Butter Dish - Knife Painting

Another knife painting - no medium....

Been doing 10 - 12 hour days - And - unbelievably, forgot my white paint - nowhere there to buy another tube either - --- ugh.... Did do some drawing though. Also got to the National Gallery - incredible beyond words!!! The botanical gardens were also truly amazing. I plan on going back if at all possible.

So great to be home - be with my little crew, rest, quiet, great food, no rushing around, paint... ahhhhhhh.........

Heading back out tomorrow for another week or so - with my white paint all packed -
Later - : 0 )

Plein Air Snack

Well - here's my first minimalist oil. Minimalist not in style, but in means. As I stated in a previous post, I'm traveling for work shortly and don't want to stop painting with oils. So - I asked my self - Self??? how little can I get away with?? What is the absolute minimum I need to make an oil picture??

Okay - paint, palette, surface, and something to put it on with - 4 things, absolute minimum! Though I may at some point try it without palette - just put the paint on the board and rearrange it like a funky puzzle - will have to be in a mood for that. Now I've added a pencil - 'cause pencils are small, and a rag for wiping my knife - but that's it.

Paint - I take 4 tubes - a red, yellow, blue, and white - small tubes
Surface - Small pieces of board or matt board appropriately coated - from 3 x 5 to 5 x 5 inches.
Implement - One palette knife.
Palette - Small disposable paper palette.

I hold the little painting with my left hand - and the rag at the same time. A little awkward at first, but gettin' used to it. A very quick pencil sketch and then just palette knife work. Set the palette where ever possible and go for it!

This does change a bit the way I work. I'm spoiled by my pochade box - having my paint right there at the right height, right in front of me, but this is about just keeping going no matter now little space I have....

I'll post some more as they come along. They do take longer to dry because the paint is a bit thicker in places. Am considering adding a very small jar of Galkyd or using an alkyd white to improve this aspect. I also have to be able to carry the little painting somewhere where it can dry safely when I'm done. It's all about persevering to grow in spite of and with limitations!

Oh - I also stick a plastic grocery bag in my pocket for the rag and palette when I'm done - No littering!

So far I'm really liking working this way. Will let you know how I make out.

Rockwell Falls, Hadley, NY

I continue to paint out -en plein aire - as much as possible. The more I work from life the less and less I like working from photographs - the difference is night and day!

On the Road

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! Everyone - that's first off! I'm smelling turkey roasting as I'm typing here.....
I'm out on the road for the next month - doing scenic work. I'll be able to post, but not scan, so I have a few images to put up - but will mostly be posting writings.

I will - however - be continuing my own work - painting and drawing. Taking watercolors and figuring out how little I need to take to work in oils! Have some good ideas for this which I'll be posting. Not only am I not letting lack of time or space keep me from working - I'm thinking that my ideas here will stretch me as a painter - I'm very excited! Off to try a few out before I actually leave - work out the kinks -

Eat lots, paint good works, and stay in touch.... lol!

On Writing -

Been doing a lot of writing lately, some of which will be distilled down and posted here.

I encourage every artist - no matter your discipline or where you are in your path as an artist - to write - a lot!! Don't do it on the computer and don't even use a pen. Use a pencil and the cheapest composition notebooks you can find and just write for yourself as honestly and in whatever way You choose. Don't finesse the pages or make a sketch book out of it - just get "down and dirty" with yourself. The use of your hand and the pencil is akin to drawing and you'll be surprised at what you think of that you just simply won't using any other method of communication.

I know I've said some of this before, but it bears repeating because it is so useful to our progress and souls as artists.

I'm coming to believe too that the parallel of writing what I want the Way I want also subconsciously helps the decision making for deciding what and how I want to paint.

Pear

These little paintings of fruits and nuts and things are a blast to do. The surface of the travertine tile is really wonderful to work on - silky. Looking forward to tomorrow - a full studio day. Today was an errand day - went well though.

This little pear tile is also in my Etsy Shop.

Rainy Day -

Very rainy gray day here! I decided to start my Christmas card front today - some good music, cup-o-coffee.... I have just the image in mind and will post it of course when it's done.

I used to hand paint or print my cards every year which was a real joy - something I looked forward to with relish. But this year I may be going out of town on business for a month or more and so I'm thinkin' I'll paint an oil and then photograph and make them on my printer. Not the usual hand-made charm, but do-able.

The little study above is in my Etsy shop.

Not Speaking

This still life is about 4 x 6 - and that pear was delicious! : 0 )

Thought for the Day

Here's the color thought for ya for the day.... Take, for example, a fire truck - screamin' red. Well - we see it as red because all of the other colors are absorbed and red is the only color reflected. So - actually "red" is the only color it isn't! It would be more accurate, but infinitely more tedious and annoying to say - "hey look at that not-red fire truck" , or that orange that isn't....

