Blog

Artists find inspiration for artwork many places.  Sometimes an image just pops into your head and you know you have to commit it to paper in the form of a painting.  Other times you see a wonderful landscape and you want to paint but cannot take the time at that moment to paint en plein air so a photo is shot to use as a reference later.

My husband Glenn and I took a trip this past weekend to visit friends and relatives in south eastern Washington.  Our journey took us into farm country where his cousin lives and I shot a photo of the striped hillside because I was intrigued by it.  The stripes were perfect.  We also visited a small town that was clean and charming.  I photographed it for reference for a painting to be done in the future.  I love the idea of capturing this small street scene in watercolor.



Where ever we go I am on the lookout for interesting ideas for paintings.  The other day I was in the back yard and our apple tree is in full bloom with gorgeous pink blossoms.  I grabbed my camera and shot several photos of the beautiful blooms.  I am not sure what I will do with the composition of the painting I plan to do, however, I have some wonderful reference shots.

I have collected many photos of wonderful things.  Will I paint them all?  Who knows, however, when the desire to paint is strong and I can't let it go, those references will be a great tool to use as I plan my painting.

I set up two different arrangements of Fugi apples to do small paintings using the complimentary colors of red and green.  I have always enjoyed red and green together and it is my favorite of the complimentary color schemes.  I wanted the fade the apples to the back of the rows and make the main focus on the first apple in the row.  I really enjoyed painting these small studies and hope to do more small paintings in the future.  I still need to do some fine tuning of the studies and maybe tone down a little of the yellow on the apples.

I was reading an interesting post on artist Lori McNee's web site this morning.  It featured a video from YouTube of an Asian elephant doing a painting.  The fact that this elephant actually painted an elephant is amazing to me.  Not only did he paint the elephant, he also painted a flower in color! You can read Lori's article at http://www.finearttips.com/2010/01/a-painting-elephant-if-he-can-do-it-so-can-you. 

Why do I bring this up?  I often talk to people who say they can't even draw a stick man.  I believe some people are artistically inclined, born with a talent that God has bestowed upon them.  I also believe it is easier for people blessed with this talent to produce a work of art than it is for others.  However,  if your talents don't include artistic talent I think you should consider trying an art class at least once in your life.  There are often classes available through local community colleges or art schools that are reasonable in price and offer wonderful instruction.  We have an art supply store in my town that offers classes.   Even if you don't go on to produce any great works of art I think you will find it very rewarding and it will give you an appreciation for art that you may not already have.  I love glass work and took a glass blowing class that gave me a greater understanding of the process used to create the beautiful pieces I so enjoy.  I didn't go on to work with glass but am grateful that I took the class.

Make 2010 the year of discovery for yourself and step out of your comfort zone.  Who knows?  You might discover a hidden talent.  Happy creating!

We had a great vacation with several of our kids and grandkids a couple of years ago on the Satsup River in Washington State.  We played on the river, had skeet shooting contests, and lots of fun by the fire in the evenings.  On one of the days my brother Mike, son David, and nephew Chad decided to go fishing on the Wynoochee River, which wasn't far from where we were staying.  My husband Glenn and I followed the guys up to the Wynoochee and Glenn shot a photo of them as they got ready to launch for their fishing adventure. 

I have wanted to paint the event for a couple of years and finally did so.  I enjoy painting all kinds of things, however, it is fun to record family events on watercolor paper.  I had fun painting this and will gift the painting to my brother and give prints to my son and nephew.

I have a great clear glass pitcher that I use for everything.  Yesterday I set up a still life with the pitcher and some oranges.  I wanted to paint in a very limited palette, choosing blue and orange as the main colors with a little bit of yellow and burnt sienna for accent colors.  I don't usually care for blue and orange together but am pleased with the outcome of this use of the complimentary colors.

We were driving on Upriver Drive one morning and I glanced at the rock wall across from the Spokane River and was intrigued by the cracks and crevasses on the wall.  We were on our way to a specific destination and I had no time to stop, however, a few days later I went back to shoot some photos for a reference for an abstract painting.

I had a wonderful time doing this painting.  I plan to do a small series of paintings using the rocks as inspiration in the near future.