Sea Shell Study

This painting is pretty small, only 3.5" x 3.5" on wood, approximately 3/4" thick.  I purposely left them sort of rough to give them more character.  I have a number of these small blocks that I gessoed a while back.  I love how they really showcase a single object like the sea shell below and how they look on a small easel.  I think these would make a great small item to give as a gift.

Sea Shell Study 3.5" x 3.5" oil

The photo above shows the depth of the painting on the easel. 

This photo gives you an idea of size. 

Here you can see some of the sketches I did prior to working in oils.

Re-works

I decided to work on some paintings that I didn't think were painted as well as I had hoped.  The first one  I had started a long, long, time ago, back in 2007 (make sure and read both the blog post from the 24th and the 26th ... funny thing happened... has that ever happened to you?)
I worked on it a little yesterday and just couldn't seem to get the sky and the trail into the dense wooded area to look right, so I eliminated that darn awkward fence that was in the middle of the painting and just made a path and more brush.

  
8" x 10" oil

I like the bottom one - the after one -best, but I'm still not sure this is what I was hoping for when I started it back in June 2007.

6" x 8" Potted Primrose - oil

Also, I thought my primrose painting looked awkward with the blossoms and the leaves in the back upper left sticking up... even though this is what the plant looked like with I started painting.  I painted over what I didn't like and reworked a couple of flowers.  What do you think?  Maybe now its too perfect?

So what about you:

• Do you always let your painting set for a week or more to see how they read to you before you post them either on your blog or web-site?
• So you ever re-work a painting that is from a couple of years ago?
• Do you just put the paintings you don't like into the garbage or do you save them and try to do something with them at a later date?

The latest goings-on

Surrounded by Vines 7" x 14" oil on gallery wrapped canvas

This is a painting I just completed.  I took the reference photo a few years ago while we were boating up in British Columbia.  The original photo shows a lot of water below, but this was what I was thinking when I took the photo.  All that green with the bright white of the house in the sun just spoke to me.

I love the size of this one.  I had bought a couple of these to try awhile back.  I think I'll be buying a few more to have on hand when the right scene comes along.

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Cherries from Chauvet's Orchard

by Ruth Phillips

Recently while reading an art blog (I can't remember who's blog it was now) I read about a book they were in the middle of reading.  This is a book written by the wife of Julian Merro-Smith of the Postcard from Provence blog, Ruth Phillips.  

After reading an excerpt of the book on Amazon I decided to purchase it. As soon as it arrived I found I could hardly put it down.  She is an excellent writer.  If you are looking for a new book to read I recommend this one. I know I will re-read this one a few times.

This is the book description from Amazon:

This is When an English painter moves to Provence in search of the muse, he is looking not only for artistic fulfillment but also for love, family and community. This funny and touching memoir chronicles his unconventional route towards almost everything he desires, whilst painting a vivid picture of how hard it can be for one man to face a blank canvas - even in paradise.

Potted Primrose

Potted Primrose 6" x 8" canvas 

I bought these primroses day before yesterday, when I was at the grocery store, for $1.50 apiece.  I only bought one ... now I wish I would have bought a yellow and a blue one also to use as a prop.  Wouldn't that be a nice to have all three framed on a wall?  I like how I can see some of the toned canvas here and there through out the painting.  Dang, I may need to go back to the store for the other two colors ....

Hang it, Dang it!

Click image to enlarge ~ Arakawa wall hanging system

My husband has always wanted me to hang more of my work in our home, but I just didn't want nail holes all over the place. I have one large painting in the living room, a group of 3 small ones in a guest bedroom and thats it. This year, for Christmas, we bought a wall hanging system to hang my work from and I love it. I can change my paintings as often as I want with out worry of damaging the walls.

When we lived in Oregon, the local Columbia Center was where the local art guild had all of our art shows.  The Center researched hanging systems and found Arakawa, in Portland Oregon to purchase a wall hanging system. We could have monthly shows with out hurting any of the walls.  Because I knew the quality of the product, when we were ready to purchase a hanging system I thought of Arakawa.   The rail is hung high on the wall, wires are slid into the rail and placed anywhere you want.  You can use as many wires as you need to hang your work from.  Its a great quality hanging system and if you are in the market for such a thing I highly recommend them.  I'm thrilled with it.

Wishing you the very best for 2012.