Things That Have Never Been: Happy 2016!

"Blue Ice Gull" 8x10 oil on linen panel--SOLD

And now we welcome the New Year…

Full of things that have never been.

Rainer Maria Rilke

Don’t you love fresh starts? As a painter the start of the year always feels like a squeaky clean slate (or should we say big blank canvas?) on which you have the opportunity to paint your life anyway you want...

After an enjoyable but looong holiday break, I’m so excited to see my students again next week at my group classes. I still have a few painting class openings (Tues and Wed mornings) so give yourself a creative treat and paint with us! You can click here for more info about my Denver painting classes and art workshops.

As many of you know it’s not always easy painting throughout the holidays but I’ve managed to get a few bird daily paintings done such as today’s hungry gull (who like me would probably rather be at the beach) sliding around an icy pond on a sunny but frigid AM here in Denver.

For many daily painters January also means the return of Leslie’s AHA “30 in 30” painting challenge! I signed up (as I think over 1,000 artists have from around the world) and am going to try my best to keep painting and posting as much as I can during a fun but hectic teaching month. Did you know there's also now an AHA artist forum which you can find here.

Speaking of classes, since I first heard the news I’ve been looking forward to Dreama Tolle Perry’s online class which some of you may know starts next week after much anticipation. If I’m reading Dreama's emails correctly I’ll need to set my alarm for 4AM to register in my time zone. 

Since I’m teaching (thankfully) and can’t make it to a Dreama workshop this winter (as I’ve been lucky to do in the past) it’s worth it. Anyway, I can’t wait to paint “along with Dreama” again. Assuming I get in, perhaps I'll meet up with some of you "online" enjoying her class as well.

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and colorful new year filled with amazing creative adventures and life changing discoveries! P.S. Happy Birthday to all you creative Capricorns like my niece who turns the big 0-9 today!

The Creative Balancing Act

"Blissfully Blue" iris oil painting study 8x8 

Click to Bid on DPW-Thanks!

Happy Spring Friday everyone! Many thanks to all my spring students for keeping me busy and inspired this time of  year. As a creative professional I’m so lucky to be a part of your many new and interesting art projects every week! Thanks again to each of you. (Also, my next post will be my 300th! So stay tuned for some special for that.)

In fact every week I study dozens (if not hundreds) of painting and photo references. Some online, in books, and in person. So much stimulating "eye candy" can be overwhelming at times. Even worse, this excitement can lead to jumping ahead and be tempted by the "next amazing painting" before I've really given enough time to the one at hand.

As with many creative endeavors, I was thinking this week (as sunnier weather calls to me outside the studio window) balancing hard work/discipline with boundless creative energy will likely be something I'll deal with the rest of my artistic life.

So what helps? A set schedule. Sort term and long term goals are extremely motivating. Taking breaks. Keeping an idea folder. Staying positive even when we fall short of goals. The balance is  likely a different approach for each of us.

"Singing for Spring" redwing blackbird oil painting study (on hold for SAM)

This week my short term goal was to complete at least 2 paintings and I'm happy to say that I finished both this  this iris and blackbird painting. My thanks to DPW for selecting my “Blissfully Blue” iris as one of their daily Facebook picks. I also started a larger landscape. As a reward I did take a few breaks. So here at the end of the week I feel like I accomplished a lot at the easel but I also feel ready to paint again next week. In the meantime, wishing you a warm and colorful spring weekend!

The Simple Joy of Painting What You Know Best

"Gleaming Goose" 8x10 oil on professional cotton panel--For sale @ SAM in June

April is a promise that May is bound to keep.  Hal Borland

Happy Spring everyone! The first week of April always has a big red star on my studio calendar each year. It marks the 2 month point (or about 8 weeks) before my favorite annual Denver art event: SAM (Summer Art Market) which is June 7/8 this year.

When you need to fill a 10x10 tent with your best possible art eight weeks goes by in a flash. For the SAM I prefer to offer a wide variety of sizes and price points to meet the needs of a variety of collectors. So one day I’ll work on a smaller daily oil painting like this 8x10 sunlit goose and other days I’ll be tackling a much larger abstract. Let's just say I'll be happily in art creation mode for the next 8 weeks.

We've all heard the creative writing tip: Write what you know.  Along the same lines, I think it makes sense to paint what we know best. Just look at art history and see how the masters captured the intimate world around them.

