5 of 30 - Dogs and Cars - Mike's Museum

(Feeling right at home) in Mike's Museum

6x6"

Oil

DPW

In December I had the great opportunity to be invited to a tour of a local Car Museum.  I was also allowed to take a lot of photos of this amazing collection of classic cars.  Happy me!!!    

I decided to make a Volvo my first attempt to paint one from my reference photos.  Being Swedish and all.   The fun thing about Cars is to get to add those great high-lights at the end to make everything sparkle:-)  That's a lot easier to paint when a car is parked outside with the sun hitting it....;)

Inside in a Museum, there are a lot more light sources....This tends to create an enormous amount of reflections and high-lights, so I'm still trying to figure out how to tackle that challenge.

Happy Painting!

30 in 30 - Cars and Dogs - Day 2

"Close to the Beach"

6x6"

Oil

DPW

I had a marvelous day taking pictures by the Newport Pier this fall and I loved the way the afternoon light came down all these side streets right by the beach.  And lucky me, I found a VW bug on one of those streets as well.   I will be painting more from those images to come.

If you are interested in my 2016 Calendar I have just a few more left!!
Just follow this link to learn more and order yours.

30 in 30 - Cars and Dogs - Day 1

Kay's New Adventure

6x6"
Oil
DPW

Just finished this as a commission, which was just approved, and it will be my first addition to the 30 in 30 challenge starting in January - today!!! - 2016  You can join as well!  Just go to http://30paintingsin30days.weebly.com/ to sign up!

I'm looking forward to painting some more cars this month, in preparation for my trip to Cuba with 100 other artists and photographers organized by Eric Rhoads and Philip Levine.  Very excited about the cars, the architecture, the people and the music we will encounter!!

Happy New Years to you!!!  May your year be filled with wonder and adventure!!

If you are interested in my 2016 Calendar I have a few more left!!
Just follow this link to learn more.

30 in 30 - Reaching for Light

"Reaching for Light"

6x6"

Oil on Gessoboard
DPW


Got a question from Kaethe Baeler  (Check out her beautiful work!!) regarding what my green formula is?   So I thought I'd just share it in my post!


 I've had a lot of different greens on my palette over the years, trying to figure out the secret formula to great greens:-)  Everything from Sap Green to Viridian and using yellows and blues to mix:-)  I still use Gamblin Cadmium Green Light for some of those Poppy Light Greens, but that's the only straight green color I use now.

What was really helpful for me in thinking about greens was something Wyllis Heaton shared about the fact that greens are never as cool as we think.
Here is what Wyllis said on FB in his answer to the question about his greens:

"Green is the hardest thing for me to paint! I avoid scenes with a lot green if I can... But the main thing about green in a sunlight scene is it can almost never be warm enough... Basically the greens you can buy as paints are Way too green to describe foliage... The best way to see this on the freeway... Those freeway signs are green for real, like green paint green, compare that green to the natural greens around it... You'll see how much warmer the nature is.. I carry Turquoise and lemon yellow on my palette, so I can make super green for those occasions, but it's usually an unholy combo"

After I read that I've tried to be really conscious of pushing my greens warmer than I think they are.  And looking around in nature, I agree with what Wyllis says.

Recently I've also changed what I do when it comes to mixing my greens after seeing the greens of fellow amazing CA artist Karen Werner.
I loved the greens she was mixing and she told me that she took a workshop with Kim English (who is definitely on my list of artists to study with).  And what she had learned from him was to use Paynes Gray and Lemon Yellow to mix those really nice warm greens.  

So that is what I've been doing lately, I have added black on top of the Paynes Gray and I use that with different yellows and oranges, with a little addition of Cad Green light when I want a bright, but slightly cooler green.  I've also added Alizarin Yellow - Williamsburg Oils (courtesy Colin Page) to my arsenal of yellows.   It's a really nice and transparent and works great for a warm toning of the canvas and for mixing greens with.

So Kaethe, that's my loooong answer to your question on my greens.  And it goes to show how much we learn from fellow artists and friends!  I'm so grateful for those friendships!

Happy Painting!!

 

30 in 30 - Light Around the Edge

Light Around the Edge

6x6"

Oil on Gessoboard

DPW

More Hydrangeas!  Sort of nice to work on a series for the 30 in 30 Challenge.  Learn more about the challenge here - maybe you'd like to join?  We'll see if this series will keep me going til the end...I've been known to mix things up:-)

30 in 30 - Light Continued

"Light Continued"

6x6"

Oil on Gessoboard

DPW

Here's another ART SELFIE with my friend Bob Raser.   Read more about him in this earlier post.

