The Pond Willows

I didn't get out to paint today, but was thinking about the pond and when the willows will be blooming. I wanted to paint that scene soon and decided to just try something different from my imagination. There was no planning or designing, just a quick gut reaction. Seems rather ethereal.

Sunflowers: Unfolding

This was an unusual sunflower to paint - it is just before full opening, the petals are starting to peel back as it comes into full bloom. To paint it was again that tricky dance with values.

The Frog Pond

Yesterday I went back to the little pond, and tried to find a "correct" composition. The trees are still bare, and the day was so hot and very windy. Now the buds will all pop. My Mom came with me and sketched. We enjoyed the afternoon so much, that we decided to come back in the evening when the shadows are long.

The evening light came in softly, the wind had stopped, and I sat at the north end of the pond. I had missed the long shadow time, and some clouds diffused the light. A few frogs started their song.

I look at my paintings from the viewpoint of composition, design, value, etc learned at the workshop and see that there is lots of room for improvement, but the memory of that magical spring day has been captured.

Next time I want to paint the whole pond.

The Plantation

This is the edge of one of the many red pine plantations on the family property, (next to the chapel for those who know it). It was actually a bit rainy and the vegetation is suddenly getting that spring green effect. As I painted, a light seemed to manifest from the top of the laneway.

Sunflower: Are you coming?

The sunflower project is continuing, mainly for the amusement of family members. Yet there are many interesting learning curves involved - like the colour of the ground paint - have been trying blue and also yellow.

Spring Flowers

Mary came over and got me painting again. These first spring flowers in my garden seemed like the perfect candidates. But flowers are not that easy to capture, and to make it a bit harder, each time we looked, the buds were progressively changing to full bloom due to the warmth inside. Then my tulip was too dark with a lot of hard lines so I wiped it out. But it was a great day!

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The Frog Pond

Finally.....went out to paint! My parents have a little pond near the woods and I plan to make it a frequent favourite for a few weeks. I was thinking composition, big shapes, values, modulating colours......it's a start.

Collingwood Workshop

Just came back from a composition and design workshop with Ian Roberts. We used still lifes to learn the principles, which can then be translated into landscape painting. We did a lot of designing and sketching, and then built a painting in layers. This is the end result of all of my learning curves.

Sunflowers: Bedhead

Such characters! It is a lot of fun to get the different personalities. And lots to learn about value changes in the petals.

Am leaving tomorrow for Collingwood Ontario - going to Ian Robert's workshop, so wouldn't be posting for a week.

Sunflowers: Whose blocking my light!

Sunflowers: Mom Bea

This was actually the first sunflower done several weeks ago. And that is a bee. Makes me think that the character of this one is very maternal.

I think that Harry had originally planted the rows and rows of sunflowers for his bees.

Sunflowers: Oh Joy

What is so much fun with this project is that sunflowers seem to have so much character and expression. This one was throwing its head back, basking in the sun, carefree.

Sunflowers: Who Me?

Last summer, Harry had rows of sunflowers. There were many expressive types and I had planned to paint some for fun. The sky colour did not turn out in the photo - it is ultramarine blue and much stronger.

Fiesta Bowl

Corrections made - dish shape adjusted, shadow for bottle improved.

Why is it that once posted I see what is off - the dish sits a bit on an angle. But at least I painted something.

Spring Thaw

Couldn't get painting today - starting sorting and cleaning up my painting area - and then I went outside. After a long Canadian winter, 10 degree Celsius and sun is balmy. So I brought out my Pochade box and painted a pool of water that was reflecting the sky. It was great to paint outside, but after a while, quite chilly and so I did this rather quick.

Uphill

The intent was to use the zigzaging lines to lead the eye to the upper right barn, but I think they instead converge and stop at the lower right spot. Tried some new ideas with the sky using several colours, same value. Work with perspective on the building - guess this is what is called a "study".

March en Plein Air

Mary and I painted outside today - first time this year. The sun was warm, the snow is melting and we went to work. After planning, sketching and painting, the end result was very dull and weak. Mary was working with a palette knife and suggested that I use up my leftover paint and do a quick study with the knife. Here it is, and with great glee I wiped down the other one.

Olive Grove in Tuscany

Photos from past trips are being pulled out again, and I remember the interesting colours of olive trees. It think that they are a bit too light in value. but they were satisfying to paint.

Daisies

Some Lavender

Per Silvia's request - but not the postcard.
Lavender is tricky - I will try some different ways and colours.

Etruscan Roses

The horse is of etruscan style from Italy, the roses are minatures from a bush. I was focused on drawing and of course - roses.

Duo

The idea here was to create a warmer red rose ...to be continued.

Another World

A chair stood alone in this corner in a medieval castle in Provence and felt like a portal to another world.

Green Cup

A change from roses.

Red Roses

Well, it is another attempt at roses, especially red ones.....so easy to get too dark with red....and the leaves need to be greyed down.

Rose Bouquet

Was looking up rose paintings from old and contemporary masters today - and a friend has suggested Manet. So this one is inspired by Manet, and my friend.