One of the places I know best is Wash Park--my local city park where I often take at least 100 photos a week if not more. As a result I have hundreds of reference pics of the more common park flora and fauna such as this lovely young Canada goose. OK. Maybe not the most exotic bird, but they’re easy to photograph and I love the striking dark/light pattern on their heads especially in the warm sunlight. I certainly enjoyed painting this little study yesterday.

Speaking of spring, in my next post I'll share some of my ideas for those of you looking for seasonal spring painting subjects (as I did last fall.) Wishing you all a warm and colorful spring!

From Beignets to Gators: NOLA in November

Natchez Riverboat on the Mississippi

"New Orleans food is as delicious as the less criminal forms of sin.”  Mark Twain

Where have I been?? As a lifelong “Francophile” and artist one of the places I’ve always wanted to visit for as long as I can remember was New Orleans. Last week I had the very good fortune to get a first rate tour of such an amazing place from a good friend who was born there. If you happen to know someone from NOLA you know they are among the friendliest and most generous folks on the planet. There's nothing like a local guide for a first time trip--thanks Deb--I can see why you love (and miss) your home!

Mmm...Piping hot chocolate bread pudding @ Red Fish Grill!

But before I get back to the easel I wanted to share some of my favorite photos and sweet memories from the beautiful Crescent City... Am sure I’ll be painting some NOLA inspired paintings soon…

Beautiful boats and reflections on Lake Pontchartrain

Artist station at the Mardi Gras Warehouse where they create colorful floats year round.

The magical Honey Island Swamp--Like nothing I'd ever seen....

Lovely statue in Audubon Park

Who can resist a fruity glowing green cocktail on the famous Pat O's patio?

Thank you again to everyone who helped make my first trip to NOLA a true artist’s delight! Can't wait to visit again but now it's time to get back to work. It’s going to be a super busy week in the studio painting and getting ready for my YUPO and bird painting workshop next Saturday. Look forward to seeing you there!

Challenge Day 5: And the winner is....

"Reedy Redwing" 8x8 oil on panel
Please Click Here to Bid--Thanks!

Challenge Day 5. Yesterday I posted that  was giving away my pink rose painting to an artist who posted on Day 4 of Leslie’s 30in30 Challenge.  So drum roll please…

And the lucky random number was entry number 229!  That's a a lovely landscape by painter Ms. Donna Pierce-Clark from Ohio—Be sure to check out her gorgeous watercolors. Congratulations Donna and welcome to my new followers!

Like a lot of folks this time of year I’ve got a slew of things going on—Some art related, some not. Like out of town visitors, taking a new class, enjoying the weather, fall shopping, etc. Or today a massage which sounds relaxing but I’ve tweaked something in my upper back and want to be back at the easel as soon as possible.

Thankfully I painted a few small paintings in anticipation of the challenge and this is one of them. One of my favorite summer birds in Wash Park near my studio are the red-wing blackbirds. They’re lcheerful and fairly easy to take a pic of which is always helpful for painting.

My challenge was all those green reeds. So I toned the board with a warm (acrylic) coral wash of quin. burnt scarlet--one of my favorite toning colors. FYI, I just use a small cheap sponge brush for the toning (not too much water) so it takes less than a minute to cover the panel.

If you love painting anything with wings and feathers like I do, stay tuned for more details regarding my November painting workshop here in the Denver area. OK off for my massage where I’ll need to explain the hazards of a daily painting challenge! And hopefully they’ll get me back up and running for the challenge! It's only Day 5...

For all the Weekend Painting Warriors

"That's So Raven" 8x8 oil on gallery wrap canvas

 SOLD--Thank you!

In January artist Leslie Saeta (who many of you may as the host of the Artitst Helping Artists) kindly featured a 30 paintings/30 day challenge on her blog.  Artists were also encouraged to have a “theme” for their postings which added even more interest to the challenge.

I know the dedication and commitment this consistency at the easel takes so I want to offer a big kudos and congrats to artists who participated. In fact one of my favorite painters in the challenge, Lisa Daria, has painted every day for over 1,000 days!

I really wanted to join the challenge but unfortunately I was traveling away from my studio in January. However, the more I read the blog the more I wished I had found a way to participate. It's really worth checking out all 30 days when you have time--there's a huge variety of painting styles and art subject matter to be inspired by (and also purchase.)