I don't feel like I have a lot to say about my own art right now, so I just want to share the joy of having known our Pleinair Bob!

Miss you!

30 in 30 - Sun-Kissed

"Sun-Kissed"

6x6"

Oil on Gessoboard

DPW

Here's another Hydrangea as I focus on painting white and light for the 30 in 30 this time around.

30 in 30 - Focus on Light

Looking for the Light

6x6"

Oil on Gessoboard

DPW

Sometimes it's hard to paint...and even harder to put things into words.

My good friend, a wonderful artist named Bob Raser -  left us this past Saturday,  after seemingly having cancer successfully removed and on the way to recovery and a normal life, before a sudden stroke changed everything...it was a devastating turn-of-events.  My heart goes out to all his family and friends!


I wanted to take the opportunity to share the joy of knowing him with you, in order that whomever might read my blog, will be up-lifted by the enthusiasm with which he lived life!

I will miss his voice, his smile and his wonderful energy!  As Maya Angelou so profoundly said:
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." 

He always made me feel better!

You can see more of his paintings following the link to his website. They are filled with optimism and sunlight, much like his personality".

He also made these wonderful video "ART SELFIES".   Here's a link to one of them.

Keep Creating!  And a big Happy Birthday to my mom!!!

A boat ditty

6x6"

Oil on Gessoboard

DPW

Here's a little ditty of a boat...:-)  A close-up of a boat in the Ventura Harbor.  Perhaps not a ditty though? as I just learned that a ditty is a short song...but I just like the ring of it!

Enjoy!

Cat on a Mission (at San Antonio de Padua that is)

Cat on a Mission

6x6"

Oil on Gessoboard

To Bid

It's been a while since I've painted a 6x6 and I had a great time working small and on gessoboard again today.   I've had this photo reference since I visited the Mission of San Antonio de Padua 2 years ago.    My friend Daggi Wallace and I took part of a paint out weekend with CAC and got to meet some great artists and paint plein air.   This was the room we stayed in (no frills:) and there was just something about the light coming in through the window, the beautiful curtains and the angles of those bed that made for a really nice composition that I snapped a picture of.  

Here is the website for 

The Mission of San Antonio de Padua

I kept the image in my files and tested it out as a value study a while back.  This is a great tool we practiced in William Wray's workshop, really pairing it down to see what parts of your image can be pulled together into one shape.     It needed a focal point and the cat seemed a perfect choice.

 There actually was a cat that lived at the mission so it even made sense to put one in.

A fun day of painting!  And it didn't hurt that I got to spend the morning with 5 other fabulous painters in our Monday Morning Painters Group.

Happy Painting!

9.15.14 - Sunny Stairs

Sunny Stairs

6x6"

Oil on Gessoboard

Auction

I'm getting back in the swing of things with the 30 Paintings in 30 Days:-)  Had to take a few days off the challenge to finish work for some deadlines and get ready for an outdoor exhibit - but I'm back.

 This is one I painted for that exhibit at the Adamson House Celebrating their 85th anniversary this weekend!

I also worked on getting my first ever newsletter out last week.  As any artist knows, the marketing aspect of our profession - is an important part, that takes a lot of learning, and a lot of time!!

Please let me know if you would like to be on my mailing list!  My plan is to always have some great info and tips for artists, on top of the latest off my easel and updates on events.

Send me your email address to anettepow(at)gmail.com

if you'd like to be included.

9.7.14 - "Leo Life Tower"

Leo Life Tower

6x6"

Oil on Gessoboard

Had this painting around for a while and couldn't quite figure out what it needed...?  Then I decided to push the reflective light and the sky and it created a lot more mood.  My favorite thing about this stage in my art career - I'm taking the freedom to change things...to look at what the painting needs and hopefully(?) improve things.

1 week in - 3 weeks to go in the challenge

30 Paintings in 30 Days

9.6.14 - Bulbs On a Ledge -

Bulbs on a ledge

6x6

Oil on Gessoboard

Not an expert on bulbs like Carol Marin, but she's inspired me to take them on, and here are some more in my series of them with one of my favorite composition devices (if it can be called a device? :)...a high horizon-line and focal point.

 

Happy Painting!

