Pier 23 Cafe

This is my ninth painting for my #paint52 Challenge, which you can follow on Twitter. You might also like to subscribe to the my blog and follow my weekly update. The painting was painted with Atelier Interactive Acrylics on velum, measures 9″ X 12″ and an addition to my San Francisco Series.

Once again I really appreciate your support and following my challenge!

Bahu

It was an overcast day like so many days in San Francisco, creating a melancholy backdrop for this scene. On one of the side streets of downtown Chinatown, I noticed a man playing an instrument I had never seen before. I wondered, how did he arrive in this country and did he at one time play this instrument, which I believe is called a Banhu, for his people in China? He seemed to be hiding from everyone in the corner, as if he wanted to be left alone to play his string instrument. He was wearing a tie, bringing some formality to the occasion, contrasted by his broken down cart containing a small box for change and an old umbrella. It was a somber setting and I hoped I captured the moment.

This is my eighth painting, measures 12” X 15”, Atelier Interactive Acrylic on velum, for my #paint52 Challenge. This also an addition for my San Francisco Series, that I plan on having an art show in the spring. The under-painting is red, which helped to liven the somber scene. I guess I can’t go totally grey, just isn’t my nature. I’m really enjoying painting with the acrylics loving the strokes, but I feel the next one I need to push myself further, more abstract, looser and full of texture. I sense I need to explore.

Thanks again, I really appreciate you sharing my journey to paint 52 paintings in one year.

Camden and Nellie

It was so great to see my granddaughter Camden this weekend. I hadn’t seen her for quite a while and missed her a lot, she is going to be six soon and growing up to be such a big girl. I love that she loves nature so, and is quite adventurous. She had no fear feeding her pet chicken Nellie. I always wanted to paint this image and thought it would be great for her to take home with her. I showed it to her mom and she actually started to well up with tears. She not only loved this painting, but was touched by the image of Camden feeding her favorite chickens.

This is my seventh painting of my #paint52 series, the challenge to paint 52 paintings in one year. The painting is 9” X 12”, painted on a linen covered Birch New Tradition Art Panel; the medium Atelier Interactive Acrylics. The New Traditional art panels are lightweight durable, and easy to carry for Plein air painting, but can be used for studio painting as well. They come in a wide variety of styles and textures. This panel will be easy to transport and pack. You might want to check out the site, it’s a great find. I under-painted the painting with Raw Sienna. Once again I prefer to paint loose and capture the essence of the moment.

Last night my son Blair said he was very proud and excited to see what I was doing and expressed that it was a great challenge. What I love about this challenge is sharing it with everyone and perhaps along the way inspiring you as well.

I really appreciate you sharing my journey.

Magical Mystery Tour

Hop on the bus for the “Magical Mystery Tour”. This is my sixth painting for the #paint52 challenge and also another addition to my San Francisco series. The painting measures 18″ X 24″ and the medium is Atelier Interactive Acrylic. It’s great that I can accomplish two goals at the same time, one to paint 52 paintings for the year of 2012 and second to acquire a body of work for an art show on my San Francisco series. The painting is underpainted with red and I noticed the red seems to vibrate, showing a glow when photographed. This painting was a challenge, due to the size of the bus taking most of the background and also a bright blue. I didn’t want to overdo painting the bus; it is a focal point, yet I also wanted the person walking towards us to be the focal point, as well. I guess you can have the “push pull” effect with objects, as well as color. The people on the sides were laid in simply, almost framing the focal points. I may do more way later, but now I must put it aside and start on another painting.

This #paint52 journey is magical, as well as a mystery. It is a mystery, a leap of faith to paint so many paintings in one year, not knowing what the end of the year will bring as a result of this venture. It has been magical, because it has already been very healing to be painting regularly. The more I paint the more I want to paint. It is filling my soul and I feel alive again.

Thank you for following my journey.

This is my fifth painting of the #paint52 challenge and also another addition to my San Francisco Series. It measures 8″ X 11″ painted with Atelier Interactive Acrylics on velum. How appropriate it is called “One Glass At A Time”, echoing my one painting at a time to complete 52 paintings in one year. I first painted a bright green underpainting and I used the Binder Medium to make sure it stayed put. The Binder Medium prevents the paint from bleeding through or being picked up when painting over it. I wanted to make sure that bits and piece showed through, since the color theme of the painting is a silvery pinkish color; it allowed the neutrals to vibrate. It also created a sensation for me while painting, a push pull effect, a term used by Hans Hoffman. I used mostly neutrals in this painting. I made a pile of half dark and half-light, and added my colors to these neutrals to create a pearlescent quality. I’m still getting used to using acrlyics, and love that I can paint quickly, creating a much looser painting. This is a desire of mine to paint loose, less is more.

Thank you for following me on my #paint52 journey!

I painted the canvas red and laid the darks in first, creating a silhouette of figures and buildings. I felt it gave it a mystery. This painting was not drawn first, but created again by shapes against shapes. For some reason that is my procedure of choice, when I paint with acrylics. I am going back and forth with each painting. One painting I use entirely Atelier Acrylics and then next one oil paint. I am learning the pros and cons of each one. What I love about the acrylics is the texture, gesture, looseness and spontaneity. My husband says he prefers my acrylic paintings, when I paint people and oil when I paint landscapes. It is always good to have someone’s objective opinion. I still haven’t tried painting oil over acrylics. I must try it.

I have changed my studio. I now have a huge glass pallet on one side of the room with oil paint and the other side a huge glass pallet of acrylic. I move my easel accordingly. Let me tell you when I enter the room it has powerful energy that I cannot resist. The block I once had no longer exists and I do believe this is one of the reasons and of course this challenge.
Ok, onward to the next painting. Thank you for visiting.

I painted the canvas red and laid the darks in first, creating a silhouette of figures and buildings. I felt it gave it a mystery. This painting was not drawn first, but created again by shapes against shapes. For some reason that is my procedure of choice, when I paint with acrylics. I am going back and forth with each painting. One painting I use entirely Atelier Acrylics and then next one oil paint. I am learning the pros and cons of each one. What I love about the acrylics is the texture, gesture, looseness and spontaneity. My husband says he prefers my acrylic paintings, when I paint people and oil when I paint landscapes. It is always good to have someone’s objective opinion. I still haven’t tried painting oil over acrylics. I must try it.

I have changed my studio. I now have a huge glass pallet on one side of the room with oil paint and the other side a huge glass pallet of acrylic. I move my easel accordingly. Let me tell you when I enter the room it has powerful energy that I cannot resist. The block I once had no longer exists and I do believe this is one of the reasons and of course this challenge.
Ok, onward to the next painting. Thank you for visiting.

Turnabout

I haven’t painted with oil for a while. I fell in love once again, as I opened the beautiful luscious tubes of paint. There is nothing like the hues of Daniel Smith Oil Paint. They make their own paint, highly saturated, highly permanent and with names you may have never heard before. My oils sung to me as I laid each one on my new large glass pallet. I love a large pallet and being glass makes it easy to clean. I promised myself I would always have it ready to go. Now even though I love the colors and brightness of oil paint, I’m not giving up on the Atelier Interactive Acrylics. I do believe there are a place for each acrylic and a place for oil and perhaps I will even combine the two.

My journey continues and I am feeling great. It feels good to be back full time at the easel.
Thank you for joining me.