#40. Saved from the Grasshoppers

SOLD!

July 31st, 2014: Oil on Board, 6" x6".  I saved these perfect columbines from an onslaught of attacking grasshoppers, there were very few left out there that weren't already half eaten.  It felt like I struggled through the painting but it actually turned out pretty good in the end... if I do say so myself.  I have also discovered I really like painting columbine leaves for some strange reason.

#39. Escaped Scapes

Available for sale!  Click here for details.

July 30th, 2014: Oil on Board, 6" x 6".  I thought I cut all the scapes off my garlic already, but today I found a few stragglers that escaped my pruning.  I mixed them with a couple onion flowers for some textural variety and put them in one of my favorite new vases from the thrift store.  It's a pretty simple little painting but I've spent the last two days trying to work on a larger piece and after sketching it out, being dissatisfied and wiping it out five or so times, it was nice to accomplish something with my time today.

Not much at all, or why I should have stayed in bed today.

July 28th, 2014:  Oil on Board, 12" x 16".  Sometimes all you have to show for a days work is not much at all.  After giving myself a too enthusiastic haircut this morning (it was supposed to be just a trim, but I ended up cutting off way more than I intended to... it just kept looking uneven) I spent the afternoon working on a slightly larger painting than usual, at the end of which I decided I really did not like the composition.  So I wiped the whole thing out and was left with a putrid green wash... I added some red so I wouldn't be starting with said green tomorrow.  Now the question is, do I try the same thing tomorrow with a slightly different composition or just do something completely different?

Even my lucky studio cat didn't help me today!  Oh well, on to better painting tomorrow.

#38. Last Try Lilies

Available for sale!  Click here for details.

July 25th, 2014: Oil on Board, 6" x 6".  I thought I'd try the day lilies once more, this time with some yellow ones.  They still feel difficult and I think I'm moving on to something else, perhaps to revisit them next summer.  I do really like the new vase I scored at the thrift store, along with others to be used soon, and I think it came out nicely. 

#37. Scapescape

 

Available for sale!  Click here for details.

July 23, 2014: Oil on Board, 6" x 6".  I cut these scapes off my garlic weeks ago but I've been saving them in the fridge until I had the chance to paint them.  They are past their prime as far as eating goes, but still good for painting.  I love the crazy shadows they cast.  I'm also trying something different with my signature, throughout the years I've gone through phases of using just my initials and I liked the way it looked on this piece for some reason, I may stick with it or not. 

In other news: I just upgraded my studio stereo to one that sounds much much better and, get this, also plays vinyl!  I am so excited to rock some of my old records!

#36. Rainy Day Lilies

 

SOLD!

July 16th, 2014: Oil on Board, 6" x 6".  After not being completely happy with yesterday's lily, I figured I'd try some more today.  I went for a lighter background than usual in the hopes of making the flowers pop a bit more.  Although this is my favorite of the two, I've decided that these guys are just hard to paint... there doesn't seem to be much contrast in the flowers (in reality and in my paintings) which makes them feel a bit flat to me.  After working on the portrait of my Dad for awhile, these little paintings are feeling a bit less exciting to me as well.  Maybe it's time to try some new subject matter?  Or maybe I just need some time to get back in the groove, although I'm leaving for the weekend again so that is going to have to wait for next week.

#35. Silly Lily

Available for sale!  Click here for details.

July 15th, 2014: Oil on Board, 6" x 6".  This painting was going along fine until I was distracted by the weather warnings on the radio for quarter sized hail and 60 mph winds... after which I ran outside and tried to cover up my car as best as possible.  Once I got back inside, I rushed through the background... I think it could have come out better, but at least the worst parts of the storm skirted around us.  No hail or wind damage!  It was so dark due to the storm clouds that there was no light for me to take a good photo, so I'm posting a day late. 

Portrait of my Father. Finished!

July 13th, 2014: Portrait of my Father, Oil on Board, 11.5" x 18.5".  I almost finished this yesterday, but I worked so late I couldn't get a picture of it.  This shot looks a little weird because parts of it are dry and parts are wet, makes the colors look a bit uneven in spots... I'll take a better one when it's all dry.  Today was just finishing a few spots, adding a few highlights and trying not to fuss over it too much.  I wasn't planning on putting the heart on the tree with his initials, but I had the thought at the very end and figured "What the hell, why not?".  I'm so happy with this, can't wait to let it dry, varnish it up and put it in the old frame I've been saving for it and hang it on my wall.  It will be one of my ways of remembering him, in one of his favorite settings.  Thanks to my Mom for taking the wonderful photo to work from, it made this painting!  I keep fighting the urge to share it with him, wish he was here to show it to.  I miss you Dad.

Almost There

July 11th, 2014: Oil on Board, Work in Progress.  I'm trying to get through the background and in to the foreground.  I've gotten used to working wet into wet and it's been challenging with dry areas and wet areas, I keep repainting certain spots because it's so hard to tell what it will look like when it's all dry and then varnished.  Blacks are especially tricky, they look so much darker when wet.  Anyways, it's getting there, I can't wait to see it finished!

Getting Closer

July 10th, 2014: Oil on Board, Work in Progress.  I'm still working on this piece of my Dad, and still struggling with the many different colors created by the lighting. I finished the clothes and shoes (which I love) and hair today and the rock and piece of wood he's using as a seat.  Crossing my fingers that I can finish the rest tomorrow... this has been moving slower than I expected.

Some Progress

July 3rd, 2014: Oil on Board, Work in Progress.  It's funny how things always seem like they'll be easy until you start trying to paint them.  With the light of the lantern and the glow of the fire, there are some strange colors and highlights going on here and nothing is really the color that it seems it should be.  Typically, I avoid doing any sort of portrait from a tiny little photo, which is what I'm working with here, but I really wanted to do this portrait of my Dad.  There was a moment of panic while working on the face when I realized it no longer looked anything like him, but somehow I got it back and I'm feeling pretty good about it at the moment.  Another session or two and I should get it finished. 

More than I can do in just a day, work in progress.

July 2nd, 2014: Oil on Board, Work in Progress.  I've had a busy past month.  Between getting my garden in full swing, losing our dog and doing a memorial for my father I seem to have only managed to complete 2 or 3 daily paintings in June.  Bad painter!  Today, after cleaning up my studio, salvaging what I could of my half dried palette of paint and trying to remember how to paint at all, I felt more inspired to work on the painting of my Dad that I started months ago than a small daily painting.  I spent all afternoon just working on the campfire, but hey, it's better than nothing.  It's been awhile since I worked on something more involved so I'm figuring it out as I go.