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 Updated 6/28/09
Newest Paintings by Elin Pendleton, AAEA, WAOW, EAG
Still fresh from the easel, you have the first opportunity to see the diversity and depth of the paintings I produce. Without framing costs, these original works are both affordable and save on shipping. After showing for approximately eight weeks on this page, the unsold paintings are moved to their subject pages. If you'd like to enjoy the sold work, arranged by subject, please click here. Also, many instructional lessons and paintings are to be found listed on my Daily Paintings site and also sold through my ebay store. This page will only show larger works now.
June 2009
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Here's a 30 x 24 acrylic still life painting I did in stages over at my blog as a lesson piece for artists following the Color System. The setup was done from life, in the studio, over the course of six steps posted there. I've not done still life in a LONG time, and found it different from the old days. It was a lot of fun!
Sorry about not emailing more often--last weekend I crashed the scooter and have been limping around here feeling sorry for myself. The bruises and cuts are nothing serious, except the one on my hip where I hit the pavement. Dang, that asphalt is HARD. I've got more colors than the Color System in my left leg! I need to keep it up for a few hours each day. Turns out my aikido training again saved my hide, because it could ahve been MUCH more serious. As it was, I hit and rolled and did a 360 on my shoulder before coming to rest on my back. I just went with the motion, and didn't brace, and perhaps saved my 60 year old bones. Scooter's fine, just some cosmetic damage.
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May 2009
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Last Sunday found me on the grounds of the University of California Riverside Botanic Gardens as a guest artist for the Primavera event. Many fine restaurants and wineries were on hand with samples of their cuisine and beverages--and I enjoyed that as well as the light and activity.
It was a warm afternoon, and so I painted this scene of the tents, ribbon banners and people gathered around socializing in a quick 9 x 12 Golden Open acrylic painting. Mostly just gestural mark-making with the brush, nothing is clearly defined. But that lets YOU define it in your mind.
The warm and cool boxes are much in evidence with the light and shadows working together. |
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It's Friday night, and the five-day workshop is finished here in Georgia, and what a great one it was! The students painted beautiful paintings, the time of day with the Color System keps falling off their brushes, and all went away worn out and ready to apply the new knowledge to their work.
I'm tired, but satisfied that I did my best in sharing the Color System with them. Tonight I reflect on how it went, what I can do better next week in Florida, and enjoy the quiet introspection.
Here for your pleasure is the 9 x 12 oil I did as a demonstration piece for evening light. This is "Susie" one of Fay's brood cows, and I quickly painted this for the demonstration and lecture of evening light. It is now in the hands of returning Boot Camper Joanna Karpay of Tampa, Florida, and on it's way to its new home.
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Here's the demonstration painting for morning light done as part of the lecture for the Georgia workshop this week. It's a 12 x 16 and done with acrylics (traditional) on a board-backed canvas and is one of the views across the woods and hayfields of Georgia. I really like the light patterns that fall on the jump on the right of the scene. I've walked this path on Fay's farm many times and never tire of it.
The students ("Recruits") in the Color Boot Camps are producing outstanding work--all because of the Color System applied to their curret style and subject matter. I'm honored to be teaching such a great group, and will be heading optimistically to Florida tomorrow to meet up with yet another great group of folks with a desire to know the Color System. |
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After the wonderful paintings from workshop folks, I thought I'd send you one of my own--done during the Florida workshop on the last couple of days.
This Amish image came from the collection of Judi Evans, and is used with permission. I used the subject to convey noon light, and loved the drama of the deep shadows and the interesting angle of the horses juxtaposed with the lean out on each side. Painting noon light can be fun, when the subject is as interesting as this one!
It is a 12 x 16 acrylic on textured canvas, and is available for $350, unframed directly from me. It's much better in person.
In other news, Rural Heritage Magazine is featuring my art relating to these draft horses in their upcoming issue. Summer work and big horses!
I'm also gearing up for the next workshop in less than two weeks! |
April 2009
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I am becoming enamored with the Golden Open Acrylics. I used them today (in their cool and warm pill boxes) for a demonstration for the Hemet Valley Art Association. The end result is this 16 x 20 acrylic you see here, called "Vernal Pools, Santa Rosa". Completely without reference except memories in my head.
