Kathleen Dunphy's palette

Every time I paint outside I feel a little panic. Not because of bugs or wind or even snakes. It's the changing light and color that always get to me.

I recently read a couple of blog posts by Kathleen Dunphy about her color palette. I decided to give it a try and I've used it 3 times now with great satisfaction! I thought maybe it was beginner's luck, so I used it again on a commission I was working on in the studio also. Great again. And yesterday I used it at the lake, painting red rocks which I love, but always have found to be a frustration. My previous post about painting at Alcova is about the process.

Color has definitely been my area of struggle since taking up oils. When I worked in pastel I had a limited palette because I had a limited number of pastels I was willing to haul around. They're heavy! Since moving to oils, I've had more trouble because I have so many choices of colors I can mix. People who see my work may not thinks so, but I know so. That's why I'm thrilled with this palette.

So, what is this palette? It's a limited palette, using only 6 tubes of paint. The brands are important so if you decide to try this, make sure you get the right brands. They are Rembrandt Cold Grey, Rembrandt Naples Yellow Deep, Rembrandt Permanent Red, Utrecht Cadmium Yellow Lemon and any brand of Ultramarine Blue and a White. 

If you're wondering about the piles of color on the right, those are leftovers from the last time I painted, all mixed together to make some nice greys.

I followed Kathleen's order of premixing my colors at the location before beginning to paint. 

I found the process of getting the color and value I wanted much easier than any other palette I've used in the past. I also found I got a wonderful variety of greens much closer to our muted landscape colors here in the west. For instance mixing some cold grey with lemon yellow makes a great green. Then you can warm it up with a little red or cool it off with a bit of ultramarine. Pretty simple. Red is warm, blue is cool. I like that.

Middle mixture is Cold Grey and Utrecht Lemon Yellow, cooled with Ultramarine Blue on the left, warmed with Permanent Red on the right.

Middle mixture is Cold Grey and Permanent Red, cooled with white and more grey on left and cooled with Ultramarine Blue on the right, warmed with a touch of Utrecht Lemon Yellow below.

You can see how easy it is to get some variety and harmony.

Grant's Sheds 9x12, oil              Ginny Butcher

Because of the limited palette I couldn't get myself into trouble with too many choices. I found it easy to get a strong sense of place through good color.

This is the Cold Grey mixed with the Naples Yellow Deep in the middle, a bit more yellow above and a bit of Permanent Red below.

And some purer color mixtures, Naples Yellow Deep with Ultramarine Blue and the same yellow with the Permanent Red.

I hope you'll try this palette yourself if color has been an issue for you as it has for me. And let me know how it's worked for you. I'd love to know.

Happy painting.

Summer Whites, 9x12, oil

Summer Whites, 9x12, oil                            Ginny Butcher

This one is finally finished. It's been hanging around the studio for awhile, being scrutinized every now and then, when my attention lights on it. I noticed a couple of things and changed them. One was the sky. It was a big blue mass. A nice blue, but kind of boring. The clouds seem to fit right in and gave me the idea for the name. I'm satisfied that I got the feel of a hot, sunny, summer day with this one. As you know, I love old buildings, especially white ones. It was really a lot of fun getting this right.

Is There a Lion in Your Street?

Two Buds, 8x10, oil                 Ginny Butcher

While the two calves above don't look very threatening, there has been a predator lurking around the edges of my life . . .

And it's a lion! "A lion!" ,you say. Well not exactly, but . . .

Reading the book of Proverbs in the Bible I came across this scripture the other day. "The sluggard says, 'There is a lion outside; I will be killed in the streets!'" (Proverbs 22:13)

As I pondered this (because it seemed so absurd to me at first) I began to realize the sluggard has an excuse, no matter how outlandish, for not doing what he or she ought to be doing, which is something productive.


Now, I don't like to think of myself as a sluggard. After all, I do quite a bit of work, but I had to stop and think about this. Especially because I've also been reading Alyson Stanfield's book,  I'd Rather Be In The Studio, after it was recommended by Keith Bond, as deserving to be read and heeded. Between the two (Proverbs and Alyson's book) I'm getting the message loud and clear - no excuses! no whining!

I had to admit that I've used every excuse Alyson titles her chapters with, for not doing more self-promotion. Ouch! As Nike's over used motto goes, just do it.

Just get ready. Just paint. Just make a contact list. Just write a blog post. Just write an artist's statement. Just update my website. Just call that person. Just show up! Get that lion out of your way! Put yourself in the right place with the right attitude and do the work. One task at a time.

Before you know it, you won't be saying "there's a lion in the street!", you'll be encouraging others to chase away their own lions and get on with whatever they're making excuses for not doing. So . . . get out there and chase your own lions away.

