Dancing in the Light

Dancing in the Light, 5x5", oil on board

Today I decided to paint more tulips, before they fade away. I spent a few good hours doing a larger painting of the tulips on my kitchen counter in the light from the window. When I finished, I realized I wasn't finished. I grabbed a small panel, and painted the one above. I think I like it better. The light coming through the window turned the tops of the petals a pale pink, such a contrast to the deep red.

Missing Painting / Found Painting

White Anemones, 6x6", oil on board, click here to bid©2013 Cindy Greene

First, missing painting. I've had barely any time to paint since last Thursday morning, and I've really missed it. As a friend says, life happens, and that's the truth. It's been good stuff mostly, but it hasn't let me paint. Today, I finally divided a 6x6 panel into four sections and spent 30 minutes painting one section. Better than nothing.

Second, found painting. While checking a couple of sold paintings that need varnishing, I found White Anemones, above. What? Evidently I never put this on the blog. Fortunately, I had photographed and catalogued it when I painted it in February. So it was never really lost, but I had forgotten about it. I do love white flowers, and this was painted from a couple of reference photos I took last month at Roger's Gardens.

We're heading into a warm week, and I am really looking forward to a couple of painting days!

Uplift in Praise

Uplift in Praise, 5"x5", oil on panel, SOLD
 ©2013 Cindy Greene

“Daisies infinite 

Uplift in praise their little growing hands, 

 O'er every hill that under heaven expands.” 

 — Ebenezer Elliott

 More cheerful, happy daisies, bringing thoughts of spring! It's chilly and promising rain later this week, but little vases and bottles of white daisies around the house are definitely making me think about working in the garden. I pruned back the last (forgotten) rose this morning, and planted a few white impatiens that had been sitting around for a while. 

It's been great having painting time in the studio this week, and I'm heading to the Back Bay tomorrow for a Plein Air class with Kim VanDerHoek. I'm really concentrating on painting from life, either plein air or from set-ups in the studio. I have several paintings in mind from reference photographs, but I'm putting them aside for a bit.

Simplicity

Simplicity, 5"x5", oil on panel, SOLD©2013 Cindy Greene

“The daisy's for simplicity and unaffected air.” — Robert Burns



 I enjoyed the daisies so much, I decided to do another one, and maybe a series this week. The whites can be challenging, but I'm enjoying the light and shadows. This little green bottle is one of my favorites — I've used it for many years to hold a rosebud or sprig of daisies.

Our warm winter weather has disappeared, and today was overcast and grey. It was a great day to stay in the studio and paint.

Under the Lights

Under the Lights, 5"x5", oil on archival board, SOLD©2013 Cindy Greene

We went to a new farmer's market on Sunday, and I came home with a huge bunch of daisies. Well, they are actually chrysanthemums, but shh. I now have three vases around the house and am enjoying them immensely. I set up this little vase with a spotlight and a background of some of the new scrapbook paper I recently bought. I'm enjoying the colors.

I wanted to try a looser version than usual of these, so I gave myself a time limit of "finish this before making dinner." I think it worked. We did eat a bit late, though.

Evergreen Pear Blossoms

Pear Blossoms, 6"x6", oil on panel, SOLD
©2013 Cindy Greene

This week Southern California is dotted with gorgeous Evergreen Pear trees, Pyrus kawakamii, covered with white blossoms. The blooming period is short, because we get either a winter Pacific storm or a warm Santa Ana wind that blows all the blossoms away. When our girls were small, they loved to pretend it was snowing while they danced around under our trees.

I brought a sprig of blossoms in the other day to paint. They last better inside than out!

30 in 30, #28 — Patience

Patience, 7"x5", oil on gessoed board, SOLD!

Evidently, I'm a slow learner. Today I picked up a new type of panel that I had gessoed with the same gesso I used on yesterday's canvas. And yep, it reacted the same way to the paint. I've used this same jar of gesso for a year or so and never had any problem, so evidently something has changed. Painting on this surface reminded me of gouache, but at least today I knew what I was getting into, and being stubborn, finished the painting.

This panel is a hardboard I found at the local art supply store. It's charm is that it is 3/8" thick, and has hanging holes built into the back, so it can be easily hung without a frame. I painted the edges very carefully, and as I was turning to put it in my drying area, it flipped over and landed face down on the floor. Floor and painting were rescued. Since the painting was a commission, it had to be!

As my husband (famously) said when he was a child, "Patience will never hurt you!"

