Hibiscus

I still haven't been painting. But after our vacation in August that will change. I have signed up for a painting class that, I hope will give me some constructive criticism.

Today, I have a painting that I worked on last winter. The hibiscus was blooming at the zoo and the painting was taken from a photograph taken last fall. It was painted on a 5"x7" canvas panel in oils.

Boo

I still haven't been painting this summer, but I found a little painting that I completed last winter that I thought I would add to this blog. This little guy lives somewhere in Canterbury Cathedral. The painting was taken from a photograph taken in February 08. He is painted iin oils on a 5"x7" canvas panel.

Swans

Wow, I have been neglecting this blog for quite a while. I have not been painting too much because it is spring here and I an getting the yard ready for summer. In summer here it gets too hot (and sometimes dry) to plant and I am hoping for some nice subjects to sprout up.

With a last name like Swan it was only a matter of time before I painted some. I am not too pleased with the result I think maybe after I study it for a while, I may work on it some more. But, anyway, here is my latest painting. It was painted on an 8"x12" stretched canvas in oils. The swans were taken from a photograph of swans swimming in Castle Park in Colchester, England snapped a few years ago.

Houseplant

Well, here is a painting that I have been working on for the past few weeks. It is a houseplant that sits in my studio/sunroom. Many of my paintings so far are from photographs, but this one is from life. I am hoping that Anubis guards the houseplant from death as Anubis is lord of death. This little oil painting was painted on a 5"x7" canvas panel and was finished (or did I just get tired of painting on it?) last week. Oh, the houseplant is a Kalanchoe in case you couldn't tell!! I must practice more on painting plants.

Chicken

This mother hen was painted last weekend. It is my first use of the pallet knife for painting--the background, not the chicken! If you look closely there is a little chick peering out from his mother's feathers. And is you look even closer, you can just barely see another one. This chicken was painted in oils on an 8"x10" canvas paael.

Scratchboard Lion

I just ran across this scratchboard lion that I did for that class I took in the fall. This lion came from the same photo as the one in the oil painting below. I love his serene face! The bone came from a prop in the class. The object was to add something three dimensional (from life) to the drawing. It looks like the lion is sleeping off a large meal. The scratchboard size is 8"x10". It was done in October of 2008.

Secluded Beach

In early February, I visited with a dear friend that lives on a beautiful island in the warm Caribbean. This painting is from a photo of a beach somewhere on that island. With it being in the forties here, I could use some more of that sunshine! This painting was done in oils on an 8"x10" canvas panel and was finished last week.

After looking at the photo of the painting, I discovered that the colors in the photo were extremely washed out. I have removed the old image and added a new one that is a better representative of the original painting. I must remember to check the images before I post them!

Daffodils

The daffodils bloomed really early this year. I cut a few and brought them into the house to capture these in oils. These daffodils were painted sometime in February. They are painted on a 5"x7" canvas panel. My daffodils started blooming in early February and they are still blooming. Of course I have different varieties which spreads out the bloom time..

Scooter, My Sister's Cat

Scooter is a cat that was a throw-away-cat my brother-in-law found in a parking lot. He was nursed back to health and now he is a really active an playful kitty. It was difficult to get him to pose and the photograph the painting was taken from is lousy, but anyway , here is my attempt to capture him in oils. I painted most of him in December, but finished him in March. He was painted on an 8"x10" canvas panel.

Elephant

Wow! I have been neglecting this blog for quite a while! I have been painting, but not as much as I would have liked. This post is a painting of an elephant I captured on film last fall. I did the painting in January. The elephant was swishing dirt on herself. Maybe she thought she was making herself more attractive! The elephant was painted in oils on a 5"x7" canvas panel.

Sleeping Lion

This is a painting that I had done last September or October. I was never really happy with it. So this past weekend I worked on it some more. It's a little better but I think I may try and repaint it sometime in the future. The photo the painting is from was taken at the zoo last summer. The lions were all taking a nap on a big rock. I zoomed in real close and caught this one. As you can tell, I really like going to the zoo and taking photos for my painting. There are always animals or flowers to photograph and it makes for a nice walk through the different areas. The painting is on a 5"x7" canvas panel in oils.

Seagulls

These seagulls were waiting for popcorn or anything they could get their beaks into at the zoo. They are almost tame and stand very close to where people are hoping for some handouts. This painting was from a photograph taken in early November and was finished last weekend. It was painted on a 5"x7" canvas panel painted in oils. I really enjoy painting the animals I see at the zoo. I wish I could get some better photos of some of them. They just don't seem to corporate when I am trying to photo them and most times when I am there, the light does not make for good photos (and paintings).

