Bringing in the Tree

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Sometimes, it is soothing to find a cozy chair, my favorite paints and brushes, and a few canvases.  Perfect setup for some art therapy, easy chair style.  With all the Christmas activity, it is easy to get lost in the details.  A little quiet time is just the right thing to get me back on track. Pairing number 2152 in 2152 days.

Snowy Path to Church

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I like to paint miniatures around this time of year for holiday gift giving.  On this balmy day in the 50s, this snow is only imagined.  As I sit watching sappy Christmas shows with my mom and youngest daughter, I am painting miniatures.  Antiquing, baking cookies and time spent with family, the holidays have already started around here.  Painting number 2149 in 2149 days.

Nutcracker Artist

Nutcracker Artist
Acrylic on masonite, 5x5
sold

Yes - this is actually an artist nutcracker!!  I wish this beauty was in my own collection!  This is another wonderful nutcracker shared with me by Candy Kultgen - and I knew I had to paint him as soon as I saw him!  The palette, paintbrush, and easel are fabulous - and that wild hair and mustache!! He has definitely been painting en plein air!  I love the way it flows with reckless abandon!  He is certainly a free spirit - and so fun to capture with acrylics!  As an artist, I must say that no self respecting artist would lay colors out in this order on their palette - it should run yellow, green, blue, violet, the red. Silly nutcracker!  This is painting number 1085 in 1085 days.

Spring Comes to Hodgson Mill

Spring Comes to Hodgson Mill
Oil on unstretched canvas, 6x4
3/100 - The {100} Artists - auction bid here

This historic water mill was first built in 1837 down in the Ozarks by Alva Hodgson.  I love painting these historic places, and it makes perfect subject matter for my {100} Artist series.  Before I started this painting, I took my palette knife and skimmed the surface with light molding paste.  It helped fill in some of the weave of the canvas, and allowed my paints to glide over the surface more effectively.  I did commit all 100 paintings to this substrate, so I am going to find ways to love it! This small step helped a LOT, and still left some tooth for interest. This is painting number 820 in 820 days.

Rose Rhapsody

Rose Rhapsody
Oil on canvas, 6x9
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This is one of the paintings I finished on Sunday - and today's super busy day is the perfect time to post it!  I am coming to my easel late, so I will be able to work in peace knowing that I don't have to rush to post.  With these roses, I am working on finding a rhythm to the petals.  By marking the lights and darks first, I am able to connect those areas in a way that makes sense with the flow of each petal.  For the last strokes of highlight on each petal, I am using a rough, stiff, wide bristle brush - and just pulling it lightly over the existing paint, in the direction the petal goes.  Sometimes, I use the palette knife here, but if you see brush strokes - it is the brush.  I am bumping up the color a bit here from the earlier painting, popping the yellows and greens a little, adding to the energy of the piece.  The blue of the sky is very light, blending to white in the center - and the edge of rose is softened to reduce the look of being cut out and applied.  There are so many soft edges with foliage and petals.  All you have to do is squint when you look at your subject - the hard lines will stick out, but all others will soften.  The reds in this painting are cad red light and alizarin crimson - two staples always on my palette.  Of course, they are mixed with various other colors on the canvas, as I seldom premix on the palette.  I push them towards the blue with either ultramarine violet or ultramarine blue, and warm them up with the cad yellows.  Painting number 795 in 795 days - now back to my landscape!

December Morning

December Morning
Oil on canvas, 7x5
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I set up a large show this morning with 48 paintings at the Church of the Nativity on Mission and 119th Street.  It feels good to have it hung and all of the work behind me.  It consists of two paintings from each month I have been daily painting - two years in January.  With a house full of company - and more coming shortly, I have painted during my only open window of the day.  This is a small one, something I am thinking about for a larger painting.  It is always nice to work out the details in the small size, before moving to the large.  This painting makes 730 in 730 days.