Thankfully starting this weekend Leslie has generously extended the "challenge" by allowing artists  to post paintings on her very attractive blog on weekends. I'm very happy to have this "second chance" to share what I'm working on and in turn discover new artists who are also actively painting. If you're more of a "weekend warrior" painter (and there's nothing wrong with that!) this is also a great chance to post on a regular basis.

Thanks again to Leslie for sharing your blog and helping support the online art community. Happy painting everyone from my studio to yours.

P.S. I just had to post a raven today for Super Bowl Sunday for all my raven (bird or football) fans and Baltimore friends.

Win a Scarlet Owl Studio Print

Aspen Moondance-Mixed Media on Canvas-18x24

How to Win a Free Art Print
I've been wanting to run a blog contest for a while now so in honor of my new prints available on ImageKind, I'm having a special blog contest (details below) between now and November 15, 2011 for a prize of  a $30 value print of your choice of my prints in the Scarlet Owl Studio gallery on ImageKind. Note that most of these original paintings have been sold or are in private collections so I'm happy to have another way to offer them to my visitors and collectors.

Also, I'll be adding more images to the print gallery throughout the month.  For available prints, please visit my Prints for Sale Page or click on the black ImageKind banner on the right hand side.

New Art Supply of the Week
For all my acrylic painters out there, I wanted to share a new studio tool that I'm really enjoying and that is the Martin Universal Design Mijello Peel-Able Palette. I also use a covered palette, but I really like the roomy elliptical shape, separate mixing area, non slip rubber feet, and easy peel off cleaning.  It's available at many online art stores such as Daniel Smith, Dick Blick, Cheap Joes, etc. I've recently seen the peel off palettes in gray as well which I think would be even better for mixing.

Contest Details: To enter to win simply comment on any Colorful Connections blog posting from today (October 15, 2011) until November 15, 2011. The winner will be picked randomly using random.org. No purchase is necessary. The winner will receive any Scarlet Owl Studio print of their choice of my work on ImageKind up to $30 value (winner pays shipping if outside US). I will announce the lucky winner by November 20, 2011. Thanks all and good luck!

Inspiration Swedish Style

Getting close...

About eight years. That's how long I'd been waiting (along with many other IKEA fans in Colorado). That's when I first heard buzz that an  IKEA might open here. So yesterday, when I would normally be in the studio in the early morning, I found myself (along with a cast of thousands) in a cavernous parking garage waiting in line for the Grand Opening of the Denver IKEA store in a sea of cadmium yellow medium and cobalt blue.

500 seat restaurant--love the snowball lights!

Shopping Snack--Yum!

Thankfully the opening seemed well-organized and while I did win a sofa or chair, I only waited about an hour. While I've browsed the IKEA website many times, I've never visited an actual store. I was immediately struck by the massive scale--imagine an airport with towels,candles, rugs, and cool mugs. One of the staff told me the Denver store was now the largest IKEA in North America. I think it will likely take a few visits to really get a good sense of the place. Tip: Wear comfy shoes--it was also a great walking workout.

As a foodie with a Scandinavian heritage, I was particularly looking forward to the cafe and the Swedish Food Market. They did not disappoint. I had very tasty pancake with ligonberry preserves and bought some dark chocolate bars and in the market. Eventually I had get back to the studio, but I had enough time to pick up these fun Mala felt tip stamping markers. I also had my eye on this interesting paper roll holder and drawing paper that I thought would be great for casual sketching. (Both were in the kid's department where I thought the prices were super affordable.)

Colors, shapes, and textures in every direction!

 

I'm back in the studio painting and teaching today, but I have to admit, I've got a touch of  IKEA fever so if there are days I'm not posting in the next few weeks, you'll know where to find me...Welcome to Denver, IKEA!

Just Desserts

Just Desserts-9x12 Acrylic on Canvas

Today's Painting
Happy July 1 everyone! This is the third painting in my trio of "sweet treat" paintings. Here, I included a cappuccino since that's usually the time I crave a sweet. Again, these were painted with Golden Open Acrylics for easier blending.

Free Style Brushes

Speaking of new acrylic painting tools, here's an interesting new line of brushes and knives from Liquitex (who also has a great new website focused on art inspiration) called Free Style. Recently a student brought a brush just made for splattering! Super cool and much bigger than an old toothbrush! Check out a short Free Style Brush demo video above. 

