Art self challenge

First day upside down

I recently read an art promotion e-mail on how to reinvigorate the creative process. I have been feeling rather uninspired lately and wanted to try something new in the new year.

The first suggestion was to paint something with the painting and reference image upside down. I had once finished off a streetscene painting upside down because I just couldn’t get it right, but I never did the whole thing that way. Here is the start of my upside down Idaho foothills cairn.

Two color print

I made my first ever two color print in my linocut class last month. My inspiration was a large willow pattern platter that my mother-in-law gave me many years ago. I use red and green with a touch of gold in the class, but they turned out to be to Christmasy looking and I had trouble with the register on half of them. I had some time last week to replace the linocuts I sold in December and decided to try this one again. I started with the gold this time and added a bit of blue and red. It tempered the gold but didn’t overpower it and I was happier with the register on all of them.

After the coloring is done

All colored

It took a few days to do the coloring, even though it is a small portrait. I fiddled with the red brick and the shadowing for a bit and then put it in the mail right before the weather went to pot last week.

The Final Wedding Gift Commission

All inked up

It seems surprising, but all of the commissions the last two months have been for wedding gifts. I guess the wedding industry has gotten started again after the pandemic. I wonder if this was the wedding venue, for the reception, or just a building that is special for the couple.

Wedding gift commission

I have done quite a few of these wedding commissions now, but none more complicated than this one. Between the arched setbacks in the front, the stained glass windows, and mostly skewed perspectives reference photos to adjust, the layout was quite long and extensive. It took a long time to get the square tower to look square. I am happy with the final drawing, though, even if there is no color required.

All inked up

A very simple preliminary drawing

From My Linocut class

Gradient prints

You know, I haven’t taken a printmaking class since college in the 70’s. When a linocut class appeared at our local state junior college, I decided, what the heck, I wanted to do it. So I enrolled. We are covering basic linocutting (which I can do) as well as 2 color printing, color gradient printing, and pattern printing. I want to learn more about papers, also.

I basically taught myself the linocut method a few years ago as I think all we did in college was a wood cut and some press etching. I have learned a lot already, including how to sharpen my tools. I never learned to do that and sadly have been using my old dull knives forever. I ordered the appropriate slipstrop and look forward to having sharp tools once again. Here are 2 prints I did for the class so far.

Finished fall pumpkin painting.

I didn’t like the way the pumpkins were floating on the canvas in the previous photo, so I reworked the background a bit and added a few more details to the pumpkins themselves. I am actually rather pleased with it.

Fall Pumpkin Painting

Third painting session

First day of painting

There were some interesting small multicolored pumpkins at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago. I hadn’t painted them since I did a few 4″X4″ ones a a while back so I decided to try a larger canvas and use three at once. I like it so far. I need to fix the background some as there is no support for the white pumpkin and it appears to be floating in air.

More Barn Work

I kind of lost my way on the barn painting a bit. I let it sit for a few days and then tried some glazing on it. Not done quite yet, but it did definitely help.

A Stone Barn Painting

Stone Barn

Penciled up barn

I tried painting a stone barn a few years ago when I decided to take up acrylic painting again after 30 years. Needless to say, it did not go well. Stone is easy for me with the inks, but painting it totally eluded me. This start is much better.