Yellow Belly - Oil

Yellow Belly - Oil

6x6, oil on board

Day 3 of 30...this closeup of a boat in the harbor is as "loose" as I can paint.   My tendency is to paint too precisely and (you would think) painting precisely would be harder than painting loosely...but au contraire...not the case at all!   So, the next time you see a painting that's painted loosely...consider the difficulty and admire the artist's finese!    A little tidbit....the boat's lettering really wasn't FYI in really life...but I liked it, so it stuck.  A little FYI about this piece.

Warm Sail - Pastel

Warm Sail

6x6, soft pastel

Day 2 of the 30 in 30...the same boat as yesterday only this time in pastel.  I like the warmth of the sails lit by the sunlight beyond the trees.

WIP below: I continue to work on the larger piece "Peaceful Morning".  I've painted it twice before...no, three times before in different sizes.  I love this particular boat scene because its just so peaceful to look at and I want it on my walls (eventually if I don't sell it first).  Below is a shot of a closeup...notice the smudge on the back wall of the boat?  That's an example of what NOT to do while  painting with pastels.  Sometimes I will blend with my fingers in certain areas and for this piece I like the waters blended a bit...but using fingers is hazardous.  If there's pastel dust on them, going over a light section like the railing here can result in a fingerprint....(I like to leave my mark on a painting...but not my fingerprint).  Fortunately, a harder pastel such as a Nupastel applied lightly over the smudge can "erase it away".  Interesting that the colors in the painting above are very similar to the one I'm working on below.

Warm Sail - Oil

Warm Sail

6x6, oil on board

This marks the first day of the January "30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge".  My primary goal for the "30in30" is to experiment with oil painting (I've only painted with oils once before...many, many, many years ago).  After I finish a piece in oil, I may sometimes paint it again using soft pastels.  My second goal for the month is to paint four larger pieces (most likely boats in soft pastel).  They'll be created in anticipation of an upcoming show in April at the Initial Point gallery located in Meridian's City Hall building.  I'll share my WIP (work in progress) below.   So....here we go!  

Peaceful Morning

12x16, soft pastel

First a quick sketch:

Then I start laying in values...I have a tendency to put too much detail in this stage even though much of it gets covered up with multiple layers of pastel.  I hate losing the placement of the boat's boards and background ships...so I do it anyway.  This is how far I got...more to follow tomorrow.

Golden Sunset

Golden Sunset

11x14, soft pastel

I just finished this piece (which is a larger version of a 6x6 painting completed during the September 30in30 Challenge).  It's headed to Arizona but I wanted to share it first, especially since I've been lagging behind in my blog posts this fall.  I guess that's how things go sometimes...never a dull moment!  I've really enjoyed painting skyscapes during the past couple months, hope you like it!

Seattle Landmarks

Seattle Landmarks

14x11, soft pastel

This is a commission piece I promised to do quite some time ago (sorry, the image isn't the best).  It was tough to really think of a good way to layout a painting with so many landmarks.  And for me, it was tough to limit the detail in each scene in order to stay more on the "painterly" side of things rather than photo-realistic.   So, it's somewhere in the middle.  There's little chance the recipient will see this blog post so I thought I'd share it here.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Adrift

Adrift
9x12, soft pastel

This piece is a larger version of Morning Calm which was donated recently for a giveaway on Dailypaintworks.com.  I love this particular scene because it's just so darn peaceful!  I may paint it larger yet again. This piece will be on display at the Meadowlake Art Show on Nov. 10th in Meridian, ID.  The show will actually run for a full 30 days.  If you're in the area stop by and let me know what you think.

Maraschinos

Maraschinos 

6x6, soft pastels

Recently I've been eating a lot of cherries...mostly marachino cherries in my new favorite cocktail the (sweet version) Brandy Old Fashioned...a Wisconsin favorite.  I've never been much of a drinker but this drink recipe is better than any dessert I can imagine!   And, it helps wind down from a long day at the easel.