Santa by the Fence

Santa by the Fence
Acrylic, molding paste on canvas, 5x5

As I paint this Santa, other Santa images keep popping into my head - just like visions of sugarplums!  So many paintings just float around up there - far more than I can actually get onto a surface.  This has been another day of crossing things off my list - but so much still remains!  Getting ready to hang a show of 48 pieces next Monday is the biggest job on my list - and I have only made a dent!  This painting is also painted with acrylics and molding paste on primed canvas.  It is interesting how the wet acrylic spreads over this canvas - it can easily be seen by enlarging the image.  I'm having fun using the old medium in a new way - and with a bit of whimsy instead of my natural traditionalism.  Painting number 723 in 723 days - now back to work on that show (while watching Christmas shows and visiting with my parents) :)

Santa and His Bag - miniature

Santa and his Bag
Acrylic on canvas, 5x5

Today was a day filled with family, a big pot of chili, and visiting.  It is wonderful to have my dad here - and healthy!!  What a gift this is!!  Now, most of the company is gone - and I return to the easel, painting a vintage Santa surveying his pack!  I started this painting by washing the canvas with a warm yellow acrylic.  Once dry, I then sketched out the scene with a pastel stick.  Using layers of color, I started thin in the sky and dropped in the blue from the top.  You can see the irregular spreading as the paint moved at will.  I'm enjoying the different color palette, and the whimsical nature of these "santas". I still have so much to do - and the time is simply vaporizing!  I'd better get back to work!  Painting number 722 in 722 days :)

Old World Santa - miniature

Old World Santa
Acrylic on canvas, 5x5

I started this vintage Santa painting with a watercolor wash - only with thinned down acrylic instead f watercolor.  You can see the movement of the paint over the canvas in the sky and hills.  Building up layers on the focal areas, I then mixed up the titanium white acrylic with the molding paste for the drifts of snow, beard, and fur trim of Santa's outfit.  When mixing these two mediums together, the texture is grainy, and the application with the knife feels different than the paste alone. What I like is that the paste already has the color I want, and I don't have to paint over it, often times missing the low areas with my brush.  Perhaps I'll change up the mix a bit next time....just to see what happens!  This painting makes 721 in 721 days in this busy Christmas season!

Walking Santa - miniature

Walking Santa - miniature
Acrylic on canvas, 5x5 gallery wrapped

Some new paints arrived in the mail today - and I simply could not wait to use them!  So, I sketched out a few Santas, and thought I would just start with acrylics and top off with the new oils.  As I worked, I like the feel and mood I was achieving with a very limited palette.  I actually grabbed the first yellow, red, blue and green that I put my hands on - and started painting!  The result is something out of my ordinary!  Instead of topping with oil, I mixed a little molding paste with white acrylic paint - and applied with my palette knife.  I painted four of these - all for my new oils - and I will not be using the oils on top of any of them!  Guess I'll have to start on a winter landscape to try out those paints!  Painting number 720 in 720 days :)

Santa in his Sleigh - miniature

Santa in his Sleigh
Oil on canvas, 4x4 - gallery wrapped

This nostalgic Christmas scene is one more in my "12 Santas of Christmas"!  I find that I am migrating to stronger color in these little paintings.  I am still using the square canvases, and the big plus is that they fit nicely on the tiny easels.  The painting continues off all four sides, so it is rather dimensional as it sits on display.  I did underestimate how long it would take the oils to dry, though!  The first one painted on Saturday is STILL wet!  Every day is now filled with SO many activities - I don't know how I will get them all done!  I am rising earlier and staying up later.......there will be time for sleeping after the first of the year!  Painting number 718 in 718 days :)

Shhhhh! - miniature

Shhhhh!
Oil on canvas, 4x4
sold

Caught with his bag of goodies - Santa doesn't want us to spoil his surprise!  Painting first in oils, today - I was able to finish two more "Santa" pieces.  I've been in such a productive mood, that I even went on to finish a commission - I think!  I'll give it a look with fresh eyes in the morning, just to be sure!  My parents will be here on Saturday, so I am chipping away at my long "to do" list every day until then.  The Christmas season has me wanting to paint all things Christmas each day until then, and this year, the "Santas" have really grabbed my focus!  These paintings are small - only 4x4 inches, so it is pretty challenging to get that detail in, while still using fresh and loose brushwork.  Since I am burning the midnight oil tonight, I guess I had better move on to the next item on my list!  Painting number 715 in as many days :)