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| IN THE HARBOR 8x8 oil, unframed, palette knife Click here to purchase I am thinking boats, harbors, lobstermen, fishermen, fish markets, waves and my summer trip to Maine This painting is textural with thick paint layered on with a palette knife. It is suitable for framing and looks best in a floater frame but you can also display this on a beautiful tabletop easel |
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| 12x12 oil on gessobord Click here to purchase I love coastal living but here I am in the beautiful desert of New Mexico Within one month I have attended two workshops: one with Leslie Saeta and the other with Dreama Tolle Perry. Their style of painting couldn't be much different, yet I love them both, style and subject matter. I painted "VENTURA HARBOR I" with Leslie, en plein air, palette knife only. We were set up so that the sun was not a bother. Leslie uses a limited palette of five colors plus white: Cad Yellow Med, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue, Phthalo Green and Sap Green. On the day we painted the ocean color didn't demand use of Phthalo Green though I have seen it used in many paintings, especially in the ocean paintings of Sorolla I recently saw in Dallas. The colors I used to get the above ocean color were Alizarin Crimson and Ultramarine Blue (for a bit of purple), Sap Green and Cad Yellow Medium. Yes, I am in love with harbor scenes and boats. My Pinterest website has a board of gorgeous ship, harbor and ocean paintings. You really should see it here. My plan is to continue this thread of painting and I have already scheduled two weeks of painting in Maine, in Andrew Wyeth country near Rockland. |
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| A photo of what I was seeing in Ventura Harbor You can see I zoomed in and greatly simplified my painting. |
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| VENTURA HARBOR III 9x12 oil on canvas covered cradled board Palette Knife Painting Click here to purchase After my very recent trip to Ventura, CA, I have completely fallen in love with PAINTING BOATS AND HARBORS A few years ago I spent a week in Maine at York Beach getting salt in my blood. I can't stay away from the ocean at the moment, nor studying famous seascape artists, so I have decided to return to Maine again in July, this time for two weeks. Of course there will be time for sightseeing, but my main purpose this time is more painting than vacationing. To see many awesome painting in one place click here to view my Pinterest board on Ships, Boats and Harbors. Click here to view my board of Seascape Paintings on Pinterest. |
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| Ventura Harbor I 11x14 oil on gessobord |
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| Avocado Halves 6x6 oil on gessobord |
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| Carnation Beauty 6x6 oil on gessobord Many of you have asked me about my workshop in California with Leslie Saeta. Did I like it? Emphatically YES! Did I learn a lot? YES! The hardest part for me was painting en plein air boats and a full harbor scene. I am completely unfamiliar with boats. As you would expect of me living in the desert. And I learned the silliest things about matching color, something I should have learned with my first ever art lesson. THIS IS THAT LESSON Mix the color on your palette using your palette knife (of course). Now hold that fully-loaded-with-color knife next to the item you are about to paint. Does it match in hue and value? No more of this "You don't know what color you have until you put it on your canvas." Do comment but don't tell me how on earth I could have missed such common sense. SECOND BIG LESSON (aside from painting that is) My very supportive husband has listened to me for years tell him I am leaving him for a few weeks in the heat of the desert summer for a cool place. (He likes heat.) Year after year after year, I ask myself where that summer place is. Besides cool it has to be where I can't wait to paint every day. After being in California on the beach, I am now in the process of searching for my "few weeks of cool" in Maine on the beach. I have contacted someone and can't wait to hear back. |
