Joanne Hopper

I've Moved My Blog

2010-10-09T08:10:00.003-04:00

Hey All -

I've moved my blog to my FASO Blog site. It gives me less grief and much better connections with other wonderful artist people.

So sorry for the inconvenience here - should be an easy switch over though with the attached links. Please come see us / join us on FASO. Fine Art Studios Online - it's a really wonderful, professional, easy to use web site service for artists. Can't say enough good things about them -

Thanks so much -
Joanne : 0 )

Unfinished...

2010-08-30T17:22:00.003-04:00

This plein air sketch was painted from Juniper Island in Lake George, NY looking up at a portion of Roger's Rock. It's unfinished.... I got about an hour into it and was invaded by a family of kayakers! Now - usually people are super polite and I have just wonderful experiences chatting etc..., but they didn't address me at all and the children were going to knock right into my easel..... very weird. So for the sake of my easel's safety I packed it in - I was pretty disappointed - but oh well - that's the way it goes sometimes.

I did take a photo and may try to finish from that but then it won't be plein air any more and I pretty much detest working from pics..... Will see..... It was such a great spot too - the waves were washing over my feet as I was painting : 0 )

Thoughts and Sketches

2010-08-23T17:40:00.002-04:00

I've been spending a great deal of time lately writing - doing what we artists are supposed to do, create an "artist's statement". Phew.... man.... torture, but definitely a productive exercise. I've written pages to eek out a couple of paragraphs and am going to post stuff that just won't fit in my statement here on my blog because I do think I figured out some interesting stuff.

The above sketch was done plein air on what we call Ant Island on Stewart's Pond, NY. I did start a painting, but the ants were chewing on my feet so badly that I had to give it up. Very disappointing - live and learn ......

FAA Tony Merit Award...

2010-08-22T18:58:00.002-04:00

A true testament to the marketing guru that I'm Not!!! I was awarded this little gem over a month ago and it didn't occur to me to post it until today.... ugh.... Anyway - the incredibly talented Tate Hamilton passed it to me and I've passed it on to Ken Powers - also amazingly talented - who has made terrific strides in his watercolors over the last six months or so....

Thank you Tate and congratulations Ken!!!

Gage Hill Farm

2010-08-16T19:33:00.004-04:00

This little oil is 6.5 x 8 inches. I painted it one steamy evening last week. I worked for two hours and it literally felt like about 15 minutes. Home sweet home! The window next to the trunk of the maple on the ground floor is my studio window... : 0 )

Edit: I scanned this painting once it was dry and was able to get much more accurate color and values - seen above. It's funny - depending on the image, sometimes my camera sees the color much more accurately and sometimes my scanner does - occasionally both bomb out, but happily that's not too often.

Juniper in Sun, Roger's Rock, New York

2010-08-13T20:03:00.002-04:00

This 4 x 6 oil on linen was painted on Juniper Island in front of Roger's Rock on Lake George, New York. I'm kind of fond of it - somewhat abstract - it is more about the experience of being there for me, in the sun in the evening, than a description of a tree. A step forward for me in plein air painting I think - albeit a small one -

New Blog Discovery

2010-08-09T10:22:00.002-04:00

No pic today - I have quite a few new paintings and plein air sketches to post but have been too busy to photograph them - crazy.........

But did want to take a minute to mention Stapleton Kearn's blog - it's just wonderful... I'm really enjoying going back and reading everything from the beginning in 2007. They're terrifically well written, sooooo funny in places, informative etc.... He brings real "quality in art" into this dumbed down, anything-goes, cheap-thrills, instant-gratification era that we're slogging through -

More Plein Air

2010-07-29T20:14:00.004-04:00

I painted this a couple of weekends ago but have been too busy with the scenic stuff to post it. It's oil on linen on panel, 8 x 10 inches. It was brutally hot - again - can see why people get those enormous umbrellas!!! And - again - the upside was jumping in the water to cool off.

I'm feeling better in general about painting in plein air - there are things that I like about this and things that I don't - it's too busy I think, but I'm getting better at seeing patterns and sorting out the value shapes I think - from life. Will keep at it of course - hopefully will be able to get out again this weekend - two days off - yeehaa.....

Schroon Lake Haze

2010-07-09T18:40:00.002-04:00

Been doing a Ton of scenic work lately so I haven't been in my studio much. I found time last weekend to do this little plein air oil, 6 x 8, up in Schroon Lake, NY. Insanely- I was painting in the full sun with a heat index of over 100 degrees. The total upside was jumping in the water every 15 minutes to cool off. Even with the water relief, I painted very quickly!

A Saratoga Spring

2010-06-16T18:58:00.002-04:00

There was a "paint out" in Saratoga Springs last weekend. I found out about it a day too late to officially sign up, but went and met up with a good painter friend and had a great day anyway...
It was pouring rain most of the day, so I set up under one of the portico roofs over a sulpher spring in Congress Park to paint - it was a little chilly, but sooooo incredibly peaceful painting to the sound of the rain...
Then in out of the rain for a Fantastic dinner in the Parting Glass...!