Alcova Red Cliffs, 9x12, oil on canvas

A better photo of the finished painting after I picked the bugs out of the wet oil and touched up a few things at home. I'm looking forward to returning to this area when the weather cools off this fall.

I used a different palette for this painting, which I'll share with you soon. It made things a lot easier for me and hopefully will for you too. Happy painting.

Problem Solving at Alcova Lake

We drove out to Alcova Lake this week for our regular Tuesday painting day. It was just one friend and me. After driving around checking out different places we stopped here.  We chose this scene minus the foreground trees.

We found a great little perch atop some red cliffs.

My drawing of the scene. I like to indicate the shaded areas in a scene like this because I get lost in the rocks and the light changes so quickly. I didn't want to chase the light across the scene.

My initial block in.

You can see the paint mixtures I used.

My finished piece, with a little glare from the sun, a 9x12 oil on canvas. 

Since all painting is really a series of problem solving, my problem here was going to be keeping the shadow pattern despite the light shifting quickly. We got here around 7:30 a.m., a little later than I like to start.

I did some notan paintings as I had promised myself I would. (Oh the agony and glory of discipline!) And it did help. I chose this view because of the notan paintings. This one had the most impact because of the large shadowed areas. And I remembered to keep it in mind as I did my block in, even though the light was changing so quickly.

 I pretty much ignored the shifting light and just used it to inform my color choices, while sticking to my original plan. All in all I was pretty happy with the results.

More on Notan Paintings

This post is about one of my mistakes. (There are so many!).  I had gone with my husband to LaBonte Canyon where he likes to fish and I try to find a scene I want to paint, which is always a challenge since I don't find it especially inspiring. But that's a different subject altogether.

 Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of the actual scene so you can't see what I was working with. I will tell you that it was pretty flat with the sun bathing everything. Very few shadows and very few value changes in the grasses and foliage.  But, the photos I do have will work for the point I want to make.

And that point is this. A notan painting doesn't do you much good if you don't follow what you've discovered with it.

 I knew I would have to add some interest in value if I was going to make a harmonious arrangement of dark and light masses (the definition of notan). Below is a page from my sketch book showing some notan paintings I did for this particular scene. You can see a similarity between them, yet they're all different. The one I chose is on the lower left.

 The notan clearly has 4 values with a distinct identity. As I transferred my notan design to my canvas I paid close attention to the darkest values and the middle values at the horizon, as you can see in the block in below. Good so far.

Then I abandoned my notan painting because I got distracted by the actual scene in front of me.  Not so good.

When I got this far I didn't like what I had. I messed around with it, trying warmer and cooler colors in the foreground. Back and forth I went with no satisfaction. Finally in frustration and philosophic attitude I wiped the whole thing off and packed up, telling myself it was a valuable experience because I had at least done some notan paintings.

It wasn't until I got home, and pulled out the camera and looked at this photo and the one of the notan paintings, that I realized my mistake. (Too bad I wiped it off). Too bad I forgot to follow my notan painting! I think this could have been a good painting if I had realized I hadn't put those middle values in the foreground in the same pattern as in the notan painting. (And if I hadn't wiped it off I could have corrected this later).

So, I guess it may have been my most valuable lesson yet concerning notan paintings, after all - remember to follow the harmonious arrangement I've chosen.

Happy painting till next time.

Demos at the NIC Fest

The NIC Fest is an annual event held in Casper, Wyoming. It includes artists showing their work, musicians entertaining and a variety of food and drink among other features. It's held at the Nicolaysen Art Museum in downtown Casper. This year the Casper Artists Guild was invited to present demos in various mediums.  Above is Ellen Schreiner with here watercolor demo.

 Ingrid Burnett showing her pastel demo.

A very bad photo of my oil demo.

Country Cottage, 6x6, oil on panel

bid on this painting

A cute little building that reminds me of a cottage. I love sunlight and shadows on white buildings, especially ones that look like you should stay awhile and explore.

Sunny Hillside, 6x6, oil on panel

 

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This is a little  painting done in a rural area of Wyoming. The sun was wonderfully warm without being too hot the morning I was here. And better yet-no snakes!  

View From The Creek, 9x12, oil on canvas

I headed out early yesterday to my favorite spot along Boxelder Creek. My favorite spot is a ranch owned by a family who has worked it for generations and they're always kind enough to welcome us painting there. It was a bit windy, but I found a quiet corner right down the hill, next to the creek. I have to admit, much to my chagrin, I forgot my sketchbook and pens and didn't do a notan painting before starting this. (As I said in a previous post, I have some bad habits to break).

