How To Start A Floral Painting In Oil

"Ranunculus (Because I Love Saying Ranunculus)"

Oil on Gessoboard, 14x11"

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Sometimes, it's interesting to "peek under the hood" to see how a new painting is developed.  Floral paintings especially can be full of complicated details that can force us to become overly tight and detail oriented when setting them up.  My goal is to allow my flowers to appear energetic, as if a breeze is coming through the painting.  To achieve this feeling, my layers underneath have to be loose and free flowing.

Here's my first wash, on the first day of painting.  Using Raw Umber mixed with Gamsol, I tone the board, then go in with a brush and more Raw Umber to put in the darker areas, and I use a cotton cloth to lift the lighter sections.  At this point, I can see if I like the overall composition and the flow of the painting to be.

Using my underpainting as my guide, I'm ready to go in with color.  You can see that I've tried to remain true to my underpainting, matching darker color in the dark areas and light color in the sunlit parts.

Day 3, I'm continuing to add detail and finish the background color.  

Day 4, it's time to add the vase, stems, and other small details to finish the painting.

It's fun for me to share my painting process with you- I hope you enjoyed seeing it!

Peonies, and a New Studio

"Early Spring, New Harmony", 9x12", Oil on Board

The J. Petter Galleries

I love to paint white things, especially flowers, and try to find all the hidden colors within. Many glazes of purple, green, and gold were used in this painting. In fact, I don't believe that there is a single passage in this one that is truly pure white, yet I think that the flowers read as white in the end.  

Beginning in December, I'll be moving to my new studio space in Prism Workspaces, here in Denver, and I couldn't be happier.  This group of buildings is filled with artists and creatives who will inspire and motivate me.  If you're in the Denver area this week, I hope you'll stop in to see the Open Studio Event this Friday.  All the studios will be open, and there will be art for viewing and for sale.  Here's the information:

Because We Still Need Notecards!

Thanks to the Internet, we stay in touch with friends and family with the click of a button.  Our thoughts disappear into the Cloud, or wherever these things go when we're done reading them.  I believe that we still need notecards, at least when we want to share something heartfelt and meaningful. Or when we want to give someone a gift they can't find just anywhere- a box of notecards can be the perfect thing.

So I've produced a new batch!  Each box of 10 cards has two of each of the paintings you see below.  Please send me an email if you'd like to purchase.  Here's the price: 1 box: $23.00 plus $7.00 shipping and handling.  2 or more boxes: $23.00 per box, $10.00 shipping and handling.

The cards just arrived from the printer, and they look great if I may say so! I hope you have many notecard-worthy moments this year!

Monet At The Denver Art Museum

The Boulevard des Capucines, 1873-74

Claude Monet

What a treat to visit the Denver Art Museum yesterday to see the Monet exhibit, "The Truth of Nature".  It is a wonderful show, with room upon room filled with his plein air paintings and landscapes.  The show begins with some caricatures he drew as a teenager, and continues all the way through to his abstracted water lily paintings from his garden in Giverney toward the end of his life.

The exhibition guides pointed out that Monet became more interested in describing atmosphere rather than reality as he progressed through life.  And it was interesting to note how frustrated he often became as he chased the light for his paintings.  

"Color is my daylong obsession, joy, and torment."

The exhibition will be here until February.  I hope that you'll have a chance to come and see it!

Plein Air Ain't Easy (Continued)

 Edge of Sarvis Creek, Steamboat (photo)

Plein Air paintings are a lot like pancakes: you have to throw out the first one or two before you can start to hit your stride.  I painted for hours trying to perfect my painting on my previous blog post, and I didn't love it in the end.  I put it aside and started adding color to my other outdoor sketches, and this time, I was happier in half the time!  In the future, I'll toss out the first "pancake" a lot sooner, and get to the good stuff.

Monochrome Study, Creek's Edge, oil on gesso board

I painted in monochrome the entire time I was outside in Steamboat.  There's a ton of color out there, so I wanted to keep things simple and focus on value (lightness and darkness).

"Creek's Edge", Oil on Gessoboard, 10 x 8"

When I got back to the studio, I added color to my sketch, trying to stay true to my value areas, so if you converted this to black and white, it would look pretty much the same as my original monochrome. You can see that I played around with the color, too.  I don't like a whole lot of green in my paintings.

