Progression of a Painting - Stay

"Stay" is a recently finished 18 x 24" acrylic painting of a part of a sign from the Salem Willows in Salem,  Massachusetts.

I have an obsession with this sign! It combines neon and light bulbs, great colors and interesting shapes all on a sign with a bit of history. I have painted various parts of it from different angles - and every time I look at it, I see another way I want to paint it!

I am showing you some work in progress photos to show you a bit about my process.

I always start by sketching my composition out on the canvas or panel. Frequently I do rough thumbnail sketches on paper to make a plan, then I do a quick sketch on the substrate. Usually I go over my pencil lines with some paint; I like to get a feel for the composition, plus the paint stays in place, while the pencil lines usually get smeared or rubbed out.

Next I get into the painting by laying out blocks of color. If the painting has difficult values, then I will do a one color value painting as a base (kind of a grisaille). But usually with my larger paintings, I like to block in colors. It covers the white of the canvas and helps me check the composition and juxtapostion of colors. I can then make any corrections to the drawing and composition before I start adding details.

Then I do layer after layer of color, adding form and eventually details.

I work my way through the whole painting, then I go back with a few more details and add some color notes throughout the entire piece.

I am thrilled that "Stay" was juried into the Newburyport Art Association's Winter Members Juried Exhibit  (jurors Todd Bonita and Donald Jurney) and will be on exhibit at the Art Association until  March 4. It's a wonderful exhibition - hope you can check it out if you are local!

For more info about the Newburyport Art Association, see their website here. And for more information about "Stay", please contact me here.

Painting Demo at the Topsfield Fair

So.... I survived my first demo at the Topsfield Fair!

This was only my second demo ever - so I was a nervous wreck (my first one was for a much smaller event!). But everything went fine once I got set up. People were really friendly and asked lots of questions. I spent so much time talking, I didn't get quite as much painting done as I would have hoped:

Ooops. Maybe next time I will bring a piece with me that is much farther along......

Works in Progress...

I have been thinking for a while about posting more works in progress as they are on my easel. It means more posts, but I have had some people tell me that they really enjoy seeing the process.  And with the fact that I have been doing more larger pieces, means I have less finished pieces to post and the entire process takes longer anyways.

So - give me some feedback!  I'd love to hear if you'd mind seeing a little more "behind the scenes" and see some of the paintings as I go.

Here is one to start things off.....an 8x8" painting for the upcoming 8 Cubed exhibition at the  Newburyport Art Association

Plaza Motel - Acrylic Painting of Neon Sign

"Wish You Were Here"

Plaza Motel

Peabody, Massachusetts

6 x 4", acrylic on watercolor paper

I wanted to do a re-do on this sign with out the neon being pink! Considering a larger version of part of this sign.....

Work in Progress Wednesday - Two Pears

What is on my easel today (and yes, it is Thursday):

Working on a commission....I use a monochromatic underpainting for much of my work, especially if it is large or complex. I also like to use it for many of my commissions - lets me give the customer a "preview" white it is still easy to make changes. I use the underpainting to check values and composition - and I feel like I can still easily make changes as needed a little more freely.

From this point, I start to add layers of color to the painting. I always find it exciting to watch it "come alive".

Work in Progress Wednesday

Just a section from what is on my easel......

What do you think? Can you tell what it is?

I'm still not convinced this one will see the light of day...not quite sure how it will come together.

I'm also working on three commissions right now - one almost finished, one in the sketching stage and one getting its monochromatic underpainting.

I work out of my home while the kids are at school, and when I do still lifes, I frequently set them up on a tray and move them around the house following the light. Today I worked right up until the time I had to run out the door to pick up the kids. I think my kids have gotten accustomed to having a mom who is an artist.....when I went around to pick up things after everyone was in bed, I realized that no one had moved - or even mentioned - the pile of pears on a wooden block right in the middle of the living room where the kids had spent the afternoon playing!

Work in Progress Wednesday (on Thursday!)

Yes, I know it is Thursday!
I did actually take the picture of what was on my easel yesterday, but we got back so late from the Red Sox game (Go Sox!) that I didn't download it and post until today. Oh well.

This is what is on my easel:

A little farther along today,(and a bit of a departure for me) it is going to be one of my entries for the  "Four Elements" exhibition at MixtMedia Gallery in Ipswich, Massachusetts. I may be able to post the finished work tomorrow - stay tuned.......

