Fall's Full of Color and Creativity!

"Enchanted Spot" 8x10 oil (on hold for show)

Happy fall all! As a painting instructor this is one of my busiest (and therefore favorite) months but because of that I haven't had that much time to participate Leslie's annual September "30 in 30" painting challenge.  But I still strongly believe that relatively small "almost" daily paintings are one of THE best ways to improve your painting skills so I hope you'll keep painting and growing!

In a previous post, I mentioned this is a sensible season to invest in both you and your creative tools. Unfortunately, I think many artists (and this is too bad) abandon art simply because they are using not the right materials. On the other end, I've had beginners spend thousands and that's not necessary either. Here are my thoughts on what you might want to upgrade or enhance in your studio or creative space:

• Does your color seem dull, strange texture? A student brand or old tube may be the culprit. Superior quality (professional artist) paint or simply fresh paint. Maybe slowly start replacing your student paint for a few nicer tubes of paint? That being said, there are some “student” paint pigments I still use and like (thalo blue for example). 
• Brushes seen better days? Better brushes or just new clean brushes with good edges, etc. I use mostly Silver Bristlons, Rosemary's and Winsor Newton Monarchs since I prefer synthetics. In general these are in the 10-25 dollar range for small/medium sizes online but they also last much longer than craft quality brushes. Tip: Winsor Newton Non Toxic Brush Wash--pricey but you don't need much and works better than anything I've ever found. 
• Have you ever worked on the very best surface you can find? For oil painters this could be linen or Ampersand Gessobord.  And for really large paintings? I use one of the weekly coupons for one of the big craft stores or wait for a sale to buy their best gallery wrap canvas. 
• Easel—I really like a crank easels—In a dry climate (where wood splits/loosens) that’s just worth the extra cost for me because I know they will last a long time. Tip you can often find good easels used and a little paint splatter won't effect the function--just be sure to test them.  
• Tempered glass palettes are super easy to clean and strong--Haven't broken one yet! I buy mine online at Store Supply Warehouse. Be sure to cover your high quality paint and store in a cool place. 

I hope those tips make your fall painting adventure more enjoyable! P.S. There are a few spots left in my my next Denver oil painting class (6 weeks) starts on WED. October 26--Please visit the studio website for more info.

Brushing Up on Your Art

Just "some" of my studio brushes--The good, the bad, the old..

Happy late August! I love summer but as a painting teacher (and an artist who loves to also take classes myself) I always look forward to this time of year. Not only is it the perfect time of year to take a class or workshop, I think it’s great time review of your art and/or craft supplies.

As an instructor, I see some well-loved supplies (as in they haven’t made that brand in over 20 years). Some “antique” supplies may be just fine but others, well frankly, it may be time to just let go.

Nowadays we could include technology in that studio enhancement as well. Every time I upgrade my "older but still OK" laptop, tablet, website, camera, phone, etc. I think—Wow this is so much easier/better/faster...I should have done that sooner.

I’m really careful when it comes to studio expenses. But I also believe that if you invest in a class or workshop it’s worth having “up to date” fresh supplies that won’t hinder your experience. There’s a good reason for instructors to include a supply list. They want you to have the tools you need to get the job done.

Another thought:  What if you’re next painting is one of your favorites or even your “chef d’oeuvre?” You’ll want to be sure you’re using the best supplies you can practically afford.

Do you like art supply deals? This is a good time of year for that too. Often local art/office/craft supply stores or online art stores (i.e. Jerry’s, Blick) feature sales and/or special pricing, free shipping, coupons, etc. this time of year. (Tip: Google shipping coupon, etc.)

Personally, my art supply spending approach is “happy medium.” This means not “found in attic/garage” or “borrowed from my kids” but also not the break the bank either. And of course you don’t have to upgrade your studio all at once.

In my next post I’ll share my thoughts about what specific supplies you might want to shop for/replace and why. Until then, I hope you all enjoy getting ready for fall art or painting classes! You may find more info about my Denver area painting workshops and classes here.  

June Bugs and Art Markets

"Beach Bug" 8x10 oil painting on Gessoboard (on hold for SAM)

And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days. James Russell Lowell

Happy June Everyone! Welcome to one of the most beautiful months in Colorado. I know I haven't been posting much this year. But only for good reasons--such as lots of teaching, painting, some travel (had a wonderful time as I always do recently in Santa Fe), and well thankfully that keeps my calendar pretty full. I hope this post finds you all well and enjoying the beginning a summer.