Austin's Pick

2010-06-12T08:20:00.003-04:00

It's been rainy and cold this past week and the scenic scene has been really busy, so I've been back in my studio working on still life paintings, color studies etc. My son Austin has been wanting to try yellow peppers for some time. Not a problem, they're wonderful veggies, but Mommy had to paint it first : 0 )

Sweltering & Hazy

2010-06-06T10:40:00.004-04:00

I did this little oil plein air sketch last week with a palette knife. The landscape is a view from our front yard. It was, as the title suggests, incredibly hot and humid and there was a lot of smoke in the air too from a fire in Canada - so between the three, heat, humidity, and smoke, it was amazingly hazy. I Love the heat - thought it was just beautiful! Certainly could have lived without the smoke though.

I was standing in the sun - less buggy that way and had my "sun visor" on my Bitterroot easel - so very useful. Different painting on the easel than the one above, but you get the idea -

Boy - this is a bit of a pain in the patootie to get things to publish in the order I want them in the post - oh well....

"Old Dogs"

2010-06-05T17:08:00.003-04:00

Oil plein air sketch of a couple of our old outboard motors - Johnson, 25 horse in the foreground.

Windy Day

2010-05-31T11:04:00.002-04:00

After a really frustrating day with the wind and accidentally dumping my brush cleaning fluid - orange oil - into my paint bag - the whole container full - I made this little oil sketch. I did it with a palette knife - as I had no brush cleaner left - 3.5 x 5 inches.

Buck Mountain, Lake George, NY

2010-05-23T17:30:00.003-04:00

I painted this little 8 x 10 inch oil yesterday from one of the islands in Lake George. The mountain to the right is Buck Mountain which I've climbed with my family many times. I only had little more than half an hour before I lost the light, so it was pretty quick, but I still like it.

2010-05-15T08:26:00.002-04:00

I did this in my studio last week during a very windy stormy dark day - such a contrast to all this bright cheeriness! The red of the mug leans to the blue and the red of the tomato leans to the orange - this did not reproduce - they look so similar here. I've ordered some larger panels - I soooooo need to paint bigger!!! This was fun, but I felt quite claustrophobic doing it so small -

Fourteenth "Cup 'O' Jo" : 0 )

2010-05-04T10:35:00.002-04:00

My fourteenth cup here - though it's actually been more than that, not all are fit for public consumption.... Lesson learned here - at least one of them - don't set your coffee cup on your palette unless you're finished with the painting you're working on - I was stuck till I finished my coffee cup painting - though it didin't take too long.

Thirty Minute Pose

2010-05-01T09:34:00.004-04:00

I had a half hour left after I finished the reclining pose from my last post and didn't want to waste the time, so I did this little 6 x 6 inch sketch -

Sketch and a Night in Boston -

2010-04-30T11:17:00.003-04:00

I was called suddenly away to see LA GRANDE-DUCHESSE DE GÉROLSTEIN in Boston at the Cutler Majestic Theater, Emerson College. I painted part of the set for the production and it was such a thrill to be able to see it in person. It was absolutely fantastic! The music, orchestra, voices - all superb - and so incredibly funny!!! A great night out!

I had breakfast in Quincy market the next morning - gorgeous day! A bit of sight seeing and then back to Home-Sweet-Home!

The sketch above is from last Mon night. I used the ground that I'd wiped twice a few Wednesdays before. I put some English red down and a few other colors and then - really it seems to me that I'm carving/drawing. Pushing, pulling, looking for darks, lights, edges and where edges disappear. I carve a lot before beginning to apply flesh tones - fun and good practice!

Baby Bellas

2010-04-25T08:15:00.002-04:00

I've been very inspired by some of the super nutritious foods we've been eating lately -

Thirteenth Cup 'O' Jo

2010-04-23T19:03:00.004-04:00

I'm trying a new template and a new order of adding things to eliminate the blue text and lines - so far so good.....

This is cup 13 - obviously - - - My coffee cup was snuggling up to my Boston pencil sharpener. I've been drinking more herbal tea lately too - Love Lemon Zinger, so I'll be painting cups 'o' tea too ; 0 )

Cup 12 Makes a Dozen

2010-04-19T08:55:00.004-04:00

Man - this is really frustrating me! If anyone knows how to change this Please! let me know... I've been surfing around here clicking away, trying to get this underlining off... Ugh...

Anyway - my little red cup finally makes its debut - I made the mistake of using a red that I didn't care for - a small tube of geranium lake that I thought I'd put to some use and use up - I didn't like it for a reason! Live and learn - again....

Sometimes I have a yen to drink my coffee black with just some stevia in it -

Cup 11 and Ruminations

2010-04-17T11:25:00.004-04:00

Firstly - I apologize for the underlining if you're seeing it on your monitor - it wants to type the whole thing as a link - probably because I put the link in the post first - the text was blue too, but I was able to fix that. Will do things in a different order next time -

Cup Number 11 - one of my more favorite ones...

Was doing some thinking again last night and a bit of writing which I'll convey:

In painting, what am I passionate about?? - Light, the color - simultaneously as they can only be seen - thirdly the objects themselves. The objects are only supports - chairs to drape the light, color, drawing and design on....