Pouring Away
I always seem to get a lot of interest in my poured paintings and so am posting (in my student gallery above) a wonderful new example created by one of my younger students. I love pouring both watercolor and acrylics. It's one my favorite techniques to "KO" that big white canvas. Here we poured Hansa Lemon, Quin Rose, and Thalo Blue thinned down acrylics from old plastic cups--letting each pour dry for a bit in the sun between layers.

Then the student painted with similar colors and white to create a contemporary landscape. For extra detail and bling at the end we added some gold lines to emphasize the tree leaves. Thanks for stopping by and have a happy and safe holiday weekend!

Let Them Paint Cake!

Buttercream Dreams--9x12--Acrylic on Canvas-SOLD

Today's Painting
Mmm...Cake. I've had some very positive feedback about my colorful red velvet cake piece  that I painted earlier this year with the slower drying Golden Open Acrylic paints. This painting is part of a set for a commission.  For me, if I had to pick a favorite dessert, it's probably cake so this is certainly a painless  subject to research. Plus, I find it very energizing to paint graphically with bold shapes and unusual color pairings like many of the contemporary pop artists such as Wayne Thiebaud.  

Colorful Connections Turns 2!
Before I forget, I wanted to quickly celebrate my 200th posting or what is basically my two year blogging anniversary.  Woohoo--Very exciting--So many thanks to all my visitors, students, and followers.I can honestly say that blogging about my teaching and painting has changed my art career as I'm sure it has for many artists. So again, my sincere thanks!

Cherry Creek Arts Festival This Weekend-July 2, 3, & 4, 2011
I feel very lucky to be able to walk to one of the premium art fairs in the country each 4th of July weekend. I don't think I've ever missed a year.  Each year the festival receives over 2,000 applications so as an artist it's fascinating to see the 230 artists selected. Like many artists in the Denver area, it's one of my top art goals to be in this show. Until then, I'm happy to be a spectator and speaking of food, be sure to check out the free culinary demos--it's one of my favorite breaks between art ogling.

Rosy June Weekend

Ron's Roses-6x6-oil on canvas panel

Today's Painting
Last week, one of my watercolor student's who also loves painting florals brought in roses from his garden. I would have painted my own but, as I mentioned before, I do not have a viridian thumb.  My roses are blooming but with lots of critters which I hope to have under control soon. Anyway, I've been wanting to do a 6x6 rose oil study for sometime so this colorful bouquet was the perfect opportunity. Thanks Ron for sharing your garden! P.S. If you love roses like I do the Denver Rose Society Annual Rose Show is Sunday, August 14 at the Denver Botanic Gardens.

All Colorado Art Show 

Diane at The All Colorado Art Show--June 2011

On Saturday evening (after a very tasty meal at one of my favorite little Mexican restaurants--Chez Jose) I attended the opening reception and saw may friends and familiar faces including a few students. Here's my student Diane with her wonderful acrylic waterfall painting. For you adventurers out there, she told me this waterfall is somewhere just outside of beautiful Nederland, Colorado. Am looking forward to the juror's talk and gallery walk on Thurs. July 14. As an artist it's always a fascinating to hear first hand what a juror says about the art work he or she selected and why.

Call for Entry: Mini Masterpieces
Speaking of shows, if you are in the Denver area and you like to paint on an intimate scale (5x7 or less) check out the call for entry for Mountainside Miniatures. I went to the show last year and it's amazing what some artists can get into a small canvas. The show also offers over $1000 in cash and merchandise prizes.

The Fine Art of Travel

Mixed Media-24 x 30

Recently a student who had seen one of my larger mixed media  paintings asked if we could create a similar type of painting (i.e. mixed media collage) to pay homage to her trip to Italy this year. I thought this was a fantastic idea.

I've always loved bold graphic vintage travel posters (here are some examples from a poster website) so I thought we could combine the two looks onto a gallery wrap canvas. This is still a work in progress but we had so much fun creating it that I wanted to share it with everyone.

I love the idea of putting your travel memories (here we've included things like museum tickets, train tickets, a map, etc.) into a piece of art work kind of like a giant scrap book. My tip is to layout all your travel ephemera to get an idea of the size of canvas you'll need. I think bigger is better in this case to give you lots of room to work. In this painting, we also added rubber stamps of famous Italian landmarks as well as the individual names of all the cities she visited such as Rome and Venice. She also choose gorgeous warm colors that she associated with Italy--golds, plums, rusts, etc. 

