Parade of Color and Thanks!

"Sea Treasures" For Sale at Parade of Homes Dream Home 

In my previous post I was sharing my thoughts about about how artists might want to consider  upgrading their studio/supplies this time of year.  Promise to return to that line of thought soon. But my art week was so robust I wanted to I wanted to send out a few "thank yous, thank yous" to the art universe...

First, a very special thanks to the lovely Foothills Art Center in Golden, CO and to my wonderful artists (several who came from far away which is always appreciated!) for a super enjoyable oil painting workshop--It was a pleasure meeting you and I look forward to returning to this inspirational venue next year!

Artists enjoy color at Foothills Art Center workshop!

I always learn something when I teach too. Some of the students where taking demo pics and writing notes along side with a cool iPad notebook app called "Bamboo" which some of you might enjoy/find helpful for classes. (Note to self--Time for a better stylus!)

"Summery Hen" oil painting workshop demo

Looking for an affordable weekend oil painting workshop? My next "Glowing Colors" transparent oil painting workshop will be one day Saturday October 28 at Curtis Art Center on October 28. You may find more info/registration links here.

Second, I'm honored to part of a special local artists show at one of the Dream Homes (not far from my studio on South Garfield) on the Denver Parade of Homes tour this year. The setting is a gorgeous contemporary home so it was a "joy and challenge" creating some contemporary abstracts that would be a good match in this special setting. (My post image today is one of these.) All the art in the house is for sale too and the show is Free so stop by if you get a chance!

Also, reminder my group Denver painting classes resume in just a few weeks on September 14--Registration is now open! The Thurs. AM class is Glowing Colors in Oil Painting (10 weeks) where I'll share my tips and techniques for working with transparent oil paints.

The PM class is "Show me the Colors" (5 weeks)--Which will be kind of "color bootcamp" with tips, theory and exercises for oil, acrylic, and watercolor painters. You can register/get more info on the Park Hill Art Club Website. 

You can win cool art books on the studio FB page this September!

Finally, be sure to follow/like my art studio news on Facebook--I'll be giving away some of my favorite art books in September--So stayed tuned for that. Thank you again everyone who supports me in my art adventures. Have a wonderful week!

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!

The Touchstone of Painting

"Melon Medley" 8x10 oil painting on archival canvas panel--SOLD

Bring a brioche, I want to see you paint one: still life is the touchstone of painting. Manet

Happy mid-January everyone! I love getting “back to work” after the holidays. I’m not really someone who enjoys longs breaks so I’m really enjoying teaching all my new winter session classes out and about and in my studio.

Each week I’m blessed to work more than 30 creative painting students! If you teach you know this can be a lot of energy output but it’s so rewarding and inspiring. (For more info about my classes please visit my Denver painting class/workshop page on my website.)

As a busy art instructor (thanks students!) I'm often asked how I make time for painting. It's not always easy but it helps to stay so motivated that it would be strange NOT to paint. Painting challenges like this month's "30 in 30" help as does teaching. Winter is also a great time of year to be inventory building for the spring and summer shows.

Speaking of summer, I know watermelon is more of a summery fruit but I've always loved the intense color pop that certain fruits can add to a still life (think of Cezanne's oranges.) Or just look at these two beautiful still life examples featuring watermelons from masters Peale and Bongart. Angus Wilson (a color contemporary still life painter) also includes melons in his works.

Sarah Peale

Sergei Bongart

Thanks for stopping by! I wish you a healthy creative week and continued happy painting to all the 30 in 30 challenge artists!

Seeking Autumn Colors

"Rainbow Rooster" 8x10 oil on gessoboard--SOLD--Thank you!

Delicious autumn!

My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. George Eliot

Happy weekend everyone! Gorgeous early fall weather in Denver and having a wonderful time teaching two new painting classes in Denver at Blackridge ArtistsSchool (check out their fantastic "big names" workshop schedule) and Park Hill Art Club.

I also attended several art events this week which means I’ve had the pleasure of meeting at least 30 new artists! (Denver is an amazingly creative area!) Thank you again new and continuing students for your support and interest this fall!

Speaking of being "out and about" next Tues. morning on Sept. 22 I’ll be doing a demo at Blackridge of one of my favorite “layered” oil painting techniques which I employed in this colorful rooster daily painting today. That’s the “wet in wet” opaque pigments over the transparent block in. For more info about this demo please feel free to email me. I think I'll paint something with feathers...but we'll see!

