Working (WIP), processing... processing

I am working on another French piece (dreaming on canvas) at the moment. I'll be finished with this one shortly, and will be starting my large cloud paintings and the first pieces for Whistle Pik. Did I tell you? I have been offered some wall space in the gallery of my dreams! They want much larger pieces than I have been making, so every time a painting sells, I am to replace it with a larger one. Yee-haw!!! I have so been wanting to work large!


So moving on to what I have been mulling over this morning...

I've been thinking about the transitional relationship between highlights and shadows, human behavior, and addiction. Odd combo, yes?

There is something of a warm shock in the shift between light and shadows. Its like those tantalizing wisps of electricity that pass between two people with great chemistry. Its a deep, sometimes clear heat that is obvious to the parties involved, but not as noticeable to indifferent onlookers. It is fleeting and delicate, but powerful. I think THAT transition between the shades can make a spectacular painting out of an OK one.

But its not just about the transition.
A good painting has the lure of beautiful form, clear and sound values, and luscious textures for that fabulous little spark of chemistry to turn it into something amazing.

Transitions are exciting. The problem arises when that lovely bit of chemistry is taken too far. In the excitement of noticing those wonderful little explosions of heat between cool and warm colors, it is easy to over emphasized that transition and lose the impact.

All things in moderation, right?

Aloof, baby. Aloof!

Or is it passion, baby, passion?

Every once in a while we artists sail through a piece, totally in The Zone, fascinated, in love with the process, and the finished piece is bathed in heavenly light as a chorus of angels sing its glory. Those times are fleeting, but so incredibly sensual that they keep us coming back for more. There is a secret hope that the next painting process will be magic. That hope is what keeps us working through the monotonous, "I've lost my muse" times.
Its an addiction.

Hello, my name is Sara and I am an addict.

Colorado Storm Clouds

Colorado Storm Clouds
16" x 20"
oil on canvas
Click here to purchase.

I really enjoyed this painting! This was from another of my fabulous stash of reference photos from that glorious rainy sunset. I was trying to decide between a photo of boats in the water, but this one won out. I enjoyed the more subdued colors in this photo.

The funny thing about cloud paintings is how they look like a big fat stinking mess until right before they are finished. I learned a while back not to freak out about the pig sty on my cloudy canvases until it is all over and done with. I wiped several paintings before learning that lesson.

I am trying to concentrate on composition. I've been reading, and the almighty "they" seem to agree that the key to a good painting is a good design. Food for thought.

Another Skyscape - WIP

16" x 20"

Its been a while, but here is the start of another cloud painting.

Texas Windmill- testing, tesing 1,2,3

Texas Windmill
6" x 12"
oil on canvas

Oh joy! I have been trying to learn a new program (Aperture 2) and I have made a breakthrough. I can now adjust a photo, and then (hold onto your hats!) POST IT ON MY BLOG!!!! WOOOAAAAH!

Sounds simple, I know, but I totally underestimated the differences between a Mac and a plain ol' PC. I will never go back. NEVER, I TELL YOU! The only thing I really miss is the "end" button, and the right click... I think I saw something in the manual about that- I'll have to read it again.

So to the painting... This is a sweet little plein air piece I just love. (I'm setting it aside as another option for the Whistle Pik show. I like it that much.) The windmill and water tank are situated right next to a farmhouse surrounded by fields, hay bales, barbed wire fences, and a few clumps of cacti. As soon as the cactus fruit are plump and purple I am going to pick some and eat em! Beautiful views and tasty fruit. Life is good.

I may need to retake the photo. Its a bit washed out.
This is a test of the emergency blog post system.... this is only a test.

Blue Clouds

Blue Clouds
9" x 12"
oil on linen canvas board
Click here to purchase.

I so love these panels. The linen has much more of a tooth than the cotton.

Working from a computer screen is very different from a photo or life. My clouds came out much more blue, but I like them like that. I was surprised to see the painting in natural light this morning. Lighting makes a difference.

I may use this scene again sometime and tweak the cloud colors to more grays and purples... just to see what happens.

HAY!

Hay!
9" x 12"
oil on canvas board (linen)
Click here to purchase.

About a month ago I was driving down Friendship Lane and saw all these wonderful pot-bellied hay bales lounging in the fields on either side of the road. I took some pictures and used them for the first time last night. I had originally set up my easel off the back porch, but it was soooo hot and the sun was soooo bright that I wimped out and decided to work from a photo instead.

