Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Patty's Winter Barn
In fact if I did a barn I wanted to do our barn in Canada! It's not red, but has red doors and red trim, and I thought that might do. But we only go there in the summertime so I have no photos of it in snow.
So this is sort of a combined picture taken from three sources:
1) A photo of the barn and edge of the farmhouse shed - but at high noon, so a flattish light and no shadows.
2) A plein air painting I did of almost identical scene, done in the green of August, but in late afternoon with long shadows.
3) A photo of a cabin in the snow from the Wetcanvas RIL
So I merged those three and used:
1) The vantage point of number one
2) The long afternoon shadows of two
3) The snow and snow-covered trees of three
And the above is what I wound up with! It's done on Art Spectrum Colourfix, the standard 9x12 sheet, but the picture is just 8x10 as that's the size frame I have for it, and I'll give it to Patty for Christmas.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Christmas Cardinal

This past Sunday was my first day home from my Thanksgiving trip to NC, and I woke early to find it snowing. The snow quickly turned to rain, but it remained raw and rainy all day. The birds were out in force though, since I had topped off my feeders upon my return home. I had at least 6 cardinals. I think even the female cardinals, with their more subtle colors, are lovely, but of course the bright red males really stand out cheerily in the grays of winter. No wonder they feature on so many Christmas cards.
Well now I'll join the pack I guess, LOL. This is from a photo I took on Sunday, where one of the male cardinals posed so perfectly me on the dogwood branch. As soon as I uploaded the photo to my PC and saw how it had turned out I knew I'd found my Christmas card picture, and was finally able to paint it last night after finishing my Amaryllis picture in art class. I'll still need to Photoshop a border, and see if I need anything else for it.
He's done (like most all of my recent pictures) on a 9x12 sheet of rose gray Art Spectrum Colourfix paper. Once you get using Colourfix regularly it's hard to go back to Canson, although I still like the larger Canson size better.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Amaryllis
However I'm still speedy Gonzales, so probably would have no worries about painting live flowers. I only spent 90 minutes on this one. But it did look quite real, and the reds in it were lovely. I had a lot of fun trying to get up-close and personal with the blossoms.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Golden afternoon
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Quoddy Light
The day was foggy and overcast, with a very flat light, and no shadows - so my photo is flat and faded too, so it left me free to try to imagine how it would have looked on a bright and sunny day.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Vase and pears
Of course one of the key features of size is that it fit into a standard frame, as I can't afford special-order frames for unusual sizes. And the large Colourfix does not seem to cut up to standard sizes without wastage. So in the meantime I'm learning to love the 9x12, though the 12x16 Canson paper is a size I prefer. I still have plenty of Canson - but it's hard to go back when you get used to the Colourfix!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Harvest Fruit
But Christina had set up the same still life we had had last week. Working from life is always so different from working from photos (though I find both valuable learning tools), and I loved this still life so much. So I had no problem doing it again. I didn't want this to be a clone of last week's painting though, so shifted my focus more to the right. I included things I had cropped out last week, and cropped out things that made it into last week's painting, so I felt I wound up with something new.
In was a fun class and I got to hear a lot of "arty" talk between Christina and one of the other students - all such a foreign world to me. I've never even *been* in an art gallery! They seem like such intimidating places, LOL.
This was done on a sheet of 9x12 rose grey Art Spectrum Colourfix paper.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Tidnish Shore (Maritimes 8)
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Bras d'Or Lake, Cape Breton (Maritimes 7)
So that's how I chose this ref, from a camping trip to Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island some 20+ years ago when my son was only about 5 or so. We camped one night in a campground on a hillside overlooking Bras d'Or Lake. The ref photo is dark, dull and nondescript, so trying to develop colors was a lot of fun, and I'm not unhappy with how it turned out. It makes me yearn to go back to Cape Breton again!
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Autumn Harvest
But this is the still life from last night - it's done on a sheet of very dark brown 9x12 Colourfix. It's my favorite support although 9x12 is smaller than I really like to work, and there is no intermediary size until you get to the big full sheets which are still too big for me, yet also can't seem to be cut into smaller sizes that I like either - which is why I've mostly stuck with Canson. It comes in a useful size.
However I love the feel of Colourfix and had been using more of it lately, even though my paintings are smaller than I would prefer. And I also loved this setup of fruit, and the colors, and the blue cloth - so enjoyed this last night thought I'm still feeling in a "landscapey" mode mentally.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Murray Corner (20-minute sketch)

