October 1st - The aftermath...

Ha! I don't feel that negatively about it.  Just popped in my mind. :)  So, traditionally the day after the 30 in 30 ends, all the artists create a collage of their creations they made during the month.  So, here is mine.  Being that I painted on all different sizes for experimentation purposes, this collage was a challenge in and of itself.  The paintings are not necessarily in chronological order... rather, I fit them the best I could in a pleasing format.  I titled it 30 days of painting since I only painted 26 paintings this month.  But, still, I am pleased with the results.

So, I blabbed a lot about my feelings on this challenge in yesterday's post.  I wanted to say also, that I really learned a lot this month.  I often felt that I was in a 30 day intensive workshop on creating figurative work, pushing myself to create new and interesting language with my brushwork and palette knife and like I said, painting on non-traditional sized panels.  I have lots to chew on as far as the direction my work will take in the coming months.  I know that I enjoy painting figures and I am happy with some of the abstract things I was doing.  But I am wanting to expand my paintings to include more imagery, which will take longer design and planning time and definitely more than one day to create.  Thanks again for following me and thank you for all of your kind comments and cheering me on!  Happy October and have a great weekend!

30 days of painting collage

Day 30 - Rowan and the Bug

Its the last day of the 30 in 30 and uh.... I can believe it!  Well, sort of not, but, when I look back to the first painting I did, and all the ones in between, I definitely feel like I painted for the e n t i r e month.  Of course there is a sense of relief and, pride I guess, that I am finished and I did it... But, I am always sad when the 30 in 30 ends too.  The sense of forced urgency to produce a painting every day seems to fuel creativity differently than at calmer times.  And posting everyday is a very beneficial for any artist.  I always hope to keep it up.  I will definitely try to be better about posting more often.  To be honest, I only painted 26 paintings this month.  Me getting sick and then Rowan staying home sick from school yesterday threw off my groove so, there are several lost days. 

Anyway... today's painting

Rowan came home from school last week very excited to tell me that his bus passed by "this awesome VW beetle!  It would make a great painting, Mom!"  His enthusiasm and happiness about finding a painting subject for me put a healthy dose of joy in my heart. :)  So, we drove there the next day and I took a bunch of pics. I told him he had to pose for me, though, since the theme I chose for this 30 in 30 is figurative and I definitely wanted to paint this in the challenge. I thought this picture was the cutest of the bunch!

By the way, as always I will make a collage of all the paintings I created and post it here tomorrow.  Have a great night and thanks everyone for reading my blog and following me through the challenge!  From the looks of my people counter I had over 750 people read my blog this month.  Peanuts for some, but awesome for me!

Rowan and the Bug, oil on panel, 6"x6"
NFS

I haven't posted a progress pic for awhile.  If you are interested, this is the painting early on...

Day 28 - Graffiti Text

I snapped this picture as I was walking out of a Wawa (a PA based convenience store/gas station) a few weeks back. This guy was just perfectly posed right outside the door and I actually had my phone at the ready! The background was of course cars, gas pumps and chaos, but I opted for a background of graffiti, as it seemed appropriate.  I also was experimenting with the paint itself. I typically use a limited palette - Titanium white, Alizarin Crimson, Cad. Yellow, and Ultramarine Blue. (and sometimes Phthalo green)  But this scene called for something different.  The colors needed to be bright and pure.  Sooo, I used... Titanium white, Quinacridone Red (love that word), Transparent yellow, transparent orange, (by Rembrandt) and prussian blue - all of which are transparent colors (minus the white) that have a bit more umph to them.  I only added the white towards the end of the painting.  This is a technique I have known about from reading about another artist who uses this technique (Dreama Tolle Perry) to achieve pure, bright colors.  I am relatively happy with the results but feel I need to experiment with it more.  The graffiti in the background is simply because I am fascinated by graffiti, and have included it in several paintings I have done previously.  I love the ambiguity and abstract quality of it.

Graffiti Text, oil on panel, 18"x24"
to purchase, please click here

Day 27 - Learning to Fly

So, being an artist is just like being any other kind of person. When you get sick as a dog, many things you want to be doing come to a screeching halt. This happened to me this weekend and as such, the 30 in 30 I am participating in has taken an abrupt back seat to concentrating on getting better. On another note, I found this great website called 'Thought Questions' and thought I'd share a question that resonates with me. 