We used acrylic paints for quick drying and easier glazing. I also love the look and feel of waxy encaustic paintings so some of the pieces of paper have been sealed with tinted acrylic gel (such as a matte heavy gel).  Here, I tinted the gel with a touch of metallic gold and some interference blue. And certainly you could cover the entire canvas surface with a tinted gel as well, which will also help seal and protect the surface. 

Before I go wanted to offer a quick congrats to another student who not only got into the All Colorado Art Show with two beautiful landscapes but it's his first show as well. If you're an artist who shows you know how exciting that first show can be--so way to go Dallas!

Cipolla Rossa & Art for Japan

"Cipolla Rossa" 6x6 oil on panel

Happy spring Monday everyone! Doesn't "Red Onion" sound sexy in Italian? Spurred on by my acceptance into the Randy Higbee 6 inch square show, I wanted to concentrate on a few more 6 x 6 oil studies. I love working with analogous color triad: red-orange-red-red-violet. (This is that same pesky onion I've been trying to get to sprout with no luck, and I got tired of waiting.)

Specifically, an intense red violet magenta has been one of my favorite colors since I was old enough to flip open a the big yellow Crayola 64 box. (Periwinkle and Seafoam were other favorites.) Speaking of Italy, as some of you may know, the color name comes from the town of Magenta in northern Italy and refers to the bloodshed in a battle there in the 1800s.

Also, I wanted to help share the word about Daily Paintworks Help Japan Challenge. The Daily Paintworks site (which features weekly painting challenges) currently features over 300 beautiful paintings up for bid to help such agencies as the Red Cross in Japan. They've raised almost $20,000 so far. 

Finally, over the weekend I had a chance to to see the Colorado Watercolor Society 20th Annual State Exhibition which runs through April 17, 2011 at Foothills Art Center in Golden. Definitely worth a trip if you are in the area.

Sweet Sprouts

Happy March everyone! I'm back from my trip to beautiful, sun-kissed central Florida (I can see why so many painters live there) and eager to get back to painting and teaching this week. Before I left, I painted this quick oil painting study of a sprouting sweet onion.

I really wanted to paint a red onion for the red-purple/yellow-green complementary color scheme but I can't get the thing to sprout no matter what I try. (Feel free to email sprouting tips!) My favorite part was painting the semi-transparent onion skin.

Speaking of spring, I think this is a great time of year to start spring cleaning in your studio--weed out old brushes (they can still be used for texture but maybe not careful details), let go of that paint tube that's so old and dry it's become a mystery color, organize paintings by subject or size, and maybe donate rarely used supplies to a local art non-profit.  I don't know about you, but I feel much more productive and creative in a well-organized, well-stocked studio.

Finally, this week one of my students kindly gave me one of the Splash Watercolor Series books. If you paint in watercolor, you may already be familiar with these, but this consistently high quality series (currently their are 11 books in the series) is a marvelous resource if you work watermedia. Have a great week and happy painting!

Ode to the Original Daily Painter

In the last 70 days of his life, it's believed Vincent Van Gogh painted every day, despite his declining mental and physical condition. Thanks to my talented painting mother/daughter duo Anita and Amber for bringing me this wonderful painting inspiration this week.  Van Gogh painted this Mulberry Tree near St. Remy in the fall of 1889, less than a year before his death in the summer of 1890.

As I've mentioned before, master copies (even loose interpretations) are a tried and true learning tool for learn new painting techniques. I promise they will also give you a new appreciate for their work, color sense, and vision.

This painting was no exception. Following in Vincent's brush steps, so to speak, I was constantly reminded to change the direction of my brush strokes and keep my thick, impasto oil colors clean and high energy at every turn. I also took note his use of signature dark lines and mastery of complementary colors. Every time I take the time to examine a Van Gogh at length, I can't help but feel he's left them behind as some kind of urgent yet timeless message to all the painters who dare follow him. 

Before painting, I considered some of the 19th century pigments (many of course now considered fugitive or poisonous or both) Vincent would have had on his little wooden palette such as emerald or Paris green, lamp black, yellow ochre, lead white, chrome yellow, Prussian blue, etc. 

