Still Life with White Lace - New Beginnings

Since my beloved uncle passed in November, I have been unable to get into my studio for anything other than teaching. First grief and then the time consuming chores of closing out his apartment and assisting the executor in aspects of his estate have kept me in a state that swung from sadness to confusion to numbness. Then came the holidays. I don't need to explain what that was like.

When I first got the phone call from his guardian that said he was in the hospital, I was in my studio engrossed in a painting that I had envisioned for a long time. I put my paints away, cleaned my brushes and immediately left for Seattle. I was with him for three days in the hospital before he passed. And since that telephone call until two weeks ago, I was just unable to get back to the painting.

When I finally did, I was sure that I had gone cold on it and would not be able to finish. But I persevered and I'm glad I did. As the work progressed, I found myself pulled back into the canvas and in a dialogue with the painting that pushed and pulled me in a new direction. I insisted on painting it one way and it insisted I try another approach. We compromised and the final result is a kind of détente.I hope you like it.
"White Lace"
Oil on Canvas
40" x 30"

Oil Painting of Begonias in Cool Light

"In Cool Light"6" x 8", Oil on Linen, Board Mounted

White Begonias are fun to paint. There are so many petals on them. White has its own itinerant challenges in that the shadows become vague and difficult to read. However, that gives the artist a little more license. As every color on the canvas is relative to every other, this might apply to any subject. But white invites you to tint in subtle way. I found yellow, pink and violet tones in these which made the cold of the white in north light, just a hint warmer and the shadows, just a note cooler. I want to try them again, but change the relationships a bit. Hmm. Blue shadows? That would be different for me.

 In case you haven't noticed, ahem.  I've been doing a bit of alla prima work. Quite different from my more polished work, this white begonia floral, was done wet in wet in a single sitting. 

You can visit the auction on Daily Paintworks by clicking here.

Oil Painting of Roses in a Copper Cup

"A Fine Day for Roses"

6" x 8", Oil on Linen Mounted on Linen
One of the reasons I enjoy painting florals is because of the challenge. They're elusive, delicate and subtle. All very difficult qualities to attain in a painting. Also their edges always intrigue me. Not all the edges should be painted as if they are important. Some should fade into the background while others should be sharp and come forward. The key words here are "as if", because all edges are important. They all add to the whole picture. So while one petal may not appear as important as its neighbor, it's quality adds to the delivery of the whole painting. Hmm. Did you get that?


You can bid on this painting on Daily Paintworks by clicking here.

Floral Still Life, Oil on Paper Mounted on Board

"Asian Influence"Oil on paper mounted on panel

I've been heavily involved heading up a local event here in Port Angeles for the last five months. The event, "Paint the Peninsula", was a plein air competition which lasted five days and included a barbecue kickoff, a wonderful cocktail party at Camaraderie Winery and a Gala black tie event and show, all culminating in a Quick Draw competition and mini festival. That, in turn, was followed by a three day workshop offered by Ned Mueller, our judge. It was grueling as I not only helped to run and coordinate the event, but hosted two house guests and participated as well. Twenty years ago, this wouldn't have been a problem. Currently with a fresh back injury, it was like running two marathons back to back. I'm done. Stick a fork in me. 

Anyway, with all this work on my plate (no pun intended), this weekend was the first time in a few months I've actually had to get in my studio, turn out the overhead lights and just paint. No phone ringing, no other work to do and no students. Just me and the set up and the quiet. This photo doesn't begin to capture the light in the painting. It has a bit more contrast in this photo too than is in the painting which I've tried to fix on Photoshop, but then I lose other stuff. Darn. The camera is still new to me and I'm a poor student of photography. Well, I'm going to have to cave and take some lessons. I did better with my Canon, but the Nikon is a little trickier. 

I work under north light from a large cathedral style window which brings in soft, cool light. It's more noticeable when you see it live, but there's some broken orangey color in the background peeking through that helps to give the painting an airy feeling. Still working toward achieving that special quality of light that evokes a soft moodiness.  I'm coming more and more to the point where I copy less of what I see and add more to the painting of what it needs. I'd like to get to that place with portraits as well. All good things in their time. 

