Monday, February 27, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Cub Scouts
Last weekend, a troop of cute-as-could-be cub scouts came to visit me so they could earn an art merit badge. The young men were delightfully engaging and well mannered. Thank you, Troop 505 Den 2. (Is that how you say it?)
Last year, several groups came touring here for the same reason, to earn art merit badges. I wonder if this will become an annual thing?
Thursday, February 16, 2012
The View from Rosa's Window
The Amazing Reese and I were having a leisurely Saturday breakfast with our friend Rosa at her apartment when I was completely and utterly enchanted by the view. I was also enchanted by good companionship, delicious blueberry oatmeal pancakes, and the all important indispensable morning cup of coffee.
This painting is a very good example of a style I define as "fuzzy realism". This isn't an exact copy of what was there, but rather the essence of the building and the clear, sunny day. Ideally, some of the allure and charm that I felt that morning is coming through on the canvas, too.
There are no exact edges in the painting for the very reason that I can't SEE clean perfect lines, not even when wearing corrective lenses....which I have a tendency to misplace, my glasses that is.....which is one of the reasons for the name of this blog. What drew me to the view, and the reason I wanted to paint it were the colors; the yellow wall against the Texas blue sky and the harsh shadow on the building. Silly me, I thought it would be easy to draw and paint. It wasn't. I drew it several times, wiping it off in each instance and nearly gave up on the whole idea.
It's a 22" x 28" oil on linen.
This painting is a very good example of a style I define as "fuzzy realism". This isn't an exact copy of what was there, but rather the essence of the building and the clear, sunny day. Ideally, some of the allure and charm that I felt that morning is coming through on the canvas, too.
There are no exact edges in the painting for the very reason that I can't SEE clean perfect lines, not even when wearing corrective lenses....which I have a tendency to misplace, my glasses that is.....which is one of the reasons for the name of this blog. What drew me to the view, and the reason I wanted to paint it were the colors; the yellow wall against the Texas blue sky and the harsh shadow on the building. Silly me, I thought it would be easy to draw and paint. It wasn't. I drew it several times, wiping it off in each instance and nearly gave up on the whole idea.
It's a 22" x 28" oil on linen.
Monday, February 06, 2012
Friday, February 03, 2012
Gray Matters
Taking care of business:
1. Putting the finishing touches on Texas Grey, a 22" x 28" oil on linen. I actually started this painting last summer. Don't know why it took so long to complete. (?) Oh, snap. Yes, I do! One of my artist friends recently gave me a tip on how to mix greys. I tried her suggestion and voila! The painting was suddenly finished.
2. Painting the edges black on recent paintings. Looking at these three portraits, I can see stylistic similarities. For an artist, that's a good thing. Part of the similarities are due to the fact that when the models posed they were in the studio, which has this muted greenish blue wall, hence the background color.
3. Adding finishing touches to this still life, a quince, 9" x 11" oil on canvas. When I first painted this, it didn't have the middle stamen part because I couldn't see it. Yes, my eyesight is not great. I am not a fan of painting details, the biggest reason being that I can't see them.
4. Painting the 1/2" plywood base for the glass mosaic table top I'm starting. This is the "water" under painting for the mosaic that will be created on top of this. Does that make sense?
1. Putting the finishing touches on Texas Grey, a 22" x 28" oil on linen. I actually started this painting last summer. Don't know why it took so long to complete. (?) Oh, snap. Yes, I do! One of my artist friends recently gave me a tip on how to mix greys. I tried her suggestion and voila! The painting was suddenly finished.
2. Painting the edges black on recent paintings. Looking at these three portraits, I can see stylistic similarities. For an artist, that's a good thing. Part of the similarities are due to the fact that when the models posed they were in the studio, which has this muted greenish blue wall, hence the background color.
3. Adding finishing touches to this still life, a quince, 9" x 11" oil on canvas. When I first painted this, it didn't have the middle stamen part because I couldn't see it. Yes, my eyesight is not great. I am not a fan of painting details, the biggest reason being that I can't see them.
4. Painting the 1/2" plywood base for the glass mosaic table top I'm starting. This is the "water" under painting for the mosaic that will be created on top of this. Does that make sense?
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