Artist's Point of View

Inspirations, step 14

2011-04-20T20:54:00.003-04:00

Final Touches

These last touches include adding the musical notes, painting the feather, rendering the violin strings and lettering the type on the spine of the blue book.

The painting hangs together well with the theme and disparate objects. The risky part was putting in the paint tubes...the rest of the objects in the painting have somewhat of a romantic connotation, but, to me, squeezed paint tubes do not. I was at a loss as to what I could put in the set-up to represent the "artist." The paint brushes work well and are somewhat camouflaged by resting on the piano music. I think the paint tubes are fun and certainly say "oil painter."

It will be a while before I demonstrate another painting on this blog. This painting "Inspirations" will be shown in my one person show at American Painting Fine Art from April 30 to June 11. See the calendar page on my website for details.

Inspirations, step 13

2011-04-16T20:30:00.002-04:00

Finishing touches

First I finished the musical notes on the top piece of sheet music, trying not to be too particular...just enough detail to suggest the measures and notes.
When I finished the music, I painted the paint brushes. They add a nice compositional diagonal to keep the painting moving. They also break up the expanse of the white sheet music.

Inspirations, step 12

2011-04-12T20:30:00.000-04:00

The paint tubes
After much deliberating and auditioning the third paint tube in gazillion ways, I finally decided on keeping the profile aspect. To add some interest, I removed the cap and squeezed a little paint out of the tube. To say the least, my husband was quite aghast that I would do that, but I think it's pretty neat.

Each tube is by a different manufacturer...one label is green, one is blue and the open tube is red. And they were really fun to paint.

Inspirations, step 11

2011-04-08T20:30:00.005-04:00

Painting the violin
The rich reds of the violin wood are a pleasure to paint. There is a depth to the color that I can readily achieve with some glazing. I painted the F-hole with one-stroked while I held my breath. I also worked on the bridge and the tailpiece. All in all, the violin is looking pretty good.

Inspirations, step 10

2011-04-04T20:30:00.007-04:00

Painting the inkwell, the books, the ribbon and violin

The inkwell has remained a challenge. I inherited my grandmother's brass double inkwell stand, but it is way too big to put in this painting. But it inspired me to incorporate the filigree design on the shape. Rather than make it brass, I made it look like silver with a gold neck. Actually I think it looks OK. I'm really not in the business of designing inkwells, but I do what I have to do.

Continuing on with the details on the books, I suggested the lettering and decoration on the spines. I added the ribbon bookmark which breaks up the awkward rectangular shape of the pages. It also serves as a directional shape, pointing the eye back to the inkwell from the paint tubes.

I am still undecided about what form that third paint tube will take. Painting the the scroll and pegs on the neck of the violin was really fun.

Inspirations, step 9

2011-03-30T20:30:00.003-04:00

Finishing the figurine and picture frame

It was time to settle down and finish some of these areas. The figurine, though I thought it was finished, still needs some brightening the the lighter area. The frame needs to be finished. It still needs the detailing and the beading.

Inspirations, step 8

2011-03-26T20:30:00.004-04:00

Painting the picture frame and more
When I measured the Degas print, I discovered that it didn't quite fit the frame, so I had to readjust the measurements.

I then repainted the frame...the limited palette worked beautiful for all the subtle colors in the silverish gold frame. I am letting the paint dry before I add the detailed carvings on it.

So, I went on and reestablished the books and worked a little on the violin. I also worked some on the paint tubes and painted the music sheets. It is all starting to come together, slowly but surely.

Inspirations, step 7

2011-03-22T20:00:00.008-04:00

Painting Degas's dancers, the picture frame, and the inkwell

As I said earlier, nothing is ever easy. I don't own a quill pen and accompanying inkwell, and when I set out last week to the local antique emporium, I found that it had closed. Probably due to the economic downturn. The next nearest antique store is 25 miles away. So I am going to try to muddle through without the real thing in front of me.

I painted the print of the "Rehearsal" by Degas and painted over the place where the feather is. This way, I will not be constrained by any shape that seems the best for the feather. I roughed in the basic underlying shapes on the picture frame to prepare it for the decorative areas.

I googled quill pens and found a host of feathers and ink wells...I should be able to compile something from all these shapes and textures. Having been inspired, I tried a number of different shapes. I didn't like round because it mimicked the shape on the book beneath. I have settled on a version of the paint cup which I have placed in the set-up. I have elongated it a bit and narrowed the neck, which is a nice shape, for now.

Inspirations, step 6

2011-03-18T20:30:00.007-04:00

Painting the Figurine

Using a modified Zorn palette of black, permanent madder deep, yellow ochre and white, I proceeded with the background drapery and the figurine. I substituted the permanent madder deep for the cadmium red light, as I found the latter too warm and too light. I needed the deep rich red of the permanent madder deep. It is truly a beautiful color and an accurate substitution for alizarin crimson. This so far gives me a cooler palette. I think I should be able to warm everything with the yellow ochre, if needed.

Since I'm not a purist here, when I find I need other colors to do the job, then I will use them.

The grays for the figurine were made with the above colors, but it still needs to be warmer. The drawing needs a bit of tweaking too, but not too much. I'm fairly happy with it.

Inspirations, step 5

2011-03-14T20:30:00.010-04:00

The underpainting

Using terra rosa and ultramarine blue, I worked first on the drapery. Then the books and the violin. For some subtle color changes, I added yellow ochre and the Torrit Grey.

Some of the drawing is lost because the background color needs to overlap the objects. The ideal procedure is to finish the background first and then do the items on top of it. But it never seems to happen that way because I like to have soft edges between the objects and the background.

Since much of this painting is a warm reddish brown, I may continue the painting using the Zorn palette of black, cadmium red light, yellow ochre and white. I can get such a wide variety of shades, tints and colors with that limited palette for a wonderful harmonious painting. Another advantage to this palette, is that it's so easy to re-mix a color, since there are so few options.

See below for my Zorn palette.

Inspirations, step 4

2011-03-10T20:00:00.015-05:00

Redrawing the drawing

Nothing is ever easy. After I had finished the drawing, I got the sneaking feeling that my "table" was sagging. I checked it with a level, and sure enough.

My "table" is rather a Rube Goldberg contraption, because my still life box wasn't deep enough to hold the violin. So I had added a thin board to extend it. Well, it has drooped so that everything is off at the bottom about an inch.

I propped up the "table" with lattice strips, see below:

I redrew almost everything from the little picture and the figurine down. So I wouldn't get confused with which lines were which, I used Torrit Grey (from Gamblin) to cover the old lines. I had toned the linen with the Torrit Grey and so it all matches, sort of.

The painting is a real mess now, with all the wiped out areas and new lines. As I paint, I'll be checking the drawing with extreme care. I'll be able to see the drawing problems as I go along...it is easier when I can see shading and lighter values to make the forms more realistic. The new finished drawing is at the top.

The next step will be to do the value underpainting.

Inspirations, step 3

2011-03-06T15:24:00.007-05:00

The painted drawing

The charcoal on this canvas is very heavy because I reworked and reworked the violin, the books, the figurine, and the paint tubes.

Now I must very carefully wipe away all that charcoal as I paint the lines. This is a quick memory exercise...wipe it away and quickly replace the charcoal with paint, as shown above.

For this drawing, I used Indian Red and ultramarine blue. As I work, I dip my brush in some odorless mineral spirits just to thin the paint a bit. Above is the finished drawing in paint.

Inspirations, step 2

2011-03-02T20:30:00.006-05:00

The charcoal drawing

In the last blog demo I said the antique glasses were the hardest things I had ever drawn. This violin is a close second! Again, nothing is parallel and the round edges are not circular arcs, but artistic transitions from one shape to another. A real challenge.

I have spent hours on this charcoal drawing, mostly on the violin. I carefully drew the books and the paint tubes. I didn't draw in all the figurine as I will do that more in paint. The same with the small framed print. The important thing is that these items are basically the correct size and in their proper places.

As I paint, I continue to check my drawing. It's not like "OK, the drawing is done and now I'll just fill in with color." The reality is that I am constantly drawing and measuring to make sure everything is just so.

Inspirations, step 1

2011-02-26T20:30:00.007-05:00

The sightsize set-up

For a long time I have wanted to do a painting featuring a violin. I have borrowed one for this purpose. While I was at it, I thought a painting celebrating different art forms might be interesting and fun.

I propped up the violin across some antique books and placed a figurine in the background. I didn't want it too prominent because it is white, so I have it mostly in shadow. A small Degas print of his "Rehearsal" is framed and hanging. On the books is an antique inkwell substitute with a feather quill. Actually it is a palette cup for holding turps. Right now the quill is a peacock feather which is all I have. At some point, I'll either get to an antique store or wing it (pardon the pun).

Arranging the paint tubes was a real challenge. At first I didn't even think I wanted them, but so far I like them. Inserting the brushes under the violin was easy. When I paint, I will ignore them, but for now, it reminds of where I'm going. The still life set-up when complete needs to look like it was very casually put together, even thought it might have taken hours and is very contrived.

For instance, my figurine wasn't tall enough to suit me, so I have it propped up on a bunch of old casette tapes.

Below is my sight-size layout with my easel exactly next to my setup. I stand back from them about eight feet, from where I can see them both at the same time. The idea is that the drawing matches the set-up. It is easy to draw this way because the measuring is one on one.

