Spirograph Fun!

Posted on by
Pineapple Conure. 5" x 5"

Pineapple Conure. 5″ x 5″

Well, it’s day 3 of the painting challenge. So far I am doing good. Still time in the day for maybe one more painting (this way I can post that tomorrow, because tomorrow it’s back to the day job!). I bought a spirograph set just after Christmas and I have been eager to try it. They are mesmerizing and truly as the advertising states…endless hours of fun. They do however take some time to perfect.

I decided to pair up my painting and the fun with the spirograph. I think I might do some more of these. This is casein, ballpoint pen and graphite. The casein ground went down first, then the spirograph designs in green ballpoint pen and then a casein wash followed by casein to block in the bird. Graphite over top. I had forgotten how nice graphite works over the casein…it has just the right amount of “give”. #30paintingsin30days!

 

Style Departure

Posted on by

pelican112715.JPG

The goal for this painting was just to try out the oil bar paint on paper, but with a gesso ground. When I use just the paper, of course some oil seeps through over time. While the feel is different on the gesso ground I think it is a better choice for longevity of the work. For the drawing and subject I just wanted to do something simple…so I chose the pelican in a very graphic depiction. And, I had a lot of fun doing it!

It’s a total style departure. Fun to do something totally different.

Studies

Posted on by
small study: oil bar, 5" x 6"

small study: oil bar, 5″ x 6″

It’s so interesting to me that sometimes the studies that I do to warm up for a “finished” painting turn out better than the final. Maybe it is the carefree attitude. I suppose I could try to trick myself into doing larger “studies”! No doubt the more I do, the better I will get at being less worried when faced with canvas or large substrates. It’s all a process.

The last few days have been spent working with the oil bars and some ink and water color projects. Ink is a lot of fun. I like going back and forth between these two mediums…they are so different. I think switching over to a different medium helps my easily distracted brain!

Trigger Fish: Ink & Watercolor, 5" x 7"

Trigger Fish: Ink & Watercolor, 5″ x 7″

Cloudscape

Posted on by
Oil Paint Sticks on Paper

Oil Paint Sticks on Paper

Maybe I am on to a subject/theme with the oil paint sticks. I have never really been drawn to using clouds as a subject matter for painting…I think because I see a lot of them by other painters. However, it might be a good learning subject for me. They are difficult! But, they are also fun, open to interpretation and I have lots of photo resources in my personal library!

Not only will I learn a lot with the medium, I will have a bunch of pieces that look like they work together! I still don’t know how important that is, but the subject matter will make it happen anyway. I wonder how many of these I will actually do before I get distracted.

Great tip from my friend Susan Renee Lammers for adding color into the clouds…I am not sure I didn’t overdue it, but I feel good about the direction it took me!

Beach Clouds

Posted on by
Oil Paint Sticks on paper: 10" x 8"

Oil Paint Sticks on paper: 10″ x 8″

Back to the oil paint sticks on paper. I was thinking that the simple shapes of a beach scene would be a good way to practice with the oil paint sticks. And, it is, but it’s not easy by any stretch! Beaches are difficult in their simplicity! Clouds are much harder than they seem! But, I do think that this is a good approach for me, scenes that are not too complex, and I can concentrate a bit more on how to lay down the paint…mixing on the paper and layering to achieve what I want. An artist friend gave a great suggestion that I will employ next, bring some sand color up into the clouds.

I found my friends blog post as a good resource to go back to: Edward Seago Inspiration

Painting and Sketching

Posted on by
Oil Paint Sticks: 6 x 9 on paper

Oil Paint Sticks: 6 x 9 on paper

More practice with oil paint sticks on paper. I am going to try and stay within 6″ x 9″ and 8″ x 10″ sizes on paper for now. This is a good size to work on to get a piece done within a reasonable time. I think this is a good way to get my technique refined before moving over to larger work. I did get some Shiva oil paint sticks that are not student grade, the color seems to be richer. They are “hard” but that seems to be working to my advantage right now.

Practicing Faces: inspired by Modigliani

Practicing Faces: inspired by Modigliani

My other goal right now is to improve my drawing skills for faces.  I have some pieces that I want do that involve things like mermaids and they need to have nice faces! So, I am sketching faces, mostly from expressionist and impressionist painters…I don’t want to get to tied tight with them.

