Sea of Green

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil on panel

One more balsamroot painting, even though they are completely done now IRL. We had a very wet spring and all the grass and other plants are extra lush and tall. I love the abundance! Makes for some lovely walks.

Petals Waving

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil on panel

One thing that I think is really cool about these Balsamroot flowers (wild here in Montana) - every plant has a unique theme. The petals are big and fat on some, and skinny on others. The middle part is a little bald in the middle (like these), but then full on others. Sometimes there are notches in the ends of the petals, and sometimes not.

Another thing I've always liked, about flowers in general, is the odd petal that sticks out in an unusual direction. Like they're waving hello. These two have one each. Hello.

Nestled Between

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil on panel

This is another wild Balsamroot that grows in my area (Missoula). I especially like the leaves on this plant, which provide a lovely backdrop. For every painting I have to edit the leaves a bit because they are never arranged perfectly. I usually try some things on my ipad first - painting over the reference - before I start painting IRL. It's a pretty handy tool.

Quiet Yellow

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil on panel

I am just home from teaching a workshop in Apex, North Carolina. I had a really wonderful group of students. They listened, asked great questions, and make big leaps. I miss them already. Here they are ->

After the workshop I went to the beach for a couple of days with a friend. I brought my camera just in case I felt inspired, and wow, was I! The people on the beach were just ... well, they were just begging to be painted. The bodies of every type, the water, the reflections - so cool. I took a million photos, completely forgetting to reapply sunscreen. But the sunburn was totally worth all the material I got!

I have some paintings left from before that I will post for now. This one is another Balsamroot flower - wild here in Montana.

Backlit Yellow

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil on panel

Here's another Balsamroot, a wildflower that is just finishing up around here (Missoula).

I've been inspired lately by Christina Weaver's floral paintings. I think she mostly sets up outside and paints them from life, which is braver than me. But I really admire her style. She's got some great drawings too. Check her out on Instagram.

Six Cups

 

Click Here to Bid (6x6in. - Oil - starts at $100)

I painted this from a photo because I couldn't turn my head enough yet (after neck surgery). Normally I paint from life, so I was surprised that there were some things I actually preferred about painting from a photo. And also some things I didn't prefer. Here's a short list of the biggest things.

Things I preferred:

1. Taking a bunch of photos and picking my favorite, rather than setting up one thing and painting it.

2. Having the photo on a screen that was a little further away than my setup from life usually is - gave me more perspective.

3. Not having to get my viewfinder back in the same place every time during the drawing phase.

Things I didn't prefer:

1. The photo is a little distorted - not too bad for this one, but there were others I had trouble with.

2. The photo doesn't capture all the colors or values. Darks get darker and the highlights get kind of obliterated.

3. All told it probably took more time, considering all the photo taking, editing and painting.

Yellow Orgy

Click Here to Bid (6x6in. - starts at $100)

It took me a few tries with yellow. I finally realized that it's such a light value - it needs a dark background! Duh.

I just created a NEW FREE ARTBYTE about shipping small art. I've gotten a lot of requests for ArtBytes on different subjects, and I have them all in a list! And I will get to them, I promise.