Candle Lites 01

Another of the Candle series.  I initially had a coffee cup instead of the copper but I wasn't happy with it.  This works for me.  I like the reflection off the copper. Painting comes with frame.

Ornaments 2016

I could not pass up the opportunity to paint some Christmas ornaments.  This is part of a series of candlelight paintings.  I'm selling all my 6"x 6" paintings in a frame.

Looking for Birds

This morning's effort.

Yellow Roses

I did this at the Coppini Academy this morning.  The yellow roses I purchased earlier turned out to be a perfect subject.

Central Texas Sunset 2"x7.75"

I really enjoy doing these small abstract landscapes.  This is the first one I've done in the dark almost.  I used an LED book light clipped to my easel.

Onions in Red

Challenges in this painting:
     1. Painting in red. Reds tend to go pink in cooler light,  I tried to keep it more on the purple and orange side.  The orange/red is exactly how I saw it in the drapery.
     2. Red vs. Green.  The problem with these two opposites on the color wheel is that they tend to look a lot like Christmas.
     3. Flowers.  Flowers can get overworked if you don't squint.  It's easy to open your eyes and try and paint every nuance that in the end will ruin your painting.
     4.  Objects similarity.  Pick one that is the most important and treat the rest in a slightly less detailed, abstract rendering.

Class Demo on Staying Loose

My still life class requested a loose style demo.  I said "sure" and set up my easel.  For paints I used a small palette -  Titanium White, Raw Sienna, Transparent Oxide Red, Permanent Alizarin, Ivory Black, and Raw Umber.  I painted quickly and made sure I kept my darks separated from my lights. Squint!!

Abstraction in the Landscape

I left the studio yesterday and painted at an old favorite spot of mine.  Usually, I'll paint towards the sunset but there were so many clouds the sunset never really appeared.  However, there was some light opposite to the sunset so I painted that.  I was almost rushed to complete this because of the approaching rain. 

Distant Cows

 I saw this scene driving down I-35 around Cibolo/Shertz, TX area. I took the exit and did the turn-around.  I then got my easel and paint brushes out to lay in a quick sketch. 

Flower Demo

The Copper Kettle

Demo at Coppini Academy in Olmos Park, TX

Lighted Garlic

Rose

Abstract light and shadow study of a rose.

Reflective

I used a warm light on this and got all these wonderful colors in the rose and copper.

Figs Still Life

Still life study with a concentration on warm green light and cool purple shadows.

Copper and China

Sometimes great paintings just happen and this certainly seemed to.  I'm lucky I sat down to the easel today.

End of Summer

Plein air painting in central Texas.

Kettle Moraine

Full Moon

Neko Awakened

This cat constantly sleeps in front of the window, bathed in this beautiful light. I find myself inspired to paint every time I see her.....and then she bites me!

Sunset Colors

Glowing Sunset Study

Cat by the Window

I found this to be an excellent way to explore the abstract side of art.

Peonies

Sunset in New Braunfels

I braved the 97 degree heat for this one.  This painting was done on a low traffic county road in New Braunfels, TX. 

Off the Trail

For a change I turned around from the sunset and painted the beautiful light on the trees.  As soon as the sun set, I got the red fiery warm light across the trees. 

Between the Trees

I woke up this morning and quickly got my painting supplies ready.  I got in the car and headed to this one place I picked out previously.  I parked the car and set up my easel.  In the beginning stage of a painting, I'll do a wash and loosely block in certain shapes.  A wash is just mineral spirits and a color I choose to tone the canvas, this time I used raw sienna.  When the sun was at this point, shinning through the trees, I moved my easel so I could paint without the glare. This painting looks abstract but it truly is a loose interpretation of what I was seeing.

Head Study

This was from the Friday night Meetup at Coppini Academy of Fine Art. Probably the first painting from a model in two years. 

Peonies Study

Texas Sweet Corn and Onions

I love having a more dramatic contrast in dark and light.  The warm light on this subject really stands out.

Red Onion in Warm Light

A quick study to get back to painting.  I've painted various other things in the last couple of days but nothing worthy of a blog post. 

Golden Apple and Vase

Sunflowers and Copper

Painting sunflowers can be hit or miss for me.  When I paint it as a sunflower, a circle with petals all around it, I won't be happy with the result.  It a think of it as an abstract mass with light and dark, I'll probably end up with a nice painting.

Sunflowered

I set up some vases and draped the sunflowers over it. As soon as I did it I felt I had my subject.

Outskirts of Town

At this time of the year in San Antonio, all the plants start turning brown because of the heat.  But because of all the rain we've had, everything is still really green.

Approaching Rain

This was painted about an hour before sunset. The sun was blocked by all the clouds which gave me a nice greyed tone. This allowed me more time to spend on the trees.

It's rare I put green on my palette. I used to use a lot of sap green in my paintings. I was in a workshop with a prominent landscape painter and she took one look at my landscapes and said, "You use a lot of sap green."
I stopped including that in my pallet after that.
In this painting, I mixed my greens from black, raw sienna, and lemon yellow...mostly.

Elegant Garlic

Usually I'll pair garlic up with an onion but this time I went for the vase.

Teapot and Rose

I looked at my roses I bought Tues and the petals were just falling off when I touched them.  I suddenly became inspired to paint. I used a greenish light on this and 60 minutes later I had this little gem of a painting. 

Mason Jar

I've always wanted to paint a mason jar.  I guess today was the day.  I wonder if I have time for one more?

Red Cabbage and Turnips

Mother's Roses Study

Bought these this morning.  I always use real flowers.  I had some different setups and I did another study but this was by far the best.

Silver and White Study

I actually did several small studies before this one.  I wiped the others away but hit the mark on this one.  It really shows what I was seeing.

Garlic Rosso

Out of the Bag

It's rare I buy turnips in a bag. It's a good thing I did.  When I opened the bag and took one out I quickly decided that was my subject - 1 turnip out of the bag and 3 turnips in the bag.  I set up my lighting and before much longer I was painting away on my canvas.  I don't think I've ever painted vegetables still in the bag before but it was a fun exercise.

Lighted Vase

 I bought this vase yesterday at a thrift store in San Antonio.  I used a warm greenish light on it.  It's a nice vase and I'm sure I'll include it in some bigger paintings later.