#31.......Hung Over.........

Whew! Almost caught up....

Had fun creating this one tonight with a certain someone in mind. A dear friend had a field of sunflowers  this year and invited me over to take photos of my granddaughter among them. It was a gorgeous sunny day, so I got some great reference photos for painting, too...

 

HUNG OVER

 

6 x 6" oil on cradled panel

(no frame needed)

 

$60

 

 



Experimenting with a palette knife

Since returning from Scottsdale, AZ and talking to a number of great and successful artists about using a palette knife to train me to use more paint, I finally got a chance for a quick attempt. I feel pretty good about this one but it sure was a struggle; I was definately out of my comfort zone.

Those who know me, understand how 'precious' I am about using the paint. I really am trying to get over that and acheive a more painterly look.

 

This is very similar to the view from my friend Charlotte's place in Cave Creek, AZ; minus the blooming flowers. I still like my detailed style, I just want to be more confident with putting on  more paint.

 

Lots of yard work to get done but I sure hope to get to the studio again soon!

# 23 After the Bloom. ..& giving a lesson

Feeling a little better today, had lots to do and then had the company of my granddaughter, Alyssa. We got into a discussion about art and I invited her to join me in the studio and I gave her a little lesson in color theory and showed her how to mix a variety of browns just using her primaries. Something she had asked an art teacher and didn't get a satisfactory answer. I was happy that I cleared it up for her.

Then I did a quick demo from a photo that I took my first time in AZ. Incredible skies and color saturation out there. The cacti has just finished their blooming, so I missed that, but it was quite an adventure, none the less.

I re purposed a previously painted panel; felt good to cover it up and get another lesson out of it rather than let it be tinder for the fire. Quality time passing on a little art!

 

#23  After the Bloom

oil on panel

 

Thanks for looking..........have a wonderful day!            Ruth Ann

Standing in the Shadows

Staying with my western theme, here a few more aspens. I traveled all the way to Montana to paint and the first ranch we painted at was.............."Buckeye Ranch"   .........they had both been originally from Ohio! Go figure. They even had an entire room ....aka the bar.........done in Buckeye decor.

Anyway, they were fabulous people and gave us free rein of the house and grounds.  The aspens had not started to turn while I was there in August but the shade of the barn was inviting and got me out of the glaring light. I took hundreds of photos while there and this is the result of the one looking towards the road leading to the ranch.

                                                   

                            Standing in the Shadows

                                                  9 x 12" oil on museum matboard     $75

I think I need to make a few adjustments, esp. the trees at the top but here it is today...
thanks for looking..........Ruth Ann

# 5 of 30 in 30 days

I painted this scene in a large format and since it is one of my very favorite places, Sedona, I wanted to paint it again in a smaller size.

I have to admit, I liked it better about 40 brushstrokes ago, but since none of you were here in my studio to grab the brush from me, here it is...

                        Red Rock Crossing in Autumn         9 x 12" oil on panel        $75

                                              Have a fabulous weekend..........Ruth Ann

Painting #27 ..... The Day is Done

It was a tough time choosing what to paint. Having too many ideas can be a bad thing. Everything I chose for my composition was complicated and would make a great large painting; but not one I could do justice on a small one.

I finally chose my favorite hair clips that I caught out of the corner of my eye, sitting  on my taboret. They needed a little something more and I immediately tucked in the sweet, worn moccassins that we got at the auction last week. I adore the painting for today. Made me in such a good mood...love it when a plan comes together!

The Day is Done   4 x 4"   oil on linen   

And so it is....................until tomorrow!   Thanks for looking.     Ruth Ann

Painting #20 Waiting for the Tequila

The studio called me early this morning and I dutifully answered that call but somehow the day slipped away and I still had not started my painting! The mood eluded me to do a small painting. My creative left brain was craving to do a complicated large painting, please.

The urge passed, as I could hear Kristen in the background mulling over which painting she would take when I lost the challenge. I decided on a simple setup since time was short. Enough said? How long does it take to come up with a "simple" composition?  Hours...Yes, I like that object, no, not on that background........raise the angle...........adjust the light ........no, now I don't like it at all. And so it goes...........

Finally, I added an item and it all came together for "Waiting for the Tequila"... (those who know me remember that my favorite drink is a margarita on the rocks with salt!

Instead, I am celebrating with a fine red wine, watching the snowflakes float through the glow of the streetlamps across the way. Good night!

"Waiting for the Tequila"        6 x6" oil on wood          

Painting # 19 Lean on Me

What a perfect day to be safe and warm in the studio. Outside it was snowing and blowing, making the roads unfit for travel. So glad my husband had the day off so I wouldn't spend all day worrying about him on the road.

Those pears were getting pretty ripe and the smell made me want to sink my teeth in for a bite, so I had to get them painted. There are two left now.

I had difficulty with the highlight on the red one. The light sounrce I used was a warm incandescent bulb. Therefore the highlight should be warm, right? But it looked so cool and blue. So I know I will have to work on that some but I had to stop, as I was just messing up the good parts, so before I completely destroyed it, I decided to let it rest.

Lean on Me           5 x 7" oil on panel    

Think I'll go "Lean " on my husband and watch a good movie. This struggle wore me out.

Painting #9 "No matter how you slice it...

Some days you have so much pending, you almost forget what you were planning to do when you went to the studio. That was my day. Before I knew it, a couple of hours had gone by and I was running short on studio time to get my daily painting done.

I decided to grab a quick bite for lunch, first. The leftover cherry turnover made perfect desert. But wait, it was too hot to eat and the cherries oozing out the seam just screamed "paint me!". I was already to start when I just needed to change the angle.........too late! Gotta eat it. Yummy! Okay, on to plan B...

I had some leftover fruit that needed to be used or thrown out, so I sliced the orange and then the apple ........but that was a little boring, so I had decided to slice the apple sideways.....wa-la a set up!

The title seemed obvious...........

" No matter how you slice it, it is still apples to oranges..." 

5 x 7" oil on panel        

Painting #7 Study in Orange

What a wonderful day! Traveled to Dayton to one of the galleries I am in and while in town we took advantage of the American Chronicles.....Norman Rockwell exhibit at the DAI. Fabulous! It sure put me in the mood to want to paint people again.  That will wait for another day, though, when I can devote more time.

The first attempt today was a "wiper"....so I did just that and started over. Entire new set up. I was able to settle down and thoroughly enjoy the process............whoops, where did the time go? I love that part of the creative process....time has no meaning.

Looking forward to tomorrow...maybe I will do the spur again?????

Painting #2 lemon w shadow

Guess I am making lemonade today in the studio, that is, after I paint it! I was planning to make a needed trip to a gallery in Dayton to pick up some of my paintings, so I never quite got into the right brain. Add several distractions, well, you know...

Hopefully, I will get a chance to redeem myself tomorrow, after I work on installing the photography show at Artspace/Lima.

White Challenge

I found it helpful to come across this challenge! There are so many paintings in my head, it is sometimes difficult to settle down to do one. This was a quick one hour study but I challenged myself to try to only make one stroke with each brushload! Very difficult for an artist such as myself, since I tend to do much more controlled paintings using a lot less paint.

There is no pure white in this entire painting...............but I had to squeeze out Titanium White three times! It was a fun challenge...