For color history geeks like me, here's an  interesting article regarding master painter palettes.  For this little 9 x 12 oil study (the original is approx. 21 x 25),  I chose a more contemporary palette of Ultramarine, Thalo Blue, Burnt Sienna, Indian Yellow, Lemon Yellow, Cad. Red Light, and Permalba White--which I thought was a fantastic autumn palette. I also used relatively small brushes to help imitate the undulating texture.

Thanks again to all my students (and Vincent!) who continue to inspire me with their work! See you in the studio!

French Lipstick

Happy Thursday everyone, as always thanks for stopping by! For my quick 6 x 6 Daily Painting this morning, I wanted to paint a reflective object. So I choose this lipstick tube (which also had a funky tapered shape) with shiny black and golden surfaces. As a painter, I'm always interested to see how other artists render different (and sometimes challenging) textures and surfaces such as glass, metal, fur, leather, wood, etc.

That being said, even though I have a more "painterly" approach, my goal is still to accurately record the shape, value, and color. The key, I find, is to have faith and confidence that by doing this you will achieve a happy result in the end.

Today's Studio Tip: The more thickly I paint in oils (which I'm really beginning to enjoy in these little paintings) the more I use my handy and affordable Kemper wipe out tool to help with correcting areas that get a bit too heavy. I think this tool was designed originally for ceramics, but it works great canvas and Masonite  panels.  

Speaking of supplies, like many oil painters, I love to paint on linen but it can be expensive and hard to find. So am really looking forward to receiving my new linen panels from RayMarArt. I've noticed that they are the "panel of choice" for many daily painters and conveniently are available in the 6 x 6 "daily" size.  


Looking for texture painting examples? I can't help but admire contemporary Colorado realism painters Daniel Sprick and Scott Fraser for their amazing mastery of textures and reflections. For more interesting examples of textures, visit the Daily Painters site and type in the search box terms like gold, silver, glass, etc.

And since it's Thursday, I'm also looking forward to listening later to the Artist Helping Artists show where artists Leslie and Dreama (and often a guest) share helpful information and tips. Next week's show "Studio Secrets" sounds particularly intriguing--I can't wait!

OK, back to the studio for some more practice...have a great day!

Yesterday's Apple & Blurbing

Happy Thursday everyone! I've spent almost all day working on my new art book from Blurb--a site where you can create your own book of text, photos, imagery whatever you. I noticed several other artists were using Blurb on the web and I so I've had creating a book on my art "to do" list for a while now.

It's also been insightful and emotional to sift through almost a decade of folders of past paintings--some hits, some misses. Some I barely remember. And of course, I'm already mourning a few pieces that I just can't find an image for and have long lost the buyer's name (note to self!).  I'm pleased to say that many of the paintings were sold years ago though  so a quick thanks to all my collectors over the years for your support!

There's something very cathartic about bringing all your art together in one place. Though trying to decide what to put on the cover is much tougher than I thought it would be. Abstract? Landscape? Animal? I don't think I'll able to choose just one. 

While I'm creating the book (working title Colorful Connections, of course) mostly for myself and family, I plan to have a link where you can purchase the book if you like through Blurb. 

When I ordered Carol Marine's Blurb book last week, in addition to looking forward to seeing 100 of her beautiful, jewel-like daily oil paintings, I was eager to see the quality. And I was very pleased given the reasonable price for a 4-color 100 page book. Blurb also has a Blurb bookstore where you can search for other artists or art topics such as daily painting. Another attractive daily painting book I spotted Clair Hartmann's Yesterday's Paintings--isn't that a fantastic cover??

I also spent just a few minutes this morning checking out an oil painting instructional DVD I ordered from another busy Daily Painter and Teacher, Hall Groat II.  He has a wide variety of DVDs, but as a foodie and a painter, I couldn't resist Painting Desserts DVD. Though I may need to pick up a few "pastry models" at my favorite French bakery (Trompeau if you are ever in the Denver area) in order to practice tomorrow. OK. Better get back to my book.

Bon soir everyone and thanks for stopping by.

Bon Painting!

As I may have mentioned before, in addition to painting, I love to cook and try new recipes for relaxation. I've always admired small, fresh still life oil paintings of fruits, vegetables, desserts, etc. There are some amazing daily painters out there who do marvelous things with simple, edible subjects.

Inspired by these painters, I was planning to set up a small scene of wine and cheese in my studio. But I decided I wanted to paint a much larger piece of Swiss cheese (I really wanted to paint the holes) than I had on hand. Quite frankly, I thought a photo would have less caloric impact as well and summer is just around the corner... 