This is one of the things I think about while waiting in lines, while I'm supposed to be paying attention to something else - ..........etc...etc...etc... : 0 )

Alumacraft -

We've had some unusually fantastic weather for Nov. So - I've been taking advantage and painting outside as much as possible. So there will be a few more of these Plein Air sketches in future posts.

I have a turkey on my Weber Grill - off to tend it Yummmmmmmm...... Been sizzling and smokin' away in there all afternoon -

Acorn Tile

Here's my first acorn - these are only 2 x 2 so if it's bigger on your monitor, you have to think smaller, or shrink it on your monitor... We're big on acorns around here. My boys pick up a pocket full on every daily walk, so I have lots of little models hanging round.

My Marbles -

A couple of my latest "Tiles" that I list on Etsy. The acorn titled "Anybody Home?" will be listed as soon as it's dry enough to scan. I'll post a better photo then too -
Later -

Dredging Sketch

I pass by these dredging barges often in my travels. They've been scraping PCBs off the bottom of the Hudson for several months now. They're very colorful - interesting - however else they may be detrimental. They kept moving the barges around as I was painting this little sketch -decided to just go with the flow -it was still a lot of fun - wound up being more of an abstract conglomeration than a real representation.

I hope to get back to paint them more before they've disappeared for the season -

Susan's Geraniums

I put this up on my web site today - more of an oil sketch or drawing really. These happy things sit on this bench every summer - I do love them -

Marbles...

I've begun painting small to tiny oil paintings on marble and slate tiles for my Etsy Shop. They are a ton of fun to make, good practice and adorable if I do say so myself.... This one above is 2 x 2 inches and about 3/8 of an inch thick. I include a double sided 3M sticky tab to mount them on the wall. Oh - the ideas are just endless...
Will put more up as they become dry enough to scan.

New Painting -Plein Air

This little painting, 8 x 8 inches, was finally dry enough to photograph for posting. I painted it across from where I do most of my scenic work - see two posts back from Oct. 24. Been painting out quite a bit lately - more plein air posts to follow.

PS - This painting is now available from the wonderful ladies at the "Art on the Avenue" Gallery in Macon, Georgia.

What We Don't See

I've been thinking much lately about the fact that our eyes only see a small portion of what we humans call the Electromagnetic Spectrum.

This is usually depicted in books in a linear configuration, though I suspect that it's more three dimensional in reality and that there is much we don't understand.

So my point is - we're looking through the "filters" of our eyes. We're not seeing 99% of what is around us. The only difference, for example, between what we see and what we hear is time; albeit an imperceptibly small increment, but absolutely unmovable in its imprint on our perceptions.

At times, I feel as though I'm walking blind. As incredible as my eyes are, what is "really" there in front of me???

This to me explains the part of the Bible where God "opened" the eyes of the servant at Elisha's request. (2 Kings 6:8-23) I believe there is much going on that we're totally unaware of.

Field Painting

We had a gorgeous day here last Thurs.... warm and almost balmy for autumn in Northern NY. I had an opportunity to spend a couple of hours painting outside - soooo quiet and a fresh breeze that can't even be described!

As you can see, my field box - Ben Hagget's Bitterroot - has built in brush holders..... wonderful! : 0 )

Will post that little painting when it is dry enough to handle a bit.

Brush Frogs!

I use frogs in my studio for my brushes with paint on them - the ones that I'm using and are thickly loaded. "Frogs" are those wonderful glass things that people used to put in the bottom of a vase to stick the stems of flowers in to keep them nicely composed - standing up straight. They work great for keeping my really wet oil brushes from getting all over each other and take up a lot less space than laying them down on brush holders.

The one below I just found in an antique store - it has 11 big holes for bigger brushes - quite the find! I put marbles in the silver tray under the glass to hold the bottoms of the brushes more firmly - so they stand up straighter and don't flop around.


If you go looking for frogs - the taller - or the thicker the glass, the better. Of the ones I saw this weekend, the most expensive was $8.00 - some are clear and others are awesome colors. Have Fun!

Color Reel

I used to have my tubes of paint hanging on a line just behind where I stand to paint - like you see in the photo below. But the line kept stretching and I kept knocking them off with my head - and - as I paint more and more away from my usual spot, it was becoming darn inconvenient to traipse back and forth for tubes of color. So........

I took a lovely empty copper reel that wire had come on out of the garbage at work and my sweet husband built me a stand for it. Now I'm portable with the color tubes! I'm going to get a screw-in handle at the hardware store to make it even more movable - fun!

Goings On...

Been a busy week here - back at work doing scenic painting. Bad for studio time, good for the paycheck. I've also been in the process of applying for a grant. If I get it - a big "if" - I'll be posting the project and it's process here on my blog. If not - I'll be posting whatever I'm doing next! S0 - it's all good......

