Cup of Tea, Etc.

 

Cup of Tea, Etc. 

8" x 8" oil on board

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I just wanted to paint and as usual, I couldn't find anything I wanted to paint. Luckily, Sarah had received a gift box from a work vendor with these exact items. At first, however, I painted only the cup, which I quickly realized was boring and not big enough to fill the board. The little gold stirring spoon was next - still too small for the board, so I threw in the leather-bound journal. The foreground was still too empty, so I added the pen, which was the most difficult item to paint. Then it seemed weird to have a mug and journal with no tea, so I brewed some tea and painted it in. Finally, I wondered if people would know that it was tea, so to clear that up, I added the tag from the tea bag. The tag also turned out to be a good indictor of the direction of light. A time-lapse video would have been interesting and a wonderful demonstration of how NOT to paint...

Here's the original, super-boring painting with just the cup and the spoon:

Dirty Palette Knives, Liquin Container and Paper Towel

 

Dirty Palette Knives, Liquin Container and Paper Towel 

6" x 6" oil on 3/4" gesso board

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The irony of this painting is that I realized how much I needed those palette knives after I got started...

I was about to paint a boring, safe arrangement - an apple and a silver cup - when I saw my dirty palette knives and grimy container of Liquin (painting medium) sitting on a paper towel that I had used to clean brushes, lit by the cool winter light. I'm a sucker for an unarranged or unplanned still life, so I dropped the apple and silver cup.  

This was a tough subject - there is so much going on in that tiny scene. I always get sucked into thinking a painting is going to be easy, but I should know better by now. The more I learn about painting, the harder it gets. 

Green Vase with Glass Vile and Flower

 

Green Vase with Glass Vile and Flower

12" x 12" oil on board

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Great title, huh? I attended another weekend painting workshop with the great Jon Redmond, this time focussed on still life. Jon had us pick a simple setup just to practice the techniques he was showing us, so this is what I scavenged from the Wayne Art Center supply closet, which was packed full of old bottles, vases, cups, trays, fake flowers, fabrics, etc.. I'm not even sure what the little yellow glass is - maybe an old perfume bottle? 

I've heard this before, and Jon said it again, but painting is really about learning to see. Jon is one of the greatest painters alive today, and his vision is unreal. I WAS able to see most of what he saw, which was encouraging, but he can instantly spot a a value or temperature or perspective that's off while it takes me considerably more time if I see it at all. But, I guess that's what happens when you spend your entire life painting and working with other artists who are the best in the world.  The more I can do that, the better I'll see. Jon said my painting was, "well done."  I'll take it!

Mexican Sunflowers

 

Mexican Sunflowers

9" x 12" oil on board

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I cut these from my yard right before the first hard frost, which wasn't until MID NOVEMBER! I tried to do them in only two colors, cadmium orange and phthalo blue, but I wound up have to add a yellow to get a touch more variation. 

Watering Can II

 

Watering Can II

9" x 12" oil on board

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I had scraped this one and was ready to wipe it, but I decided to daub in some of the values with my fingers.  I liked the effect, so I kept going.  You can see evidence of the scraping over the left shoulder of the watering can - evidence of the daubing in the circular shadow marks and highlights - those are from my fingertips. 

Scraping caused the background to be really greyed down and loose which made the color of the watering can pop.  Mental note to remember that for future paintings.  I also used a modified Anders Zorn Palette with only four colors" alzirian crimson, Venetian red, yellow ochre, and ivory black, plus white. 

Pitchers

 

Pitchers

12" x 16" oil on board

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What better activity than painting when you're home with a sick daughter?  She was too sick to paint with me but hey, I was close by and I heated her up some lentil soup to eat on the couch while I painted.  Don't judge.

I bought the pitchers for the sole purpose of painting them and both were purchased during anniversary mini vacations with my wife.  The yellow one is a French ball pitcher, purchased from an antique shop in Matthews, VA.  The blue pitcher is from an antique mall in Charlestown, WV - I wish I knew the style and provenance, but I forgot. 

Abstract Tabletop

 

Abstract Tabletop

12" x 12" oil on board

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I almost called this one, "The Struggle." This is what I'm up against if I decide to do a little painting on the sun porch after a grueling virtual school planning day. All manner of games and cards and buzzers, pencils and papers must be cleared before I can start. Luckily, I didn't know what I wanted to paint anyway, so I painted the tabletop. 

I'm weird and maybe this is what makes me an artist but I'm drawn to random arrangements and trying to find balance in them (maybe that makes them not truly random?) Whether or not true randomness exists and whether or not I captured it in this painting is debatable.  But, I actually had fun painting, despite the clutter. 

Orchid

 

Orchid

8" x 10" oil on board

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Painted in the dregs of winter - late January. I liked the contrast of the warmth inside with the cool outside and the way the cool, blue light was hitting the leaves and the windowsill. This orchid rarely gets any water but it somehow sprouted some flowers a few weeks after I painted it. 

Blue Pitcher

 

Blue Pitcher

16" x 20"

Oil on canvas

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My co-teacher gave me some canvases for Christmas and made me promise to use them.  I bought the blue pitcher at an antique mall in Charlestown, WV.  It's cast iron from the 1930's, I think.  I bought it so I could paint it. 

I did this painting in two sittings on separate days out on the sun porch in back of my house. On the first day, I painted with my 7 year old daughter, who was painting her own still life of an apple.  The weather started out bright and sunny but became cloudy in the span of about two hours.  I started the second day at the same time as the previous day. The forecast said increasing clouds, so I thought conditions would be similar to the previous day but, of course, it stayed bright and sunny.  So, the final product is completely different from the way it looked after the first sitting. I say all of this because a lot of painters do still life paintings in controlled conditions: indoors with lighting that is not influenced by the changing light of the sun.  I like the challenge of dealing with the sun and passing clouds. I hope I can do more this year. 

