Fruit of the Vine

On an anniversary trip to Italy several years ago, we were driving through Tuscany and came across this lovely vineyard.  The soft, dusty blue skin of these grapes, destined for a fine wine on someone's table, are so unlike the standard red and green grapes that I buy at the grocery store.  What a gift, these fruit of the vine!

On a 16x20 canvas I started by sketching the basic placement of the grape bunches, vines, and leaves.

One of the things that I loved about the photo was the way the dark values all connected in interesting shapes.  So in this step my goal was to paint the dark areas in a way that simplified the busyness and made sure I stayed true to that original inspiration.  Everything that I left unpainted (below) would remain a light value in the final painting.     

Just a few strokes later (ha!  not really) and here you go:

  Fruit of the Vine, 16x20 Oil, available

Down Under

In 2014, we took a trip to Australia (highly recommend!)  On our drive up the east coast between Cairns (pronounced "Cans") and Port Douglas, we stopped at this beautiful, but desolate beach.  I suspect the crocs and stingers (deadly jellyfish) had something to do with the desolation, but nonetheless it was an incredibly peaceful place to take a break from driving on the wrong, um, I mean the left, side of the road.  The sun was setting, the shadows were long, and this weather-worn branch rose from the sand in a graceful statement of solitude.  Simply lovely.

 By the way, I wasn't joking about the crocs and stingers! :)

I cropped my original photo to focus more on the graceful shape of the driftwood.

Then I covered my drawing with warm colors (okay, it's all orange) to contrast with what I knew was going to be a cool painting.

In this step, I covered the dark areas to make sure I liked the way it makes the eye move around the composition (I do!)

After establishing all of the "under structure", the rest of the process involved trying to make sure I didn't mess it up!  :) 

Down Under, 8x10 oil, available

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:

Yard Guard

This gorgeous rooster was one of the many that my husband and I saw as we were building latrines on our recent Rotary service project in the Dominican Republic.  While his colorful plumage was eye-catching amidst the dusty gray backdrop of his surroundings, it was his prideful attitude of "yard guard" that really caught my attention.  He was protector and defender of his family's turf, dust and all.

I made a couple of changes in my initial sketch to improve the readability of the scene:

1) Lowered the background tire so that the rooster's head would end above it and not look like he was wearing a giant halo,

2) Modified his tail.  As beautiful as it was, I didn't think it would be believable in paint.

After settling on my composition, I painted over the sketch lines and let them dry a bit before moving on to thicker paint.

One final change I made was in the rooster's stance.  I changed the angle of his legs and added a shadow to emphasize his defiant posture.  He seems to have a bit more personality this way :)

Yard Guard, 6x8 Oil, Sold

Framed:

Fiddling with the Light

I loved the simple composition of this scene as I looked down on this violinist during our trip to Italy several years ago.  It was a hot day, but he found a cool spot to play in the shadow of a giant pillar.  His music was lovely.

While the composition was simple, the perspective was not.  I probably went a little overboard with the detail on my initial sketch for such a small painting, but I really didn't want to finish the piece and then realize the perspective was askew.

After my sketch lines were fairly dry, I quickly covered all the warm sunlit areas in transparent yellow and and the cool shadowed areas in transparent blue. You may need to put on sunglasses for this...it's pretty bright!

The final painting is much softer.  My goal was to stay true to what originally inspired me (the simple composition) while "fiddling" with the warmth of the reflected light on the pillar and the musician.

Fiddling with the Light, 6x8 Oil, Sold

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