Studio

Here's one of the plein-air pastel paintings I did while in Costa Rica this last year. It was amazing, sitting on the patio of a popular watering hole/restaurant, spreading out my pastels and relaxing and painting. I so want to go back to see the rest of this amazing place! This is Montezuma, a popular town known for being a bit of a hipppy refuge!

Plein-air painting

It's mid November and 75º and sunny!!! How can I possibly stay inside and work when I could be outdoors enjoying the wonderful day?! 

I set out to find somewhere to set up my easel to paint and ended up in my own driveway. I found many beautiful spots which I would have LOVED to paint but finding somewhere to park my car proved challenging. The winding, narrow roads don't have room on the sides to pull off and set up, and, I feel it's best to be somewhere within sight of people. I used to go off by myself, travel up north and land myself in very quiet yet secluded spots. So, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, there's no place like home! The view from the driveway looking down onto the neighbors yard is really lovely right now. The woods are deep and dark with the silvery trees glowing in the late afternoon sun. I'm going to add a little more detail this afternoon but keeping in the true spirit of plein-air painting, it's about capturing the light and the sense of place. I'll just be going in today to add some light to the picture because the sun went down so quickly yesterday, before I could get it.

 

 

Fruit from Home

I've been going out onto the front porch a little each day to work on these acrylic paintings and here's where they are currently...which means, I'm not positive I'm done with them. I always need to put a painting away for a week or so to see it with fresh eyes before I decide if it's done or not. It's funny, as an artist AND a graphic designer, I'm now looking at these and thinking about all the ways I could use them as a design element for product. I'm glad I wear both hats, it makes the creative process more fun. I love art, I love design and I love combining the two!

take a look, leave me comments, ask me questions...

"fruit from home" refers to where I grew up in Michigan. An orchard community, I spent many days climbing apple trees, picking fresh fruit and baking pies with my mom. Even though GA is "the peach State", it isn't, really. Mostly, the peaches in the stores are all from elsewhere and have sitting on a truck somewhere ripening. yuk.

Chefs at work

Here are a couple of paintings from a series I did a while back, themed around Chefs at Work. You'll notice the setting is in Paris, one of my favorite cities. There were four paintings in this series, two were sold and I have misplaced my images of them. I know, BAD ARTIST! What was thinking, not filing them.

I seem to have lost a box of professionally done scans of several of my paintings which have been sold. I do have have some really bad home photos, but nothing I could ever publish. We moved a couple of years ago and I don't know why it is that everytime you move, you lose stuff. Where does it go???? Like socks in the washer, a black hole is out there somewhere. When I moved back home from Kansas City where I worked for Hallmark, I had a nearly finished painting of a ballerina and it was probably my masterpiece of my life. It's gone. nowhere to be found. It was painted traditionally, done in oils. If you see it, give me a call, will you please?

2 hour painting

Is is a painting? a craft? a papercraft? YEP, it is.
I know that a lot of people really WANT to paint but feel intimidated. Maybe the "drawing" part of it scares you. Or the color decisions are what keep you back. Or, that big 'ol blank canvas staring at you....maybe all of the above. Well here's a fun, fast way to get you started with paint!

I had saved this page from a magazine simply because it was beautiful. Waaay too beautiful to throw away. And, since we are all into re-use/recycle these days, this is the perfect opportunity to do your part and create something beautiful besides.
I used a pre-stretched canvas, some MODPODGE ™ from Plaid, one of my paper designs and some acrylic paint. You'll also need some old brushes for applying the MODPODGE™, some wipes and a bucket of water to throw your brushes in when you're done gluing.

I started laying out the pre-designed elements, in this case, the paper and the printed page from the magazine.

next, I gather my supplies.

First, I sprayed the paper front and back with a sealer which helps to keep it from bubbling up. I still had problems this time, but can go back after it's completely dry and with a pin, poke a couple of well placed holes to release the air bubbles. I hurried a bit too much and this is why I ran into problems. I know you'll do it right! I decided to remove the green area of the paper because it bubbled too much to fix, so I cut a line with my exacto and carefully lifted it off. No big deal, plan B, that's all.