The question is "If you woke up tomorrow with no fear, what would you do first?"  So many people responded with answers that included flying in one way or another - flying to Europe, skydiving, taking a plane to a different country...  After painting this, the title seemed appropriate.  It seems we all want to get away, but fear is keeping us tethered to the ground.  Dreaming of birds, dreaming of the sky... Learning to fly.  This painting is up for bid on my page of the Daily Paintworks auction.  To place a bid, click here, or the link below the picture.

Learning to Fly, oil on panel, 6"x6"
to go to my DPW auction, click here

Day 23 - Still Standing Strong

Things are happening in this country that many people are not happy about. I read every day on facebook and in emails how worried everyone is because of the two candidates running for president. The news reports horrific things that are happening throughout the country. And so on and so on... If you were to listen to what people are 'saying' you would think we live in a country that is falling apart and the people hate each other and life sucks. But you know what? I am thinking about my family. My neighbors. All of the hardworking, honest people I know who keep on keeping on, doing what they do and proud to live the lives they are living. I am thinking of all the people I know who show love and friendship even with different political and religious views from me. No matter what the media says, and no matter how crazy this election gets, I still believe in the power and strength of the citizens of this country. They are what makes this country great and I believe that we are all still standing strong... and will keep standing strong. Don't believe everything you read.Look around you to find the good and keep fighting to live a true and honest life. Peace... :)

Still Standing Strong, oil, 6"x6"
to purchase, please click here

Day 19 - Off the Clock

I am not a proponent of smoking... even though I had the nasty habit years ago... But this young lady seemed the perfect subject for me to experiment with some abstraction.  I tried the faceless approach a few paintings back (see here) and kind of liked the results.  I thought I'd try it again here.  Again, I 'kind of'' like the results.  This painting turned out to be more of what I don't want to do again as opposed to what I would like to try again (make sense?)  In other words, I'm not totally satisfied with the results of this one.  Although, the more I look at it, the more about it I see that I like.  The most exciting part of this painting is the background to me.  I brushed and smeared (with a palette knife) and scraped (with a paint scraper) and the slapped some more paint on and I am digging the layered effect going on.  I also like the muted neutrals I used in this one.  I need to learn how to use my grays more effectively.  The figure herself, I feel is a bit too formal and, well, just not lively enough.  Anyway, here she is, taking a break...  I will wager, however, that this painting will turn out to be someone else's favorite, as it always seems to be the paintings I don't care for as much are someone else's favorite!

Off the Clock, oil, 11"x14"
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Day 18 - Mary Cassatt

Today's painting is a little portrait of Mary Cassatt. If you don't know of her, she is one of the few women who rose to fame during the infancy stages of the Impressionistic movement. Her work is beautiful, often capturing the tender moments between a mother and her child.  Google her if you get the chance, or click here to go to the Wiki page about her...  I painted her because she is one of my favorite artists. I feel fortunate that I have been able to see a few of her paintings up close and personal, which gives a much deeper appreciation of her talent. I so enjoyed painting the artist Yayui on Day 8 that I decided to try my hand at painting Mary Cassatt as well. There are few photos of her, but this is one of the ones that I loved... that hat...

Mary Cassatt (from 1914 photo of her), oil on panel, 6"x6"
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Original photo of Mary Cassatt, circa 1914, photographer unknown.

Day 16 - Under the Big Oak

My usual method of painting is what is known as alla prima - meaning 'all at once'.  This means that I paint wet paint into wet paint and  try to paint the entire painting in one day (That could mean several to many hours depending on the size and complexity).  If scale and time do not allow, than I will make sure that I complete a section so that I don't have to work into it in the next sitting.

There are some paintings, however, that I have started, and, well, couldn't figure out how to finish.  Or knew there were still problems with it, but just couldn't figure out how to solve the.  It happens.  

This was one such painting.  I had the general landscape sitting around in my studio for over a year.  I decided I was ready to finish it today!  

I changed some values and colors... pushed some bushes and trees around a bit, and, in sticking to the figurative theme of this 30 in 30 for me, I added the 2 tiny people in the middle ground.  I'm calling this one done!

Under the Big Oak, oil, 12"x12"
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Day 14 - Walking Meditation

I photographed this woman down at Wildwood, NJ this year.  She just happened by and I luckily had my phone handy.  I loved her flowy clothes and her gingerly taken steps as she walked up the beach from the water line.  Capturing her careful movements and, believe it or not, her feet, was a study in exact brush work and value.  Yes her feet.  Painting feet and hands are very difficult to get just right as their angles and planes are very particular... one little dot can throw them off, making them unrecognizable!  This painting makes me want to go back to the ocean just one more time before it gets cold, though..

