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Barbara was the hostess today. She brought this bountiful bowl of fruit, a bottle of wine, lunch and chocolate! Talk about bountiful! She is still working on her painting as I post this. It was another joyful day of painting. Joanne, Barb and I gave each other feedback, talked about the basic principles of painting, and about what each of us brings to our work on any given day. We might be tired, rested, getting a cold, totally well, have personal issues on our mind. Somehow it all goes into the painting. It just can't be helped. You can't hide in your painting. The Ray for the Day is "Bountiful".
When I walked into Joanne's studio and saw the set up she had made, a weathered adirondack chair with some items on the arm, my heart sank. It looked so plain. So gray. So, well, uninspiring to me. I had been so excited to paint, and now felt a little less so. However, once I got into the painting I was nearly swooning at all the glorious grays and neutrals I was mixing. The challenge for me, as always lately, was to keep the paint interesting by varying the strokes , temperature and value. I know that if I keep the value the same in any given passage I can use any color I want, varying the temperature and will get a much more painterly and interesting painting. Yet the rapture of the brush stroking away on the support gets me. I want to smooth everything out and do what we call "house painting". These are the kinds of challenges that keep me wanting to paint these days. When I think about it I do it perfectly! When I get the brush in my hand something comes over me. I understand this is quite common. The Ray for the Day is "She'll Be Right Back".
SOLD
Even though I have a terrible cold and feel quite awful today, I could not resist going to my oil painting class to finish this painting. I was so curious to see what I would do, and to hear what Liana thought I should do. We were both on the same beam. I thought the cup, roll, and flower all looked somehow unrelated. (Refer to # 77 to compare) The solution was to punch up some of the color, make sure that some color from each item is reflected somehow in each of the other items as well as the background and warm things up in general. Also, I need to practice leaving color notes alone after I have put them down. There is such a desire to smooth everything out. I paid special attention to warms and cools, attempting to have warms and cools throughout the painting. Also, my original intention was to include the crossword puzzle, but chickened out the first time around. This time I decided I would like to try to include it. I like it. I do a crossword puzzle every morning. The Ray for the Day is "Sunflower and Cinnamon Roll 2".
SOLD
Yesterday I had a choice to make. I could go to a Women Painters of WA meeting, which I always enjoy, or I could paint with Barb and Joanne. I chose to paint and had a wonderful time. I had that feeling I haven't had for awhile....the pure joy of painting! It was a wonderful day. My turn to make the still life, I had no idea of what to paint other than it should include food. When I saw these peppers at the grocery store I simply could not resist them. The color! The sheen! The fabulously lumpy shapes! I assembled things from my kitchen and came up with the Ray for the Day: "In a Stew".
This morning I went to my first oil painting class taught by Liana Bennett. I am thrilled. I think I have found my oil painting community. I know a number of people in the group, and there are many very good painters. Liana is a knowledgeable, tough, and kind teacher. I look forward to working with her. I am continuing my food paintings, so bought a cinnamon roll from the shop next door and made this set up. The class is just 3 hours long, so making the set up, getting my stuff out, and painting this little painting felt like a big rush. Today Liana and I were getting to know one another she needed to see how I go about making a painting. I needed to know how she teaches. She made some great suggestions. This painting is not really finished. I will take it back next monday and learn how she goes about finishing a painting that has gotten to this point. To me it looks like 3 separate objects. I look forward to making them work together better, and to seeing how Liana would go about teaching me how to do that. Stay tuned for the finished product. The Ray for the Day is "Sunflowers and Cinnamon Rolls".
Today Barb brought the lunch and the still life to Joanne's studio. She was going to bake a lemon meringue pie, but ran out of time so she bought this beauty. What are these things called anyway? I don't think it's a torte. The oranges, grapes, strawberries and blueberries made for a delightful subject. And of course the tulips remind us that Spring is near. We enjoyed painting together and had a lovely visit late in the afternoon while we ate the cake. It was a great reward after a day of painting. The Ray for the Day is: "Paint Your Cake and Eat it Too".