What I enjoy about the Open Acrylics is the process of putting paint down that dries less quickly than traditional acrylics, yet still is tacky enough to have drag and blending opportunities, not quite like, but similar to, oils. The drag over the tacky parts is easily visible in the grasses. The blending is there in the distant mountains and water reflections.
My remaining workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE, updated. The June workshop is filled and I've opened another California one that goes over July 4th weekend. It already has five of ten signups. Still one or two spots in Maine but both workshops in Florida , though.
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Here is one of the paintings done as the demonstration for my Color Boot Camp workshops. This one is for evening light, on a 12 x 16 panel in oils, using the Color System to convey time of day on the light falling on the pack mule and the landscape. It is a quick study, roughly done in about 30 minutes. However even at this loose stage, the light is set and the color "reads right" for the warm late afternoon. The students then took their own source material, and spent part of a day doing their own subject paintings in evening light.
This oil is available for $300, and is alled "Evening Rest" (Pack Mule).
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Re-working an older canvas, this is a 24 x 36 acrylic landscape I painted first after my Dad died, when I was coping with the pathways our lives take. I've come back to it with the Color System and made it much more like the hopeful morning light of a new day--which is what we need when life hands us challenges. Available for $550 now. Just email me. |
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March 2009
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From Carlson Dog Park in Riverside, I looked up in evening light to see the cross on the top of Mt. Rubidoux, behind me. I'd taken Sparky and Onslow to the park for some much-needed socialization time, and yet I had my plein air gear and couldn't resist this evening view of the mountain that embraces the city of Riverside.
This is an 8x8 canvas, cut down AFTER I painted it from an 8x10. It's done in acrylics, and with the palette of the Color System that conveys evening light--but a softer side, since the cross and the mountain are messaging a gentler feel. It still has the characteristic orange and alizarin where needed, but whispered rather than shouted into the lights and shadows. Priced at $295 with a lovely custom frame in silvery gray-blue. |
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The Plein Air Paint Out in Riverside culminated with all the artists doing a Quick Draw (actually painting) in an hour and a half. This year celebrates a major anniversary of the Riverside Art Museum which is housed in a lovely building designed by Julia Morgan. Ms. Morgan designed Hearst Castle and was a respected architect in an era of few women building designers. So the artists were instructed to paint some aspect of Julia Morgan's handiwork.
I set up inside the central atrium, where Saffron's restaurant is located. The end result of my time at the easel is this 7 x 5 intimate acrylic, showing the dining atmosphere, the artwork on the hallways and the light suffusing from the glass ceiling.
The painting went on to win an honorable mention that morning. It is available in a nice frame for $250. |
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Some of you may know that I used to be in illustration, many years ago. This painting is SO not the Color System, but there are parts of it buried in the pattern of colors splashed over the rider and horse. It's a strictly illustrative piece to catch the viewer and bright colors do that!
This is a distraction from the greens of "Hidden Pasture", and is done for a poster entry for the show jumping circuit. I've been getting their press releases, and like a gnat, finally got out and swatted this 20 x 16 oil off my easel. I hope they like it.
Those of you familiar with the Color System will have a hard time telling what time of day it is. After all, there's a green horse, and look at that cadmium orange on the breeches! And in the shadows, too. This kind of color rule breaking can make for an exciting illustrative image, where realism takes a back seat to "punch" to catch the viewer's eye. Available for $475. |
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At the request of one of the PAAR artists, and with her company, I went out to paint a landmark in Riverside today. I have wanted to paint this for over 20 years--the parent Navel Orange Tree that is an historical landmark in Riverside, at the corner of Arlington and Magnolia. This tree is one of two that are the original trees brought to Riverside and into California by Mrs. Eliza Tibbets in 1903. Her husband didn't think much of this project, so she watered the trees with dishwater. She sold cuttings from her trees for $5 each, an exhorbitant amount at that time. This one tree has survived and continues to blossom today. It is cared for by the folks here at the University of California, Riverside. The navel orange tree, and Mrs. Tibbets, changed the citrus industry forever. Available for $275.