This painting process may not sound that interesting on paper but it’s what creates the glowing color and often pleasant surprises.  It's a great match for florals and feathers! As many of you may know this is the approach used by artists such as Dreama Tolle Perry, Nancy Medina, Hedi  Moran, and Mary Maxam just to name a few. 

Thanks--Enjoy the rest of your weekend and all the deliciousness that is early autumn!

Summer Secrets: 6 New Art Tools for Under $20

In summer I like to make the “process” of painting as relaxed and enjoyable as possible while still being as productive. This means I'm always on the hunt for "new and improved" painting helpers and art supplies. I've come across some very affordable (most under 10 bucks) artist "accessories" recently and wanted to share them with you. Enjoy and happy summer painting!

A New Take on an Old Colorful Favorite
If you’re like me you have a few color wheels in your studio. Recently though I came across this interesting “color harmony” wheel (seen above). This version includes pigment names as well as a neutral gray (not white) background. You can order here on Etsy for about $15. (Watercolorists you may also find a detailed Quiller color wheel helpful.)

Centurion Linen Pad
Linen is my favorite oil painting surface so thanks to my artist friend Dan for showing me these handy professional linen canvas pads (avail. in oil primed or acrylic gesso). The very portable pads come in a variety of standard sizes. (Note you can always adhere the linen to a hard surface later.) Great for studio or outdoors! A 9x12 pad with 10 sheets is just $19.99 currently online at Jerrys.

New Gamblin Solvent Free Medium
Thanks to Gamblin, I paint almost 100% solvent free in oils. I’ve used their Solvent Free Gel (in place of a medium such as Liquin) for a while now and am very happy with it. I just tried their new solvent free medium (thinner than gel) and so far it's great too and helps make summer painting a breeze!

Portable Brush Cleaner
Need more a compact brush cleaner for plein air?  How cute is this compact super lightweight Guerilla Mighty Mite (which comes in in 2 sizes). Fill this Winsor Newton Solvent Free brush cleaner and I'm good to go for convenient toxic free brush cleaning indoors or out!

Zipper Mesh Brush Bags
You know how long painting brushes sometimes don’t fit in a conventional bag? These Creative Mark mesh bags help you organize your supplies on the go and they're stronger than your typical plastic grocery zip bag. Best of all my favorite the longer brush bag is under $2.00!

Art Tools on Tablets
I've used a couple of artist  apps for a while now on my iPad: ValueViewer and AccuView and find them extremely helpful. Recently I also added Jackson's Art Grid--another very useful app which allows you to easily crop and grid over a photo you take as you work or one you already have. 

P.S. For more info about my upcoming Denver painting classes and art workshops please visit my website.

Top 10 List Just for Artists

I’m going to share that in college I had three big celebrity crushes: Han Solo (I mean Harrison Ford), Don Johnson (I mean Sonny Crockett) and David Letterman...

College Era Dav--Maybe he's reading my letter??

So I’m a little melancholy painting in the studio this morning after watching Dave’s last show last night. My crush on Letterman was so well known that my friends wrote a letter to him (on my behalf) proposing marriage to him. (Sadly, I did not get a reply.)

I have fond memories of gathering around my little color Sony TV with fellow students to watch Dave even if we had an early exam. So in honor of Mr. Letterman I’ve put together my own artist themed (of course) Top Ten List…Ladies and gentlemen here we go... 

Top 10 Best Things about Being an Artist
10. Wearing a teal beret (and maybe even a red cape) to the Costco seems perfectly reasonable.
9.  When someone says: My child is a wonderful artist--You really DO want to hear about it.
8. What happens at the art supply store…Stays at the art supply store.
7. Everyone wants to be your Pictionary partner.
6. You think something “sketchy” doesn’t sound well that bad.
5. Your somewhat “eccentric” collection of bones, rusty cups, and old string is perceived to be “charming” and “artistic” by friends and family.
4. You CAN draw a straight line.
3. You know there's way more than 50 shades of gray. (Thanks to my friend and fellow late night fan MR for that one.)
2.Your artistic license doesn’t require a photo.

And the number one best thing about being an artist...
1. Your “non traditional” schedule allows you to stay up late and enjoy the same crazy shows you watched in college!

Thanks for all the memories Dave—you'll be missed! P.S. My next upcoming group class starts Wed. June 24. For more info please visit my website. Cheers everyone!

