Post Workshop Painting

"One More Week"

oil

12" x 6"

I mentioned in my last post that I attended an oil painting workshop this past weekend. If you wondered why I didn't post any paintings from that workshop, it's because they weren't very good. I came away with knowledge rather than finished paintings. In fact, my eldest daughter, upon seeing what I had done over the weekend, exclaimed "What happened, Mom? You paint better than that!"

One of the things that Tim emphasized at the workshop was to have a focal point in the painting. Try to make the focal point stand out by, among other things, using lots of detail there and less detail in the rest of the painting. Above is a painting that I did yesterday. It's very different from how I usually paint - I usually try to get every scrap of detail that I'm able to paint. In this, I picked the blackberry that's in between red and black to be my focal point. I painted it with lots of detail and left the others less defined. That berry was actually ripe in my reference photo, but I thought to make it stand out more by making it to be the only in-between color. I did paint the leaf up above with quite a bit of detail because I liked it - probably not a legitimate reason, but there you have it.

This painting is a lot different than what I normally do, but I kind of like it.

Apples and Lace

"Apples and Lace"

graphite

20" x 11"

Here's the graphite drawing that I mentioned in my last post. I did get it finished last week, I just ran out of time to get it photographed and posted. I left town last Thursday to attend an oil painting workshop given by Timothy C. Tyler. We were in a beautiful location up on Petit Jean Mountain at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute and had a great time the entire weekend. I am now determined to paint with a lot more paint and really work on those lost edges! I hope to post something soon that is simply oozing with paint.

More Flowers

"Petite Bouquet"

10" x 8"

oil on linen

Here's another flower painting that I finished last week. I've been waiting for it to dry enough to spray varnish and then get a photo. It's off to the framer's tomorrow and then off to Tulsa the next week for the Contemporary National Realism show at M. A. Doran Gallery.

I'm busy working on "agricultural" art right now for a show at the Rockefeller Institute in July. Getting close to being done on a fairly large graphite drawing of a basket of apples with one of my favorite drawnwork scarves. Lots of intricate lace work on the scarf. It seemed like I was on the home stretch, but I made the mistake of measuring last night. I have about an 8" x 8" square left to draw. That's 64 square inches - now it seems like a lot. I'm determined to finish it by end of day tomorrow though...

Another Mini

"Three Pitchers"

oil on panel

2 5/8" x 4 3/4"

Here's another miniature painting that I finished earlier this week. I forgot to get a photo of it before I framed it. That little discolored looking edge on the bottom left-hand side is the shadow from the frame. I tried to really get detailed with this one. I had a magnifying glass in one hand and paint brush in the other. Not an easy way to go about it! If I do many more of these, I think that I'll have to purchase a magnifying glass on a stand.

"Lenten Roses"

oil on canvas

6" x 6"

Here's a little oil painting that I did earlier this week. I've had this Lenten Rose growing in my flower garden for a few years but this is the first time that I've used the blooms in a still life. It blooms so early in the spring that I sometimes miss noticing it altogether. I guess the plant is maturing because it had a lot more blooms on it this year than in years past. They are sweet looking little blossoms, a bit on the shy side (they seem to be looking more towards the ground than the sun for the most part.) They are definitely not a boisterous flower like the daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips that are also blooming away in my yard right now. I've been told that they are called "Lenten Roses" because they bloom during Lent. I'd like to think that they also earned that name due to their meek and mild manner, reminiscent of our dear Savior.