GOING LARGE

LAZY RIVER

This painting is my first attempt at painting in a larger format.  For years, I have painted pretty small, usually nothing over 18" x 24".  For this piece, I challenged myself to go a little larger, so I went up to 30" x 30".  I liked painting larger, and had to discipline myself to use the largest brush I had.  Much of the sky and most of the water was painted using a palette knife, which really speeded up the process.

This painting is from another one of the trips we made this summer when my husband was competing in aerobatic competitions. It is another view of the Saginaw River just south of Bay City, MI. It was a beautiful evening and a beautiful river. I have several other photos of this river, so you might see more of it in my future works.

Enjoy!!

FAMILIAR

CRUNCH FOR LUNCH

6" x 6" oil on gessoboard

I painted this today thinking of all those kids who are going back to school.  I'ts finally getting a little cooler here and this kind of weather always makes me think of fall and getting those delicious apple from the market.  Is there anything better than biting into a crunchy tart apple? I've packed lots of kids lunches over the years, and apples have always been a favorite in their bag.

Enjoy!! 

REFLECTIONS

Three into Six

For this painting, I set up the still life, placing the apples on a piece of glass and lighting it from the left.  The board has been stained with cadmium red, allowed to sit for awhile while I sketched some ideas, and then wiped off to leave the undertone you see in the final painting. I'm very happy with the results, and plan to do some more reflective paintings.

ENJOY!!

Study, Study, Study

 Storm Brewing, pencil sketch

Storm Brewing, color Study

Here are two photos showing my thought process behind the development of a painting.  I love stormy skies, and the photo I used for my reference was very dark.  I began with a rough sketch, making notes about values.  The little painting is a quickie, getting the color and values of the various elements.  I like most of the painting, but might add more buildings as shown in the sketch.  I might also make this a vertical piece since I'd like to add more of that stormy sky. This may or may not become a finished painting, but the ideas and values are there if and when I decide to paint it.