This 12 x 16 painting is done in acrylics, and I stood in the median strip on Magnolia Avenue this morning to paint it. If you've ever been to Riverside and seen this bit of history, you'll recognize it right away! Standing in the median with all my gear, I felt at one moment like a homeless person, and then at another as if I were one of those people who hold advertising signs. Hard to ignore the traffic so close, but I had a few nice comments. |
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I've been tremendously busy with springtime on the "farm" here--planting the raised beds, fertilizing and planting more citrus, and getting everything ready for the next Color Boot Camp workshop here in April. I'm so glad to be back to the brushes now, and finished the 30 x 40 gallery-wrapped (no framing needed) oil of the "Secret Pasture"--another place where I'd love to spend time. Most of the finishing touches are related to the lights on the sunlit areas, and the addition of one horse off in the distance--thus, the "secret".
It's hanging on the wall behind me and I just so enjoy looking at it from across the room. I'll be back on Fay's farm in May! Available for $1,375.
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I went to the Whitewater Preserve (used to be the old trout ponds) off I-10 west of Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs late this afternoon. The land up there is gorgeous and rugged, and Sparky 'n' I were out in the middle of nowhere capturing this vista, looking north toward the San Gorgonio mountains. Old sycamores are everywhere, and the valley floor has grasses and brittlebush blooming. This is "Serenity", a 12 x 12 oil of that vista.  to new collector Donna Matson of Los Angles, California, who saw it in the exhibition at Whitewater Preserve.
My Color System is alive and well here in this 12 x 12 oil, yet so tempered by the dove grays and soft value changes that it is hard to find it unless you KNOW it. I'm so pleased with this one, because the recent series of larger studio landscapes has helped me to "nail it" in the field. I may go back once more--the turn-in for this show is coming up on the 2nd, but I'm asking another PAAR artist who's offered to take the paintings in to take mine--I'll be doing the April Color Boot Camp here! |
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The second plein air painting at Whitewater Preserve off of I-10 for your pleasure! This is a 24 by 12 acrylic, and I painted it SO fast.... Couldn't take any pictures of it in process, as the light changed so rapidly on that rock face on the right. I got that part in first, as I knew that as the light faded, the sun would leave those rocks, and it DID. So I painted this one mostly in the Cool Boxes of the Color System, using traditional acrylics, with just a few accents of warm on the water and wet rocks. Available for $350 unframed.
Doing the water while listening to the burbling ripples was such a joy. I was parked near the concrete creek crossing where many people pull off and enjoy the water, but at this time of evening, I was only worried about black bears. Sparky Pup would have warned me, though. In this part of the pass area near Banning, the wildlife come down to drink, and the evening light takes on a special atmosphere. I love to capture it--(the light, not the wildlife!)
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February 2009
January 2009
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I finished my husband's painting, and here is the end result--a 30 x 40 oil of aikido featuring Morehei Ueshiba, the master, and he's practicing the art on Alberto, whose feet have left the tatami mats. Yes, I'm in it now--second from left--but you'd have to come to our small home dojo to see this painting up close! Across the back are friends in aikido, Kotz, me, Ron, Steve, Ace and Rowdy (who passed away last year). We're now all together again!
WORKSHOP! I've added a new workshop for April, here in my studio, and it is filling already. If you couldn't get into the February one, which filled a week after I opened it, you have a second opportunity. July 3-5, it promises to be another exciting Color Boot Camp. Click here. |
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Holiday Lights and the third painting of the Mission Inn done on location. Fun to paint the landmarks and capture the "feel" of the night. This is the Mission Inn Skybridge that has a totally different look in daytime. You can follow this link to see another view of it during the daytime.
This was done with the interactive acrylics - Golden Open acrylics - which I am learning to enjoy. Only 6 x 8 inches, it was done quickly and loosely. These paints handle like oils, yet dry to the touch usually one day later. I was positioned on the lawn near the parking structure and had many, many folks stop by and comment--more so than in front of the Inn. Go figure. Sparky was with me and again let me know when folks would approach. Good dog!
