The Arrival of Jen TV

Titled: "Highway 26 Black & White" 12x12 

Oil Pastel on tinted Ampersand Hardbord

$309 

SWEEEEET! I'm on tv! 

What a cool tool... not me silly, the slideshow playing above... 

Anyway, last night I documented my full painting session in order to post to my bloggie today. It took a little while, as it was unfamiliar territory uploading all the pics, but I now have a tool that I can post videos and slideshows of my work and techniques to share with all of you! Eventually if you click in the upper right side of the window above on "Shows", you will be able to view whatever is playing on Jen TV at the time! Kinda like flipping through channels on a regular tv at home... it even has sound, just click on the musical note! I'm a genius (not really).

I will be working on a series of new oil pastel paintings over the next week for a show I am having at Neptune Coffee on Greenwood this Sept. 6th from 6pm-10pm. So, yes, Bert (my brush-incase you are new) and I will be taking a little break for a week. Probably good, as he is still recovering from his eye injury. 

My newest friends are a box of Sennelier Oil Pastels. They don't have eyes, so there is less chance of injury with these guys... I chose to do a black and white version this time, in order to play off the idea I typed about in my "Wipe Out" post a couple days ago... eliminate color and focus on playing with value and composition. Plus, I just really like doing pieces that have high contrasting values - creates a glow and a little drama. There are techinquie things going on in this painting that I intend to provide at a later date explaining my step by step process, including a final posting about how I frame these puppies...

So, why was last nights image upside down? No, I haven't lost my mind. In fact you may already do this yourself. I often will turn my paintings upside down in order to get a fresh view of them from a different angle. It helps me to identify issues I may be having with composition, value, or color. Once inverted, problem areas (usually) stick out like a sore thumb. I often continue to work on the piece while it is upside down. This way I can turn off my brain and stop it from recognizing what I am working on. I can then focus more clearly on compositional elements.

I can also get a fresh view of my painting by looking in a mirror. I have a HUGE mirror behind me in my studio. My husband thinks I am vain. Ok, maybe a little, but seriously - it is so nice to be able to quickly turn around and instantly I have a different view point of my painting... or my hair, or my new shirt... 

Another thing I do is look at my painting from a distance, either during the process or after I have put the brush down. I have this habit of leaving my painting out in the open for it to "catch my eye" when I least expect it. I will leave it sitting in the corner of the living room over night sometimes. In the morning I wake up, climb out of bed, pop my contacts in, and jump out of the hallway into the living room like I was at a surprise party! OR I will walk through the hall and peak around the corner at it as if I was to sneak up on it. My eyes instantly fall on my painting and I can then determine what areas are problematic. I will leave it out for several days until I finally decide if it is finished or not. Yeah, I'm crazy (not really).

Geesh, my blog posts are getting wordy. Sometimes I just like to type till my fingers swell. Thanks for leaving your comments... please don't "dine and dash", let me know your thoughts...

A final note before I pull another painting out of the night... Thank you to Nina in Stockholm! Nina Aidas mentioned me on her blog today - seems I inspired her all the way over in Sweden! (my tail is wagging!) -check out her blog