Egon's Field

Egon's Field
mixed media on canvas
(sold)

It took a while to think of a name for this painting, but then it became obvious that "Egon" should be in the title.  The sunflowers were inspired by Egon Schiele's gouache and pencil drawing called "Wilted Sunflowers".  I have always loved the quirk in his drawings and wanted to capture that same quirkiness in my sunflowers.  You can see my sketch of the sunflowers in the photo below in my sketchbook sweetie book, which was done some time ago while studying a book I have of Schiele's watercolors and drawings.  You can see the book HERE.  

my mixed media work desk

          Hope you are having a great week!

♥ Lisa

Three Still Life Paintings, A Portrait, A Sketch and Scenes from Riverside

This week I painted three still life paintings.  It all started with this jar.  My aunt had it in her apartment and when I commented on how it was pretty enough to paint, she gave it to me.  This is the way of the elderly in my family.  My grandmother used to say at every single visit, "now when Granny croaks, be sure and take that music box" or "that vase", etc.  I'm not kidding.

Terracotta Keepsake Pot
acrylic on paper 6 x 6 inch

The scan of the terracotta pot came out very yellowy, but it is actually olive green. 

Carafe With Two Cups
acrylic on paper 6 x 6 inch

 The carafe painting was inspired by an espresso machine ad.  Go figure.  It is how my mind works.

Clay Pitcher With Two Roses
acrylic on paper 6 x 6 inch

The clay pitcher was a gem I purchased at an estate sale near our home. The couple of the estate owned 7 houses and the sale was the compilation of those homes. The husband passed away 4 years ago and the wife was planning to settle in one of the houses with hired caregivers. This clay pitcher was one of the beautiful gems I found at the sale. I wish I knew its story and from which of the 7 houses it came. 

Young Mabel Musser
acrylic and ink on paper
4 x 6 inch

Young Mabel Musser was inspired by a vintage photo that had Musser and also Harrisburg printed on it. The photo was not dated, but looked to be around early 1900's.  This sort of thing always leads to a google search and in that search I learned there were several prominent "Mussers" living in Pennsylvania.  I found an interesting family photo while searching.  So I picked the youngest girl in the photo (who was named Mabel) and voila!  I had a title.  

sketchbook sweetie
graphite in a tiny Moleskin

My art instructor loaned me his book titled From Van Eyck to Bruegel:  Early Netherlandish Painting in The Metropolitan Museum of Art  and I love to do sketches from this book.  The above is my simple pencil sketch of Gerard David's Four Heads (about 1495) which is a "metalpoint over traces of black chalk on prepared paper"...whatever that means.  All I thought was that it was beautiful.  Not the head in the upper right though.  That one is plain scary.

That is all I have accomplished this week artwise.  I am still pecking away at my 9 x 12 inch oil painting of six people.  I have only been working on that one in my class though, which is why it is not done.  Soon!  The above paintings are in my Etsy shop if you are interested in purchasing.

Scenes from Riverside This Week

Forget-Me-Nots on the riverbank

These are photos taken on my daily walks.  I still walk two to four miles every day and my love for this activity is renewed with our new surroundings and this lovely, vibrant season.

Arkansas River on a gorgeous Spring day

I hope you have a beautiful weekend!  Thank you for visiting!

♥ Lisa

Spring is Here...Some Photos and Thoughts About What it Brings

 It's Time for Spring

mixed media on paper 4 x 6 inch

Spring is here at last.  It has been a long winter and it is a relief to see color again.

 Sketchbook Sweeties

graphite in pocket Moleskin

It is time to dust off the bicycle and ride, to sit on the patio and read.

acrylic sketch on paper 9 x 12 inch

Winter had it's moments of quiet inspiration.  There are things about winter to love.

Neighborhood walk in Riverside

However, when the color returns and the birds sing, the heart just seems to lift.

Blooming Bradford Pears downtown near Tessera Gallery

Spring brings new offerings...new hopes.

8.5 x 11 inch sketchbook  acrylic 

Spring is the time to wake up from the sleepy slumber.

 detail work in progress...oil on 9 x 12 inch panel

I find myself wanting to paint more.  To explore new techniques...new colors...new, new, new.

current state of my wall at Tessera Fine Art Gallery

I have been thinking a lot about my art...what has worked well and what hasn't and where I want to go from here.

Girl in a Birdcage Dress

mixed media on 6 x 6 inch paper

No real profound thoughts about it though...I just feel really thankful deep down in my soul for so many blessings.  The blessings of family, friends, nature and art to name a few. Too many to count really.