How do I paint color?

The exception - PEOPLE - every face different, perfect, beautiful beyond words.....

Skin Tones

2010-04-16T10:20:00.006-04:00

I've been working from the model a lot recently. We have a couple of great places to go near here - great professional models, wonderful spaces to work and other terrific artists to be inspired by.

I'm pretty rusty here and was very unhappy with my skin tone palette, so I did a bit of R&D for myself and some of my results are above.

I'm not going to write a great deal here - please contact me for questions or discussions - I welcome it! However, I'll say that the Old Holland Cadmium reds were hands down the most satisfactory for me in color and paint handling. The Winsor & Newton Cadmium Red was muddy by comparison - and I can always mix mud.... The Winosr & Newton Burnt Sienna and Tera Rosa were fantastic though. Winsor Red wasn't too bad, but I still much prefer the Old Holland Cadmiums - Red Lt, and Scarlet! The worst was Holbein's Tera Rosa - muddy and bluish.

Cup 'O' Jo number 10

2010-04-15T09:40:00.005-04:00

Last night's open model drawing session was just abysmal. It was a wipe - Twice! That's fine though - I prefer to think that no experience is wasted.

So - here's coffee number 10. I decided it might be more interesting to see where my cups live, their surroundings - so there'll be more of where I am in future Cups 'O' Jo.... This particular one is currently on display and for sale at Art on the Avenue, Macon, Georgia!

Monday Night's Sketch

2010-04-14T12:53:00.003-04:00

This is my sketch from Monday night, Saratoga Sketch Club...

Teal Still Life

2010-04-12T14:13:00.002-04:00

I finished this painting this morning. The picture of it is a bit contrasty - will try to scan it and see if that comes out better, once it's dry -

Open Model Sketch

2010-04-10T11:05:00.002-04:00

Wednesday night's model in the Troy Shirt Factory Bldg here in Glens Falls. A great, bright space, terrific model - really wonderful, met some other great artists and reacquainted myself with a few. I'm really enjoying using this extra time off to further my people painting skills. Back to my easel and still life here ---

Number 9 Cup 'O' Coffee

2010-04-06T09:00:00.002-04:00

Cup No. 9 Ladies and Gents.... After one busy day of scenic work yesterday, I'm back in my studio - Yes! - Sanctuary - for more of what I love best.

Complimentary Snack

2010-04-03T09:58:00.004-04:00

The orange was absolutely delicious!!! If you were ever put on the spot to come up with something that rhymes with orange - here you go.... "Four engineers in orange braziers" Not original, but as close as I've heard anything... : 0 )

The color in the orange is off - it's too dark and too orange - in the painting it's yellow-er.

Cup 'O' Jo 8

2010-04-02T08:05:00.004-04:00

I had quite a response to my "Weight Lost" post from a couple of days ago. So I'll post updates periodically and add things to that post in khaki green - things I forgot to include. I want to keep all the pertinent info in once easy to access place.
Meanwhile - I had one fun day of scenic work yesterday and am back to studio painting today - Yea! God is sooooo good!!!!!

Weight Lost!

2010-03-31T06:45:00.008-04:00

I've had many people ask me for this information lately, so I'm posting it here. I've recently lost 90+ (99 lbs as of June 11, 2010) pounds, since last June actually. I'm going to post how I did this as concisely as possible:

About a year ago I came across a book by Gary Taubes called "Good Calories, Bad Calories". It was 468 pages of amazing information and here is what I gleaned from it. Please do read it yourself, it is well worth the time and effort.

People are not fat because they eat fat, they're fat because they eat carbohydrates. Carbohydrates cause your body to produce insulin and insulin is what is responsible for putting the fat that you eat, and converted sugars, into fat tissues making a body fat. So, no insulin production, no deposition of fat into cells! The body doesn't need glucose to run on and neither does the brain. The liver can convert fats and proteins just fine and make ketones which is a more efficient way for the body to work And the brain to function. I've been living this way since last June and have never been healthier.

Here is a list-synopsis of my story:

Before:

I weighted more than 250 pounds.
Heart palpitations
Terrible swelling in my hands, feet and ankles.
Such high blood pressure the Dr. wanted to medicate me immediately
Always totally exhausted
My diet - Low fat, Low calorie!
I was Always hungry!
Bowel issues
Poor eyesight
Bumpy terribly dry itchy skin prone to blackheads
Arthritis-like troubles - couldn't even bend over without a great deal of pain in my lower back, achy joints, had to use a railing to go down stairs
Easily out of breath
Intolerable PMS and periods
My brain was always foggy
Very negative for my job and not great for my marriage
Size 2x - and my clothes were tight.

