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. 

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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?


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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.

Oil Painting of White Orchids and Red Tapestry, 13" x 21.5", Oil on Unstretched Canvas

"Balance"
I've been meaning to do a wall hanging for some time. A recent trip to Korea gave me the nudge I needed to get started. I chose some unstretched canvas for the job and then got busy. This painting is not yet for sale as I need to add the fabric and tassels that will complete it as a wall hanging. To see how this painting was done, to www.musensbysusan.blogspot.com and follow the links.

Oil Painting of Peonies and Lace Tablecloth with fruit, 21" x 24", Oil on Panel

"Peonies and Old English Lace"
This painting is available. Email me for pricing and information.

I've been working on this piece for some time but because of time constraints and an impossible schedule, I'm only getting around to publishing it today.

As you've no doubt noticed, I'm not publishing very much at all these days. School and teaching have me completely tied up and then with only four days left in the week, I'm only getting to paint what I please about one or two days a week. Hence, no time for daily painting. While I mourn the loss of visibility and, obviously sales, I'm truly flourishing in the academic environment. I just love attending Georgetown Atelier and teaching has become more exciting and rewarding for me as a result.

I'll be renaming this blog to something more appropriate soon and am considering withdrawing from DailyPainters.com unless I can find the time to publish more often. I hope, despite that, that you will opt to still receive my blog posts. I have truly loved doing business and sharing my work with all of you and hope to someday be able to give you more paintings on a regular basis. However, school is a long time committment for me and as I wish to open an atelier of my own some day, this is an opportunity I must take advantage of while I still can do so.
I still intend to publish to the blog smaller pieces for occasional sale and pastels as they become available. As I am required to produce for the Blue Whole Gallery in Sequim, I will still be posting a few times a month.

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.

Watercolor of Yellow Roses, 11" x 14" image, matted to 16" x 20"

"Playing with Roses"
SOLD


Just got to playing the other day. Not really wanting to put out my full palette of oils, I reached for a jar of water and splashed some watercolor around. Then I thought, "Hmm, this could use some pastel". So I dug those out too. All in all just a dipsy doodle day. Here's what came of an hour of splash.
This painting come matted in a 16" x 20" matt and ready to frame.