Quiet Pleasures, last step

2011-02-22T20:30:00.003-05:00

The final painting

I won't tell you how many times I drew and redrew the glasses. I lost track. They are the most difficult things I have ever drawn in my life. The lens are not oval, nor are they parallel with each other. Each one is decidedly different.

As I was redrawing the glasses I discovered that the book wasn't right. So I had to redraw and repaint it as well. Nothing is ever easy! But it's done and I am happy with the painting. I think it is elegant and classy.

Quiet Pleasures, step 9

2011-02-18T20:00:00.005-05:00

Finishing the painting, step 5

Finally I was able to add some of the interesting details and finishing touches. It was imperative to finish the open book before I laid the glasses on top of it.

Across the pages, I suggested the type, carefully lining up the lines and indicating paragraphs in perspective. I added type to the wine labels, and painted the defining shapes of the cut crystal on the side of the wine glass.

I worked more on the cloth, on the shadow color and defined the cutwork more.

I'm ready for the glasses now.

Quiet Pleasures, step 8

2011-02-14T20:00:00.006-05:00

Finishing the painting, step 4

After much deliberating, I finally settled on this cloth which has just a little detail. The problem was that the other cloth was in the setup. So I had to VERY CAREFULLY fold back the original cloth and add this one on top of it. Before I moved anything, I marked with masking tape where the open book was and drew a circle with pencil on the cloth at the base of the wine glass.

The detail adds enough interest to the cloth to keep it from being boring. When I was finished with the cloth, I removed it and replaced the book and the wine glass according to my markings.

Quiet Pleasures, step 7

2011-02-10T20:00:00.007-05:00

Finishing the painting, step 3

To the book spines, I added more highlights and a shiny white area to show the reflectiveness of the smooth leather.

The wine glass was a bit askew, so I spent some time redrawing it. It really does have to be perfect. I added color to the wine, and a few highlights to the back part of the glass to give it shape and dimension. I'll wait until the wine is dry before adding the details of the cut crystal.

Back to the cloth, I wiped out the suggested hem that was there in the previous step. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do but I have spent lots of hours in my house looking for suitable cloths.

I began developing the cabinet...it's a design from a piece of furniture in my house. I like the hinge on the cabinet door...it's a nice lead in to the picture.

Quiet Pleasures, step 6

2011-02-06T20:00:00.009-05:00

Finishing the paintings, step 2

To the sides of the pages of the open book, I added some color. These color edges are important as they introduce some color into the middle of the painting. I'm not finished with that part, they still need to be defined more carefully. Constantly, I have to keep in mind that on top of the book are the antique reading glasses. Though they aren't in a color, they will still add a lot of interest.

Then I tackled the cloth. I'm not really happy with it...it's kind of uninteresting. I need something there that's somewhat classy, but at the same time, not fussy or screaming for attention. I'll have to think about it.

Quiet Pleasures, step 5

2011-02-02T16:16:00.020-05:00

Finishing the painting, step 1

Working dark to light, I went over the background again, then onto the wine bottle. With thalo green and quinacridone red, I refined the bottle and added some reflections and highlights. Then I straightened the shape of the label and shaped the cork and red wrapper and added some highlights.

Moving onto the books, I first tightened up the drawing, especially the top areas where you can see just a smidge of the pages. The perspective must be correct. When repainting this area, I redefined the edges of the leather covers showing how the light hits just a few spots. Then I painted a base color on the dark side of the right-hand book, and with a rigger-like brush, I quickly danced the soft bristles over the area to come up with an arbitrary pattern reminiscent of the pattern on the original book.

Still working on the books, I did more detail on both spines, paying particular attention to the areas where the leather binding was torn and ratty. I really love painting details like this...it's fun to get the torn edges and textures just right.

Unfortunately, I seem unable to figure out exactly how everything is going to turn out before I start painting a still life. I spend a lot of time on a set-up, but it never seems to be the absolute final design. I'll keep tweaking it, rearranging one thing or another. That's the point where I say I let the painting tell me what it needs. It is advantageous to put the painting out of sight for a few days and then look at it again. Often little things that didn't bother me before now scream at me!

Quiet Pleasures, step 4

2011-01-30T20:30:00.002-05:00

The color underpainting

I spent a number of hours going over the entire underpainting with color. It is quite dark since I work from dark to light as the painting progresses.

There are several places where I lost the drawing, but since it is set up in my studio, I can redraw it easily. The wine bottle is a bit askew as is the wine glass.

I used burnt sienna and ultramarine blue for the background color as well as in the leather on the books. I made grays for the cloth with those same colors...it helps keep a good color harmony.

This is an important stage of the painting, where I can get an idea of color and values. But at least I can see where I am going. Going back to the set-up, I was concerned about getting enough color, particularly red, into the painting. Using the book with the decorated sides helps a lot.

I also have to remember that the lettering on the open book and the eye glasses will
fill some space.

Quiet Pleasures, step 3

2011-01-26T19:35:00.004-05:00

The underpainting

After I finished the drawing, I began the background using burnt sienna and ultramarine blue with a #6 filbert bristle brush. When done, I used a blending brush as demonstrated to smooth the surface.

Continuing on with the burnt sienna/ultramarine blue/liquin mixture, I proceeded to finish the dark and medium tones. I left the light areas on the book and cloth bare.

Quiet Pleasures, step 2

2011-01-22T19:45:00.000-05:00

Drawing with paint

Next, I have to replace the charcoal lines with paint lines. I don't want to mix the charcoal with the paint, so I very carefully wipe away a small segment of charcoal and quickly replace the line with paint. For this drawing, I am using a number 2 Monarch brush with burnt sienna and a little Liquin.

My rag is a piece of an old cotton knit shirt. I prefer the cotton fabric to paper towels as it is much more absorbent and I can use one rag for hours. It's easier on the trees too.

Quiet Pleasures, step 1

2011-01-18T19:30:00.001-05:00

The sight-size setup and charcoal drawing

I placed my easel next to the set-up so that I can stand back about 8 feet while I am observing the set-up. Remembering what I saw, I then walk up to the easel and make my lines. In this way, I will draw accurately, always comparing the two. This is such an easy way to draw. The drawing needs to be identical to the set-up when I am finished.

Using soft vine charcoal, first I drew a line one quarter of an inch all the way around the edge of the canvas which indicates what the frame will cover. This will help keep the drawing from getting too close to the edge.

Then I lightly draw on the toned linen canvas measuring very carefully. For the purpose of simplifying the drawing, I have removed the red ribbon bookmark and the glasses and ignored the clothespin.

Quiet Pleasures

2011-01-14T19:35:00.002-05:00

The set-up

For my one-person show in April, I will have many new landscape and still life paintings. Recently I finished a number of landscapes, but couldn't get focused on demonstrating one of them in this blog.

Now I have begun this still life painting, having acquired the antique books and glasses some months ago and am eager to paint them. A collection of wine bottles with interesting colors and labels is filling my shelves. Since I didn't have any wine bottle decanted, I filled the goblet with water and food coloring: a combination of blue and red. It looks convincing.

The open book didn't want to do exactly what I wanted, so temporarily it is held open with a clothespin. I love these low-tech fixes.

The red ribbon bookmark is a big question, as it doesn't make a lot of sense. However, I think there needs to be more color in the center of the painting. It would be nice if these antique books had color plates, but alas, color printing was in its infancy when these books were printed.

A Musician's Life

2010-10-07T16:00:00.002-04:00

Finishing the painting, step 13

Well, it's done. I finished the sheet music, added a hinge on the cabinet, put in the wood grain and signed my name.

I like her title: "A Musician's Life." It says it all.

When I find an interesting painting to demonstrate, I'll do another one on this blog. Meanwhile, I have two more workshops coming up...one in Millwood, VA on the 16th and 17th of October and another one at Black Hill Regional Park, Boyds, MD on the 13th & 14th of November. For more information, go to my workshop page on my website.

Tools of the Trade, Step 25

2010-10-04T16:00:00.002-04:00

Finishing the painting, step 12

I added more highlights to the clarinet and to the temple bells. Then with a lot of fortitude, I began the music. A few false starts, and I now have one page of the music done. I had to repaint the other page, because the gray bars weren't working at all. I discovered that with a itsy-bitsy brush I could actually paint the horizontal lines of the music bars...I didn't have to suggest them with a gray area. So with a fresh coat of white paint, I'll begin laying in the musical notes again when all is dry.

The door pull which I had carefully drawn and painted on the cabinet, was attracting too much attention. So I wiped it out, and with the inspiration of a William Harnett print, I have roughed in a cabinet similar to one that is in one of his paintings. It still need refining, though.

So at this point, I'm nearly done: finish the one page of music, refine the cabinet, and sign my name.

Tools of the Trade, Step 24

2010-10-01T16:00:00.005-04:00

Finishing the painting, step 11

My goal today was to finish the sheet music, but it didn't happen. I changed the shape of the paper...I had some tangent lines and intersections that I didn't like. The paper curved over the edge somewhat awkwardly. But I did get the bars on the sheet music, and when that's dry, I can put in the notes.

I then tackled the credenza. Of course, that sounds easy...but they're are a lot of decisions to make. I said in the last blog, that I didn't like the color. I'm more interested in a redder, more mahogany look to contrast with the other wood tones in the painting. It took me a while to design the drawers, and put them in an interesting relationship to the rest of the painting. I then went around my house photographing drawer pulls, so I had something as a guide. The picture I got off the e-bay was basically useless for that purpose. The image was just too small.