After:

I now weigh 155 pounds and am continuing to loose weight
My blood pressure is below normal (this dropped immediately upon elimination of carbs and has continued to improve)
No Swelling whatsoever - this also improved greatly within the first two weeks of eliminating carbs and continued fairly rapidly and was completely gone withing two months
No heart palpitations
More energy than I know what to do with (I also take vitamin D - 20,000 units per day ( not all at once) which helps this immensely as well.
I'm Never hungry
Improved eyesight - went for new glasses yesterday in fact and needed a weaker prescription.
PMS has all but disappeared
No joint aches at all - I'm amazingly flexible - I Never would have believed it if someone had told me this would be a result
I look forward to exercise and am training myself to run - breathing's easy!
My skin is much smoother, blackheads don't reoccur, and much less dry and not itchy at all
Much happier bowels
I can think clearly and focus for long periods of time
Diet - high fat, medium protein and between 5 - 15 grams of carbs per day - 20 max on a bad day
Far more efficient and effective on my job as a scenic artist and of course wonderful for my marriage : 0 )
I only focus on low carbs, I don't ever count calories, don't portion my food, eat when I need to or want to and feel satisfied
Size medium and my clothes are very loose! Wearing some size "small clothes" : 0 )

In short - all of the bad stuff in the first list has completely disappeared! Not just improved or somewhat gotten better, - GONE!

So if you're interested in this here are two more lists -

DO NOT EAT:

No sugar of any kind!
NO High Fructose Corn Syrup!
No bread
No corn products at all
No potatoes
No low fat milk, yogurt, cheeses etc
No low fat salad dressings
No chips, candy, popcorn or whatever other carbohydrate finds its way into your diet
No juice of any kind
No bananas, apples (at least at first for the apples, until goal weight is reached)
No pasta

DO EAT:

Cheeses - sharp, medium, mild, cream cheese, brie - No cottage cheese
Use only real butter and high quality olive oil for cooking and eating
Meats - chicken, beef, pork, bacon, turkey, eggs, sardines packed in olive oil etc
Low carb fruits and veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, squashes, avocado, strawberries, pears, blueberries, raspberries. Veggies should be fresh and raw or steamed al dente to retain nutrients. Avoid micro-waving. Also raw garlic, onions. Nothing canned.
Use Half and Half for milk - yes I drink small cups of Half and Half for milk - it's very rich obviously and I use it in my coffee etc
Eat whole milk organic yogurt (Stoneyfield Farm) sweetened with Stevia (a plant derivative sweetener with no brain altering chemicals and no glycemic index - btw blue agave is very high fructose the way it is processed and should not be used), then flavored with the berries mentioned above, cinnamon, a few drops of a high quality extract like lemon etc.
Nuts - all of them except cashews and I even eat them in my mixed nuts. Peanuts may be avoided as many people are allergic to them and the ratio of good oils to bad oils in them is about 50/50.
Chocolate - Green & Black makes a dark bar that is 86 percent cocoa that is incredible, also Lindt 90% Cocoa Chocolate, very good - we have this sometimes on movie night
Olives, onions, garlic, various hot peppers
Water - drink pure, fluoride-free water all day long

So - compared with what I'd been through before trying to get fit and loose weight, yea, this was easy! Again - I'm never hungry! Sacrifices - yes - you must make a choice! No Panera pastries, Dunkin's doughnuts, popcorn, biscuits (my personal favorite and what I miss the most), mashed potatoes, catsup (though you can make your own easily enough and season it how you like) etc. All that sweet tasty stuff is just delicious poison....

Also - Exercise! - again - you must make a choice to be healthy and feel great and change a few things and I'm finding exercise a total pleasure on this "diet"! Moderate and regular - put your mp3 player on and dance or walk - your body will respond! Enjoy it - it is Not an option - think of it like breathing!

A few more things to keep in mind - the food pyramid is upside down! Turn it over and you'll have a much better idea of how you should eat. Carbs/sugars are addicting - literally. Salt content is not as much of a big deal if you're not eating carbs.

Forget about calories, only count carbs and keep it under 20 grams per day

Avoid eating right before bed, an hour or so before...

Lastly - One of the things Mr. Taubes discuses in his book is that even for people who are not overweight, eating carbs is not good. Though a continuously elevated - rising and lowering of insulin levels does Not in itself cause cancer or Alzheimer's, he states there is evidence that running off of glucose does prevent or block your brain's natural ability to regulate mechanisms that help your body to naturally prevent these things.

Finally - I leave you with my new pizza recipe because I could not live without pizza! Instead of bread crust I use the huge portabella mushroom caps brushed with olive oil and turned upside down. Then drain your store-bought pizza sauce (be sure and check for high fructose corn syrup and sugars in the sauce) well through cheese cloth laid in a colander so the sauce is very stiff because the mushroom caps have liquid in them too. Put the sauce into the caps and bake them for a bit - I always make mine on my Weber grill, so not sure what the oven time/temp would be. Then after the mushroom cap has softened up a bit add your toppings (including pepperoni - we're very fortunate to have a local smoke house, Oscar's that makes pepperoni with minimal nitrites) and cheeses, spices etc - then bake/broil again until the cheeses are melted. Delicious - my three children love it!

A note about children - we all do eat the same way (my wonderful husband has lost 40+ pounds), but I provide really whole grains for them. They have old fashioned oatmeal with cream and butter on it for breakfast to be sure they're getting enough fat into their cells to stay at an ideal body weight. They also have more yogurt and higher carb fruits than I do like oranges and apples and occasionally a very hearty whole grain brown rice or mix of brown rices with butter on it, chick peas warm with butter and spices or in a salad with olive oil.

