Going Digital

I have kicked around the idea of doing 30 paintings in 30 days again.  I think I'm in.  I got a Wacom tablet for Christmas and I bought access to Photoshop for my photography, so I thought this month I'd try some digital painting (although I may do other things too).  I'm still learning to use the Wacom, and also learning to use Photoshop for anything other than adjusting things in photos.  It's a steep learning curve but I think this is a good first attempt after not much other than some doodles to get used to the disconnect between looking at the result of your painting on a screen while your hand is elsewhere.

 

 I'm not entirely happy with it... but I did it pretty much without reference, so that's bonus (I don't generally work well without references).  And the wonderful thing about daily painting is, you can chalk any individual piece to practice, because you'll be back tomorrow.

And so I will.

Art Adventures

I and my son Brandon, who as of this semester is an Art major in college, had a plein air art date today.  We hiked at Burgess Falls State Park on this GORGEOUS day and picked this spot to sit down and paint/draw.

Bran worked in charcoal, me in watercolor.

I felt the need to ditch my hiking boots when we sat down to paint, in part because they were rubbing my heel raw and in part because I wanted to get to know the landscape better and in my mind there's no better way.

 Here's Bran in front of the scene with his drawing.

And here's my watercolor... I may play with it some more because I'm by no means happy with it, or I may be content to chalk it up to an experiment.  Watercolor is not my thing when it comes to painting like this, but I don't want to lug all the stuff and deal with the mess of oils.  Next time I think I may bring acrylics and canvas, paint an undercoat in acrylic, and then finish it in oil in the studio.

This family was hiking with their bear/dog, who was a little on the older side and not up to the gruelling challenge of hiking down to the base of the falls, so this was their solution.  She was too cute, just content to hang out and enjoy the scenery.  

I was excited that my camera managed to capture the rainbow.

The base of the falls is miraculous.  There's this RUSH of air off the falls and mist fills the air, and the grass between the rocks is so green, with boulders strewn everywhere and the falls towering over you, the absolute epitome of Majesty.  It's humbling.

I know I"m lying cause I never stick with any subject that long, even horses, but I took TONS of reference pictures and I had the feeling that I could paint the falls for months.  So keep an eye peeled for at least one painting.

Day One: Night Falls

Yay, it's Day One of Artists Helping Artists Podcast's 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge!   I had the groundwork laid out for this one and since it's going to be a busy day I thought I'd finish it off.  

"Night Falls" 4x4 Acrylic on Hardwood Panel $30  - Click Picture to Purchase

This was done in acrylic in the reverse of the henna impasto style I use in oil; i.e., the textured henna part was painted on first, and then I used Golden High Flow acrylics thinned with water to get the watercolor-y effect.

The nifty thing about this is that I could probably get one done in a single day, although in this particular instance I painted on the texture and left it sit for a couple of days before I finished it this morning.  Or, I could theoretically finish one and start another.  When I paint in oils I can almost never finish a painting in one day even if it's small, because I don't paint alla prima.

While I like this technique, I've decided I don't care much for acrylics for traditional painting and I think for my spirit animals series I'm going to go back to oils, after the bison is done.

Anyway, I'm pretty excited to be doing this again this month... I was kind of surprised at how much I've blogged since January because it didnt' feel like as much as it was, but at the same time, it sure is nice to get into the studio every day, even if you don't finish something every day.  So this is just the kick in the pants I needed.

If you're doing the challenge and you drop by, please leave a comment so I can reciprocate the visit... one of my favorite things about doing it is getting to see what everyone else is doing!  Happy September!

Squire's Castle

This is the first painting I laid out from a sketch, roughed in, and then painted entirely with a palette knife.  It isn't 100% finished; there are a few little touches I want to add when it's dry, and straighten up a few lines and add a few highlights here and there.  But all in all, I'm pretty happy with the way it came out :)

In case you missed yesterday's post, this is a structure called Squire's Castle that was built in the 1890s by an oil tycoon named Squire.  It was meant to be just the gatehouse for his estate (can you imagine what he had in mind for the main house?).  He abandoned the project, though, and Cleveland Metroparks acquired the property in the 1920s.  Today it's there for anyone to use.  It's just a shell of a building but there are picnic tables and fireplaces inside that you can use, and of course the imagination of a child runs wild in such a place.  It's also surrounded by wonderful hiking trails.

I moved to Tennessee in 2005 and I have to say that the thing I miss the most about Cleveland (besides family) is the "emerald necklace" of parks that surrounds it.  For me, this is the jewel of the lot, and worth a visit if you're in the area.

On Being a Princess

This is my castle.  Well it's not MY castle.  It belongs to me and the imagination of every other child who has grown up in Cleveland's eastern suburbs. 

I thought that I would do some knife painting today, and I thought perhaps buildings would be nice to paint with a knife (I may be proved wrong on that).  First I thought, streetscape.  Then, I thought castle.  Then it hit me.. my castle.

Squire's Castle is in Cleveland Metroparks' North Chagrin Reservation.  It was built in the 1890s by a guy named Squire and (mind bogglingly... it's huge) was meant to be the gatehouse for his estate.  If I remember the story correctly, his wife died and he gave up on the project, and sold it.  Metroparks later acquired it.  Legend has it that she still haunts the place.

So the rooms are unfinished, rough brick and local sandstone, with huge brick fireplaces that you can build fires in and roast marshmallows.  The front of the building is a huge field that's great for playing frisbee or softball or running with your faithful dog, and behind it are miles and miles of hiking trails for long adventures. 

It's the perfect place to imagine yourself on a grand quest, whether you're 10 or 30.  It's pretty high up there on the list of my favorite places in the world.

So, I sketched it and roughed in a canvas (11x14).  Once the rough dries, I'll try knife painting the shapes here.  Don't be surprised to see a little girl in the foreground, either :)

Tennessee Falls

My friend Chuck Sutherland is a naturalist here in Tennessee, and a brilliant photographer.  He has been gracious enough to tell me that I can use his photos as painting reference.  I was browsing his Flickr this morning and came across this one, and it just grabbed me... this part of Tennessee is full of waterfalls (and caves, both of which Chuck shoots lots of), and I love all of his waterfall photos, but the awesome gnarly tree in the foreground of this one made me choose it to paint.  Plus, I love the green of the pool and the red Tennessee soil.  All sorts of things could be hiding in those roots, too...

Chuck's notes on the photo say this is Greeter Falls in Grundy County, TN, and from another picture he shot this amazing tree is growing right out of the river, sprawled along the rocks in the pool. 

So, since this is paint from a sketch month I sketched it out first (VERY roughly), then transferred my sketch to the canvas, which is 20x24... I have only done one other painting bigger than this one, but since almost everything I did last month was really small, I wanted to do something big.

And below, two hours plus after the sketch... I still don't have much of it roughed in.  Man, where does the time go when you paint? 

This is as far as I got today.  Time for lunch and chainmaille.

Watercolor is definitely spoiling me as far as cleanup goes!  It takes me five times as long to clean up after using bigger brushes on an oil painting.  But, much as I am enjoying watercolor, at least for now I am definitely more comfortable with oils.  This felt kind of like coming home.  I went yesterday to the gallery where my jewelry is sold, and stared at my teacher Karen's paintings for some time, and decided I definitely needed to do some oil painting today. 

I can't decide if I like doing landscapes.  Check back with me after this one ;)

Also, if you've stayed with me this far in this post, do go and check out Chuck's photography.  Then you'll understand why I love Tennessee so much.

Minis

The point of today's exercise is to create an abstract backdrop onto which I plan to create some traditional henna designs.

I think this one will stay as is, though. These are 3x3 canvases, oil.