7/24/2008

Tiger Lilies


Oil Color Monotype, approx. 5" x 6", $45.00, Go Here


This quick sketch of some tiger lilies was done from some
that grew near my yard. I like doing monotypes outside.
I paint them on metal, plastic, mylar, Yupo watercolor
paper - I even once painted one on a piece of gessoed
thin wood - it actually went through the press with
the printmaking paper very well. I never print them
by hand. Well, not since I got my press in 1976.


This was fun because of the challenge of getting the little
purple pieces to hang off of the stamens (?) just so. I have
always been fascinated by these flowers; they are much
hardier than daylilies. Daylilies are very beautiful, but die
about twenty minutes after you pick them. Hard to paint
a picture quite that fast (unless you're Delacroix.....).

Thanks for visiting today.

(I'm still working on that painting - I haven't forgotten!)

7/23/2008

Side Yard in Blacksburg


Oil Monotype on Fine Printmaking Paper,8" x 6",
$200.00, Go Here
This very painterly monotype was done from partly from memory
and partly from my memory of a beautiful place where I lived several
summers in Blacksburg, Virginia during the 1980's when my husband
was going to architecture school. It was like the Garden of Eden there.
I will always remember it as being one of the happiest times in my life.

7/22/2008

Unfinished Painting of Sophie in a Silk Kimono


Oil Painting on Gesso and Oil Ground
15/3/4" x 22 1/4" NOT FOR SALE YET


I thought that today, since I never publish progress
pictures, that I would publish a picture of a partially-
completed painting that I did today. It is painted on a
piece of 100% rag mat board that I had previously
covered with two coats of gesso, allowed to dry, and then
covered with a neutral sort of mushroom-color oil paint
mixed with Liquin for a ground.
You can kind of see the ground color in parts of the
feet that are not painted yet, and in the upper left hand corner,
which also is not painted yet. This is not the greatest photograph
of the painting, unfortunately. I have a very good digital camera,
but sometimes something gets lost in the translation.....
I did a line drawing of the composition, using a ball point pen,
squaring up a few areas that were particularly challenging.
I like to use ball point pen, because you can paint right over
it, and the paint and solvent don't budge it, so your drawing
stays put.
I'm planning on finishing this tomorrow, so you may
or may not see it again. We'll see how it goes. So far, I'm pretty
happy with it. We'll see how it turns out. I want to try and maintain
the "loose" quality of it. I like that.

7/21/2008

Fountain Statue in a Park in New Orleans


Oil Color Monotype, 4" x 5 1/2", $90.00,
This piece was done from a photograph that I
took in New Orleans many years ago when I went
there to visit some dear friends. I was captivated
by this fountain, which had three figures.
I think I will do a triptych eventually.
If anyone is wondering about the scarcity of
posts here recently, it is just that life has been complicated
lately, with several ill friends, family obligations, much
teaching, and little time to paint. I am hoping some time
will open up this week, because I am dying to paint!
Thank you for visiting today.