So I'll confess here that I reluctantly used an online photo reference for this study. I try to "borrow" as little as possible and certainly I would never do so for any art competition. But there are times when I really want to paint  a particular subject matter that I just don't have easy access to such as a charging African elephant, a spewing Fiji volcano, or the Helsinki skyline.

Let's face it, most artists today are busy multi-taskers and I'll take some help where I can get it especially if it saves me time. While I do utilize online photos as learning and teaching tool, I do feel strongly about indicating when I'm NOT using my own photo, set up, etc.

And when I do work from these helpful reference photos I also prefer to print them out in black and white so I'm at least applying my own color sense. In this particular case, I immediately knew I wanted to work with a lively, mostly high key yellow green/red violet complementary palette--one of my favorites. I have to say though while this piece is not quite complete, I loved playing with the colors and textures (i.e. glass vs. grapes vs. cheese).

Call it artistic karma, but I also can't help but notice without my own reference material, as much as I enjoy the process these paintings always lack a certain spark and charm. Still any dedicated painting time in the studio is a pure luxury and learning experience.

This week I'm looking forward to several new students (Welcome all!) as well as hopefully taking some time to take a painting class myself. 

I'm also working on an abstract for the annual WOW (which stands for Wide Open Whatever--and trust me, they mean it) Art Show at Core New Art Space. The show has a special place in my heart because it was one of my first large oil painting sales almost 20 years ago.  I'll never forget when the collector invited me to her home to help her decide where to hang it in her home. And on that very positive art note, I'll wish everyone a creative and happy week!       

Yupo Friday

 

Happy Friday everyone! I'm thrilled to post these inspiring and exciting Yupo floral paintings today painted by Richard K., one of my watermedia students.  Thank you Richard for letting me sharing these with all the Yupo fans out there. While Yupo can be a challenging surface especially if you are used to a "toothier" paper,  I think these paintings are wonderful examples of how well Yupo works for painting organic subjects such as flowers.

Richard also used the Golden Fluid Acrylics to help him achieve these tropical saturated hues and amazing textures.  Check out some of the "bubbly" texture in the spiky leaves of the bird of paradise. I just don't think you could mimic that on paper, even with hot press. And Richard makes an excellent  point when he told me that after painting on Yupo for a while he had a new found "respect" for painting on watercolor paper.

It's true, at least for me, that trying new media, surfaces, subject matter etc. is a very helpful way to strengthen your overall creative skills.  For example, if I'm having less than a stellar day with a difficult oil  painting (yes, it happens even after 25 years), I switch to watercolor the next day or do a layered acrylic abstract. Speaking of moving between styles I noticed in the March issue of Southwest Art (one of my favorite art magazines) the beautiful and angular oil landscapes of Arizona painter Ed Mell and his quote about how "moving between abstraction and realism" also helps keep him fresh.

Friday is usually my own studio day so I better get to work. I'm planning on a representational oil still life painting, but we'll see what happens...Also, if you are in the Denver area quick reminder that it's First Friday today so go out and support your local neighborhood galleries and artists and have a great time!

My Birthday Boy

It's been a snowy day in the studio, but that allowed me to get this quick little 8 x 10 oil painting study in of my beautiful blue gray tabby, Dash--named for fiction writer Dashiell Hammett--checking out the hedge for sparrows. It's his birthday today (he's 6) and since he's the feline studio mascot I promised him he could model today.

As many of you know, painting can be a lonely endeavor sometimes and so I wanted to honor all the animal companions of artists who keep us company.  Dash is the most vocal cat I've ever had and he particularly likes to comment on unusual weather like today. 

Speaking of gray, I have to mention how much I like the new Richeson Gray Matters palette paper--I've always used the traditional white but the gray really makes a difference for judging the lighter values. Also, today I ordered Santa Fe artist Nancy Reyner's book Acrylic Revolution and am looking forward to reading that.  Snow days are always a great excuse for some internet art book and supply shopping!


Finally, for those of you interested in my art classes, I also spent some of the day looking for affordable workshop space and hope to have an announcement soon of a workshop in Denver in addition to my private and semi-private classes.  My plan is to have a variety of workshops for oil, acrylic, and watercolor. In the meantime, thanks for stopping by and have a creative week!

P.S. For those feline art lovers out there, here are some other examples of feline paintings at Daily Painter.