Some days are just too beautiful to sit indoors. Today was one of those days. Since I didn’t have enough time to drive to a painting location today, I set up my easel on the back deck. Another scouting trip around the house procured a miniature Kabocha squash. I placed it on a piece of cardboard so that I would get strong shadow shapes. Boy, were they strong!
I really liked the shadows of the leaves. Unfortunately, sitting in the sun, they wilted before my eyes! I did my best to get the shadow shapes and leaf shapes in first. Even though they are too dark, they sure were fun. This was yet another great exercise in green, shadow and turning planes. Still so much to learn…
For More Paintings
To see all the paintings for the #stradaeasel challenge, head on over to Instagram or Facebook to see all of my posts together. And, use the hashtag #stradaeasel to see what others are up to in the Strada Easel Challenge. You can also click “previous post” to see the earlier paintings from last week.
I had my day planned out, and then weather happened. (Ha!) Yesterday, I started a 12×9 painting of flowers in a hanging basket. The window of light is limited to about 2 hours before the flowers are completely shaded. I got a good start on the painting, and I planned to return today. However, the sky was overcast, the light was completely different, and the wind was gusting to 40 mph.
So, on to Plan B. Looking around the house, I decided upon this gourd. I’ve been thinking a lot about trees, especially aspens in color. While most aspens turn yellow, there are many that turn orange. So, this made a great subject to study orange and yellow
I have to say, these mini paintings are getting easier. The first several were very difficult to do. I’m becoming more comfortable with my process, colors, brush, setup, canvas and all the other materials I use, by painting daily. It has been worthwhile to devote my time and energy to daily painting for the month of September.
Day 18 – Flower Basket
Here’s the start I made yesterday. I should be able to return to it tomorrow. We’ll see. I also want to get back outside and paint some trees and rabbit bush in preparation for next week.
This painting was another color study of painting light and dark on a light-colored object. There’s a fair amount of reflected light from the ground here. However, the shadows and trunk shape are perfect for studying. My goal was to better understand how to create transparent shadows on a light object without using white – it’s very difficult! Most white is highly opaque. Although there are several light transparent colors, it’s a challenge to use them on something as light as this. I ended up using white on the tree.
I also experimented with a new surface – lead ground by Rublev. It’s so bright! I love how white it is. I’m not sure it was fully cured…It felt a little ‘sticky’ and at the same time, the hog bristle brushes made a ‘comb’ effect (as you can see in the green area). I’ll try it again, but maybe wait longer for the ground to cure.
For More Paintings
To see all the paintings for the #stradaeasel challenge, head on over to Instagram or Facebook to see all of my posts together. And, use the hashtag #stradaeasel to see what others are up to in the Strada Easel Challenge. You can also click “previous post” to see the earlier paintings from last week.
Yay! We have passed the half-way point of the Strada Easel Challenge to paint from life every day for 30 days.
After a trip up to Wyoming to paint at Vedauwoo and the Snowy Range, I am back home and back in the studio. So, you may have already seen these on Facebook or Instagram, but here’s a quick look at the past two days.
Day 15 – Half-way – Yay!
They day was too beautiful to be indoors. So, I setup on the back deck to paint an ever faithful model. This aspen tree has been shaped to grow away from the deck, which exposes the slender trunk and all the color and shadow.
I used a different surface today, partly to use existing materials and partly out of curiosity. It’s an old Pastelbord by Ampersand that’s supposed to be ok for oil. It’s highly absorbent and felt sticky. Great for knife work, not so great for rubbing back. Maybe with enough gamsol?
The oil soaks right in. Kinda interesting. I have a few more boards around, so I’ll give it another go.
Day 16
For the first time in weeks (months?) we woke to a rainy day. The high today was 67. Although we will still have gorgeous fall days ahead, a drop in temperature generally means the end of summer flowers. I snipped a couple for today’s painting.
One of my goals this summer was to paint a bouquet of dahlias. Unfortunately, the timing never worked. We had too many scorching hot days for the flowers to bloom happily. The buds would wither if it was too hot. Or, I would finally get some blooms, and the timing was off for me.
Hopefully next summer I will have enough blooms for an indoor bouquet. Better yet, great weather to paint outside.
On a side note…
A few weeks ago, I bought a new phone (my previous phone died). Supposedly the camera was improved. However, I’m finding that it wants to ‘blow out’ the lights/whites. If I adjust in photoshop, the image gets too dark…Hopefully I’ll figure out a solution.
To see all of the paintings for the #stradaeasel challenge, head on over to Instagram or Facebook to see all of my posts together. And, use the hashtag #stradaeasel to see what others are up to in the Strada Easel Challenge. You can also click “previous post” to see the earlier paintings from last week.
This past week, I had a wonderful time taking a Wyoming Plein Air Trip to the Med Bow Routt National Forest with friend and plein air painter, Andrea Gabel.
