Thursday, September 30, 2010

Sep 30 - Goat Details and The Cutest Kitty Ever...

Finished and I'm much pleased with it now... still has the freshness of the original, earlier work (done quite close to when I was assimilating the Color System) yet it is gentler, as a kid goat ought to be.... (Until they hop straight up in the air, give a twisty bend and tear off in a new direction!!

I miss my goat babies, but next spring will bring a new crop of.... LAMBS here at Two Trees. The ewes are looking contented, and the ram is looking tired. So the three ladies hopefully will present me with more painting opportunities next Feb-March.

I saw a video that just made me laugh out loud, and although I don't usually post these things, perhaps we can all use a bit of an uplift in our day. I wonder if this kitty stayed this fresh and interactive--we can hope our art will be just as bright and joyful. Keep those brushes moving!!!



On OTHER news, I'm packing the camper for my fourth trip to the White Mountains of Arizona next week--for the Paint the Aspens trip. I love it there, listening to the elk at night by a fire in the closed summer camp of one of the high lakes. Rejuvenation and revitalization!

You can see my entire blog HERE.My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.Color System information can be found HERE.If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Sep 27 - Working over an old one - Goat Kid

Working over an old painting can be very rewarding--if you know what you're doing! Remember while back I had a bonfire of a LOT of old paintings? Well, this one of the goat kid (upper image) was salvaged from that bonfire. It was going to be a gift for a friend of mine, but somehow looking at it ready to be packed up just bothered me... Here I was going to fry this turkey (ok, goatie) in the flames, and yet it was good enough to "gift" to my friend? No.
So I put it on the easel tonight, and worked it over. I knew that I wanted the colors to be more harmonious, and I wanted to see better relationships between the sunlight areas and the shadows. Now it is at the first stage, having covered up many of the garish colors that represented early endeavors with the Color System. Although not finished at this stage, I can see where its going and am more pleased with its evolution.

Tomorrow I will continue it and hopefully end up with a painting worthy of leaving my studio. But my friend will have to wait a while longer until it is dry enough to ship! It's a 12 x 12 oil.

On other news, the HEAT is ON. Record-breaking heat for September has been registered for yesterday and today, and is expected to continue tomorrow and through the week. Whew. Everybody but the goats are hunkering down in the basement studio where the inside temperature went up to 87 while the outdoor thermometer read 111 degrees at 5:30 pm. At almost nine p.m. it is still 95 out there. Talk about HOT DOGS!?!
Here's Niko (GROWING) and Willow comatose on the cool studio floor. She's six months old today. What a monster.

You can order my newest Color System DVD HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Sep 26 - Oh Wow! 24 x 18 Acrylic finished.

Now it is done, photographed, framed, shipped to Georgetown, Kentucky, and if all the planets align, it won't return to Two Trees.

So what did I do between yesterday and today? Let's look at the images and see...

Ah, of course! The mist. The "atmosphere" that carries the image. Softening areas of the canvas with the addition of layers of acrylic medium and paint, thinning those layers so the underpainting shows through, creating the mist.

The same technique was used to add the sun rays coming in from the right side. But in doing that area, I used the warm palette, instead of the Cool Box.

I didn't want to do any changing to the lower third--it is too close to the viewer to be majorly affected by the mist, and I really like the reflections in the water, so I left it alone.

Tomorrow I fill more of the orders for the Colorful Painting #4 Two DVD set. This morning I came down to the studio to a water nightmare where the front planter leaked through the wall of my basement workroom. Eight gallons came up with the rug cleaning machine, and the fans are running to dry out the bits left. Good thing the temps have been so high--this is drying up in record time. Some positives came out of leaving that hose bib running last night--my workroom and the theater carpet got a good cleaning!!!

You can order my latest DVD HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.