A nice Loft Studio Day

Landscape Paintings

Notes From My Loft Studio

Today started with my private student. We enjoy working together. I talk too much but she listens  and paints along while I talk about the craft of painting. Do this and that, and don't forget about this and that, blah,blah,blah. I'm sure she would like to toss me down the stairs, but she keeps coming back for more. A good and kind friend. 

After lunch, I got busy on a couple of small paintings including the above painting. I did another fun little study with my student on mat board. I love doing those little paintings. They are four by four inches, a sweet little size.   About the time I finished them up, my friend and wonderful artist Susan, came in to chat. We had a wonderful time talking shop, talking about painting and any topic that floated into our heads. One of the things I love the most about having the loft is the great visits I get from friends, old and new. 

After she  left, I was tired, so I goofed around rearranging things around the studio a bit and suddenly, it was time to go home. Time flies by when you have fun as we all know.

 Tomorrow I may or may not have class, depending on who is still in town for a holiday weekend. I got this idea for another artist to do a new exercise with my class, so it will be fun.

I think I want to do a painting on a coffee table and put it up in the loft.  I think it would be cool. I am going to go out shopping for a table to use. 

Mentoring Assignment

Landscape Paintings

I recently gave my mentoring students the assignment of describing their painting process in a step by step format. here is my assignment. It might be interesting to you or not!!

Linda’s Painting Process 2012

I spend a lot of time planning for large paintings and very little time planning the small studies I do. I consider the small paintings to be study time.

1.       I start by toning my canvas with a thin wash of color, usually cad red light, cad orange or yellow ochre.

2.       I draw in the rule of thirds guidelines, quickly, simply making the basic  tic tac toe divisions on the canvas with a  single color.

3.       I use a round brush to draw in the basic composition in a single color. If I need to make adjustments at that point, I use a second color for the corrections. This allows me to see both the first drawing and the correction. Once I decide on this basic composition I’m done.

4.       Now I decide on masses of dark, light, mid tones and lay those in roughly.

5.       I continue to work all over the canvas, gradually refining areas, and values, leaving some areas rough. The main goal is to get paint on the canvas.

6.       At this point I need to step back for a while and think about other things, giving my eyes and my mind a rest.

7.       Now I must think about the middle stage of the painting, which is the most critical in my view. This makes or breaks the painting. This is the part where I must decide whether I am on the right path, or headed for trouble.

8.       I start to decide who will be the star, whether I am using a good rebatment, whether I am creating good intervals, asymmetrical balance in values, do I have a good area of interest or if not, a good balance of areas of interest.  This is a good time in the process for minor corrections. This is when I must go slow and wander around a bit to find my way.

9.       Now I begin to pull the painting together, little by little and instinct leads the way.  At this point I know if it is good or bad or just ok. Bad and ok need more correction and thought. At this point I would stop and put it away for a week or two waiting to come up with the solution.

10.   At this point, it’s time to put in the details that make it crisp and pretty in the areas of interest, while leaving lost edges and less details where they are not important.

11.   If a painting feels good, I work until one more stroke will not improve it. I tend to instinctively know when to stop.

12.   I may see a little something a day or two after I look at it for a while and if so, I will make a minor correction.

13.   I’m done!!

Finished up the painting

Landscape Paintings

Notes From the Painting Studio

This is the painting that was interrupted by my residency. I worked on it yesterday and finished it. It looks little like the original direction I took. Mostly it is a cooler grayer palette than the original direction which was more brown and warmer green and yellow. I like the grayer palette, and I think the neutrals in the distant trees and grasses make a nice foil for the greens in the trees.I broke a few rules by placing the two palms almost in the middle of the composition, but I do stuff like that now and then just for the heck of it. Following composing rules all of the time can be dull.

Now I'm off to the Loft studio after being away for about 10 days.  I printed out a few reference photos from my trip so it's back to work I go.

Back to Painting

Landscape Paintings

Notes From the Painting Studio

I've done all of my chores and catching up so this afternoon I will get back to the 18x24 oil painting I started before I left for my residency. I'm sort of starting over with it and I'm not sure what to do.  That happens to me when I have to abandon a painting midstream. It takes me some time to get myself immersed in it again. I will see what happens this afternoon. I am much more likely to change direction from my original path when I have to stop for a time. This is sometimes good and most of the time not. Who knows?

Back to the Real World

Landscape Paintings

Notes From My Office

I have a catch up day today. I've already been out having Leroy looked at( false alarm, he is fine and tip top) and getting a renewal on my Drivers License. At least this time I don't look like I escaped from prison on the new one..

Then back home to unpack, do a mountain of laundry and frame up some of the eight paintings I did while at the residency. I'm catching up with Henry's world, got a roast in the crock pot for dinner and cleaning. 

It always takes me a day or two to make the adjustment back to the real world. The residencies are the only time that I get to make all of the decisions, make my own schedule, put away all of the little errands, responsibilities, teaching and other day to day activities. They are the only time I am alone for long periods of time. Rather than lonely, I feel invigorated by this freedom. It's not that I  don't work, because I do. I do a lot of research on the region where I am staying, I get a lot of exercise in exploring these nature preserves, and I paint every day. It is just a different responsibility. You know I've been thinking this residency project might be a decent book for traveling landscape painters in Florida. If I were traveling and painting another state, I would love to have a book telling me where the good restaurants are and the best places to stay, along with where the nature reserves are located. What a time saver. When I have free time I will think more about this, since I always have so much free time ;>)

Posting from St Augustine Beach this week

This week I'll be posting from my Artist in Residence Blog

HERE

Landscape Paintings

Notes From the House

I took a day off from painting to relax and get ready for my trip tomorrow. I did all of my little chores around the house, cleaned the love bugs off the car and Leroy, chopped off my too long hair, and finished my packing. I meant to bring a table top easel and TV table to work on a larger painting but left them at the loft. That's in the opposite direction from where I am headed so I will pass on doing large format work. That's probably a good idea to wait and do larger work in the studio from the reference photos I will take on the trip. I'll enjoy doing small paintings this week.

I'm really looking forward to this adventure in Sarah and Chad's condo. They are very generous benefactors. The last time I got to stay there was in 2008. I'm going to enjoy every minute.