Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Woman in Black



"Woman in Black", 14 x 11 In, Oil on Museum Board
Fascinated by portraiture, I continue to try to re-think my process. In the end, they are all experiments and the question always is, when to simply go on to the next one. I've always found that at a certain point, everything in the painting is dependent on everything else and to change one small thing is often a major undertaking, even if that one small thing stands out as something that needs to be "fixed."



Woman In Black





Tuesday, December 27, 2016

White Dress


"White Dress", 14 x 11 In, Oil on Museum Board

I recently read a blog from another artist who said that value is more important than color and something in me wants to take exception to that. But I also would not contend the opposite. Value and color are like the senses of seeing and hearing, both aspects of the bigger whole. With color there are warms and cools, not dependent on value. And it would be interesting to know if the brain registers color differently than value. And what about other aspects of painting, such as brushwork, which could be related to value (the "rule" says keep darks thin), but is really something different--a matter of physical intention and emotion. In fact, I've never been able to think of one aspect of painting as being more important than another aspect, but maybe I am missing something, and so I am open to your thoughts--readers of my blog!



Price



Thursday, December 15, 2016

Meg


"Meg", 14 x 11 In, Oil on Museum Board

I am fascinated by the human face but continually question--how to make it a fascinating painting. Sometimes, as in this portrait, I use a bigger brush, #10 flat, to keep from being caught up in detail.




Framing



Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Cape Disappointment

"Cape Disappointment", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board

It is cold and wet outside and our environmental issue is on hold until January, so at last I have been painting every day in my studio. But I haven't gotten back in the habit of posting! And posting brings its own angst--when I haven't painted for awhile, in some ways I feel like I am at the beginning again. So all my paintings these days are practice and experiment--but I guess they always were, anyway.



Saturday, December 3, 2016

Lopez Island Cliff - NFS


"Lopez Island Cliff", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board

After working on our neighborhood issue related to the proposed industrial geoduck operation in Zangle Cove for so many hours the last three months, I finally went through my photos on a rainy day in my studio, got out my paints and brushes and did what actually makes me feel good--paint! It was Alison Engle, a family member who lives on San Juan Island, who wondered if it was Watmough Bay. The San Juan's are magical islands in the northern part of Puget Sound and yes, our Plein Air Washington group was painting there maybe in 2012.

NFS