Pond Painting

Pond Painting

This last month I was inspired watching the British tv show “Landscape Artist of the Year” and decided to try something plein air myself.  It’s technically  not quite plein art as I am sitting inside behind my studio doors and painting through the glass, but it is a real landscape not a photo.  I just prefer to think of myself as well climatized.  LOL

This is about 90% finished after 3 sessions.  I like it well enough, but am not quite happy with the water yet.  I need to let it sit and percolate before I work on it again.  I think the water should be a bit more horizontal looking and something slightly more defined in the foreground.

After doing this, I am utterly in awe of some of the work I saw done in just four hours for the tv show.  It’s on Ovation tv and if you get the chance to see any of the episodes, it is well worth watching.  There is also a “Portrait Artist of the Year” and I find those episodes equally amazing.  I can’t work that fast, ever.  Or that well.

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Finished Landscape Painting

The finished landscape

I finished the latest Boise landscape earlier this month. This piece was painted over a rather extended period of time – most unusual for me as I tend to work in spurts and not drag things out.  We had our 3 week trip to Boise for our grandson’s 2nd birthday and the birth of our next one smack in the middle of the painting sessions, so I got quite the “distance” to evaluate where it was going.

In the end, I didn’t change too much during the second split session.  I glazed over the upper part to soften it and blur out some of the details, which I though I overdid.  I am enjoying taking a break from the line work with these paintings, but I think I may head back to the inks pretty soon.

 

 

Idaho Landscape

Base coat

First layer of color

All four of my previous Idaho landscapes went to their new home in Boise, Idaho, in August, so I decided I had to paint some more to list in my etsy store. These are the first two layers of a recent work.  It is up in the foothills looking down onto some of the numerous trails that are there.

We do hiking and photo taking every time when we are in town visiting family, but don’t ask me where the view is from.  We have looked up and down from so many places that I can’t keep it all straight in my head.  Heaven forbid I keep notes as I photograph LOL but if someone really needs to know, I am sure my son can tell me.

Two more gel prints

Palm trees

Dragonfly

I made wo more gel prints, but neither one has made me really happy.  The palm trees were not distinct enough when I pulled the print and I had to touch it up afterwards.  At least I remembered to put in the texture on the final layer.

Not so much on the dragonfly one.  I was happy with the pulled print, but I forgot to add the bubble wrap texture on the final layer.  I think it would have added something, but maybe not.  Since I penned in the veining on the wings, maybe it would have all melded together.  Who knows.

These are all works in progress with a lot of experimentation (deliberate or not LOL).  So far I am having fun and I seem to be selling more prints in my etsy shop, so what the heck.  I’ll keep on trying.

Another gelli print

Pencil drawing

On the plate

Hand pulled print

I made a second gelli print and it turned out much better to my eye than the first one.  This one looks a bit like a primitive after the pull.  I did remember to use the little bubble wrap sheet to texture the background.  Of all of the ones I have done so far this is the one I like best.

There is definitely a learning curve to this technique, but it is fun because I never know how it will turn out until I pull the print.  Sometimes I figure the layer sequence not quite correctly and sometimes not all of the paint piulls off, but that adds its own charm.  They are definitely monoprints because I could never reproduce them, even if I tried to do the same thing again.

Wheat Gelli Print

Sketch

First layers before the final coat

Pulled print

Salvaged print

I have been trying a  new thing lately.  I was watching some youtube videos to get a better handle on making the gelli prints and saw a new technique where you make a kind of reverse painting to print from.  The successive layers are allowed to dry completely and when you are done, the print is pulled while the last layer, covering the whole plate, is still wet.  Somehow, if it is done correctly, this ends up pulling all of the dried layers with it.

I started with making a sketch which I put under the clear gel plate.  I carefully decided how to paint the successive layers so that the details would come through in the right order and then I rolled on the last one, covering the whole plate.  Unfortunately, the last one’s colors were too close to the wheat sheaf colors and they all disappeared.  I salvaged it by repainting the wheat, but I was disappointed that I had to do that, as I rather liked what I had done.  Lesson learned, even though it was the hard way.

I have done several more and think they are improving as I go along.  Something different for my etsy store.

I redid my grandson’s portrait

Pencil in

Grandson

I was never really happy with the first portrait I did of my grandson, so I decided to do another one.  He is almost two now and is such an expressive little boy.  The reference picture came from a local park where he was riding a rocking yellow duck and obviously having a great time.

I think this one came out much better.