Clothes Pins WIP

I wanted to show you where I am on the clothespins painting. It is slow as it hurts to paint but I am trying to locate all the shapes gradually. There is still much more to do to the bamboo and more of it on the mid left of the painting. I am not sure I will go as dark as originally planned but I suspect I will go darker than this is now by several values for sure. I wanted to post this as I will not be painting for the next week and you can see where I am at. I have not used any new colors...just layering up back and forth with the same ones. In the dark shadows I started lighter in areas knowing I might want to add some highlights down there. I have begun to do that and perhaps I will like that...it is one way to try on the look and if I do not like it I can go dark completely. I really hope this one turns out...even though it is painful to paint I can still do small things and leave and bounce around and get something accomplished.

Dahlias Updated

Well I might be slow but just like a turtle I keep moving along! Summer has arrived and with it brings many interruptions when you live at the lake...and then the heat comes and it is all hard as we do not have air conditioning...only need it a few weeks out of the year so just do not get it...but boy there are days!!!!
So this is where I am at on the dahlias. I still have alot of edges to work on and light against dark areas to stress...there is still a few things in the flowers that have not even been painted yet but all of this will begin to take shape now...I am hoping that it will become a garden flag and rug but we will see...they have to like it first!

4th Step on Peonies!

I am so sorry this is a little late but my computer just plain made terrible noises and so shut down until someone could check it...when someone finally came it just was the keyboard. Eveidently lightning had done something to it and now I am just fine with my new one! Whew! I was beginning to wonder what to do!
So here is the following snap of where the painting is as of a few days ago. I am continuing to find the shapes and fill in the local color and values but will leave alot of detail value work to the end. That is when I like to really punch in a few more darks. The peony in the lower left is being made up as in the photo it was so dark I could not see anything...so I just started putting petals on top of petals to make a couple of nice shaggy ones for variety. They will take alot more work I am afraid to get them to sit back under the white one. Hopefully in a few days I will have the next step ready. Summer brings friends, company and summer cabin people up here so I do get sidetracked some but still find time to paint a little everyday.

Step Three for Prisms!

I thought I better take a picture while the sun was still shining as one never knows up here when we will go into a long stretch of no sun. It is coming along but I have not devoted as much time to this like I had hoped! I am putting up the tree and decorating outside today and tomorrow to get that project done and have mailed the presents except for one! So I am getting things completed. Most of the Christmas cards have also been sent...at least to family...we will see how far I get with the rest. Sometimes we just can't do it all and be artists too!
I am trying Daniel Smith's Quinacridone Gold Deep which is a limited time only paint and I am really liking it. It makes the reds and browns and even the greens more lively! I hope they start to make this one all the time!
As I progress with this piece, I am seeing that it is actually Christmas colors! I was not inspired by the season but rather just using complementary colors but if this one works out I think it might make an interesting Christmas card for next year. I hope this week helps me get closer to filling in all the local color as I like to cover more of the white to help me with values but in this case, the dark background might bleed into a prism so I really want those done before I ever do the background. I suspect once that goes in there will alot of value adjustments but that part will be much easier...I have found all those shapes and that was the hardest part for me.

Gravy Boat Step 4

I am so sorry this is taking so long. There have been a number of things that have traspired over the last few weeks that have kept me hopping! First I was signing a contract to license all my images which is final now so I hope that some good things happen! Second, my other business has taken off unexpectedly and so have had to make more time for that. I design and reconstruct clothing for small girls. It is a popular fashion on the westcoast where recycling is important. They have been selling well and I thought it was just going to be a fun thing to do for a few weeks and that was that! Hopefully this next batch of clothes will be done this weekend and I can get back to this painting.
Gravy boat has been a challenge because of the lace. There were so many folds that it was a case where I finally had to just find the shapes and patterns to make sure it would read correctly. I believe I have that now so it will go much better as I do not have to worry about the shapes but can just paint. Nothing is done at this point but it is reading lace and most areas are filled in so I believe it will be much more fun now and go faster. The colors in the lace are Transparent Brown Oxide, Quin. Gold Quin. Sienna and Carbazole Violet. I have tried to keep a variety of values even at this stage but now will have to go in and define things better and get more darks in so the holes in the lace pop better. Thanks for your patience!

Gravy Boat Step 2

I am sorry I have not gotten much further but have another project going and this keeps taking the back seat...partly because it is so difficult to draw as well! The pattern in the lace has been tough so I think I will switch now to do the gravy boat and background which will make me feel I am 1/2 done and help encourage me to keep on with the lace. Hopefully that part will not take too long if I find the time to get to it. My second business has sort of taken off and so I am having trouble keeping up with everything! The photo seems to wash out the yellows and peaches that are present in this as I took the snap outside in the sunshine which seems to usually work ok for me. I guess true colors will not appear until the actual slides are done but gives you a pretty good idea. Thanks for looking!

Purple Waterlily Demo Finished!

My photographer just sent this jpeg. I might scan the slide when it arrives to make sure we have the most accurate colors so this might change some. The problems with the water were solved by a glaze of Indigo very lightly applied to allow some of the blues from below to come through. The shadows and ripples were needing some jazz so i applied some Phthalo Turquoise and yellow into the water in areas. I never am afraid of color to liven things up. The same with the purple waterlily. Being only purple was very boring so in the final stages I started using Quinacridone Rose and Quinacridone Gold to liven up some of the purples. Both in the pictures and in my drawing I did not see a problem with the lower leaves but they became a problem and I had to leave them rather undefined or they would have been too dominate. I did the same with the background leaves so that they had little interest but supplied nice shapes and values. I hope it worked well enough. Now I have to live with it for awhile as once I finish a painting, the problems are too fresh in my head and I cannot enjoy the entire piece for what it is. It feels good to have it done and I have begun the next drawing, silver and grapes with lace. Joel from the Philippines has told me that this lily is commonly called Midnight in the tropical countries. So thanks for that info and now the title of this waterlily is "Midnight Waters". Isn't technology amazing? Ask a question and someone in this world will give you the answer!