New on Netflix

For the folks who haven't heard yet, I wanted to do a quickie post to let you know about a couple of artsy shows that have been recently added to Netflix. The first one is a show similar to Bob Ross's show which has been on Netflix for a while. This one is about plein air painting in oil with a gentleman named Heiner Hertling. It's called Your Brush with Nature and I watched a couple of episodes last night. I really enjoyed them. I liked his style, his quiet demeanor and the work didn't come across as gimmicky. I think students could learn a lot from him, especially since sometimes he does a little critique session with a student at the end of the show. He made me want to get my oils out again and go out in the field. That says a lot since I've never been a fan of battling the elements while trying to paint. I might have to give plein air painting another try.

The other show is one I haven't checked out yet but I'm anxious to. It was just added to Netflix today. It's called Abstract: The Art of Design. This one is a documentary series that delves into the world of designers and their work. Take a peek at the lives of an architect, a footwear designer, an automotive designer, an illustrator, a stage designer, a photographer, an interior designer, and a graphic designer. It looks fascinating. I'll be checking it out tonight.

Have fun watching!

Yesterday, today and crooked signatures

 Pumpkin 5

5x5

acrylic and gold leaf on canvas panel

SOLD

Pumpkin 6

5x5

acrylic and gold leaf on canvas panel

SOLD

Yesterday was all about the pumpkins. Here's 2 of the 3 I painted. I just love doing these lush, round, plump pumpkins. I use gold leaf for the background and Golden's Open acrylic for the fruit. It gives me a little more blending time than traditional acrylics. I do a tiny bit of glazing with color over the gold to give it a little more variety.

 Dusty Pink

5x5

oil on stretched canvas

This was today's painting. I didn't have any pieces with this soft pink color in the series of oil florals I've been doing so I took care of that. The collection is growing. I'll add this one to the Etsy shop soon. It needs a little drying time first. Do you see my signature? Why can't I ever sign my name straight? What is that..... I'm an artist, I can paint. You'd think I could handle putting my name on something so it doesn't look like it's falling off the edge. Maybe that's why I was destined to paint nature and abstracts. If I had a great desire to paint architecture I'd really be in trouble.

Notice there's no signature on the pumpkins. That's because I was too hasty in shooting the photos. I forgot to sign them first and I didn't feel like re-shooting. I'm obviously having identity issues today.

Passage 32

8x8

mixed media on stretched canvas

And now for something completely different, yet continuing in the warm color scheme. This little non-representational piece is made up of layer upon layer of acrylic gels and color washes. I left the brush strokes in the gel layers for texture. I used alcohol on the acrylic layers for yes, more texture. And.... when I wrapped a piece of sea glass in wire and attached it to the canvas I was intrigued by the shadow that the wire cast upon the surface so I painted the shadow in a bright turquoise color as an accent. More fun, I just can't help myself. This one is signed on the side.......

Today's projects

 Canna Lily

5x5

oil on canvas

Clematis

5x5

oil on canvas

These are the two little paintings I finished today. The top one I did from a photo I took of the Canna in my yard. The second one is from a photo I took quite a while ago and I don't remember where I took it or what kind of flower it is. I was told today that it looks like Clematis. Since the picture was taken from the backside of the flower I have no idea what the center looks like or even what color it is. So apparently I'd better take better reference shots or at least take notes when I do them so years later when I use the pics for a painting I'm not clueless.

Anyway, it's still fun to play with cropping on florals and focus more on the abstract quality of the composition. I'll be adding these to the Etsy shop soon.

I painted it again?

Spiderwort

5x5

oil on canvas

These are a couple of the pieces I've been able to finish in the last week. The flower above is the seventh one I've done in the little floral oil group. It's now available in the Etsy shop along with most of the others.

 

Trinity River

10x8

acrylic on canvas

I should actually call this little landscape Trinity River Again? I can't even count how many times I've painted this scene. I just don't get tired of it. I'm not usually one to paint the same thing over and over again but for some reason this particular landscape just won't leave me alone. I figure if I can't stop painting it then I'll make some students paint it too. I'm going to use this painting for the workshop project when we do our painting party at the end of Oct. I'll post the details about it on the H & H Studios blog soon so check there to keep updated.

Remember the tree?

You saw this one in an earlier post - I just had the tree blocked in. This was my focus for most of the weekend. I really felt the need to get back to work on the oil painting and something that has a lot of personal meaning for me. Once I figured out how I wanted to proceed I jumped back in. I'm not finished with the tree yet and I still might add some more stars in the area surrounding the egg and nest. When I'm done I'll shoot a better photo (one that doesn't include bands of light coming in from the blinds) Overall I'm happy with the progress.  Comments?

So many projects......

 Sharpes Ferry Bridge

oil on canvas

36x36

I'm delivering this painting to the Marion County Museum of History today. The museum is getting revamped and will be opening again soon. I'm happy to be included in the first art display.

 I included this close up so I could show you the peeling paint. Do you see to the right of the number 2 where it looks like the paint is curled completely back to show the white underneath? I actually attached 2 small pieces of canvas to the canvas so those 2 bits of paint would literally curl away from the surface. I thought it would be fun to have that little touch of added dimension on the smooth surface. Getting this painting out again makes me want to do some more realism in oil.... so many projects..... not enough hours :)

And..... here's another little sneak peak at Sunny. He's almost done! Every inch of him is now covered with paint so I'm down to the details and cleaning up edges. I hope to be finished in the next week but you still have to wait until September to see the whole thing, unless of course you want to come see him at the studio. You can do that!

More projects.....

 This is just another sneak peak at the project to be unveiled in September. I'm getting into some detail stuff now and it's a lot of fun. I wish I could show you more.

 This is the beginning of an oil on canvas 48x36. It's part of the adoption series. I haven't quite worked out all the elements yet.

You can see the red coming through in places. I love toning my canvases red. For me it gives a certain glow to the finished work.