Lighthouse View Makeover 2

I have a body of work in my studio that I am cleaning up and getting ready to distribute to galleries again. This painting has been an obsession and as you can see many hours has been poured into it. 

I took this out of the frame last November to make some adjustments.  Now that it is back in my studio, I see more things I want to do.  When a painting is away and not in my sight for awhile, I see it with fresh eyes.

There is a stark, ragged, white reflective highlight, that now looks like a torn piece of paper that is stuck on the painting.  This is the wrong shape and needs to be softened.

I am serious of about deleting My husband's face.  This could be a case where the artist is saying too much.  With my daughters face remaining a mood of  mystery will still remain.

The goal is to make this work a stronger painting.  I am hoping that I still have the lighthouse lens photos in my file here.  It will be best to look for them before I take the painting out of the frame.  If they are in Missouri I will leave the painting here and my pile of 'what to bring on my return to Florida, will be started.

Note to self:  Create a file for reference material of finished work, but not sold.  This I should carry back and forth between my two studios. Then there should a separate file for finished and sold paintings.

Water Lilies at Night

 

This is what is on my painting table today.  The Starbucks iced coffee is a new find from Sam's, but that is not what I am here to talk about.  I am trying to finish two paintings by next Thursday.  Then I am off to seek out a few new galleries.  Updating my bio, artist statement and résumé is keeping me busy.  I am also cataloguing stock and working over a price increase.

 This image of water lilies comes from photos taken at night.  The light provided is from lights under the water.  This creates the glow of the lily pads and moodiness of the piece.  Of course I am fusing several photos together to get what I want.  The question is, can I use this unique light situation and not confuse the viewer.

The bottom half of this painting is developed enough for now.  It is time to flip the painting to work on the top half.  I like having what I am working on closer to me.  Rotating work always helps with a new perspective.  I must remember to also get this up on an easel and look at it from afar.  What looks good on my painting table may completely fall apart when it is upright and 12 feet away.  I am never happy until the painting looks great close up and the same from the across the room.

today I finished laying in the fish.  I chose to cover these in Misket to save them as I am doing the background.  The little red Dr. Pepper cap holds the masking fluid needed so I am not painting out of the jar.

The rest of the painting session was spent feeling my way into a new lily pad.  Undersea green is just the right temperature for this leaf.  This color is one of the 7 new colors I ordered from Daniel Smith.  I am very please with this one. 

To be honest I love them all.  I do a lot of color mixing on the paper, but in watercolor it is great to be able to start with just the right base pigment.  Green can be tough.  The trick is to start with one that is the right temperature.  Should it be warmer or cooler, muted, clear or grainy.  I love all these different pigments.  How they suspend in the water and then dry on the different papers, is all the fun.



I am not sure this is done yet.  It is done on a half sheet of watercolor.  (15"x22")  I will cut the mat and mull this over this one for now.  Looking at this photo the yellow of the horizontal fish on the left edge may be too commanding.  To lift, dull or change color, are my options. 

Off to the art desk.  More later.

 

Jellyfish in the Water
23"x21"
Watercolor

This painting just got put in a frame. It will be submitted to Watercolor USA.  I used a heavier metal black frame with a generous mat.  The painting pops.  It is a shame it can not be submitted with an image of it in its frame.  This is a bigger painting for me.  It's size makes it less busy.  There is a lot of texture and movement.  Keep fingers crossed

 

A Cat Named Rose:  I entered this painting in the Finley River Mystery Box Competition.  It won best of show and received perfect scores from both judges.  When I was ready to put this in the frame my husband declared that it was a really good painting. 

This photo was done quickly lying in the window before I framed it.  I will have to bring it home this weekend to get a proper photo.

I made the mistake of putting this on an easel an hour before it was due.  I did not like how it looked from a distance.  Paintings always look different when viewed upright from the nearly flat working surface.  I got real busy making corrections.

this is a good start for the new year. 

A Cat Named Rose.

This is the last day to paint on this one...well maybe a little in the morning, if mat is ready and the camera is set up for photo.  To many times I throw a painting into the frame before the photo is taken.'' Ugh!

After the drawing was done I have really enjoyed painting this.  There is still a lot to do. but I seem to get a lot done when I sit down.  I make  many major changes at this point.  Some of the best stuff happens in a painting's last hours. 

Right after I took this photo I turned the painting over to wet the back and then staple it down on a board.  Painting on 300 lb. paper is great freedom, but eventually it curls and needs and good flattening.  It is asking the mat to do too much in holding such a heavy paper flat.  Later warping will occurs and then I have to take it all apart and fix things. 

I'm thinking that I wish to big the turned paw up a bit and maybe one of the ears.  I used several photos from the Images in yahoo tocome up with my cat'spose.  This creates execution problems, but must never copy form other's photos without permission.  The images must only be a reference.  In other words:  an ear comes from here and a pose from there, head slant, a paw, eyes are all melded into my own creation.  Then the photos have to be ignored for other details.  It is much easier when I take photos myself. 

I promise to post the finished painting soon.

My Favorite Pencil has been changed.

I have been struggling with a drawing for the Mystery Box competition.  I used to buy Design HB pencils from National Art. The  pencil's look changed.  No big deal.  Wrong.  The pencil has changed!  It won't sharpen and it is softer.

I thought I found the old pencil online with the old look.  I ordered a box.  Turns out they were not the old pencils.  The numbers are the same but the online photo must not have been updated. 


Thought maybe I could adjust.  Finally after creating an graphite mess I dug up an old stub of my favorite pencil.  I am ready to let Maxwell have his way with the whole box.  He quickly make toothpicks out of pencils.  Finding a new favorite pencil would be a goal for this year. 

As I was putting away a few of my dads things I spied his drafting pencil.  I expected hard lead, but I was surprised by what I think is H2.  The lines are clean.  I will purchase HB lead tomorrow.

I am once again a happy artist.

My father passed away last April.  It has been hard to recover from the after effect.  I do finally feel more sane.  I is very nice to happen in to my father's drafting pencil.  It is like keeping a piece of him close to me.  I am sure he is looking and down on me and glad that I have adopted his pencil as my own.