New Year, New Art

"Snow Dog" 8x10 oil on linen

I believe in living life the way that you want to live it every day, and if you do that, you don't really need to have New Year's resolutions.  American Designer Tom Ford

Happy New Year! My daily "resolution" is always to find more painting time. But with teaching, post holiday exercise, dinner with friends, daily errands, etc. I think a more realistic goal is to simply to paint as often as I can. That way the blank canvas feels more welcoming than foreboding...

Speaking of teaching, a big January thank you to all my ongoing and new students! You bring color, creativity and your unique spirits into my studio every week. I look forward to painting with all of you in the upcoming year and helping you achieve goals as well. Thanks too all my collectors for your support as well last year!

Quick note about my paintings for sale—If you see a painting that you’re interested in but that’s not for sale at my online DPW gallery I may be setting it aside for a gallery, show, festival, etc.  So it may be in a “holding” pattern but still available, so do feel free to contact me.

And if you’re interesting in my private painting and art classes in my Denver art studio (sorry for SE friendly sentence!) please check out my student testimonials and class info on the Scarlet Owl Studio website. 

Regarding today's post, I took this picture on very chilly New Year’s Eve in my beloved Washington Park. Initially I skipped over this photo but realized that honing in on the couple (as well as their shadows) created a much more dynamic and interesting design which I really enjoyed painting. Thanks all--I hope your New Year is filled with peace, creativity, color, and success!

An Oil Painter's Confession

"Bella Buckskin" 24 x 24 acrylic on deep gallery wrap canvas (in progress)

After a super sunny warm fall it's suddenly freezing in the Mile High City today! As with all poor weather, this is the ideal excuse to skip my "non art" errands get some work done in the studio.

More specifically, I’m prepping for my painting demo tomorrow evening at the lovely Cherry Creek Country Club. My thanks again to the Club for the invite! Picking a demo painting subject is never easy (at least it's not for me) but I’m pretty sure I’m going to work on one of my favorite types of paintings—a contemporary colorful equine painting which is my post today.

As a daily painter I will always adore buttery alla prima oil painting. So I'm sometimes asked why I still use acrylic paint. The fact is that acrylic has many advantages which many of my painting students enjoy every day in the studio.

So I thought I'd share 10 reasons why an oil painter like me still uses acrylics depending on the project and why you too might appreciate this flexible and versatile medium:

1. Do you tend to change your mind as you paint? Acrylics dry so quickly I can easily paint over a section or “correct” with some gesso.  .
2. I’m braver and more experimental with acrylics—You can fix just about anything even if you paint thickly. (No “fat or lean” rule like oil.)
3. Depending on the canvas size, I could (and have) change the entire background color in less than 10 minutes.
4. I can quickly glaze a thin transparent layer of paint over a section to adjust or enhance a color. (Just about impossible in wet in wet oil painting.)
5. If oil is "black tie" I think of acrylic as "casual Fridays." Plus it's more affordable. No fancy linen or sable brushes. And while I prefer pro grade paint like Liquitex Heavy Body I've done perfectly well with Hobby Lobby brand (love the turquoise!) and even 50 cent "mistake" hardware paint leftovers.  
6. Large fresh acrylic paintings are easy and clean to transport. If you have thalo blue oil paint on your steering wheel or leather seats you'll appreciate this. 
7. The harder edges of the acrylic work well for a bolder, more graphic style. 
8. I could easily add a “mixed media” component like pastel, collage or a texture gel/paste for interest and variety.
9. Blending acrylics and soft edges can be tricky but it becomes easier with alacrity, more paint, and practice. (You could also add a slow drying medium or blending medium.)
10. Usually, I can complete a larger painting in acrylic faster than I can in oil paint—this is very helpful for art deadlines like shows, festivals, etc.

Thanks and best wishes for all the time you need to be as creative as you can be!

Challenge Day 13: The Beauty of Black

"Wise Guy" 30x40 Acrylic on Canvas Private Collection

"Women think of all colors except the absence of color. I have said that black has it all. White too. Their beauty is absolute. It is the perfect harmony.” Coco Chanel

Happy September Saturday everyone! If there’s one really controversial pigment color for artists it might be black. It seems to be the one pigment artists either love or never use. Which brings me to the question I hear a lot: Is black even a color? 

It’s a good question..If you add white to your black pigment you’ll likely get some kind of gray that leans toward a hue such as blue. So in that case I use black a really dark neutral blue. Here’s an interesting post by the late RobertGenn about using black in art. 

In most cases, I mix a “chromatic” black meaning I create a really dark pigment that looks blackish. In oil for example, I might use ultramarine and transparent red oxide. This is a very nice dark neutral mix for landscapes or animals. 

In my contemporary owl acrylic painting today I just cut to the chase and used really opaque mars black (which also leans a little warmer). In a painting with more subtle natural colors the black helps add needed contrast especially to the focal area of the eyes. Thanks stopping by--have a wonderful rest of your weekend!

Challenge Day 5: Leave it to Nature

"Blue Maple, Red Oak" mixed media on gallery wrap 18x24

By all these lovely tokens September days are here, with summer's best of weather and autumn's best of cheer.  Helen Hunt Jackson

I’m always sad to see summer wind down. But as a nature painter, fall brings so many interesting and exciting painting subjects such as leaves, vines, gourds, apples, etc.  My color goal today in this contemporary large leaf painting was to incorporate all the "color wheel" primaries—blues, reds, and yellows.

My photo reference was from a large park where there are a variety of leaf species. I started with a strong black contour drawing of the leaves. I just used a large Sharpie but I think India ink and a brush would have been interesting as well. I also quickly washed in the initial colors with acrylic before applying my oils. This is great time saver if you need an oil painting to dry quickly. 

Am I done? I Maybe… I might add some more paint layers at some point. But for now I’m content to hang it up and move on to my next challenge painting. Thanks for stopping by and have a colorful week!

Challenge Day 2: The Language of Dreams

"Summer Swish" 8x10 equine oil painting SOLD

Color! What a deep and mysterious language, the language of dreams. Paul Gauguin

Day 2 Goal: Capture a hot August day with a bright but limited palette

Hope everyone enjoyed a lovely sunny last August weekend like we had here.  Many thanks to all everyone who visited yesterday for painting challenge day 1! Did you see all the amazing Day 1 paintings? 

Since these will be almost daily postings I’m going to try to keep these postings short and sweet.  Plus, I need to spend as much time in the studio as possible. So today my “color” theme continues with different three pigment palette (plus white):

• Cobalt blue
• Permanent Rose
• Indian Yellow

At first I wasn’t so sure about this combo, but I grew to love it. I don’t use cobalt that often (I tend to avoid the more toxic and pricey pigments). But it's a delicate transparent blue that makes luscious violets so I can see why it's on so many oil painters' palettes. 

I was actually birding in a park a few weeks ago when I saw these pair of horses grazing on a hillside. I'm a lifelong horse lover so I’m happy to report that this piece has already been sold to a neighbor who rides. The best part of a daily challenge? You get a fresh canvas in the morning! Happy late summer painting everyone!

The Painting Knife of the Party

"Jazzy Crow" 8x01 oil on linen (for sale at Framed Image Gallery)

Happy Summer everyone! It's going to be exciting painting week. Today I'm getting ready for a three day plein air workshop in beautiful Evergreen, Colorado later this week with with landscape artist Dave Santillanes. It's going to be a challenge but I'm looking forward to it!

In the meantime I wanted to post this new painting and offer my thoughts on painting with a knife-- one of my favorite oil painting techniques. FYI, I consider a palette knife to be a mixing knife. But really, one could mix/paint with either and I often do. And artists seem to use the terms interchangeably.

The knife has been of my favorite painting tools for years. It works wonderfully (most of the time) for adding texture or thicker impasto paint layers in the final stages. And sometimes, as with my crow painting today, I paint the entire painting from start to finish with the knife. 

Even if you prefer using a  brush (which I mostly use as well) I think having some knife skills are very useful for oil painting. Painting knives, for example, can be used to quickly rework or scrape a section. This scraping often results in exciting sections of interesting broken color effects. Note that scraping over wet paint and scraping over dry paint render different results so be sure to try to both.

My favorite painting knives have two key features: An "soft grip" rubber handle (I do use wood handle knives but not as much) and a pointed “diamond shape” tip for control. I most often use the RGM knives Regarding size—just like brushes the bigger the canvas the bigger the knife size.

There are several oil painting books that feature knife painting as a key approach if you want to explore this technique: Susan Sarback's Capturing Radiant Color in Oil, Lois Griffel's Painting the Impressionist Landscape, and How to See Color and Paint It by Arthur Stern--which has fantastic painting exercises. 

Thanks for stopping by! Finally, I’m happy to share that this painting (along with 3 others) will be featured in an upcoming show in Denver at Framed Image Gallery. For more info, please visit my Events Page on my website.

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!