Our first snow!

I don't do much painting of traditional scenes in traditional sort of ways, but there are exceptions. At this time of year, as the holidays approach and we enjoy our first snow, I usually try to capture the look and feel on canvas. Above is a small painting I finished last year.

Yesterday I started some new winter paintings.

work in progress, 12x24

detail of a work in progress, 16x20

 
And magically, today we are enjoying our first snowfall of the season. It was 70 degrees this past Tuesday, but we knew it couldn't last!

It's also a perfect day for baking! I'm going to make my Spicy Christmas shortbread. It makes the whole house smell like the holidays! I posted the recipe here. Yum!

From this to ...

Last time I posted a picture of this painting, this is what it looked like. Still not done. Well, I finished it this weekend and now it looks like this:

 

Not the best picture--I took it at the end of the day when the light was starting to fade. I'll post another picture soon. I didn't finish the whole series, but I'm getting there.

I couldn't help myself...this morning I had tons of painting energy and I started work on a painting that's been "in my head" for a while. It's actually 3 paintings that go together as one painting. Three 10x30 canvases. Here's a look at the start:

 

Alas, it's back to work tomorrow. My painting vacation is over!

A week for painting!

The holidays are over, but I still have a week of vacation...and this week I'm planning to be in the studio as much as possible! Saturday and Sunday I continued working on my whimsical winter paintings. I'm not quite sure how I want to finish the above painting, so I'm letting it "sit" for a while.

 

Two others still in progress. I actually have more done on the painting above, but need to take more pictures.

These winter paintings are meant to be fun and colorful--a welcome break from the reality of what winter is truly like here in the frozen tundra. When I look out my window these days, I see white and more white. I miss color.

  I have lots I want to accomplish this week. I would like to finish this series and work on some others as well. Today I returned to working on my Womanspirit series. Very different subject matter and very different color palette. 

Who knows what I'll work on tomorrow!

In the Spirit of the Season--the painting!

After writing the earlier post, I headed to my studio to do a little painting. It wasn't too cold (by Minnesota standards--anything above 20 degrees is mild in December/January) and the fresh snow that had fallen overnight added to "it's almost Christmas" sort of feeling for the day. A nice feeling to take into the studio.

I threw in my James Taylor holiday CD and went to work. Remember these?

  

Can you match the one in the group photo to the final product pictured above? There's been a lot of changes along the way.

 

 

 

Adding all the details and working in these vibrant colors (which happen to match the colors of my studio, by the way) is such a spirit lifter. Really, I could work round the clock to finish this series. I wish that I had started (and finished) these earlier--because I think they would have made great holiday gifts (I dream of making a sale...LOL!) But I'll be ready next year!

The good news is with the next few weeks off, I will hopefully have the time to finish this series along with other paintings. I would rather paint than shop...but I need to do some of that still too!

I'll be posting more pics of the other paintings as they are finished. Stay tuned!

 

 In the Spirit of the Season

16x20 - acrylic on stretched canvas

$125

Painting Pink houses

Around Thanksgiving I started working on some "winter" paintings.  Winter is not my favorite season--in fact, it is probably my least favorite time of year. I was born and raised in Minnesota, where winter begins in November (or earlier) and extends into March (or later!). I can deal with these early months of winter. This year we had a late start (by our standards). Plus the holidays are a nice diversion. But once January rolls around, it seems cold, gray and dreary for days on end.

So while I may be painting winter-inspired paintings, they are not going to be gray or make you feel cold and dreary! 

 

After taking a break from the studio last weekend,  I returned to working on these canvases this week. I changed the color of the sky on the whole series. And then I decided to add more bright color. Who says houses and trees can't be pink?

 

 

Lots of work still to do on these paintings. I was feeling overly optimistic yesterday, thinking I might finish one or two. I always wish I was a faster painter. This weekend I was working on four different canvases. In the long run, it saves time and even paint...but sometimes I wish I could get things down on canvas as quickly as I can envision them in my mind.

But painting, like most things in life, is a process.

 

Sunday at the studio

I woke up with a sinus headache this morning, but was determined to get to the studio to do more work on my whimsical winter paintings. A little coffee and tylenol and I was ready to go.

I went to work--moving from canvas to canvas. First I did another layer of green on the lower part of the painting. I was working on so many paintings at one time that I laid the canvases on the floor while  I was working on another.

 

One of the best things I ever bought while taking college art classes was my porcelain palette. It provides a wonderful surface area for mixing colors and also cleans up easily. 

At one point I looked down at my palette today and wanted to paint it! I love mixing colors!

 

I focused primarily on the smaller 11x14 paintings today. I ended up going a slightly different direction than I originally intended--the green lower part was changed to white "snow" and I painted the evergreens in a different style than I originally had planned. And I had fun using glitter on these paintings. I'll be taking better pictures when the paintings are finished.

Unfortunately, it's back to work tomorrow...that means it's back to trying to squeeze in painting time around work.

 

 

Back to the studio

Thanksgiving over--time to hit the studio! I headed to Michael's early this morning to take advantage of some sales. That was all the inspiration I needed to get to the studio! I headed over before noon with a plan to start some holiday-themed paintings.

 

I started four 11x14's, two 16x20's and one 18x24. Painting is all about laying down layers of color and it is much more efficient to work on multiple paintings at one time--especially if it's a series of work. 

I got a lot done, but have much more to do. I hope to have these paintings done for First Friday next week. 

I'll be heading to the studio early tomorrow!