Getting in touch with my roots

I realize I haven't blogged for a bit. I took a little time off for celebrating a special occasion with family. Which got me thinking about my roots. But for the sake of time...I'll move right along to the canvas. Let's just say root vegetables are easier to visualize and understand sometimes than family. And where else would I find my root vegetables than at New Seasons . You're getting the picture now! Also by actually painting root vegetables I can dig into my topic tangibly. Sometimes the act of painting allows both sides of my brain to function simultaneously... One physically and the other subconsciously. I found this small 8x8 square canvas and thought I'd just see where it would take me. I've heard that a square canvas tends toward a more intimate composition or that the artist is taking an intimate look at their subject, something like that. I just happen to like that size for certain objects I am painting. The colors again that I chose to use were warm and the fresh beets; one red, and two golden led to the title: "Two Plus One". I couldn't believe how hard and heavy these three beets were when I carried them into my studio. They were difficult at first to arrange close together without them fighting for dominance in the composition. Yet while painting them with my juicy oils and soft brushes, they took on another look and feel to me. Quick strokes became slower, softer strokes, edges became blurred, some very interesting reflections surfaced from the table, and for some reason the blemishes on the surface seemed to also be an important part of the whole. All the imperfections, the hairy stubble, the remainders of the stems and leaves that were cut off before I purchased them, seemed to give each one its own identity and texture. As this painting emerged from my canvas I accepted it as it was. I kind of liked it just the way it was and didn't fuss over it. It is drying in the other room now and I'll leave it be until I feel like revisiting it again. Hmmmm.....maybe this painting session was a reflection on my own roots! If so it will be a continuing saga.

Spot light on fruits of the season

I enjoyed a timed painting exercise yesterday using two freshly sliced blood oranges from none other than my neighborhood NEW SEASONS of course. Their produce is so juicy good and weekends often have seasonal fruit tastings prepared for you as you walk into the store.

Frequent flyer/buyers like myself have gotten to know when Brittany is making one of her gorgeous displays of sliced and diced fruits to entice the senses. Even though I didn't need these warm colors to chase away the Portland gray, one slice into this blood orange inspired me to go for it! If I hadn't taste-tested these delectable creatures they may never have come home with me to be immortalized. Instead they inspired their immediate portraits and became a treat to share before dinner. Using a small canvas and my favorite paint colors I set a timer to see what I could accomplish during my "happy hour"! I hope you enjoy this visual display but I must say they were as much fun to eat. Perfectly sweet and juicy even when they had been warmed a bit from my studio spot light! I have to stop getting side tracked by these fruits of the season when it is looking and feeling like plein air painting season is in the air. So many temptations calling to artists armed with wet paints and brushes....Spring is finally here!

Kicking it up a notch

Sometimes timing is perfect...just when I was feeling like I needed a little punch in my work and a little nudge from above along comes the perfect workshop. The first instructor I sought when I moved to OR was an artist I admired, Eric Jacobsen. His oil landscapes were breathtaking to see first hand. At the time he was exhibiting and teaching through a gallery in Troutdale which later moved to the Pearl. Now through Art on the Boulevard in Vancouver, Eric is offering two still life classes in oils on Saturdays from 10-4PM. The next class will be Sat March 20th. Sign up if you have the chance. He has a gift for putting students at ease no matter what their level and to zero in on specific needs identified by each. It is so refreshing to have such a talented artist willing to share his knowledge and experience to anyone willing to learn. In the 4 hour class period he managed to demonstrate his own painting style, give an overall review of basics, share a wealth of resources, and guide each painter's abilities at their easel. He makes it fun to reach for the next level or as Emeril would call it "kicking it up a notch"! What a great shot in the arm for me to finish up my studio series before heading outdoors soon. For further information on Eric's workshops go to Celeste's Blog "Celeste Paints" or to "Portland Plein Air & Studio Painters" both on blogspot.com.