I hadn't painted since I went up to Washington to pack my stuff for the move, so I was feeling a bit rusty. I have to admit, I was not mentally in the best of places while working on this one, but I found forcing myself to focus on the process of painting to be good medicine. It was a good reminder to ditch the "tossers," as my friend Simon puts it, and move on. Unpleasant people and unhappy thoughts are not worth wasting my time and energy on, especially when I can put my energy toward something as amazing as creation.

Art and laughter are the best medicine.

And chocolate.
We cannot forget chocolate!

Texas Summer Sunset

Texas Summer Sunset
9" x 12"
oil on linen board

This is the view from the middle of the field next to my mom's house. Just over the hill is the Kerrville Highway and some motels I forget the name of. The view hasn't changed much since I was a teenager. I'm glad.

I love this painting! Not just because I am in the painting-loving-mood, I am just really excited about this one. I love that pole with all the lines and boxes and streetlights sprouting out in every direction, and the colors that just explode out of nowhere at that most magical time of the day: The Golden Hour. Rightly named. King Midas had his way with the sky and the field, and every little weed became a thing of beauty.

The first day I worked on this one was kind of a mini disaster. I didn't get everything down that I wanted and my tripod was falling apart. Yes, my lovely, new, super-fantastic tripod that I adore so very much because it shrinks down to the size of a pixie cane and weighs just a bit more than a pencil... Anyway! The next day was better, and I was thankful for the previous day's work because I was able to concentrate on what I liked best about the scene- the contrast in colors. I am wishing now that I had taken a picture of the first day's work so you could see the changes. There were changes! Not huge, luckily the infrastructure was pretty sound. Just minor things like a shadow placement here and there, but even the small changes made a big difference.

I like it so much I am going to hang on to it for consideration into the Whistle Pik show in December.

I think this is another one of those transitional paintings for me. While working on it, I felt more in control of what I was doing than I ever have been. I even scraped away some of the paint in the sky on a whim and ended up with some much needed subtle variation. I didn't freak out when some of the blue-ish green from the trees blended into the sky... I just let it be what it would be, and I like the result.

I would like to say thank you to my friend Oscar Arroyo for sparking my interest with his utterly luscious paintings of electricity poles. I love it when artists take the mundane and make it beautiful.

Oh! and this painting is on linen, not my regular canvas. I totally see why people never go back. I'm hooked. I plan on working through the last of my canvases and changing over for good. The paint behaves differently on linen. Subtle maybe, but definitely different. It just feels good.

Little update: This might be the last post I make for the next three weeks. We'll see how things go. I'm in the process of moving back to Texas, and you know how that goes...

Pip pip, cheerio- I'll be back soon!



P.S. Thank you all for leaving your comments- every blogger and artist knows the incredible value of your support!

River Road

River Road
6" x 12"
oil on canvas board

Funny, but I didn't care much for this painting until today. I tucked it away in my wet canvas carrier to dry for a few days and lo and behold- I love it! It makes me want to get out and paint more. Maybe I am just in the right sort of mood to enjoy it now.

Enchanted Rock Project- WIP

This was my first attempt at painting Enchanted Rock. The colors are way off and the dome looks like a giant potato. I am going to rework it using Enchanted Rock Shadows and some reference photos I took as a guide.

Tomorrow Mom, Soren and I are heading to Austin to run some errands, have lunch at Whole Foods, and check out Plein Air Austin's "In the Plein Air Tradition: Art on Location" show. I love Austin! I have been able to see (in person) more incredible art in the past six weeks than I have in the past year.

A Lamplit Memory

A Lamplit Memory
6" x 8"
oil on canvas board
Click here to purchase.

This was a study of reflected light and colors. Once I really started looking, I was amazed to see colors in places I wouldn't have imagined. I love this little painting.

It says warm, cozy, safe, and peaceful to me... and the picture in the painting is one of my son reclining on my arm shortly after he was born. I just may have to do this one larger.

Still playing Catch-Up

Aunt Vicki's Garden
6" x 8"
oil on canvas board
Sold

I loved the colors of the light, shadows and reflected light on and around that pot, and I had fun with the limestone paving stones.

A Break from the Heat

A Break from the Heat
6" x 8"
oil on canvas board
Click here to purchase.

Those clouds were a welcomed sight. It was so hot! I loved the cool swirling energy of the scene. It was a relief.
I truly saw something for the first time the other day- there is a warm band that usually stands between a cool color and a really intense/bright one. Does that make sense? Anyway I find myself looking for it everywhere now. I was so obsessed with it when I did this painting that I think I may have gone a little overboard with it, but I still like it. I love every painting that represents a transition in the way I see or think. It means progress.

Mansfield Dam: Lake View I
6" x 8"
original oil on canvas board
Click here to purchase.