Summer Art Market: June 10 & June 11
For me, as many of you know, for 15+ years (give or take) that means getting ready for Denver's annual Summer Art Market--Weekend June 10 and June 11. Today's painting is a sneak peak of one of my paintings for the Market.

If you haven't been this is a fantastic art event with tons of original art by over 250 local artists. This year I'm looking forward to sharing a tent with a very nice Boulder artist (Ms. Lori Mattina). So come visit us on Grant Street (Booth 75--between 2nd and 3rd streets).  Yes outdoor art festivals can be a lot of work but I always look forward to shopping the festival myself as well as selling my own art.

New Summer Oil Painting Class: Starts June 14
For anyone looking to learn that very popular oil painting technique with a transparent underpainting that I love so much I'm teaching one group painting class this summer at the Goodson Rec Center. It's a really fun group of students and very affordable--so come join us if you'd like to learn this colorful fun method. Click here for more info and to register. Class starts WED June 14.

P.S. Many, many thanks to all my amazing and always hard working spring students at Park Hill Art Club and Curtis Art Center--I look forward to seeing you in the fall if we don't paint together this summer!

Building on Color (Jon Redmond Talk Notes)

Park Caretaker's House Study-9x12 oil on linen-SOLD

Happy Challenge Day 6: Isn’t it interesting to meet an artist you’ve admired “from a far?” Sunday I went to a fantastic talk by Pennsylvania painter  Jon Redmond who was in Boulder teaching a workshop (which I unfortunately couldn’t attend but am guessing students are greatly enjoying this week.)

Redmond’s oil paintings have a beautiful sense of light, simplicity and texture. If you have Al Gury’s  book “Alla Prima” you’ll find this beautiful minty green claw foot tub painting on the back cover.

Jon Redmond Tub Painting 

Redmond explained this tub was in an old building which had seen many renovations. While I enjoy organic subjects, I’m often intrigued by painting that explore the mystery of place like this. You can find some great examples his paintings (which include a variety of subjects) and a detailed interview with Redmond here.

Inspired by Redmond's sunlit building paintings, I decided to post one of my Hopper inspired paintings. I find light falling on structures like this gorgeous white house very captivating. Redmond said he enjoys painting windows especially bay windows. Speaking of white, he also mentioned he looks to black and white films for visual inspiration which makes perfect sense from a shape/value standpoint.

Redmond White House Oil Painting

I'm not a "light" traveler, so I’m always fascinated by compact lightweight painting kits. Redmond's fit into a small backpack (so he could easily bike to locations). It included: a compact camp chair (he paints seated), a trim folding panel holder/palette (think wooden laptop), his paints, (here’s his suggested color palette for another class), brushes with sharpened ends (so you can stick into the ground!) and an interesting pottery “scraping” rubber tool. 


Redmond also mentioned that he sometimes paints on frosted Mylar (in addition to a traditional gessoed panel) and I’m very interested to try this surface soon. 

No Hour of Life...

"Bending Blue" 8x10 oil on archival Ampersand panel
For Sale at Framed Image in Denver 

No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.  Winston Churchill

Happy First Friday everyone!  I’m going to add to Sir Winston Churchill’s assertion that I feel the same about time spend painting in the studio. I don’t think we should ever feel guilty about time spent on creative pursuits. Even on a tough painting day, I try to appreciate and enjoy every minute.

Quickly, thanks to all the artists who've already joined my Thursday painting class at Park Hill Art Club starting in January. This is going to be an exciting “daily painting” class where we emphasize color for 6 weeks. It's just about sold out but as I write this, I think there are 1 or 2 spots left in either AM or PM—to register or for more info please click here. Looking forward to seeing you there!

I had such a gratifying time painting my light and shadow horse oil painting last week that I wanted to do paint another.  I choose this reference for both the gesture of the horse and the lighting where his head was mostly in shadow.

Today’s Painting Tip: Look for the light! As a painting teacher, I often see even advanced students working from a nice reference photo but the lighting (indoors or out) is flat or overcast—dare I say even gloomy or just blah. 