Monochrome Study, "The Stand", oil on gesso board 

"The Stand", Oil on Gesso Board, 10 x 8"

Another monochrome study, and a version with color.  I may actually start to enjoy this process!  Time to pack up and head out again!

Plein Air Ain't Easy

Photo of Sarvis Creek, Steamboat Springs

Artists in Colorado paint outside.  It's an unspoken rule.  And nothing is more beautiful than Steamboat Springs in the fall, with the Aspens in full glory and the misty mountains in the background.  I packed up my equipment and headed out.  But first, I thought I'd take a workshop with Dave Santillanes, one of the best landscape painters working today.  

My time with Dave in Steamboat was well spent.  He showed us how he creates atmosphere with value and color, which was a huge revelation for an indoor painter like me.  Then we went out into the field to watch him paint his "sketches" which he then brings into his studio to create larger, more finished pieces.  It was a complete eye-opener for me.

I decided to keep my outdoor sketches monochrome, working only with value to create atmosphere.  To a newbie like me, adding color this early in the game could result in disaster.

Monochrome Study, Sarvis Creek, oil on panel

It was a dry, windy day, and the cowboys were transporting horses on the road at my back.  They apologized every time they passed by, but I was happy to see them.  There's about a pound of sand and grit mixed into the paint on this one.

Color Study, Sarvis Creek, oil on panel

I took the study back to the studio and added color on top of it.  Dave encouraged us to change color and composition however we want in order to tell a story.  With this one, I emphasized the warm color in the background to suggest an early morning scene.

Well, it's a start.  If I want to do plain air well, I will have to paint many many more.

The Move Is Complete

Denver Squall At Sunset

Dear Friends, we have finally landed for good in Denver, and our move is complete!  One of my first orders of business here was to find a good place to paint, and I'm happy to report that I have found one.  It's such a fantastic concept, I have to share it with you.  It's called the Art Gym, and no, we don't have to do pushups as we paint (thank goodness), it's a membership in a wonderful shared studio space.  Why aren't there more of these in the world?  It's about 20 minutes from home, which is a huge commute compared to the walk upstairs that I used to do.  But when you live in a two bedroom city apartment, you have to make some changes!

Monochrome, New Harmony, 9x12"

My first project in my new space is to take a monochrome sketch that I painted on site in New Harmony in the spring and make it into a finished painting.  I'll use this sketch as a reference as I'm painting the new one.  This was done quickly using Burnt Umber on a gesso board.

On a new gesso board, I started the new painting.  This one is rougher; I'm just finding the shapes and values that I established in the sketch.  No use putting in details now, because I'll just paint over them later.

New Painting Start

I added the color right on top of my monochrome painting.  All my values were figured out for me, so I had fun playing with the color notes. I'll continue to develop this painting and I'll share the steps with you along the way, so please stay tuned!

Thanks so much for staying with me during this long moving phase.  I appreciate your support more than you know!

Almost Show Time

"It's Show Time", 10x8" Oil on Panel

It's almost time for the "Bouquet" Show at the Petter Gallery in Saugatuck, Michigan on July 13th.  I'll be bringing along some brand new work, including this little panel.  I've been challenging myself to find hidden color in white flowers these past few months.  I hope you like the result!

There will be wine to sample and other artists to meet at the exhibition. I would love to see you there!  Please drop me a return email if you're planning to go so I can keep an eye out for you.

"Abundance", 11x14"

Abundance,  14x11"

Moving is stressful!  Selling a house, planning a new house, and leasing an apartment in a city high-rise (Denver) is uprooting- literally.  It's interesting to me that during this time of general upheaval, my painting has become more controlled and meditative.  I'm drawn to flowers right now, particularly white ones.  They force me to slow way down and really examine them.  Form, light and shadow, and undiscovered colors are pulling me in.

I'm developing a series of floral paintings that I'll be showing at the Petter Gallery this summer, in a show called "Bouquet".  It'll be all about the bouquet of flowers and wine.  I hope you'll be able to come.  The date is July 13, in Saugatuck, Michigan.  Sounds like a great time for a mini-getaway!