Mansfield Dam: Lake View II
6" x 8"
original oil on canvas board
Click here to purchase.

I got to go paint with the Plein Air Austin Crew and these are the result. It was a great painting session filled with beautiful views, wonderful people and unexpected weather changes. We could see the rain coming from across the lake. Awesome.

Texas Oaks

Texas Oaks
6" x 8"
original oil on canvas board
Click here to purchase.

Another wonderful view from my mom's back yard. My son was taking a nap, so sat on the back door's step and stole a few minutes for this painting.

I love this painting. Greens have been giving me trouble for a while now, but I stopped trying to see them as shades of green and started looking for the reds, purples and blues instead.

I am so hooked.

My Mother's Crepe Myrtle

My Mother's Crepe Myrtle
6" x 8"
original oil on canvas board
Sold

I was visiting with my mom while she watered the back yard and fell in love with this Crepe Myrtle. The evening sun was shining on it perfectly and the blooms were fantastic.

I am amazed at how many stunning views I find in my mother's back yard. I never saw so much beauty in the Texas Hill Country as I do now. Everywhere I turn I find another spot I would like to paint. I love plein air!

Ahhhhhh.....

Seattle Boats
6" x 9"
oil on canvas board
Sold

Small paintings move wonderfully fast. I can see why people become daily painters. Instant gratification- ahhhhh!

Plein Air painting is Hard.

Union Flat II
6" x 8"
oil on canvas board

Whew! I decided today to go back to Union Flat Creek to try my hand at the rocks again. Getting there, but they still just look like globs of paint rather than rocks. What am I not doing that I should?

I may have to do some up close and personal rock studies...

I also decided to concentrate on the drawing bit of this painting, and found that helped a lot. I've been reading Richard Schmid's Alla Prima so today, I was trying to look at the subject as a specific problem that I needed to work out. As I was painting, I realized how little attention I have been paying to the exact placement of objects in the view.

Color. All the greens really get me. Subtle changes make all the difference, I suppose...

I need more drawing practice.

Multitasking: Completed Castle, another plein air painting, and Kreativ blogger.

Castle on Anderson Road
11" x 14"
oil on canvas
Sold

Woohoo! Finished! I fought with the fence for a while- scraped it three times. Finally I daubed some paint down and holy-pamonie! it looked like a fence. How did that happen!?

Thank you little painting elves.

Sunset Cloud Study
6" x 8"
oil on canvas board
Click here to purchase.

I got to paint outside again last night! I ended up with this high key painting of the view from the parking lot in front of the apartment. I wasn't chasing shapes this time. I sketched out the basic design first and then went with it.

And, thank you Jared Kelly for passing the Kreativ Blogger award on to me. I will happily pass it on to seven other people whose blogs I really like. Check them out- it is worth your time.

Marian Fortunati
Laurel Daniel
Liz Holm
Perry Brown
Dana Cooper
Lee Brown
Rick Nilson
Terry Miura

So that was eight... I can't count.

Yet another lovely plein air painting day

Break Time
8" x 6"
oil on canvas board

Painting number one: My first ever attempt at painting sheep! I like it. I practiced rearranging the scene to suit my needs. Which was kind of a necessity because the sheep kept moving around as they belched at their young. These sheep didn't bleat. They belched. It was the strangest thing I have ever heard.

Blah
8" x 6"
oil on canvas board

Painting number two: Same location, facing a different direction. I don't care for this one. There is not enough definition in the trees- they just sort of blend in with things they shouldn't. There isn't enough contrast to suit my taste either. I also don't care for the way the trees all sort of line up. Irritating.

The sheep were very obliging and moved to this side of the field when I started painting it.
I'm going to try this one again another day.

Union Flat
6" x 8"
oil on canvas board

Painting number 3: I have driven past this scene like fifty times and never stopped to try it. The rocks are what drew me, initially, but I ended up concentrating more on the water so my rocks are pretty indistinct. I enjoyed this painting, and will definitely be stopping there again. Next time I will focus on the rocks a bit more...

The picture from Anderson Road - WIP

Doodling on a painting's packaging is really turning out to be a great thing. I did this one last night and started the painting today.


This is the first sketch. I didn't like it. Way too centered. So I wiped it and sketched again.


I like this one much better.

This is a real building. It is a bunch of rusted scrap metal pieced together to make an incredible little castle on the hill. - I see a washing machine door, car door, three iron head/foot boards, what looks like some sort of giant drill head, and all kinds of other things I couldn't name even if I wanted to. I saw the tip top of one of the little towers from the road and fell in love with the place.

Its really cool.