Tah dah! It's finished!

"The Road to Lilliano" Commission

36"x48"

Oil on Canvas

SOLD

As promised, here is the final piece and a step by step slideshow to follow. Thank you to everyone who left me feedback on JenTV... corrections have been made and the slide shows are  more comfortable to watch! Yes folks, I have slowed them down quite a bit so you can actually see what is going on! Whew! I told you I need an assistant. (grin)

I can't wait to deliver the piece to my clients house! It is so fun to see what it looks like in it's new home. What an honor it was to do such a large piece. Now I have definitely have to visit Italy and the road to Lilliano!

Reflecting On Andrew Wyeth

It was a sad moment to hear of Andrew Wyeth's passing yesterday. At 91 I am sure he had a very full life... I have many memories of sitting on the floor of my dad's studio with several of his books in hand, just taking in all the visual eye candy each page had to offer.

Tonight I finished my "Road to Lilliano" commission. (note to self: will post the rest of the stages this week) As I washed my last brush, I turned to see the wonderful sky that was glowing on the horizon. What a treat to be able to celebrate with such a gorgeous end to a productive day... I climbed my studio ladder to the roof top and smiled as I watched the sun disappear behind the mountains.

I bet Andrew Wyeth has the best seat in the house...

My Palette of Fancy Colors

I truly believe that palettes are works of art in themselves... hours and hours of mindless play go into them, all that time spent creating endless arrangements of color, little formulas that are literally the building blocks of a painting. 

I say "mindless" lightly though, as I realize that much thought goes into working out color... but I find myself getting lost in these moments at times, smooshing color around with my palette knife. I think that is why I started having to write some of my color recipes down next to each swatch... I day dream so much that I forget how I got there!

The Road to Lilliano Day 3

Day three of "The Road to Lilliano" was an adventure in mixing color. These were the first initial stages of developing the rich greens of the foliage that line the road. I spent a good deal of time before I painted, mixing my own greens out of French Ultramarine, Hansa Yellow, and Yellow Ochre... but the best greens became of adding a touch of Organic Vermillion (red) and smidgens of Viridian Green to the mix.

I often find it helpful to write on my paper palette the names of some of the colors that went into a particular mixture so I don't forget.  Paper palettes allow me to keep a record of what I used on each painting that I do. Before I moved, my closet was full of palette pages hanging on the wall, each with a title, scribbling of notes, and slathered with dry swatches of paint used to create each individual painting I did last year. It helped me tremendously, especially if I had a client that liked a particular combination of colors they requested for a commission piece. The best visual journal ever!!!

Under-painting Cont'd...

Well, folks, I'm back. I have had several technical difficulties over the past few weeks that have kept me from posting my photos to my blog... sorry for the delay, but I am VERY happy to be back!

These photos posted today show a continuation on my initial stages on the under-painting for "The Road to Lilliano", a commission piece I am working on.  I've been blocking in the darker shapes of the bushes that line the road, with my special Sap-ar-indian mixture and a bit of Viridian, all while pulling out some highlights with my rag.

I am just dying to get to the trees and their branches that are so beautifully reaching out in all directions! It will truly be my most favorite part... or maybe painting the breaks of light that are sprinkled all over the road... must have patience, first things first!

This Just In... VENTILATE YOUR STUDIO!

My newest commission!

"The Road to Lilliano"

Oil and noxious fumes on canvas.

36x48 

Ventilate: (verb) to cause air to enter and circulate freely.

I have been working on a new project for a wonderful couple I met at one of my shows back in May. It is my first extra large painting that I have done in my new studio. Lucky me! I have found out that my studio lacks a certain necessity for an oil painter. AIR. The kind that flows in and on it's way out, takes with it all the harmful fumes that accumulate when painting like I do. Instead, they linger. So I turn a little green and pass out for a couple of minutes, and then I am good to go. Just kidding, it's not that bad, but unfortunately it does cause my painting sessions to be a bit short.

This piece is wonderfully inspiring. It is farther along than this picture reveals at this point, and I am waiting for paint to dry to the touch before I can continue so I thought I would post some pictures of my process in the mean time. So I will begin feeding my blog updates daily... so stay tuned and you will see, just what a cool painting this will be! If you have time to come and play, you will find out how it changes every day! In the end it will become, something that doesn't look so dumb... Ok, kidding again. It's not dumb, I was just trying to rhyme. It's just that as we all know, the beginning steps of a painting look a bit rough around the edges so to speak. So close your eyes and come back tomorrow!

The Final Commission Piece

Adding in more background color...

Working on minor details... little branches and twig shapes...

The final...

Lost

14x30 oil on panel

SOLD

Private Collection

Finished my commission piece. I really love the effect I got on this one, nice and moody. Now I will meet with the client and see if it works for her interior design concept. It's a nail biter not knowing if it is going to be the right fit! 

Today I move my art studio. So I will be packing up my computer and easel and all my paints and heading over to the new place. Lots of organizing to do! And have to rescue Bert from what ever box he ended up in! Hang in there folks, until I get internet hooked up, it may be a few days... thanks everyone!

Day 2

These pictures reveal my initial stages of blocking in back ground color on day two. There is something mesmerizing about painting in and around the branches... I get lost in them...

I haven't even begun to unpack my studio yet. Too wrapped up in finishing this painting. I hope that next week I will be all set to get organized. 

I think I may have lost Bert in the move. I keep hearing faint cries for help coming from one of my boxes... he must be scared of the dark. 

New Commission Piece

 

Back in July/August I met a nice lady that ended up commissioning me to do a new piece for her interior design client. I was honored! Immediately I built the wood panel from scratch. I have been tackling with paint little by little every week. I am taking this one a bit slower so that I can focus. I chose not to use drying medium this time so the paint is taking forever to dry! So long, in fact, that I am way over due! I feel awful! I really under estimated the timeline on this one... 

So even though I am farther along than these photos represent above, I thought it would be fun to post the in progress work from the beginning. Meanwhile, my painting is drying. Tomorrow I will continue to work on it and in the end I will probably throw together a slide show about it.

Kind of an extra bonus for the client to be able to see the birth of their new artwork! 

These beginning stages are very important to me. I wash in my darker undertone. This time I used my famous "Saparindian" concoction with raw umber and quinacridone gold. Then I literally wipe out all my white areas to reveal the shapes of the long twisted tree branches. So I rely heavily on my ability to see negative and positive shapes, adding and subtracting paint as I go. 

This wipe out method is a great way to "sketch" in oil... once it is dry, color is the next step.