Artistic License

One of the great things about painting, as opposed to photography, is the ability to easily change a subject from "how it is" to "how it should be" (or at least how my mind thinks it should be!)  Here are two paintings -- oldies but goodies -- that show what I mean.

This scene has wonderful shadows, but the strong sun washes out the colors and makes the grey look particularly, well, grey.  My artistic license allowed me to paint the lively colors of reflected light that I wanted to see on the planter.  Much more fun this way!  

Planter in Spring, 12x12 Oil, Sold

I was painting this scene on location during an unusually hot Spring day when all of the flowers that should have graced the terraced stairway were long past their prime.  No matter.  I pulled out my artistic landscaping license and the flowers bloomed anew!

High Noon at Lynda's, 9x12 Oil, Sold

Azalea Glow VI

In honor of the white blossoms that are currently covering my azalea bushes (yay, Spring!), here is the process that I used to create one of my azalea paintings.  

I particularly loved this photo because the buds are like wrapped presents pointing to the lovely gift they contain.

I started with a paint sketch of the basic shapes on an 18x24 canvas...

First layer of transparent paint...

Second layer of transparent paint...

Beginning the leaves, painting dark parts first, then light...

Beginning of thicker paint on the blossoms and buds...

Finished the leaves and tweaked a few things.  Happy Spring! :)

Azalea Glow VI, 18x24 oil, available

Here's the reference photo again for comparison:

Sweet Treat

As I finished painting "Sweet Treat I" and "Sweet Treat II", ice glazed my front steps and my poor dog skidded down the back ones.  I am ready for the warmth that brings these jewel-like birds to my kitchen window!  These two paintings are a re-visit of two that I painted at the beginning of last year,  but this time I used a smooth panel for my painting surface and a new palette of colors.

Here's one of the original photos from my kitchen window:

Step 1, sketched with pastel pencil on a 6x6 panel (and flowers, instead of a feeder):

Step 2:  Quickly covered the sketch with paint so that it wouldn't wipe away easily

Step 3:  Covered the background with a dark transparent green mix and a quick-drying medium

and then covered the bird and plant with transparent colors in the same family of colors that I wanted to see in my final painting.  My palette currently consists of Michael Harding paints in Ultramarine Blue, Indian Yellow, Permanent Rose, and Zinc White

While the medium was still wet, I laid on thicker layers mixed with zinc white.  

Here is this year's version of "Sweet Treat I", 6x6 Oil

and its companion piece, "Sweet Treat II", 6x6 Oil

They look great together :)

Click here for more information and to see them on my website.

Hydrangeas

Fearrington Village in North Carolina is perhaps the most idyllic place I have ever plein air painted.  This scene is one of the many views that called out "paint me!" on my first painting trip to Fearrington.  

I chose this dramatic hydrangea bush because of the rich blue blossoms in the shade and the play of light that leads your eye down the path and around the bush to beauty waiting to be discovered.

Here is my painted version, which won third place in a "Miniatures & Small Works" show:

Hydrangea, 6x8 oil

Custom framed 

Available

Pansy

This week's flower is one that graces my window boxes from October to April every year.  The purple and yellow pansy is my favorite because of the great complementary colors and because they always look like they are smiling (squint your eyes and you'll see!)

As with the flowers of the past two weeks, Pansy 1 and Pansy 2 are part of a series of 4x4 mini paintings that are being offered to my blog, newsletter, and facebook readers for only $40.  Add a smile to any room by placing your wilt-free flower on a little easel.  Just send a note to me if you'd like to start a bouquet for yourself or for a special someone :)

Here's the photo I took of pansies in my window box:

And here's one of the smiling faces I focused on:

Cheers!

Pansy I, 4x4 Oil, Available for $40

And here's the companion piece.  See if you can find this one in the original photo above :)

Pansy 2, 4x4 Oil, Available for $40

Azalea Glow VII

Azalea Glow VII is actually my tenth (and largest!) white azalea painting.  Each time I paint a white azalea I think, "Okay, that about does it for me."  And then something draws me back again.  

This time, it was the desire to create drama on a large scale, so I challenged myself to express the glow of the delicate blossoms on a 2' x 4' canvas.  Not an easy task, but It turned out just how I had hoped (which definitely doesn't always happen!)  I'm especially happy with how the strength of the values and shapes work equally well with either bright or low lighting.

Here are some of the steps in my process, starting with the original photo,

which I cropped to create interesting shapes around the flowers ("negative space").

