALL day again! It was only supposed to be "snow showers," implying spaces between bursts of snow but it didn't let up.........I began to drive to a Bristol Independent Galleries meeting but turned around when the unplowed road changed my mind. I have been experimenting with different types of under paintings...........loving the purity of watercolors and the way the white paper really makes things glow, I have discovered Gamblin's transparent colors. I did my usual sienna on most of the canvas but used pure transparent orange for the sky..........I think it worked well.

Monday 24 January 2011

winter surfer - 8" square

How people can go in the ocean around here this time of year is completely beyond me..........but they do. I really fought with this one and wiped it off several times before I got it. I nearly quit and started something else but am quite stubborn and refuse to believe I can't "get" something.

Friday 21 January 2011

end of the road - 10" square

Can you tell it's winter here? This is the view a block down from my house. I love the way you can find an interesting subject to paint in the glow of the sun on simple road slush............I mean it has everything.

Thursday 20 January 2011

nearly night - 24x18"

Another larger painting I have nearly finished..........since this one is so dark and dark areas are especially difficult to photograph, I decided to get it done before dark. This scene is what you see from the sidewalk in front of Gallery Eleven.

Wednesday 19 January 2011

play your number - 24x18"

The weather is much better today and I was able to get a photo of this painting now that it is pretty much done (you will notice there is no yellow glare) - I will now put it on my "drying wall" and move on to another larger picture. In the next month or so I will fix any glaring problem spots that I see. I am guessing the people who owned this business never won the lottery.

Tuesday 18 January 2011

gloomy

Sorry about another bad photo but there is no fixing it today. I try to photograph outside and it is terribly disgusting outside here - it has been raining liquid frozen stuff for much of the day but is only raining now. I was hopng to finish this today (and still might) but thought I should grab the last of what little natural light remains and take the picture. I wasted nearly an hour playing with the cat who is so bored and depressed about the weather she has been attacking me from behind.

Saturday 15 January 2011

yet another progress report - 24x18"

I will have to post some progress thingies in the near future since I have been into working on some larger pieces......I have three or four going at the moment in addition to a portrait commission. I really love painting architecture and have become pretty interested in abandoned and neglected structures.......post industrial areas of cities like Fall River.

Wednesday 12 January 2011

city dusk (update) - 22" square

This is a pretty awful photo but I won't get any better today - it is a real blizzard outside right now and there is little light. I had posted the underpainting before Christmas and picked it up again when I was starting to recover from "the bug" the other day. I was so horrified by the events of this past weekend I could not get into a peaceful, lighthearted beach figure picture. I fear this country is going mad - that we are living in opposite world. That Sarah Palin, Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh are now trying to convince the American people that they themselves are the victims of this weekend's tragedy. It sickens me that so many of my fellow citizens refuse to think and are so suseptible to the cultivation of hate within themselves. I try to stay off the topic of politics on this site and will end it there but sometimes this society gets to me and I just wonder where we are going.

Sunday 9 January 2011

winter walk - 12" square

I am unsure whether I like this picture or not - I started it sometime ago and then lost my feel for it a bit when the holidays got in the way. It might just be the flu (my daughter called and told me she had tested positive for it and must have had it here before she went back to Texas) and I might be better off sleeping rather than trying to paint! I might just sleep for a couple of days.

Friday 7 January 2011

zicam isn't working!

Unbelieveably, I finished this picture today and nearly finished another one...............I have been taking Zicam for three days but I feel absolutely awful today. After I finished this I went to bed for a four hour nap and then put another picture on the easel and made a bit of progress before giving up when I felt so hot I had to go out on the porch. I doubt that I will be doing too well when I get up tomorrow! I am keeping my fingers crossed that the Zicam will kick in while I am sleeping.......time for tea and soup.

Thursday 6 January 2011

at the edge - 12" square

This isn't quite done yet but I felt so much pressure to post that I decided to go with it anyway. I brought my daughter to the airport for her flight back to Austin mid-day and always feel unsettled when she leaves so I went for a walk and then decided to take a picture before I lost the light.

Tuesday 4 January 2011

shorebirds together - 10" square

I am quite glad that the distractions of the holidays are over. I am done traveling, shopping and cooking large meals containing lots of meat! I always enjoy getting together with my Dad and kids and I even enjoy the cooking but the older I get, the less I enjoy the disruption of my routine - something I will have to watch out for or I might turn into a totally weird old woman instead of an only partially weird middle-aged one. Anyway, I have stretched a bunch of canvases and bought some zicam spray for the cold I feel I am getting so I am ready to go.