Work in Progress Wednesday

As part of some of my newer blog content, I plan to give you a glimpse of what is on my easel each Wednesday.

Today's work-in-progress is a peek at a commission I am currently working on. Sharp-eyed locals may recognize the scene.....

Soooo Close! Work in Progress

Currently on my easel:

I really, really wanted to get this one done before we leave for Maine.....
Soooo close! But I still have to finish packing before we go to pick my oldest son up from Boy Scout camp, so I have to stop for now. This is a painting of the Agawam Diner in Rowley to go with the other North Shore scenes I will be taking to Pop Gallery later this month.

I don't post too many works in progress - it's all I can do to keep up with posting finished work! But I did want to show you I have been working on a new piece  - and I may not get to post for the next few weeks. We are off to Northern Maine. No power. No water. No internet access - though I usually check in while in town doing laundry, I can't post to Blogger. Hopefully I will get some painting done and have much to show you when I get back!

WIP ....and trying to get caught up!

Just a work in progress for today, hopefully it will be done tomorrow - I can't believe how far behind I've gotten here!
I've been swamped this week! Tons of stuff going on with the kids, some rush framing to get done and I also worked at the county fair. Of course I had to start a painting that was going to take a little longer than my normal daily ones too.....

The Fair was a lot of fun! It opened on Friday, and when I took the kids on Sunday, I stopped by the art building to see how the exhibition looked. I couldn't find any of my paintings in the juried exhibit, and only some of my pieces in the art room (where they sell smaller work and prints). I was disappointed - I figured my work hadn't been accepted. I had thought we were supposed to be called to pick up unaccepted work, so I sent an email to the director Sunday night to find out when I should pick up the paintings. Well to my surprise, I found out they were missing because they had sold on opening day! (The missing art room pieces had been sold as well.) So it ended up being a good start to what is lining up to be a really crazy couple of months for me.

In the next few days, I need to frame my miniatures and send them off to West Virginia. I also need to get going on the five pieces I am going to show in a few weeks at a Wine & Art Reception that is at one of the local areas where I llike to paint. And if there wasn't enough going on, I committed to doing a three day artisan fair at a local museum in November. That kind of thing is waaaaaayyyyy out of my comfort zone, but I figured I really need to put myself out there a little more. This is truly going to be an interesting few months. Can't wait to see what December brings!

WIP Still Life

Yep, I am still playing around with colors and design for this blog. Not totally pleased yet! But it was brought to my attention that the reversed text is difficult to read on some monitors, so I decided to change it again.

Here is my current WIP. It is for the painting forum at about.com's monthly challenge. September's challenge is a miniature still life using five items. Here is mine so far:

I got the rutabaga accidentally in my groceries one week. What an interesting vegetable - I decided I really needed to paint it! So it is one of my objects for my still life. I hope to finish this today and then probably move on to some more fall-themed ACEOs.

Work in Progress

Here is a still life I am currently working on:

It is based on this month's painting challenge on about.com. The challenge is to paint a still life using two objects - a wine bottle and a piece of fruit. I kind of waited until the last minute for this one since we had been out of town, and when I went to start it, I realized - oh, horrors - no wine in the house! So I substituted another glass bottle. I will still submit it if I get it done in time and they can decide if I strayed too far from the intention. I am enjoying this one- I like the set up, too and may have to do a larger version including more of the bottle and background. I am also experimenting with something new for me - I am using acrylic glazing medium. I am slowly building up color by using thin layers of different colors. I am liking the effect - I think I will be experimenting with this medium even more.

I hope to finish this early next week.

Current Work in Progress

Not nearly done.
Based on the bunker at Fort Sewall in Marblehead, Massachusetts.
I'm plugging away at it a little at a time. I'm enjoying getting back to painting buildings again. Old, abandoned ones seem to hold the most interest for me. This will be the beginning of a series. I have a lot of ideas for series in my head right now! Not enough hours in the day.....

Works in Progress

I generally don't like to have too many paintings going at one time, because then they tend to sit and some of them never get finished.

Like this flower. It's been on my easel for over a year. I could probably finish it up in a few hours.

But here it sits.

Work in Progress

A whole week without painting!
Due to holidays and travel, I was unable to get to the brushes last week. However, I briefly started this piece before Thanksgiving and am trying to get a little time here and there to work on it now. I am back to flowers and a little larger size for this one. I decided to post a tiny sample of the work-in-progress since it may take a while to complete.