Still life painting

I am going back to doing some still life subjects. It's a bit discouraging. It takes me ages to set up a still life that I think I will like. Then I start painting and realize I don't like the set up at all.

I did manage to put some oranges in a bowl and paint them for the "garden" show at a local gallery. I would have given up on that one without the help of Margot and my fellow painters in her workshop. With their feedback I realized I had come much closer to creating a good painting with just my initial work. I needed to fix the background and then it all came together.

Now I am painting some backyard flowers. Ugh. Again, I think the problem is the background. I hung a yellowish cloth behind the flowers, but the yellow and the green of the leaves combines to look sickly. I'll probably scrape it and start over.

I know that I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself to create quality, completed paintings with every canvas I start. Sometimes I am at a loss for what to paint next. Right now I am confused by which started painting I should try to finish!

Sigh.

Sante Fe Dam

I did most of this painting plein air at the Sante Fe Dam. I am really enjoying the practice and discipline of getting outside each week. At home I struggled trying to get it to look the way I wanted. I finally realized that the red roof on the building was the problem. I changed it to this color scheme and I like it much better.

Here it is with the red roof. Which do you prefer?

 I think Edgar Payne would call this a steelyard composition. There are the two strong verticals created by the two pines in back and the yellow bush in front. These are connected and balanced by the horizontal of the little pier. If you are an artist, maybe you can give me more guidance on this. I think the composition of plein air paintings makes all the difference between a successful piece and a "nice try."

What you can't see is the amazing sound of the laughing ducks and geese that were wandering all over the lawns.

Winter in Lacy Park

Winter in Lacy Park

Hello everyone. Happy New Year!

I had a wonderful holiday season, with lots of celebrations visiting with family and friends. Thanks to all of you who were at my house and gave positive feedback on the work that I have up. It's exciting to have them on display!

Now I am glad to get back to a routine schedule. I have decided on a pretty rigorous schedule of painting.This 9x12 panel is the result of my first outing with the "Thursdays en Plein Air" group. It was a gorgeous day in the park, with warm sun and hardly any breeze. The trees are almost bare for the winter. I am happy that I was able to decide on a scene and more or less complete it in the two hours we painted. I'm not sure I'll keep this one, though. There is something about it that isn't right. I'm still not sure exactly what! Regardless, I am looking forward to painting with this group each week.

I also plan to attend Margot's workshop as I have been doing. And I will go to Sunny's weekend workshop when it starts up again in a few weeks. Sunny does more with still life and live models, which is what I need to study. My goal for this year is to put together a sizable body of completed works that I can present and sell. Between all of these opportunities, I should be able to do that.

Thanks for visiting this blog! I hope to post more frequently now (and to exercise more and lose weight and remember everyone's birthdays and ...).