Made in the Shade

"Made in the Shade"

4" x 4"

acrylic on panel

My Clover again...This is from a super hot day last week at the playground.  He had to follow us around and check everything out, including climbing up the stairs, until he finally plopped himself under one of the slides, in the shade.

I started getting too fussy with this one and had to stop.  I'm trying to keep to a painting-a-day schedule, but so far this week I've only done two, sending the day after revising.  I find I miss a lot of things when I paint it all in one sitting, without stepping away from the painting.  But usually I can commit only one hour or two to painting, so...  I'm far behind on the 30 in 30 challenge, but at least I'm still going.  20 in 30 isn't bad, right?

Day ? - Clover

"Clover"

4" x 4"

acrylic on panel

What day is it? I think, being the sixteen of September that it is Day 16 of the 30 in 30 Challenge.  But this is my 11th painting and I'm not sure I'll catch up at this point so...

Here is a painting I did for a Daily Paintworks Challenge, to paint a pet from a black and white photo, so as to make sure you establish a light and dark pattern.  I started with this photo of my dog Clover, from about 5 years ago.

All I had was a photocopy so I really had no reference for color, other than Clover himself.  I used a limited palette of Cadmium Red Light, Yellow Ochre, Phtalo Blue and Titanium White.  I started working with the reference photo and my painting upside down to block in the major shapes of light and dark...

Then flipped it once I felt I had that in place, and add some smaller details...

Then painted out the quilt that is to the left because it was distracting and didn't make sense.  Not sure is this is better, composition-wise but overall I like the painting.

Day 10 - Brewster

"Brewster"

4" x 4"

acrylic on panel

This little guy is a gift for my best friend Suzy.  She has never been a "dog person" but I think she's a Brewster person.  How could you not be with that face!

Day 9 - Ruffled Feathers

"Ruffled Feathers"

4" x 4"

acrylic on panel

This is my ninth painting for the Leslie Saets's 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge, so I'm a bit behind, it being the 12th and all... But it is my 100th blog post! Woo hoo!

At the lake there were these ducks that would just swim right by as we were splashing around in the water.  They didn't seem to notice, or care, that we were disturbing their otherwise peaceful lake.

Day 8 - Moulton Farm

"Moulton Farm"

4" x 4"

mixed media, acrylic

Still obsessing on this little farm photo...  

I think I have too many (painting) balls in the air.  I'm still learning about color, and color temperature, and I've never really done a landscape so I'm having a hard time with this one.  There is just something about it that makes me want to keep trying to capture it.

So, today I thought I'd eliminate one of the issues (drawing) and paint directly on a black and white photocopy of the photo.  One of the things I really liked about the farm was the jumble of building all lumped together.  But each time I painted it I just simplified them to one or two buildings, and even then they were not rendered well.  I think I'm just working at way too small of a scale to have room for all the information I'd like to present.  Not to mention the fact that my favorite paintings have very little in the way of detail, and are more about an overall feel, or gesture. 

Day 7 - Stripey Landscape, take 2

"Stripey Landscape, take 2"

8" x 8"

acrylic on panel

Today I attempted the farm photo again, larger.  Still not completely happy with it...

Day 6 - Bike Path

"Bike Path"

4" x 4"

acrylic on panel

Another summer memory, walking on the bike path, pushing Elsie in the stroller while Liam rode his bike.

Day 5 - Street View

"Street View"

4" x 4"

acrylic on panel

This was another exercise is restraint, and I failed miserably...
I'm trying to use less brushstrokes, and be more patient about putting down color, so that I try and mix correctly the first time.  But, I kept going on this one, reworking and reworking and this turned into this...

Though the color ended up being more true to the source photo, the painterly-ness(?) is gone and it looks blah to me.  So, I will try again, maybe with a timer set, to force me to just put it down and leave it.

Day 4 - Stripey Landscape

"Stripey Landscape"

4" x 4"

acrylic on panel

This farm really caught my eye as we drove by... I loved the way the rows of crops created stripes on the hill in front of the farm's buildings.

This is just a little color study/trial run for a larger piece.  I was excited to try to capture what I saw but I don't think it's there yet...

Day 3 - Red Kayak

Red Kayak

6" x 6"

acrylic on panel

Continuing my "What I did on my Summer Vacation" theme...
This is Maggie kayaking in the lake.  We were in New Hampshire staying on Lake Winnipesaukee and she absolutely loved taking the kayaks out.

Day 2- In the Surf

"In the Surf"

5" x 5"

acrylic on canvas

This is from our trip to Horseneck Beach in Westport, MA.  The water's edge was very rocky but Elsie still ran right in!
I was experimenting here with canvas (the jury is still out) and with a limited palette.  I started with a Zorn palette of just Cadmium Red Light, Yellow Ochre, Titanium White, and Ivory Black.   But, it was difficult to get a bright blue (for her swimsuit) without using any blue, so....I added Phtalo Blue.  I chose this one because I thought it was nice and simple but I still had to stop myself from overworking it.  That is one of my goals for this challenge, to try not to overwork things, and try to mix the correct color before I put it down.

Back to School, Back to Painting! The next 30 in 30 Challenge...

"Back to School"

6" x 6"

acrylic on panel

Well, with the kids heading back to school soon, it's time for me to get back to painting.  A well timed challenge from Leslie Saeta is just the thing to get me going.  Her new 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge started yesterday on September 1st.
I did this painting last night and hope to get another one done this afternoon.  We just got back from a week long vacation and the kids start school on the 4th so I have a lot of other stuff I should be doing (namely laundry...) but, life is short! So painting it is.
I decided to use the classic "What I did on my summer vacation" theme for this 30 painting series.  So here goes!