Art in My World

This is my favorite way to paint: loose, bold strokes and a simple composition. I find it hard to accomplish though. By nature, I focus way too much on details. I think the genious in painting is to paint your object in as few strokes as possible with bold lines and in so doing you create the illusion of the object and let the viewer fill in the details. Again, this is very hard to do, but what I am aiming for in my landscapes. This painting idea came from a painter in San Francisco. I had extra paint on my pallette one day and quickly gave it a go...my canvas had an underpainting of a yellow that also was extra paint one day...so I decided to paint two small canvases with it. I find this is a good way to paint because now you are not trying to fill up the whole canvas, you can leave a little of that color shining through in your painting. 

The weather here in Louisiana has been perfect for putting in a few flowers for fall and winter color. These flowers will even last well into May. The summer months are so miserable that gardening becomes a chore, but the fall? Well, these months are made for gardening. Besides flowers you can grow lettuce, tomatoes, brocoli, cabbage, and all kinds of herbs. We here down South love our fall gardens.   May favorite flower to grow during this time is the viola. Not only will it flower and flower for fall, winter and spring, it smells heavenly too. We have all but bread all the smell out of most flower, but not this little beauty! They now come in all kinds of colors, from bright yellow,lavenders, purples and oranges. Doesn't this cute little pot with yellow flowers make the cutest patio table topper? I fill all kinds of pots with these flowers and distribute them around my back patio and front garden. This year I even planted a whole row of them in my front garden in

Grand Canyon Morn I thought I would give this painting a try in Acrylics. There is much to love about acrylics. I love being able to paint over them until I get the desired affect. In oils the paint dries too slow and when I want to redo something the results are a bit mud-like. There is something to be said for laying down a stroke of paint and leaving it, but I am not that good yet. I lay down strokes, take them away, lay down some more and cover them up and...well, you get the idea. I am still at that phase where I don't know the medium yet and am not sure what it will do, or how far I can push it. Even though oils dry slow this can be a good thing too. I love the way you can blend them together in slight ways to gain wonderful smooth transitions. This is harder to do in Acrylics. Anyway, I like the result of this painting. This 9 x 12 painting took me over 10 hours.  I am so slow! 

The Lone Tree This picture was taken in 2010 during our trip to the Grand Canyon. I had just dropped off the boys to do their "little day hike" down to the canyon floor and then up again. It was early morning around 5:30 or 6:00 and I became fascinated by the changing light as the sun rose above the canyons. The sky was full of pinks and lavenders reflected off the canyons and the shadows were a deep burgundy color. The picture I took did not at all come out the way I wanted, but I remembered all those colors as I painted. Hiking around the canyon one would come across all these knarly trees beatifully sculpted by the harsh weather. I love this scene so much, I know I will revisit it many times. This is just the first of many paintings. This week I found a wonderful water-colorist in the UK who gives lessons online and I will be adding those to my already packed schedule. There are just so many wonderful ways to paint, it is hard to settle on just one medium! 

Painted Desert Inn One area that I will explore more is pen and watercolor wash. This method seems to go best with architectural subjects, but I have seen wonderful results when people do this with landscapes. It has a beautiful sketchbook quality which I find appealing. This is my first experiment. I took this picture a couple of years ago when we went on our first trip out West. I fell in love with the colors and simple lines of this photograph and always thought it would make a nicer painting. I think it did. This style has given me a new appreciation for architecture as a subject, and I will be taking more pictures for future paintings. There are hundreds of landscapes I would like to try from pictures taken throughout the years. God has given no end of subject matter for art!

My Mint Garden I love mint! I love the smell of it. I love the taste of it and I love the calming affect it has on me when I crush a leaf between my fingers. It makes wonderful syrups to add into drinks and a soothing tea for stomach and nerves. The plant is easy to grow and comes in many varietes. Peppermint is still the best for medicinal purposes and spearmint for drinks or syrups. So easy to grow and so many uses! I have grown mints in large pots for years, dividing them every so often when they become root bound, thus creating more mint plants. I put my pots in a sunny location and water daily during the summer. Since I am using these plants in recipes, I make sure I use organic fertilizers to feed the plants. I harvest them as they grow and when they become very overgrown, I harvest a large amount to dry for teas. I dry in my oven at 100 degrees and store in glass jars. I dont't crush the leaves until I use them. Here are a few recipes that are my favorites. Tea for U

My love for painting began as a young girl trying to paint with water colors, so it only seems fitting that I would try, on occasion, my hand at it. So here is my first attempt at it, on a subject that I have painted a lot lately. I have also seen a technique involving pen and water color wash that I hope to try soon, but with another subject. 

The Entrance Took another stab at the workshop painting :-) Trying for a simple approach this time. Now I think I will lay aside this subject. I do have some extra paint on the pallette which I will use to do some abstract works. I want to try my hand at some watercolor and some more pastels. So many ideas, so many things to try...so little time! 

Laniakea Beach, Oahu   This is another attempt at the workshop on Laniakea Beach. I am liking the composition better and I thought: yes, this is a much better painting, but now that I see it from "afar" I am not happy with the color contrasts--the fact that there are not any. It needs a bit more punch in the colors. In order to create my colors I think I am adding too much white, and it is dulling them too much. What this painting needs is a bit more vibrancy...ok, back to the painting board... 

Turtle Beach, Hawaii It's been a wonderful morning of painting. I am not really happy with the results, but I must be content with the learning process. Lately, I have spent hours looking at other's work. I know what I like, but I cannot seem to get there yet. Brush work is holding me back right now. I love the impressionistic strokes of the masters--I need patience and a master to teach me--so I struggle on. Many painting later I might see the results.   We have a workshop this month on a photo Richard Robinson took from Turtle Beach, Hawaii. No turtles, but plenty of Rock to practice on and palm trees!   This is my second attempt at this painting. I have a feeling this blog will see this subject again this month...when I get the courage and inpiration to try again...maybe in pastel...maybe in watercolor...