Geranium

This geranium was painted from a photograph taken in late September. The painting was done in January 2009, just a week or so ago. Looking at the geranium now makes me miss summer all the more. Especially today when the outside temperature is below freezing. The painting was done on a 8x10"canvas panel in oils.

Scratchboard

In that drawing class I took in the fall of 2008, we did a couple of scratchboards. Albert Einstein made a good model with the wrinkles and wiry hair. I had not done this type of scratch drawing before and found it to be fun. Scratchboard is great for showing hair, fur and/or feathers. Various tools can be used to do the scratching and mistakes can be easily covered up using india ink.This drawing looks like it took a long time but it took suprisingly a very short time to create.

Pastry Pigs

In the fall of 2008, I took a drawing class at the local community college. What I would really like to take is a painting class, but I work full time and the classes are held when I am at work (during the daytime). So, I took the drawing class (which I enjoyed). One of the assignments was to make a drawing of cakes or pastries in the style of Wayne Thiebaud. I tend to like sweets and to keep the pastries around long enough to draw, I went to the local bakery and bought these little pastry pigs. I figured the pigs would remind me that I should leave them alone! The drawing was done in oil pastels and on a half sheet of Arches Watercolor paper (about 15"x22"). The image is cropped somewhat in the post. We did a few drawings in oil pastels which at first, I had much difficulty with. Oil pastels are a challenge, but towards the end of the class, I really enjoyed using them. By the way, I did not eat the pigs!

Grasshopper

I captured this grasshopper on film munching on a water hyacinth leaf during the summer. He was so busy eating that he didn't seem to mind me photographing him. I painted him in December 2008. He is painted in oils and on a 6x8 canvas panel. I believe he was not full grown because his legs don't have the stripes that full grown grasshoppers have. It is good to have help weeding the pond!

Lamas

These lamas were painted in October 2008. They are zoo animals that are on vacation in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The white one is Casper and the brown one is Nugget. They were painted on a 5x7 canvas panel in oils. As I was making my green color charts (see previous post), I would use the resulting greens created to use in a painting. Each painting is using a green from a different blue-yellow combination. This way I would add a new strip of greens in various graduations to my green color chart and not waste paint.

Caerphilly Castle

In February 2008, I visited my daughter and her husband who were living in England at the time. While there we went to see her best friend who lives in Cardiff, Wales. While in Wales, we visited Caerphilly Castle. It was a very cold day. The ducks and birds stood on the ice which covered a good portion of the moat. It's a lovely old castle that is much a ruin and made for some nice photographs. This painting is from one of the photos I took that day. The painting was painted in oils on a 8x10 canvas panel and was painted in October, 2008. One of the challenges of this painting was the water and the reflection. And, I forgot to mention, the greens! About this time, I realized that I needed to do some color mixing! So, I have made myself some color charts using various blues and yellows to create greens. I have also taken the color charts a little further and added white to the greens created as well as burnt umber. I should have done this before I even started painting! Beginners always buy too much. I have collected a number of tubes of oil paint. So many colors!! I have made a chart of the colors I have. Not being as familiar with the colors as I would like, the chart makes it easy to pick and choose. Some colors are emerging as my favorites, but I'm still a beginner and, who knows, I might revise my favorites as I gain experience.

My Daughter's Cat

In September I painted my daughter's cat, Loony, She was laying under a bush watching the birds, her favorite pastime. She is quite a fat cat! This little painting was done in oils and was painted on a 5x7 canvas panel. I am still quite shaky with the brush and having a hard time with colors. Greens! Also, Loony, being a black cat, made the painting of her quite challenging. I may , in the future after I get more practice, paint her again.

Water Hyacinth

Wow! The last post was so easy, I thought I would make another. This painting was also painted in August of 2008. It was painted on a 8x10 canvas panel in oils. I have a pond in the backyard that was over grown with water hyacinths. They seem to only bloom in August when they are packed together. I keep one area packed with them so I can enjoy the blooms. I know they are a nuisance weed but they are so pretty while in bloom. I have koi in the pond which like the shade the hyacinths provide. They (the water hyacinths, not the fish!) also stay still for their portraits!

First Entry

This is my first entry into what I hope will be a record of my attempts at becoming a better painter. These two little paintings were my first since 1975. They were from photos taken at the Virginia Zoo's butterfly garden or flower garden. Butterflies are extremely difficult to photograph as they fly very fast and flitter around from flower to flower. They will not pose for you and they have a bad habit of positioning themselves against a background that is very close to their color like in the second image, which actually was the first painting. Of course, I could have changed the background color, but I'll do things like that when I become more comfortable with painting. These little paintings are 5"x7" and are painted on canvas panels. They were painted in August '08.