9.5.14 - The Sweetest Smile - Faces and Favorite Things -

The Sweetest Smile

6x6"

Oil on Gessoboard

I just love the reference photo I used for this painting of my mom!  It captured her sweet smile.  And today is her birthday!! - Happy Birthday Mom!...or... Grattis på Födelsedagen!  som vi säger i Sverige:-)

9.1.14 - Faces and Favorite Things

I come in Peace

6x6

Oil on Gessoboard

Auction

Today is the first day of Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 Challenge and it's the 3rd one I've participate in.  Call me crazy, but I'm doing it again:-)  

It's always a good practice in moving on and leaving well enough alone!   This time I wanted to spend some time painting some familiar and new faces and work on getting looser and more interpretive in my handling of it.   I might pick some inspirational work of other artists and see if I can try some new techniques in my own work!

And then in between, I will post some of all the other work I want/and need to finish this month.  I look forward to seeing all the work of the 800 or so artists participating this time.

Happy painting everyone!

Reflections on "Aha's"

Reflections on "Aha's"

Oil on Gessoboard

6x6"

Today was a day of Aha's for me!  One "Aha" was that I now know that I really enjoy sharing what I'm learning with other artists!   Two, was that in doing so I got the satisfaction of experiencing my fellow artists having"Aha's" as well.   Three, this as we all tackled a concept that I first heard about from Kevin Macpherson in his key note address at the Plein Air Convention in April that packs a big punch of AHA!   (Amazing that I had never come across this wisdom in my years painting, but perhaps I just had to hear it when I was ready.)

What Kevin mentioned then, is that one of the secrets to a successful painting is never having light and shadow cross paths.

????

At the time I had no real clue what he was talking about.   And it wasn't until I read Liz Wiltzen's excellent blog post on the subject, along with her great pictures and explanations, that I could finally start to grasp how the "Power of Black and White" can help in understanding "the Essential of Truth Light and Shadow".   Take a look, read her blog and see if you will find it a little eye-opening as well!

What I added to her explanation in our lesson was to use acetate/vellum to put over our reference photos to very easily be able to distinguish the 2 values.  We would use a black sharpie to cover everything in shadow and leave what was in sun-light alone, creating a really strong graphic and still readable design, even without all the detail.  

This step really helps in, of course; simplifying!   It also helps me see how I can make the painting and the design stronger, whether my focal point works and how I can strengthen that focal point.  It's a also a good start-off point for creating areas of abstraction.

For someone who continually has struggled with "detailitis", "licking the canvas" and loosing my light and dark pattern this is a great exercise to practice!

Happy Painting!

Metal Pedaling

Metal Peadling

6x6

Oil on Gessoed Board

I've noticed that I really have a tendency to pick complicated subject matters - either a lot of different objects, or complicated pieces with a lot of shine and angles....The art imitating the artist perhaps?...and it doesn't help that my husband has a huge collection of robots in all types of colors and metals - calling out for me to paint them.   At least I'm just painting one at a time.

"Duck out of Water"

"Duck out of Water"

6x6"

oil on canvasboard

Just some fun with my slowly growing collection of Rubber Ducks.   They have a special meaning for me in memory of my niece Manda.

Painting-wise I'm enjoying adding more cools and warms together these days.

Studies on the pond

Young Tree on the Pond

Study in Oil on Gessoed Board

6x6"
To Bid

I feel like I've been on a little vacation from blogging.  Seems to happen every now and then.  I think it's just part of the process of being an artist - Not that I'm not painting - just focusing more on the act of painting than showing...

And then I've actually been on vacation as well.  First camping and then 2 wonderful weeks on the Cape.  I got the chance to paint a little in between family and fun, 4th of July and impending hurricanes, and on this particular morning I actually did 3 little studies before everyone woke up.  I was just steps from the house down by the pond.   It was a greyish overcast morning, but the pond was delightfully still.

My first study seemed be-labored and I was fighting some bad habits of noodling - No likey!

In the second one below, I was determined to paint more loosely, focus on shapes and just have some hard edges define my center of interest.  It was a lot more fun than the first one:-)

Edge of the Pond

Oil on gessoboard

6x6"

Staying Late - 6x6 oil on gessoed board

6x6

oil on gessoed board

DPW

This week has been filled with kids activities; going on a school field trip, teaching art to 2nd graders, karate and all that goes into being a mom in between all that.   Balancing my love for the kids with my love for art is not an easy task and sometimes one wins over the other:-)   

 

So, after less painting than usual this week I did this little diddy to warm up today.   There's something I absolutely love about a light sky, reflecting in water at sunset.  It reminds me of the Swedish archipelago!   My reference for this was a picture of the parking lot by the Camarillo Art Studios after the rain.   I was able to keep it sort of loose, although there were a few places I went back and adjusted...as I get more and more familiar with what I want to achieve with my paintings...I seem to want less and less of that -

Happy painting all!!