Walking Meditation,  oil, 9"x12"
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Day 13 - Shopping Day

So, this 30 in 30 has been all about experimenting and trying out new things.  One of the things artists have to consider is the scale of the artwork they are creating.  And when I work from photo references, I always have to consider how I am going to crop the image...  I have some panel cut offs hanging around my studio that are waiting for me to figure out what I am going to paint on them.  After snapping this picture the other day at my grocery store, I decided it would be awesome to try a very long, narrow, vertical composition... And see what happens.  I really like how the lines draw you through the composition and how it appears to be just a sliver of time, maybe as viewed through a narrow slit in a doorway....

Shopping Day, oil, 4"x12",
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Day 11 of the 30 in 30 - Discovery

Today's painting is a nice representation of what I was hoping would happen during this challenge... a complete dialog of experimentation concerning subject, technique and genre.  I once again used a reference photo of my daughter for this painting, but as you may know, she has blond hair.  So, I took some liberties there as the painting seemed to be calling for a dark haired dame.  The background was originally the farmer's field on that fateful, steamy day that my kids went with me on a photo shoot... but I wanted the moody blues instead of the Pennsylvania greens that dominate my surrounding landscape.  I also wanted to abstract the background and blend it with the figure some.... and by the way, her face is intentionally obscure...  I am hoping that you will see what you need to see in her by not emphasizing any one feature.
Discovery is the name of this painting for several reasons... I am so happy to be discovering new techniques, the human form and the blending of genres (figurative/abstract/realism), and this young woman is discovering new worlds through reading.. and this book happens to be a copy of the Tao te Ching, the ancient book of The Way.  Lots of discovery going on....

Discoveries, oil, 24"x24"
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Day 10 - The Shark

1/3 of the way through this challenge and for me, its been the best one yet.  This is the fifth one I've participated in and I learn so much from each one.  In this one, I feel like I am taking a workshop every day with all I am discovering.
Some paintings are easier than others to complete.  The whys are varied and include things like humidity, my frame of mind, my connection with the subject and how well I have planned.  This painting was a bear to finish, and the odd thing was that I thought it was going to be a snap!  After fighting with it for a few hours, I determined that the issue was mainly the dryness of the air in my studio.  When the air is too dry, I find the paint to be very uncooperative and it doesn't move around as well as I'd like.  So, all in all, I like the composition and I enjoyed abstracting the background. If I were to do it again, I'd paint it bigger, and make sure there was enough medium on the board to help keep the paint flowing as I like.  This is from a picture I took years ago at the fire house bar I used to cook at.  There was almost always a pool game going on and this guy didn't mind me snapping a few of him playing.

The Shark, oil, 6"x10",
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Day 5 - Morning Dove

Today's painting is of my daughter.  As I said in an earlier post, she obliged me a few weeks back and posed in different locales wearing various dresses and costumes. I was trying to capture the beauty of this moment while pushing a little further into impressionism. Although the dove wasn't there in the original photograph, this composition was just calling out for one.. who knows why?  This was definitely one of those paintings that was telling me what needed to be done as I was painting it! Because I love this one so much right now, I fear it is not for sale at this time!  But I will definitely be revisiting the techniques I was experimenting with in future paintings. I am thoroughly enjoying this 30 in 30!

Morning Dove, Oil, 12"x24"

Day 4 - Watching the Cloud

So, this young lady was an un-witting model down the shore this year.  I snapped a few photos of her as she walked on by checking her cell phone messages as she walked down the boardwalk.  I sometimes feel guilty when I take 'secret' photos of people who I hope to paint some day... but I justify it with the knowledge that I photograph subjects that I find have an inner beauty in some way... I merely hope I can express this beauty in my paintings.  After I painted this, I was not totally happy with it, particularly the cell phone aspect of it. So, I photoshopped a version of the painting that includes butterflies....  I am posting both here as I am still not sure if I will be taking out the cell phone at some point in the future and adding in the butterflies.  Let me know what you think.. should I leave the painting as it is.. with the representation of modern technology... or should I take out the cell phone and add some pretty butterflies???  As always, thanks for looking and have a great rest of the evening!!

Watching the Cloud,  16"x20",oil,
to purchase, please click here

Butterfly Girl, oil on panel,
\Let me know if you think I should add butterflies instead!

