Jade

Jade
9 x 12 acrylic on wood panel
Available in my Etsy shop

     As I have mentioned before, I have been trying to be a little more controlled with my colors.  You know those paintings that draw you in because the palette is just so pleasing?  That's what I aimed for here.  A portrait with a simple background is the easiest way for me to do this vs say a landscape with lots of parts.  I used  THIS portrait by James Whistler as a guide at the beginning of my painting.  I was wanting to capture the colors he used...lots of grays and yellows and that wonderful grayish-green in the background.  However, her clothing went sort of minty green, but I really liked it so I left it that way.  It was more of a pale blue before, but as my background turned more green, so did the dress.

     I hope you are having an amazing week.  We have been enjoying our sunshine and temperatures in the 80's, but for some reason, there is a chance for snow tomorrow. ?????  Kansas is weird that way, but this is extremely unusual.  Our trees are just now waking up!

Readings at The Dusty Bookshelf

Readings at the Dusty Bookshelf
Acrylic on 20 x 16" wood panel

There is a small and quaint college town called Manhattan in Northeast Kansas. It is a lovely town and the home of Kansas State University (K-State).  I visited this town about two years ago for the first time.  You would think that growing up in Wichita and Manhattan being only two hours away that I would have been there before.   I had no reason to go I suppose because the grand Kansas City is in the same direction, but more east and that is where I usually preferred to go.  However two years ago, the "new dog-owner"/artist/photographer in me felt pulled in the direction of Manhattan so that I could shoot some photos of the area.  Not only is there the quaint town and beautiful college campus, but Tuttle Creek Lake is also located there...a great place to walk the dog and shoot some pictures. 

While I was in town, I walked into a wonderful and very warm bookstore called The Dusty Bookshelf. We used to have a Dusty Bookshelf in our downtown, but they closed.  I had no idea there was another in Manhattan until I visited that day.  So much character in this store!  So I asked the retailer if I could take pictures and this is my painting inspired by those photos. 

Being there made me miss the bookstore in Wichita...they had a black and white cat that lived in the store.  Talk about ambiance.  Maybe I should have painted a cat into the scene somewhere...perhaps on top of one of the shelves.  . 

The Dusty Bookshelf  in Manhattan, KS 2011

Candela's Light and Painting on a Large Surface

Candela's Light
24 x 48 x 1/4"  acrylic on birch panel

  Recently I have seen and loved several pieces of art by various artists that paint on found wooden objects or wood panels.   After seeing these lovely works I decided to go to the hardware store to see what kind of wood I could find there.  It was surprising to find really large wood panels for less than ten dollars.

It was not just the wood surface that provided so much joy in painting this, but the size of the wood.  How freeing it is to be able to paint with long quick strokes and dabs within the large spaces.  I may have even raised my heart rate a little while painting the archway with all the bending and swooping at the easel.  I even got to do a little bit of "yoga" on the floor as I worked on the rug at her feet. 

The second painting on a wood panel is already off to a good start.  I don't know what I am going to do with these works, but perhaps they will be for the show next year.  Problem is, I need to figure out how to frame these inexpensively or at least put hanging hardware on the backs of these.  Any ideas?

Below are some closeups of the work.  

Thanks for stopping by!
♥ Lisa

The photo above is a bit misleading in the lighting it shows.  However, I left it here because this is the look of light I was trying to achieve...a glow from the various lamps.  For some reason the photo shows it, but the painting unfortunately is not all aglow like I wanted it to be.  Painting light is above my skill level for sure.  A real challenge.