This little sketch above is available in my Etsy shop.

Thanks for stopping by -

Hot Air Balloons

This past weekend was the Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival out at the local airport. Wasn't sure we were going to make it as I've been working a lot, but we did and it was just wonderful! I hope to squeeze in a few paintings of these huge bulbous balloons in the next few days. So much color is inspiring!

The kites were terrific this year too - so many of them and also soooo colorful -
Hasta Manana -

Ideas Beget Ideas

Ideas Beget Ideas:

From ideas come other ideas. This may sound simple and obvious, but I've recently rediscovered this beautiful simple fact.

Take an idea you have and go with it - you just simply Do Not know where you will wind up, even if you think you do. It's surprising and delightful! Think of a maze, or a mountain trail you're hiking for the first time. You have ideas about where you're going, but until you turn that corner, you yourself in person actually there in that spot, you cannot truly imagine what you will see, will find, will feel. The experience of it, of the discovery, of the working through is priceless and you can't get to the unexpected and interesting in any other way. Just thinking about things is great, but doesn't bring you to a different, refreshed, place in the same way "doing" does.

Typing or - again - thinking, is not as effective as writing with a pencil - paragraphs of stuff pouring out of me or you - understandings and uncoverings of revelations that change the course of our ideas and actions. Akin to drawing, the flow from brain through arm to pencil is a direct taping-into of we artists, the "filter" that is us, our core creativity that truly cannot be got at any other way.

So get with that composition book and those ideas and dig into them deep, work hard in them - you'll be thrilled and find yourself some place good you didn't expect to be - I guarantee!

Pouncing Instructions for Color Theory Studies

Alrighty then.... As I mentioned a few days ago, here are instructions for making pounces - a truly wonderful thing for artists to know.

You will need:

• Your design, simply drawn with a pencil.
• A piece of homosote or a soft piece of pine board to press into with the wheel.
• Powdered Charcoal.
• A piece of loosely woven cloth about a foot square.
• A piece of string about 10 inches.
• A small cup or jar to store your pounce bag in.
• A pounce wheel.
• A Sharpy Marker.

So, the first thing you are going to do is make your pounce bag. Take your cloth and lay it out flat on a piece of scrap paper that you can throw away. If it is too loosely woven, like cheesecloth, you may need two layers, or more depending. You don't want clouds of charcoal poofing through, so experiment a bit.

Dump about a half a cup of the charcoal right in the middle of the cloth and gather the corners and the sides to make a bag and tie it up tight with the string. I use a bow so I can easily untie it to put more charcoal in. This should last you your whole life, except of course for adding more charcoal. Be sure you have a yogurt cup or a suitable container to store it in - no lid necessary.

See picture below:


Next, you'll "pounce" your design with your pounce wheel. Grifhold makes a terrific set of four aluminum wheels. These are great if you work with small designs - I use them often. If you work very large, like I also often do, then you'll need a beefier wheel. I get mine from a wonderful company - Atlas Levy Sewing Machine Co. It was less than five dollars for the wheel and the shipping and it's a really nice one. A great deal can still be found! That is the one pictured below.


Now take your design and place it on your homosote (available in most hardware stores) or pine board. Don't tape it down because you'll be turning it. Now push the wheel into the lines on your drawing and just roll it and follow your pattern. This will poke holes in your paper - and your fingers so be careful. Sometimes it's useful to use the larger wheels on the straighter lines and the smaller ones in the tight curves. Hold your paper up to the light when you think you're finished to see if you've missed anything. If you goof, just cover the holes you don't want to show with masking tape.

Next, take your pounced drawing and place it on your canvas, (lying flat on a table or floor), Do tape it down this time. Now gently tap your pounce bag on your drawing until there is visible charcoal puffing out, but just a bit. Then rub it over the area with the bottom of the bag. Continue patting and rubbing with the bag until you have covered the whole surface. Very carefully lift a corner to be sure you've got just enough of the design visible as dots. When you are finished, lift off the paper with the drawing on it.

Lastly - take a pencil or sharpy marker, depending on what you're doing and carefully go over the lines. Watch that you don't brush off the drawing as you work. For one of my color study pounces I just put masking tape down against the charcoal-dot grid - no pencil involved. After you've traced the whole thing, blow off the charcoal. I find I need to use a good sized stiff brush to get it off a heavily textured canvas, but no big deal.

And - presto - you have your grid all ready. Once you've made it, it's super quick to make a bunch of grids, like the ones you see below to make color studies with. Leaves the time for the fun thinking about color instead of measuring out every time.