Discovery

Posted on by
Sunflower study: oil pigment sticks on paper

Sunflower study: oil pigment sticks on paper

I think that I have discovered a medium that I will stay with for awhile. I feel like I have been on a discovery project for the last couple of years…playing around with lots of different mediums and subjects. The oil paint sticks are awesome! So, my plan is to commit to them for the next 12 months and see how the work goes.

Not to say I am going to put away my pens and watercolor type mediums…I love those for sketches. Now that I have decided on the medium, I think I will be able to focus on my subject matter in a more serious and planned way. I need to get back to a sketch a day to continue to improve my drawing skills.

Feeling good about making some specific choices for the next few months!

Finished painting: oil paint stick on canvas

Finished painting: oil paint stick on canvas

Oil Paint Sticks

Posted on by
Playing around with oil paint sticks

Playing around with oil paint sticks

Loving the oil paint sticks! I got a starter/student set of Shiva oil paint sticks to try while on vacation. The color selection is a little primary…but that is good to learn with. I also got a set of mini iridescent oil sticks–they are very nice colors and not too metallic.

Working on paper is actually very nice with this medium and it dries pretty much overnight. Dry enough to close my journal anyway. I love the fact that the sticks are kind of chubby, so it forces me to stay loose. I have gone into little spaces with a brush as well. The Shiva product is not as buttery as the R&F that I was using at home. I like the quality of the Shiva for paper…I think that the R&F will be better for canvas.

Study 4x6 for painting. The tail is too big!

Study 4×6 for painting. The tail is too big!

Playing around with some small studies–working on a larger painting from the small study. Interesting feeling going from paper to canvas.

Beginning of larger painting with oil paint sticks on canvas.

Beginning of larger painting with oil paint sticks on canvas.

Can’t stop experimenting!

Posted on by
Oil Pigment stick and encaustic on wood panel.

Oil Pigment stick and encaustic on wood panel.

I don’t remember where I saw these oil paint sticks…oh, yep I do, one showed up in my Pigment and Palette box awhile back. Just white, and I picked it up to use it on the urchin painting….and it worked great! Then I did a little research and they looked like a lot of fun. One thing led to another and before you know it I have a starter set of colors.

Well, they are fun, but boy are they messy! My first attempt was more mess than anything. After a little more research I became a little more disciplined and set up my space so that I could keep the mess to a minimum. I decided to try them with the encaustic this time. I really like how they work. I added the first layer with my fingers (protecting my skin with gloves) and then fused the layers and used a brush to apply the pigment after that (a tiny brush, as I was working small). This set came from R&F–they are very nice. R&F Pigment Sticks Website

I think I will try a larger painting next. The great thing about this medium is, no solvents needed, no concerns of fat over lean (like oil paint) and quicker drying time. Mixes well with oil paint as well.

Summer Variety

Posted on by
Sea Urchin: 4x4 panel, watercolor, encaustic, oil stick

Sea Urchin: 4×4 panel, watercolor, encaustic, oil stick

It’s a surprisingly nice feeling when someone appreciates your work enough to actually buy it! The piece was donated to our local library fundraiser–I decided to donate my sale 100% to the library–somehow it seemed the best thing to do considering I don’t sell my work yet. It wasn’t a high ticket sale, but so nice none-the-less to have another person enjoy it.

I am working on a bunch of really tiny pieces…4×4 cradled panels. The square is an interesting challenge–so far the work all seems to go well together–sheerly by accident, but I think that they will look good hanging together. Because I can’t settle down and just keep going with one medium I am also trying out some oil paint on wood panel.

Cone Flower: 4x4 on wood panel, watercolor and colored pencil

Cone Flower: 4×4 on wood panel, watercolor and colored pencil

Still experimenting with the encaustic–maybe it’s always going to feel that way. This piece I decided to just have fun with. I am starting to get the hang of the layering of color–the main image I scraped out with an old dental instrument–I was pleased with the way that worked out.

Jack-in-the-pulpit: encaustic on wood panel, 11x14

Jack-in-the-pulpit: encaustic on wood panel, 11×14

I want to move on and do a series with the cone flowers that are blooming. I have discovered that working plein air is actually pretty wonderful…but they aren’t going to last as long as I need them to!

Afternoon Shadows at Fort Point Lighthouse: SOLD!!!

Afternoon Shadows at Fort Point Lighthouse: SOLD!!!