I sketched a simple 4x4 grid to help with my placement of major shapes.  I usually use a soft pastel pencil for this stage because it wipes off easily.

Using transparent paints, I established my shapes.

After the paint dried, I covered the background greenery with a transparent blue/yellow mixture.

After the first layer dried, I added another layer and this time painted the areas of my flowers that would be shadowed.

At this point, I started in with opaque paints, keeping layers thin and adding nuances of warm and cool colors.  And, voila!  After a mere two weeks my painting is complete!  

Here's Azalea Glow VII, 24x48 Oil:

For size comparison, here it hangs at Waverly Artists Group next to two 18x24 paintings and several framed 6x6 minis.   Please stop by if you're in town!

 

Blossoms in Italy

Yesterday, my husband and I joined my wonderful family in the celebration of my cousin Nancy's wedding day.  And so, in honor of Nancy and Vinny, I am posting the wedding gift they received from us.

Knowing that their Italian lineage is pretty strong (yes, I know the Irish is strong too, Mom :), I chose one of my favorite new little pieces that was painted from a photo taken during our 25th anniversary trip to Italy.  This doorway in Asciano was so enticing with its shadows, flowers, and texture that I couldn't resist painting it (twice!)  For this little painting I chose to crop the scene and focus on the doorway and the flowers to the left. 

I moved the flowers a bit to the right so that they connected and overlapped the door because I loved the contrast of soft and strong with the flowers and doorway.  There is so much symbolism here for a marriage, but what speaks to me most is how our differences can complement in a way that makes the "whole" more beautiful ...  blossoms and brick ... sunlight and shadow ... soft and strong.  The door is ready to be opened to possibilities and also represents our God, who makes all things possible.  I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.  Jn 10:9

Blossoms in Italy, 7x5 Oil

Here it is, framed:

And here is the happy couple, Vinny and Nancy.  Congratulations!

Azalea Glow II

On my easel right now is one of my favorite subjects - white azaleas.  It's been on my easel since before my week-long vacation and yet the paint fairy still hasn't finished painting it.  Must I do everything??  :)

Below is a photo I took that inspired a white azalea painting that did get finished.  One of the things I enjoy with these large blossoms is the "negative" space that is formed around the azaleas.  In this photo I was drawn to the shapes made by the two flowers at the lower right. 

I chose a square canvas because it allowed me to crop the image in a way that emphasized the blossoms and the interesting shapes that surrounded them.

In my painting, I stayed faithful to the composition of the cropped photograph because it had a wonderful drama to it.  Where I diverged was in my palette, allowing the glow of nearby colors to spill through the translucent petals with more intensity than the camera captured.  The subtle color shifts are what give these white flowers such a soft feel.

Azalea Glow II, Sold

20x20 Oil

Now back to the blossoms on my easel....

Role Model

Today I'm featuring a painting that I highlighted in my newsletter last year.  I got so many positive responses on how fun it was to see my "step by step process" that I decided to feature it in my blog too.  Enjoy!

 A couple of years ago I came across this scene at a garden center that cried out, "Paint me!"  It had all of my favorite components:  strong light and show contrasts, stonework, flowers, and great reflected light.  Here's the photo I took:

I chose a square canvas and cropped the scene to emphasize the story I wanted to tell -- the little pot standing in the proverbial shadow of the big one, his "role model".

My Studio Set up
Here's what my studio set up looked like.  I put my ipad (a great tool!) on the right to view the photo and prepared my palette with opaque and transparent primary colors.

Step 1  I toned my Ampersand panel with Transparent Oxide Orange and then sketched basic outlines with that color mixed with a little Cadmium Red Light. Then I wiped out the light areas with a paper towel and a paint brush.  This is the most important step because it tells me if my composition is going to work!

Step 2  I laid in some background greens with transparent pigment.  I've found that transparent paints are great for giving a sense of depth.

Step 3  Then I painted the reflected sky color that I saw, knowing that I would tone this down later on.

Step 4  Worked a little on the mid-ground greenery, keeping it soft so that it didn't draw attention away from my center of interest.

Step 5  Finished covering the background and began with the warmer colors of the stonework...

Step 6  Finally got to paint the flowers!  I wasn't happy with the greenery in the small planter though.

Step 7  In this step I decided to replace the big leaf that was in the smaller planter with a more colorful spray of flowers. I also decided to soften the background so that it would look more distant. 

Here's my completed painting, before framing...

and after framing...

Role Model, Available

6x6 oil

Ready for a good home!  Click here to learn more.