This new year will bring many challenges, several workshops, and exciting artwork and lessons coming your way. I hope you'll continue to stay with me, and please share these with your friends! |
November 2008
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Here's the 18 x 18 inch acrylic photographed in the good light I need for entering shows. The glare is gone, and the colors are uniform across the canvas. Signed, it's finished mostly with Golden Open Acrylics, which I am coming to love.
I loved painting with the Open Acrylics, and of course the Color System makes this scene read right from the top to the squirrel's shadow. Our ground squirrels' Latin name is Spermophilus beecheyi but I just call 'em the common California Ground Squirrel--or varmits.
Tomorrow I go paint on location with the Plein Air Artists of Riverside--always a fun day! I'll be taking those Open Acrylics with me for more practice.
Here's a closeup of the squirrel:
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Finally finished this one, and I am so pleased with it. Although a struggle to keep the pack horses and rider as a secondary focal point, I think I managed to pull it off, and actually, the end result was easier than I expected. Had I painted this image even one year ago, I would have put those animals in full sunlight, and the aspens would have played second fiddle. I'm much more pleased with these paintings, some of which are scheduled for entry into the Saks Gallery Show in Denver--the Women Artists of the West membership show, opening in January.
One reason I was away from the easel was because of a too-short visit from Jennie Scott from Australia who blew through on her way from Northern California to Houston, Texas. Jennie is a well-known sculptor of horses, and here's an image of her at my dining room table working on one of her raku sculptures--and right beside her are two of the driftwood and ceramic pieces. WOW, to see them "for real" was quite a treat. And Jennie is a lively, wonderful lady who is welcome to visit any time! In the early morning she was out walking and seeing the coyotes. And you just know I loved to hear her talk with that "Aussie" accent!
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I've been asked to "explain" my Color System--Hmmmm. That can be a bit of a challenge, since it requires a minimum of three full days by Color Boot Campers to get an inkling of what it is all about. So I'll pose the question to all of you who have been through a Color Boot Camp, and have seen the Color Flash Cards:
How would you describe the Color System to someone unfamiliar with it?
Please reply in one of two ways: 1) post a comment to the blog, so it will remain there permanently for others to see, or, 2) reply to this message and I'll put some at the end of this message once it has gone out. I'll really enjoy your responses, and hope you'll do #1 and post them as comments to this blog entry on the blog site. If you reply to the email, you'll only talk to me. I think there's much to be offered in how you see the Color System. So can you help me out?
Now, here's an 8 x 6 evening sky painting done with those Golden Open acrylics, using the Color System. It was a out-of-head sketch done at the very end of the workshop at the Art Expo with Suzanne next to me and Catherine across the tables. We had a great time! This one is available for $175 including shipping as a nice example of the sunset skies and also "open" acrylic handling. Paypal is fine. Fun!
I'll be starting another large canvas over the weekend for you, and again I'm going to use those Open Acrylics. I think I will also video the process, and consider assembling the various footages I have in the digital editing room into a new DVD--called "Acrylics and Oils with the CS"... or something. |
October 2008
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Done with Atelier Interactive Acrylics:
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Many of you are awaiting my take on the Interactive (Atelier) and Open (Golden) acrylics--those paints that increase working times so that one can change or rework a passage of paint well after the traditional drying time of "normal" acrylics. I went to the workshop at the Art Expo in Pasadena last Saturday, and in the company of a couple of friends painted with these acrylics.
This post will be rather long as I go into my impressions, and I hope you'll bear with me. If you're not an artist, perhaps you'll skip to the end for the information about these two paintings.
I first got ahold of the Atelier Interactive acrylics, at the booth for Atelier and with the palette of the artist doing the display. I pulled out a pre-textured canvas (fiber gel) and after asking permission, painted the landscape with the fence (first image, on the left). It is 7 x 5 inches on textured canvas board.
Impressions:
The Atelier Interactive colors were not nearly as bright--although I must admit that Atelier didn't have available my Color System Twelve, and I was working with two blues, two reds and two yellows--the popular idea of having primaries in "one of each temperature"--which is NOT my System--and the painting shows the limits of using that formula. This painting is bland, to say the least.
