Crashing Wave

Crashing Wave
Oil on masonite, 6x6

Tonight was a the "After Hours" event at GOT Art Gallery for the members of the Lee's Summit Chamber of commerce.  It was a packed house - and the food and punch were wonderful!  So, once again, I come late to my easel to return to the study of sunrise color in sky and water.  I have seldom painted the waves, and have never painted them crashing - so this is a day of pushing paint with brush and palette knife to create that movement.  I really like the way the knife skims over the tops, leaving thick paint in it’s wake.  I would like to order those mini blades (Catalyst, by Princeton), and try them out on the clouds and waves.  Maybe, I'll even go crazy and get really thick with that paint! Painting number 1136 in 1136 days.

Sails on the Horizon

Sails on the Horizon
Oil on wood, 6x4

I have been longing for the warm days of summer, looking out over the water toward the sailboats .....and painting from the beach, with the sand between my toes.  I’ve been studying the color shifts in the sunrise and sunset, and working to get those colors right.  I think they are so difficult to paint successfully!  So, I am hoping to give them more attention, and what better way than to reflect that color off the surface of water?  Practice makes perfect!  Painting number 1134 in 1134 days.

Gulls on the Beach

Gulls on the Beach
Oil on panel, 7x5
Lake Erie, Ohio - purchase here

The winds were blowing hard as I set up on the beach today - the strongest waves I've see all week.  The sea gulls were dotting the sand, rising and setting with the waves.  Michael grabbed my gear from the car, and picked up a smaller panel for me - so I chose this as my subject du jour.  It was so windy, I sat on my towel, with my easel sitting flat on the ground. Unwelcome side effect - sand blew into my easel, and probably my palette.  THAT will be fun to clean up - or maybe it will be just a little organic pumice.....painting number 948 in 948 days.

Palette Knife Sailing

Palette Knife Sailing
Oil on wood panel, palette knife, 4x6
purchase here

Yesterday’s watercolor left me want to apply thick, juicy oils with a palette knife!  So, today, that is exactly where I head!  Working small, as I am squeezing in this painting time between yard work and a bridal shower for my niece, I start on a 4x6 panel.  First applying a thin layer of color with my knife, I then skim that surface with thicker paint.  I really like the way the colors mixed in the sky with the knife - I am going to have to try more of this!  New on the palette today - Gamblin's radiant turquoise.  It is the very opaque light turquoise paint that is lightly stroked into the sky and water reflections.  For that very sunlit yellow color - I have used Gamblin's radiant yellow as well as lemon cad yellow.  These little pops of color add sparkle to the sunset.  It is SO fun to completely paint this using the knife - it is a great exercise for improving palette knife skills! There is so much to how pulling the knife in different ways will make different marks on the panel. I think perhaps the trickiest parts were pulling the paint on either side of the sails, and the sails themselves. I love coming back to the palette knife in this way. Maybe I'll continue in this strain for a few days....This is painting number 910 in 910 days.

On the Open Water

On the Open Water
Oil on panel, 14x11
sold

I have been working on this tall ship painting, and now I think it is finished.  I will leave it on the easel, and check it again in the natural light.  It is past dark tonight, and with the darker colors, it is hard to get a good image where hue is concerned.  There is more ultramarine and prussian in the dark water and skies than shows here.  So, once again, I will have to wait until midday to get a good image. If only I could finish all paintings when the light is still good - ah, but that is not my life!  Leaving it on the easel also allows me to view it in all kinds of light, making sure all is as I want it to be.  This painting is a moody one - and number 705 in 705 days :)

Song of the Waves

Song of the Waves
Oil on panel, 14x11
purchase here

Sometimes, the feel of the brush laying paint on the panel just feels SO good.....like coming home, like having all the time in the world.  This is one of those days.  After a busy morning, I actually had several uninterrupted hours of just me and the easel.  No starting and stopping.  No appointments to rush off to.  I'm not even cooking dinner tonight.  Just a little time to get in the zone and stay there.  I may paint all night - after picking up my son from basketball practice.  Ok, so I do have one more place to be - and I had better get there.  We'll get dinner out and then back to painting I go.  Painting number 692 in 692 days.

Tall Ship at Sunset

Tall Ship at Sunset
Watercolor batik on masa, 5x8
purchase here

Today I have discovered something new about this masa paper.  I started the same way, with a sketch in india ink, followed by painting the ship and sails in watercolor.  I next brushed hot wax on only these painted parts plus some highlights in the water.  Adding the remaining color to the sky and water, I brushed hot wax over the whole piece.  After carefully crumpling the painting into a ball, and brushing off any wax that crack off, I found the wax cracked and popped off better.  This masa paper has been resistant to the flow of paint until now, as if the wax was just not coming off well enough in the cracks.  The difference?  With our "arctic blast" moving in, it is colder in the house than before.  Thus, the wax reacts so much better!  The watercolor flowed into the cracks more efficiently and spread in a webbing type of motion with little effort.  I have had to work to get this effect before now.  Even at my parent's house in Ohio, I noticed how poorly the wax was behaving - in one instance, it hardly worked at all!  Well, they keep their house considerably warmer than mine ever is.  So, on those days when the temperature is up, I will try popping my painting into the fridge or freezer, to help that wax do it's work.  So rewarding to learn something valuable while painting!  Painting number 682 in 682 days.