30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

It's New Year's Eve and I'm ready to start painting tomorrow! I've joined a painting challenge. Yikes!

The challenge is to paint 30 paintings in 30 days. The goal of the challenge is to get people to paint more often and to have fun! Both of those are exactly what I need right now.

I've made my plan, even if it is a little vague. I've gathered my materials. I'm a little nervous. I'm excited. I'm ready to go!

My panels

A few props

And the panel holder for these little guys (all paintings will be 6x6)

I'm a little nervous. I'm excited.

Each day I'll post my painting on the challenge website, hosted by Leslie Saeta. I'll also post them here and in Daily Paint Works where they will be for sale.

So stay tuned, hang on and see what happens as we paint through January.

How about you? Have you ever done one of these? Would you do one?

I'm ready to go.

Lost in Scottsdale?

You may be thinking I got lost in Scottsdale and never returned! Sometimes I wish that was the case, since it is still snowing here in good ole Wyoming. I realized the other day that we have had snow more than once in each of the last 9 months!

April Morning Alley, 11x14, oil on panel

Scottsdale was wonderful and I was so much in soaking-it-up mode that I never took any photos! Now that was dumb! Hopefully I will return next year and remember to take some then.

I have been working on a new website and blog and trying to figure out how to get things transferred over there.  I may never get that accomplished, but that is where I will be posting my stuff from now on. The website will be updated monthly and if you would like to keep abreast of the latest happenings, you can subscribe to my email newsletter by entering your email on the home page.

Hope all is well in your corner of the art world. Happy painting!

Scottsdale, here I come!

I'm headed to Scottsdale tomorrow! I've never been there so I'm pretty excited. I'll be taking a work shop with Camille Przewodek.  I've wanted to do this for a long time. It should be a lot of fun - a whole week's worth. I can't wait to post some photos when I get back. 

Footprints in the Snow

Her approach is a colorist approach and the goal will be to learn to paint the "light effect" on objects. It's a different way of seeing and painting than I'm used to although I'm pretty sure it's what I've wanted to do all along. Since signing up and watching her DVD, I've tried it, or at least tried to be aware of it a little more. I'm not expecting to paint any masterpieces down there, but am hoping to come back with a grasp on the concept.

Calf in Zorn, 6x8, oil on panel

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I repainted this little guy using the Zorn palette (Titanium White, Yellow Ochre, Ivory Black and Cad Red Light) just to see how it would be different. Personally, I like it better in these colors than the fuller palette.

Winter Walk 2, 6x6, oil on panel

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This painting and the previous are the same scene done in two different palettes. Also, the scene is treated differently in the composition, but that was not intentional. It's interesting to see how subtle shifts can change the feel and look of a painting. All fun in learning new things!

Winter Walk 1, 6x6, oil on panel

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Standing Tall, 6x6, oil on panel

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Have you ever seen Albert Handel's work? He is a master at strong, direct light on the landscape, trees in particular. So this is a little attempt at conveying that same type of light.

Playing with Zorn, 6x6, oil on panel

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Perhaps this scene looks familiar to you. If so, it's because I did another painting of it previously. This time I used a palette commonly known as the Zorn palette. It consists of White, Ivory Black, Yellow Ochre and Vermillion or Cad Red Light. In this one I also used Mars Black just to see what the difference would be. I really like this palette. It's always surprising to me to see just what it can do. Seems magical!

Peaking Out, 6x6, oil on panel

Clouds Over the Mountain, 6x8, oil on panel

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My painting for the cloud challenge, which I never actually entered . . . I'm pretty bad about such things. I did have fun painting it though. This too, is done with the Zorn palette. Who would have thought such a limited palette would produce such color variety!

Orange Pepper 2, 6x6, oil on panel

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When the weather is bad and you don't want to go out, it's always fun to paint something bright and cheery a comfortable studio!

Four Snow Paintings

I've been doing some larger (12x24 to 18x24) studio paintings using small (6x6) plein air paintings. It's fun to see them all together and the different colors depending on the key of light at the time they were originally painted.

Tools of the Trade, 6x6, oil on panel

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Tools of the trade? I do like to have a cup of coffee or tea when I'm painting, although it often goes cold before I actually drink it. I'm heading to Scottsdale Artists' School next month for a workshop with Camille Przewodek, which I'm very excited about! This little painting is an exercise in seeing color, in anticipation of the workshop.

Prairie and Trees, 6x8, oil on paper

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Like the previous painting, this was done on Wallis Sanded Paper. I highly recommend it if you have any trouble with putting one layer on another. But, again, use synthetic bristle brushes. Natural bristle brushes get eaten up by the texture very quickly.

Boxelder Creek, 8x6, oil on paper

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This painting and the previous one are done on Wallis Sanded Paper which is a surface made for oil and pastels. It's fun to paint on as it grabs the paint off the brush. You don't get the problem of an under layer being pulled up and muddying another layer placed on top.  If you try it, use synthetic bristle brushes, though, because that sandpaper really eats up natural bristles!

Sage in the Light, 6x8, oil on paper

Cows in the Meadow, 6x8, oil on paper

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This is a little plein air painting done a couple of years ago. It's a gentle reminder that there will be a spring and summer even if it seems a long way off.

Cedar Ridge, 6x8, oil on panel

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This little scene is from a spot down the road where we always go to get a Christmas tree. We've gotten in the habit of having a cedar "half tree". Cedars grow in clumps around here and so you just get a part of the clump. It comes in very handy if you have limited space!

Red Hot Orange Pepper, 6x6, oil on panel

Another color experiment. Hot on hot?

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Orange Slices 2, 6x6, oil on panel

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Still playing around with different color combinations. The wind has been howling (40-70 mph!) around here so much, it makes me doubly glad to be able to set up a simple still life and paint inside!

Sweet, 6x6, oil on panel

SOLD

What a sweet expression! Sometimes I just have to paint a cow. The angles of the bone structure always intrigue me. I never feel like I understand the structure so each cow painting is truly a response to what I'm seeing as opposed to painting from a thorough knowledge of the subject (not that there's anything wrong with thorough knowledge!)

Ice and Snow, 6x8, oil on canvas

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Cold and snow is covering much of the nation these days. Here's a scene from nearby Casper. It was an overcast day full of the possibility of new snow being on it's way. There is such subtle beauty in this kind of day as the color is more saturated than on a bright sunny day.

Prairie Light, 6x6, oil on panel

SOLD

This is a plein air scene from my studio window, done a couple of months ago. I've been exploring color in a different way. Trying to get a better grasp on how it conveys a feel for the light and time of day. Soon I'll be posting some winter scenes done en plein air using the Zorn palette (white, ivory black, vermillion and yellow ochre).