Day 2 of the 30 in 30 - Watching Her Back

Happy day two of the 30 in 30!  I am having a lot of fun painting... and experimenting. :)  I have a good painting friend who shared a secret with me that he learned during a workshop... it involves a tissue and closing your eyes and I ended up trying that out today... good times people.. good times...  Anyway, here is my painting for today!  You will find throughout this challenge that many of my photo references I am using to make these paintings are of my two awesome kids... They graciously obliged me one extremely hot day a few weeks back and acted as models for me... while donning prom dresses and cowboy hats.. in a farmer's field... yes, I have some great kids!  Anyway, this is the first painting from those pics I took that day.  More paintings are sure to come! :) Thanks for looking and I hope you have a great start to your Labor Day weekend folks!

Watching Her Back, oil, 11"x14",
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Day One of the September 2016 30 Paintings in 30 Days!!!

Ok... so I am more than a little excited for this 30 in 30.  For those of you who are new to my work and me as an artist, I welcome you here and hope you will visit back often during the month of September.  For those of you who have been with me for awhile, welcome back and THANK YOU for all of your support, comments, feed back and most of all your love!  

I am so ready for this challenge and have been thinking about it and planning the whole month of August.  So, as of day one, I feel pretty ready and psyched to go.  I do have a theme that I am following throughout the 30 days.  I will largely do figurative work (simply put, paintings of people/figures)  But... my goals are several.  (I am going to go artsy on y'all for a minute so, forgive me... ) I love to paint... and I love the paintings I have made in the past few years.  But, as any artist who has been at it for awhile will tell you, you are constantly developing and growing.  I am at a point in my artistic career where I am yearning for some change.  So, in painting figurative work this month, I also intend on attempting to go beyond my usual style and 'language' that I have developed to find new ways to express myself, new ways of applying paint, new color palettes to try and new techniques.  I really hope to push my knowledge and step outside my comfort zone a bit and see where it takes me.  I hope you will enjoy the work I create, as I am excited with the things I will be doing this month!  

Here is painting #1, titled "Watching the Races".  Being that this is #1, I feel it is pretty similar to work that I have created in the past. Starting out cautiously, I tried some new ideas with my colors and reallllly tried to not OVER paint this one...which is a hard thing to do.  I hope you like and please feel free to comment below.  Thanks and have a great night!

Watching the Races, Oil, 20"x20",
to purchaser please click here

14 - Zahaira

Today I revisited yesterday's theme.. but focused on just the one woman... She was my favorite part of yesterday's painting (Leaving the Beach) and I just wanted to explore her some more.  I decided to use a triad color scheme of red orange - blue green - and red violet but I started it  by painting an under painting of largely complementary colors... I included pictures of the different stages of the painting below... I have done something similar to this on several other paintings... and then leave some of the underpainting showing through in the final painting.  I like the effect of this technique, and think I need to experiment more with it!  Btw... look up the meaning of the name Zahaira... (you can find it here) it just popped in my head when thinking of a title for this one... I like what it means...

Zahaira, oil on canvas, 12" x 24"
to purchase this painting, please click here

Day 1 of September 30 in 30

Long time no post.... Geeze.. this summer was a busy, busy summer and I just kind of slacked off with my posting during July and especially August!  I am so sorry to those of you who loyally follow me through all of my paintings and challenges I take part in .  But good news!  I am doing Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days challenge!  I have considered what I could do for a theme... but haven't really come up with anything.  I enjoy figurative work, and perhaps will focus on this...

Today's painting is of my daughter, a favorite subject of mine. The reference shot was taken the last time we went to the shore, at sunset.  She had just gotten a new hair pin and was putting her long tresses up in a bun, holding the pin in her mouth... The way the sun glinted off her hair and made her skin glow was captivating to me... but challenging to paint!  I also opted to paint on a RED ground just for something different.  I was thinking it would help impart an inner glow to the whole scene.  Red is such a strong color, I am not sure if it overwhelms the whole thing or not.  Something else to explore. So, thanks for coming here to read more about my paintings.  Come back tomorrow, as there WILL be a new painting to see!  If you are interested in purchasing this painting, I have it up for auction at my Dailypaintworks site.  Click here to go to my DPW site.

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Day 9 - From Distant Shores

Happy Friday and happy day 9 of the painting challenge...
I must confess, I am cheating a tiny bit here.. Today is a super busy day for me - I have a commission I am adamant I will finish today, my son has basketball practice after school and I have a gallery opening I must go to sometime between 5 and 8 tonight... So, I have decided to not paint one of these daily paintings today to take a bit of weight off my shoulders.  Whew.. Anyway, the painting I am posting is a recent commission I completed over the holidays for a very nice couple I am friends with.  The husband had this favorite picture of his wife that he took a while ago and asked if I could paint it.. Of course I said yes!  Without further ado, here is the painting... Enjoy the rest of your day!

From Distant Shores, oil on panel, 11"x14",
sold