Really the First Daily Painting

"Kiwano Fruit"  oil, 5x7", $100

I know this is out of order, but I hope you can go along with my shake up of the calendar.  I decided to take the leap of daily paintings and chose this Kiwano fruit.  I had bought the Kiwano to add to a fruit salad for my daughter's birthday.  When I cut it open, we tasted it, and decided that it was a definite NO to the salad!  It tasted kind of like a jellied cucumber.  But it is a gorgeous, tropical-looking fruit, that looks a lot like a Blow fish.  It was probably not the easiest item to start with, but it was such an unusual piece, that I wanted to try.

What I aim towards with most of my paintings is to create the colors and light that represents luminosity.  I don't feel that I got it with this piece, but the idea was also to create the daily paintings "ala prima", all in one sitting.

Daily Painting Journey Started

"Bar Codes"  oil, 5x7", $100

I have been thinking about starting daily paintings, or "almost daily" paintings for quite a while. This painting is actually the second one I did, but the first one's photo did not come out, and I need to re-photograph it. I feel like I already am seeing, and feeling the benefits of painting something daily. I have usually been painting almost daily, but to start, and finish a small painting on a daily basis helps take my painting and how I see, to another level.

Since art is 90% about seeing, this is a wonderful exercise in using my artist eyes. I have set up a small box for the still life close to my oil easel. I have a pastel easel and an oil easel so I can keep one of each going. I have not been a fan of still lives, but this exercise feels better since the whole thing is done "alla prima", in one sitting.

I will photograph the set-up, and post the first piece I did for this exercise, even though I am not happy with it, and it is very close to being a "wipe out".

First Daily Painting Post

                                                         "Standing Alone"  oil, 6x9", $100

I have decided to start a new blog, along with some new ideas and artistic paths that I want to take. I am going to be doing daily, or more likely, "almost daily" paintings. These will be small paintings, mostly done in oil, which I think will help me work on various painting issues. I have been following several wonderful daily painters, whose work you can find on the side of this blog.

I will be closing down my old blog, www.themuseandbeyond.wordpress.com after a while. You can go over to that site and see older work. You can also go to my website, which I will soon be updating, www.elainehurst.com.

The painting above is one that was done in the painting class that I have been taking for several years. Most of the time, spring and fall we paint outdoors, but in the winter we paint indoors, working on specific painting issues. I have been working on color relationships, value relationships, and various other issues. Rocks have become an "easy" subject to use to work on these things.
You may see some more rocks showing up, along with some small still lifes. Enjoy!