ROOSTING ROOSTER

                            Roosting Rooster    Pastel |  6x8

What is it about chickens that is so appealing?  Obviously their form and bright colors but there's a fascination I find with their behaviors.  This pose is a classic point in mind - she's contentedly foraging with no mind to what's behind her because he is guarding the roost.  He spends all his time guarding his harem, making sure all the hens are doing his bidding, and quickly going after any intruders. But, having raised hens for several years, I've found that if 'he' is not there, the dominant female will have the same behaviors, right up until a rooster shows up...and then she backs down.  Sound familiar??

Painting notes:  I had a great time painting this rotted haystack; finally, a legitimate excuse to go crazy with my mark making!  What was most appealing to me when I first saw this scene during a neighborhood walk with my husband was the bright colorful hues of the rooster amid all the beige and browns of the rest of the scene.  The rooster lit up the scene like a neon light.  When it came time to paint this, I became equally enamored with the shadows and emphasizing their colors. I could have been more subtle with them but when I sketched it, the shadow patterns became as important darks as the haystack and chicken

TRICKS OF THE TRADE - An all around stain remover for getting your medium off your clothes!

              

                        Before & After using SOILOVE to get the stains out

SOILOVE STAIN REMOVER - An Artist's Best Friend

Being an artist is not just about creating - like all trades, it's also about how you go about managing the job.  Oil paints in particular are a vexing medium as one seems to leave traces of the medium everywhere in ones life - car doors/trunks, clothes, shoes, carpets, wall and the like.  Thanks to painter friend Debbie Gualco, I learned years ago of this product - SOILOVE. It's a stain remover that is a household staple here in our house.  And above is an example of why it is an artist's Best Friend! On top is Soloove applied to white oil paint that has been on this sweatshirt for over 12 years, washed loads of times and resisted all efforts of other stain removers.  

I applied the liquid, waited about five minutes, then used my fingernail to flick the paint chips off the material. Into the washer and voilà - removed.  We use it for hard stains on jeans and other clothing. Main criteria for what it works on is anything you can then run through the washing machine.  

I use this on pastel stains as well.  I buy it by the two-pack through Amazon.com. If you haven't added this to your arsenal, I recommend you try it. Yes, Kiss-off is great too but pretty much relegated to using when it's fresh, IMHO. 

30 DAYS OF INTENSE PAINTING

               

                           15 of the 30 Paintings   All Pastels | Various sizes

The 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge is officially over, even though I will continue to paint more frequently (perhaps not every day) because of it. It is a grand way to start out the year of painting. It has been said that an artist must paint at least a thousand paintings in order to acquire the skills needed to become a master.  In years past, I've thought 30 or 40 paintings was a lot to produce, but then I was working as a full time Realtor as well! Now that I've retired from that, I've upped my game, producing 106 last year. This year, again I'm increasing my goal to 125. Doing this challenge means getting into the habit of producing daily and gives one the training of producing whether one is inspired or not; all essential skills to meeting my long term art goals. It is so obvious as I go along that these (my 3rd) 30 day challenges produce instantly recognizable progress in my skills.  

Painting Notes: While I am a confirmed pastelist, I do find myself drawn to experimenting again in oils, perhaps the water soluble ones or even acrylics which I watched Gil Dellinger use so interchangeably with pastels in a workshop years ago.  It is a hard transition when one becomes so familiar with a medium that paintings are produced almost effortlessly to then change to the slow unsatisfying use of an unfamiliar medium.  I have so much further to go with pastels and I do so love the stroke making they allow.  It is just a thought - we'll see where it leads me! Stay tuned!  

FALLING WATER

                  

                                   Falling Water   Pastel | 12x9

A few years back, we travelled into the Angeles National Forest while we were down in Southern California.  My husband, from that area, suggested a waterfall hike as he knows I love to reach water as a destination.  I was mesmerized by the beauty of this fall and took an endless number of photos from every angle we could reach.  I truly believe there is magic in falling water.  Easy to believe I'm a Pisces!

Painting Notes:  I picked Wallis Warm Belgian Mist again for this piece, grid the surface and then drew it rather precisely before filling in a lot of darks.  I sprayed them well with fixative, then started the process of redrawing it again using the local colors. For a while it looked like a puzzle of pieces but as I refined it, each piece got filled in and ready for the final application of a bright yellow/white for the falling water.  The water reflections were the final part to fill in, using downward vertical strokes across the colors followed by horizontal strokes. 

THE NOBLE BEAST

                    

                                     Scooter   Pastel | 16 X 20

It was love at first sight for me. A friend posted a photo of their dog and I immediately had a mental picture of a library with roaring fire, the noble baron swirling his bandy snifter while his faithful dog stared lovingly into his eyes.  I saved the photo; years went by till I was invited to be in an upcoming show, Bark! - celebrating all things canine.  I knew is was time to paint this particular lovely beast.  Having spent weeks on this painting, I feel like I have spent weeks with Scooter and come to love him ever more. 

Painting Notes: I chose Ampersand Pastelboard for this larger format painting as the stiff backing and nice surface made the whole process a pleasure to paint. Never did I feel I was fighting the substrate; rather it seemed like the image and the substrate were made for each other.  The drawing was intensive work and took several sessions. I applied an underpainting of dark aubergine hues around the dog's outline, then concentrated on the dog til he was mostly finished before ever starting the background. His pose was such that I felt the need to make the chair he is draped over as realistic as the subject.

SUNSET OVER RIFFLE LAKE

                                   Sunset over Riffle Lake   Pastel | 5x7

Driving through Oregon in November, we were looking for a campground to no avail when suddenly, we saw an arrow for a lakeside forested campground.  A few miles down the road, we saw this wonderful sunset reflecting onto Riffle Lake.  It was a moment of wonder that we stopped for and took in, in silence. A lovely way to end a perfect day on the road!

Painting Notes:  Yesterday, my splurge arrived - 24 Sennelier Iriridescent colors!  It has been on my wish list for over a year.  I used Canson Touch again - a piece that I had rubbed in the previous painting leaving behind a dark multi-colored surface. The iridescents we're peculiar to work with - they went on beautifully on the lake surface and the dark foreground, but the paper didn't like my using them in the lights in the sky; in fact, they removed some of the previous colors I had put down.  Definitely something to work with and try on different surfaces til I get it right! 

EARLY SNOWFALL

                                         Early Snowfall    Pastel | 6x6

That first snow each year is so magic. We're not yet tired of slipping and sliding and digging and freezing. Colors that seemed so mundane a day before are transformed into brilliant sparkles of light against the white snow.  We often take trips into the mountains after these early storm days, savouring the lovely beauty inside the cozy warmth of our van.

Painting Notes:  I'll say it again, my favorite surface to paint on is Wallis Warm Belgian Mist.  I did the underpainting in the darks for each shape, then used my pipe foam to smear it into the surface except for the left rise and the right front bush where I wanted to keep the most texture.  During the painting, I let the strokes in most of the areas skim over the surface of the paper so that the darks would show thru. It gave a textural quality to the areas. I believe it also made a difference to use the paper in this direction as I wanted the striations to be vertical rather than horizontal.