Still Life Study of Chinese Tea Pot and Rose Hips, 12" x 11"























It's been a very busy and hectic year. While I've been a full time artist for years, sometimes working 60 hour weeks, I never dreamed that the top item on my bucket list could be more stressful than that. Attending an atelier is both an exhillerating and exhausting journey. I attend four days a week (day five I have to teach at my own studio so I have enough money to attend school the other four). Because I live so far from Seattle where Georgetown Atelier is located, I have to spend those three nights with a friend and a relative. Then I drive the three hours home late on Thursday after class.

I'm on a brief vacation now and I have quite a few pieces I'll be posting over the coming weeks to show off a bit. This small piece which is only about 11" x 12" is a small color study for a larger still life I'm still working on at school. We generally do these as they help to iron out problems which occur during the painting process before we actually get to them. Some areas didn't come out well in the photo. Another student took them at the atelier during the past two weeks and forwarded this to me so I can't account for the the faded area in the lower right hand corner. But otherwise, it's a good representation. The edges need a bit of work and you can tell it's not a finished painting in and of itself, but over all, I'm pretty happy with it. The large piece is proving to be quite a challenge. I'll post it when it's done and perhaps share some of it's development along the way.

Impressionist Painting of Dogwood Flowers, 8" x 10", Oil on Canvas

"Dazzle"




It's really been a long while since I have found the time to indulge in a small floral. I'm a little rusty but once things got moving, the flowers flowed off my brush. I chose these Dogwoods because I enjoy the crisp white blooms that stand out against a darker background. I put in the yellow tablecloth to brighten things up a bit. With the Seqim Arts Studio Tour coming up in July, I have to start getting things framed and some new work complted. I've targeted Saturday afternoon for that task and hope to put out some new landscapes as well before the awaited date. I'm keeping to small formats for these, but framing them with wide mats and thin gold frames. They look spiffy.

As we get closer to the date, I'll start posting work that will be exclusive to the show and also links to maps and guides for the tour. The studio tour is being held during the Sequim Lavendar Festival. It's a huge event and we have all kinds of wonderful things happening from wine tasting to Jazz in the Alley scheduled for the long weekend. Anyone interested should contact the Sequim Chamber of Commerce.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year

It's Christmas Eve and I'm scurrying about trying to get ready to visit with friends this evening, attend church (yes - I'm Jewish but my husband is Baptist and our friends are all a mix!) and then host a small gathering tomorrow. I'd like to take this opportunity from my hectic schedule to wish all of you a very merry Christmas - Happy Chaunuka and a healthy and more prosperous New Year. As always, we hold in our hearts and prayers the many men and women who are serving our country both here and abroad. My heartfelt thanks to all of you for sharing in this journey I enbarked on some three years ago. I'm so happy to share it with you all.

Painting of Pink Peonies in Small Bouquet, 8" x 10"

"Practice Peonies"






Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $49 USD plus $12 USD s/h
Or, send me an email
Summer's nearly over. Health issues have kept me from being in the studio this summer but as the fall approaches and things are resolving, I hope to be publishing more often. As I'm returning to atelier this fall for two days a week and I'll be teaching all day Wednesday, that leaves me four days for studio, home and social life. I promise to do my best but I'm sorry to say I'll not be able to claim daily painting status any longer as the new demands on my time will make that very difficult. I'll continue to be a part of DailyPainters.com, however, for awhile.
I've been away from paint for so long, I thought I should at least give some flowers a try and work out the rust in my painting hand.

Oil Painting of Magnolia Spray, 11" x 14", Oil on Panel

"Magnolia Spray"






I've recently been introduced to Facebook. Ok...I'm a little behind there. But then, not everyone blogs either. Anyway, as a result, I hooked up with a friend from my teen camp days and she commissioned a small painting. My friend didn't want a vase in this floral, however; she requested instead only a spray. So here it is. Hope she likes it. To see how this painting was done, see a step by step demonstration with pictures and explanation at www.musensbysusan.blogspot.com.