Day 12
We started our trip in Vedauwoo, Wyoming (pronounced vee-da-voo) where the aspens were beginning to turn, the rocks glowed, and the earth seemed lit from within. Over the past 10 years, most of my time at Vedauwoo focused on rock climbing. Now, I look at the landscape with the eyes of a painter. One of the reasons I started to paint was to paint places like this. My first several attempts were absolute failures. This time, I had a breakthrough.
The day was perfect. We setup in Central Vedauwoo and had hours to paint. I chose “Holdout”, a north-facing rock face in the hopes that the light would be slow to change. I was particularly drawn to the light hitting the edges of the rock and the tops of the trees. And, I really liked that in contrast of the deep shadow to the golden foreground.
I picked a 12×16 panel, and although I ran out of time to finish the painting, it felt so good to paint large. My main focus was studying the rock, the cracks, the shape and of course, the color.
From Vedauwoo, we drove up to Centennial and the Snowy Range. We set up camp at the Libby Campground and while Andrea painted, I got to work on drawing leaves and trees for an online drawing and painting trees course.
Day 13
The next morning, we set off for the Snow Range and Lake Marie. Temperatures were only in the 50s and the wind was blowing (no surprise there).
Luckily, I knew a couple of places to seek shelter from the wind with great views. Looking at the lake and mountain range, I can hardly believe that this scene was one of my first attempts at plein air painting. Back in 2014, I carried up my pastel kit, a drawing board, and a large piece of Canson paper. I set up with a view of the lake and mountain and attempted to put every nuance, angle and color change into an 18×24 painting. I can laugh at it now, but I had no clue.
And, in some ways, little has changed. I set up with a view of the lake and the mountain and quickly became enraptured by the angles, colors, and crevices in the rocks, the subtle color change in the water, and the reflections.
With only a short window of time, I placed as many of the elements as I could. This is one I will definitely revisit this fall. Perhaps I’ll start again. Perhaps I’ll finish it.
Of course, once we called it quits, the sun came pouring through the clouds!
Not ready to finish painting, we scouted out some other locations, then headed to lower elevations for some fall color. We had spotted these trees near our campsite. Just as we were about to set-up, it started to rain and hail. Thankfully the storm quickly passed.
I’m guessing we had an hour before the wind picked up, and within another 10 minutes, the sky poured out!
Here is Andrea before it really came down. I wish I’d caught a picture of the deluge!
Andrea Gabel – ready for anything!
Day 14
I think this is the fastest painting I have ever attempted. After breaking down camp, we returned to Lewis Lake Trailhead for a morning of painting. The day started out with a breeze and blue skies. About an hour in, we had clouds and wind!
I knew the water would change quickly, so I attempted to get the base in as quickly as possible. The shadow shapes were next. Then, while the sun was shining, I piled on the color. I wasn’t able to finish the trees and rocks, or fix the shapes, but it sure was a fun time!
If you ever make it up to the Snowy Range, be sure to wear/bring warm clothes, hat, gloves, handwarmers, a raincoat, and a hat. I think we used every item of clothing that we brought. And, be ready for a quick change of weather. At, 10,800 feet, the Snowy Range is exposed, high alpine territory. It’s beautiful and stormy.
I’m running out of time today! Monday’s are always busy and today was no exception. As I was running errands today, I kept thinking, what am I going to paint? I knew I needed something ‘easy’. (Good luck with that!) I started out with a couple of boring ideas, and decided to grab a snack before starting. Viola! There was the answer. Gorgeous deep purple grapes.
Initially, I planned to only paint for an hour. The timer went off and I was close, but not close enough. I managed to minimize my ‘fiddling about’ to about a half hour. Just enough time to photograph the painting, do this quick write-up and now head off to an appointment.
Whew!
If it wasn’t for this 30 day challenge, I would not have painted today. (Of course, I should be working on my drawing and painting trees class – but I can do that while I wait at my appointment…I hope!).
I’m headed off to the mountains for the next couple of days. I will be painting and drawing every day, but I may not have internet access. If not, I’ll post when I return to the world of internet.
Oh, just because I was curious…I converted the image to black and white to see how the values held up. Isn’t it interesting how light the red actually is? It looks so dark in color.
In black and white.
To be continued…
Oh yeah, if you want to see all of my pieces created for the challenge (to date), you can head on over to Instagram or Facebook to see all of my posts together. And, use the hashtag #stradaeasel to see what others are up to in the Strada Easel Challenge. You can also click “previous post” to see the earlier paintings from last week. Enjoy!
I love harvest time. For as long as I can remember, my father planted a large garden. And, he still does. I loved to help him. As I placed corn kernels, hunks of potato, and tiny onions in the ground, a feeling of hope and promise filled me. I marveled at the straight rows, and the little seeds that grew into giants. Planting miniature versions of vegetables felt like a million little possibilities
In August, we could start to pick the corn. Pulling away the husk, was like unwrapping a present. Under the papery wrapper, rows and rows of sweet kernels waited for a slather of butter and salt. We devoured those ears of corn on the cob. Fresh green beans, cucumber salad, and baby potatoes completed any meal. Even though I don’t have a large garden, I still love to plant seeds, and see those little seeds reach for the sun. Especially love it when I can step outside to ‘pick dinner.