The colors available to me in this quick, out-of-my-head study (kneeling by her chair, painting in my hand) were:
Thalo Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Napthol Red Light, Napthol Crimson, Cad Yellow Light, Arylamide Yellow Deep. No earths, no greens. All that you see mixed there are created from these six colors plus white.
With these Interactives, one has to use a mister of water and/or an "Unlocking Formula" mister to reopen the paint for working on it again. In other words, it did dry, and this was the HUGE drawback for me--I didn't know if it was dry, and thus would put a layer on top of it, and without unlocking or rewetting it, the Interactives would mislead me into thinking they were wet, or dry, or who knows what. I was looking for the re-working phase and length of being able to work the paint. Didn't find it, as I had to spritz BEFORE I painted--an extra step for this artist. Even though this painting is bland because I didn't have my Color System colors at hand, I was very dissatisfied with the working structure of these acrylics in having to add a second mister bottle to the mix.
Now, on to the Golden Paints "Acrylics Like Oils" workshop, where I spent a much longer time working with the colors, and was able to assemble the entire Color System pigments before beginning work. I did three paintings during the session, and the one below was the second. You can immediately see that the Color System comes through in giving the brillance of the cadmiums a place to "play". But I'm not comparing the colors here--both manufacturers have a full range of the pigments. However, I liked one feature of these Golden "Open" acrylics--the device to increase working time was contained in a little bottle that was dripped on the palette, just like any medium. No spritzing, although a spray bottle of water can be used if one needs to thin paint. The "Thinner" which is what they call it, allowed me to really work the paint WAY beyond normal drying times after making my mixes and applying them to the canvas. Glazing with thin paint over semi-dry passages was fantastic. Blending was outstanding on wet passages. The paint stayed wet on the palette longer, too. It was more what I'm used to using with oils, and the handling of them is more equal to that medium.
So, to compare: I prefer the Golden Open Acrylics, because it is based upon a firm platform of current knowledge in how to handle paint. Only limit--no thick impasto passages (thicker than a penny, e.g.) because thick passages take a longer time to set up. Had I had the full Color System with the Atelier, I might have had a different opinion, but the need for another spritzer bottle was a major turn off.
I've filled out my System colors with the Open Acrylics, and in the weeks ahead will be painting in more traditional oil-like fashion with these new acrylics. Ought to be interesting! But first I'll finish up the horses in landscape tomorrow.
Both of these 7 x 5 inch acrylic paintings are available for $100 until next weekend, when the second one will be going into the Riverside Art Museum's Show, "Off the Wall". The second one is also a small study for the next larger landscape painting with horses.
And Chiron the Andalusian is HERE! Such fun to have a young horse around. Pictures with my next post! |
Me on the Shagya Arabian Stallion
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This morning's sun had not yet washed the valley, and I have a grin bright enough to cast some shadows anyway! This is yours truly, on *KS Rubin this morning, famous enough to have his OWN web page! Not often does one get to ride such a quality horse; I am still pinching myself. What a rush to have this power and grace under me as the sun later came to warm the hills. Then it was on the scooter to run errands and home to chores, after this amazing ride-at-first-light experience.
But I've digressed... back to painting! Since resuming a more stringent riding schedule, the paintings have been easier to produce, and this backlit landscape is no different. Getting to the easel is exciting and I'm loving every moment of it.
This 24 x 30 oil is at the stage where it is time to think about getting those horses under the trees, and leaving that bit of warm to capture the eye tells me that regardless of my source material for the horses, they must have dappled sunlight on them!
Unlike the earlier misty morning, this painting has sunlight to contrast with the darks of the trunks, and I need to keep that in mind as I paint it.
What's happened since yesterday is the detailing out of the trees, the "flutter pattern" of leaves on so many levels, from deep shadow to light. This breakup of the larger shapes creates visual exitement without creating unrest in the viewer. There is no clash of color here, just a "flitter" of leaves in the trees and grass blades in the foreground. In doing this, I try to be harmonious with the earlier, larger layers, so the contrast is not overwhelming in each area. I will have another complete pass on these areas to further to tone down and pull out details, leaving alone other areas. Sometimes I'll use a glaze with resin gel, and others paint mixtures of three or more colors. That's what I call the refinement stage. Lots to do yet!