Your Dr. will probably not agree with what I've written here. Mr. Taubes addresses this in his book as well. But I am conveying here to you my own experience. Please email me with any questions or for references at joannehop@gmail.com.

Very lastly -really - I don't believe for a minute it was a coincidence that I was reading "Good Calories, Bad Calories" at the same time that I was diagnosed with such high blood pressure. God has his hand in all of my life as I belong to him and I thank and praise Him for giving me the answers before I knew I needed them!

Cup 'O' Jo no. 7

2010-03-29T17:22:00.002-04:00

I'm starting to include more of where my coffee cups live in my little paintings. Thought it would be nice to see their surroundings.

Next Cup - Number 6

2010-03-28T08:11:00.002-04:00

The little red cup arrived yesterday - just sweet - great color, so that will be making it's debut one of these days.

Fifth Cup -

2010-03-27T07:55:00.003-04:00

Like a faithful dog - my coffee hangin' there with me as I paint on the floor.

Cup No. 4

2010-03-26T08:20:00.003-04:00

I painted this one very quickly using left over paints from another effort. Lots of painting ahead today. I've set up a new still life - no coffee cup in it. Also picked up several jars of canned foods at the grocery yesterday - gorgeous hot peppers in yellows and reds and greens, pickles, and huge olives.
I also stopped at the local thrift store and found a set of peachy colored napkins to use as grounds in still lifes - a quarter a piece - I love thrift stores! : 0 )

Third Cup 'O' Jo

2010-03-25T07:57:00.002-04:00

Here's my third painted cup of coffee.

Since I spent the last couple posts discussing color, I'll add this little note. Inconsequential really, but - now I generally Love Sennelier paints, both oils and watercolors. Just out of curiosity I tried their Burnt Sienna and the color is just fine, vibrant, creamy - lovely - However..... it smells like motor oil. It smells so bad I won't use it in my studio, I'm saving it for plein aire work - outside....

I Love their Ultramarine Blue which I mentioned in the list - it's just a hair redder than most other brands - gorgeous! The Cobalt Turquoise is also gorgeous - it has no white pigment in it and is super versatile. The Titanium White is also super thick and rich and I sometimes use their Cad. Yellow Pale - intense and glorious.... And all the rest of those colors smell like oil paint - the way they should....

Anyway - just a note on paint....

Lemon Yellow Still Life

2010-03-24T07:22:00.005-04:00

Another way that I like to use color is to pick, for example, one red and one blue and then use a range of tube colors for the third in the triad - yellow in the painting above. The palette for this one is Burnt Sienna for red, Sennelier Cobalt Turquoise blue, and then a range of yellows - Cad. Lemon, Cad. Yellow, Winsor Yellow mostly with a bit of Naples Yellow, Yellow Ochre, and Cad. Yellow Deep. I also love to use one blue, one yellow and then a bunch of reds as in "Snuggle Buddies" from four posts ago.

Working this way allows the color I'm using so much of from different tubes, yellow in this example, to intimate and suggest many other colors in the spectrum that aren't blatantly there. I call this particular color - whichever one it is, red, yellow, or blue, my "spectral" color.

My Color Palette

2010-03-23T07:38:00.005-04:00

A while back I mentioned that some artist friends had asked me about my choice of colors and I'm finally getting to it...... It's a rainy, very gray morning here so I have a great cup of coffee - which I may paint when I'm finished with my post, Pandora playing Baroque - and so I proceed....

So - firstly - when choosing colors I consider:

Permanence
Brilliance
Transparency

Usually in the better manufacturers the above go hand in hand to some degree. Winsor & Newton even makes a transparent white which I employ periodically.

The manufacturers I prefer are - about 50/50 Old Holland and Winsor & Newton, then Sennelier and lastly Holbein. A note about Old Holland in their defense - I've heard and read some negative about being over priced etc. Well, they are expensive, no doubt, but I also find the intense concentration usually causes them to last 2 - 3 times as long as a comparable color of anything else and some of their colors just can't be matched in brilliance like Cad. Red Scarlet and Cobalt Turquoise Light. So in the list below of specific pigments I name the manufacturer because for my tastes and uses it's the most brilliant, useful color in that pigment range.
I will add that my own testing, while extensive, is not exhaustive, so it continues and I welcome comments about other colors in other manufacturers etc....

Permanent Rose - W&N
Quinacridone Magenta - W&N
Permanent Alizarin Crimson - W&N
Cadmium Red Light - OH
Cadmium Scarlet - OH
Scheveningen Orange - OH
Indian Yellow - W&N
Cadmium Yellow - W&N
Cadmium Yellow Lemon - Holbein
Cobalt Turquoise Lt. - OH
Viridian - W&N
Phthalo Blue - OH
French Ultramarine - Sennelier - slightly more red than other brands.
Bright Violet - OH
Burnt Sienna - W&N
Burnt Umber - OH
Transparent Maroon - W&N
OH Yellow Brown - OH
Red Oxide - OH
Titanium White - OH usually and Sennelier
Transparent White - W&N

You can see those colors and some comparisons on the chart above. I make and remake these charts based on new information and sometimes a new color I'm interested in trying.