Now I start adding in paint. I wanted to change and pump up the color to make this a more abstract art piece. I love big, bold strokes of color and the key to getting this is to use a big brush. If you use a tiny brush, you'll end up making tiny little stokes and get all hung up in detail. I wanted this to be fairly loose.

Here's where I'm stopping. I may come back in later and add something but am not convinced it needs anything else.

I hope you'll try this fast and fun approach to making art.
please note; a word about copyrights. When you make a piece like this, you are crafting with someone else's intellectual property. The photographer or magazine owns the copyright to the floral image therefore I would not sell this or claim it under my name. You could give it away or enjoy it for your personal use. You could NOT reproduce the floral image (or my paper designs for that matter) on a copier to make multiples. Just thought I'd add this because the whole copyright thing does get confusing!
HAVE FUN!

weekend painting

OK, now that I've decided to paint on the weekends, I LOVE SATURDAYS! ....AND SUNDAYS!!!!
Here is a step out of this weekend's painting, done in acrylics.
I started with a stretched canvas and a very limited palette. I simply started laying in shapes, hues and some very subtle value changes. My intent was to establish some movement and a rhythm, while I had no idea what this would end up being.

Next, "oh no, what now?"...about 8 years ago husband and I visited France and took the bullet train down to Marsailles. I had made a sketch while riding, even though the train was so fast, it really afforded only an impression of the countryside. Maybe this is a good thing, no getting hung up on the details, right?
After deciding that this would be my inspiration for this painting, I began to lay in some cool/warm color blocks.
more color....
Now it's time to start laying in some defined shapes. You'll notice that I've extended the overall height of the scene, taking my artistic license. Hey, remember, this is about creative expression.

At this point, I need to re-evaluate the overall color palette because up until this point, I've kept it very lean. I think I need to introduce a couple of new hues so I'm using a color swatch book from a paint store to get a quick visual and help me make a decision. I do want to keep the overall palette cool but some small patches of warm will help create some tension.
Okay, after letting this painting rest overnight...(or was it letting ME rest overnight...) I've come to the conclusion that I need to soften the rocks in the foerground and add a slight glaze over the background to push it into the distance. This will also speak to the early morning mist or dew that might be on the ground and in the air.
Here's what I think is my final...never say "done" until a bit of time has passed and I can look at it with fresh eyes!
This final shot has been color corrected to reflect the actual paint colors while the earlier shots have not.

Hope this inspires you to let your artistic muse come out and play. I've enjoyed my weekend and now feel totally refreshed and ready to go back creating those die lines for some 3-d stickers coming your way in Sept.
peace and love,
brenda

Finding my balance

It's funny how quickly your life can tilt in only one direction. I feel as though I've been on a slippery slope going downhill and I awoke today with the revelation that my life is way off balance. I've been working for endless hours with hardly a moment to come up for air. Yes, I'm doing design, which I love. But...what in my life led me to be a designer?
It's the core of who I am. I am a creator, a problem solver and an experimentalist. My passion is color. My other passion is pattern. My other passion is paint. All kinds of paint, including pastels. And, it occurs to me today, that I have not really, seriously had a paint brush in my hands for a VERY long while. It's what I'm missing. Creating for no one but ME. Not the customers, not my manufacturers, just ME. What I want to draw, what comes from within, authentic art.

So, each week, one day per week, I'm painting. That's that. It's officially on my calendar, scheduled in. I'm going to the art supply store tomorrow while I'm out and going to pick up some fresh mediums, a few new canvases and some fresh, new brushes. (The two hundred or so I own are not quite enough!).

I'll be using this blog as a creative journal and I'll be demonstrating techniques and showing my art. I hope you'll stop in each week and be inspired to find your authentic creative voice.