Friday, October 24, 2008
Corinthian Blue
These exercises were tons of fun and I had a great time in class this week.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Olympic Gold
Monday, October 20, 2008
Fort Beausejour (Maritime series 6)

It was a drizzling, misty day when I took this ref, though you could catch a faint hint of the sun trying to burn off the fog. But it was still most cool and misty looking in the distance, and I wanted to see how I could do with a softer cooler palette than I usually use.
Bad or good, I have to say I had a lot of fun working on this. I have not done enough landscapes yet to feel I have a particular "style" but I'm sure enjoying it, and today was especially enjoyable for some reason.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Confederation Bridge (Maritime series)


But I did this one this afternoon, about 90 minutes spent on it - it's on 9x12 Colourfix paper, a variety of pastels. It's a view of the Confederation Bridge which connects New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Prince Edward Island Grasses
And tonight we worked on more landscapes. She had her own box of photos, but I had one more photo I'd brought to NC with me. It was (IMHO) the most boring of the few I had grabbed to take with me to NC, which is why it was still just sitting in my box. But I preferred working from my own photo reference rather than one of Christina's.
It was interesting too, as Christina told us some interesting horror stories (naming no names) during her years as President of the PSA, and judging the annual PSA show, where people sent in works that were clearly found to be copied from photos in famous magazines, like National Geographic and others - or more obscure magazines and then tried to claim that the works were their own and not copied, etc.
Clearly not something I'd be doing, but I still wanted to use my own ref, so used the "boring" photo. But as a painting I think it turned out more nicely than I had hoped, and nicer than the photo. I've told Christina about the Wetcanvas site, so she said to me, "Stop now, I think it's done. Now just go post it to Wetcanvas.

This is another old photo, also taken on PEI, but in this case I'm totally clueless about where I was when I took it.

Oh, done on a piece of 9x12 Colourfix, a dark terra cotta color. All my "homework" pieces were on 9x12 Colourfix, though various colors.
Also during class last night Christina gave us little small 3x6-inch samples of some fancy expensive pastel board (whose brand-name I promptly forgot!) and told us to just play with them to try the surface out. Now I'm not much of one for working too small, so not much I could think to do with a small 3x6, but I noodled around on it and created this orange.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Baie Verte - a picture's progress
LOL, I did something that I often thing about doing, essentially never do, when doing the "Baie Verte" painting. I took pictures of various stages of progress. A picture goes through so many "ugly" phases, I thought some might enjoy seeing how a picture progresses:
1) Here I've colored in the sky, the sketch is very rough, just some very rough darks to indicate where the trees are in the background.
2) More work has been done on the trees. I've laid in some background color for the grasses in the foreground.
3) More work on the trees, then laying in rough color for the water and embankments, with the bird sketched in.
4) Work on the water in the distance, a little more detail in the embankments and the far marsh grasses. Mostly this stage is laying in the darks along the edges of the grass and water.
5) A lot more detail now in the bird, water, and background grasses. Foreground still to come.
6) The grasses on the small island have now been worked on, mostly done except for the foreground now.
7) Some colors for the foreground.
8) Initial pastel strokes for the foreground grasses, showing a definitely "ugly" phase at this point.
And of course the final image can be seen in my posting of the previous date. So there you see a little progression of how it goes, and for much of the stages it sure doesn't look like very much!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Baie Verte
It's a gorgeous spot and I've long wanted to paint it. Finally, today, I did, using a reference photo that I took many years ago in my pre-digital days, but Baie Verte still looks the same.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Woodleigh Gardens - PEI
And they also have lovely English-style gardens. It's a scenic place, lovely rolling countryside, and the gardens in bloom are fabulous. I certainly can't do them justice, but still had fun with this scene. Except I had to edit myself out, as I'm standing on the pathway in the original reference photo which a family member took for me.
Sunrise on the Gulf of Corinth
So when this trip opportunity came up it was too much to resist! I had to go, and I think it was a good experience for my son as well, who was 15 at the time. Most of the time we stayed in city hotels, but for two nights we stayed at a lovely place out in the country - outside the city of Patras - that was right on the Gulf of Corinth, and one of those mornings I got up early to watch the sun rise, and I took the photo I used here as a ref, along with others. I might have to try more and do a Greek series, What fun.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Victoria-by-the-Sea, PEI
This is the first of my "homework" landscapes for Christina, using a ref photo I took many years ago on Prince Edward Island. I love the incredible red sands you find along many of the PEI shores. I'm not totally happy with this picture yet, mostly the tree and the foreground a bit . But I'll post what I have now anyway, as I need to think about this. Maybe I'll just ask Christina for advice on the grass and the tree.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Mountain Valley