I Never use all of these colors on a palette at once. I usually use a limited palette, a red, yellow, and blue and like to mix even my browns ahead instead of just squeezing out some Burnt Sienna (though I do love W&N Bt Sienna), or Umber. You also see quite a few greens, earth reds, and browns that are not listed - I rarely use them for my own work, but keep them on hand for illustration/work/ faux finish purposes and some of them I try and then reject. I much prefer to mix my secondaries. I do use black sometimes - OH Mars black or I find Gamblin Chromatic Black useful, but again, like to mix my blacks too.

When testing your own colors, be sure to view the mass tone comparisons up close, and from about 10 feet away and look at how they compare when painted thinly - not with extra medium, just pulled out very very thinly on your canvas and then what happens when white is added...

I have three containers, one with the names of my reds on small scraps of paper, one with the blues and then of course the yellows. Once in a while I just reach in and pick one from each and see what comes from them as a limited palette - fun and interesting.

My watercolor palette is pretty much the same with the same colors from the same manufacturers with a few exceptions. I love Sennelier Cerulean Blue in watercolor, the W&N Cobalt Turquoise Lt, W&N Gold Ochre and Daniel Smith Quinacridone Burnt Orange etc.

Hopefully this is helpful - I'm more than happy to answer questions if I can or start a dialogue on color so fee free to email me.

Happy painting....

Next Cup...

2010-03-22T08:30:00.004-04:00

Here's the next in my series.... I'm so excited, I found a screaming red antique enameled coffee cup, white on the inside, on Etsy - quite reasonable too. Very much looking forward to painting it! Should be here by the end of the week : 0 )

Cups 'O' Jo

2010-03-21T10:22:00.005-04:00

I've begun a new series of small paintings that I'm calling "Cups 'O' Jo". These are sort of self portraits through Java. They're my cups of coffee that I'm drinking while I'm working or reading or whatever. I don't set them up as still lifes, they're just "found" and painted as is.

If it isn't obvious, I Love coffee - usually light with Stevia in it. Stevia is wonderful stuff for anyone interested. It is a sweetener derived from a plant - no sugar in it and no terrible brain-altering chemicals and it has no glycemic index - but it is very sweet. One packet is the equivalent of two teaspoons of sugar. We find it at Wal-Mart - "Nature Made" I think makes it.

Anyway I do love coffee - light, sometimes sweet, always strong, sometimes with a shot of espresso when available, occasionally flavored - lightly with cinnamon or chocolate or hazelnut..... My husband will come in to my studio with a cup or ask me to come join him for one and it always lifts my heart - the effect never wears off. We chat and enjoy the coffee..... So it's a small but big part of my life I share here and I'm thoroughly enjoying painting them as well as drinking them. : 0 )

This series can also be found on my web site under the title of this post, "Cups 'O' Joe"

Snuggle Buddies

2010-03-07T11:12:00.002-05:00

After my whole discussion about whites, there's almost none in this little painting - only in the highlights. The rest of the lights are a combination of using the paint transparently on a white oil ground and the use of Cadmium Lemon Yellow.

Old Holland Paint

2010-02-28T12:55:00.003-05:00

This post actually has nothing to do with the above painting from Rockewell Falls, under the bridge in Hadley, NY.

A couple of posts ago I was lamenting the yellowing of the Zinc white in the Old Holland brand of oil paint.
Well - I went to the OH web site and contacted the people who speak English there and sent them a scan, describing my disappointment. I've loved OH paint forever! I was heartbroken.

They took my issues directly to their master paint fellow in their factory and he had the answer immediately. Within 24 hours my questions had been answered, my problems solved - and I'm so very relieved!

It turns out that the pigments in linseed binder -paint- they make are meant to be in light. The first question he asked me was, "Was I by any chance storing them in the dark?" And - yes - I had been. The samples in question had been stored in complete darkness for years.

So I put tape over half of the yellowed sample that I'd sent to them and then taped the whole page in a south facing window for maximum light exposure. It's been there now for a month and the swatch has indeed begun to get back to where it was when I made it - a beautiful pure white. The titanium which had also yellowed is almost pure white again, the zinc I think is about half way there. The paintings I had stored are also returning to their original state. Yea!!!

My complete faith in Old Holland paints has been more than completely restored and I'd recommend them to anyone serious about color. At first they may take some getting used to because the color is so saturated and so pure that it needs to be applied more thinly than some other brands. But it is so gorgeous it is more than worth the trouble!

Speaking of paint, I've had a couple of artist friends of mine ask me recently about my pigments and choice of paints. So in my next post I'm going to write about brands, pigments, colors I use and don't use and why and how I came to those decisions. So - stay tuned..... : 0 )

Model Sketch

2010-02-27T09:37:00.002-05:00

This sketch was from a couple of weeks ago. Not a true likeness of the model, but still recognizable as a female of the human race.... lol. Just keep painting, just keep painting.....

