Getting Closer!

THESE IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHTED AND MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED!
This is the last step I will be showing until it is done. I think that if I had 4 days I would be done but Tues and Wed I will be gone so my aim is to be done by Friday of next week. There is always those last days when you clean up edges and darken here and there and it just takes so much time to bring it to completion. Here you can compare to the previous one and see I have worked in the dishes and am beginning some of the Hardanger lace. I have taken this in full sun so not sure if it looks washed out for you but hopefully it is ok...thanks for peeking and wish me good luck on finishing this one up!
I took a photo indoors and it seems better, you can decide and also a close up of the linens so you can see some of the work there.
Oh and by the way, I have been considering a title and it seems with the angel carved into the plate rack, a possible title could be Angels Keeping Watch or Angels Among Us...something to that effect. Any ideas?? I would be interested in hearing them! Thanks again!

Norway Painting Is Taking Shape

I posted the drawing for this when I posted the peony drawing and then set it aside until I finished the peonies. I feel like it is taking forever but when you are documenting someone's things, they do need to have some accuracy. The plate rack was pretty difficult but once I had it drawn it was easy to paint. I have begun to gray down some of the blues by adding Daniel Smith Transparent Orange and it is doing a great job. I wish I would have used that to begin with. If you have any questions, please ask. I hope to be done by the end of the month with this piece but will be gone for several days next week too. It is always hard in the summer to get things done isn't it? I want to go outside and play very badly! I am leaving August open just for that!

The Peonies are Finished!

THESE IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHTED ANDF MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED IN ANY WAY!
I have finished the peonies but still do not have a title for them. Since they were from my girlfriend, Susan Hoosier's garden, I have thought of calling them Hoosier Hotties! Ha! But perhaps that is not the best title so still thinking. If you have a good idea, please let me know!
I thought I would explain the background on the right. I did a pale wash of New Gamboge and let it dry, then a pale wash of Quinacridone Rose in places. When I do this the entire area is wet but I place the paint only in a few areas. Being the paper is wet it makes soft glazes and each glaze will shine through. The last coats which were 3, were a mixture of Naph. Maroon and Sap Green to create an interesting brown that was a unifing color with what I had already done. I like to use a limited palette when I can and use 4=6 colors and mix them with one another to achieve a cohesivness.
This was a full sheet and ended up about 21x29 whuch is a nice size to make a statement.

Getting Closer!

This stage is always very time consuming and challenging...but this part also reveals whether this is going to be a good painting or not so it can be exciting. I am glazing up the colors as I go to try create different values using the same colors. Hopefully you will see what I am doing...if not...ask questions!

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.

Third Step on Peonies

I have been working on the peonies some more and hope to post soon with the next step as well. In this step you can see I am beginning to block in some background. I am going lighter in areas allowing for any negative painting I might choose to do in the next step. Sometimes just getting in some darks helps one evaluate the values in the work you have already done. I never want dark near an area I might want to prime with water as it would bleed so I am pretty careful about that.
Some of you may be wondering about my colors. I am using Daniel Smith Naphthamide Maroon for most of the flowers and adding just a bit of Quinacridone Rose in places. The background brown has been made by mixing the Maroon with Sap Green. I often make my browns by using the pink or red I am using with Sap Green and get a nice brown that is unifing with all my colors.
Now on to the next phase!

Updating Peonies

THESE IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHTED AND MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED IN ANY WAY!
I am slowly progressing with the Peony painting. I cannot believe how long it can take sometimes but I have also learned that patience does pay off so I am hanging in there. I think that I am going to really love this one so I want to be careful not to hurry something and then regret it. I also took a close up of the white peony so you can see how I work. I have a map in my drawing that will ensure I capture that lovely flower with all it's petals.