Oil Painting of Red Roses and Fruit, 9" x 12" Oil on Canvas Panel

"A Fall of Roses"SOLD







I spent the day at the Clallam County Fair today demonstrating and collected a small crowd to watch me finish this piece. The fair is such fun. We're such a small town here that every gathering of people reveals another Norman Rockwell vignette. I would have loved to get some good pictures but I spent the day in the art barn doing this little piece. I love sharing my work so this was great fun. These roses came out just great too! Lots and lots of thick paint. I actually sculpted the flowers out of it. Take a peek at the closeup below.

Oil Paint of Pink Rose and Golden Plums, 11" x 14" on Canvas Panel

"Rose with Golden Plums"
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It's been a pretty busy week here at the Spar homestead. Our local fair starts this week and I've entered some work in it. But mostly it's just been hectic getting all the paperwork and peliminary stuff for my upcoming show ready. I know I should be ready for this by now, but it just seems to be taking forever to do it all. I'll be soooo glad when it's all behind me. Honestly, some days just looking for a phone number can take all day!

Here's a piece I put together on the fly today. Hope you like it.

Oil Painting of a Silver Ewer and Yellow Roses, 11" x 14" on Linen Panel

"The Silver Ewer"
Private Collection






This is the left side of a diptych I completed for a commission. I really enjoyed painting the lace on this and it's mate (to be viewed tomorrow). Painting lace or fabric is not really as hard as it's perceived. You need a lite touch and a good command of shadows. The rest is just feeling out the pattern and repeating it. There's actually a tiny ladybug on one of the leaves which was requested by the customer. Now THAT was hard!
I'm still finishing up some paintings for my show but will be back to selling by the end of the week - hopefully. Stay tuned. - Oh...a note to my friend, Rosa. Rosa...I can't believe I actually signed up for that workshop!!! David Leffel...oh still my beating heart! Thanks girlfriend. I owe you.

White Rose Oil Painting with Lemons on Linen Panel, 12" x 16"

"Light from Above"SOLD


The light was perfect today in the studio and after taking a few days off for some badly needed R&R, I was eager to get back in the studio. I've taken quite a few pictures of the process used to paint this beauty so if you get a chance, come by later and check for a a link to my teaching blog to see how it was painted. Or just go directly there later tonight to http://www.musensbysusan.blogspot.com. It takes awhile for me to write the lessons out and so they don't get published at the same time as the daily painting post.
This painting took me the better part of the day. I was pretty focused when I did it and it shows. I used a cool light from above. This is tricky in my studio because I don't have skylights. I do have north facing windows, but they're not high enough to give me the kind of light I wanted for this piece. The concept was to have light pooling from above. I rather like the way it came out. Some of the underpainting shows through here providing a lovely reddish hue around some of the blooms. There is a differentiation of light on the vase that is hard to see in the photos. I've tried adjusting this in photoshop but I makes the contrast too harsh on the other lights. This painting fairly glows. It's the aspect of using various tones of grayes contrasted with cools and warms that gives it that lovely glow. Photos just don't do it justice and you have to see this one up close and personal to know how it looks. If anyone wants additional photos, just e-mail me by clicking on the envelope below. I'll do my best to provide some other shots. You can see the detail in the photo below.

Original Oil Painting of White Roses and Cut Apples with a Green Glass Vase, 9" x 12"

"Roses with Cut Apples"SOLD





I just purchased some oil primed linen and couldn't resist using some for this small painting. I just love the way the paint lays on and the soft look you can get so easily. What surprised me, however, is how easily wet paint lifts off the linen! This made for some surpising effects also. There is a problem with photographing it, however, because it picks up and scatters light differently than canvas or straight board. I'll have to practice photographing the stuff. This was my fifth try! Best I could do under my limited light set up, though. Here's a detail shot. Oh...got myself a new green glass vase too!

Oil Paint of White Roses, Asian Pot, and Fruit, 14" x 18" on Canvas Panel

"Summer Repast"

SOLD


A bit more involved than one of my ala prima paintings, I took an extra sitting to complete this piece. It has multiple glazings and scumbling to heighten it's color and sense of drama. As much as I love ala prima painting, nothing excites more more than bringing a painting up to a polish. Hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed painting it. See the detail shots below. To see how it was painted, click here.




"White Roses for a Rainy Day"SOLD




Found this gem of a vase at a garage sale and scooped it up. It was perfect for these white roses today. It was rainy and the soft light coming in the windows really made the roses glow. Lots of thick paint on these. So thick, in fact, that I had to photograph the piece several times to get the light right. The paint is so high that the light reflecting off its ridges photographed with too high a contrast! See the detail below.

To see how this one was painted, click here after 8:00 PM tonight. If you haven't visited my teaching blog, Musens by Susan, just click here anyway!

Oil Painting of Roses and Silver Server, 8" x 10" on Canvas Panel

"'Thank You' Roses"
SOLD




I never talk politics on my blog and this isn't meant to be a speech or anything like one. I'm an independent and have mixed views on a load of subjects - our current war being one of them. But there's a story to these roses. They were part of a table centerpiece at an event sponsored by South Korean Government who regularly throws parties and dinners and parades and functions just to say "Thank You, you are not forgotten" to the Korean War Veterans of our country. The war is often referred to as the "Forgotten War". This grateful nation wants to reassure the veterans who gave of themselves to help win freedom for the South Koreans, that their sacrifices were not in vain.

My husband is a Korean Vet and has done a lot of work in Washington to recognize veterans of this war. The Korean Consulate General and numerous other Korean dignitaries and Korean/Americans frequently invite us and any Korean Veterans they can find to attend these functions as honored guests. There are always speeches and heartfelt thanks and testimonials given. All Korean War Veterans are invited to come and tour South Korean at the Korean Government's expense. A program that will end only when the last Korean War Veteran dies. It's a warm and welcome change from the way the U.S. is regarded by so many other countries these days. Our vets never leave with a dry eye. So this is just a note to say "Thank You" to the South Korean Government whose generous and grateful spirit has warmed the hearts and souls of so many older men and women, too, who are disappearing from our midst daily. I couldn't help but think of them as I painted these fading roses.

"The Filigree Stone Vase" 

I've had this Asian stone filigree vase for a very long time. It was my mother's. Because I grew up with it, I was accustomed to seeing it on the shelf but never took the time to examine it. Until I tried to paint it. It's amazing the amount of detail the artist who carved this vase was able to achieve. But what is really amazing is that it is made of stone and yet appears so willowy and light. I couldn't get all the detail this deserved but did manage to capture most of what was obvious to the eye.

I know that the audience for classical realism is not as extensive as that for abstract and contemporary pieces. But this vase taught me something important. My work, like the vase, takes patient observation and a quiet soul to appreciate.