Away

I'm away for a few days on a clinical trial. I also have to catch up, as I have missed quite a few days of painting. I have been disappointed by many of them these last few weeks, and it has me discouraged. I think I will be returning to the tutorials, in order to get back to basics.

There are some courses coming up in our Parks and Rec program this winter. Two in particular appeal to me, Life Drawing and Intermediate Acrylics. I should do both. I think it would be motivating and educational.

See y'all in a couple of days!

Autumn Past

I took the reference photo on the same walk as the Day 31 painting. I felt like looking back to fall as we have snow on the ground now and it's freezing out.

Acrylic on 6x6 Masonite

Not bad, but it seems to be lacking something and the leaves seem to be floating, and they shouldn't be. I guess I could just sat that this is a painting of falling leaves.

The underpainting colour was a mid tone green. It seemed like a good idea because the photo was mainly yellows and browns. I never quite sure whether to use a similar colour or an opposite colour as a base coat. More research needed. Keep painting.

More Decorations

Quite simply, I did two more decorations as my daily painting. The second and third one are not exact copies of the Harris painting, I drew and painted them without looking at the original just to see how it worked.

Acrylic on Christmas Balls

I enjoyed painting these so much that I may make a few more!

Have Yourself A Group Of Seven Christmas

Many of the Streets Alive artists are painting Christmas ornaments to give away on Saturday. I thought I'd make it my daily painting and decorate it based on winter in the Northern Woods by Lawren Harris.

Ornament with Acrylic Paint

Painting something so small and on a sphere is not as easy as I thought. I'm going to do a couple more tomorrow.

This was fun and a nice change. I just bought cheap dollar store balls. They are plastic so they aren't fragile. I may do a few more to give as gifts.

Mantlepiece

I chose a photo of my Uncle Tom's mantle from a few years ago. He always has the most beautiful flower arrangements, and not just during the holidays.

8x8 Acrylic on Canvas Board

I tried to make the background a purplish gray instead of the beige in the photo. I struggled with the candle, background and roses. You can see I worked them way too much. After that I pretty much threw the rest together. I was hoping for something I could use for a Christmas card. I'll try again tomorrow.

You know, I think I will look for some tutorials on painting roses. I'd really like to do a much better job with them.

Rise And Shine

It's breakfast time! I honestly couldn't paint for a few days. I guess the pressure of 365 straight days of painting got to me. But now is the time to break the "fast".

6x6 Acrylic on Masonite

I don't know if it's winter depression or if I was just sick of painting every day. None of my reference photos appealed to me and I just felt dumpy. But last night I went to the Monday night painters group and it was nice to see everybody and paint without pressure.

I picked another magazine photo to take with me and painted quickly. Our meetings are 2 hours. Subtract talking time, I painted for 1 1/2 hours. The bowl and plate are crooked, but otherwise I am happy with it. I mean, at lease I got back on the horse. I still feel un-confident, but I will do my best.

Gee, this post sounds like a gripe session. I'll try not to do that too often!

Snow Day

At this point, I've learned that I do not do my best work when I'm tired, especially late at night. I just don't seem to care at that point. But at least I painted something today.

6x6 Acrylic on Masonite

I took this photo last year on a day so cold and beautiful that I had to go for a drive. I will revisit this photo someday, maybe on the same piece of masonite.

Thank you all for your patience!

Squishy Pumpkin Patch

I relaxed and didn't worry too much and just painted. I used a reference photo from the internet this time. I was in the mood to paint something orange, but wanted to avoid citrus fruits again. LOL. I will try lemons again someday.

6x6 Acrylic on Masonite

I like the darks and lights on this one, but I don't think I captured the pumpkin shape very well. Or is it the ridges in the pumpkins. I shall revisit pumpkins again in the future.

Float Like A Butterfly

I painted this tonight at our Monday night painting group. I didn't bring any objects to paint, so I tore a photo out of a gardening magazine and hoped for the best.

5x7 Acrylic on Canvas Board

This is the first painting in a week and a half that I have been happy with. I wonder if it's because I went back to my old 5x7 canvas. It is because the composition is better with a rectangular canvas? I know now that it is easier for me to paint on canvas than a smooth surface. Maybe I was just having a good night!

Check

I painted this yesterday, but I was so unhappy with it that I thought I'd paint another one today to post in it's place. Instead, I tried to fix it up.

6x6 Acrylic on Masonite

The black piece is particularly troublesome. It still doesn't look right because it's not symmetrical. Makes me feel like leaning sideways. Ah well, better luck next time.

Pitcher This

So I mixed a bunch of pastel shades and just painted freely. I had no plans other than to paint a picture of a little jug in front of me and have fun with it.

6x6 Acrylic on Masonite
 

Okay, so it's not exactly a masterpiece. I almost didn't publish it. I've been painting daily for just over 40 days now, and I'm feeling like I'm not going anywhere. I lack focus and my paintings are lacking something. Skill maybe.

