Apple A Day Works

an apple a day helps keeps us in good health - a quick work at the start of each day teaches me and keeps me aware of the color, design and shape of my art.

Lighthouse, 6 x 8 oil on canvas

 
Who loves the coastline? No matter the location, I enjoy the rocks, sand and water. Give me a spot by the water with paint box and a good book...works every time. If only I had more opportunity to visit these places. :)  
As much as I love the water, painting it certainly makes me think hard. I find knives helpful with bodies of water. They work nicely for laying broad values of paint down.
For shallow water I rely more on energetic marks or brushstrokes and for deeper waters I often use those broad strokes with a large flat brush or the painting knife. A softer edge at the horizon helps to give the illusion of distance.
I have to remember that water in lakes or rivers is affected by the environment, lush green foliage, sand and rocks. They tend to be green in color; the deeper the water the greener the value. Although I don't tend to use black on my palette very often, I find that Mars or Ivory Black mixed with a yellow gives a nice natural looking green. Reds are a nice compliment when mixing, they warm up my greens. 

Lake Sketch, 8 x 10 oil on canvas

Today's value study in charcoal - good information for work in oil. Getting an idea of values - the varying degrees of light and dark areas - will help me better determine those same values in oil. I find these more important than color.

Value Study of River, charcoal on 9 x 12 paper

That's all for now. Thanks for taking time to stop by. Have a great weekend...
Peace and Health


 

Apple A Day Works

an apple a day helps keeps us in good health - a quick work at the start of each day teaches me and keeps me aware of the color, design and shape of my art.








Not to compare apples to oranges, or in this case clementines - these little guys aren't apples, but for me the principle of Apple A Day works is in the benefit from good practices.

It's the idea that we can strive each day to just do...and even reach beyond comfort levels, play with color, form and line to advance skills and learn. Whatever our profession, these daily exercises offer experience; from a personal viewpoint, without the doing I will not improve.

Daily practice also means caring for those tools that help me create. Artistic inspiration strikes but if my tools suffer, so does my work. I take breaks to refresh - get a drink or food and care for my brushes or knives. With a little care, I save money in the long run. After all, tools are too expensive to neglect. I keep a rag close by to wipe brushes and knives, and when it comes time to clean I've had good luck with Master's Brush Cleaner. It does last a good while and works well to keep the shape in my brushes.

Here's are some tips from the folks at Winsor Newton - you can take in the whole write up at 
http://www.winsornewton.com/na/discover/tips-and-techniques/other-tips-and-techniques/care-and-cleaning-of-brushes-us

Cleaning Oil Colour Brushes

If you’ve been working with oils, use a rag to wipe away as much colour as possible from your brush. Then rinse any remaining colour using Winsor & Newton Artists’ White Spirit or Brush Cleaner. Next, as you would when cleaning your hands, create a lather and rinse the brush under warm, not hot, water until the water runs clear of colour and soap.

Oil Colour Brush Care

Stay away from detergent, as this will damage the individual bristles on your brush. Another thing to avoid is paint stripper. Many artists use it to resuscitate a brush with dried paint on it, but this often takes the shape away from your brush.

With water colour and acrylic brushes, it is important to remove excess water, dry ferrules and handles, reshape brush heads and rest them with the bristles facing upwards to dry off. If you notice a stain in your bristles, don’t worry, as this has no effect on the performance or life of the bristles. When it comes to storage, you should place the brushes in a pot or jar with the bristles facing upward, only storing them when they are completely dry.

Oil Colour Brush Care

Follow the same detailed process as you would as when caring for a water colour and / or acrylic brush. If you are storing hog brushes for any length of time, make sure they are clean and completely dry. A box with a tight fitting lid is ideal and will prevent moth damage. Brushes that are not dry may develop mildew.

Today's sketch in charcoal is entitled White Barge; a work on primed wood panel. I usually use these panels for my series that highlights dance. I've included one of these works below White Barge.

White Barge, charcoal on 12 x 26 primed wood panel

Excel, 12 x 29 charcoal on primed wood panel, polyurethane finish - no glass is necessary

In this case I wanted to try something different, well similar surface with other subject matter. These panels are nice, inexpensive at under $20 for a 6 foot sheet at Home Depot. I cut them at home with my table saw, prime cut pieces with Blick Artist Gesso and go to it. The charcoal works nicely with the surface. Blick's Artist Gesso has a grit which helps to grab and hold the medium. They're a little like Gator Board for pastels, but much cheaper. I finish the work with a non-yellowing polyurethane so no glass is needed. I like that -


I painted a small version of White Barge with a limited palette during the summer, leaving out details, and bringing focus to the boat and a few rocks. I actually like the vertical orientation and will likely return to that for a larger painting.

