We Three Kings

We Three Kings
Oil on wood panel, 6x4
purchase here

I attended the Christmas Pageant at the First Baptist of Raytown with a few friends on Friday night.  The show was SO moving!  It has been on my mind ever since, and so it has inspired my daily painting.  My panel is small - and this would have been much easier in a larger size!  My painting window was cut very short when family started rolling in - so this is little more than a study in oils.  If you have never been to that show, and are in the Kansas City area - you must go see it!  This is their 35th year, and it is amazing.  Painting number 708 in 708 days.

Turning Leaves

Turning Leaves
Oil on panel, 14x11
Fairfield Paint Out - purchase here

The leaves were just turning when I was in Fairfield for the annual paint out.  The Leo French Park was such a popular place for the locals and artists alike.  I painted this one in the rain - seeking the shelter of a dense, but small tree to set my easel under.  Some plein air days are cold and wet, and this was such a day.  Those days only prove to make me more thankful for the warm and wonderful ones!  This painting makes 684 in as many days.  Looking forward to those little gifts of sunshine in the cooler days ahead!

Path in Autumn

Path in Autumn
Oil on panel, 6x6
purchase here

Today, I am concentrating on the warms and cools of the autumn landscape.  The golds are at their peak, and the reds are just beginning in my neck of the woods.    I am painting with intent - marking the lights and darks, and then working towards the middle.  Painting in oil - I have applied the paint rather heavy in areas.  I am using a more traditional palette, as I normally do with my oils.  With all of my recent watercolor work, I am now wondering what would happen of I used my bolder watercolor palette for my oil painting?  How would the clearer colors look in this landscape - could I even achieve them with the addition of white?  Hmmmm - definitely  food for thought.  I think I'll give this a try just to see what happens!  Painting number 677 in 677 days :)

Home Through the Corn Field

Home Through the Corn Field
Oil on panel, 16x12

This was a remarkable painting day! I finished with the day's tasks by 2:00, and could start my painting at a leisurely pace.  I wanted time to accurately capture this place - as it is home - and dear to my heart.  I picked up a tube of Windsor Newton white (since I have not had a chance to get over to Utrecht).  I had forgotten how much I love the character of the pigment!  It has been a joy to lay in these last two paintings with it - I may not go back to my other favorite brand......This is day 12 of the 30 day painting challenge - and I feel like I am turning over a new leaf with these recent oils :)

Snow in the Woods

Snow in the Woods
Oil on panel, 14x11

Today the snow rolled in heavy and thick, laying down a fresh blanket on the landscape.  I couldn't start this one until after 7:00 tonight, so I am in the studio.  Hot cocoa praline tart tea and relaxing music in the background set the scene for this project.  I start differently, blocking the whole scene in with my Gamblin grays - before adding any colors. As a result, my layers of paint are so thick and juicy!  I love the moodiness of this - it is just the way it looked today as front moved in.  This is day 11 of the 30 day painting challenge - and this is the latest I have posted yet!

Morning Light on the Hay Field

Morning Light on the Hay Field
Oil on panel, 14x11

It is a misty, rainy day out - one of my favorite days for painting in the studio!  I had big plans.....hours of uninterrupted painting, glorious experimenting with my new oils.....and then life started in with it's little tricks.  A husband home sick with the flu, a grandbaby who wanted my undivided attention, and so many interruptions I can not even think straight!  I only have 15 minutes before I must get my youngest to her guitar lesson - so here goes.  Day 9 of the painting challenge - and by some miracle I have finished this painting - I think!  I had started this in plein air and completed it in little spurts of time today.  I hope tomorrow is a better painting day.......

Morning Mockingbird

Morning Mockingbird
Oil on panel, 10x8

This is the first mockingbird to come to the feeders in all these years!  He showed up on the first day of snowfall, and perches on the same branches of the rose of sharon  each morning.  A bit fluffed up from the cold, he keeps looking over his shoulder at me, to see just what I am up to!  I was half way through this painting before I remembered I prefer painting wildlife in acrylic!  Too late for that - so it is oils all the way!  I did use a bit of the walnut oil alkyd to sharpen some of my lines here - and it worked just great.  This is day 8 of the painting challenge - and I am off to get a jump start on the next one :)

January Morning

January Morning
Oil on panel, 10x8

I started this one when the snow was still on, finishing it just today.  I used a heavily textured surface before laying paint, and the paint was rather thick in the cold as well.  The early morning light throwing shadows on the snow drew me to this scene.  This is day 7 of the painting challenge - and it is getting harder and harder to meet this challenge as school activities and sports resume for the kids.........but I am determined to give it my best and just let the chips fall where they may!

Path Through the Snow

Path Through the Snow
Oil on panel, 8x6

Day 6 of the painting challenge - and boy am I glad I had time to paint 2 one day last week!  With a tightly packed schedule today - there has been no time for my oils!  Not far from home, this little path is really a dried up creek bed - now filled in with snow.   The day was overcast, a little moody, and the wind was kicking up.  Painting from my car, I quickly blocked this one in.  I am using another new color - venetian red in the Maimeri oils.  I think this image shows the red as being stronger than it truly is - and I will try to get a new image when I have the time.  The paint was smooth and ultra creamy.  This was a fast paint, so I may go back and make a few adjustments.......A tip I picked up from another plein air "car" painter in Maine - gorilla tape is great for attaching your panel to the steering wheel.  She says it is good from 0 - 90 degrees, but under 10 below - it doesn't stick to anything!