"Gimme That!"

6x6 oil on gesso board 

I'm painting on the smooth boards again because  the surface is great for the brushwork I do. I order them unprimed and give them three coats of gesso before I use them. I always like painting wet sand. There is so much color in the reflections and I love to play with the complimentary color harmony. Fun!
This is my painting for the 'Beach Time' challenge  at Girls Just Wanna Paint. This one gull was aggressively stalking the others and snatching things unseen, out of their beaks.

Sunflowers 6x8 Acrylic

"Sunflowers" 

6x8 acrylic on gessoboard

I spent the morning painting with my dear friend JoAnn Sanborn at her studio on Marco Island and she broke me out by setting me up with acrylics which I haven't used in 40 years save for a little study a few years back. We painted some sunflowers which I brought as a little gift for her. She gave me some beautiful gardenias which smell heavenly and are sitting in the fridge so as I can paint them tomorrow.

I loved the feeling of the paint on the smooth board and I didn't use a lot of water either. I did rinse the brushes and wipe them pretty regularly and then mixed up some more color because acrylic dries quickly and ruins the brushes.  

Then she treated me to lunch on the Esplanade overlooking the Marina where we enjoyed some good food and some laughs. A perfect day.

Although it's been warmer than usual here in Naples this winter, the breezes off the Gulf have been plentiful and refreshingly cool. You never thought you'd hear me say that did you? 

Naples Pier Sunset

Naples Pier Sunset
18x24 oil on canvas
SOLD

This is an 18x24 canvas for my Gallery at Tin City. I blocked it in yesterday and finished it today. 

I also want to share some tips about the brushes I'm using which are Silver Bristlons with very crisp synthetic bristles that are excellent for the type of careful brushwork I like to do. After rinsing them of paint in Gamsol and wiping them dry, I wash them with Murphy's Oil Soap. Using a ceramic or glass bowl I mash the bristles gently against the bowl which has a capful of MOS in it. You will be shocked at how long it takes to rinse the brushes completely of paint. Use only cold or tepid water and keep changing the soap and rinsing until the brushes are completely free of stain when blotted with a paper towel. I then dip them into brush shaper (by Houston Arts) and shape them so the edges are chiseled. If some of them need it, I make a little splint out of paper and wrap the tips lightly and tape them. Voila! They last quite well with the pampering I give them.

Garlic Demo

Garlic Study Demo
6x6 oil on gesso board

I am loving my Monday class with Beth and Linda. They are getting the all important value lessons and most importantly they are having fun ;)

Drive By Toll Booth

Drive By Toll Booth
4x4 oil on gesso board 

I don't know how we managed to arrive at an EMPTY toll booth on Rte. 95 but it seems we did! For the past 12 years Don and I and the furry ones have been driving to Naples and back on this Interstate. 
Although I have many, many photos of scenes from the road, I still ride shotgun clicking away as though I've never seen any of it before. But there's the light and the weather and the time of day which all factor into each trip so sometimes I see a better version of something than I have before. Or at least I think I do. I love the abstract quality to toll booths and bridges and water tanks and gas tanks. I love being on the road.
Check out Karin Jurick's from Georgia to NYC and Back, paintings which are also scenes of Interstate 95. Her recent post, "ribbons in the sky" inspired me to look through my photos for that very scene which I think is Washington, DC.
Don't be surprised to see my version of it soon. I KNOW I have a photo ;)

White Dove

White Dove
6x6 Oil on Gesso Board

I've been at the pool recovering from my bout with value studies and my last wipe off.  But, I'm determined to get this dove right. The values still seem to be a tad off in the reflected light on the lower side of the bird, but perhaps I've been looking at it too long. Reflected light is deceiving and aways looks lighter than it is.
What do you all think?
Yesterday I went over to the Bonita Springs Art Festival to visit my friend JoAnn Sanborn who has painted the Everglades in all seasons for many years. She looked mah-velous and it was a beautiful day for the show. I'm looking forward to going down this week to visit her studio at the Esplanade on Marco Island. 

JoAnn Sanborn

Gray is the Way

I'm in value boot camp and nothing is as it really seems when it comes to lights, darks, reflected light and local color. The whites can't be too white or there's no room for the highlight. So what color would 'read' white, but not be straight from the tube white? 

Grays. Green gray, violet gray, orange gray ad infinitum. You can mix endless beautiful grays. I'd like to say that I finished this but I wiped it because I veered off the path and created mud. 

It happens.

"Lonely" 6x6 oil on gesso board

More Pig Love

 

 

 
In preparation for the value lesson I will be teaching my students tomorrow, I did a step by step demo beginning with a value block in in burnt umber. I inadvertently created a tangent but this can easily be remedied. Another good lesson ;)