Tools of the Trade, Step 23

2010-09-28T16:00:00.004-04:00

Finishing the painting, step 10

Back to the bird whistle...I refined it even more. It had gotten too fat on one side. Those gremlins were in the studio again with my paint brushes!

I then tackled the lettering on the vase, which I may darken a bit later when it dries. I painted the sheet music, went over the areas where I had roughed in the music bars. I decided it would be easier if I began with the clean paper, so I'll let this dry and then paint the music bars and notes.

The table has been really bothering me, and I finally decided that it was too horsey. I didn't like the color...looked too much like oak and it was too similar to the unicord. I went to e-bay and found a picture of an antique mahogany cabinet/chest which I can use as inspiration. I copied the image and put it in a document so that I can refer to it as needed. I repainted the cabinet area with a narrower ledge with black, Q-red, and yellow ochre rather than the black, cad red, and yellow ochre. The new color combo makes a richer color, even though I have strayed from the Zorn palette. I'll add a suggestion of drawers and handles when this is dry.

At this point, I have yet to do the music, finish the cabinet, and finish the clarinet. Probably I will find some other areas to pick at.

Tools of the Trade, Step 22

2010-09-25T16:00:00.003-04:00

Finishing the painting, step 9

As usual, I started out checking my drawing, and I found that the bird whistle on the drum still wasn't quite the right size...it wasn't large enough. With black and liquin, I glazed the drapery behind it to make it stand out a bit more.

I continued refining the tone holes and keys on the clarinet. I'm not quite done with them yet, but I can only work on them so long for my sanity. I added the red cords to the castanets, which look really neat. I was afraid the red might be overwhelming, but it isn't.

So after doing that, I got in a brightening mood. I brightened and lightened the wooden drumsticks, and the drum, the bow, the tambourine and its jingles, the hand painted design on the vase, and the bells.

Tools of the Trade, Step 21

2010-09-22T16:00:00.001-04:00

Finishing the Painting, step 8

I spent most of this painting time working on the clarinet...refining the tone holes and keys...making sure that everything connected properly. I'm still not finished but I had to work on something else.

So I worked on the vase...darkened the shadows around the edges, darkened the blue design, but didn't get far enough to start the lettering.

There was too much similarity between the keys on the keyboard and the vase, so I lightened the keys a bit. Next time I'll warm them up a bit and darken the top of the keyboard at the top of the painting.

I also added a highlight on the bow.

Tools of the Trade, Step 20

2010-09-19T16:00:00.004-04:00

Finishing the Painting, step 7

The drawing on the tambourine wasn't quite right. There were problems with the ellipse, which I have now corrected. I also lightened the front of it, giving it more dimension.

Then I corrected the reddish bird whistle which had been giving me a fit. I think it's correct now. Then I brightened the blue handle on the bells and the drumsticks on the music sheet.

Finally I am able to confront the tone holes and keys on the clarinet! No surprise there. I'll have to redraw them before I can paint them.

Tools of the Trade, Step 19

2010-09-16T16:00:00.002-04:00

Finishing the painting, step 6

First I straightened out the castanets. I don't know whether the light had changed, but the light I saw on them today was much nicer. So I repainted them with the better light and straightened out the drawing a bit. I like them so much better. I'll like them even better when the red cords are painted. Those red accents should really jazz up this painting.

Then my masochistic streak took over and I tackled some of the picky details...the rope on the drum, the keys and tone holes on the clarinet, the lettering on the gong, the wire on the unicord (again) and began the music bars. Lotsa fun!

Tools of the Trade, Step 18

2010-09-13T16:00:00.003-04:00

Finishing the painting, step 5

Moving on to the left, I wanted to finish the pitcher. But once I got started I realized I had to do the bird whistle first. It was considerably too small, not to mention that it is complicated, but I finally got it correctly drawn and painted. It still needs some refinement.

Once that was done, I moved onto the pitcher, which fortunately was already drawn correctly. I repainted some of the surface and started in on the decoration. Here was another case where I had to add some ultramarine blue...the gray just wasn't bright enough to be convincing. The surface where I had laid down the liquin was getting tacky and so I had to quit the design though I wasn't quite finished.

I then revisited the unicord and bow, which is still giving me fits. Part of the problem is that I have the bow discreetly taped to the unicord, and it moves! So I have to watch it every minute. I seem to have some sort of problem feeling those curves in the bow, but I think I've got it now. I darkened and narrowed the right edge, added some woodgrain, added the stretched wire and have pretty well finished.

Lastly, I moved back to the keyboard, refined the black keys a bit. The black keys, of course, go down behind the white keys so there has to be room around the actual keys. There's a reflected light on that surface which defines the shape. I added some nomenclature on the keyboard and I think that's done. The keyboard is a Yamaha and I have queried my customer to see if there's somewhere I can include the lettering. Often I have to pull out my artistic license and do something that isn't really there. I'll have to wait and see what she says.

Tools of the Trade, Step 17

2010-09-10T16:00:00.000-04:00

Finishing the painting, step 4

Today I did the jingles on the tambourine which were kind of fun. I then refined the bells just a little bit more, and brightened the highlights.

When I checked the drawing on the the remaining castanets, I found a drawing problem with the horn, the drum, and the castanets. Just a tad off here and there. When I was satisfied with the drawing I painted the castanets. They have a strange shape and color, which I mixed with black, white and cad red light.

Tools of the Trade, Step 16

2010-09-07T16:00:00.003-04:00

Finishing the painting, step 3

Again, I checked my drawing before starting to paint for the day. I still had the vertical tone blocks and the bird whistle to face. I decided I would deal with them, repaint the bells in a warmer gray and repaint the grommets, and finish the temple bells and drapery.

After much measuring and adjusting, I am happy with the bird whistle and tone blocks. The drapery went fairly quickly, and the temple bells were fun. I'm not sure I have the ellipse right on the top left one yet...will check that next time.

Basically, this part of the painting is finished. There are still a few details: the red cord that holds the castanets together and a black leather strap which fits around the top part of the triangle.

Tools of the Trade, Step 15

2010-09-04T16:00:00.002-04:00

Finishing the painting, step 2

As always, I check the drawing first. After looking at the painting carefully, it seemed to me that things were still a bit out of kilter. I angled the clarinet more and checked the rest of the small instruments. I know the tall tone blocks aren't right...I'll have to deal with them later. I decided to continue on with the instruments on the drum. I really want to see what they look like finished. And they are fun to paint.

I worked on the castanets, the bells, the bird whistle, and started working on the drapery. You see, I am avoiding those tall tone blocks...just can't deal with them today. The bird whistle is also giving me fits! But I'll get them right eventually.

One of the problems with this limited palette is getting the colors right. I have worked on the bells, but they are too cool. I'll rework them adding more yellow ochre and cad red light to the gray. Since the bell handle is blue plastic, I will have to use some real blue paint. I tried manganese, thalo, and ultramarine...the ultramarine seems to work best.

Tools of the Trade, Step 14

2010-09-01T16:00:00.008-04:00

Finishing the painting, step 1

Perhaps I will work in the same sequence as before, beginning with the gong. I have refined it a bit, sparkled up the highlights, and am going to let it dry before I put in the lettering.

I think I'll do the keyboard next, since it is in rough shape, with the keys all out of whack. Making the spacing and the keys all exact is tedious, to say the least. I have gone as far as I can go...the paint is too wet to continue. I'm nearly done, just have some refinements to make.

Now onto the the unicord. I have made progress with it, but the bow still isn't right. It is really tricky! I'll have to work on it some more, but the same problem arises...the surface is too wet to continue. When I get back to it, I'll add some wood grain.

Some redrawing here: from looking at the overall set-up and comparing it to my painting, I knew that the vase wasn't quite right. Too long. So I have adjusted it...actually took about 1/2 inch off the bottom, moved up the bird whistle accordingly, lined up the edge of the table which was off all the way across, and angled the clarinet more. Always redrawing!

Tools of the Trade, Step 13

2010-08-29T16:00:00.003-04:00

Finishing the under-painting

I want to get the whole canvas covered with color. Using the Zorn palette is a challenge and I realize that I won't be able to be a purist on this. I will need some quinacridone red (Q-red) on the wood block and a real blue on the bells handle.

Meanwhile, I am under-painting the keyboard and after I got a rough placement of the keys, it all looks wrong. Under careful scrutiny, my big problem is that I don't have a real keyboard, here. Remember I just the cardboard box standing in for it. And it's only doing a so-so job. The base of the keyboard is too deep, so I have lengthened the keyboard by one key. I absolutely refuse to measure and repaint those keys. I will have to redo the black ones. That's not too big of a deal.

So right now the keyboard looks a bit strange where I wiped out some black keys. There was too much wet paint to continue, so I'll wait and re-draw and re-paint when it is dry.

As I tackle the unicord and bow, I see that the bow is no longer where I had it. I even had it taped to the instrument. I moved it and retaped it and I like it better, so that's where it will stay. I hope I can paint it before it moves again.

Adding the white paper and refining the clarinet a bit also helps. I wanted to see what the little drum sticks looked like...I am so afraid they will look like blond eyeballs. Now that I have painted them, they look OK. I think no matter where I put them, they might look funny.

At this point, I'm just eager to get this part done so I can get to finishing the painting.