This painting, when finished, might begin its show career as an entry into the Women Artists of the West show in Denver in 2009. It may or may not get in. Quality there is very high!
Saturday I head to the Art Expo in Pasadena to meet with friend David R. Becker, who's teaching classes. And I'm also going to get some hands-on with the slow drying Golden Acrylics. Ought to be an interesting day. Hmmmm, I wonder if I should post whatever I do in the workshop? Gadfry! |
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Here's the painting, about as finished as it is going to get at this point. I made it slightly larger so if you click on it, you'll see more details.
I didn't realize how important breaking up the blue areas was until something said to put in the pine bough on the lower right. The balance of the painting is profoundly affected when that branch is not there (use a finger over it to see what I mean).
This canvas is available pre-show season for $1200, and that price will escalate as it is shipped and shown around the country.
Now I'm off on another canvas, this one 24 x 30, and the subject is in line with the recent landscapes with added horses, rather than horses in a supporting landscape.
This painting is coming from source material provided by artist Judi Evans, and is from Fay's Farm in Dawsonville. I've walked these pastures and already have a "sense of place" that is part of these new paintings. Tomorrow, more of the canvas covered and more great color. |
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One of the nice things about on location painting (and one of its down sides!) is how the light changes from moment to moment. I was walking the dogs in the morning, and saw the distant light across this promontory of trees and rocks, and thought I'd like to get a small painting of this scene. The reflections were what held it up for me, and the flash of orange on the rocks. So this 7 x 5 inch oil came off the brushes as a fisherman in his floating inner tube came by several times. He had good luck catching rainbow trout--but kept throwing them back. I would have taken one of the smaller ones for my dinner, but he was too far from shore.
"Reflections" is available for sale for $90, please let me know if you'd like to add this one to your art collection.
On the way out from Hawley Lake, I found these fellows to show you that although the roads are very well maintained, the "wildlife" will keep your speed down. This trip I didn't see any elk, but saw these ladies each time I was on the road.
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One of the beauties of Hawley Lake, and of course of other lakes, is how the surface of the water changes from moment to moment. I started this 8 x 10 oil in late morning, looking from my campsite across to the cabins and distant, aspen-covered mountains. Before it was completed, the smooth reflections were gone, replaced by ripples and wind.
Done mostly with the cool box colors, the only time I went into the warms was for the sunlit rocks and the near shore. The contrast between that and the rest of the vista is what makes me think it works. All it needs now is a boat with a couple of fishermen. Later....
This photograph, taken from my camp site, is going to become my next large studio painting. I just fell in love with the idea of seeing a picnic table in the woods--in early morning light. The original source photo is not a square format, so I'm going to do a smaller, 12 x 12 acrylic to act as a study for the bigger work. The larger canvas may be a 30 x 40. I'm overdue for a BIG canvas, done in oils. I think I'll have to add a squirrel, since they were everywhere, too.
One of the greatest benefits of being in such a lovely place is the source material gathered for future works. Experiencing over time the actual colors and nuances of the "real" makes the "imaginary" paintings work later on. Hawley Lake, at 8,200 feet is perhaps one of the highest lakes in Arizona. This morning the wind was up, and yet it was warmer than the past couple of days. I'm sorry to leave this idyllic spot for lower elevations....
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Here's a "long drink of water" in the form of a diptych--two 12" square canvases, one above another, and painted on location at the Railroad Grade Trailhead near Sunrise Ski Area. It's an acrylic, and I had several people looking over my shoulder while I worked. I'm going to add some clouds to the canvas, as the composition will benefit from breaking up the sky area.
Using the acrylics in this REALLY dry air is tough--thank goodness for a spray bottle! I'm looking forward to working with the Golden Open Acrylics for challenges like these. But I do so love how they are finished so quickly, and it's hard to beat them for making texture in a painting.
On my way out of the campground this morning, I went off on one of many side roads along streams in the area. I took my camera, and thought you'd enjoy some of the beauty that is everywhere. Each bend in the road brings yet another "Arizona Highways" image to life. The camera really doesn't capture the true radiance of the foliage, so my brushes have to do the job!
