Challenge Day 30: Fun at the Finish

Ab Ex Chicken-Acrylic On Canvas--Collection Artist

Happy Fall everyone and congrats to all of you who participated in Leslie’s “30in30” challenge! We made it to the finish! Personally, while I wasn’t able to “paint and post” every day I did paint and post more frequently. There was no doubt that a challenge like this is motivating in the studio! 

In the past month, I’ve shared my thoughts on color and painting more spontaneously. Today’s whimsical acrylic painting is just a fun tribute to both of those topics. 

First, this was painted entirely with a wood shim. That’s right no brush, no palette knife just a good old hardware wood shim. As you can guess, a tool like this really challenges you to paint in a different way.  From a color standpoint, I wanted to emphasize the primary colors (red, yellow, and blue). I felt this would help support the more graphic illustrative look which was my intent.

Once in a while, I think it’s nice to remember why we love making art and just enjoy the process...

YUPO & Bird Painting Workshop: Sat. November 16, 2013

I’ve posted some details for my upcoming painting workshop on both my website and on the workshop page of my blog.  If you have any questions about the workshop or would like to sign up, please write to me.

High Chroma Canyon

Acrylic and Pastel on canvas-20x30

Today’s Painting:
I posted this mixed media painting (inspired by the colors and textures of the southwest landscape) a while ago in progress, but recently we completed painting. This was a collaboration with a student and while it took us a while (lots of glazing layers) we had a fantastic time. And learned a lot in the process as well. We particularly enjoyed working with the oil pastel under and over the acrylic glazes.  

So the next time you’re looking for a painting project (particularly on a larger surface) consider working on a collaboration painting with fellow artist. Most likely you each have different creative strengths you can bring to the canvas. 

Speaking of you next painting project, if you prefer smaller scale paintings, I’m continuing from my previous post regarding tips about how to get started on your daily painting. In this case, the oil still life.

Step 2: Tone it Down
The sooner we make our mark on the canvas the better. Toning your support also makes judging your values so much easier. Before I sketch onto my canvas, I usually tone my canvas with warm wash of acrylic paint for quick drying.

Color wise, I prefer golds, oranges, corals, pinks, or sienna. For the onions, I used Transparent Red Oxide. For a ease and speed, I use a rag, paper towel, or a big old house painting brush. If it’s acrylic, it should be dry within a few minutes.

There are times you may want tone your canvas boldly with red, violet, magenta, yellow, or even black as daily painter Karen Jurick so skillfully does. Note that if you tone with a dark color, you can use a light colored pencil for your sketch.) In the next post I’ll chat in detail about what do after you’ve toned your support.

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!

The Lights Burn Blue

"Lights Burn Blue" Contemporary Abstract 

Today's Painting (Title from King Richard III, Act V)
I love working in oils but there are times (getting ready for show, transporting paintings to and from a workshop, etc.) that you need a faster drying time when working. So I've been wanting to "practice" working with Open (slower drying) acrylics in an oil paint like manner, i.e. softer edges, smoother color transitions, etc. I've only used them once or twice, and while so far they don't feel to me a perfect substitute for oil paint,

Open acrylics are certainly more "blendy" than traditional heavy body acrylics. In my drier climate, they are pretty much dry to the touch by end of day with some heavier applications remaining tacky.

In this abstract painting, which is based very loosely on a western/canyony landscape, I used a relatively limited double primary (one cooerl/one warmer) palette of Golden Open Acrylics-- Thalo Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Indian Yellow Hue, Hansa Yellow, Quin Magenta and Pyrole Red. Here's a short video demo about Open Acrylics.

Reading in the Studio: The Art of Maynard Dixon
I think an interesting question to ask another artist would be what artist or painting would they buy if  they "won the lottery" and could own anything. For me, I think many years ago I would have quickly said an Impressionist or Post Impressionist. (I chose Corot as one of my personal heroes in a yearbook way back). So a Degas, a Van Gogh, perhaps a Matisse.