That's OK if you goal is subtle and understated but I think you’ll find that an exciting painting will be easier to achieve if you have dramatic or attention-grabbing light conditions. I’ll go so far to say that interesting lighting can make an “everyday” object into a very special painting subject!

P.S. Next time I'll post a still life painting inspired by today's announcement of Pantone 2016 Color of the Year or should I say Colors?? Stay tuned...

Happy Colorful Friday!

"Colorful Cadence" dressage horse painting 8x10 oil on Ampersand Panel

Are you online shopping for “black Friday” art supply deals like I am? (As a color sensitive artist I feel like Black Friday should be more positive like Fuschia Friday!) Color name aside, so far I've  stocked up on basics like Centurion linen and Ampersand panels as well as a Silver brand Bristlon brush to try since this is the one that Carol Marine says she uses.)

Today, while frosty cold am very relieved to see the sun's return after a rather gray Thanksgiving. In addition to running some errands (need more Fitbit steps after pie!) I’m heading out to take photos. Speaking of photos, if you're looking for painting subjects and art inspiration this is a good time to review and revisit your photo files. 

As you grow and evolve as a painter you may discover a photo gem that catches your eye on second go round. That was the case with this painting of a lovely silvery horse I’d taken a picture of at a dressage show in late summer.  As a casual rider I’ve always admired the movement and precision of dressage—both on the part of the horse and rider.  It’s like horse ballet! Also there's something energizing about painting a warm sunny day when the actual weather conditions are less than ideal.

Before I get back to surfing for bargains, just wanted to remind everyone of my winter 2016 painting classes. Starting first week of January, I'm offering three affordable weekly Denver painting group classes on Tues, Weds, and Thurs. (And my Tues. class is ongoing in December.)

So if you’re looking for a way to add color to your life and stay inspired during the long winter months be sure visit my classes/workshops page. In the meantime, happy painting and holiday shopping! 

Painting in the Heart of Autumn

"Sunny Bug" 8x10 oil on linen pane--SOLD---Thank you!

I love when other artists take the time to review a painting workshop they've taken or demo they've attended so I promise I will post my review of  Peggi Kroll Roberts' workshop soon. Spoiler alert (and probably no surprise to many of you): It was phenomenal from start to finish!

Since I took two "light and shadow" workshops (see Tim Horn in previous post) back to back I've been considering at a wider variety of subjects such as this cute but rusty VW bug parked outside one of my classrooms. (My first car was a burgundy VW Rabbit that barely survived the 1,269 mile road trip to Denver long, long ago so also I have a soft spot for vintage VWs.)

October is flying by so I quickly wanted to share a few November events coming soon! 

2 Fall Weekend Workshops @ Curtis Arts Center in Greenwood Village, CO
I rarely teach on the weekends but I’m offering 2 fun Saturday workshops—Fall Colors (any painting media) and Mixed Media. Please visit my website class page or email me for more info.

Silent Art Auction & Reception: Nov. 7
Curtis Arts Center is also hosting their annual Silent Fine Art Auction on SAT. Nov. 7 from 6P to 8P where collectors can bid on affordable fine art from instructors, students and other artists in the area. 

Park Hill Art Club Fall Art Show and Sale: Nov. 13-15
This popular 3 day art sale features a huge variety of art (bin and framed) from hundreds of members and instructors (include myself). Please visit the PHAC site for more info. Original art makes a unique and personal holiday gift!

November "Daily Painting" Class: Tuesday AM from 9A to Noon 
This is casual open studio where I work with each student at their own level in oil or acrylic painting. At Blackridge Artists School. Be sure to also check their upcoming workshops!

Many thanks to my all my hard working fall students and wishing you all a colorful and creative autumn week!

Explore. Dream. Discover. Paint….

"Blue Nutty" 6x6 oil on linen panel SOLD Thank you!

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. 

Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. 

Explore. Dream. Discover.’  

Mark Twain

Happy Monday everyone!  I think one of the best things about "almost" daily painting is the “Why not? Let’s give it try!” approach you can have each day in the studio.

Lately, I’ve been gravitating toward some bold graphic looking art and thought painting on a black background (black toned canvas in this case) would be perfect for this. Also, since I often favor such bright intense colors (as you may have noticed!) the black acts as a striking dark neutral balance.

