Landscape Study of San Viglio

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

Another Sargent study- always something to learn. With this one, it was that odd, soft grey-green, almost leaning towards a purple, figuring out how to mix it and where he decided to put it. I'll have to start watching more closely, but I don't think that's a color we have around here, except in certain lights. I'll be sure to use it in my next dusk landscape, though!

A Mountain Stream

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

And another Sargent study. I love this one, it's simple and still immediate, somehow. You have to wonder how much of the composition was really what he saw in front of him, and how much was him rearranging what was in front of him with the canvas in mind.

I know in one of the books I have on him it mentioned how he would go out painting with his friends, and they would go all over hill and dale trying to find the "perfect" spot, and would get frustrated because he would set up just any old where and still produce the most gorgeous pieces.... of course he also gessoed over a lot of them in order to reuse the paper, so we can't see them to judge, but still. I am more than willing to believe they were all beautiful :)

#881

Sushi IV

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

aaaaaand, SUSHI! I hadn't ever tried to paint the pieces with the fish draped over the top, soft pinks, slightly shiny, with the stripes of paler color running through them, and I quite enjoyed it. With the greens all wrapped up inside each roll, the colors reall sing together :)

#880

Lemon on Blue

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

Pretty colors :) No, really, with this one.... sometimes I lean towards making the subjects of my dailies too big for the canvas size, so I thought I'd go in the other direction for this one, see how the reseult felt. Besides, I really liked the blue, and it's a really strong yellow, so maybe they balance each other better this way.
Other than that.... happy Friday, everyone! And I'm plotting on another sushi painting tomorrow :)
#879

My Favorite Mug

6x6 acrylic on canvasboard

Ever had a composition that feels familiar somehow, you just can't quite place it? That's the way this one is feeling for me, even though I don't think I've ever even painted this particular mug before :-/ Probably just a teacup paintings thing- I've been missing that as a subject.

#878

Arab Stables

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

... and probably the last one by Sargent for a little while. More realistically, for a couple of days- I really, really enjoyed this one! Really studying something makes you realize the pattern of the light area, how he positioned the darkest darks, how wonderful that red saddle right there in the middle is and how much he must've enjoyed painting the butts of those other two horses, especially all the colors on the middle one. And something I'd never noticed before, the durn chickens on the ground! Barely even there, and somehow they add just the right touch. I've got so much to learn, but that makes me feel more hopeful than anything.

I mean, I'm coming up on post #900 now. Can you imagine how much my work will have grown when I get up to post #1800? Crazy.

White Ships

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

And another one studying Sargent- this one is much better in person. It really surprised me how much the eye fills in, as always, and how our eyes can accept something like a few scribbles of white paint and turn that into sunlight reflecting off the water and onto the side of a boat. Amazing things...

#876

A Boat in the Waters off Capri

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

Something different today- and probably for the next few days. This is study of a painting by John Singer Sargent, who is hands down my favorite painter, and you know, you can lern a lot by copying works of artists you admire- thankfully, Sargent has been dead long enough that this is legal, and I believe I can learn a lot of big-picture stuff- composition, color balance- by studying his work in my dailies. Like this one- that is a really fantastic blue-green, and it fades to, of all things, a dull purple. And he didn't feel like he had to absolutely spll out where the water ended, you know, he didn't draw lines around every freaking thing, but it still feels like water.... thanks in part, no doubt, to the boat shadows. Aren't those the coolest thing?

#875

Avacado Half

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

These things are surprisingly addictive! Something about that creamy, pale green and the way it contrast with the round, shining.... nut? no, seed, I guess.... and it's also a great contrast with that freaky, nubbly skin, but I haven't really explored that yet...

Green Bottle on White

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

Same bottle, switching around the diretion of the light and the background- the color comes out a lot more this way, but I'm not really sure which I prefer. Even though I do really, really like the way the color from the bottle comes through into the shadow :)

#873

Green Bottle on Black

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

I thought colored glass would make for an interesting challenge- I was trying to think of other pretty translucent things after I did that grape suspension, remember? And this is just a beer bottle, but it has that pretty sleek shape and nice green color....

#872

Horseshoe

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

You know, this thing has been hanging by the door for I don't know how long, and I can' believe it hadn't ever occurred to me to paint it! And something about its shape, the way it makes the shadow so visible, makes for a startlingly three dimensional appearance, so I'm trying to think of other objects that would provide similar opportunities, visually. Any suggestions?