White Barge, oil on 6 x 8 panel

That's all for now - Thanks so much for stopping by. I appreciate your time. Peace and Health

Apple A Day Works

an apple a day helps keeps us in good health - a quick work at the start of each day teaches me and keeps me aware of the color, design and shape of my art.





Today's morning work - just playing with color and brush strokes. Apples are one of my favorite subjects to work on and they're healthy eating after. I looked up the benefits of Granny Smith Apples and found some interesting reading. These guys are more than a pretty face, and are rich in antioxidants and more...

Color of Green, 6 x 6 oil on panel

Antioxidants

Apples are the main source of flavonoids in the Western diet and they are rich in vitamin C, explains Dr. Silvina Lotito, a research associate with the Linus Pauling Institute. Granny Smith apples are particularly high in the flavonoids cyanidin and epicatechin, although Red Delicious has more. Vitamin C and flavonoids act as antioxidants in your system and neutralize harmful free radicals. Having an abundance of free radicals roaming through your body leads to permanent damage of healthy cells and increases your risk of chronic diseases. Powerful antioxidants from Granny Smith apples lessen your risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

Information courtesy healthyeating.sfgate.com/health-benefits-granny-smith-apples-3334.html

Today's outdoor sketch in charcoal by Lake Allatoona in Woodstock, Georgia. It's been rather cold and wet lately, so this was a quick study with just a bit of sun now and again. I almost broke out paint, but then it began to sprinkle so I headed back to the studio. My dogs were glad because it was lunchtime. : )

I returned in studio and thought about coastal areas I've visited and painted. It's time to get back to these. This was done with knife and a limited palette of warm and cool blues, alizarin crimson, umber plus white. The day was beautiful and very much contributed to this work.

Being, Rocks and Water, 8 x 10 oil on canvas - featured in International Artist Magazine, 2014

Thanks for stopping by all and hope your day is great. I appreciate your time...Peace and Health

Apple A Day Works

an apple a day helps keeps us in good health - a quick work at the start of each day teaches me and keeps me aware of the color, design and shape of my art.


When it comes to paint tubes, I do my best to keep these precious items sealed to protect the paint. A pair of pliers works well for those stuck paint caps. I try to keep these tools close by because finding things can take me as much time as the work itself. :) For those times, I have been known to cut the bottom of a paint tube and then just secure it with one of those small metal clips from Home Depot.


There was no fruit on the verge of becoming wine today so I set up this paint tube - almost completely used up but still good subject matter. I folded it and gave it an interesting shape that I thought would be a challenge. It certainly was...and that's a good thing. Hope you enjoy -

Oil on 6 x 8 panel

This charcoal sketch is in preparation for a similar work in oil. I always like to do a value study before moving into oil; very helpful. Beautiful little girl. :) I'm looking forward to beginning the oil study.

Running, charcoal on about 14 x 24 size paper

I'll close today with a work from the spring. I love this spot. The green is lush and the shade is inviting. It's not too far from my house and although there's not a great place to set up, my car does pretty well. The cattle don't venture toward the road very often, but I'm hoping to coax them my way soon. :)

Oil on wood panel, about 7 x 10

That's all for now...thanks very much for stopping by. Hope your day is good - Peace and Health

Apple A Day Works

an apple a day helps keeps us in good health - a quick work at the start of each day teaches me and keeps me aware of the color, design and shape of my art.

I love the white tin painted here. It's a can that I saved and primed with watered down gesso. I've painted and drawn it a few times now, in different ways. I tried it out again today and decided to do just a half hour study to see if I could get sufficient information down in a short time. The grapes seemed a nice contrast and offered nice blues and purples in the way of reflected light on the can. 

When painting with white I try to be mindful of how it reflects all the colors of the light spectrum, so in order for me to paint a convincing white, I need to be able to paint subtle color shifts. In truth, convincing whites are actually pretty colorful. Just good practice and I think this study will really work to inform me when I return to this in oil. And I will... :)

White is Colorful, oil on 6 x 8 panel

A charcoal drawing with the can is here. It's always a great practice item for me in terms of color, shape and value. I love the irregular side, really makes me think.

White Tin with Pear and Grapes, charcoal on 12 x 24 paper

Today was my deadline for getting paperwork to North Light Books for the Strokes of Genius publication. I'm so glad to get this finished up - there were days when I thought I wouldn't be able to get a proper Raw image ready by the November deadline. Feels good to have this done.

While I was out today, I shopped for materials. Paint was on my list and I always make comparisons among the brands I like. Gamblin is a favorite, but the cost can be hard to live with at times. That said, as I was headed to the check out I saw a new line of paint by Gamblin. This 1980 line is half the price of regular Gamblin paints. Before making the decision to purchase, I looked them up on line in store and was satisfied enough with the write up to give them a try. I'll let you know what I think...but here's a link to their page.





http://www.gamblincolors.com/1980/







A sketch from today...this little dark-haired girl was in Marietta and too precious to pass by. That's all for now. Thank you for stopping by and enjoy your Friday all. Peace and Health -

Dark-Haired Girl, charcoal on about 12 x 12 paper

Apple A Day Works

an apple a day helps keeps us in good health - a quick work at the start of each day teaches me and keeps me aware of the color, design and shape of my art.