Want to see more examples? Daily painters who do a marvelous job at this are Karin Jurick and Cathleen Rehfied. Carol, a student in my class last week, also painted an exciting abstract on a black canvas.

In today’s little nuthatch (one of my favorite backyard bird models) oil painting I’ve used a 6x6 Raymar linen panel primed with black acrylic gesso then sketched with white pencil (note white chalk would work as well.) I loved the effect and will definitely add this to my daily "bag of tricks" and try again soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy your own creative exploring, dreaming and discovering…

Denver Fall Painting Classes & Workshops
Since my Thursday AM class “sold out” so quickly (thanks again painters!) I’m planning to announce another weekly painting class soon. Probably on Tuesday afternoons so please stayed tuned for that.

Also I’ve added 2 weekend painting workshops for this November. For more info about these please go to my Denver art classes info page on my website. Or feel free to write to me directly. Thanks and happy painting!

Daily Painting by the Book

Exercise from Oil Painting: The Workshop Experience 6x8 oil on panel

 A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party, a company by the way, a counselor, a multitude of counselors. (Charles Baudelaire)

Happy August Friday everyone!  Busy working on some small commissions and getting ready to teach my “almost” daily painting (DP) class which starts next Wednesday. I’ve been looking forward to this class all year!

I’m also teaching another DP class in September which I’m pleased (and flattered) to report say “sold out” quickly. So thank very much artists (returning and new) for your loyalty and interest in my new classes!

Come paint the colors of fall with me in November!

New: Fall Weekend Denver Painting Workshops
Speaking of classes, I’ve just added two new fun November weekend painting workshops at the Curtis Art Center: Artfully Autumn/Fall Colors and Mixed Media Masterpieces. You can find more info about these painting workshops here.

Painting Exercise/Study of Goerschner landscape 6x8 oil on panel

Summer Art Reading
I read new art books all the time in the summer but I also like to revisit favorites like this week’s Oil Painting: The Workshop Experience by the late Ted Goerschner. (Usually on Amazon used for just a few dollars.)

I love art technique books with painting exercises you can practice as you read along. (How to See Color and Paint It is another good one.) These "step by step" paintings can be great warm ups or just an easy way to try a different approach. 

Today I’m sharing the 2 small landscapes I painted “along with” Ted in his book which also includes clean color and design tips as well as some valuable "before and after" critiques of student landscape paintings. And of course, Ted's high chroma light and shadow paintings are enjoyable on their own.

OK, gorgeous day for a sunny patio happy hour here in Denver but I still have some work in the studio before I can call it a day. Cheers! Enjoy your summer weekend everyone!

The Best Art Event of the Summer!

"Love, Peace, Owls" 18 x 24 mixed media on canvas

Happy June everyone! It’s finally here....June 13 & June 14 is Denver’s big annual Summer Art Market (SAM).

I'm happy (and proud) to say it's my 14th year as a SAM artist! While it's hard work (almost daily prep since April) it's still my favorite weekend of the year!

I know summer is a busy time for everyone but please be sure to stop by if you’re in town and say hi—SAM is free and a great family outing as well with music, food and kid’s activities.  Here’s the detailed info:

What: Summer Art Market—over 250 fine artists!
Where: 2nd and Grant (near Speer and Broadway in Denver)
When:  June 13 and June 14 (Saturday  10A to 6P and Sunday 10A to 5P)
Where to find me: Booth 146 (on 2nd just west of Grant)

I may be a little biased but I really do think variety and quality of original fine artwork is amazing from traditional oils to contemporary sculpture! And there are price points for everyone!

"Copper Canter" 18 x 24 mixed media on canvas

"Growing Strong" (detail) Mixed Media/Collage 20 x 30

Getting ready for SAM---paintings and more paintings!

Speaking of pricing better get back to framing, tagging, etc. (you can see my living room staging area above) with just days to go. Here are a few of the nature inspired acrylic mixed media paintings I’ve been working on.  Have a great summer week everyone--hope to see you this weekend!

P.S. Want to paint this summer? There are still some openings in my next group class (Painting Nature and Florals) which starts on Wednesday, June 24. Please visit my website for more info. 