Broken Window

A repeat of yesterday's effort. Maybe I'm having a few bad painting days because of this flu. I think I may do a few tutorials to get myself back on track.

6x6 Acrylic on Masonite

I tried painting in a loose carefree manner. I guess I'm not ready for that yet. Back to the drawing board. Literally.

Day 40

Now that I have uploaded this picture, I see how truly awful it is. That's okay, because I wasn't really feeling up to it and kind of rushed through it. Ah well, I said I'd post a painting a day, right? I didn't say they would be good.

6x6 Acrylic on Masonite

White shadows. Weird trees. That's all for today.

Bridge Over Troubled Water

I took this photo last November while canoeing on the Severn River. It had been a mild autumn, unlike this year. We have had snow and freezing temperatures for a over a week now, therefore no canoe trips until next year.

6x6 Acrylic on Masonite

I guess this painting is so-so. I overworked it in a few places. I need more practice with bright areas, especially sunlight.

I've been painting on these little 6x6 masonite panels because our local Peter Street Fine Arts has a Call To All Artists to submit small paintings for December. They gave me a couple of panels, but I made a bunch more just in case. Good thing I did. I'm not crazy about my 6x6 paintings. Hopefully I will come up with two nice pieces before the end of the month.

Follow The Yellow Brick Wall

I'll tell you a secret. I used yesterday's paint tray for today's painting. Oh yes, and I forgot the underpainting. I think this flu has affected my brain.

6x6 Acrylic on Masonite

Luckily, I found a reference photo with similar colours as yesterday's. The wall is actually red brick. The actual painting doesn't look as yellow as this, though I did add yellow to burnt sienna in an attempt to match the colour of the bricks under the bright sun.

The search for the best red brick colour continues. This is very important, as many of the charming older buildings in our city are made of red brick and they will definitely be future painting subjects.

Valuable Lessons Learned Today:

• If you intend to save your sheet of mixed paint until the next day, make sure there is enough moisture in the container to prevent the paints from thickening or hardening.
• Don't forget your underpainting. Little bits of white will show through otherwise.

Cavana House

I am lucky to live a few doors down from the Cavana House, a spa and former inn. It's a beautiful red brick Victorian house with beautifully kept gardens. I have taken many photos and done a couple of watercolours over the years.



6x6 Acrylic on Masonite

I'm getting the hang of the masonite board. This time I sketched the main areas, and instead of a nid toned underpainting, I applied a dark and mid tone to the major areas. This way the white is left white. It worked; I didn't have to paint the lighter areas with multiple coats to cover the paint beneath.

I am feeling a little better, and I like this painting better than the last three. Maybe being sick and feverish really does affect your ability to paint.

Art Therapy

I can't believe it. I'm still as sick as ever. I'm never going to get better. Sorry for my bitching.

6x6 Oil on Masonite

Discouraged by three sucky days of disappointing paintings, I grabbed some oil paints that my son also had kicking around the house. I did a loose, kind of messy bunch of trees and shadows. I've only done a couple of oil paintings in a class many years ago. I just wanted to do something different. I may break out the oils from time to time and learn some more. Besides, I love how they smell. I think it brings me back to my childhood when my father would paint landscapes and ships and such.

Valuable Lessons Learned Today:

• Don't be afraid to try new things.
• Oil paint takes MUCH longer to dry than acrylic.
• Oil has a nice velvety texture, and is more opaque than acrylic.
• Don't dip your oil brush in your acrylic water.

Till The Cows Come Home

I'm still sick. I haven't had anything like this in years. A mix of the cold and flu. I painted today, though I can't believe how bad this piece is. Then again, my eyes and nose are running and I have head and body aches. Surprised I'm still alive.

6x6 Acrylic on Masonite

I haven't been happy with my last 3 paintings. What they have in common is that I painted them while I was very ill, and they were done on masonite. I know my focus is off. It took me twice as long to do this one and I'm not happy with it. But I painted!

Since masonite doesn't grab the paint as well, I have to use 4 coats of white over my underpainting (titanium, burnt sienna and ultramarine) and you can still see the colour underneath. In the future I will not paint my underpainting colour onto any areas that are to remain white or very light.

Valuable Lessons Learned Today:

• Painting acrylics onto a smooth surface is much different than onto canvas.
• Painting when you're sick is a difficult, useless venture.

Red Door

I'm so sick. Still. I didn't finish it till today so I'm SO late. Oh dear.

Early Snow

I took this photo a week ago, after an early snow. The cold temperature made the remaining leaves fall on top of the snow.

6x6 Acrylic on Masonite

I'm so sick tonight. The first cold I've had in two years.This painting took way too long, I played around with the paint too much and it looks like it needs more shadows or something. This was the first time I tried painting on masonite too. Hopefully I will be feeling a bit better tomorrow. Goodnight everybody!