So while the flowers are blooming, I hope you have many blessings too.

I will see you in a week...we are off to Montana to see our oldest son, daughter in-law and grandson.

♥ Lisa

Sketchbooks and Nigel's Flannel Pajamas

sketchbook
oil

As I continue my painting of Nigel and his parents, I have been working in my sketchbooks as well.  Thoughts of spring are obvious in the above oil sketch.  Our new backyard is tiny compared to our old one, which has me thinking of some intimate touches that could be added to emphasize our new cozy space.  I can't wait to see what grows there already so that I can add more.  I am no green thumb, but I do love to plant and take care of a garden.

sketchbook sweetie
graphite

 I am trying to get back into the habit of sketching in my sweetie book (tiny moleskin) at night.  Good habits always seem to get interrupted, however if they are truly good, I try to bring them back.  This habit is good...it often offers inspiration for my paintings.  

detail of oil WIP

The Nigel painting is still in the works.  In my art class we had some discussion on how I could title this painting.  As I mentioned earlier, it is inspired by the song Making Plans for Nigel.  However, there is a gray area on whether I can use the same title or not.  There is all the business of copyrights and intellectual property to consider.  After our discussion about it, my instincts tell me I can use the name Nigel in my title, but I need to reword it somehow...like Plans for Nigel or Nigel's Future or What is Best for Nigel (which would be a spin-off of the song lyrics).  What do you think?

This week I focused on small details:  faces...hands...mom's dress...dad's clothing...

detail of oil WIP

...and some flannel pajamas for Nigel (still in the works).

I hope you have a beautiful weekend and get to stay in your pajamas a lot if you like that sort of thing.  Thank you always for all your wonderful comments and visits.

♥ Lisa

Color and Light for Nigel, Sketches and Studio Scenes

WIP detail

 This week I have continued on my quest to paint light in the Nigel painting and it is coming along slow, but sure.  I am trying to paint light coming from the lamp on the nightstand as seen above.  There will also be light coming from the hallway fixture as seen below.

WIP detail

My art instructor helped me in class this week and this morning I began reading a chapter about color and light in Richard Schmid's book Alla Prima.  I purchased it two years ago even though it was kind of expensive.  It probably appeals more to classically trained painters, but I knew it would be a go-to resource for me over the years, which it has been.

Color and Light chapter in Richard Schmid's book Alla Prima

 In the photo below you can see I shortened the arched doorway after my instructor suggested it, and now the parent figures stand in the boy's room rather than being detached (see previous post).  I am not sure I like it this way because I originally wanted the parents to be outside Nigel's door vs inside.  However, now it makes more sense as far as drawing purposes go.  From the beginning I have struggled with how to arrange this scene so that the parents are equally as important as the sleeping boy, but have it also make sense architecturally.

There is still much to do.   There are more shadows and light and fine details to come.  I am using glazes and cold wax, which means it has required a lot of time to dry in between sessions.

WIP 20 x 16  inch oil on cradled board

So while the painting is drying I have been doing things like straightening up my studio...

Studio

Studio

sketchbook sweeties
graphite

and sketching in my tiny sketchbook.

sketchbook sweetie
graphite and pastel

sketchbook sweetie
graphite and charcoal

I hope you have a beautiful weekend.
Thank you for following.

♥ Lisa

Sew

Sew

mixed media on paper

9 x 12 inch

SOLD

I never did learn to sew very well.  My mother taught me how to hand sew a simple hem.  She actually used to darn socks using a light bulb to stretch them out so that she could mend them.  "Who in the world sews socks???  Why not just buy new ones?"  I once asked her.  "Mothers with six children," was her answer.  "Oh"...said me.

When I was pregnant with my first child, my grandmother, who was a seamstress back in her working days, helped me sew some maternity clothes.  They were corduroy overalls and I loved wearing them even though they made me look like an elephant. They really did...they were gray.

 I never did take to sewing though.

sketchbook sweetie
graphite and colored pencil

The painting was inspired by this sketch in my sweetie book (a tiny moleskin) and a recent conversation with a friend who likes to sew.

Hope you had a great weekend.  Thank you SO much for all your very kind comments on my most recent paintings.

♥ Lisa

One Year Ago Tomorrow

One year ago tomorrow, this is what was happening.  I painted a portrait using one of my "sketchbook sweeties" (tiny sketches in a tiny Moleskin).  I have always liked this painting.  She is now in a frame hanging in my home studio.

Below are some progressive shots and a little bit about the process.

