Two Test Paintings

This term I'm taking painting class again. I decided to try water soluble oil paints - they are alot different from acrylics in application and drying time, but have
water clean-up instead of turpentine.

Here are two small paintings I made recently. Both are from painting workshop books. The first is a copy of a snow scene from the book Oil Painting: The Workshop Experience by Ted Goerschner. When Rick saw it he said, "I don't know what that's supposed to be.....is it a swimming pool?" I think I still have a ways to go with the Impressionistic syle. In this painting I just tried to reproduce what the artist did. This is 8x10" in oil.

The second is my version of a cow painting from the book 60 Minutes to Better Painting by Craig Nelson. The idea of the book is to make quick paintings in 60 minutes or less in order to focus on the subject and not get bogged down in the details. This took me alot longer than 60 minutes and I did get bogged down in the details, but I see where he is going with his idea. I actually had to look up cow anatomy in order to figure out how the legs work. I have this cow on a bigger canvas in class and started this one as a study at home (since I've been home sick, I've been working on it and the other one is only half done). 8x10" in oil.

I've been staying home with a bad cold. All I've done is sleep, paint a bit, read some books, recharge my camera batteries, watch TV and take the dog out. It's a bore.

EP

Hawaii Paintings for Class

 Here are two paintings I completed during my Winter 2010 painting class. Both are reproductions of paintings that I saw in

Maui in December. I wanted to try to capture the colors and light of the originals.

This first is from Front Street in Lahaina. The original was painted by Larry Moore during a Maui Plein Air Event. I reproduced his painting called "On Front Street". His work is much lighter and airier than mine. And his is in oil. Mine is acrylic,
12x16".

It was a good exercise in using brighter colors and contrasts, and trying to work more with basic shapes instead of details. I'm a detail kind of person, so it's a challenge to be more expressionistic. I like that messier look, but it doesn't come naturally to me (except when it comes to housework and cleaning - then I'm plenty messy).

Here's Larry's website: www.larrymoorestudios.com/field_studies.html

The second painting below is a reproduction of an oil painting by Jan Bushart, another Hawaiian plein air artist. The original is called "The Workhorse", (referring to the tractor). She uses great colors and beautiful greens and blues in her paintings. Jan also uses wonderful loose brush strokes, which is something I need to learn.
Jan's website: http://curlyjan.fineartstudioonline.com/

I wish I could have purchased both originals. These were good learning exercises and are strictly for personal use. My copies pale in comparison with the originals.

Mixer Head

Our first assignment for painting class this term was to make a face collage. We used face segments from various magazine photos to create a new image. I used the eyes from a Michael Jackson photo, the lips and chin from Halle Berry, the nose from an anonymous model and the mixer/bowl/earmuffs from an educational magazine. I found the butler body from another magazine and added the pug in place of a piece of cake.

Some students kept the different colors and styles from each strip, but I blended the segments into one face. I can see that I made the eyes, nose and lips smaller than in the collage - and I left off the mascara. I may play around with those a bit more. I reworked the face color and shading since I first posted this. I really struggled with the face colors and blending...it's a new challenge for me in paint. The acrylic paint dries so fast that blending is difficult.

Photo Collage 

I hung this painting in my office and people have asked me what it "means", or what I was trying to convey. Mostly it was just for fun, but I may have to make up something more esoteric!

This is 18x24 on canvas board in acylic.

EP

Painting of Retro Fan

Tonight I finished the last painting for my Fall class. Earlier in the term we put together a still life display using items from the Art department prop closet. There was a whole bunch of stuff including a skeleton, some vases, bottles, a toaster, a tea kettle, a plastic baby doll, and this old fan.

I recently saw some prize-winning paintings of retro/50's appliances in an artist's magazine. There was an old Electrolux canister vacuum cleaner with hose and an old electric mixer. I wanted to try something similar with this fan.

This was a fun project but it was a bugger to paint. I had a hard time getting the blades and metal cage to look right. I like it! It's 16"x20" in acylic.

EP

Yellow Headed Blackbird

Here's the other painting I've been working on in class this fall. I've always wanted a painting of a Yellow-Headed Blackbird.

When we were kids we spent summers at Lake Poinsett in South Dakota. The Yellow Headed Blackbirds hung out in the swamps near the lake. Grandma always looked for them when she came to stay with us.

So, here's my version. I think it's almost done, but will have to see when I go to class on Tuesday. This painting is 12x16 in acrylic. It started out with a very pale background, which was too pasty looking. I changed it to pond colors.

Cousins Painting Reworked

I'm taking a painting class again this fall. I took in my summer painting from the old snapshot and got some good ideas for making the background better.

I repainted the house and the window reflections. My teacher noticed the house eave in the window reflection on the original photo, so I added that. He also pointed out that all of my background house and ground textures were the same style and were too bright. They needed to be grayed down a bit, cleaned up, and shadows defined.

I retouched the figures too. I think this is getting better and almost done now. Although, seeing this on the screen, I realize that the clouds and the tip of the building corner all converge in the window reflection...I'll probably have to fix that. This is 16x20" in acrylic.

Here's the original photo:

Hawaiian Flower Painting in Progress

I ended up changing the background color to better go with the wall color, which is a "cork" color.

Here's my almost finished Red Ginger painting. Since the last picture, I worked on the flower, reworked some of the leaves, and put a few more colors on the leaf edges. I'm close to being done.

The background color looks better in person.  I'm not so sure I like the flower petals - they look too sculpted.


I started making the background Naples Yellow.  But changed it to go better with a cork colored wall paint.

Here are some earlier versions and close ups:

Almost done, before I changed the background color and added some accent colors.

Later version, adding colors and definition

1st Block-in sketch