Last night something large and heavy landed on the roof of the camper in the middle of the night, waking me and the dogs. Whatever it was, it walked around the roof for a while, then left. I don't know still if it was furry or feathered. However other wildlife was very close, with the elk bugling and the coyotes keeping company with yelps as I sat by the fire earlier in the evening. Soem of the other plein air artists came up for a campfire dinner, but most were gone by 8:30. |
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It just doesn't get much better.... Here on the Apache reservation in the White Mountains, surrounded by incredible clarity and beautiful aspens. This is the first full day of painting, and I took it for all it was worth! Driving up to highway 117 near the turnoff to Sunrise Ski Area, I saw this grove and decided to get right into it.
This is a 5 x 7 oil, the first one of the day, and I really do like the juxtaposition of the areas of color balanced by the calligraphic lines of the limbs and trunks. It fell off my brushes!
The cold last night was well below freezing, and I listened to the Canadian Geese flying. Tonight I go back to sleep under a bazillion stars in a deserted campground and listen again for the elk in the night. Wolves, too!
And of course Sparky and Onslow where lovin' it too, getting to romp in the field--with a new use for a big paint brush stake holding them just far enough from getting tangled in the setup. Yes, those color boxes did their duty today, and it was so much fun to take what was in front of me and punch it up with the Color System.
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September 2008
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On location painting at a very special site, I finished this 12 x 16 oil on a summer afternoon a couple weeks back. I bring it to you today, because the original painting is hanging at the Maloof Foundation in Alta Loma (you can google Sam Maloof for an enlightening introduction to an American icon of furniture making.)
The Plein Air Artists of Riverside have been invited to show our works, and many include scenery from the lovely gardens and buildings of his Foundation for preserving the craftsmanship of fine woodworking.
When I looked around for something to paint, I was captivated by the contrast of the umbrella with the shadowed area behind it, and the lively ribbon streamers that are a characteristic of the grounds. Everything about the site speaks of quality hand-made craftsmanship, including the native stone walls and the beautifully constructed wood buildings.
I had the pleasure of meeting Sam a year ago, and he is a wonderfully modest and gentle man. In his 90s now, he still works on furniture designs with the help of apprentices in his workshop. Oh, if I could only afford one of his chairs!
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I was working on the 24 x 36 canvas this morning, and also working on putting together the Flash Cards packets, and was immediately struck by something (no, not literally!). Of course my painting is morning light--I knew that when I began it. I know the Color System so well that I didn't need to have support material with me. But as I looked at the morning light Flash Cards, I realized you might enjoy seeing the cards in action. So for your lesson today, I put two of the Morning Light Flash Cards by the painting to show you what I found.
On the right is the Morning Light Flash Card with the red pear intact. That's one you get with the set. On the left is the same card with the red pear desaturated (love Photoshop!). I desaturated it for two reasons--one, there is no inherently RED object in my landscape, and more importantly, I wanted the lesson to go home to you as clearly as possible. The lesson? Stick to the colors on the Flash Cards, and you'll get great color! Wow...
Notice how the left card just blends into the canvas? The colors of morning light are clearly shown in my painting, and hopefully clearly understood when you see the card. I'm hoping that you'll use these Flash Cards as you paint, and that the cards will end up being small "companions" for your paintings! You'll know you've "nailed it" when the card just "belongs" with the painting.
Now, if I'd had a red object in the painting, then it would also harmonize with the right card.
This afternoon I head out for the Sam Maloof Foundation for the Plein Air Artists of Riverside's show (I have two paintings in it). I'll take along some of my flash cards and see if I can figure out who painted what time of day!! Now there's an idea.... I'm going to take a set to my next museum visit and look at some of the Impressionists and Tonalist paintings.