Just a Walk in the Park

"Canada Violets" 9x12 oil on linen

Happy May everyone! May’s an extra special month for me. It marks the Kentucky Derby (my favorite sporting event), my birthday, my mother’s birthday, return of the farmer's market, and so many other colorful spring events in the city.

This morning I had a marvelous May morning teaching my first “Color Confidence” class where there were a great new group of students willing to explore color with me! Thank you again ladies for joining me--I look forward to painting with you! For more information on my Denver summer art classes click here.
                                        
Even though early May in Colorado can be a little rainy remains one of my favorite months to explore local parks. I'll always find some regulars like this handsome wading Canada Goose I painted this week. (FYI, I'll be taking this painting like most of my spring paintings to the Summer Art Market in June.) But I also enjoy the return of lilacs, quince, iris, robins, red wing blackbirds, red buds, singing warblers--and all things springy!

Gosling--still yellow and fluffy!

Here's a few pics of of spring around the Mile High city this past week. Enjoy and have a spectacular spring week in your creative space!

Tulips--pink and floppy like a Derby hat!

I love the color range in morning lilacs.

It must be spring if the warblers are back!

 P.S. If Spring is your favorite season you may enjoy my Spring Art Board on Pinterest.

Let's Paint--It's Blossom Week!

"Peaceful Paint" 8x10 oil on Gesso Panel (SOLD-Thank you!)

To me, horses and freedom are synonymous. 
Equine sculpture Veryl Goodnight

This is one of my favorite weeks in Denver.  It’s the week my four ancient crab apple trees come to life turning cotton candy pink. I always look forward to "blossom week" and this year it’s even about a week earlier than usual.

April apple blossoms in my yard

If you’ve been following my last few posts, you saw I was working my way around the color wheel with some fun mixed media work but today I woke up in an oil mood.

Pink blossoms are also tasty!

I have thousands of reference photos (I take photos at least a few times a week) so I look through them quickly to see what grabs my attention. What am I looking for? Typically 2 things: Intriguing shapes and bold value changes. Note that as much as I love color it’s not the main factor.  

I selected this photo because a bold dark/light design supports allows for more personal color interpretation—and for me that’s the best part of painting. 

For more information about my upcoming May color art class (for oil and acrylic painters) please email me or visit the Curtis Art Center website. Wishing you week full of creative blooming!

March Monday Magenta Madness

"Alphabet Rooster" 16x16 mixed media on canvas panel

I am seeking.
I am striving.
I am in it with all my heart.
Vincent van Gogh

Happy Monday (and van Gogh's birthday) everyone! My trip around the color wheel continues with red violet (or magenta) as my color inspiration this morning.

At first I thought the red-violet color (magenta was my favorite childhood Crayola crayon) would work well as a spring floral subject such as tulips but pretty quickly this colorful rooster emerged. 
They say if you like red-violet that you are balanced (it’s a cool and warm) and like to surround yourself with creative stimulation.

Every time I paint a rooster or chicken for an art show or festival they are good sellers too. So I always paint one for good luck. Painting the tail is my favorite part!

FYI, typically for my oil paintings I prefer linen canvas. But for mixed media paintings I recommend working on a harder flat panel especially if you don’t need a really large stretched canvas.  I think it’s much easier to “attack” with collage, layer, glaze, stamp, stencil, draw, scrape, spray, drip, splatter, etc.

If this process sounds hands on and physical—it is. It’s one of reasons I still enjoy working with mixed media from time to time —it’s a very energizing painting work out!  (P.S. I often stand for hours so an anti-fatigue mats really helps the feet, back, etc. You can find just about any size mat at Uline.)

On a supply note, I’ve been using flat canvas panels (such as a Fredrix) but a gesso panel (such as Ampersand) or heavy illustration board with a few coats of gesso would work great too. And thank you Vincent for your continued color inspiration!

Painting the Spirit of Nature

"Glorious Gull" Click here to bid on DPW-thanks!

“Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding. Find out what you already know and you will see the way to fly.”
― Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Happy Monday everyone! Yesterday, it felt like summer. I finally turned off the studio heat, opened all the windows and enjoyed an iced coffee instead of a winter cappuccino. Not quite spring break in Cabo but still pretty relaxing for mid March.