30 in 30, #27 — Humility

Humility, 6"x6", oil on canvas, NFS

Lay first the foundation of humility.  — St. Augustine

Well, another challenge. I thought I was painting a fun "mums in my window" view, but it didn't turn out that way. I'm starting to run low on my 6" panels, so I grabbed a 6" canvas that I had "wiped" a while back. I had put a couple of coats of gesso on it and thought it would be fine.

Oops. Something weird happened. The surface was like painting on clay — the oil in the paint was absorbed within minutes, leaving matte color. After an hour, paint was almost dry to touch. Not normal with oil paints. Nothing was working like it was supposed to. A good "frosting" with a painting knife saved me; at least I could get the paint to look like paint instead of chalk. I'm afraid to go back and look at it in case the paint has disappeared.

I was frustrated, but kept going, determined to have something to post for my 27th painting. This is about learning. I do not like painting on canvas. I ordered more Gessobord panels tonight. Yay!

(Next morning; the paint is still there. I took it outside and got a much better photo.)

I should have realized something strange was happening when I had to go over the sketch twice.

30 in 30, #15 – Winter Cheer

Winter Cheer, 6"x6", oil on board, $100

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Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning can give a sense of quiet in a crowded day - like writing a poem or saying a prayer. —Anne Morrow Lindbergh

 I am just fascinated by the sun streaming through the window onto whatever I put up on the sill. The little bowl of mums is still beautiful and I decided to see what magic the sunshine would work.

oil sketch; darks

middle values

30 in 30, #16 – Oh Happy Day

Oh Happy Day, 5"x5", oil on board

This is a bouquet from our daughter's wedding in 2011, and painting it has brought back so much emotion and memories. It was a glorious day, full of love and family and sunshine and friends and good food and fun.

Love you, Em & Mason.

oil sketch

block-in

30 in 30, #12 – Prince Eugène

Prince Eugène, 6"x6", oil on panel

Let me introduce you to my all-time favorite rose. This is Eugène de Beauharnais, an old China/Bourbon rose, bred in France in 1838, and named for Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, son of Josephine and stepson of Emperor Napoleon. It is fairly small, grows in a large pot, and has deep red-magenta blooms with the most incredible fragrance. The blooms don't last when cut, darn, but it blooms most of the year and there is almost always a bloom for me to admire and smell when I walk by. I don't know why it is not more widely grown, especially here in a mild climate where it fits so well into our smaller yards and patios.

I've never attempted to paint Eugène, but since this is my challenge month, I thought I'd try. This particular bloom had three centers, with hundreds (maybe) of petals. Way too much to put on a small painting, but I think I got the gist of it. 

Here's my reference photo, and a couple of progress shots. I really enjoy seeing other artists' process, so have been trying to include a few shots of mine.

Eugène de Beauharnais, China/Bourbon, 1838

sketch and blocking in darks

main shapes; trying to get the values clear while not losing the hues. 
Or getting the hues while not losing the values?

30 in 30, #11 – Lit by the Sun

Lit by the Sun, 5"x5", oil on panel

Mere change is not growth. Growth is the synthesis of change and continuity, and where there is no continuity there is no growth. — C.S. Lewis

Isn't this a great quote? Somewhat applicable to those of us who are suddenly painting every day...

I've enjoyed watching my bunch of freesias slowly open. They are incredibly graceful. I had put the vase on the living room mantel to replace the Christmas garlands, but brought it into the kitchen this morning to see what it would look like with the sun shining through the window. I shot some photos, and one of them had the sunlit blooms highlighted against a dark background. That inspired me to try this very different version of freesias. Their transparency is challenging to paint, but still so lovely.

I so appreciate the wonderful comments; you are so encouraging!
 

30 in 30, #10 – Promise of Spring

Promise of Spring, 12"x6", oil on gessoed 3/4" cradled hardboard.

"If I see freesias anywhere, I will be very disappointed." -- Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada

Just the opposite for me. I adore freesias. The hardy bulbs are sending up their leaves now, in all the odd places in our yard where I've stuck them over the years. I look forward to the blooms and once in a while I can get a whiff of fragrance while walking through the yard. Glimpse of heaven!

These freesias are from Trader Joe's, and are sadly not as fragrant as the home-grown kind. But they are so graceful and elegant (and inexpensive and available), and remind me that spring will come. (And that reminds me to put the brush/laptop down and go finish pruning the roses.) I may come back and do a bit more work on this one.

graphite sketch on panel