But many years later, as a Westerner, I would probably choose a panoramic painting by Maynard Dixon. The first Maynard Dixon painting I ever saw was Open Range--one of the most amazing clouds ever painted! Last week for my birthday I received this beautiful and inspiring collection by Donald Hagerty. This book is truly a breathtaking collection if you enjoy Western landscapes and southwestern subject matter.

Thanks for stopping by and have a colorful spring week!

Found in Translation

Found in Translation--24 x 24 Mixed Media Collage on Gallery Wrap Canvas

Happy Friday everyone! Another busy spring working on several different pieces this week in the studio. First, in my Abstract Class on Monday with Homare Ikeda, I worked on a relatively large (36 x 36) acrylic and oil abstract I've tentatively titled Escapade--Below is a detail.

This week, I wanted to push toward a different palette and ended up using (as you can see) some warm yellows and oranges and then balancing those with some cooler neutralized blues and grays. And while I've used many circular symbols, as I often do, I really enjoyed searching for other interesting shapes such as figures. 

Yesterday turned up the jazz station and really enjoyed creating a big square collage on stretched canvas using Thai papers, vintage European postage stamps, and Jane Eyre in Chinese (which I found in a used bookstore). I'm calling this piece Found in Translation because of all the bits of different languages (there's French, Swedish, Russian, Greek, etc.) found on the envelopes and stamps.

Interestingly, in one of the envelopes, I found a torn part of an old typed letter that seems to be about a death, marriage, and some kind of immigration. I just wish I had the entire letter. Anyway, I had to use that in the piece. To apply and seal the collage materials I used a matte finish acrylic gel (in this case Liquitex brand).  To all my painters out there, collage is a great way to strengthen your composition skills.

Quick note to my students, thanks for sharing all your new spring projects with me--great work this week!
Finally thank you to Sarah for your high bid on my Help Japan Challenge watercolor painting on Daily Paintworks!  

DAM Fine Spring Art Weekend

Iris in Bloom--Abstract Watercolor (private collection)

Happy April Monday Everyone! In Denver the first weekend of the month means First Friday Art Events and Free Museum Saturday which makes for a very busy but enjoyable art weekend with gallery hopping, art supply shopping, and museum perusing.


Also, for a few months now, I've been thinking about splurging on an out of town painting workshop so Saturday morning I decided to sign up for Carol Marine's "A Painting a Day" oil painting Workshop at the Sedona Arts Center in May 2012 while I still had the chance. As many of you may know Ms. Marine's a popular teacher whose workshops sell out months in advance. The workshop may be 13 months away but I'm already looking forward to returning to beautiful Sedona area. 

Saturday afternoon headed downtown to one my favorite galleries near the Denver Art Museum (DAM) 1261 Gallery where they were having a fantastic winter landscape show featuring some of my favorite painters such as Quang Ho and Dan McCaw.

At the DAM I spent the most time in the Western Art Collection. Since I love Southwestern painting, it's a joy to see the stars of New Mexican painting such as Dixon, Fechin (his color and brushwork always breathtaking), Blumenschein and the Lanford Monroe with the misty horses. There are also some stunning contemporary western landscapes on display including Post, Forsman, Aspevig, Brown, and Moore. Check out the shapes and color in this gorgeous Howard Post painting. 

Howard Post Painting at the Denver Art Museum

On a side note, as I mature as a painter when I look at museum paintings I can't help but do the math of artist birth date versus when they completed the painting. Sometimes I'm relieved to see they were well advanced in their age and career. Other times I note they were younger than I am now which makes me want to really focus and produce. Either way, very motivating to visit your local museum!

Finally quick welcome to my new April students--I think it's going to be an exciting spring--See you soon in the studio!