Illusive Roses

More roses, and besides being painted they are now being sketched too. And I bought a new bunch to go through this exercise again. My thinking is that eventually I will know them so well that they will appear on the canvas in a few natural strokes....at least that is the intention.

Following your own Rhythm

Woody Woodpecker zoomed past the window in a moment when I was thinking about what to paint next, maybe even going outside but feeling the weight of choosing a "correct" composition. I had just read the many responses to Robert Genn's request for an online critique of his painting http://clicks.robertgenn.com/your-opinion.php. Everyone has an opinion, often a different one. So in the end, follow your own rhythm.

A pair of pileated woodpeckers live in our forest and poke around the trees. Seeing him whiz by just fueled a desire to paint that moment...and for now, not worry about the composition. It will serve as my reminder to follow my own unique rhythm and flight.

And on that topic, it is worth watching this 20 minute video of a talk given by Elizabeth Gilbert on A Different Way to Think about Creative Genius http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

Single Rose

Am back on the subject of roses again, for they seem quite challenging to me - they tantalize, and beg to be painted and then they become a swirl of petals and I get confused and lost in the maze of details. At least the light coloured rose was easier to work with then the intense red one.

Poppy Lane

Because this red is such a delicious colour, I had to discipline myself and keep it to a minimum. This scene is from Provence when Ian took those who wanted to paint poppies so that we would get it out of our system. Must say, it still is IN my system.

Exercise: seeing colour in shiny metal

Today Mary and I did an exercise from the book "How to See and Paint Colour" by Arthur Stern. The idea was to see all the different colours reflected in a shiny metal pot that is surrounded by red, blue and yellow bristol board and paint what we see, rather than what we think we see.

Colour Charts

The project is finished and is quite a display. It has been one of my biggest learning curves regarding colour. And it could be easily repeated for deeper insights into the mixing ratios, of for a change in palette. It has been an exhilirating project - sometimes it even felt alive!

Lemon Dish

This is a very shiny dish with a copper bottom, and the many reflections were tricky. I was trying to use up some of the mixed paint left over from the colour charts but that went sideways for a while. I think it ended on a good note.

Colour Chart #9 - before and after

This is the phthalo blue chart - all of the colours on my palette (across) have been mixed with this blue and then with white (down). The values are supposed to be correct and the last one nearly white. There are always a few smudges where the tape was not tight and then the cat tried to rub up against it. Each chart has a mess up. Maybe the 12th one will be perfect.

Green & Red

I am making steady progress on the colour charts - on #9 right now. So very interesting! Sure uses a lot of paint, with a lot of waste - so I used some up in this little painting.

Colour Charts #2,4 & 6

Charts are in process, and being slightly impatient, I am jumping ahead to see what the mixtures will look like because I basically know that Cadmium Yellow Pale and Cadmium Yellow will have minimal differences. So I ignored the Cad Yellow one for now and went to the Yellow Ochre and then the Cad Red. Will get to the stragglers eventually.

Colour Chart #1

The time has come to really diligently learn more about colours, and this comes in the form of doing 12 colour charts as described in Richard Schmid's book "Alla Prima". After frequently hearing or reading that it is time well spent, I am now in full agreement.

Who is the Fairest?

Here I had an orange ground, with the blue cloth as the complement colour. I fiddled too much with the oranges but I like the reflections in the silver container.

Blue Plate

One more try of the same theme. The pears photographed far more green than they are on canvas. At least the plate looks correct in shape - ellipses are improving. Now colours have become the focus and I have started to make colour charts for reference. Turns out to be a rather big project!

Pears turned Green

I was reading about giving the canvas a ground colour which is to be the complement of the dominant colour. So I put down blue, thinking of the orange yellow pears. Well, paint yellow on blue and it becomes rather green and then the red lost its colour too. And the pears photographed even greener. The dominant colour is red and therefore I should have put down green. Wonder what would have happened then? This is confusing.

Bila's Birds

My Mom has these lovely clay birds, and a blooming red geranium, that Mary and I painted today. While we were painting, 20 wild turkeys came to the window and were scratching around the fallen birdseed.

Castello Archway

Today I practiced on roses, again, and worked on some older paintings. This one is from two years ago and needed some changes. I found it a bit difficult to reconnect and awkward to paint over areas.

Rose

Kept working on roses today.

Red Roses

Happy Valentine's Day. These are my third attempt at painting these roses, and I still find them difficult to do....so it is time to haul out my books and sharpen the pencils again. But I do like the composition - sort of pleasantly in your face!

Another Copy

Because I found the design and the one blue stripe so fascinating, I had to copy Aaron's Lifferth's painting. It taught me a lot about areas that I need to work on.

Scotch Broom

The Scotch Broom was in full bloom during my first workshop with Ian Roberts in Provence France. This composition was originally just a value study and now seems to be the time to complete it.

The Driveway in Moonlight

February full moon - one more opportunity to paint a deep winter full moon scene. I used Prussian Blue to get the coolness and the darkness of the night, and because the white snow seems more stark against it.