Cherries VIII

6x6 acrylic on canvasboard

More cherries- dramatic lighting, even more dramatic reflected lights. Gotta love any fruit with such intense color, I suppose :)

#870

Marbles in Box

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

Thought about calling it "Treasure Chest", but went more matter-of-fact. And this, my dears, is "Geometry":

Geometry

16x20 acrylic on gallery stretched canvas

With the spiral of the nautilus section, and the spheres, and the box, that title just felt right somehow.... at any rate, I'm thrilled to pieces with this one. The two reflective balls and the box you may recognize from recent dailies, the glass marble I got last year at the Festival for the Eno from Iron Mountain Glass- they heated silver and gold to some kind of smoke point and caught it in the glass, it's really wild. Happies!

#869

Three Marbles

6x6 acrylic on canvasboard

The same silver ball, with two littler marbles next to it, and reflected in it. Transparency, with the glass, and then I guess something reflective like that is the opposite of transparent, even more so than just "opaque". Fun :) These guys are popping up in some larger compositions, too- I'll have to share one tomorrow...

#868

Self Portrait in Silver Ball

6x6 acrylic on canvasboard

As you're probably suspecting, this is inspired by Duane Keiser. I love his dailies, the subtle way he uses color, and his absolute mastery of surface texture, and I wanted to try my hand at something he's done a few times, a self portrait in a reflective sphere. I got these kind of oil-slick colored metal balls a little while ago, chinese halth balls I think they were called. They make this lovely wind chime noise when you move them around, and the oil slick colors combined with the reflective properties make for a really cool surface- I'm really looking forward to using them more in paintings!

Green Tomato

6x6 acrylic on canvasboard

It's been a wonderful day! Didn't get hardly anything "done", no, but we went to the museum and had a wonderful time. The new building is lovely from the inside, and I'm loving all the suff that must've been hiding out in the basement or something previously- looking forward to visiting again, that's for sure! And her Royal Tininess had a great time as well, crawling all over the place- she wanted to explore on her own, independent little bit of perfectiong that she is :) It sure tired her out, though! #866

Gold and Grey

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

.... and it's Friday again! Wow, the week has gone by quickly here. Planning a trip to the newly reopened North Carolina Museum of Art tomorrow, and really looking forward to that. Seems like the durn thing has been closed forever :) I'll let you know how it goes!

#865

Gardenia in Turquoise Bowl

6x6 acrylic on canvasboard

A somewhat cloudy portrait of my favorite flower.... for me, it is one of the most difficult to paint, but I'm not sure why. Maybe the white on white thing? Or the unusual feel of the petals?

#864

Grape Suspension

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

.... and for today :) I'm so proud of myself with the backlighting on this one! Trying to figure out what other somewht translucent things I can backlight....

Green Grapes

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

Sorry about the late posting! Hr Nuggetness seriously deviated from our routine last bight, but that hopefully is a good thing- who knows, maybe m little night owl will start going to sleep at a reasonable time :)

Halved Avacado

6"x8" acrylic on canvasboard

Bought this just for painting, and then had to do something with it, so it would up on a quesadilla.... they don't really taste like anything, do they? More of a texture thing. Pretty, though, and I guess that was really the point :) Loving the strong side lighting, too...

#861

Strawberry Suspension

4"x9" acrylic on paper

Pretty colors :) The blue is Phthalocyanine Blue and my ubiquitous Titanium White, and I am loving it.... It's funny, bcause I know I've used it before, I just haven't for ages, and had forgotten about it. Thats what comes pf having so very many tubes of paint!

#860

Tangerine II

4"x9" acrylic on paer

#859

Green Pear inWindowlight

4"x9" acrylic on paper

Same fruit, a little bit of a different setup... inspired by Barbara Kacicek, yes, and the fact that I actually have a window in my studio area now :) Happy Friday!

Pear Half

4"x9" acrylic on paper

Sometimes I feel silly putting these little bitty paintings in boxes to ship them, especially when they're on paper.... so I got to wanting to just stick a stamp on them and ship them. I like the idea, but I'm not sure about it, so here is a compromise- standard envelope sized daily paintings. It certainly presents compositional challenges, if nothing else :)

#857

Raindrop

And another one of the sculpey pieces.... I dunno, I just really wanted to share this one.
#856

Artichoke Half

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

My first attempt at... is it still a vegetable if it's actually a flower bud? Pretty, anyways :)

#855

Strawberry Half

2"x3"
This is an odd little one... something I'll want to try again, I'm thinking :)

Study in Purple

5x7 acrylic on panel

Back in my little groove, and happy about it!