Red Tin

2010-02-09T16:32:00.004-05:00

I'm so loving red - I get this way in the middle of February - half starved for bright colors. This little painting, 3 x 3 inches is in my Etsy shop.

Darn, Eggs...

2010-02-06T14:09:00.002-05:00

Ahhhhhhhhhh - working from life is feeling so wonderful - like scratching an itch... More to come : 0 )

Life Drawing, Painting - Resisting -

2010-02-05T08:26:00.003-05:00

My internal commitment to working from life has been refreshingly liberating for me. Funny - nothing's really changed, just had to come to that realization, though the choice has always been there.

I did this sketch last Monday night. Great to be working from the model again too and to work along side some super talented artists!

I also continue with drawing, my color studies, reading..... Another awesome John Berger book - "From A to X, A Story in Letters". A truly incredible book, story - it's art, poetry, resistance, beauty - can't recommend it enough!

Brrrrrr...... and Digging Deep -

2010-01-31T16:49:00.005-05:00

Yesterday morning it was 15 degrees Below Zero here - uhhhhhhh - teeeeth chattttttering!!!! This morning, only 5 below - finally some global warming.....

Anyway - Been in a bit of a funk here - Haiti and some deaths of acquaintances etc... So very much sadness and heaviness of heart!

I've been taking this time to dig deep, doing lots of reading. One of the books I'm reading through for the second time in two weeks actually is "The Shape of a Pocket" by John Berger. I found it in the National Gallery bookstore; I've read some of his other works and this one practically jumped off the shelf at me.

It is truly a remarkable book; a collection of essays speaking to painting as an act of resistance. The second essay, "Steps Towards a Small Theory of the Visible" is one of the best pieces on art and painting I've ever come across. I highly recommend it to anyone asking questions of themselves and the world and paint and the visual!

I've been doing a lot of writing as well lately, trying to figure things out.... about painting .... why I must paint, what I want to paint and I've been feeling a certain meaninglessness about the whole thing - not a depression exactly, but a grasping, a remembering..... And I've come to many conclusions, but one of particular significance is that the state of the world and the state of the world as portrayed by the media, the economy etc... is supposed to effect a state of hollow, shallow, confused meaninglessness.

Now - I don't have a TV, so I have to make a very concerted effort to view one generally. While I was in MD, there was a TV in my room and I was appalled at the degradation that's taken place in the 12 or so years since I've had one. I turned on the tube twice, to try to find something interesting to watch (beside the weather channel or Fox News - Ugh!) Both times the scenes opened with a dead body; the first of a little black girl and the second of a pretty red-head who'd been bludgeoned to death in a bathtub. Wow - what I've been missing! Man! Between that and the news............... what can even be said -

Anyway - the point is, and one of the many poignant points of Berger's book is that the prostitution, (my word, not his) of images, cheap, in your face, over the top, and consumerism driven, -billions of them relentlessly barraging people, contributes immensely to the meaninglessness of them and a seemingly cheapening and devaluing of life. I see this in much of the contemporary paintings I've perused of late. Many of them I even love, they're beautiful, but what do they mean??? All these gazillions of images make paintings harder to see.

This has brought me to a necessary and impassioned conclusion for my own work here. For the time being, I'm only going to work from life! For thousands of years this has been the way artists functioned. I feel a bit of a death in a way these days, trying to make a painting from a digital image. Painting for me is about reciprocity, action - reaction, energy, and the precious use of my binocular vision that becomes neutered by both the flatness and limited color of a photograph.

So I am resisting - painting from life, insisting that painting and the richness of family and friends, relationships, walks in the woods, striving, changing, improvings, giving a damn and looking for God's will all do have exquisite and indelible meaning!!!

George Bellows - The Lone Tenement

2010-01-16T09:35:00.004-05:00

I saw this remarkable painting in the National Gallery of Art. I made several trips there while I was working in MD. It is just an incredible painting - very approximately -it's 3 x 4 feet. This reproduction is really pretty accurate coloristically. I see it as painting at its best - real paint, light, content, design - the artist both disappears and is everything in it at the same time!

Well - been back for a week here - have indeed been neglecting posting, but not working. I've hoed out my studio - ahhhhhhhh.................. Been drawing, painting, making color studies, writing and thinking about gearing up for spring.

I was also extremely fortunate - in this economy - to be able to order some much needed supplies this last week - including a new color - Sennelier Cobalt Turqoise - can't wait to see it in person.

I've been using almost exclusively Old Holland and Winsor & Newton. Well I've had some serious yellowing issues with the Old Holland - particularly zinc and Titanium whites and I'm bitterly disappointed about that! Fortunately most of the paintings I've sold over the last two years have been watercolors.

Anyway - I've been doing some research and am switching out most of my Old Holland colors for Sennelier - the French Ultramarine Deep is awesome, I'm using their Titanium white etc.... I'll stick with the Old Holland reds I use - Cadmium Scarlet and Cad Red Light - they seem to be unaffected.