Lost art work

Since this is February and "heart month" I perused my inventory of "red"paintings. I didn't realize how many I actually had. This one jumped out at me more because of the story behind it. It was memorable for many reasons but mainly because it disappeared. It vanished along with another similar piece I had painted the same day. They were going to be given to my two children since I managed to paint each of them during a painting trip. I painted each while talking to my children on my cell phone. Imagine that. I was explaining to them what I was doing and that I was thinking of them and hoping this would be a great memory for them one day. I recall placing both paintings in a wet painting carrier to dry. It was a homemade carrier made out of foam board. They and the carrier have never been seen since. I had visions of the carrier flying out of my van into the vast wilderness around Sun River, OR. (I also felt guilty that if that had happened it would be bad for the environment.) Maybe if I had signed them it could be considered a great promo stunt! Is there a lost and found site on the web? Has anyone else had an experience like this?

Three Little Figs

This winter I have certainly made New Seasons happy with each trip to their produce section! I could not help myself because once I would find a new color or texture that wasn't as gray as our landscape it came home with me. Figs were new for me to paint. There is quite a variety but with a short seasonal display in the marketplace. The most beautiful were the green ones above which I found at the Milwaukie Farmers Market. I have the names of the varieties written down in one of my journals somewhere. I did a number of 'fig'ure studies in my studio. It just so happened that in yesterday's post I mentioned my first art instructor. She has been my mentor before the term was popular. When she visited last Thanksgiving she made my year by purchasing the first painting of my fig series. To me it was the highest complement she could have given me. We had fun painting together in my studio... that is of course, until we needed the ingredients for our figgy pudding!

Motivators

After a break in my usual routine it is good to get back to the easel although I'm sharing an earlier work here. I've thought about what motivated me to paint this piece after so many friends and patrons consider this a "different" style for me. One of the reasons this may have a different look is because I toned my 12 x 24 panel almost completely black using the darkest colors I had on my palette at the time. I wanted the light in my studio to make those satsumas glow and the glass sparkle. The dark behind and beneath the objects would be what unified them. It was an exercise to go literally from dark to light. Each item has a bit of an outline from the toned panel beneath. I had a limited time in which to work and I liked it so much when I had finished that I resisted going back into my alla prima brushwork. OK, The real motivator? I was thinking about my very first oil painting instructor having me do this exercise years ago and always wanted to do a painting which would include the cup she gave me! I guess I added a few items to show if off! Funny how things just happen to work out when you are having fun! Those are the pieces that tend to show it too.

Gratitude

OK, I realize this is one more 'orange' image, But New Seasons had so many luscious fruits to tempt me this winter. This one happens to be a combination of a couple fruits however its name escapes me at the moment. I do know it was sweeter to paint than to eat. That is another advantage of a still life, they sustain you in more ways than one!

Speaking of sustenance, I alluded to gratitude in my title, not for fruit but for a fruitful friendship among artists. I want to thank Celeste for showing me how to set up this Blog. It was a gift from one artist to another of both time and talent. It brought back memories for me of the special artist community I left behind in WI. I have missed that for whatever reason here in OR and have begun to feel it grow inside again just based on one simple generous act. To me feeding the artist's soul is essential for artistic growth and can be found in the right type of community; one of sharing, guiding, encouraging, constructive criticism, and just enough healthy competition to raise the bar for everyone. I'm grateful for the many artists I've come to know in the past 9 years in OR!

Thoughts on 'Orange'

As I was browsing through the still life images I've been setting up to paint in my studio this winter, it occurred to me that the majority of the images include oranges or orange objects. I love warm colors (and warmth). Maybe the combination of cool, blue-gray, winter days drives me to seek its compliment. I know I'd rather be painting in my studio than outside on those days. For some reason it brings me joy to have these objects around me. I was told once that peeling an orange and inhaling the jest can lift ones spirits if depressed. I have also heard that the color orange in paintings isn't a popular seller? Anyone have a complimentary color wall space they want filled?