Prior to this weekend though, I’ve been getting more than a little anxious waiting for spring. But of course, as many winter plein air painters know nature is still all around us. You just might have to look a little more closely (and be willing to brave the cold.) 

"Crow on Ice" 8x10 oil on linen

As I’ve noted before I get my daily winter nature fix at my nearby park where several large ponds attract plenty of usual aviary suspects even on the coldest days such as crows, gulls, geese, starlings, pigeons, flickers and ducks. .  

Washington Park bald eagle (hanging out in evergreens)

This year we also had some eagle and hawk sightings (as you can see) which was exciting but truthfully I enjoy painting the “everyday” birds like my high key gull and snowbound crow today. It was a happy coincidence that a recent  DPW weekly painting challenge a couple of weeks ago was bird themed. The challenge inspired by this wonderful Robert Henri (his book The Art Spirit is one of my favorites) quote:

Paint the flying SPIRIT of the bird 

rather than its FEATHERS.

It's another gorgeous day so time to get back to the easel and find out what I already know....Have a colorful week! P.S. For more info about my upcoming spring and summer workshops please visit my website.

Challenge Day 8: Like a Good Neighbor

"Summer Star" 8x10 oil on canvas

 Click here to bid on DPW--thanks!

Happy Monday everyone! In full disclosure I’m not in the studio today so I’m posting an available daily painting from my summer gallery show that incorporates today’s color theme: Analogous!

Analogous are simply groups of colors adjacent on the color wheel or as I like to call them color neighbors that get along. If complementary colors are passionate strangers, analogous colors are affable old pals.

Courtesy of Ultra Modern Style

Nature is full of examples of these pleasing color neighbors—think of a resplendent autumn maple with leaves that span from green to gold.  You'll also see this color grouping in flowers. Iris often span the color range from blue-green all the way to a reddish violet as you can see in my oil study. So the next time you need a successful color plan just look to nature. 

Thank you again for all my challenge visits and to everyone for your support during the challenge month.

It's Owl Good in the Summer

"It's Owl Good" screech owl oil painting study 8x10 on linen

SOLD--Thank you!!

Summer is flying by (no pun intended)! I’ve been enjoying the outdoors and having a great time working on art projects with my summer students. I’ve also had some challenges and frustrations working on my of key art goals for this year: Improve plein air painting skills.

Ahh...Unfortunately as much as I love nature I’m just not “outdoorsy.” It’s one of those skills that I know will come in time with patience and practice.  As I think about where to practice again in a nice shady quiet spot I decided to put in some air conditioned studio time. But in 2 weeks am off to another one day plein air workshop.(Am just hoping not to get lost in the wilderness this time...)

On a much happier note I always enjoy participating in the Daily Paintworks challenges—especially when the theme relates to birds or flowers.  There’s something really motivating about painting something that you have a strong connection with.

So you can imagine my delight when I saw this week’s challenge was—hoot, hoot—owls! If you visit my studio you’ll find a cherished international owl collection thanks to my friends, family, and students. Yep, I’m a proud “bubophile.” (That’s a fancy word for owl lover.)

So I set aside a few other art projects to quickly paint this this adorable (and sleepy) little screech owl I fell in love with at a raptor education event.  Isn’t it cool how their mottled feathers mimic tree bark?

I often paint really large colorful owls but I really enjoyed painting this little guy. Thanks again to artist Linda McCoy for posting my dream challenge this week! Finally if you're an owl fan like I am, you'll find 100 owls to inspire you on my Pinterest board. P.S. Did you know a group of owls is called a Parliament? 

O is for Owl

"O is for Owl" Mixed Media on Gallery Wrap Canvas 30x40

First, thanks to everyone who helped me over the weekend or stopped by to say hi at the Summer Art Market in Denver. Painting is often a solitary and isolated activity but these weekend events take a village! Thank you students, friends, neighbors, and fellow artists!

I’m very appreciative the Denver community is so enthused and supportive of creative events like this. Saturday was very busy! And despite some cooler and rainy weather on Sunday (you just don’t expect to be under a snuggie in June!) I sold many paintings which is always fantastic.

I’m often asked what sold after a market like this. Of course each venue is unique but over the weekend I found birds continued to be a popular. This is good news for all us bird painters. (In fact a blue jay bird theme was picked for the official Cherry Creek Art Festival poster this year).