Fern

 

Fern

8" x 8" oil on board

My brain reacts to stress by blocking out everything but what's in front of my face and shutting down any tasks not essential to survival.  That includes painting. And for the last 5 months, I've been stressed. The longest I've gone without painting in twelve years. But it's summer vacation, and I found a little space today.  These aren't great, but at least I tried. The top one has been wiped...

Last Rose Study

Last Rose Study

4" x 6" oil on board

Pretty much everything I did with this painting was wrong.  I started off trying to do a no correction painting, but I wound up vastly overpainting.  I rushed and used the wrong brushes and overworked what was supposed to be the focal point (the flower). My biggest mistake was trying to paint while my kids were still awake. I went in to get things ready, intending to start after I put Carson to bed, but somehow I fell in to painting and couldn't stop. 

But, I did learn from it. I like the color palette, and I added in a blue toward the end that I would use from the beginning if I did it again, which I should. It's tough to tell, but my espresso maker is hiding in the back, and that's my favorite part. Colors were Pthalo red rose, lemon yellow, black, and cerulean blue. Google had a Vermeer theme today. I really like his color palette and wanted to do something similar...not sure Vermeer would approve of this one, though. 

Espresso Maker Study

 

Espresso Maker Study

6" x 6" oil on board

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A while back, I had an idea to try doing a painting with zero corrections. No matter what the composition; put down a stroke and leave it without wiping, painting over, or correcting in any way. Maybe that sounds easy but trust me, it's not.  And it's even harder to post something with zero corrections. 

Coincidentally, although I have a strong desire to paint, I'm also having trouble finding the time and energy to do it. So, this is the perfect time to try some no correction paintings! 

I used three colors: Venetian Red, cadmium yellow light, and blue-black, plus white. It took less than half an hour to paint. I say this a lot, but hopefully that's not obvious in a bad way. I want to do more of these and post them, so if you happen to be looking at this blog for the first time, just know that this is an experiment and please scroll down a little further. I actually kind of like it, though. 

Old Flowers in a Vase

 

Old Flowers in a Vase

12" x 12" oil on board

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I went with a limited palette; four colors plus black, which I usually don't use, and white. It's a little different, but I like the result. 

There are always things I'd change and with this one, I wish I had just cropped it in a little more - there's a little too much empty space in the middle right. 

The flowers are left over from our wedding anniversary, two weeks ago.  The leaves are dry, the flowers are wilted, and the kids have pulled off a few of the petals, but I guess you can't tell by looking at the painting. 

Garlic on Blue Napkin

 

Garlic on Blue Napkin

5" x 7" oil on board

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Another one painted alongside Camlin.  She's good for about twenty minutes and then it's chatter time.  I like the way the napkin turned out, but I wish the garlic was a little warmer. I had primed the board, which means making a thin mixture of color with mineral spirits and rubbing it on the board, and it turned out to be the exact color of the cutting board I used for the still life.  So, I didn't actually paint the tan parts, and I kind of like the effect. 

Peaches on Blue Napkin

Peaches on Blue Napkin

8" x 8" oil on board

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Today's lesson was one that I have to repeat to myself over and over throughout all aspects of my life:  DON'T FREAK OUT!

Not only does freaking out not make things better, it usually makes them worse.  Such simple advice, yet so hard to follow...

I thought there was no way this one was going to make the cut. I almost freaked out and wiped it. As usual, glad I didn't.

Daylily

 

Daylily

8" x 10" oil on board

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Yes, I like daylilies.  They're super-invasive and they're everywhere, but they are a symbol of summer, and they remind me of the river house where I spent my summers, growing up. And did you know they're edible?  Yep, all parts of the daylily can be eaten. 

I had the towel ready to wipe this one, but I decided to do some finger painting first.  The final version is totally different from when I put down the brush.  Do I love it? Not sure...but it's kind of interesting.  

Fruit and Veggie Basket

 

Fruit and Veggie Basket

9" x 11" Oil on Board

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When it comes to painting, my powers of observation are greater than my ability to convey my impressions through a paint brush.  Hopefully, one day they'll match up. And if that's not a metaphor for my life, I don't know what is.

Green Tea Pot with Mug, Paper Towel, and Linseed Oil

Green Tea Pot with Mug, Paper Towel, and Linseed Oil

8" x 10" oil on board

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Camlin was begging me to paint with her, and I didn't really feel like it because we had just gotten back from a pretty long outing. But, I gave in and just decided to paint with very low expectations and without correcting any of my "mistakes." So I did this with no touch-ups, no painting over or wiping off and redoing, etc., while Camlin chattered away beside me. I like how it turned out. It may not be beautiful, but at least it's not overworked. 

There's a style of painting, popularized by a painter named Duane Keiser, called premier coup (I attended one of his workshops a few years ago - he's amazing). Premier coup means something like, "first strike," and in painting, it just means finishing a painting in one sitting.  Turns out I've been painting premier coup all along and didn't even know it! Almost all of my paintings are finished in one sitting, usually under four hours. Hopefully that's not obvious in a bad way...

Paint Mug with Peony

 

Paint Mug with Peony

5" x 7" oil on board

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Could not get a good photo of this one.  It looks less terrible in person. 

Peach

Peach
6" x 6" oil on board
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It's probably not a coincidence that some of my best paintings happen when my kids are away at Nana and Papa's...my only goal was to not overdo it. That might be why the plate is not a perfect shape. I was just trying not to screw it up...

I like this one.  It tasted good, too.