Tools of the Trade, Step 12

2010-08-26T16:00:00.003-04:00

Color under-painting, step 2

Continuing on to the right, I got involved in some of these smaller items. I wanted to see how the colors of the limited palette worked on these items, and how much variation I could get. As you can see, there's lots of variation.

As I got down to the triangle, I saw that the drawing wasn't quite right. So I corrected it and basically finished it. It still needs some highlights and brighter reflected lights, but right now it is the most finished part of the painting.

Tools of the Trade, Step 11

2010-08-23T16:00:00.011-04:00

Color under-painting, step 1

This still life set-up is basically browns and blues. I think I can do this with the Anders Zorn limited palette of white, yellow ochre, cadmium red light, and black. I will use the Gamblin Chromatic black, which is really a mixture of blues and whatevers. But no ivory black, which tends to crack.

I like using a limited palette for two reasons. First, there's the built-in color harmony. Secondly, it is SO easy to remix a color, because you have so few choices.

I started with the gong, trying to work back to front. Then I moved to my right and down to the tambourine. All the while I am painting this, I am still refining my drawing. For instance, I realized the tambourine wasn't thick enough, so I had to make adjustments there.

The "blue drapery" is just black and white, which looks very cool and blue next to the warm colors. The gray on the tambourine, is black and white, plus a dab of yellow ochre and cad red light to warm it up. So it is actually a warm gray.

Tools of the Trade, Step 10

2010-08-20T16:00:00.006-04:00

The underpainting

I need to redraw everything with paint and get rid of the charcoal...this is critical. I don't want to mix the dry charcoal in with the paint.

Using just ultramarine blue and terra rosa, I wiped away the charcoal with a dry rag as I painted in the lines and values. With these two colors, I was able to rough in some color similar to the colors that will be in the final painting. The keyboard is starting to look more like a keyboard.

Tools of the Trade, Step 9

2010-08-17T16:00:00.004-04:00

Final Charcoal Drawing

I redrew everything more precisely, still moved a few things a bit here and there. I am still looking at shapes, negative shapes, and tangent lines. But everything is basically where it was in the rough sketch. There are no details in at this point and some of the shapes are a little wiggly. Drawing with soft vine charcoal is it's own challenge, since it's unclear where the tip of it will connect with the canvas.

Tools of the Trade, Step 8

2010-08-14T16:00:00.009-04:00

Rough sketch

This is a VERY ROUGH sketch. Before I could go any further, I had to see if everything fit on the medium gray-toned 18 x 24 canvas. I loosely sketched this with soft vine charcoal, sight size, fiddled a little more and got it all in. I had to lower the gong and the temple bells about an inch, but that was OK. Right now I am only interested in the larger shapes, the negative shapes, and tangent lines. No details here.

I will be drawing and painting in the sight-size method, see above. I have placed my easel with the 18 x 24 canvas EXACTLY parallel to the set-up. (The distortion you see in the picture is typical camera distortion.) This is by far the easiest and most accurate way to draw and paint. The concept is simple: What is on the canvas must look like what is on the set-up. Measuring and comparing is a breeze.

The long white vertical strip on the right is where I cropped the set-up. All my vertical measuring was done from the left edge of the strip. The horizontal lines all line up...I hold a stick horizontally and make sure the image is the same as in the set-up. For instance, the top of the pitcher and the bottom of the pitcher is the same on both. As I say, it is a breeze.

Tools of the Trade, Step 7

2010-08-11T16:00:00.002-04:00

Set-up #7

Since I have not been able to condense this set-up satisfactorily, I have put the tambourine back where it was several steps ago. But I have angled it more so that the jingle-jangles are more visible. (Sorry, I don't know the technical name, but you know what I mean.)

The entire set-up is now much tighter and I will probably crop a bit off the right as you see the picture. I am thinking of letting the drum bleed off the right side.

In general, I think I'll go with this. There are still some tangent lines that have to be dealt with, but I'll do that as I go along. For instance, the top of the pitcher lines up EXACTLY with the line between the black and brass areas of the gong. And the left edge of the soft drum stick lines up almost with the left edge of the blond tone block. The black part of the tambourine runs right into the black part of the gong. The two drumsticks on the sheet music could be a bit more artistically positioned.

It is a great help to me to photograph these set-ups and study them before I tackle the actual painting. I am able to see things that I probably wouldn't see otherwise.

Tools of the Trade, Step 6

2010-08-08T16:00:00.000-04:00

Set-up #5

The clarinet arrived and I am tickled to see it in the set-up. It adds a lot of class!

I fiddled around with the tambourine...I had said earlier that I thought it was too close to the gong because it mimicked the shape and size. So I moved it to the far right and pushed the Buffalo drum more to the left.

I added the castanets...you can see one set on the drum and the other is tucked away on the far right. They are difficult to place because if I'm not careful, they'll look like large black blobs. Each pair is joined with rust-colored cord which adds another colorful touch. I'll try to use both pairs, but I'm not sure I can pull it off.

Here again I am struggling with containing the set-up within the 18 x 24 allotted area. By moving the tambourine to the right, the whole set-up grew width-wise again. This won't do at all. I can paint the items slightly smaller than life, but I have to be careful that they don't look strange. I'll try again.

Tools of the Trade, Step 5

2010-08-05T16:00:00.000-04:00

Set-up #4

In a communication with my client, she indicated that she would prefer a clarinet rather than the recorder. Since I don't happen to have a clarinet, I replaced the recorder with paper-towel holders the length of a clarinet, which is about 6-8 inches longer than the recorder (top picture). I knew this might make a difference in the set-up. I took a picture of it, printed it out, and painted in the clarinet from photos on websites. I like it SO much better (bottom picture).

She also wished that the painting could include castanets. So I needed to visit her and pick them up and photograph the keyboard, which I hadn't done in the initial visit. I showed her the picture where I had painted in the clarinet and she also liked it SO much better.

There was a long shot that I could paint it from photos, but there was no way. It's a complicated instrument with lots of silver doodads casting shadows all over the place. To make a long story short, I bought a used one on e-bay. It was actually cheaper in the long run than renting one a half-hour away. Remember, I live in the country where nothing is convenient. This way, that clarinet might turn up in another painting some day. It is really a beautiful instrument!

Everything is now on hold until the clarinet arrives.

Tools of the Trade, Step 4

2010-08-02T15:54:00.007-04:00

Set-up #3

I moved the keyboard to the left and put it in shadow. This works much better and keeps the emphasis off the white keys. I also placed the sheet music on the table for the same reason.

What bothers me most about this arrangement is the repetition of the gong shape in the tambourine. I'll have to work on this. Meanwhile the items on the right are quite jumbled, but it's a start.

I think with a bare minimum of tweaking, the left side will stay basically the same. I'm having a difficult time squeezing everything into the 18 x 24 space.

Tools of the Trade, Step 3

2010-07-29T19:07:00.003-04:00

Set-up #2

Since I didn't care for the previous arrangement, I tried reversing the major elements...the unicord and the keyboard. I have put the unicord in shadow, which works very well as a lead-in on the left into the painting. It is a large object and by putting it in shadow, its impact is strong but subtle.

I still don't care for the bright light on the keyboard and the sheet music, so I will continue to rearrange the objects.

Another problem with this arrangement is that all the light and white objects are on the right and the darker wood-toned objects are on the left. They really should be better balanced with a better distribution of lights and darks.

I'll try again.

Tools of the Trade, Step 2

2010-07-24T20:10:00.001-04:00

Setp-up #1

Setting up still life elements is the most important and challenging part of any still life painting. It is also the most creative. It is critical that the painting has good solid composition, depth, an entryway, a focal point, and an interesting color arrangement.

For the most part, these instruments are either black or in various wood tones. Add the white sheet music and off white of the drum, and it all becomes very monochromatic, if not boring. I introduced a blue drape backdrop, the blue matching the blue in the Portugese pitcher, adding some continuity. I particularly like these blue elements, as they complement the reddish brown tones in the woods.

In this first arrangement, I placed the keyboard on the left and the unicord on the right, with a jumble of the "tools" arranged in between them. I lit the still life lit from the left, which is my usual procedure. I didn't like all the light on the unicord nor all the light on the sheet music, and I felt the pitcher was getting too much attention.

New Painting: Tools of the Trade, Step 1

2010-07-21T19:40:00.004-04:00

Constructing the recorder

It has been several months since I demonstrated a painting here on this site. Mainly because I haven't done a major painting since I finished "Evening at Great Bend," which is now hanging at the University of Maryland University College Arts Program Gallery. It is in the Washington Society of Landscape Painters exhibition of Chesapeake Bay watershed properties. My painting of Great Bend PA is on the Susquehanna River on the PA/NY border. The source of the Chesapeake Bay reaches all the way into New York state past Binghamton, NY.

I have been busy giving workshops, participating in plein air competitions and events, and doing small paintings for various exhibits, which have all been rewarding and successful.

In between all of this, a friend asked me if I could do a still life of her musical "tools of the trade." She is a composer and music teacher and wanted to know if I could combine a number of her teaching instruments and music. After we reached an agreement, I went to her home to collect the "tools." What she couldn't lend me was her keyboard, because she wasn't sure when she might need it. But she did give me permission to demonstrate her painting on my blog.

But I came back to my studio with everything else: unicord with bow, gong, tambourine, buffalo drum with soft drumstick, temple bells, a maraca, tone blocks, wood blocks with drum sticks, triangle, bells on blue strap, bird whistles and some pages of her original music. She threw in a favorite pitcher from Portugal for color. In addition, she suggested I might include a recorder, but she didn't have one. But I did, and so you will see it included.