Later - And Happy Painting -

Butter Dish - Knife Painting

2009-12-27T11:18:00.003-05:00

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

2009-11-30T19:16:00.004-05:00

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

2009-11-28T09:38:00.004-05:00

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

2009-11-26T12:03:00.003-05:00

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 -

2009-11-19T09:55:00.003-05:00

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

2009-11-16T17:25:00.003-05:00

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 -

2009-11-14T12:33:00.003-05:00

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

2009-11-12T15:25:00.002-05:00

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

Thought for the Day

2009-11-10T18:18:00.006-05:00

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 -

2009-11-09T16:33:00.002-05:00

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

2009-11-06T10:21:00.003-05:00

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 -

2009-11-04T14:56:00.004-05:00

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

2009-11-03T11:23:00.006-05:00

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

2009-11-01T21:00:00.003-05:00

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...

2009-10-31T16:22:00.002-04:00

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

2009-10-30T10:43:00.005-04:00

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

2009-10-25T10:47:00.002-04:00

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

2009-10-24T11:46:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-10-24T11:29:00.003-04:00

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

2009-10-10T19:41:00.004-04:00

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...

2009-10-04T09:27:00.002-04:00

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

2009-09-27T15:16:00.003-04:00

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

2009-09-22T15:42:00.006-04:00

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

2009-09-19T11:51:00.011-04:00

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

2009-09-18T08:08:00.004-04:00

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

2009-09-18T08:02:00.004-04:00

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

2009-09-18T07:45:00.005-04:00

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 -

2009-09-12T20:02:00.003-04:00

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

2009-08-28T12:35:00.004-04:00

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

2009-08-27T09:00:00.003-04:00

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....

2009-08-26T10:49:00.005-04:00

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

2009-08-24T14:46:00.002-04:00

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

Psalm Fourteen Verse One

2008-12-06T22:24:00.005-05:00

Oil on Unstretched Canvas, Unframed
26 x 30 Inches
$2500.00

For international or expedited shipping, please contact me prior to purchase.

I've chosen to put this painting from my abstract conceptual up on my blog first because of the season coming fast upon us here. Lots of snow in the forecast. Others are soon to follow. I think of these kind of like visual parables.

It was difficult to photograph and doesn't capture the subtleties of the colors - a lot of color missing, intricacies of the snowflakes, or fine shifts in values I worked so hard to create. Details of this painting can be found on my Oil and H2O Blog. I'm going to try it again and will post a better photograph if I can get one.

Kiss Before Breakfast

2008-12-04T14:38:00.005-05:00

Oil on Canvas Covered Board
4.5 x 6 Inches
Sold

Four Hubbards

2008-10-31T11:43:00.001-04:00

Watercolor on Paper

11 x 15

Available

Turban Squash

2008-10-31T11:33:00.001-04:00

Watercolor on Paper

22 x 30 inches

NFS - Original Destroyed

The original of this painting no longer exists, but if you are interested in a print, head on over to Fine Arts America. I'm working on setting up the "Print-on-Demand" feature there - so please check back.

Apple Still Life

2008-10-30T12:04:00.014-04:00

Oil on Panel
3.75 x 7 inches
See my Etsy shop for availability.

Shepherd Park Pinks

2008-10-24T14:39:00.006-04:00

Red Hot Peppers

2008-10-19T20:49:00.004-04:00

Watercolor on Paper
8 X 10
SOLD

Grapes and Cherries

2008-10-17T11:09:00.004-04:00

Watercolor and Oil on Yupo
7.5 X 10 Inches
NFS

The grapes in the photograph of this painting look blotchy and harsh. In the original they are far more luminous and the transitions softer - there is a more homogeneous look to them. Neither the scanner or my camera were able to "see" that grape green color accurately.

Inukshuks

2008-09-27T07:37:00.001-04:00

Silverpoint on Prepared Paper

8 x 10 Inches

NFS

A fun project I had the honor of working on lately. My four-year-old son and I went up to a spot on the Hudson River above Warrensburg and spent the day making these. The weather was gorgeous, the leaves were beginning to turn, the water was perfect for getting our feet wet, we had fall apples for a snack... A phenomenally fun day - fantastic memory for us.

Cherry Blossoms IV

2008-09-13T19:58:00.003-04:00

Mixed Media
13 X 19 Inches, Unframed
NFS

Cherry Blossoms III

2008-09-13T19:52:00.002-04:00

Watercolor on Paper

10 x 13 inches

NFS

Pine Cone

2008-09-13T19:41:00.003-04:00

NFS

Silverpoint Trunk

2008-09-13T19:25:00.003-04:00

Silverpoint on Prepared Paper
4 x 5.5 Inches
NFS

Dave's River

2008-09-13T19:12:00.001-04:00

Oil on Wood Panel

5 x 14 inches

NFS

Heidi and Katie

2008-09-13T19:08:00.001-04:00

Oil on Wood Panel

9 x 12 inches

NFS

My Tubes 37

2008-09-13T19:01:00.002-04:00

Oil on Yupo
4 x 5.5 Inches
$85.00

For international or expedited shipping, please contact me prior to purchase.

My Tubes 36

2008-09-13T18:46:00.003-04:00

Oil on Yupo
5 x 3 Inches
NFS