Ampersands of Time

Happy Monday everyone! Lately, I felt it was time to push myself to do a larger, more expressive and graphic non-representational painting. So over the weekend I bought a 3 foot by 4 foot gallery wrap canvas and which lurked liked a big white wall for a few hours. For me the best way to get started is to just dive in and start making marks--working with line and mass (more sold shapes).  I also used acrylic paint here so I could quickly stamp into areas, collage, etc.

Painting Detail

I always enjoy incorporating symbols, gylphs, words, letters, numbers, etc. into my art. In this piece, I wanted to include two of my favorite symbols: the ampersand and asterisk (which derives from the Latin for little star).
I read that asterisks where originally used to denote birth dates in family trees and the ampersand is an ancient symbol dating back to the first century.  It represents the written Latin "et" meaning "and" as you might have guessed. 

Since I was thinking about words and how they relate to art, I thought it would be fun to write a haiku (a traditional Japanese poetry form that follows the 5/7/5 syllable format) about painting abstractly. (I'm a former English major, but my poetry writing is a bit rusty, but here goes...)

Paint marks on canvas
Letters value hue collide
Whatever you have


White wall towers empty
Brushes tell a story
Colors sing in harmony


Colors swim below
Shapes emerge born of shadow
Brushes reach the sky

For those of you who paint on large surfaces you know how freeing this can be.  While I think I've still got a few adjustments to make, this was one of the most enjoyable pieces I've worked on recently.  Quick welcome and thanks to my new March students, as always I look forward to helping you reach your art goals while enjoying the process along the way!

Red Velvet Valentine

Happy Valentine's Everyone! And quick happy birthday shout out to my Dad back in Michigan who has a Valentine's Birthday!  

This morning I thought I'd give my new GOLDEN Open Acrylic paints a whirl and figured something sweet and red would be the perfect subject to post today. I also recently saw a Bobby Flay Throwdown on Food Network with Red Velvet Cake. (Personally, I'd prefer a less sweet pastry like a flourless dark chocolate cake but you have to love the look three layers of crimson against creamy titanium white frosting!). And let's be honest, it's hard to paint baked goods without a bit of Wayne Thiebaud pop art influence.

This was my first go at painting an entire painting with the GOLDEN Open Acrylics and they definitely have a different brush and application feel.  Softer and more blendable, but in thinner applications the paint does start to skin and and set up sooner rather than later, particularly in our very arid climate.

So I don't think the Open Acrylics would really work as an oil paint substitute, at least not for me. That being said the paint has a nice smooth feel and the colors (as with all GOLDEN products) were clean and bright. I'd love to try them in a plein air situation where oils can be rather maddening. And I thought here the paint worked great for the frosting effects which I'm still playing with since it's the best part.

As an artist, I also like to think of today as a joyful celebration of  RED. Depending on your cultural influences, red can symbolize a wide range of emotions and sensory experiences, such as warmth, aggression, passion, romance, blood, danger, etc. So the next time you want to communicate strong emotions in your work or need an stronger focal area consider the wealth of red pigments at your disposal. XXOO. 

The Night to the Owl

Happy Friday everyone! I'm thrilled to report the sun is out and we're warming up! My fingers can actually type again. Thanks again to my students who braved snow, freezing temps, and bad roads to keep on painting!

I thought if I posted another bird painting this week it should be at least my favorite bird, which is of course (big shock) an owl. This is mixed media on illustration board. Artistically, owls have a wonderful shape and they can symbolize so many things--wisdom, insights, mystery, intuition, longevity, bad omens, night, and even death. (My blog post title today is from Shakespeare's Cymbeline for my fellow English majors out there.)

Since I'm often asked about the origin of my studio name Scarlet Owl I thought this owl-themed post would be a good time to share the story. First, I probably should confess that one of my "other jobs" is a professional namer of products, brands, company, websites, etc. Have you ever eaten a Keebler Bistro Cracker? Yep, that was me. So as a "professional" brander I felt extra pressure to create an art studio name that I really loved and could live with for for a very long time.  