I laid all of these items on a table, and should have taken a picture of the cluttered area. It looked like no way was I going to make a painting out of all this.

Since I didn't have the keyboard, I figured I had to make a reasonable facsimile of one to use in my setup. So with two empty frame boxes taped together, some black and white paper, and a black marker, I made the "keyboard" shown above.

Evening at Great Bend

2010-04-30T12:00:00.000-04:00

The Finished Painting

This is the time to look more and paint less. I use my mirror a lot to see what if anything, bothers me. My mirror is my best friend while I am painting.

In this final fiddling stage I made the following refinements:

1. Brightened the houses and added some shutters to their windows. Added some more telephone poles and highlighted some stones on the gravel drive.

2. Glazed with a paste of cadmium red light and white over the entire reflections to lighten them. As I said earlier, I had to paint them the same value and color as the landscape, since I had nothing to go by.

3. Added spots of water sparkles in the water to indicated a little waft of breeze.

4. Added foliage with highlights to the bushes in the rocks. Defined some larger rocks.

5. Massed more of the foreground rocks so they didn't looks so fussy. I went to my file of boulders and rocks and used them for reference.

6. Removed two rocks near the gravel path that looked somewhat like sheep.

So, I'm done and am delighted to have this painting finished for the Washington Society of Landscape Painters' summer exhibition at the University of Maryland University College in conjunction with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Great Bend, Step 14

2010-04-22T12:00:00.006-04:00

Developing the Foreground
Before I tackled the foreground, I was bothered by the boring repetition of the trees along the bank and their reflections. They were all pretty much the same size and the spaces between the trees were uninteresting. I'm not sure I'm completely satisfied, but I will work on this problem again when I get to the fiddling stage.

I worked on the rocks in the foreground pretty much the way they were already. I tried to mass as many of them as I could and just pull out a few for emphasis. I added the scrub bushes amid the rocks, but they can use some more red at the base of them. From a distance they disappear, which is not what I intended. Probably a few more sprigs of green in and among the rocks will help. I would have put them in at this stage, but the paint was all wet and I want to do this fine work on top of dry paint.

Meanwhile, I am looking at the painting deciding what needs to be done next. I am happy with it at this point. It just needs a little fiddling here and there, as I have said. At this point, there's nothing screaming at me that it needs attention, and that is a good thing.

Great Bend, Step 13

2010-04-18T12:00:00.005-04:00

Resolving the Reflections
After much painting in and wiping out and lots of measuring, the reflections are about done. I got stuck doing the houses in the painting, since I was basically working from memory and my experience. Finally I found up a newspaper section on houses for sale and was able to work from some of them for shapes and details.

When I didn't know what to do with part of a house, I painted a tree or a bush in front of it. Actually that has a good effect, because it keeps the hard lines at a minimum. The trick was to have structure to the buildings but keep all the edges soft. My brush strokes are entirely vertical.

Since I don't have anything specific in front of me, I had to make the values and colors in the reflections the same as in the middle ground. After it all dries, I will probably glaze the darks lighter and the lights darker.

By adding ripples to the area where the top of the mountain reflection met the sky reflection, this area is more integrated and believable. I will also had streaks of light reflections to indicate a some breezy water to break up the solid dark reflection of the mountain.

Great Bend, Step 12

2010-04-14T12:00:00.000-04:00

Resolving the Town and Middleground

As I work my way down from the top of the mountain, I am acutely aware that the colors and values will become more vivid. Saying that the other way around, as the trees move up the mountain, they will decrease in value and become grayer. The very top of the mountain should have trees with a rosy-grayish-glow from the sky. The trees have many colors...from green to gold, to gray where the leaves have come off the branches.

Designing the position of the houses and church in the town is important. I need to have enough buildings to say "town" but not too many so that it looks like a Monopoly game. In the first photo above is my initial town design. I decided that the church steeple was too close to the center of the painting, so I have moved it to the other side, so that now the church faces the other houses. I like this a lot better. Again, this is why I can't do the reflections until I figure out where all these buildings are going to go.

I haven't gotten as far as I would have liked...the bushes and small trees next to the river are unfinished, but I'm close. Some of the houses need refinement...I'll save that for another day.

Great Bend, Step 11

2010-04-10T12:00:00.001-04:00

Refining the Middleground

Finally I have decided one house on the left side will balance all the houses in the town on the right. So I painted it in along with some deciduous trees and pines. I accented a farm area on the mountain and emphasized the land at the water's edge.

Great Bend, Step 10

2010-04-06T12:00:00.006-04:00

Finalizing the Sky

Using the same limited palette of warm cadmium colors, I began with a mixture of white tinted with yellow to bump of the light of the setting sun. It needed an impasto effect. Then I refined some of the light streaks so they were interesting and interactive. At this point, it's all about the shapes of the light.

A red-orange glaze over the mountain where the sun sets gives the glow I am looking for.

I developed the large tree mass even more, adding some good dark accents. I also developed the other trees along the river bank.

Great Bend, Step 9

2010-04-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

The Foreground

Still working from top to bottom, I now am able to paint the water reflecting the sky. I have made several stabs at this and made a muddy mess. I'll have to wait until it's dry to clean it up.

For the stony bank in the foreground, I laid in a medium toned gray made with the same cobalt blue and cadmium red light mixture. I then came back on top of that with a lighter tone to suggest the larger stones. That was fun! I added some darker notes and some lighter ones. I'll get to the bushy grasses later.

At this point, I can stand back from the painting and get a general idea of what the final picture will be. I squint at it and look at it in a mirror. The good news is that I like the way it is going.

Great Bend, Step 8

2010-03-29T12:00:00.000-04:00

Painting More Middleground

I developed the middleground some more on the right behind the town. Then I had some real fun and worked into the large tree mass on the left. I wanted to get a nice interesting shape with a variety of sky holes. I have edged the leaves with red-orange to give the feeling of bright sun shining through the leaves.

Continuing from top to bottom, I then put in some reflection of the mountain. I am trying to see how all these disparate pieces fit together. So many different shapes and values all hanging together in the glow of the sunset.

Great Bend, Step 7

2010-03-26T12:00:00.001-04:00

Painting the Middleground

As I like to work from top to bottom and back to front, the next step was to develop the middleground. Somewhere along the line I am going to have to figure out EXACTLY which houses go where, but I'm not quite ready for that now. That is really a detail. My concern now is to establish the middleground shapes in a color and value close to where I want them to end up.

I worked in some more color on the mountain and moved down toward the water's edge. I filled in with color where the I-81 bridge had been in the center area. I then developed the silhouette of the bushes and trees along the river and the stone/sandy bank. Since I can't use the colors in the photos I have to think hard about what these colors would be, given the rosy glow of the sunset.

My main goal was to establish the value of the left-hand stand of trees. It is an important dark value that sets the tone of the rest of the painting.

I added some reflections, but I can't finalize them until I finalize the trees, land, and bushes that are being reflected.

Great Bend, Step 6

2010-03-23T12:00:00.001-04:00

Painting the Sky

First I made a pattern of brilliant white, actually white mixed with some yellow to warm it up. Following my sketch and the photo, I added streaks of warm colors made with cadmium colors. I used the cobalt to cool down some areas. I worked with vertical strokes to keep all the edges VERY soft.

Using basically the same colors, but with more cobalt blue, I moved on down into the mountains. Since the sky was wet, I could easily work the shapes together, wet in wet, keeping those edges soft as well. The front mountain has more cadmium red in it to bring it forward. The entire painting should have a glow of red and orange when I am finished.

Great Bend, Step 5

2010-03-19T11:55:00.001-04:00

The Underpainting

I have doubled all the dimensions in the quarter-size study and transferred them onto this 24 x 30 linen canvas. I paint while I draw, so there's no line drawing as such. I fill in values as I go along. This was done with burnt sienna and burnt umber for the darker values on a warm-toned canvas.

On the left, you can see that scrubby bush and a companion a bit clearer. This is all very rough at this point...just placement of different areas with a focus on shapes and values and whether they are all working together well. It gives me an opportunity to study the painting as a whole.

I have yet to understand how artists can totally complete one area of a painting at a time. I learned to develop the whole painting...keeping all stages pretty much the same. This is what I do.

Great Bend, Step 4

2010-03-15T12:00:00.001-04:00

Color Sketches

I put out all my colors on my palette, and worked over the underpainting. I like the glow of the sunset and the way the rosy color flows over the entire scene. I used a fairly limited palette of warm colors: lots of cadmium yellow light, cadmium red light, burnt sienna, and cobalt blue. And of course, white.

The major change that I have made is to move the town to the right. You can see in the original photos, that the town is adjacent to the large tree mass on the left. For balance sake, I need to move it so there would be something of interest on the right. As I go along, I will figure out exactly what buildings and houses will be where. I am thinking of just a few houses with a church spire rising above some trees. Perhaps on the mountain I will put some spots of reflected light from a roof or two.

I have also added trees and bushes along the bank, which previously was under the bridge and very austere.

I propped the sketch on an easel for review. After many passes by, I found one area that really jumped out at me. When my eye keeps going to one area, I can figure there's something wrong there. In this case, look carefully at the top sketch. On the left, there is a dark area of water that traps my eye. The shore line above it and the foreground shoreline form basically a mirror image. There is no flow or interest in this area. My eye definitely gets stuck here.

