And...They're Off!!

"Sweet & Lowdown"  -  oil on Carton, 8x10, $125

I am biting the bullet so to speak, and taking on a personal painting challenge.  One of the artists whose work I admire, Liz Wiltzen,  (www.mountainartist.com) recently completed a personal painting challenge of painting 100 paintings in 100 days.  I have decided to do the same thing.  The reason for doing something like this has more to do with learning from the journey, than it does from getting 100 paintings out of the deal.  Granted, the paintings will be small, most 6x6", some like the one above, 8x10".  For this challenge I want to focus my attention on "simplicity".  Sound simple?  Nope, not so!  Simplicity in painting is hard.  We, or I should say I, have the tendency to noodle around when I get a little confused, and out the window goes simplification!  Simplicity in painting refers to the act of not adding what you don't need, and focusing on the essence of what you want to say in the painting.  Unlike Liz Wiltzen's paintings, which were all plein air pieces, I am going to make it a little easier on myself, and include studio as well as plein air paintings.  Looking at the calendar, starting today, August 4, I will finish the challenge on November 13, 2010.

Side note, the title from the painting above is from the film by the same name, "Sweet and Lowdown", about someone who thinks he is the best guitarist in the world, aside from Dangjo Reinheirdt, the Frenchman who created Gypsy Jazz.

Oops! I Forgot My New-Found Idea of Quotes! Here's one...

"Reality leaves a lot to the imagination."  -  John Lennon

Changing It Up a Little

"Shadows of Reflection"  -  pastel, P.O.R.

Several years ago I was painting primarily in pastels.  I loved pastels then, and now.  I love the immediacy of them, like candy for your eyes.  I paint with oil more than pastels now, but still from time to time, I feel a certain subject would do well in pastel.  This is a small, plein air piece done on location at the Spitzer Art Center in Harrisonburg.  I wanted to catch the last evening light hitting the side of the house, along with the reflection of the sky and trees.  I love the whole metaphorical sense of painting reflections and what they say literally as well as figuratively.  Paintings can have so many different levels of meaning as well as the more literal sense of place.  I hope you enjoy this one.  I did!

Finished "On Summer Time" (changed the title!)

"On Summer Time"  -  oil on canvas, 16x20, P.O.R.

Artists can change their minds on titles, and so I did!  Changed this one to "On Summer Time".  I really enjoy playing mind and word games with titles.  Some of my titles look to be one thing, when I actually had another meaning in mind, or a metaphor in some way.  Many times the title comes to me while I am painting, or even before I start.  I almost always listen to that small voice that gives me the title, knowing that there is a reason for all things, even if we don't know what it is.

Playing With Color...Again!

"Shuttered Window"  -  oil, 8x10", $150

What fun to play with color!  Just like when you were little and you would put all sorts of colors together to create new colors, as well as playing with the way they interacted.  Maybe you weren't aware of what you were doing, but you knew it was fun.  That is how this painting happened last evening.  The light came and went, so I had to decide what I wanted to capture and say.  I love late evening light, and so it was an easy choice to paint the way the light hit the side of this house.  I also had given myself the challenge of "simplicity".  K.I.S. Keep It Simple.  I left of the usual way of using this reminder, as in Keep It Simple Stupid, as I try to keep things in a positive frame of reference.  We all know how easy it is to go down the road of the self-critic.  But back to colors.  I so enjoyed playing with the oranges and purples and greens that played through out the painting.

Quote for today:  

“I look out the window sometimes to seek the color of the shadows and the different greens in the trees, but when I get ready to paint I just close my eyes and imagine a scene.”  -  anonymous

Starting to Start

beginning of painting:  Summer Afternoon, oil

Ok, here's the beginning of a new painting.  It started as a demo for a workshop I taught, then I worked on it a little the other day.   I am really enjoying painting the water, and the interaction between the girls and the ponies.  Th pony on the left will have a lead rope attached, but that will come.  I so enjoy working on paintings that have some sort of a different perspective.  This one, looking down on them, gives me so much to work with, the water, the swirls, the girls, the ponies, reflections, light.  Lots to think about and respond to.  I love to play with the  colors, where the eye goes in a painting, and the whole sense of a warm summer day in a cool location.   I will soon post the finished painting for this one.  But I was having so much fun painting it, that I wanted to share it with you.  Enjoy!

Changed Some Settings

Miniature on Miniature Easel

I have done several of these tiny little paintings.  They were just fun little paintings to do, that made me smile.  I apologize for the poor photograph quality, a bit fuzzy.  I've done little donkeys, landscapes, and horses.  I have two more tiny easels, we'll see what next strikes my fancy.

A note to anyone who has tried to post comments on this blog.  I was told by one person that they received a message saying only "team" members could post.  Didn't even know I had a "team"!  But I think I fixed the problem.  I clicked on a button that said it will allow anyone to post, so I think that fixed it.  I would love to hear from you!