I have been absolutely stuck for the past few weeks. Every time I sit down to paint, nothing comes to mind. Nothing inspires me, I have no intention. But, just as an act of discipline, I paint anyway. The results are nothing to write about. It’s all very ugly, muddy, cliche… just nothing that I’m…… Continue reading Ray Hendershot Exercise: Lighthouse #1
Category: Successful Paintings
Buttermilk Falls: #2
I bought the game Parks the other day, and was inspired by the artwork in the game. The cards contain images styled after the WPA posters for the National Parks that were created in the 1930’s. Found at the Library of Congress I was enamored by the designs and imagery, so I decided to try…… Continue reading Buttermilk Falls: #2
Buttermilk Falls: #1
When I think about the past, everything is either polluted with a frenetic purple anxiety, or it’s a soft marigold mist of peaceful contentment. There doesn’t seem to be any in-between. I don’t know if this is peculiar to me, or if everyone has such a bipolar memory, but for me it seems all the…… Continue reading Buttermilk Falls: #1
Great Tree Off Cantongawa: #1
I am trying more and more now to find my voice. I look online and see paintings that I admire, and I find myself trying to paint like them. But, I don’t find much success with Joseph Zbukvic’s silvery greys. I am never restrained enough to implement Alvaro Castagnet’s flare of colors. I can’t get…… Continue reading Great Tree Off Cantongawa: #1
Depression: #1
I deal with chronic depression and anxiety. It’s a bitch. Recently, I decided I wanted to paint what I think it feels like. This is really hard to do, because depression feels different to me all the time. Sometimes, it feels like a wet slug on the back of my neck. Sometimes it feels like…… Continue reading Depression: #1
Market Heights: #1
Hey guys! I’m proud of a painting! I have been feeling pretty down about my paintings lately, because I’m not able to produce the paintings that I have in my mind. But… I keep moving. And tonight, the blind squirrel found a nut. Before I get into that, I guess I should show you the…… Continue reading Market Heights: #1
Spiker Park Bridge: #1 & 2
I drive through a park on my way to drop off Norah at swim practice, and I pass the same park when I take Winne to dance class. After we cross a small bridge, I like to go straight where Rachel turns right. Every time I do, the girls tell me not to, because they…… Continue reading Spiker Park Bridge: #1 & 2
Ray Hendershot Exercise, Fieldstone Building: #1
Yet another successful painting from Ray Hendershot’s “Texture Techniques for Winning Watercolors.” I was getting really down on myself recently because the paintings I was making were all turning out muddy and gross. This exercise helped me learn patience. The more I paint through this book, the more I learn about how to rely on…… Continue reading Ray Hendershot Exercise, Fieldstone Building: #1
Ray Hendershot Exercise, Clapboard Siding: #1
This weekend I decided I would take my own advice, and paint from the book. I decided to paint from one of the books that I have because trying to learn from my own failures has been pretty discouraging. I’m only about a quarter of the way through Ray Hendershot’s “Texture Techniques for Winning Watercolors”…… Continue reading Ray Hendershot Exercise, Clapboard Siding: #1
Poplars at An Imagined Stream: #1
I have long been inspired by seeing Van Gogh’s “The Poplars at Saint-Rémy.” When you see photos of this painting, it looks almost drab, and lifeless. Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1958.32 I don’t know if the Cleveland Museum of Art recently had it restored, or if the photos just simply can’t do…… Continue reading Poplars at An Imagined Stream: #1
Nimisila C-6: #22
I know, I know… be done with it already. The thing is… I went to the store today looking for a frame for painting 21. It turns out, they are having a big sale on custom framing. So I decided I would get a custom frame made for it. This is what 21 looks like.…… Continue reading Nimisila C-6: #22
Wave Crash
Ok … GUYS! I’m proud of this one. That means if you don’t like it, shut up. Because I’m fragile. Call me a snow flake, a wuss, whatever. I don’t care. I just know that I like this painting, and I almost never actually like my work. If you tell me why it sucks, I…… Continue reading Wave Crash
Collette’s Happy Place
My mom has a friend in Arizona who wanted a painting of a photograph that her daughter took of a place where she likes to camp. It was a challenging photo, but I’m pleased with the final results. The photo is beautiful, and a really interesting composition. This is very different from what I normally…… Continue reading Collette’s Happy Place
Ravenna Road: #2
Tonight, I painted and failed oh so miserably on a self portrait. I would show you, just for laughs… but it’s already put away. Trust me – it’s awful. After bombing on it, I decided to try to paint the barn I found on Ravenna Road once more. I wrote about my first attempt here.…… Continue reading Ravenna Road: #2
Waterfall at Blackhand Gorge: #1
I took Norah, and Winnie out to Blackhand Gorge last weekend because I couldn’t work in the bathroom (the tile was setting.) I told them about the history of the Gorge, as I got it from Wikipedia. Before Europeans came to Ohio, there was a system of cliff ridges near the Licking River in Ohio…… Continue reading Waterfall at Blackhand Gorge: #1
Old Oak Tree: #1
My goal tonight was to try a composition I haven’t tried before. I have been looking through paintings by Eyvind Earle, and saw several compositions of his that struck me as interesting. I realized that they all were very much singular in their scope. Even his most complex compositions are still all about one thing.…… Continue reading Old Oak Tree: #1
Along Came a Spider: #1
I don’t have much to say on this one other than I painted very carefully, with multiple layers. I started with a near yellow neutralized with a smudge of Yellow Ochre, and added layers of progressively darker values pigments. I used Naples Yellow and Chinese White at the end in a few places to add…… Continue reading Along Came a Spider: #1
Glitter War: Final
I bit the bullet and just went for it today, and painted that Glitter War painting my brother asked for a while ago. He lives in North Carolina, and they are in town for Christmas, so I figured if I paint it now, I can save myself from having to mail it. This painting has…… Continue reading Glitter War: Final
Downhill at Dawn: #3
I liked my painting on the 1/16th sheet enough that I decided to try the same thing on a half sheet. I’ve never painted a half sheet before, so this was a little new. The one thing I knew at the outset was that no matter what, I couldn’t let myself overwork it. I knew…… Continue reading Downhill at Dawn: #3
Edge of the Woods: #1
When we were at Malone Thanksgiving I took a handful of photos that I want to paint. This weekend, I painted the second one for the first time. Here’s the photo I painted this weekend. The morning when I took this photo, the whole world was quiet. I was awake before Rachel and the girls,…… Continue reading Edge of the Woods: #1