Another Step Today

I added a Kali Yantra, and the figure from Tarot Key 8, Strength. I will alter those to make them my own. I also have to work on a lot of various parts of the painting, but I am glad to have found the additional images that I wanted. When I am looking for images to add to a painting, it is a case of "I'll know it when I see it." I look through all sorts of books and webpages, and finally something just clicks.

Betsy in Pink

She has an eye for beauty

While there are still those pesky tangents, I think this is moving along. 

The Man With The Orange Face

Getting There

Betsy's Serpent

I used a technique I found in Nancy Reyner's book Acrylic Innovation. This is not the smoothest application, but I hope I will improve. The technique involves a mixture of 1:5 paint with soft gel gloss, in a squeeze bottle. I am really curious how it will look when it is dry. It will probably be somewhat transparent, because gel dries clear. It will probably also be darker in tone, and the dots and lines will shrink somewhat.

Green Betsy

Lotta Tangents .... hmmm will have to work those out.

Man With the Orange Face

Yes, I know his face is blue right now.  This painting is 60"H x 36"W. It takes a lot of time just to cover the canvas with paint! This is a dream image, and it has a way to go before it is finished, but it is a pretty good start.

Blue Betsy

I love how this looks. I have more stuff to do with it, but I really like it now.

Creek, Wyoming

This view is of the northern Teton range from the valley east of Jackson, Wyoming. The painting is 8"Hx10" W, on gessobord wood panel.

Canyon of the Yellowstone

I love the riot of color in this painting. It is still in progress; it is so expressive and has so much movement in it, that I love looking at it.

Virginia Cascades, Yellowstone ; 8X10"

A Cooling

Today's Layer of Paint

I worked on all five of these paintings today, and the result is much cooler coloration than that of yesterday (sigh). I will work some warm colors back in later, but the underlying warm tones give force to the greens and blues that they would not otherwise possess.

Small Painting of Plants

Maas Nursery I

I may want to work into this a bit more, not sure.

EGADS I Love Underpaintings!

Production Line

I love these colors. Osprey used to say "Color is artists' pr0n." Indeed. This is lust.

Mass Production ... Kinda

Blocking in Darkest Areas

I have to find more than one image to paint at one time, so I have been sifting through my photos and sketches, especially my iPad drawings, because they were done from some of the most appealing shots I took in Yellowstone.

I have one more red panel to do, and it will be a closeup of some plants in a nursery. A bit of a departure from my landscape production. I am planning to throw in a few paintings of other subjects to keep things interesting.

This is all new to me, so I am learning as I go, like do I choose all similar palettes, or go with the individual image to guide me for color combinations, as I would have in the past?

Cautiously Adding Color

Clear Tar Gel Swirls (Dried)

I really like this piece so I want to preserve its beauty. I have to think about each step carefully, to keep the underlying layers visible and make the overlays harmonious with them.

Greenish-Yellow Wash Applied

Henry Ford Would be so Proud of Me!

Assembly Line

I had enough cadmium red to cover all these panels. Now to find images and draw from them onto the panels!

Setting Up To Do More Work

Studio Organization Continues

Finally ... Whew!

Oregon Coast II on my New Table Easel

OK I signed it and now I will upload it to Etsy and set it for sale.

Final Touches ... Maybe

Oregon Coast II

I deepened and brightened the foreground to bring it forward toward the viewer. I don't want to get caught up in what the camera showed. A painting is not a photo, it conveys the feeling of the place (or person or object), and it is not as flat as a photographic image can be.

Maybe Finished

Oregon Coast II

I will gaze at this piece for some time before I declare it finished, in case some oddity becomes visible to me. I get so accustomed to looking at a painting that I sometimes miss problems that I see when it is too late to correct them.

Oregon Coast II Nearly Finished

Oregon Coast II

At least the whole thing does not seem to be sliding downhill quite as badly. 

As Big As It Gets

Oregon Coast II

Not finished, but getting along. Working this often is helping me hone my skills and maybe I can sell some of these smaller paintings. This one is 11"x14". The largest size panel I bought, so this is As Big As It Gets for the small paintings.