Friday, November 30, 2012

Day 12

Japanese Doll
Oil on Canvas
5 x 7
I painted this in Ned's class on Wednesday. Ned Mueller is a world
traveler as well as an excellent artist. He has a lot of very interesting items
perched, hung and hidden around his studio from his travels. This doll
is one of them. I wonder what I'll get to paint the next time I
visit his class..... or maybe even borrow. Hmmmmm

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Day 11

Oil on canvas
5 x 7
Click to bid
 
I painted this piece on Monday. It dried for a few days
before I took it outside to be photographed. This method seems to
work pretty well for avoiding shine. The biggest difficulty now is in
dodging raindrops while I'm out there. Good thing it's not a watercolor!
 
The piece I painted today is a total bomb. Holy cow. If I can't figure
out how to fix it, you my friend, are never going to see it.
I've have a little pride you know.....

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Day 10

Ruby Beach
Oil on Canvas 6x6
 
This is another painting from our Lake Quinault trip. The rock
formations on Ruby Beach are pretty spectacular.
The whole Olympic Peninsula is pretty spectacular!
The weather was wet, cold and a little windy but it didn't stop
the hearty souls in the plein air group. What's a little bad weather
when you have such a wonderful subject to paint?

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Day 9

 
Oil on Canvas
5 x 7
Click to bid
 
This 365 day project has changed my life - as far as thrift stores go.
I've never been terribly excited about going to them until I needed to find
inexpensive subjects for still lifes. Now they have become treasure troves!
The hunt to find that exquisitely shaped vase or creamer for
a mere dollar or two -  I get antsy just thinking about it!

Monday, November 26, 2012

Day 8

Thanksgiving Leftovers
Oil on canvas
6x6

Wow! I've finished my first week. Only 51 to go!
On the one hand I'm thinking, "My that went fast" on the other
I'm thinking, "What the blankety, blank was I thinking?"
I dearly hope I will learn to paint and post faster and more efficiently.
Otherwise, this is going to be a bumpy ride!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Day 7

Oil on canvas
5 x 7

  This little piece is back out at Lake Quinault. It was painted the first day of our PAWA get-together from the side yard of Jan's cabin. The fall yellows really stood out on this grey overcast day. Although the weather wasn't terrific, what else can one expect in a rain forest? The average rainfall here is around 135 inches a year!

Day 6

Oil on Canvas
5 x 7

  I was in Coupeville on Whidbey Island this weekend. We've had a long stretch of grey, wet weather but this weekend the glorious sun returned - at least it did in Coupeville. So I was back outside painting, which is my favorite place to be. The two pieces I painted this weekend still need a bit of touch up before posting. So instead I've posted a painting from a glorious summer morning at a city park just east of downtown Coupeville.
     The red building in the painting is the Coupeville Wharf on Penn Cove. Built over a hundred years ago it is a main attraction in the town (and very picturesque too).

Friday, November 23, 2012

Day 5


oil on canvas 6x6

While I did do a painting today, this isn't it. :) I've decided to let the paintings dry a few days before I photograph them. I'm hoping this well help with the shine issue. I also stopped using my favorite Daniel Smith medium. We'll see if this helps. So in the meantime I thought I would share some of my more recent paintings.
I painted this in October with Plein Air Washington Artists (or PAWA) during a really wonderful get-together at Lake Quinault. One of the members owns an absolutely amazing cabin there and was very generous in hosting us. I hope she invites us back again someday!!!

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Day 4

Oil on canvas
7 x 5

Few! Got this one in under the wire. Still having difficulties getting a good photograph. My brother, who is a photographer, gave me some good tips. So I guess I'll have to play with it some more. Or I might just have to let these dry for a bit first.

All that aside, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It's time for me to go and clean up all the special Thanksgiving cookware and pack it away until next year....

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Day 3

Oil on canvas 5x7

Alright, perhaps it wasn't the best idea to start this project just before Thanksgiving. Between cleaning, shopping, cooking, trying to finish a painting and the worst part of all - trying to take a decent picture of it it - I'm feeling a bit frazzled.
I painted this yesterday. The funky little red shapes are dogwood leaves. In person the shapes of the leaves a wonderfully varied. Getting them to read properly in a painting, is another matter. Live and learn they say!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Day 2


  Still Life #1
Oil on Canvas
5 x 7
 

 I painted this little scene last night using items I had purchased for Thanksgiving dinner. The sanity part of this equation has already been tested as I battled to photograph the painting today. I either got nicely saturated colors or no shine. Saturated color, of course, won out. Looks like I might have to purchase a polarizer for my wonderful husband's camera.
We are having some crazy weather here. Yesterday we had 2.15 inches of rain. We had a break this morning but it looks like the wind and rain are back. Just in time for my daughter to walk home from the bus stop.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Day 1



Here we are! First day, figuring it all out. Today is a good day to paint as it is pouring down buckets outside. I thought posting a self portrait might be a good way to break the blog in.  I started this project six months ago with great hesitation. Really, the last thing I wanted to stare at for hours on end was my own aging face. I told myself that this would be a good first step to doing something I am exited about - painting portraits of my daughters.