Basically, I knew I wanted a color or pigment name and an animal (or something natural) because I love to paint nature. So the brainstorming began: Mauve Moose, Cerulean Otter, Viridian Octopus, Cobalt Leopard, etc. But, believe it or not, this was during the dot com boom and many of these names were already business names or in one case, a Canadian rock band.

Finally, I thought I had a winner: Red Hawk Studio. I thought it had a sharp, robust, westerny sound. But the more I thought about it, it just wasn't unique enough. So I moved on to other reds and other fowl, and voila, there was like a red spotlight: Scarlet Owl. And a bit unusual but not too weird (at least I hope not) and for me at least it said: Creativity and Wisdom--a ying/yang balance that I thought was perfect for my panting and teaching philosophy. 

As always thanks for "giving a hoot" (sorry I couldn't resist) and stopping by. Have a great weekend and happy painting from my nest to yours!    




 

Nesting Time

Last Friday in Denver we were painting in the backyard, in tee shirts with high sixties temps and sunshine.  Yikes. Not today. Negative nine when I woke up this morning. Not good for running errands or working out but perfect excuse for staying in, "nesting" and painting in the cozy studio.

Last night, I demonstrated a multi layered mixed media technique using acrylics (both fluid and tube), gel medium, Frisket film ( inexpensive shelf paper also works), Crescent illustration board, and my secret weapon: a plastic fork. Thanks to my very patient and willing students whose "first time" paintings also turned out great! My palette was primarily crimson, turquoise, quin gold, white, thalo blue, and black. This somewhat limited palette still provides a luscious range of saturated and neutral colors.

These creative exploration paintings may take some patience--and a lot of loud hair dryer in between layers--but I find they are absolutely worth it.  Slowly, but surely, intriguing shapes emerge, symbolic themes are suggested (lots of birds for me lately...Hmm), etc. I find you have to nurture your painting along from start to finish all the while trusting your artistic self. Very different from painting an onion on a table.

For example, I rarely know what's going to happen next but it's this kind of mystery and surprise that keeps me coming back for more. Like solving an art puzzle, these type of paintings also help strengthen your design elements--colors, shapes, values, pattern. line, etc.whether you paint abstracts or representational subjects.


Quick thanks to all my visitors who helped make January 2011 my highest traffic month since I started blogging! I think it's going to be the one of the best art years I've ever. Namaste and happy nesting in your neck of the woods!

 

Monday Morning Chickens

Well, today is "the big day"--I'm just about to pack up to head off to my new group class at the Curtice Street Art Studio in Littleton.  As much as I love teaching in my home studio one on one most of the week, I'm really looking forward to to teaching a new group.

For those of you who've been lucky enough to be in a painting, art, or creative group you know it can be a great place to find new ideas, support, and personal growth. I can't recommend it enough. At first you may feel a bit "exposed" painting in a group (I sure did) but I quickly got used to it and in fact came to love the instant comments and feedback from other artists. Painting with dozens of artists each week also gave me the opportunity to learn a wide variety of techniques that would have taken me years to learn otherwise. Or have never tried on my own.


This is one of my favorite watercolors (it's a collection of one my watercolor mentor's wooden chickens) from that time. Like many artists, I've often struggled with keeping the act of creating art enjoyable with my desire to excel at and grow my craft.  So this painting also reminds me not to take art too seriously and to have no fear.  Plus, it's always a fun challenge to paint a collection of things. I'm certain viewers and buyers sense too when you've enjoyed yourself during the painting process.  

So on that note, whatever you paint this week, be be bold, be yourself, be creative, and have fun! See you in the studio...P.S. I'll be sparticipating in the Harvard Gulch Community Center Art Festival on Saturday, May 15. There will be about 30-40 local Denver artists selling affordable arts and crafts from 9AM to 2PM. Be sure to check it out if you are in the area!