The eye of the beholder

I painted this from a drawing I did of the house.  I think it is always important to remember when you are painting anything that you are painting your emotional response to what you are seeing.  Compare my painting to the photograph of the house.

 

 

My drawing and my painting reflect what it actually felt like to be there that day, and what I felt the house looked like when people where still living there.

End of Autumn

As autumn draws to it's close I have spent as much time as possible outside drawing and taking photos.  I have been using Faber Castell big brush PITT pens.  The set I am using comes with 4 pens in cold grey.  This gives me plenty of options to develop values in a drawing.  Hope you are able to enjoy the beauty at this time of year as I have been.

Exhibit at Fitton Center

 

Currently I have two pieces of artwork hanging in a group show titled "Brush" at the Fitton Center in Hamilton Ohio.  This is one of the pieces, a tape batik done on yupo paper.  The Fitton Center is located at 101 S Monument Ave. Hamilton, OH.  The show runs from Oct 5- Dec. 6, 2013.  The phone number for the Fitton Center is 513-863-8873, call for show hours.  The show features the work of a group of artists that I paint with in Greentree Studios in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.  All of the work is painted on yupo paper.

 

This is the same piece I did at an earlier time using traditional wax batik method on rice paper.  I am happy with both of them, a great contrast in the effects of each method, don't you think?

Frederick Graff

 

 

 

 

Recently I took a workshop with Frederick Graff.  This was a four day workshop.  The first two days were spent explaining, demonstrating and practicing his technique of negative painting.  He also explained and had us practice making a vignette that we could develop into a painting.   Mr. Graff was very thorough in his explanations and spent a great deal of time on an individual basis with each student.  The last two days of the workshop we developed a vignette and turned them into paintings. My two finished paintings from this workshop are above.  His workshops are an excellent learning opportunity for anyone interested in landscape painting.  So often people find the "picture" but can't interpret the scene into a finished painting.  Mr. Graff did an excellent job explaining from start to finish the entire process.

Northern Michigan

 

 Ottawa National Forest

 

 

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Returned from a great trip to the upper peninsula of Michigan.  I did many small studies and sketches to work from in the studio, and took lots of photos.  As you can tell from these pictures it was a very beautiful area to be in.

Sweet Dreams

This is a painting done on gesso.  I cover the watercolor paper with gesso, then add paint and use whatever I can to add texture to the surface.  This is what the surface looks like before I begin

 

The next step is to transfer the drawing.  Using water and a brush I remove paint from the paper in the areas that I want to stay white.  I paint in the dark areas with more paint.  I love to use this technique as it creates great mood in a painting.

Santa's Summer Vacation

Even Santa gets a little beach time.  It is a lot of stress to be responsible for the happiness of all the children of the world!  Especially when he has only one night to make all of his deliveries!   This is a pastel, painted with soft pastels on sanded paper.

Summer Sand

The rain finally stopped!!! I hope everyone is getting the chance to put their toes in the sand somewhere this summer.

 

This is what summer is all about.

 

 

Collage

This is a mixed media piece painted on a piece of Crescent board.  First step was to gesso the board, and then paint a loose wash of fluid acrylic paint covering the entire board.  Next, I collaged over the painted surface using a variety of tissue paper and other heavier types of paper.  Once that dried I covered the entire surface using Glossy Collage Pauge.  After the surface was dry I used a gold gel pen to add loose lines in areas that needed a little more punch.

Summer Painting

I have been drawing more and painting less lately.  Sometimes it is good to get back to basics.  Sitting in one spot and immersing yourself in the mood of the day will be reflected in your finished painting.

Michigan Watercolor Society

I had the honor of having one of my paintings accepted into the Michigan Watercolor Society Annual Exhibition.  This painting, "A Cold Day", was done in the tape batik method.  Alternating layers of paint and tape, just as one would do in painting in the wax batik method, yields great texture. This was done with watercolor on Arches hot press paper.

Autumn Birch Trees

This is a small pastel started at the site of the trees, and finished later at home.  There was a stand of birch trees hanging over the lake in brilliant color, a perfect painting subject.  I did this using soft pastels on sanded paper.

46th Greater Hamilton Art Exhibition

One of my collage pieces was accepted into the Greater Hamilton Art Exhibition, held at the Fitton Center, Hamilton, OH.  The opening reception is Saturday, March 16, 2-4 pm.  This is always a wonderful show.  The show runs March 16- May 31, at the Fitton Center for the Performing Arts,
101 S. Monument Ave, Hamilton OH.

Odds and Ends, Bits and Pieces

 

 

 

 

What do you do with the small pieces of paper you have laying around your studio?  Work on mini masterpieces!  These are small squares, painted with fluid acrylic, watercolor, pencils, and at times I add collage. These small paintings are a great way to work when you are stuck and don't know how to move forward on any of your other projects.  Put on some wonderful music and start playing with paper and paint!  These really help you move past a creative block. I learned how to do these from Robbie Laird, in a workshop she taught last spring at Kanuga Watermedia Workshops in N. Carolina. If you ever have the opportunity to take a watermedia workshop at Kanuga I highly recommend it.  Every spring a group of professional artists teach classes at the Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, N.C.

Batik Leaves

When I was out for an early morning walk last fall I passed by a creek full of floating leaves.  This particular group made a perfect arrangement for a painting.  Painted on rice paper as a wax batik allowed the characteristics of the paper to create a lot of texture in the leaves. It also enhances the feeling of the leaves floating on water.  After the wax was removed I glued the rice paper to a full size sheet of watercolor paper.  Then I darkened some of the colors where needed with more watercolor paint.

After I studied this for  awhile I realized the upper right corner was just too brown, so I went over it with more dark blue and am much happier with this painting now.