This morning's quick paint was a bunch of red grapes. I set this up using my cardboard box and white pillowcase. The grapes need to be eaten today, so they're in the spotlight. I started by lightly toning my panel with alizarin crimson, ivory black plus white. Looking at the entire mass of grapes, I used this same mixture to block in the overall shape, including cast shadows. Once that was done, I worked to locate the highlights on individual grapes. This helps me loosely establish relationships without drawing circles or spheres for the fruit. Then it's just a matter of laying in mid tones to suggest transient and reflected light. For this I used warm and cool red, grays that compliment the background and a few greens. I decided to create a ledge in the foreground for the composition. More could be done, but when the hour is up I need to move on...

Red Grapes, oil on 6 x 8 wood panel

 Set up for Red Grapes

Today I'm meeting an artist friend, Trisha Selgrath. She has very kindly agreed to help me get a proper photo of a drawing; a portrait that I need photographed well for a publication in North Light Books, Strokes of Genius 8. Hillary, pictured below has been selected for their 2016 publication. I met Hillary when she and a friend were performing during an ArtWalk this summer past in Marietta, Georgia. She works at a coffee shop on the square called Cool Beans. Her strong facial structure and mass of hair intrigued me, so after a few sketches, I came up with the image below. Needless to say, I'm honored to be included in this publication alongside so many other talented artists. Congrats to all concerned - :)

The RAW photograph has been a hard thing to get right with my aging camera, so I'm turning it over to a professional. I'm really grateful Trisha is taking the time today to do this for me. You can check her work out here http://www.trishaselgrath.com/index.html - my thanks Trisha...

Hillary, 18 x 24 charcoal on paper

Something else I'll be working on today in a larger format. This study was informative...but I think the palette can be improved upon.

White Cottage, oil on primed mat board, 18 x 9 

Here's the value study that got me going. I'll likely do another in a larger size just to get a better idea of the final work. These are helpful to determine values, but also to allow time for thought...how to plan the composition...what to change as needed in order to make things stronger.

White House, charcoal sketch in 5.5 x 8.5 notebook

All for now...thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your time and hope your day is good. Take care -




Peace and Health all -

Apple A Day Works

an apple a day helps keeps us in good health - a quick work at the start of each day teaches me and keeps me aware of the color, design and shape of my art.



 Ever have those moments when you ask yourself how did I come to make this? Well yesterday morning was a very rainy day, so I set up three apples to paint. As those where done I felt just so so, and changed things up to a pear and two apples. Pears have great shape and they offer me such diverse planes. I always enjoy them. When that was done I decided on this set up and somehow wondered how that progression came to be. The bits of color against the dark fabric intrigued me, I though I'd work to suggest the direction of the stripes seen in the scarf...they might make a nice abstract design with the representational objects. I laid out just the apple slice this time because of the light it would attract by my window. As for the jar...I just love the shape of olive jars. :)

Apple Slice & Jar, 6 x 8 oil on panel

And here's my set up for the morning's final small work. As I look at this, the light is brighter than when I painted; looks like I took this when my larger light source was on. In the end it was a great learning experience as I got three 6 x 8 works done in about an hour and forty-five minutes. It's easier to work faster in the morning when I'm more rested - that said, I could always use more sleep. Anyway, after this one it was time to move on...

Set up for Apple Slice & Jar

This is a sunset from just a few weeks ago. There's a horse farm down the road from my home studio. I actually have the opportunity to draw these lovely animals quite a bit during the evenings. They wind up in a field that is just on the other side of this one. The family is really nice and allow me to walk across to paint whenever I like. Limited palette of terra rosa, alizarin crimson, pthalo blue, cad yellow plus white.

Sunset over Field, 6 x 8 oil on wrapped canvas

This is a charcoal sketch of three of their horses back during the summer - maybe June or so around  dusk when the light from a sunset filters through the trees at the back side of the horses. I don't know if it's easy to read, but my eraser was a great tool for skimming across the page to suggest the wire fencing. These marks run just above the horses. A special place. 
 

Trio, charcoal on paper

Thought I'd include these plein air studies from the past days. The oil is just before the rain came in. Fall colors are starting to appear in different places by the lake. I did this 8 x 10 quickly - about 40 minutes as a demo for class. The charcoal was done at another location; a value study and 30 minute demo for a class. We have a great time finding new locations by Lake Allatoona here in Northwest Georgia.

That's all for now....I thank you for looking. Have a great day - Peace and Health

Fall Colors at the Lake, 8 x 10 oil on panel

Value Study, charcoal on 18 x 24 paper