#854

Nautilus Impression

And another one :) Back to paintings tomorrow!

#853

Black Bikini

And another one. I can just see somebody putting it in the kitchen or somewhere as whimsical diet inspiration or something... Maybe I'll make another one to keep :)

#852

Goddess

Something different I'm trying out for Whimsicals- Sculpey and iridescent pigments and paint all liquid-nails-ed to a canvas. Fun!

#851

Lemon IV

5x7 acrylic on paper

Wow. Eight hundred and fifty posts. Eight hundred and fifty paintings.... and there's just more and more things that I want to paint! Or repaint, as the case may be :) But lemons are fun, you know? Likes pears, and cherries, and cups of tea, and raw eggs, all the usual suspects...

And another reminder- Whimsicals is this Saturday! If you're going to be anywhere near Chapel Hill you really, really ought to come by- this show is a lot of fun! http://whimsical-women.blogspot.com/ .

#850

Blood Orange Slice

5x7 acrylic on paper

Her Nuggetness is grumpy, I've gotta run... I really like this one, though!

#849

Tomato Slice

5x7 acrylic on paper

.... and more with the tomato theme. Plotting on some artichokes, though..... that'll hold till after Whimsicals, I don't know if I want to be jumping on something that new to me right here when I'm trying to get ready for a show, but soon, for sure.

Red Tomato III

5x7 acrylic on panel

And another little bit :) I picked a really round one this time- they always look kind of silly to me, but cheerful, you know?

#847

Red Tomato II

5x7 acrylic on paper

Just a little bit of summertime :)

#846

Lemon Wedge

5x7 acrylis on canvasboard

Putter, putter, puttering, the Whimsicals Show is a week from today.... wait, it's after midnight again. A week from yesterday. Naomi is helping me right now, o course, reorganizing my tubes of paint and driving me to distraction by saying things like "Mama" even though I don't think it's possible she knows those two syllables apply to me :)

Plum Half II

5x7 acrylic on paper

Happy Friday!!!

Lemon and Water II

5x7 acrylic on paper

It's been a while since I did any glass, hasn't it? Have to try again soon, this was fun.... and easier than I remember. Must've learned something along the way :)

#843

Tea and Spoon II

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

Woohoo, before midnight! Now I've got to run, the little adventurer is geyying squirmy :)

#842

Tea- Yellow and Blue

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

Posting after midnight again... trying to decide just how bad of a pattern this is :-/
#841

Egg XV

6x6 acrylic on panel

Back in the saddle! Finally found my camera about thirty minutes ago, it vanished towards the end of the Durham Art Walk (turns out the diaper bag ate it), hence the lateness of the post... but it was a wonderful weekend, and now I'm looking forward to the Whimsical Women Art Festival in two weeks (May 1st, see http://whimsical-women.blogspot.com/ ). More immediately, I'm looking forward to some sleep. Hope you all had a good Monday!

#841

PS- Shout out to Barbara- it was great meeting you this weekend!

Rose of Sharon

18x18 acrylic on stretched canvas

And yet another one of my "big" pieces. Not to worry, we'll be back to the ebayables tomorrow, i.e. after I'm able to get back in my studio :) Just a reminder for those of you in the area- last chance to come and see Nugget and I at the Durham Art Walk today!

#840

Three Golden Roses

8x8 acrylic on cradled hardboard

sold

Another non-daily, obviously :) This one..... I was happy with it, and now I'm plotting on some changes :-/ We'll see.

In other news, the Art Walk is going well, and I love the booth space I got, up in the Durham Performing Arts Center- great light, plenty of space, fun boothmates!

#839

Strawberry III

12x12 acrylic on cradled hardboard

Remember when I said I was going to paint a strawberry as big as my head? I did it! Great big 'ol thing, and I am so proud of the result.... now this isn't a very good image, we're having glare issues right now... I'll get a better one up soon :)

#838

Nectarine on Black

8x10 acrylic on canvas

And once again, gorgeous colors.... I promise. This one just refused to photograph, for some reason :(

Trying to get ready for the Durham Art Walk this weekend.... right on the tail of a move that is looking like a Herculean task, but I am looking forward to it. Baby's first art show!

#837