Correction? I originally called these flowers “daisies”, then chamomile, now back to daisy. —
My Scappoose poppy paintings are leaving the nest, going to good homes. I have added white chamomile, including the one below. Other flowers are in the works. Do you have a favorite volunteer flower growing near you? Let me know.
It’s a lot of work, but it’s fun to be out meeting people. Most everyone likes the travel watercolors and the oil paintings. I only have poppies for now, but more local flowers are on the way. I have to get to work, painting. Maybe I’ll put assistant, Foxy, to work.
I drew another booth painting while I was at the market (4×6, watercolor). Here it is…
Here is a sneak preview of a big watercolor I started today. This piece is kind of an “experiment.” I’ve never painted a watercolor this big (30x22in; 76x56cm). I’m also applying the paint in a way that combines watercolor and oil painting. Unlike watercolor,
I am not painting big areas of solid color.
I am mixing some colors on the paper (not before I use them).
My painting is standing upright instead of lying down.
The last point is interesting and has caused me to make some adjustments; mainly not using as much water as I normally would over a large area. All of this combines to give it a different “look.” We shall see what happens.
What do I look at? When in Phoenix … I visit the Phoenix Art Museum (PAM). I saw some old favorites and new things, too. The Heard Museum is great, too, just up the road, but it was a PAM sort of day today. Here is a bit of what I spent my time looking at.
The highlight was the traveling exhibition of Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads: Gold by Ai Weiwei. It was very worth the trip. It’s a conceptual exhibit, so one has to read about it as well. Ok, one does not have to, but it helps. Another place for info is Ai Weiwei’s site (http://www.zodiacheads.com).
I spent a lot of time studying the painting by Edouard Vuillard. I looked his brushwork, the layers of his colors, how he placed colors to create the illusion of shapes, and more. I also visited a bronze by my favorite sculptor Barbara Hepworth. It was class Hepworth, a powerful piece. I did not like where it was placed, on a shelf across a staircase, too far away to get its full impact. I also noticed a dreamy image by Agnes Pelton. It was almost a bit too surreal for me, but it was well done and its imagery pulled me in. My photo doesn’t do justice to her painting. If you cannot make it to the museum, take a look online at http://www.phxart.org. Oh yes, then there was Rodin.
List of images
· Ai Weiwei Exhibit (http://www.phxart.org/exhibition/zodiacheads)
· Madame Lucy Hessel Working at a Dressmaker’s Table by Edouard Vuillard, oil, 1908
· Aloe by Barbara Hepworth, bronze, 1969
· Kiss by Rodin, bronze, 1880
· Day by Agnes Pelton, oil, 1935
Just finished the 2015 Road Trip. Good, because 2015 is almost gone. It looks so small and cute in the photo – they’re all 7×5 inches. I will post the series in its entirety the first week in January (I have to wait for this one to dry so I can scan it). It’s the I-5 Grapevine hills north of Los Angeles.
I’ve painted 19. I have 5 that I will keep. I will continue to paint until I get one more keeper.
da Vinci’s portraits of women; understated elegance.
The original painting, Virgin of the Rocks (1483–1486, Oil on panel (transferred to canvas), 199 cm × 122 cm), is in the Musée du Louvre, Paris.
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci
* April 15, 1452, Vinci, Italy
† May 2, 1519, Amboise, France
Rembrandt is famous for his self-portraits. I could not resist drawing one them.
The original painting by Rembrandt is titled Self-Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar (1659, oil on canvas, 84.4 cm × 66 cm). The painting was gifted to the National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC, USA) in 1937 by the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust.
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
* July 15, 1606, Leiden, Netherlands
† October 4, 1669, Amsterdam, Netherlands