So this is the photo I chose. No clue where it was. Christina could not even remember where many of the photos were taken. I'm not thrilled with it. I choose the photo as I loved the line of trees there, but in the painting I'm not so thrilled with, and feel I need to change the very thing I liked best which made me choose the photo!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
New York Harbor
Still lifes feel like my "comfort zone". Landscapes and seascapes are both a struggle. Water eludes me, as do trees. I guess I really should take the suggestions made to me and try to look at and copy some of the masters, to get a feel for how they did it.
But it's a hot muggy and quiet day here in NJ. I'll be busy this week - work of course, and then out every evening. Monday is the opening reception for the "Partners in Pastel" art show, Tuesday is art class, Wednesday is a birthday dinner for my niece, Thursday is choir rehearsal, and Friday a birthday dinner for my son!
So I took advantage of the afternoon lull and spent about 2 hours on this painting. I used as a reference a photo I took from the Staten Island ferry a few years ago.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Sad Susans
This is not one of my fave paintings but we can't hit a home run every time. It was fun just for the experience of being in Christina's studio and meeting several of her other students. They all seem to be so "tuned in" to the art community and art shows and art events - things I'm pretty much clueless about.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Point Pleasant

So this is done from a ref. photo I took about a year ago when I was down in Point Pleasant, NJ. I spent a couple hours on it this afternoon. I'm still quite a novice at this sort of painting, but I did have fun doing it, and each time I work on water I hope I'll learn something.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Applegate Farm
I'm just a "paintin' fool" this weekend. I had such fun with my 'Montclair Farmer's Market' painting that I decided I had to do a second one. But not having to work Monday makes me feel more relaxed and less anxious about getting all my chores done.
I've always loved nighttime and twilight paintings and have yearned to try my hand at them. I did one earlier this summer up in Canada of our farmhouse in New Brunswick and had fun with that. But I've wanted to try more.
Last night a friend and I went to Applegate Farm, a local place that makes their own ice cream and is quite a local institution. We had a coupon for 'buy 1 cone, get 1 free" so went to get a cone, along with hundreds of other people, alas.

I had my camera with me, and took a photo of the place which appealed to me, so I decided I had to try to paint it!
This is my usual 12x16 Canson, smooth side, NuPastels, Rembrants and Unisons. I spent a *long* time on this by my standards - two hours non-stop, which is just about an eternity for me - about my limit I think,

Sunday, August 31, 2008
Montclair Farmer's Market
One of my goals for Labor Day weekend was to paint at least one picture - and this juicy tomato reference photo from earlier this month just seemed like something I wanted to try.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Purple Heart
Wednesday night I got back to art class! I did miss it on vacation. Sadly this was the last session for the summer. But it was great to see Christina again and everyone else in the class. I'm hoping to take a class with her at her home studio this fall. But in the meantime she had this wonderful yellow jug and floral arrangement to attempt. I had a great time doing it.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Window Glass
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
The Hummingbird Feeder
While I was cleaning stuff up at the farm I discovered a little hummingbird feeder that had belonged to my mom years ago, and I could not resist making up a sugar-water solution and hanging it from the front porch. Within a day we had hummers! I was happy to watch them on and off all day long, so finally had to paint them as well.
I did take a little artistic license here, as I only ever saw females and/or juveniles - who don't have the red throat of the male. But I gave this hummer a red throat as I thought it tied in nicely with the red from the feeder.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Beach Treasures
Monday, August 18, 2008
The Kitchen Desk
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