The first sets have started to arrive--I just received this from Gabriel Baber in Temecula, "Ok Elin..you really did it this time. Great brainchild..Awesome idea with the flash cards. I am excited to have them..Thanks for getting them to me so quickly. Those of us that are visual people..do much better with the color images than all the words. "
I'm so pleased they are helping people already! |
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It's finished. Just exactly what I wanted it to be, with enough detail to keep the viewer interested in all areas of the image. And yet with a focal point that sneaks up on you--because of the mist and the closeness of values in that area. This 24 x 36 oil is available for $1200 although right now I don't want to sell it.
How fun to finally pull one off that really says my art is going somewhere. I'm on a roll, expanding my thinking and yet paying homage to those who have gone before. In this case, it is Lanford Monroe, an East Coast artist who passed away at the young age of 50, and who was a stellar painter of the woods and Rockies--her husband printed a book of her work, called Homefields, and you can find it on line. I regret not knowing her while she was alive, but that is as it must be. Her ability to both tell a story and paint beautiful landscapes will live on forever because of his labor of love.
On another note, I was honored to receive Best in Show at the Maloof Foundation opening last night. As they were naming artists' names, I celebrated each one, for I know their work and it is an honor to be hanging with them. Then first place, going to my friend Pat Ford, and finally the wait for the highest honor.... and the judge called my name! Here is the painting--it is one I did while at the Santa Rosa Plateau, near the Vernal Pools, and is an 8 x 10 oil.
The judge said it had that extra "spark" she seeks in plein air work, and I'm hoping she was refering to the color!!
Tonight I was at the Riverside Art Museum plein air painting while a great event was going on--Several of the best restaurants and wineries in the Riverside area brought out samples of their fare and we had music and painters while folks enjoyed the cuisine and libation. I painted two 12 x 16 canvases in the three hours, and you'll see one of them tomorrow. The music was great! |
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In celebration of Restaurant Week, the Riverside Art Museum hosted a semi-formal "meet the chefs" evening, where for a flat fee, attendees could wander the museum and sample some gourmet courses. I arrived at the third story rooftop for an evening of painting, wine and music with about 400 attendees, and started on this 12 x 16 oil. Riverside has tree-lined streets with high/low palm trees along many boulevards--those fan palms are a trademark of the area.
Evening light, but very early--it was only about 5 pm when I started, and here we have daylight until 7:30 or so. So although this has the Color System working in it, the influencing colors are very minor. A whisper of orange in the palm fronds, and into the side of the building, then going quickly to yellow ochre as the distance increases. Shadows showing blue/blue-violet, and going darker to show the increased value contrast.
The building has some historical significance, as the current owners stopped by and saw it in process, saying that it has been in their family for generations. I painted the bell posts that are an integral part of the city of Riverside, and a stop light (on red!) to balance the lower portion of the composition.
This original, on-location oil is for sale for $300 through my Paypal. |
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After doing the first painting in one direction (brought to you on Monday), I swung around and looked the other way and saw this absolutely spectacular color show going on to my right.
Quickly--oh, so quickly!--to capture the sunset-backlit church steeple and those palm fronds shimmering with the glow of the fast-disappearing sun, the brushes got this one in a record 45 minutes. As I put the last marks on the lower darkness, the Museum turned on the rooftop lights and the magic was gone. But the band was playing, friends were be-boppin' in front of me, and I cleaned my brushes with a whopping grin on my face!
Again take a look below to see how the Color System Flash Cards work--there's a second image. This tells me whether I've "nailed it" with the Color System. Let's take a look. I've superimposed the "Backlit" card next to the finished painting. I don't have any inherent red objects in this composition, but are you with me that the painting "reads right"?
I've just been told that the August workshop in Acadia, Maine is a go--that will be in 2009, last week in September, just as the fall foliage turns! What can be finer than a full-on, Five Day COLOR BOOT CAMP with gorgeous New England autumn leaves? Well, how about Florida the second week of May? Where you stay and paint in the same spot--the Carriage Museum--surrounded by horses and green landscape. Both workshops will be open soon for registration, so if you've wanted a Color Boot Camp experience, here's your chance. For West Coast artists, I'll be hosting several three-day "Mini Color Boot Camps" at my studio in Riverside.
Thanks for joining me on the journey, and yes, please forward this email to your friends.
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| Many smaller daily paintings that don't appear on my Recent Work page can be viewed here. |
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