Prairie Storm

"Prairie Storm" 5 x 7 Oil on Gessobord
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I don't often paint landscapes, but I will be taking a plein air (outdoor) workshop with Deb Groesser in May, and thought I best be brushing up (no pun intended) for some landscape painting.  This is from a reference from a kind soul on Wet Canvas.

In trying to stay with bold strokes, rich colors and soft edges, I began with the large shapes and then blended the shapes with a large brush.  For the impression of a rainstorm on the horizon, I pulled paint down from the dark cloud with a bristle brush.  As always, the painting is  more colorful and has more depth than the photograph of the painting.

If you would like to see some framing options for this painting, just email me at cynhaas@aol.com and I can send you a few photographic samples.

After our painting session at the studio, June and I went to the French Press in Lakewood, CO, and had a luscious lunch.....Hummus on Toasted Pita Salad.  A real Friday treat!

A Tuneup

"Three Red Plums" 5 x 7" Oil on Gessobord
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Some of you may know I recently had my blog critiqued by Tony Moffitt, Artist.Blog.Critique, and based on his assessment of my blog, along with looking at the reviews of quite a few other artists' blogs, I have made additional changes to my blog.  Tony rates the artist's blog on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the best.  I received a 6.9 before the changes were made.  The scale does not reflect the quality of the artwork, however Tony does give a review of the work.  Here is what Tony says about his rating system:

About the Blogsite Rating:

At the bottom of each critique, I have posted a 'Blogsite Rating'.This figure merely represents my opinion on how 'buyer-friendly' an artist's blogsite is to visit.
This Rating is taken from the perspective of a potential purchaser of art. I put myself in the shoes of a visitor/potential buyer at the artist's site, and I base my ratings on how well the site is presented, how easy it is to navigate, and the amount and quality of information the artist provides to make purchasing a piece of art as easy as possible.

Tony will give you a general critique of your art and a blog rating for free.  If you want a specific report of changes that can be made to your blog to improve your rating, he will provide a report for $25. (I believe this is Australian dollars.)

Here is the link to my review Cynthia Haase Fine Art

Great service!  Thanks Tony!

Sweet Tart..and Triceratops

"Sweet Tart" 5 x 5 Oil on Gessobord
SOLD

Painted in the studio this morning, and watched our little granddaughter, Emma, tonight.  She is the funniest little girl ever.  Such a quick wit and only 3 years old.  Tonight Papa was reading her a book about dinosaurs and the first page was about a triceratops.  She started on this lengthy story, for a 3 year old, about how she had seen one at the museum with Mommy and Daddy.  It was so scary and then it roared, like this...."ROOOOOOOOAAAAAR".  It was "so very" scary.  You just can't help but giggle.

Back to the studio on Wednesday......

Nectarines and a Beautiful Day..

"Nectarines" 5 x 5 Oil on Gessobord
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I love shopping in the produce section...yesterday I bought nectarines and a bag of cherries.  So you know what's coming......cherry paintings!

It was such a gorgeous day....and such a clean studio!  June cleaned yesterday and it looked so lovely when I walked in the morning.

January Pears....

"January Pears" 4 x 4 Oil on Gessbord
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Didn't paint what I was supposed to paint...just not enough energy today, and too many things on my mind.  So I called up the pears to the front line and they got some quick swipes of the brush.

Todays Work

"Me and My Shadow" 4 x 4 Oil on Gessoboard
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Underpainting for as yet unnamed 6 x 6" Oil on Gessobord

I had a couple of hours to work yesterday so set up a still life (see photo) with a white cup, white egg (yes, that same year-old egg from the studio fridge).  I got as far as the underpainting in raw umber and then decided I was too tired to finish, so then I just painted the two cranberries from the still life for a quickie...."Me and My Shadow".

Back to the studio tomorrow....

January's Apple....and GO Teabow

"January's Apple" 4 x 4 Oil on Gessobord
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Busy day today...enough time to paint a quick 4 x 4 this morning at the studio, then off to our local Denver Colored Pencil Society of American meeting.  Such fun!

Now I'm all nestled in to watch the Bronco's led by Tim Teabow...Go Broncos!!

Bitter Cold Out but Warm Studio

"Fruit Stand" 6 x 6 Oil on Gessobord
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The temperature was very bitter cold, single digits, this morning.  But our little studio is toasty warm after the landlord reconfigured the thermostat in the front three units.  June and I are very happy about the change.

The grapes in the painting are from my lunch (Starbucks Protein Bistro Box) and the lemon is from our fridge.  I wanted to do something fast and loose to get warmed up.  Why do the "fast and loose" become "slow and tight".  I managed to loosen this up as I went. 

As always of late....this is painted from life.

Incredible Inedible Egg

"Incredible Inedible Egg" 4 x 4 Oil on Gessobord
SOLD

I wanted something simple today.....however, I forgot how "unsimple" eggs are.  This egg is for show only, the expiration on the carton (in the art studio fridge) says February 15, 2011.  Almost a year old. 

Again was experimenting with white and trying to make them more colorful.  The egg has more yellows pinks and greens in real life.  This was a booger to photgraph.

Work in Progress....and Smaller Brushes

Work in Progress
"Apples and Crock" 6 x 6 oil on Gessobord
NFS

I ordered a couple of small brushes #1 and #2 flat last week.  Been waiting for them to arrive to work on this painting.  This is probably the most complex 6 x 6 I've worked on.  I need to finish the shapes on the right side of the cloth as it wraps around, and I also need to warm up the crock color.

Hope to finish tomorrow or Wednesday.  Tuesday is Emma day at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Red and Orange Day...

"Pear in Tulip Bowl" 6 x 6 Oil on Gessobord
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Today my challenge was to paint a colorful white.  Usually I try to stay away from white because my colors look gray and pasty.  But I set-up the little tulip bowl on red/orange construction paper and there was all sorts of color bounding around.  I was happy with the tulip bowl, so now I think I will challenge myself further and paint white objects on colored surfaces for several days.

Lime and Three Cranberries....and 2012 Word

"Lime and Three Cranberries" 4 x 4 Oil on Gessobord
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For the last couple of years I've selected a word for the year.  Some of my previous words have been "Dance", "Breathe", and "Paint.  This year my word to live by is "Strong". 

I have some pretty big challenges and opportunities this year:  President of Colored Pencil Society of America, Marketing for Lakewood Arts Council, teaching a pastel workshop in April here in town, and again in November in Rising Sun, IN, teaching a colored pencil workshop on an Alaskan cruise in September, taking a plein air workshop in Carmel by the Sea in May.  Not to mention painting and preparing for several exhibitions, and my daily paintings to sell to pay my studio rent.

Given all that I want to be STRONG emotionally, physically, spiritually and creatively. Not to play weak but "strong". Strong art, strong marketing. It's the word I search for when things get dicey. What's your word?

First of 2012 Compared to First of 2011

"Orange Slices and Crock" 6 x 6 Oil on Gessobord
SOLD
First Painting of 2012

First Painting of 2011
4 x 4" Oil on Gessobord

It always good to look back to see where you have come from and hopefully where you are going.  So I'm showing my first painting of 2011 compared to my first painting of 2012 (done today).

I actually thought the pepper was pretty good at the time and I did sell it, but I can see my brushwork, composition and color use have definitely improved.  (Thank goodness!) 

When you are in the day to day process of painting you usually just compare today's painting to yesterday's.  It's amazing to look back a year.  Can't wait until 2013 and compare to today.