Now - I do this all the time and even though I've proof-read, please let me know if I've missed something of if you have any questions -


Happy Painting........ : 0 )

Oil Study on Grid

This is the beginning of one use for these simple grids. It is really a color circle, just each color painted randomly in a square. Below each grid I make the best "burnt sienna" and "burnt umber" that I can from that set of primaries. The paint was wet when I photographed it, so the color isn't that great here. Will scan it when it's dry and replace this one...

You can pretty easily pick out the primaries. This one is Winsor Red Deep, Phthalo Blue and Cad. Yellow Med. I'll do it again with a different set of primaries like Alizarin Crimson, French Ultramarine, and Cad. Lemon.

Once a few of these are done with different primaries, you can compare them and see a difference in the color "flavor" so to speak. Then it's fun to choose which color set best suits your needs for a particular light situation.

There will be more color study and and a tutorial on pounces in the posts to follow.

Happy Painting! : 0 )

Making Color Study Layouts Easier

I make pounces for my color study layouts. This is a really old method of transfer - used by Michelangelo, DaVinci and many others hundreds of years ago.

This is not very practical for every day fine art painting, but really speeds things up for these simple color studies. I'll explain the process in a future post - so stay tuned..... : 0 )

A very simple, but effective grid is seen here with the beginning of a watercolor study in my sketchbook.

Color Studies

I've been spending some of the bit of extra time I have on my hands these days revisiting color studies.

The study and drive for an increased color understanding is a life-long pursuit! It - thankfully - never ends. I've been working on my own version of Mr. Schmid's color charts as you see on the left, as well as other exercises which I'll explain....

Though I've done studies similar to this before, at this point in time it is helping me to recharge my brain on the possibilities of color mixtures and to simplify my pallet. I'm thinking this is both coloristically and economically a great move. So now I have several versions of the primaries and then what I call adjectival colors, for when I need an anomalous color or am just being too lazy to mix, or for quick sketches. My rules for paring down include not compromising on the saturation of any color - if that means adding another tube of something - fine. Also permanence, clarity, transparency, etc. My pallet consists of primarily Old Holland and Winsor & Newton with a couple of colors in Sennelier and Holbein.

This Last Week -

Hi All -

Been spending this last week getting our boy's homeschooling set up. It is just awesome! What a fantastic experience! My husband is teaching most of it, but I get to teach music, art- yea - and Spanish. We built big desks for them and set up a great classroom space.

Also been working on a large painting of gords and squash - no limited palette. I sometimes just need to use every color I can - get a good dose! Will post that asap.

Also working on some color studies - never enough time to explore color. May post some of those too. --- and some small still life work.

It's getting chilly here - the cooler temps are beginning to bring out the fall colors... just gorgeous. Our humming bird feeders are very busy with the thermometer dropping - that little lady above is one of our residents.

Sunflower

This is not a recent painting, but it seemed appropriate considering it's almost September. A very chilly day here - not at all like what I think of as August.

Technique: I started this with watercolor on Yupo synthetic paper and then paint into that with oils - love working like this.... off to do more....

Evening at SPAC

I had the most fantastic evening out at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center last weekend.

Our local museum, the Hyde Collection, has a gorgeous exhibition of Degas works on display - really tops. So in conjunction with this "Degas and Music" exhibition, SPAC asked local artists to come and set up and paint on the grounds before the Philadelphia Orchestra's concert last Saturday night.

It was sooooooo much fun! I painted and sketched for almost 3 hours. I talked to a lot of wonderful people, met a few other artists, handed out some business cards etc... Then, the orchestra played - oh my - there are no words to describe.... I haven't heard a live orchestra in some time and so this was just the Best treat! I've never heard Claire de Lune played so beautifully, so sensitively....

I've included a couple of oil sketches here from the evening.... Hope they will do that again!

New Etsy Shop....

Morning -

I've opened a shop on Etsy - for very small paintings. Go to JoanneHopper.etsy.com. Now that I have a bit more time on my hands I'm going to give this a try - see what will come of it.... I'll be adding more paintings on a regular basis.

Today is a big prep day - a bunch of canvases and panels at once... work back into a great painting routine here. Very exciting for me.

A few errands this morning. One of which is heading over our local and awesome museum, The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, NY. A small but fantastic museum. I have some ideas..... will post them in the days to come -

That's all for now -
Hasta Manana -
Joanne : 0 )

Time Out

Howdy -
I've spent the last 9 months working as a scenic artist at Adirondack Studios Inc. in Argyle, NY. I've worked there previously, but this was a particularly busy stretch and so, pathetically, I neglected both my posting and painting.

There is a lull in the scenic work at the moment so I'm taking advantage and catching up with the rest of my whole life! Ugh.... not good to be so crazy busy. It takes me a good hour travel each way, so that's a 10 hour day min. - plus often overtime.....

So - back to painting and blogging and my family - not necessarily in that order.... : 0 )

Until tomorrow -
Joanne