Protective

 

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

I posted the reference photo for this at the beginning of the month/year. It was for this month's Daily Paintworks Challenge, all about resolutions. One of my personal resolutions is to paint more flowers on larger panels, but the past few days I've been doing a few little paintings as a warm up (and to try and get myself out of a funk I've been going through). It worked! And this is one of the little ones I did.

I have a bunch more references of these flowers that I'm going to play with. One thing I realized is that I was intimidated by going large, so these little studies are a GREAT way to get warmed up, try some ideas for editing, and just see what works and what doesn't. So expect more, and eventually, larger versions.

3 tries at one scene, 2 mediums

Click Here to Bid: TOP (gouache, 3x8in.), BOTTOM (oil, 2.75x8in.)

For this month's Daily Paintworks Challenge, I proposed painting a single scene in 2 mediums (more for extra credit!). I posted the photo for this scene as an idea (but you can use anything you like). It took me a while to do it myself, but this is it, and I learned a LOT!

The top one is gouache. I did that one first. I cut a panel for #2 (oil - middle painting) the exact same size, and was really frustrated in painting it. I took a break after, and came back having decided to try one more time, on a slightly shorter panel that was leftover from cutting the other one (bottom painting). I experimented quite a bit with the whole thing - tried to approach each part a little (or a lot) differently. While the result probably looks very similar, I am much happier with the third one, and this is really where I learned. 

For example after doing the second one I realized that the ground I put down tinted the whole thing kind of pink (ugh). So for #3 I didn't use a ground, and the colors came out cleaner. Also for #3 I blocked in the whole thing first and this really helped me get all the relationships working from the start without having to make big changes later. I have found in general blocking in is helpful with landscapes, since the relationships (especially value, but also color & temperature) are so critical and often subtle.

Anyway, I HIGHLY recommend doing this!! And if you do, please post what you painted to our challenge (you don't have to be a member). Happy painting!

From My Window

nfs.

This is my entry for this week's Daily Paintworks Challenge - From Your Window. I decided since we're all mostly stuck inside, this was an appropriate challenge. But I was afraid of actually doing it, since it's outside my comfort zone (hence "challenge"), so I put it off until the very last day. I woke up that morning and there were several inches of snow on the ground - an even greater challenge for me! We have a steep hill that goes up behind our house, so I actually painted this from my second story studio window, of our adirondack chairs up on the hill, and the little rock fire ring in front of them. I really kind of like it, so I'm going to keep it for myself. : )