In the bottom sketch I have added some scrubby green bushes which soften the bottom shore line and gracefully leads your eye into the back shore line. Everything else between the two sketches is the same.

Great Bend, Step 3

2010-03-11T12:00:00.003-05:00

The One-Quarter Size Sketch

When I was doing portraits, my routine procedure was to present two rough color sketches to the client. These were done 1/4 size so it was easy to work on them as well as to enlarge them. It was also easy to visualize what the final painting would look like.

I learned that this was a logical way to work...easy to make changes and solve design problems without investing too much time. I do this often when I am doing a large painting. In this case, I am doing a drawing in burnt sienna and burnt umber on a piece of illustration board cut to 12 x 15, dimensions 1/2 the final size, but the area is 1/4. Which is why it is called a quarter-size sketch. The final painting will be 24 x 30. All I have to do is double the dimensions to my final canvas.

Here is the preliminary drawing/sketch. Basically this is the drawing as an underpainting. My next step will be to go over this in color.

Great Bend, Step 2

2010-03-06T12:00:00.003-05:00

First color sketch

Since I didn't have the opportunity to do a plein air sketch in Great Bend, I am having to rely on photos and memory. This will be a large painting: 24 x 30 and so I will be working from color sketches. This first one is VERY rough.

I printed out the middle two of the photos in the previous blog. I cropped and pasted them together as shown above. You can see where they join.

The big change here is the elimination of the bridge, which is I-81. I chose a sunset from a photo that I took last summer. See below:

New Painting: Great Bend, Step 1

2010-03-02T19:17:00.013-05:00

The Photography

En route to Cazenovia, New York this past October to deliver paintings to the Gallery of CNY, my husband and I drove up I-81, which in some places runs parallel to the Susquehanna River as it wends its way through Pennsylvania. The Susquehanna is the head water for the Chesapeake Bay and its origin is in New York state north of Binghamton. I-81 crosses the river at a town called Great Bend, which gets its name from the obvious great bend in the Susquehanna River. I could see places where I could take photos on our return. Which I did.

Above are photos that I took...the top two are looking back toward the town, I got a little closer for the second two, and the bottom two are looking in the opposite direction, which I wanted for additional source material.

In July and August, the Washington Society of Landscape Painters will be exhibiting paintings of the Chesapeake Bay watershed to benefit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Paintings from the entire watershed will be on display at the University of Maryland University College in Adelphi, Maryland.

This paintings is for that exhibition. Finally I have started a new painting.

Day's End (Flintstone Barns, step 14)

2009-11-19T19:52:00.003-05:00

The final painting

As planned, I took this painting to the Washington Society of Landscape Painters Annual Award Banquet last Sunday. Several members offered some comments which I have implemented. First, I moved the hedge row that lined up with the front sidewalk...moved it back, and then, of course I had to move the fence.

Another comment was that there was someone home...the lights were on, but there was no truck or car! So now there's a driveway with a truck just peeking out from the far side of the house.

Another comment was the cows need warmer and lighter highlights on their backs.

And lastly, smoke coming out of the chimney would be another indication that someone was home on this slightly chilly day.

So at last, the painting is done and hanging at the Mansion at Strathmore, Bethesda, Maryland. I am pleased with it and learned a lot, since so much of it was imagined. You saw the original photos...this painting represents what I wanted to see and mood that I wanted to express. This was definitely not an easy painting. It is so much easier when you are painting what is in front of you.

I'm not sure what I will be my next painting. I have lots of ideas but nothing firm at this point.

Flintstone Barns, Step 13

2009-11-05T20:00:00.000-05:00

The Painted Version

In this step, you can see where I have changed the foreground hill to approximately what I had designed in Photoshop. I added boulders and darkened the grasses. I also made them a bit greener so that the hill would blend in better as it sloped into the middle ground meadow.

Afterward, standing back from the painting, I noticed that I had two quite parallel lines...the line of the foreground hill was essentially parallel to the back hill, which was quite bothersome. I couldn't really change either one of those, so I added a hedge row behind the house and right-hand shed as a counter point. It works pretty well...it's the best I can do.

Some other things that I did: I darkened the right shed and its roof. I darkened the little back porch. I added the fence posts and removed the stupid little tree behind the left-hand shed. From a distance, it really looked dumb.

As of now, I don't like the shape of the boulders...the one silhouetted against the green meadow should be steeper and craggier. It's also quite symmetrical.

About all that's left to do is to change the boulders, add some fences, add some utility poles and the animals. I think I'll change the cows to sheep, I haven't done any for a while. I will also change the lights in the windows to make them different. Right now they are too much the same.

I keep remembering I am taking this painting to the Washington Society of Landscape Painters' banquet on Sunday!

Flintstone Barns, Step 12

2009-11-04T20:00:00.000-05:00

Back to Painting in Photoshop

I took another photo of the painting and went to work on it on the computer. The painting needed more drama and interest in that foreground hill. You can see I darkened it and added boulders in shadow with just the tips of them highlighted by the setting sun. I am really liking this approach...I can paint with all sorts of different colors and have NO brushes or hands to wash!

Flintstone Barns, Step 11

2009-11-03T19:30:00.004-05:00

Using the Photoshop sketch

Here I have followed the photoshop sketch in the previous step and painted out the pond, which gives me some breathing room. I have also developed the foreground hill and added grasses and leaves, as per the original photograph. I'm not sure I like this part...I'll have to see. If I get away from it for a day or two, perhaps I will figure out what to do with it.

Flintstone Barns, Step 10

2009-10-31T11:59:00.005-04:00

Fiddling with Photoshop

After my diversions, I have played around with the painting aspect of Adobe Photoshop. It's not really as hard as I thought it would be. I would much rather do this at my computer than on the painting itself. If I put something in that I don't like, it's easy to take it out.

The top version shows where I "painted" out the pond. No great loss. I am much happier now. The shape and the color of it were so distracting! Without it, the viewer can now concentrate on the buildings.

The second version shows where I have included a fence and some cows. This gives me a better idea of where I want to go. I am not sure of their exact positions...doing those skinny little legs with a very narrow "paintbrush" was tricky. The "paintbrush" followed the pixels and didn't always go where I wanted it to go.

The next thing I want to learn how to do is to "select" a certain portion of the painting and adjust the color to it. In this case, I want to "select" the sky and make it a bit redder.

Another Recent Diversion

2009-10-30T20:15:00.001-04:00

Painting at Patuxent Wildlife Refuge

The plein air sketch:

The actual scene:

This past Sunday the Washington Society of Landscape Painters painted at the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge in Laurel, MD. The fall colors were at their peak surrounding these enormous ponds where the wildlife find sanctuary. Canadian Geese honked as they flew into the water to land. Lily pads graced the ponds as well.

I was particularly taken with the scene above. This is about two-hour plein air piece, but it can use some tweaking. Fortunately the composition works well. But it needs refining...this is quite rough. The hard edge of the back trees on the left is distracting and the leafless trees need more branches. Some lively darks and lights will help as well.

I need to return to my other painting, which I now have entitled Day's End. It is due at the Mansion at Strathmore on November 16!

Recent Diversion

2009-10-27T19:56:00.009-04:00

A Trip to Gallery of CNY

Last week my husband and I drove through the rolling countryside of Pennsylvania and New York to Cazenovia, the town where the Gallery of CNY is located. It's about 20 miles southeast of Syracuse. While I was there, I painted on location with one of the gallery principles on a country road about 5 minutes outside of town. I finished the above painting today and the plan is that it will appear in Gallery of CNY's ad in the December issue of American Art Collector. Below are pictures of the actual scene.

Flintstone Barns, Step 9

2009-10-23T08:00:00.007-04:00

Turning on the Lights

After looking at this painting for a while, I felt that it needed more contrast in some areas. There is a lot of light on the landscape even thought the sun is not shining brightly. Twilight is an interesting time of day, evoking mysterious thoughts at this transitional time.

The lights on in the house are more pronounced, even thought I think I will pull the shades on one of them...probably the one in the upstairs window. It looks too even, and I want it to appear random.

I have eliminated the foreground grasses in order to paint the entire hill first, and then I will go back and add the weeds. I like the way they break up the foreground area, so they are just temporarily gone. The reddish color helps bring the hill closer to the viewer. I added a bush in front of the little shed and a small tree behind it to soften the edges.

The pond bothers me, a lot. The three-spot composition looks more like a four-spot from a distance, and I don't like it, and I'm not sure what to do about it. I can make the pond more like a creek so that it is less important. Right now it is about the same size as the house.

I am trying to learn the intricacies of advanced editing in Photoshop. If I knew how, I could fiddle with the image and see what it looks like with a creek without actually painting on a piece of Saran wrap taped to the painting.

Flintstone Barns, Step 8

2009-10-20T08:00:00.004-04:00

Big Changes

After looking at the color of the buildings, I decided I would prefer them if they were white. So I redrew and repainted them. I added light in two of the windows, but they are not bright enough yet.

I also lightened up the flat planes in the valley.

I have been photographing sunsets since mid-August to get a sense of the colors and values so I can remember them and make notes about them. My photographs are a constant reminder that photographs lie! It's pretty tricky to get it right. Mainly the scenes are lighter than I think they are and the skies are lighter too. When I photograph the sky, all of the land comes out black.

