Stage 2

I'm a watercolorist and have some experience with acrylic but painting with oils is a mystery to me. Today I found myself using my fingers because I just couldn't get the brush to do what I wanted it to do. I'm so used to working either totally wet or totally dry and this greasy in between is a challenge. Step two of this soon to be tropical scene.

Begin Again

I begin again. After looking at a 24"x30" stretched canvas all last weekend and this week, I found I was daunted by its size and blankness, and although I have an idea of what I want to paint I just couldn't seem to begin. Part of my problem is I want to experiment with oils and/or acrylics and I have little experience with them so technique was an issue. Another angst is time, I'm so busy with other stuff, work stuff, ewwwww! With the help of my hubby I realized this is just the time for small art. I don't HAVE to do big art (somehow this seemed the next reasonable step). I need to do lots of little oil and acrylic "sketches" to work on techniques, work out compositions and colors, and to keep myself sane regarding time.

That said, here is a beginning of a smallish piece I began last night. I'm selling my daughter's car (after she has been gone from home for a year) and I'm feeling a bit of final tether removal going on in my psyche. These clouds seemed a good place to be and although they will build up to being a lot whiter (I think) this is where I stopped last night. This is about 8x18" on heavy watercolor paper, not gessoed. I'm not sure if the oil won't soak in too much but that's part of the experiment.

Marshmallow Clouds

Tonight it is 37 degrees and thundering and lightening. Crazzzzyyy weather! There was a tornado in Kansas yesterday and I wonder if this weather is part of the same front. Maybe being in New England during late winter is making me daydream of these pillowy clouds piling up on the horizon over the Atlantic. I was experimenting with combing Van Gogh oil pastels and Sennelier. The Van Gogh's are hard and waxy, the Sennelier's soft and buttery. I'd like to find something with a middle consistency, but haven't yet.

Cloudy Horizon

Recently I was in southern climes and found myself fascinated by the distant flat horizons and mounds of cumulus clouds. Nothing much weather-wise came from these clouds, not rain or even damp, but there they were most days looking like mountains on the horizon if you caught them out of the corner of your eye. I felt right at home and didn't miss my cold New England hills at all. I took dozens of photos and now that I’m back in the frosty north, tonight I began exploring some of the color and formations that stayed with me.

Artblog Returns!

I've been swamped with work, then away on vacation, and now finally I'm back after quite a hiatus from my "every" day artblog. Ahhhh, well, I guess I'm human. This image is a quickie I did last night to try out some new oil pastels I just bought. I'm experimenting with different brands and types. There is an iridescent gold and a couple of fluorescent colors in this painting. It is small, only about 4x6. It came out more Van Goghish than I thought it would, but I was layering on the oil pastels pretty thick.