Sunday, November 15, 2015

Spot The Differences



Everyone is familiar with the game challenge that displays two images and you have to see if you can spot the differences between them. This is how I felt with this painting.

I wanted to do a quick study, referenced from photos I took while having a wonderful dinner at the Hardware Grill with Gallery owner Wendy wacko. Our table was right beside the open concept window displayed kitchen. ( Although it was not very polite of me to be snapping pictures while we ate).


 I hung the painting beside me as I worked at my computer desk. I kept glancing at it as I worked, critiquing, jotting down and itemizing areas that could use improvement. Mostly to simplify and lose or soften edges. Once I was finished, I took my notes to the studio and finished the painting.

See if you can spot at least 10 differences.

Friday, November 13, 2015

Waterfalls



Waterfalls are probably my most favorite subject to paint. I have painted so many that I really don't need any photo references. And when I do use a reference, unless I really need it to look like an iconic scene, I deviate a lot. There are just so many abstract and compositional possibilities. So much freedom and creative play which makes the whole process so much more satisfying!

 Many times, I will have a lot of left over paint on my palette which I  grab with my palette knife and slather on a blank  canvas. Most of the time this paint will have a lot of gel in it, so I will have a canvas already primed with texture. This was the case with these two paintings. A lot of gel, palette knife, glazes and more detailed brushwork towards the end.

 The amount of glazes and veils I used, made photographing these paintings very difficult...you just can't see the delicate intricacies ,subtle color changes and vibrancy.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Holding On

















I guess I'm still holding on to Fall. I'm really not looking forward to all that ice and freezing cold weather. So, a few more Autumn paintings will be coming, as I really hadn't finished exploring this subject. This is a study loosely based on a scene from Vermillion Lakes. acrylic 20 x 10