Flintstone Barns, Step 7

2009-10-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

More development

In this step, I made a number of development changes. I filled in the little isthmus on the pond, roughed in the tree behind it, and straightened out the country lane. There was no reason for it to be so wiggly.

I darkened values on the shadow side of the farmhouse and barns so now they stand out more. I redrew the farmhouse porch and defined the chimneys a bit more.

Flintstone Barns, Step 6

2009-10-14T08:00:00.002-04:00

Making some changes

Where I had sketched with charcoal the tree and new hill line, I painted those changes in. I also warmed up the mountains. This is very difficult because I am finding my way with colors and values, just trying to see what looks good and right. So far I like the direction, but I am a long way from being finished.

Flintstone Barns, Step 5

2009-10-11T08:00:00.001-04:00

Developing the painting

I reworked the underpainting, changed the cloud formation, defined and darkened the back mountains. I decided the farmhouse looked lonely, so with charcoal, I sketched in a large tree behind it. This helps break up the mountain and add a vertical counterpoint to all the horizontals.

Also with charcoal, I redrew the angle of the right-hand mountain and the shape of the pond. I added a curved area to break up the straight line. I am still not happy with it's shape so I'm not sure what the final configuration will be. We'll see.

Flintstone Barns, Step 4

2009-10-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

Laying in a color underpainting

Using my memory, photographic reference, and some earlier color sketches, I roughed in an underpainting to try to understand where I am going. This is a painting about what I want to see, not what I think I see or what I saw.

Flintstone Barns, Step 3

2009-10-05T20:00:00.000-04:00

Changing the main building

After looking at the previous drawing for a while, I decided that I would prefer a farmhouse rather than the large barn. I think it's a more classical setting and would have more public appeal. A light on in the barn wouldn't make much sense, but it would in a farmhouse to suggest human activity.

The first thing was to find in my photo archives a picture of a farmhouse. After googling images of old farmhouses I remembered that in my book (14 Formulas for Painting Fabulous Landscapes), I had painted an old farmhouse. See photo above.

I redrew it with the perspective so I am looking down on it. See above drawing.

The perspective isn't correct, so I drew with a black marker some perspective lines on Saran Wrap, using the canvas drawing as a guide. Then I redrew the farmhouse so the the lines were correct. See above.

I transferred the correct drawing onto the canvas. I can make a more detailed drawing as I get into the painting. See above.

I painted over some of the original lines so I could see where I was. I stood back from the canvas, and decided that I needed to move the farmhouse about 1/2 inch to the left. See above.

I repeated the entire process, and I like it SO much better. It feels more balanced. This is the 3-spot composition and the largest element needs to be fairly close to the center...not centered, but close!
While I was at it, I painted the roof tops to convey the reflection from the sky. No doubt I will adjust this later. See above.

Flintstone Barns, Step 2

2009-10-02T08:00:00.001-04:00

The preliminary drawing

After I enlarged the drawing onto the canvas, I realized that I no longer had the compositional format of a steelyard, with the large mass of barns slightly off center balanced by the little shed at the far right. When I added space between the larger barns, I no longer had that format. I had barns in decreasing sizes from right to left. Not very interesting and a poor composition.

So I wiped them out, reversed the two front barns. What you see now is a 3-spot composition with the larger one near the center, receding on the right to the mid-size barn, and then back to the little shed on the far left.

Flintstone Barns, Step 1

2009-09-29T08:00:00.003-04:00

The Color Sketch

First I printed out one of the photos and adhered it to a piece of board. Then I moved some mountains around and added the sunset. I deleted several barns, as there were way too many. (I painted with oil directly onto the bond paper from the printer.) This is a good start without the blue sky.

I was now ready to transfer this to a canvas...I chose a 16 x 20.

Adding the sky

2009-09-25T08:00:00.001-04:00

I am sick of blue skies!

I have decided to try merging disparate elements into one painting. I have been photographing sunsets for the last month in order to get a few that I really like.
This is one of them that I will incorporate into my painting, temporarily called Flintstone Barns.

New Painting

2009-09-22T11:49:00.012-04:00

The last time I blogged, I fully intended to demonstrate a plein air painting and its evolution in the studio.

However, I got extremely involved in this Potomac River School Exhibition at the Sandy Spring Museum and a number of plein air competition events in Maryland.

I am ready to move on to demonstrate a new painting.

While I was in Cumberland, MD in May, I took many pictures of the wonderful scenery with the mountains. One of the towns was Flintstone. Here are two pictures of interesting farm buildings, which I will be using to compose a painting.

By the way, the reception at Sandy Spring Museum is this Sunday, September 27, from 2-4 p.m.

Back to Plein Air Painting

2009-03-28T14:42:00.003-04:00

The landscape show is over and I am ready to get back outside to paint. I just finished several spring-time paintings from sketches that I began outside last year. My favorite is Spring at Lock 16 shown above. I especially liked the way the figure fits into the scene. I found her in a sketch book from several years ago. It's a great pose from a 15-second sketch.

I have been accepted into Plein Air Easton, the premier plein air painting event in the Mid-Atlantic Region. The event is in July, so I have to get ready. I get a bit rusty during the winter cooped up in my studio. I like the idea, as Asher B. Durand did, of returning to the same spot for several days to finish a plein air painting.

Tomorrow morning I will begin painting outdoors at a Washington Society of Landscape Painters paintout at one of our favorite spots: The Old Anglers' Inn area of the C & O Canal and the Potomac River. I have already done two scenes there but tomorrow (if it doesn't rain) I plan to paint some large boulders and rocks looking south down the Potomac.

In future blogs, I plan to show sequences of my plein air paintings.

Wine and Cheese, step 12

2009-03-07T14:28:00.002-05:00

Finally, the finish

To finish the painting, I added the little parallel gold bars on the inside of the frame, adding a few highlights and shadows to give them depth. To fill the empty space in the lower right, I added two flowers which now help bring your eye into the painting. The leaves are strategically placed to give direction to the viewer.

As I see it, the eye travels along the lower edge of the painting until it reaches the green leaf, when it travels up to the flowers and back to the left following the direction of the pointy green leaf. The eye then travels along the side edge of the cheese board, checks out the grapes on the table, follows the corkscrew up to the silver dish of grapes, meanders through the wine glasses, up the wine bottle to check out Andrei’s painting on the wall. The lower right hand corner of the frame points downward to the vase of flowers, where the eye can finally exit the painting! Whew!

Wine and Cheese, step 11

2009-03-01T11:15:00.000-05:00

Coming down the finish line:

The frame around Andrei's painting had really been bothering me. The inner area of it has these little parallel bars of gold wood on top of a gray background, and I had sketched them in hoping that would work. The more I looked at it, the more I knew it wasn’t working. There were so many of them...they weren't parallel, they weren't the same size, they were wonky. In other words: SLOPPY.

So I sanded the surface lightly, and painted the background area gray. After it dries, I will add the gold parallel bars VERY CAREFULLY.

I eliminated a lot of the fussy areas of the cloth and just went with suggesting some gold sparkles in a random pattern.

While I was working in that area, I refined the cheese tray and added the wire cutter on the side. I like the way it breaks up that side area. A little wood grain also helps break up that side.

Wine and Cheese, step 10

2009-02-21T19:30:00.000-05:00

Filling in some blanks

As I said in the last step, I was going to have to let the painting tell me what it needed. It cried out for me to fill the large empty space on the table between the silver dish of grapes and the cheese board. I made the dish overflowing with grapes...so many that they spilled onto the table. These additional grapes make a nice transition and fill an unsightly area.

The background looks cooler, but I haven't touched it. It's a variable in the photography.

I then did the writing and illustration on the wine glass...they are only suggested. It looks like writing, but it is unreadable. I did the same with the label next to Andrei's painting.

Wine and Cheese, step 9

2009-02-14T12:08:00.001-05:00

Some more decisions

I redid the background in a warmer tone, adding glow to the painting. Then I darken the water in the vase to correspond with the warmer and darker area.

I refined the drawing of the wine glasses, added some highlights and cast shadows. For the record, when I am not painting, the wine glasses and wine bottle are covered with saran wrap to keep the wine from evaporating.

I painted in the tag next to the painting, which I had auditioned in the previous step.

I still have two particular areas to resolve: on either side of the cheese board and in front of the vase. At some point I'll figure these out. The painting will eventually speak to me and let me know what I have to do.

Wine and Cheese, step 8

2009-02-06T19:10:00.001-05:00

Making more decisions

You can see I have put the corkscrew back in, but I have turned it differently so that it doesn't look as heavy. In fact, it is rather interesting, being able to look inside of it. I was having a great problem drawing it until I arranged a sight-size set-up that I wrote of earlier.

Also I had the brilliant idea to put in a glass vase...I had scoured my shelves looking for the perfect vase, and of course, I don't own such a thing. I remembered this glass vase that works just fine. Seeing the flower stems gives interest to the vase, plus the fact that it is dark. Not that white staring me in the face! Once I got the vase problem solved, I developed the flowers further.

Since this painting is about an artist reception and I have painted Andrei Kushnir's painting on the wall, I thought I'd take it one step further and consider putting a tag on the wall next to it. To audition the tag, I cut a piece of paper and stuck it on the painting with a piece of tape. Right now there is a yellow post-it note stuck on the canvas.

I have suggested a small stack of napkins on the far left to break up the straight line of the table.

