#136 "Bluebird" 7x5 oil on linen panel #139 "Ella Fishing" 8x8 oil on linen panel

"Ella on the Dock"

I haven't painted much since knee surgery last February. We've been traveling so much I just haven't had time. Here are two little warmups I've done just to make sure I remember which end of the brush to hold! The painting on the left is an 8x8 oil on canvas. It's of granddaughter Ella fishing off our dock. She caught a total of 7!!!

The second painting below is a 5x7 oil of a Bluebird. Mom really loved this so it sits in her living room keeping and eye on her! I hope to get back to my studio this fall and really get it to it a bit!

"Bluebird"

#135 "Simplicity" 16x20 oil on linen panel

"Simplicity" 16x20 oil on linen panel

Moved a bit outside my comfort zone with this one! I merged a bit of Modernism into Impressionism. Not sure if your supposed to do that but I did it anyway.  What started as a total impressionistic painting ended up combining the two schools. 

By placing the figure of the woman so boldly into an otherwise tranquil space added a whole new dimension to the piece. Truly it was an accident. At first I toned her down (following the rules) so that the sun and its reflection would be the focus. Having the sun and reflections more profound was my original intention. I started thinking, what if I tone the sun and the reflections way down and I bring up the silhouette? Heck the paint was still wet so why not? My attention then went immediately to the woman! Not what I had originally intended but I kinda liked it! 

Something still wasn't right. The darker values were distracting as a result of paint strokes etc. So I blended the dark area and the sky with a big fan brush thus removing any lines or evidence of paint strokes. What had been a battle for attention between the woman and the sun, water reflections etc. ended! There she was, commanding attention. For me it immediately evoked thought. Who was she? Why was she there? She looks almost unworldly. Even though she was so bold, the overall feel had a quiet, peaceful quality. 

I realize this breaks the rules of true impressionism but what the heck! It's my painting!!!

 

I found a cool app that lets you take your painting and place it on a wall. Kinda fun!!!