What In the World is a Notan?

As promised here's a glimpse at one of my lessons from Virtual Art Academy. My first lesson that involved a lot of doing, was unit 1 of the Notan Module. If you're like me, you're wondering what in the world is a notan? The definition is "the harmonious arrangement of dark and light masses in a painting".  (I memorized it so I could remind myself that I get to do the arranging).  These little paintings look like mini value paintings or thumbnails. I have done about 200 of them in various modes. Some with only 2 values, 3 values and 4 values. Some with white as the dominant shade, some with gray dominant and some black dominant. Others were from photos or from old masters' paintings. Some from life, some from imagination.  All in all, I think it's sinking in to my thinking to make this something I do every time BEFORE I begin painting. The module sub-title says "two minutes to a successful painting" and I like to remind myself of this because my tendency is to feel very rushed, especially in an outdoor setting. It helps me slow down and take a deep breath before I dive in. The lesson itself covers much more than this little glimpse, going into detailed explanations and illustrations of what to do and what not to do. It's a great lesson.

Pine Shadow, 6x6, oil on panel

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Back to school!

I'm going back to school.

Art school. I'm "attending" through Virtual Art Academy, which a friend of mine told me about. As soon as I looked it over I knew I wanted to follow this course of study for my painting. For quite some time I've looked at paintings that seemed to have a quality to them I wanted to have in mine, but didn't know how to achieve it. I've taken lots of workshops, read lots of books (probably not enough) and studied on my own as well as with mentors. All of that has helped me immensely but there seems to be too many gaps in my education. Having taken up painting later in life, I sometimes feel that I'll never catch up to wherever I think I would have been, had I pursued this path right out of school. I like to study and often have wished I could go attach myself to an atelier somewhere. But that just isn't realistic for me. Needless to say, I'm very excited to be following this course of study. Maybe you're like me and would like further study. And I'll be posting some of my completed lessons here as well as more paintings that will hopefully show the results of my study. 

I'm also a bit of an instigator in the sense that I often try to get all my friends on board with whatever I'm doing, so possibly a few of them will take up this course too and we will be able to discuss the lessons with each other. If you decide to take it let me know, it would be great fun to hear from you.

Path To The Creek, 9x12, oil on canvas

This is today's painting from the back yard. It was a beautiful day! The first one with no wind for quite awhile so I had to take advantage of it. I painted on a gray toned canvas, which I haven't done much. It could be a good idea once I get used to it. It's easy to go dark, a little harder to go light. I hope all you who paint are getting a chance to get out there and enjoy some good weather.

New Looks

Hi everyone,

I decided its time for a new look. I haven't settled completely on everything, but this is the starting place. I've been working on some painting assignments from a course of study I've been doing and felt like changing things up a bit. I hope you like it. There should be some more changes on the way . . .

A Novel Owl: Chasing a Dream

A Novel Owl: Chasing a Dream: "There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart.... pursue those."                           ...

The above is a blog post I really enjoyed! It lifted my spirits and reinforced my determination to pursue my own dream. Let me know what it does for you and your dreams . . . 

Sunlight Through The Trees, 12x16 oil on panel

This is a painting I did yesterday at the river. I had a few goals in mind for this painting before I started and I think I accomplished them. I was really convinced of this when my husband said  "Wow, it looks like you're there."

Floaters, 6x8, oil on canvas

Almost Spring, 6x8 oil on canvas

Pathfinder Dam Overflow

This is an 8x10 study of the overflowing water at Pathfinder Dam last summer. It was quite a sight for us Wyomingites. The roar of the water and spray on the rocks reminded me a lot of the coast of Maine, where I spent some time each summer growing up. I'm pretty happy with this study and hope I can get the same effect in a larger painting.

Up With The Sun - Petroleum Club

This was my entry painting, which you may remember from a previous post. It proved to be very popular, for which I was very thankful!

My Petroleum Club Paintings

 This is Sunset Over The River, 6x8, oil. It was my silent auction piece for the Friday night festivities at The Petroleum Club here in Casper. Below is my Quick Draw piece for the same event. It was larger than I have done in the past for quick draws. I titled it Summer Storm and it is also oil, 16x20. The photo isn't very good - I almost forgot to take one. This was when it was on the floor just after framing. It was a good night all around. I sold my entry painting as well.

Sunny Side Out

I re-posted this because I just realized you can't zoom in on these when they're linked to the auction site. This one should have a zoom capability. Thanks for looking!

Sunny Side Out, 6x6, oil on panel

Work in progress, 18x24

And the painting I'm working on now. This is 18x24 and I'm thinking I should do a few more this size. It's like having some breathing or elbow room!