I was also happy to see that my horse paintings were selling well—another favorite subject. And as always landscapes were popular at this event. (Denver is home to many amazing landscape painters.) But I did notice paintings that include water seemed more in demand which was interesting.

All year I’ve heard that buyers are looking for larger paintings and from what I could tell watching shoppers walk by and in my own booth (I sold 3 out of 4 of my largest works) that seems to be true.
In the next few weeks I’ll post some of my smaller pieces (there were some very nice “leftovers”) through my Daily Paintworks gallery. 

June’s going to be a great art month. I’m headed to Dave Santillanes plein air landscape painting workshop in Evergreen. In fact with some of my market profits I just ordered the new Strada mini easel which I can’t wait to try (I have the Coulter system now and I like it but wanted a lighter option.)

I thought a plein air workshop like this would be the perfect way to kick off summer painting. Speaking of painting now that I’ve rested a few days it’s time to get back to the easel! Thanks everyone and have a colorful summer week!

Fauving in February

"Big Red" 16 x 16 oil on panel (work in progress)

“From the moment I held the box of colors in my hands, I knew this was my life. I threw myself into it like a beast that plunges towards the thing it loves.”
― Henri Matisse

After working on a few snowscapes earlier this week, I took a short break to start this high chroma fauvist inspired still life. I enjoy working from life but this was from a photo from a previous still life I'd set up. I knew painting with intense warm colors would provide some immediate winter relief--and it did.

A still life painting like this reminds me that I could spend hours carefully staging and arranging a strong still life. Typically though I just grab some things based on color and see what happens. That being said it is kind of fun to look around your surroundings for intriguing objects.

Could be an interesting "creative jump start" the next time you just don’t feel like painting. After rall, if you have to craft a successful still life you’re still working with colors, design, composition, etc. FYI, here’s a blog post I found with some helpful still life staging tips.

One painter who’s not in winter denial is talented Colorado landscape painter Marc Hanson. He’s been outside since February 1 painting four--yes 4--daily snowscapes.  I’ve really enjoyed watching his daily posts from the comfort of my studio.

Tomorrow I’m really looking forward to Quang Ho’s oil painting demo. It’s all day so I plan to have lots of notes and photos to share.  While I’ll be happy to watch him paint anything, I’ve got my fingers crossed for a snowscape. In the meantime, have a colorful weekend everyone!
P.S. For more still life ideas and inspiration you can check out my Pinterest “Not so Still Life” board.

Three Birds. Many Lessons.

Snowy Junco 8x10 oil on cotton canvas panel

One of my goals in early Jan was to start the year off by participating in Leslie Saeta’s painting challenge. But due to travel and other conflicts this month it was not to be. A big kudos though to all of you who did participate—I greatly missed the camaraderie and look forward to the next one. 

My return to the easel was challenging--For most of the month I had “polar vortex” bronchitis that just wouldn’t budge. The reality of being a “dedicated” artist is that you may sometimes paint in less than ideal conditions. When this happens, or you have limited time, I recommend keeping everything as simple as possible. 

Cheery Chickadee 8x8 oil on Raymar linen panel

Bird no. 1: Cheerful Chickadee

For me this meant a small (8x8 square), limited palette, and enjoyable subject matter. This cheerful chickadee is not bad for a quick study but I can tell I’m not 100%. (That’s a nice way of saying I was coughing so violently that the brush was hard to hold on to at times.) That being said I believe every painting provides us with valuable self-instruction.

Rosy Robin 8x10 oil on Ampersand Gesso panel

Bird no 2: High Key Robin

Moving on the next day for my robin painting, I chose a slightly larger (8x10 Ampersand gesso board) and somewhat more complicated high key value structure. You just don’t have the bold value contrast that can hold a painting together. So again with my robin painting a perfectly respectable study but I think I can improve on the composition, shape interest, edgework, etc.

Bird no. 3: Snowy Junco

In today's post you can see the junco has (in my opinion) more interesting shapes and paint quality ans well as better color harmony. It’s not a perfect bird painting by any means but I think it’s going in the right direction.  Best of all, I feel much better and am not starting February cold--no pun intended. Happy winter painting everyone!

P.S. I'm usually painting during foot ball season but but this Sunday as a proud Denverite I have to say Go Broncos!