Springtime in the Country

I am planning to get out and do more plein air painting this year. I love colorful and dramatic skies. Which was my motivation to paint Springtime in the country. The sky was passionate and almost poetic, which was the feeling that I tried to convey with this piece. Springtime in the Country is painted on a 12 x 24 mdf board.

Thanks for stopping by.

Yellow Roses

Hi Everyone, Well it is supposed to rain, sleet and snow again today. So, I thought it would be a good time to start a new painting. I was up really early this morning and worked on some sketches for my next painting projects.

My New Years resolution is to paint at least two paintings a week...I only make a couple of resolutions and those that I make, I try to keep. I hate breaking promises to myself. For instance, every year I always promise to lose weight. I start the year motivated, exercising and eating right. By mid year I, for what every reason, I am back to my old habits. By the end of the year, I am lucky if I did not gain any weight. Unfortunately, for me I usually gained a couple of extra pounds. So at least for me, losing weight is no longer a New Year's resolutions and I am longer disappointed with myself and I have even managed to shed a few pounds. I think I am using reverse psychology on myself. But it works. lol.

These roses were on the table at my favorite Mexican eatery. They were calling to me paint me, paint me. I was really fascinated by the reflections in the glass vase. The light was just beautiful. I took a couple of pictures and jotted down a few notes. Of course, everyone in the restaurant thought I was a certifiable nut. I'll risk a few strange stares for my art.

I hope you all enjoy this painting as much as I did painting it. The multi-color petals were a real challenge. Yellow roses is painted with oil paints on an 16 x 20 canvas.


Thanks for stopping by and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to all.

The Making of "The Muffin" Tutorial

This oil painting tutorial is by no means the be all end all to painting a muffin. As you know, there are as many ways to paint as there are artist. What I hope to provide is motivation, inspiration and a little technical knowledge to anyone interested, as I explain how I approached this particular painting .

The first thing I would suggest for any artist to do is study you subject. Whether you are painting from life or a photo, get to know your subject. Study each area of the object. Look for areas of light, dark, shadows. Ask yourself:
1. What colors do I see?...Look for color patterns and shapes.
2. How I will paint the object...What techniques will I employ?.
3. Also make mental notes of any area that you might find challenging.


"The Muffin" was painted from real life. The photo shows the actual muffin that was used. I started this one by studying the muffin. I divided into areas the were defined by colors and shapes. I also made mental notes of where there were transitions of color.

The palette and material used were:

Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Naples Yellow, Transparent Red Oxide Red, Ivory Black and Titanium

White.
8 x 8 gallery wrapped canvas.
No. 8 Filbert, No. 4 Filbert, No. 2 Round and No. 6 Fan Brush
M. Graham Walnut Alkyd medium

I start by sketching the muffin on the canvas using very burnt sienna thinned with medium. For the background I used titanium white and Cadmium yellow. The yellow was used to provide a hint of warmth. The foreground was blocked Ivory Black and White to create
various shades of gray. Next I blocked in some of the basic shapes and color tones using a mixture of cadmium orange and trans oxide red. I chose to use the colors in the muffin for the initial block in for the shadow area because I wanted to add interest to the shadow areas.

Next, I experimented with different mixtures of colors. These were used to fill in the shapes trying to match the color that I saw in the muffin.

Finally some of the edges were blended to create softer transitions. Dashes of colors were placed here and there. The background and foreground were blended together using a soft fan brush. To complete the painting, the shadowed area was painted again with various shades of gray allowing some of the initial colors to show.

Chocolate Candy

I originally had planned for this painting to be a demo. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures. The picture on the right shows my progress when my memory returned.


I will say that I painted this one faster than usual because my model was under constant threat of being eaten, by everyone in my family, including myself. After this painting was done, the candy did not stand a chance.

Chocolate Candy is painted on a 11 x 14.

Gossip, Three Pears, Original Oil Painting

The inspiration for "Gossip" came from a recent trip to one of our local diners. There were 3 friends sitting at the counter, having coffee, laughing, talking and just enjoying each others company. This painting conveys the colorfulness, liveliness and the energy the ladies exhumed. I enjoyed their presence.

These three lovelies are painted on a 8 x 10 canvas with artist quality oil paints. I used a basic palette consisting of cadmium red, cadmium yellow, sap green, ultramarine blue, burnt umber and titanium white.

Cosmix, Original Oil Painting 11 x 14

Cosmic was painted plein air on the eastern shoreboard. A storm was approaching, so this one was painted with a sense of urgency. Which if I was successful, is conveyed with expressive brushstrokes and the wonderful brilliant colors.

Continental Breakfast

My puppy is a thief. I should have named him Bandit instead of Nitro. Nitro is a 8 month old lab shepherd mix, that we adopted from our local animal shelter. If Nitro does not have to attend to puppy things, (translation getting into trouble) he is usually close by me when I paint. But on this particular day, I guess, Nitro got it in his puppy mind that he wanted to create a painting too. I had my tubes of paint on the table, while working on this piece. I should have know that he was up to no good, because he was quiet. While my attention was diverted, Nitro decided to help himself my ultramarine blue tube of paint. He chewed up an almost full tube of paint, leaving just the cap. The mess that my adorable puppy created is almost indescribable. Needless to say there was blue paint all over the floor, the carpet in the family room and the Nitro's mouth and paws. In retrospect I should have dipped his tail in the paint and used his tail as a brush.

After overcoming my initial outrage, at his thievery, my concerns turned toward his health. I was not sure what type of pigments are in ultramarine blue, I knew that the oils would not hurt him. I called my vet and was advise that more he would probably be alright, but watch him for any change in his condition. I am happy to report that Nitro continues to be healthy, and mischievous. I am anxiously waiting for him outgrow his terrible 2's.

Continental Breakfast is painted on an 11 x 14 canvas. The underpainting was done with yellow ochre. I used a limited palette, consisting of yellow orche, indian red, ultramarine blue, (Nitro's favorite color), alizarin crimson, oxide of chromium, and titanium white. Thanks for stopping by.