Girl in a Red Coat on a Snowy Walk OIL PAINTING

I know some of you guys are still playing around with winter weather.  I am not... my garden is planted, we are having great salads every day, the fruit trees are all blooming.... ahhhh So I figured one look back at winter before we leave it for next year.  I love this painting and so far it hasn't been snatched up.  I have it on auction this week on Ebay.  It is not a steal but still a great deal less than gallery prices.  To visit my ebay gallery click here 

Tea with Lemon

To Bid


This is this week's study.  Tea with Lemon.
I enjoyed playing with this one.  I like the light, Spring feel.

We are getting ready for some plein aire studies...here's a list of stuff to bring

throw in a little sun screen.  If you plan ahead, you can find some travel versions of these things and not have to pack anything too heavy, and if you stick close to your car, you won’t have to carry any of it with you.   Just put it on before you get out into the wild, and leave it in the car.

Leave your sun glasses in the car and get out your hat, cap, or visor.  Sunglasses are great for the trip out, but you do not want to view your subject through them.  I might also mention an umbrella.  I don’t have this listed in bold print.  My experience is that it is too darned windy in Oklahoma to use one, it is bulky, hard to secure, and more trouble than it is worth.  Some may find it useful, however.

The next thing on my list is a great, lightweight, folding easel.  Lightweight is the key here.  I know you would look cool with a big, fancy, wooden easel, but there is a time and a place for everything, and the time for that is in the studio.  In the photo on the previous page is the kind of easel I took with me to France as it was not covered in paint and had a nice little carrying case, a clasp at the top to secure my canvas, and was adjustable for small paintings ( another great garage sale find ).  The one I use in Oklahoma has the addition of retractable spikes on the bottom to help secure it to the earth in a strong wind, and has a spot in the middle of its three legs to house a pallet, or a sandbag if it is extremely windy.  You should be able to find one of these easels at your favorite art store, or online, for a very affordable price.
paint

When going into the field, I usually load up my pallet with paint daubs from my big tubes in the car, and take with me, an array of smaller tubes, and the tail ends of the big tubes, so as not to add any extra weight, or bulk to my pack.  Do not leave colors out of the mix, unless, for some reason, you are experimenting with a limited pallet, for as soon as you leave a color out, that will be the one color you need, and your work will suffer as you try to make do with what you have.

 pallet, and pallet box.  

rags, spirits, and spirit holder. I will supply 

camera 

The kind of canvas you chose is a personal preference.  For my trip, I decided to try a canvas pad with pre-gessoed canvases that could be torn out.  I also took several pre-stretched, gessoed, 8x10 and 11x14 canvases.  In the field you have limited time, perhaps only an hour to two hours before your light has changed too much.  Don’t bring a canvas that is too large to cover in a 2 hour stretch.  The whole purpose for you doing this in the field is to capture a moment.  That moment is gone within two hours and you are only working from memory or worse, creating a portion of your landscape with the light in the east and a portion of it with the light in the west.  Very bad!

apron. 

Last, but not least, take a snack and a bottle of water.  You will be glad you did.

Steps to create a still life

This is the process that I tend to follow when painting a complicated still life or landscape

Look what I found! Opportunities for Paintings in my adult class

Looking through the computer I found a power point presentation that I never got to give to my adult students due to some conflict in files between my flash drive and the school's computers.  Anyways here is what the possibilities are for my adult students to learn.

Hot Peppers 6x6 oil on canvas

This is a little painting that I revisited the other day..... which proves my theory that if you leave a painting with us long enough, we will have to get our hands on it again.  This painting used to have 3 peppers in it and that 3rd one, although present when I painted it, didn't do anything for the composition so out it went and back on to ebay.  To bid ( starting bid $49 with no shipping charge) click here

Hot Peppers

Blooming Vetch SOLD!

Apples 6x6 oil

Last week's daily painting sketch
It is a little brighter in this photo than in real life.  I need to adjust those reds.  I will try to post a better pic.  To visit my ebay gallery and possibly bid on this painting click here

6x6 oil on canvas  Apples

Jesse Aycock and Lauren Barth Live @ Folk Alliance 2016

Live @ KJHK Singles: "First to Last" by Jesse Aycock

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A Sketch at Dusk oil on canvas

To Bid on this Painting and Visit my Ebay Gallery, Click Here

One of my favorite places is just a couple miles from the house, through a fence, up a hill and across the fields.  That is where the yellow orange grasses grow.  They light up at this time of day.  It is so pretty and one has to paint quick in order to capture it.  This is a plein aire sketch from a couple of days ago.  I often love these sketches more than a painting that is a labored over, large painting.  This one is perfect just as it is and coveys a feeling of joy at being in that place at that moment.  My husband mentioned that we only have a small window of opportunity to paint in these wild places before the chiggers, ticks and heat arrive.