Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! - 6 x 6 Oil on Gessobord

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This is my version of the Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin (love that movie!)  I picked up a pumpkin while getting groceries the other day and had fun carving it -- it's been so long since I last carved a pumpkin!

This low-key value range is quite a contrast to my last small painting (in my last post), which featured a small pumpkin gourd in high key values.  It was quite a challenge to get the glow of the candlelight inside the pumpkin -- it had to be really dark on the outside -- something I am seemingly allergic to.  But I am always hearing: "Color gets all the credit, value does all the work."  So I keep trying!  

Below is my carved (not-so-much) masterpiece.

Warts and All

Warts and All - 6 x 6 Oil on panel

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Tis the season for pumpkin gourds!  I have been doing some exercises in color value and temperature lately, so this little white/orange pumpkin was perfect for this sort of exercise.  Warm light, cool shadows, and a nice warmish green to reflect into the cool of the underside of the pumpkin.  A good study.  Plus, when I see them in the grocery store, they are hard to resist. :)

Cemetery Road

Cemetery Road - 8 x 10 Oil on Canvas

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My good friend got me out painting this past Tuesday and I am so glad we went out! The weather was warm and sunny, the colors were amazing and the company was great. And I was happy with my painting (a rare thing lately!) A great day 😊

This painting will be available at the Gifts of Art show at the Suzanne Haskew Art Center in Milford, Michigan in November.
 

Talk to the Paw

Talk to the Paw - 6 x 6 oil on panel

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Did a little experimenting with this one -- adding more line work, and pushing the colors a bit.  I wasn't sure if I was even going to finish, but I found a weekly challenge on Jerry's Artarama called "Cattitude", so that was the deciding factor.  Being the cat fancier that I am, I had to finish and enter.  😻  I am glad I did, happier with it now.

Another Round

Another Round - 8 x 6 Oil on Gessobord

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This is the third in my series of beverage bottles. The still life setup for this one sat in my still life box for a couple of weeks before I got around to it.  I think part of the reason I kept putting it off is because I wasn't looking forward to the precise drawing required, with the symmetry, ellipses, lots of straight lines.  It's not easy.  And so when I got to the finishing stage (past the drawing and block-in stages) I began to enjoy painting it so much more. 

Again, love some of the artsy labels you see on beer and wine bottles, and like the challenge of simplifying just enough to capture it without adding every detail.   I think I tightened up a bit on this one, but still happy with how it came out.

Swan and Cygnets

Swan and Cygnets - 6 x 6 Oil on panel

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This painting is from a photo taken at Kensington Metropark which is right down the road from us.  I have take many photos there and have now painted several paintings en plein air there.  If you are not familiar, it's a beautiful park with over 4000 acres, much of it Kent Lake.  This year you almost can't go anywhere in the park without running into either a sandhill crane or a wild turkey.  We are truly blessed to have this park in our neighborhood.

A Beer Among Friends

A Beer Among Friends - 8 x 6 Oil on Gessobord

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Shopping for groceries the other day, I was surprised to find a "mix and match" of individual beer bottles into a 6-pack.  Most were from microbreweries, with a few from the larger beer companies thrown in.  So I played.

In this piece, if you haven't identified the two beer bottles, I have Michelob Black & Tan and Atwater Brewery Vanilla Java Porter.  Atwater is a local brewery here in Detroit, and the label art was done by the fabulous artist Tony Roko.  He was kind enough to take time out to come and speak to our art association last year and I can tell you he's super nice as well as talented!

This painting presented some challenges, not least of all having to do with drawing.  Accuracy was important in order to capture convincing symmetry, ellipses, and distortions from looking through a clear glass.  But it was great practice, and because I've always been fascinated with the different labels of beer and wine bottles, plan to see at least a few more in this series.