trees without leaves I - variation 9

6" x 6", oil on gessobord

17/30

For this painting, I used a few tube colors that I don't normally use a lot.  I really like how they mixed together.  Like yesterday's painting, I used the same process of an underpainting of neutrals with brighter colors over, leaving some of the underpainting showing through.  

trees without leaves I - variation 8

6" x 6", oil on gessobord

16/30

For this painting, I did an underpainting of neutral colors and painted the more intense colors over the top, leaving some of the neutrals showing through.  I love this color combination. 

trees without leaves I - variation 7

6" x 6", oil on gessobord

15/30

Today we are halfway through the 30 paintings in 30 days!  I have lots of new things I want to try for the rest of the challenge, and we'll see what happens!

trees without leaves I - variation 6

6" x 6", oil on gessobord

14/30

For this painting, I went back to my very first image in my "trees without leaves" color series, and I'm going to use that one for the next few paintings.  This one started out with different colors, it didn't work, so I scraped it off and started again.  Same thing.  Above is the third time around and I really like how it turned out.  The colors are soft with fairly thick paint and a lot of texture throughout the painting. 

trees without leaves III - variation 13

 6" x 6", oil on gessobord

13/30

30 paintings in 30 days

I gave myself an hour to paint this one, not including mixing the colors.  It normally takes anywhere from 2-1/2 to 4 hours for me to paint a small painting.  

trees without leaves III - variation 12

6" x 6", oil on gessobord

12/30

I wanted some fresh ideas for color choices, so I went to the library yesterday and found a new book on textile art/design.  I use that type of book a lot for color ideas.  This painting was inspired by one of the color combinations from the book.     

trees without leaves III - variation 11

6" x 6", oil on gessobord

11/30

I used a complementary color palette for this painting. 

trees without leaves III - variation 10

6" x 6", oil on gessobord

10/30

Today we are one-third of the way through the challenge of making 30 paintings in 30 days!...AND...it is day 47 of my 108-day challenge to create some type of art daily!

trees without leaves III - variation 9

 6" x 6", oil on gessobord

9/30

For this painting, I used several neutral color variations within the trees, still staying with a very limited palette - 3 tubes of paint plus white.  This is really good practice for mixing subtle/neutral colors. 

trees without leaves III - variation 8

6" x 6", oil on gessobord

8/30

I'm really happy with the colors in this one.  I love the blues and greens and tend to gravitate more to a value pattern with less contrast like the one in this painting.  For me it has a very calm feeling.  

trees without leaves III - variation 7

6" x 6", oil on gessobord

7/30

I wanted to make today's painting a "warm" one (maybe because the windchill today is around -30!), so I used mainly reds, yellows, and oranges, plus neutrals made from those.  I painted this one more expressive with both thin and thick paint.

trees without leaves III - variation 6

6" x 6", oil on gessobord

6/30

Today is day 6 in the 30-day challenge.  

I normally paint pretty tight with a LOT of paint and a lot of color.  For this piece, I applied the paint quite thin.  I went pretty achromatic (without color) except for the blue.  I also kept it pretty loose (loose for me!) with softer edges.

It's good to experiment.  It's good practice and you learn a lot!

trees without leaves III - variation 5

6" x 6", oil on gessobord

5/30

Day 5 of the 30-day challenge.  Working on subtle value changes with complementary colors (colors across from each other on the color wheel). 

trees without leaves III - variation 4

6" x 6", oil on gessobord

4/30

Day 4 of the 30-day challenge.  Working with a monochromatic color scheme (one color with variations in intensity and value).

One more thing:

Before the holidays, I started a new class called Qi Tai Gu.  It's a series of simple movements derived from Qi Gong, Tai Chi and Edgu, designed to help you destress, detangle and re-energize.  It's a great class!  It is taught by my friend, Laura Granger, in Monona at Dancing Birch Studio (love the name!).  If you are in the Madison area and would like to check out what she has to offer, click HERE.

trees without leaves III - variation 3

6" x 6", oil on gessobord

3/30

Day 3 of the 30-day challenge.  Working with analogous colors (colors that are next to each other on the color wheel).

trees without leaves III - variation 2

6" x 6", oil on gessobord

2/30

I love mixing colors, especially neutrals.  Check out Kyle Martin's website.  He mixes beautiful neutrals. 

trees without leaves III - variation 1

 6" x 6", oil on gessobord

1/30

Today is the first day of the 30/30 challenge (making 30 paintings in 30 days) with Leslie Saeta.  My plan for the next month is to continue with my "trees without leaves" series, experimenting with various color combinations and harmonies.  I'll be posting my paintings here daily as well as on Leslie's blog. 

trees without leaves II - variation 5

6" x 6", oil on gessobord

The colors of the holidays inspired this one.

Goals and Challenges:

For 2015, I have set a goal to paint more consistently each week.  In helping to achieve this goal, I have joined Leslie Saeta's challenge of doing 30 paintings in 30 days. This begins January 1st.  I'm really excited to start this and will be posting my paintings daily.  I'm also continuing with the 108-day project which has been a really good challenge.  It has certainly kept me "in the art" and has also laid the groundwork for more consistent painting.

These challenges and goals are a good thing.  They keep us motivated and give direction.  So, here's to more painting in 2015!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

trees without leaves II - variation 4

6" x 6", oil on gessobord

The above painting was done last week, again using a very limited palette.

  

I'm keeping up with the 108-day project of doing art every day.  Today is the 28th day!  With all the extra things happening during this holiday time, I've mostly been doing thumbnail color studies using oil pastels.  Here's a photo of a few of them:

trees without leaves II - variation 3

6" x 6", oil on gessobord

The above painting was done last week.  I really enjoy experimenting with color, and lately I've been using quite limited palettes.  For this painting, I used violet plus 3 yellows and white.  I'm pretty happy with the violet neutrals throughout the piece, with the subtle color shifts.

I'm keeping up with my project of working on art every day.  When I can't get into my studio to paint, I do small color sketches/studies with oil pastels or work on relief prints. 

The print below is from a linoleum carving completed last week:

This is another linoleum carving just finished this week but not printed yet.  The photo used for this is the one I'm currently using for my tree series.