The same way I pre choose a pallete in pastels to paint a sunrise in plein air, I think next time, I will premix some colors in oil. The race against time was harder than I expected, but the sunrise was nestled in a wonderful quiet, and much more beautiful than I have experienced in a long time.
Sunset 8:10pm
The World Is Too Much With Us
BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.
Gathering Yellow
The spring has been filled with wonderful moments at the soccer fields. I have loved watching all the games: from my daughter’s team which started the season running like a gaggle of ducks all together, to my sons who play such intense games I can’t sit down. We have frozen and burned up, nearly have been blown away by the wind, and in between, watched spring unfold all around us. We have made new friends and reconnected with old ones, and enjoyed many yummy picnics.
I planned on painting a picture of the kids playing soccer, but this little girl was next to us in an overgrown field during my son’s last game. She was singing softly and gathering yellow flowers. She was such a distraction, I loved watching her as much as the boys’ game (which was a close one). The wildflowers and purple satin dress won out, I will paint the soccer players next season.
P.s. thank you to all the moms who take their daughters to soccer games in full princess regalia.
Spirit of Youth
“April hath put a spirit of youth in everything. (Sonnet XCVIII)”
― William Shakespeare
8″x6″ oil on single oil primed Belgium linen. I bought a multipack of panels trying to decide which surface I like the best. The single primed linen really grabs the paint, it takes more paint to fill the tooth, which was perfect for this wet rainy painting.
Puddle Dancing
A rainy, dark scene seems appropriate for today, one with a bit of hope (only because I know how the story ends). So I painted a puddle dancer, a barefoot rain walker. I love the way the colors blended with my Portland grey underpainting. I also love the way this painting looks wet.
Rhia
Three hour session with a lovely model Rhia. No measuring, or rules… just finding my way through the shadows and lights, just like a landscape. Lots of squinting and correcting: lighter, darker, warmer, cooler. Attempt no. 3 painting a portrait from life in oils went much smoother than the first two. Practice works. Now…who wants to sit still for 3 hours?
Pursuing Portaiture
I am enjoying the challenge of painting people from life. Today I visited the Sorolla exhibit at the Meadows Museum. It was outstanding, somehow he painted huge (9×10 feet sometimes), outside with many people, and often waves in them. I don’t know much about his method, but I plan to learn. I am utterly inspired. If you don’t know his work google: Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida and look at the images, or better yet…head to Dallas before April and see the largest collection of his works gathered together in the last 100 years. The Meadows museum is on the SMU campus. I wandered the exhibit with a group of artists, and we had a special appreciate for his work, his brushstroke, color, and paint application.
Perhaps I will tackle one of those monumental paintings one day.
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Children on The Beach, Sorolla 1903
Children Running Along the Beach, Sorolla 1908
Miriam Rose in Rose Light
I love the way everything glows rose as the sun is setting. This painting was done from a photo under the skillful eye of artist Anna Rose Bain. I getting more comfortable with portraits and oils with each try. Thank you Rick, for encouraging me to keep trying.
Pursuing Portraiture
I am continuing to work on my portrait skills. I took a wonderful one day workshop from the Anna Bain. I walked into her studio and was surrounded by beautiful faces: dozens of framed portraits hanging on all the available wall space. Anna’s paintings were breathtaking and inspiring. Her demo was amazing. The atmosphere was nurturing. After lunch we stood at our easels, brushes in hand ready to capture the lovely model, Misty, in oil. this was my first attempt to paint a portrait in oil. I had also never tried double, oil primed portrait grade linen as a surface to paint on (cotton primed canvas feels like sidewalk in comparison). I wish I would have had 3 more hours because I needed all of my time to establish the major highlights and shadows. My Misty looks older and more severe than how lovely and serene model actually was, but I am happy with my first attempt.
Bluebonnets – Overcast Afternoon
This is an oil painting from a study in pastel. I painted a cadmium red ground, and didn’t wait for the underpainting to dry so it greyed the blues. It wasn’t intentional, just me being impatient, but I love the overcast look it gave my painting.
paintandsimple 