Although I didn’t pick this ear of corn from my garden, I still delight in knowing that a seed created this ear of corn. And, there’s nothing like the taste of fresh corn on the cob, slathered in butter and salt!
If you want to see all of my pieces created for the challenge (to date), you can head on over to Instagram or Facebook. And, use the hashtag #stradaeasel to see what others are up to in the Strada Easel Challenge. Or, you can click “previous post” to see the earlier paintings from last week. Enjoy!
Ok, truth be told, painting isn’t easy. People who say, “Oh, that must be so relaxing…” or “That must be so meditative”, have not done this. No. It is not relaxing or meditative. It’s hard. Ok. It’s fun too. And, very rewarding. Secretly, I love the challenge of painting something to look realistic. Also, I love painting outside and really ‘seeing’ the landscape or object.
Last week, I picked up this gourd at the farmer’s market, along with the mini pumpkins. The challenge here was to get the fans of the gourd to go up, out, back, and down in light and shadow. What made this painting particularly difficult was the variety of light colors next to dark colors.
Ok. Now, to go draw some trees.
If you want to see all of my pieces created for the challenge (to date), you can head on over to Instagram or Facebook. And, use the hashtag #stradaeasel to see what others are up to in the Strada Easel Challenge. Or, you can click “previous post” to see the earlier paintings from last week. Enjoy!
I’m about to start a four week class on drawing and painting trees. So, why not challenge myself with this funky cedar tree on a day with dilute light? I was intrigued by the shape – it looks like it’s wearing a tutu. And of course the yellow of the rabbitbush is always fun.
Cedar Tree with rabbitbush
The fences made everything a bit confusing, so I tried to simplify it. The light was so diffuse (from the wildfires) that the values of the entire scene were a challenge. Everything look uniformly flat.
I can’t say that it was a successful painting, but it was a great day to be out painting with friends. A light shower came through tonight, I’m hoping that will help with the air quality.
Things got a little wild and crazy in the studio today. I made a trip to the farmer’s market, looking for dinner. Instead, I found these golden goodies. How to decide? Veggies or flowers? I opted for a bit of both. Who can resist such lovely sunflowers?
I decided to go a little larger (9×12) for the sunflowers and I’m glad I did. I don’t think one bloom would fit a 5×7!
The first day, I blocked in the shapes and developed the vase a bit. Soon, the light was gone and I was tired. I decided to do the finishing details on the second day, hoping to come back to the studio refreshed. Instead, I found the sunflowers had flopped over during the night. I made some attempts to adjust them. In the end, I decided it wasn’t worth fighting nature and went to Plan B.
The sunflower vendor (Tierra Bella Farm) had this huge yellow pattypan. I decided to keep the dark purple background from yesterday to contrast the yellow. This was another good challenge in shapes. Funny how those little bumps can present such a challenge!
Now that I’ve painted it’s portrait, this squash might move to the chopping block for dinner.
Tomorrow, it’s time to get outside. I plan to join the local PAAC (Plein Air Artists of Colorado) group for some plein air painting. Hopefully we will have clear skies and good quality air. I really hope that the NW (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and California) receive some much-needed help from man and nature in bringing these wildfires to an end.
Oh, If you want to see all of my pieces created for the challenge (to date), you can head on over to Instagram or Facebook. And, use the hashtag #stradaeasel to see what others are up to in the Strada Easel Challenge.
I guess it was the trip down memory lane yesterday, that prompted me to attempt this African doll painting for Day 5 of the Strada Easel Challenge.
I found this doll when I lived in Namibia. (Nambia is located on the bottom of the African continent between South Africa and Angola.) I’m not sure what the initial attraction was to the doll, perhaps she reminded me of when my mother sewed our clothes.
My sister and I each had a doll that resembled us. My favorite feature was the way their eyes closed when they were lying down. Mom even made matching outfits for our dolls.
Of course, this African doll looks nothing like me!
Unlike the sandstone statues, hand-woven baskets, and various trinkets that felt mass-produced for the tourists, this doll appeared to be made with focus and care. Although the doll doesn’t look very happy, I was quite happy to buy her. I felt that someone put attention and effort into shaping her face, and sewing on the trim. Whoever made her seemed to care about doing good work.
She sits on my shelf, wearing her light pink dress, trimmed with red bric brac and a zigzag of green thread. I also have a clay pot, some woven baskets, wooden bowls, and hand-carved statues that might make future paintings too.
I think my childhood doll is around here too. Hmmm…I just might have to find her. Altough, there’s a good chance she’s missing an eye…
If you want to see all of my pieces created for the challenge (to date), you can head on over to Instagram or Facebook. And, use the hashtag #stradaeasel to see what others are up to in the Strada Easel Challenge. You can see Days 1-3 here. Day 4 is here.
