Summer is upon us. This week we have family visiting and then I have a week off and then we are traveling for awhile. My posts will be infrequent until July. Then my daughter will have summer camps and I will be able to get back to the fun little small works again. When I do get some time, I am going to be working on some larger cafe scenes for Artworks Gallery in Austin.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
Dinner is Served
16x8 oil on panel
I love this painting. It came so easily, yet the image I worked from was horrible. I suppose the thing was, I had it in mind before I even began. Unlike another painting I worked on all week and still am not satisfied with. When a painting works like this, its so exhilarating. I wish I could say that they were all so "easy" and felt so good! But those home runs are what keep all artists striving and working.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Outdoor Seating
7x5 oil on clayboard
$100 + $11 s/h via Paypal - sold
I did a similar scene to this last fall. But its such a perfect setting to paint again. And its pretty different from my earlier interpretation (see Oct.). The couple is sitting outside Jo's Coffee shop on Second Street in Austin.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Happy Hour
7x5 oil on Clayboard
$100 + $11 s/h via Paypal - sold
I think my most favorite subject is cafe/restaurant scenes. This is a great club and restaurant called Reeds Jazz & Supper Club. It has a rich interior with red velvet curtains and intimate little tables reminiscent of old movies which I love.
A Bit About Clayboard
I thought I'd write some info about the "Claybord" (an Ampersand product) support that I like to paint on.
I had a problem last fall and suddenly hated painting on linen/cotton. The weave just threw me off. I hated the way my brush dragged on it. I had some panels that were like just a white masonite and I loved the very smooth, slick surface, but I did not remember where I got them (and no product info on the back). I also wanted to try to paint on a black surface and so tried black Claybord. I love the slick surface - my brush just glides over it and leaves a nice stroke, no dragging and no weave showing through. I get richer colors and feel that I can see my painting better as it develops out of the dark surface.
Claybord is made for scratch techniques and an excellent example of this is the art of Naquaiya (see my right column for a link). But I checked with Ampersand and some historical information and it can be used for oil painting. Turns out some of the masters used clay in their supports and its especially good for glazing techniques.
It IS absorbant though and oils will dry quickly and almost powdery (esp. if you use a lot of white). So before painting, I spray the surface with a coating of damar retouch varnish to seal it and retard that absorption. That helps quite a bit and then when the painting is dry and I varnish it, the paint shines beautifully and the brushwork is really luscious, with no weave! Its all just the texture of the brush and oils. And I love it. I am so glad that I found the surface. Now, gessoboard is a close second to this surface and I do use it as well (painting it first with black gesso), but the brush does not glide quite so well. I use a lot of long strokes in my work too, so the slicker surfaces are ideal for me.
To see a work on black clayboard progress click here.
I had a problem last fall and suddenly hated painting on linen/cotton. The weave just threw me off. I hated the way my brush dragged on it. I had some panels that were like just a white masonite and I loved the very smooth, slick surface, but I did not remember where I got them (and no product info on the back). I also wanted to try to paint on a black surface and so tried black Claybord. I love the slick surface - my brush just glides over it and leaves a nice stroke, no dragging and no weave showing through. I get richer colors and feel that I can see my painting better as it develops out of the dark surface.
Claybord is made for scratch techniques and an excellent example of this is the art of Naquaiya (see my right column for a link). But I checked with Ampersand and some historical information and it can be used for oil painting. Turns out some of the masters used clay in their supports and its especially good for glazing techniques.
It IS absorbant though and oils will dry quickly and almost powdery (esp. if you use a lot of white). So before painting, I spray the surface with a coating of damar retouch varnish to seal it and retard that absorption. That helps quite a bit and then when the painting is dry and I varnish it, the paint shines beautifully and the brushwork is really luscious, with no weave! Its all just the texture of the brush and oils. And I love it. I am so glad that I found the surface. Now, gessoboard is a close second to this surface and I do use it as well (painting it first with black gesso), but the brush does not glide quite so well. I use a lot of long strokes in my work too, so the slicker surfaces are ideal for me.
To see a work on black clayboard progress click here.
Friday, May 04, 2007
News
I just realized this morning that my daughter has just two weeks of school left. And from then until a July summer camp I will have her with me all hours. That means my time painting will be seriously hampered. In June we are also heading to FL for our annual beach trip. That should provide me with lots of inspiration at least to rev myself up to begin working again in earnest.
In other news, this Sunday is the gala fundraising event for the Austin Girls School for which I've donated a small painting. A friend's daughter attends the school and I am so impressed by all I hear from them.
And I had two paintings accepted to show with the Society of Master Impressionists at the Sunset Art Gallery in Amarillo. The show opens June 2 and runs through July 2. It should be a wonderful exhibit of some very fine contemporary impressionism.
In other news, this Sunday is the gala fundraising event for the Austin Girls School for which I've donated a small painting. A friend's daughter attends the school and I am so impressed by all I hear from them.
And I had two paintings accepted to show with the Society of Master Impressionists at the Sunset Art Gallery in Amarillo. The show opens June 2 and runs through July 2. It should be a wonderful exhibit of some very fine contemporary impressionism.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Crosswalk
5x7 oil on clayboard
$100 + $11 s/h handling - sold
This was fun but hard to get so many people on such a small scale! I can see this really large though and I think I will try it like a 30x40 maybe. Something bold and almost geometric or abstracted with very little background/environment.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