The photo above is why I don't show progressive photos of my art too often.  Yikes.

 First, I glued down one single sheet of scrapbook paper using gel medium onto a canvas panel.  The paper was cut to fit the 9 x 12 inch surface.

Then I paint directly onto that.  I really love painting on paper, but you have to be so careful.  However, gluing the paper down to sturdy surface like a canvas panel makes it easier to be a little more aggressive with paint and even a little bit of sanding which is what I did here.   

I painted, sanded, painted sanded.  Sanding makes the work look a little aged and it also is great for adding highlights where you want them.

Like the eyes...

or lips.

I used a Pitt pen to make marks on her clothing.  As you can see they are really simple, but when you stand back from the painting it looks pretty neat.

Untitled
mixed media on 9 x 12 inch canvas panel
2013

Above is the finished painting.  I used oil pastels to highlight the roses and cheeks.  I was tempted to do corrective things like widening the shoulders and trying to make the face more symmetrical, but it just seemed so finished this way so I didn't. 

 I never named it...for some reason I could not think of one for this painting.  

I love to look back at my photos a year ago from the present day...it's like looking through a journal.  

Now I am in the mood to paint with acrylic and get the sandpaper out.

Sunflowers, Kansas, Sketchbook Sweeties, and Birds

Detail of WIP
16 x 20 inch oil on paper

Slow progress is being made on the 16 x 20 inch oil on paper painting.  Above is some more detail.

Trail at Pawnee Prairie Nature Center
Wichita, Kansas

I have been hiking quite a bit at our Pawnee Prairie Nature Center.  Lots of beautiful Kansas scenery makes the senses go wild.  I am not sure what I do most of...hike or take pictures.  The above photo is very Kansas...fairly flat with lots of grasses, wildflowers and big open skies.

Our backyard this morning after a storm

We have had so much rain here in Kansas and everything is so green.  It sure does make it a lot easier to pull weeds.  I have been spending hours and hours in the backyard working.

sketchbook sweeties
graphite in a tiny moleskin

Of course no day would be complete without at least one little sketch.  The above sketches are from weeks ago....the crazy girl on the left is a favorite.

sketchbook sweetie
graphite in a tiny moleskin

 I've been doing a lot of bird watching too and this sketch was done last night.  

Oriole

 Kansas has gorgeous birds...Cardinals, Blue Jays, Orioles, Golden Finch, Purple Finch and if you're lucky, you might spot an owl from time to time.  I often stand at the widow waiting for that perfect picture.  This is an Oriole...a little blurry...but you get the idea of what a gorgeous bird this is.  Its song is about five notes long and sugary sweet-sounding.  What kinds of birds do you see where you live?

Until next time!  Have a beautiful week!

Sketchbooks, Bunnies and What I'm Reading

8 1/2 x 11" sketchbook
acrylic, colored pencil and pitt pen

 It feels like vacation right now.  I am not painting anything intended for the gallery or my Etsy shop...I'm just working when I feel like it in my sketchbooks.  I never did finish the sketch in my last post.  The children looked sweet as they were so I left them alone.  Leaving things alone is good practice for me because I often keep painting to the point where I wish I would have left it alone. :)

sketchbook sweeties
tiny sketches in a tiny Moleskin
 graphite pencil 

Lately my practice is to stop in the middle of the day and do a quick tiny sketch like these sketches in my sweetie book (the tiny Moleskin).  It goes like this...start some laundry, do a sketch,  wash the dishes, do a sketch...and so on.  My favorite time to sketch these little ones is at night because that's when I'm too tired to do anything else.  It's like saying your prayers at night...only with pencil instead of words.

sketchbook sweeties
tinted charcoal left
graphite pencil right

In 2010 my husband and I went to the Kansas State Fair and I took a multitude of photographs of prize bunnies.  I had every intention to paint them, but never did.  Well, recently I've been thinking a lot about these bunnies and decided to sketch one.  That's him on the right and he turned out pretty cute.  Maybe I will paint bunnies some day.  But for now, I feel like sketching and experimenting in my sketchbooks...

What I'm reading

...and reading this book.  It was sent to me by a generous blog friend and it is a good read.  It has a lot of great insights for us blogging/tweeting/facebooking artists who share our stuff every day.  This is an easy read and I recommend it if you are interested in being more in-the-know about sharing your work in a way that is effective and interesting for others.  I wish this book had been around in 2011 when I started my blog.  I would have included fewer photos of my feet.

I hope you have a great weekend!  Thank you hugely and muchly for your visits and comments!

♥ Lisa