Wine and Cheese, step 7

2009-01-31T15:30:00.000-05:00

Some words on drawing

If you compare this step to the one before, you'll note that the wine glasses and wine bottle are considerably shorter. I had been struggling with the drawing and the relative sizes of the items.

If you'll remember, I was struggling in the earlier steps too. I always use the sight-size method...placing the still life set-up next to my easel and comparing the two from eight feet away. I started to do this, but soon realized that I wanted to be closer to the set-up so that I could see more of the food. After all, this painting is about the wine and cheese on the table at a reception.

In retrospect, I should have lowered my set-up an inch or two so that from the eight foot distance, I could see more of the top of the table. However, that is easier said than done. So I didn't. I moved in closer, but I no longer could use the sight-size method. And this is where I ran into trouble. I got the wine glasses and wine bottle too large, but couldn't figure out why. The more I looked at the painting and at the set-up, I knew they were too large. The glasses were the size of water goblets!

I finally figured out a way to do a sight-size from this closer in viewpoint, which solved my drawing problem. It would be too involved to explain exactly what I did.

As I said above, I usually do the drawing sight-size, which is absolutely foolproof! I usually check my drawing like this, but then I will move the easel and sit down and paint. When I need to recheck the drawing, I move the easel back into position next to the set-up.

Once I got the glasses and bottle the correct size, I could deal with the flowers. Since it is so cold here in Maryland, I am keeping the flowers in the garage where it is about 40 degrees. I think they could last for weeks down there.

You'll notice that I have roughed in a different vase. The earlier one was too much the same size as the cheese, and that's boring. So this new one is taller, but I'm not convinced that this is the right one. I find the white is too much "in your face!" I'll try other vases.

Also notice that I have removed the corkscrew...my thinking is that it is ugly clutter. I can always put it back in, if I can't figure out what to do with the empty space.

Wine and Cheese, step 6

2009-01-26T18:58:00.001-05:00

Painting the cheese and crackers

When I bought the cheese, I selected both Jarlsberg and Brie, since they were quite different. I chose the Jarlsberg because I really liked the large holes and the neat texture, which would be more interesting in the painting. Putting pepperoni between the cheese and crackers added some color to the cheese tray.

I had never painted these things before, so painting them was fun! After painting that day, we ate the Brie with some delicious crackers...not the ones in the painting. I had to save the Jarlsberg and the crackers in case I needed them.

Wine and Cheese, step 5

2009-01-19T20:12:00.000-05:00

Painting the grapes and wine glasses

Even though I said I'd save the grapes to last, when I bought them they didn't look like they'd last very long. Using a combination of red and green grapes helps to move the colors around the painting. The red grapes were most interesting, because they were a variety of shades, from deep reds to near oranges.

Then I went on to paint the silver bowl...painting reflections is a lot of fun and gives a lot of interest and elegance to a painting.

I then refined the wine glasses, painting in the wine color first. Then I added the reflections and highlights, thinking of course that I was nearly done with them.

Wine and Cheese, step 4

2009-01-14T19:27:00.000-05:00

Painting the painting and more revisions

I finished painting Andrei's painting on the wall, except for a few highlights, which I will do later.

I refined the wine glasses, checking the ellipses to make sure the stems were centered under the glass. I own a nifty clear gridded ruler 7" wide by 24" long that I use when cutting quilt fabrics. I laid this ruler over the wine bottle and wine glasses, lining up the grid lines so I could easily see what need to be corrected.

Those gremlins I mentioned earlier also messed up the corkscrew handle, so I had to redraw it. When the cloth is finished, I'll do the actual corkscrew with its interesting cast shadow.

I can't wait to get the absolutes painted so I can choose the grapes, flowers, cheese and crackers. I have never painted cheese and crackers, so I'll save them for last. For the flowers, I am thinking of alstromeria, which I've painted many times. It's a small flower and would work well in this situation, and all the florists this time of year carry it. If I find carnations, I might consider them instead. I've never painted carnations, so that would make my painting experience more fun.

Lastly, I substituted a silver dish to hold the grapes...reflective surfaces are more interesting and the silver elevates the level of elegance to this painting.

Wine and Cheese, step 3

2009-01-07T08:14:00.000-05:00

Working back to front

I did decide to use Andrei's painting on the wall, so I enlarged it from the original which I own. This is in no way a copyright issue, since I am incorporating the image of his painting into my painting, not copying his painting to make another painting, which I would sign as my own.

After I roughed in his painting, I refined the frame with a multitude of parallel lines which define the moulding. But I still have more to go. Then I redrew the bottle again and developed the bottle top and the reflections in the glass. I love doing reflections...but I can't do the reflections of the flowers in the wine bottle, since I don't have the flowers yet.

Wine and Cheese, step 2

2009-01-01T19:45:00.007-05:00

Establishing some color

When I started this step and compared my drawing with the set-up, I swear some gremlins did a number on my drawing. I had to redraw a number of areas, in particular the wine bottle, which looked tipsy. I also redrew the cheese tray a number of times. The fact of the matter is that I must be in the exact same spot every time I compare my drawing to the set-up. Duh!

I wanted to establish some of the darker values...the wine in the glasses and in the bottle, plus the dark cloth. At one point, I wasn't sure I would put wine in all the glasses, but decided that I needed to move the color and the value around the painting for visual interest. Adding background color and cast shadows helps me visualize the overall values for the painting.

I like the way this is developing and am considering putting a painting of Andrei Kushnir's on the wall. I own a small one of his but I will have to enlarge it.

Wine and Cheese

2008-12-27T11:35:00.006-05:00

The Set-up

The zillion or so wine and cheese receptions for artists that I have attended over the years are my inspiration. (I think I went to five or six this past November!)

In keeping with the theme, I added the crystal wine glasses, a cheese tray, a dish of grapes, a corkscrew, a vase of flowers, and the requisite painting on the wall.

For design purposes, I have substituted yukky plastic grapes, fake flowers, and a bar of soap for the cheese. This painting will take quite a while so I'll replace these items with the real things when I get to them. I also have to decide what painting to put on the wall. For now I have hung one of my own small paintings.

The Burnt Umber Under Painting

This 18 x 24 linen canvas is prepared with 3 coats of rabbit skin glue and 3 coats of acrylic gesso, then toned with burnt sienna. After many hours of drawing and redrawing with soft charcoal, I finally settled on the exact placement of the items, which I carefully drew in paint, using burnt umber and Maroger medium. Before each application of the paint, I wiped out the soft charcoal with a rag so it wouldn't contaminate the paint.

Hopefully, this planning stage, which took several days, will allow me to lay in the painting and not change anything later on. A well-known artist said that failure to plan was planning to fail. So many of us get inspired and excited that we omit this critical stage. This is not to say that I wouldn't tweak it a bit as I go along, but I will try to stay with the drawing as it is. There are still many decisions to make.

Time flies when you're having fun

2008-12-20T19:27:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that three months have elapsed since I last posted my blog. September, October and November whizzed by while I painted frantically for my still life show that opened at American Painting in New York City last month. Despite the financial problems, I consider it a successful show.

Meanwhile, my computer's motherboard got terminally ill. I have been wrestling with computer problems since the day after I returned from the reception in New York. This has not been a fun time. I have not kept up with my blog, updated my website nor written my newsletter. Learning Vista and new programs has consumed most of my time.

Coming up in my life is the opening of the still life show opening at American Painting in DC on January 24. I have painted a small still life (see above) and will be starting a larger painting that I will demonstrate with step-by-step images on the blog.

Fun in Elkins, WV

2008-09-11T20:25:00.006-04:00

My life is almost back to normal after five days in Elkins, WV, home of Davis & Elkins College. On the first day, after a 4 1/2 hour drive through the winding narrow mountain roads, I judged the Randolph County Community Arts Council 7th Annual Gala Art Exhibition. For the next two days, I gave a workshop on the basics of painting classical still life. There were twelve workshop participants at all levels, working in oil and watercolor.

On the fourth day, I went painting with my host and several other painters from the workshop and the RCCAC. It was a gorgeous day, slight breeze, and lots of sun. Early mornings in the mountains tend to be very foggy, so we didn't get to our location until 9:30 a.m. We were in Montrose, a little crossroads about eight miles north of Elkins. According to the map, the Appalachian Trail goes right by where we painted.

On the fifth day, I drove home, again on those treacherous mountain roads and battling Hurricane Hanna.

The above painting is 12 x 16, and entitled Montrose Valley. I was unable to finish it on location, so I finished it today in the studio with the help of some photos that I took. I like the painting and it was fun to do! Lots of contrast and rich colors!

Plein Air Easton

2008-08-25T19:42:00.009-04:00

Instead of showing you another painting in progress, I want to change the thrust of my blog. Painting is a lot of fun and I want to share some of that fun with you.

I was juried into the prestigious 4th Annual Plein Air Easton, July 21 through 27, in Easton, Maryland. There were 57 artists from all over the country: artists from California, Texas, Florida, New York, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, etc. Of course, there were many Maryland artists.

The gist of the competition is to complete two competition paintings in four days, en plein air. These paintings are judged on the fifth day, wet paint and all. My competition paintings are shown here.

But there was much more to Paint Easton than the competition. There were lectures, programs, demonstrations, dinners, parties, auctions, and scintillating camaraderie. There were lunches in "dark caves" to rest our eyes blinded by the sun. All in all, it was a fabulous week. I not only had fun and learned a lot, I had a ball!