#170: "On Display", 24" x 18", oil

The latest in my series "Langley Inside Out" is this colorful scene depicting the window at Good Cheer, Whidbey's thrift store. Pretty much everyone donates here...and everyone buys stuff here, so sooner or later you will get your own stuff back. Everywhere you look in this store there is a still life waiting to be painted. My challenge here was to show the warmth of the sun streaming through the window onto the goods on display. The Ray for the Day is "On Display".

#169 "Short and Stout", 12" x 9", oil painting

The Star Store Basics always has a display of these cheery, colorful teapots in the window. They always make me smile. "Shadows are an opportunity for beautiful color" is a painting principle that wanders through my mind sometime during every painting. That was certainly true in this one. I don't think this photo (taken with my iPhone) does the shadow colors justice. Take it from me...they are beautiful. The way to darken a hue is to add either it's complement or analagous colors. In this case I added the darkest analagous color, and then just a whisper of the complement. I feel the shadow colors in this painting for the Langley Inside Out series are quite successful. The Ray for the Day is "Short and Stout".

#168 "One Adult Please", 12" x 9", oil painting

One of my many favorite things about living in Langley is that I can walk to the Clyde Theater. I can see the show, have popcorn, most likely run into friends, and all for $7.00. How lucky is that? I just love the Clyde. So for my Langley Inside Out series, this subject was a natural. Of course my challenge was to show the very bright light inside the booth and the cool night air outside. I have to admit I took a few tips from Edward Hopper. The Ray for the Day is "One Adult Please".

#167 "The Sketchers go to Granville Island", watercolor sketches

 

For some reason I don't often post sketches. I don't know why, because I actually sketch quite a bit. I did these two sketches yesterday, on the second day of an overnight trip that 6 of the Whidbey Island Sketchers went on together. It was hilarious, creative, fun, delicious and just plain great. We took the train to BC, walked to the Aqua Bus, rode it to Granville Island and spread out to sketch. I fell in love with the Aqua Bus' and we used them as our main form of transportation. I could not resist sketching one. While doing that sketch the sun was shining and a busker, Joshua Minsky, was singing right to my soul. My pen began dancing to the music and that sketch is my favorite of the trip. My second favorite is this little pie shop, Ala Mode, inside the market. There was a lemon meringue pie. Right there. My mother's favorite food. What could I do? I sketched and savored and thought of my Mom. I'm being struck with this writing how my senses are heightened while sketching. I'll always remember the sun, the breeze, the voice, the hubbub, the flavor. The Ray for the Day is "The Sketchers go to Granville Island".

#166: "Chocolate Flower Farm", oil, 24" x 16"

One sunny day lately I ran around Langley taking interior photos while the sun was streaming in. Some of these shops are so artfully put together that they are still life paintings just waiting to be done. This display at the Chocolate Flower Farm on 1st Street was begging to be painted. This was a joy to paint. Once in a great while a painting just kind of falls out of your brush. This is one of those. Of course I had to fuss a bit about values, but not so much on this one. I also feel I used fewer brush strokes to say what I wanted to say. The little jars and bottles are just a a couple strokes each...a light side, a dark side, a lid. You can look at details in these paintings by clicking on the image when you are looking at them on the blog. An artist friend of mine said "you can almost see the dust motes". I love that comment. The Ray for the Day is "Chocolate Flower Farm".

#165, "Offerings at Good Cheer", oil, 24" x 18"

Good Cheer is the name of Langley's thrift store. The stuff just goes round and round the community. Studio 106 often buys props, plates, glasses there for still life set ups or open studio events. Most people I know have bought cherished items of clothing there. This little doll in the sunshine really captured me. I hope someone has purchased her. Again, value is my mountain. I like very dark darks and very light lights. The midtones need to make a believable bridge for the darks and lights. I am working toward saying more using less strokes. I am really happy with the coat hanging in the background. I didn't paint a coat. I painted shapes of dark and light. And voila! a coat! It's very hard to do when you see things with all their details to reduce them to a pattern of dark and light shapes. It is thrilling for me when I accomplish this. The Ray for the Day is: "Offerings at Good Cheer".

#164, "Common's Conversation", oil, 24" x 18"

A popular Langley cafe and used book store, The Commons, is the perfect place to begin my new series, "Langely Inside Out". All three of us at Studio 106 have been very industrious during this beginning of 2013. We crank up the music and get lost in our paintings, taking breaks only for a bit of critique or a quick lunch (during which time we talk about art and stare at our paintings and do more critique). At the end of the day we often pour a bit of wine and do more staring and talking. For me it is the perfect set up. The challenge in this painting was of values and of cools and warms. I wanted the cool outdoor light to come into the warmth of the room without cooling down the room. It is always surprising to me how dark the value of white wood can be when it is back lit. I cannot think "white woodwork", I have to think shape and value only. It took awhile, but I got it.The Ray for the Day is "Common's Conversation".