Lily Pad Pool

A few years ago I had the opportunity to do something amazing, so amazing that I can hardly believe it was real.

Along with four friends, I stepped off a plane, loaded into a van, and headed into the mountains of Indonesia for a week and half in the villages there.

This huge stone basin with the blue sky reflected in the water and lily pads spreading across its surface was one of the first things I saw as I got out of the van for the first time. We had stopped for lunch at an open-air pavilion that overlooked the greenest greens I'd ever seen. 

My weekly-ish art challenge was "Water Contained."  I thought about water in a vase or a glass... Water in a swimming pool or puddle... Water in a goldfish bowl or fish tank... Then I remembered this giant pool of water lilies. Even if no one else could ever quite figure out what it was a painting of, I knew this would be my "Water Contained" painting. 

Original Oil Painting Done with Palette Knife on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas.

Click Lily Pad Pool if you'd like to purchase this painting.

Peace Like a River II

If you were in a rowboat floating down this stream, would you want to reach down and glide your fingers across the water?

I would.

If you stood in front of this painting on the wall, would you want to reach out and stroke your fingers across the canvas? 

I would.

If you like the way this image makes you feel, wouldn't you want to know how it feels? 

I would.

I'm so drawn to palette knife paintings both on a visual and a tactile level.  I love the looseness of the strokes and the texture of the painted surface.  

Style fascinates me.  Do we choose our style? Or, is it just what comes naturally?  Can we change our style? Should we even try? How would I describe my style? How would others describe it?

I struggle with being painterly with a brush.  I know that.  I start a new painting and be determined to be looser, have softer edges, use more muted colors... Then I get going and slip right back into my own style.  That's okay.  I like bright colors and close likenesses.

But, with a palette knife... Ahhh... there's a freedom... a freedom to give an impression, to create a mood, to veer from the reference photo.

When I began to experiment with using a palette knife, I turned to YouTube tutorials.  One of the first I tried was this same image. In that first attempt, it was awkward and frustrating, and I'm pretty sure I want back over it with a brush to "touch it up" and "finish it."

Sara's inspiration image photograph, Pondering, from this month's Inspiration Collaboration challenge made me want to revisit this lily pond.

I am going to enjoy it on my wall so much.  And, I'm probably going to run my fingers across it's textured surface often.  One day I'll get notification that someone has purchased it.  I'll be so happy for the person who wants it... and a little sad to wrap it up and see it go.

Palette Knife Oil Painting on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]

(Almost) Surreal Water Lily Pond

As I looked at this big painting on my wall, I struggled to find a title for it.  I kept thinking, "It's huge... It's pretty, maybe too pretty... It's surreal..."  Then I wondered if I even knew exactly what surreal meant.  The dictionary tells me "...elements in it are combined in a strange way that you would not normally expect, like in a dream."  Okay... It's over-sized and over-pretty and over-pink... Perhaps a fairy will pop out of that yellow center when I'm not looking. It would make a very pleasant setting for a dream. So, yeah, I decided it was surreal. 
But, then I looked up images of surreal paintings and realized that I might need to put a light bulb on one of the lily pads or a couch in the background or maybe a human figure in place of a petal... yikes!  

Here's a picture of my work space during our painting weekend at Welcome Home Retreat. I keep a fairly organized work space when I paint, but I do tend to fill the space I'm given no matter how big it is. 😊


Thanks to Kevin for being our online  teacher for this painting.

Oil Painting on 18"x 24" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD]

Peace Like a River

Mmmmm....
Hhhhhhh....
This painting just makes me take a deep yoga-breath inhale then let it out with a sigh and a smile.

My painting friend Julie and I have been trying to become more proficient using a palette knife, so we turned to YouTube. (You can learn just about anything on YouTube!)

The frustration  beauty of applying paint on canvas with a palette knife is that if forces allows you to make loose strokes.  It totally cramped my style actually gave me such a feeling of freedom.
Ha ha... I guess you can see I endured enjoyed the process. 
Learning at any age is just hard. 
In the end... I really did love not only the process, but I really do love the final product.  

When I look at this painting, I hear the song that I use to calm myself whenever I'm heading into a difficult situation or am feeling stressed.  It's the perfect song for me as I am extremely lyrically challenged (I made that up, but it means I cannot remember lyrics to songs to save my life.)

     I've got peace like a river.
     I've got peace like a river.
     I've got peace like a river.
     I've got peace like a river in my soul.

Original Oil Painting on 12"x 16" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD]

Water Lily

What can you teach us about your painting style?

I follow a challenge blog called Paint and Draw Together. Each month she posts a new reference photo and invites artists to... well... paint and draw together... and occasionally I participate in her challenges.  I love seeing the varied artists' styles.  Every painting exactly the same... yet every painting is completely different.

This month marked the 50th challenge. (Congratulations to Lela and to every artist who's contributed!) She asked artists to not only submit the image of their final product, but to share photos taken throughout the process.  I loved the image, and I love sharing about the process of painting that I find so fascinating.  So, of course, I chose to participate!  

Picture 1

After drawing in the main lines, (as I've gladly admitted before, yes, I cheat with a sheet of carbon paper) I blocked in the main colors

Picture 2

Next I tried to add a little life to the big flat surfaces of color.  Some yellows and purples livened up the leaves. I added all kinds of streaks paint from colors left over on my palette to the vines... hoping they'd start looking right... they didn't.

Picture 3

After the bold background colors dried a day or two, it was time to block in the flower.  I planned to use alizarin red and white, but I used diaxozine purple for the shaded areas.  It seems to work best for me if get those areas in first and darker than I know they should be.  


Picture 4

* Blend with new white... the petals look like mud...

* Add the middle... the yellows and oranges smear...

* Experiment again with those vines... what a mess...

* Try to make the spots look intentional instead of like I dropped dark paint blobs on the leaves...add some yellowish greens and purple-greens around the leaf holes.... hmmm...

* And this is the point where it happens... It always happens... It's the ugly stage... I wonder if I should give up, if I have the right to call myself an artist, if this one just isn't meant to be...

Then with fresh eyes and one more try, it comes together.  Although it's happened dozens and dozens of times, I'm always surprised... and I smile then sign my name in the bottom corner.

 Original Oil Painting on 6"x 8" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD]