Plums...Now and Then

"The Three Plums"
5 x 7 oil on Raymar Canvas Panel
SOLD

I have painted this image before back in June of 2011.  I wanted to see how differently I would paint it today and this comparing is something I like to do at the end of the year.  Here is the version painted back in 2011.  As always an interesting exercise.

"Red Plums"
5 x 7 oil on Gessobord
From the archives and sold

Cat Nap

"Cat Nap"
8 x 10 Oil on Gessobord
SOLD

JunieB and I set our goals for 2013 over coffee yesterday. 

One of mine that I already mentioned was to paint bigger.  (One 8 x 10 or larger a week.)

One of my other goals is to branch out and do urban landscapes which interest me greatly.  (One urban landscape a month.)

Today, though, was to break through an old albatross that has been hanging around my neck....this cat painting.   It had been in the following state for almost 2 years.  And I couldn't figure out how to tackle it.  Well, today was the day...and I'm glad I waited.  I'm now ready to move forward.

Look out 2013, I'm getting some grit in my bones!

Green Door

One of my goals for 2013 is to paint bigger!  And I'd like to paint some urban landscapes. Why wait till then? 

"Green Door"
8 x 10 Oil on Gessobord
SOLD

A Very Good Week

"Casey's Barn"
5 x 7 oil on Raymar Panel
SOLD

 

"Year of the Lime"
5 x 7 Oil on Canvas Panel
SOLD

 

 Hi folks,  Just checking in to share Sunday, Monday and today's paintings.  And to update my little saga with back pain.

It's been a week since my first visit to the chiropractor and I'm feeling so much better.  He (and his office manager wife) suggested I read "Wheat Belly" by William Davis, M.D.  I was not really in the mood for a lecture about my weight, but I was in so much pain and feeling so lousy that I thought "What the hell?"  So I ordered it on my kindle and just finished it Tuesday night.

From the beginning of the book I could tell that this was going to be an important read for me.  So I started cutting out wheat/gluten from my diet on Friday. I haven't followed the spirt of this new way of eating very well this week as I didn't quite understand how I was supposed to eat, but I have lost 6 pounds and feel much more alert and energetic....not to mention diminishing pain.

Dr. Davis, the author, is a cardiologist and also has a blog.  If you want the Quick and Dirty version of what he proposes, click here.

I will be sticking with it....gluten-free and daily painting!  What a combo...

Ach...I'm having trouble with blogger

 and can't seem to "caption" more than two paintings, or make them larger. 

 

"Am I Blue?"

5 x 7 oil on Canvas Panel

SOLD
 

In the Pink...At Least Someone Is...

"In the Pink"
5 x 7 Oil on Canvas Panel
Click Here to Purchase Painting

I received some free samples of Gamblin's FastMatte Alkyd Oil Colors in my goodie bag at the Colored Pencil Society of American convention this summer.  I stuck them in a drawer and just recently came across them, and thought I would try them out. 

This one was painted with a red, not sure which one...didn't write it down.  But it's a pink red and pretty intense.  I painted it as an undercolor on a canvas panel and let it dry for a couple of days.

I think it adds some harmony to the painting and I love the peeks of pinkish red popping out against the greens, yellows, and neutrals.

I'm hoping to be "in the pink" myself soon.  I have a chiropractor's visit tomorrow afternoon to see if I can get some help and relief from my back and right hip problems.

The Flirt...Among Other Things

"The Flirt"
4 x 4" oil on Gessobord over the old painting
SOLD

Original work painted almost one year ago that became "The Flirt". This one
got attacked by the sanding block, scratched with the embossing stylus
and rubbed with walnut oil.

And just for fun here is the cherry resource as I painted it almost 2 years ago.  This version sold, but I think it's quite interesting to see how my style, colors and brushwork have changed. Not to mention I see things quite differently, and get excited as an artist about different things. 

 

Ok, I'm Really Done....

"Combo Redux"
5 x 7 oil on Gessobord
SOLD

On my November 25th post, Progression of a Scratcher and Some Lessons, I started this painting.  In the post I noted that "less is more" and I had gotten too carried away with everything...color, scratching, brushstrokes, etc.

You know how in some portrait paintings, the eyes seem to follow you when you are in the room?  Well, that's how the original "Combo" felt to me, it was looking at me...taunting me. ;-)

So yesterday, with ice packs on my back and hips (damned arthritis), I tackled it again with the sanding block...getting rid of all the rough edges of paint.  Mixing a more neutral color for the background and foreground, tightening up my loosey-goosey brushstrokes, and minimizing the scraping/scratching.

I'm happy with it now and like the painterly quality it has to the edges.  It can now stop following me!

A Plethora of Pears This Week!

"Traditionally Yours"
4 x 4 Oil on Gessobord
SOLD

"Pears - Probably Number 50"
5 x 5 Oil on Gessobord
SOLD

Dealing with lots of back issues this week, so I've taken all my frustrations out on these pears and scratching the heck out of them! 

On the second painting I actually used a serrated plastic knife (from Wendy's ) to scratch hash marks into the wet paint.  It was painted over an underpainting of Gamblin FastMatte.  I'm finding I really like the FastMatte paints because they dry fast (in case it wasn't obvious) and are perfect for underpaintings.

Mandarin Before and After

"Mandarin"
5 x 5 Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas
Click Here to Purchase Painting



A "before" and "after for you today.  The bottom painting is what I started with.  It was a painting I started 2 years ago in my quest to teach myself to do oils.  I thought what I wanted to do was a glazing approach, layer after layer of transparent oil glazes, but that proved too tedious for me.  So this little gallery wrapped canvas (sides are 1.5") sat in my studio for 2 years.  Today was the day to finish it by just painting over the top of the underpainting.  It turned out a lot brighter and a little more painterly.

Mission accomplished!