"View from Above"....#4 of 30 P/30 D Challenge

6x6 Oil on panel

Yep...back to pears for my subject matter.  I have no idea why I'm drawn to the simplicity of this fruit. There are so many varieties of it too!  Lucky Me!!!!!!!

Anyway.....I'm still working with a limited palette and for some reason my camera shows this as being a bit too rich on the green side.  Close, but no cigar... as the saying goes.  It looked even stranger when I tried adjusting the color, so I left it alone.

Now, off to paint I go!

"Buddy's #2"....#3 of 30 P/30 D Challenge

6"x 6" oil on panel
 Still infatuated with the color Red :D  It may be toned down in the next painting .  As far as the Best Design on this painting,( and the last)......I broke my own rule of not putting a strong straight edge close to a paintings boarder.

If I were to do these paintings over, I might have moved the boards edge up a bit.  Hey!....that's what this challenge is about for me.....taking the time to explore design and color in a way I may not otherwise do.

To check out more challenge painters..go to  www.lesliesaeta.blogspot.com

"Buddy's #1"...#2 of 30 D/30P Challenge

6x6 on panel
So here is #2 of Leslie Saeta's 30 Days/30 Paintings challenge.  Still using a limited palette, which is forcing me to mix, Mix, MIX the paints.  I found it particularly challenging to come up with a vibrant green.  That's because most the colors I'm using are on the "cool" side.  Very little "warm". 

(speaking of warm.....it's 5 degrees outside with windchill of -7 Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!) 

The colors I'm using for this challenge are  Naples Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Ultramarine Blue, Phthalo Blue, Cadmium Red, Alizarin Crimson,  Burnt Sienna, Titanium White, and  Mars Black.  

I was trying to narrow this down to 4 to 5 basic colors (this includes white/black)....but I like this mix.  I'm open to suggestions from fellow painters on color selection for a limited palette.  Either email me ginlammert@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook message.  Click the FB button on the sidebar here :D

Since using this color combination.......I look at some of the Master's  works (John William Waterhouse's "The Soul of the Rose" for one) and see more of the limited palette he used. 

"Three of a kind" #1 of 30 Days/30 Paintings Challenge

6"x6" Oil on board
Here is the first of many 6x6 paintings to come this month.  I'm using a limited palette for this years 30days/30 paintings challenge by Leslie Saeta   http://www.lesliesaeta.blogspot.com  I joined this challenge last year and she's challenged us again this January.  The BIG difference between 2013 and 2014 is each work I'm doing will be an individual painting.  (last year I divided 3-18x24 canvases  into small squares for each days work.)

This is a GREAT way to start the New Year.  Happy New Year everybody :D

...the beginning

~ click on image to enlarge ~

18"x24" oil on stretched canvas

Mmmmmmmmmmmm.......I haven't had my oils out for awhile and absolutely Love the smell of fresh paint.



This is the beginning of a commission I'm doing for a man that loves the outdoors.  He gave me a photo he took of geese flying over a patch of water and grass plain.  The ground area is almost black and is darker here then I've painted it. 

First step was to lay in a red wash over the entire canvas. After drying...I've mixed blues, white,  naples yellow, and violet in the sky.  Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, and black in the ground. 

Now it's time to let the paint set up a bit, then add the geese that are flying and blades of grass that are in the foreground.  I don't know....I may not wait :D  I love painting wet on wet and Alla Prima.  

Sigh.....I just looked at the clock and realize, there's a reason I'm s-l-o-w-i-n-g down.  Creativity really has no timeline.  My body is telling me something else.  It's used to a regular schedule of going to bed by 10pm. 



Eyes done in Pastel

~ Soft Pastel on Belgium Mist Wallis Paper ~

I thought I'd share something I'm currently working on.  The top picture shows where I've started to pay attention to the eyes on this portrait. 

The bottom picture  shows the finished touches of this part of the painting.  I tend to do the eyes early on in a portrait painting.  For me......If I can't get the eyes right, then the rest of the picture doesn't fall into place as it should.  

Mom's Christmas bulbs

~click on image to enlarge~

6 individual paintings on stretched canvas measuring 2 3/4" square.

I haven't painted with acrylics for quite some time.  I found this to be a bit of challenge after painting with oils.  The challenge is.....they set up fast and dry on the palette in no time at all.  I'm used to working where I can put brush or pastel stick down and go do laundry, start supper....you get the idea I hope.

My mom decided to "gift" me with some of her old glass bulbs when I had my first Christmas tree in 1974.  Yep, it's been awhile and they are still around.  I say a prayer of gratitude when I hang these on my tree every year.  I love the memories and traditions we shared so long ago.