Summer Reading

Summer Reading

20" X 16"

Original Oil

As I said at the beginning of this painting, I wanted to create a new story. This painting focuses more on what you do with beach umbrellas than just their colors and placement in sand.

I've always found reading during the summer engrossing. It is a time of year when we can grab a book and take it outside, and if one can read it on a beach with the soft sound of waves lapping the shore, perfect. 

More with umbrellas

Now that all the umbrellas' colors are in place, I feel good about my choices. The bright lime green in the foremost umbrella gives a nod to the background green umbrella. And like I was hoping, the yellow/orange umbrella brightens up the painting.

Below is the start of working with what is underneath the umbrellas.

Colors!

One of the things I really like about painting beach umbrellas are their bright colors.

In this piece, which will have dominant blues and greens, I knew a fun yellow would be important. Seeing a different orangey/rose to deep red umbrella in one of my reference photos, I thought switching it to yellow and oranges would work. I placed this umbrella in the mid-distance to play off the two foreground ones and bring attention to the distant rainbow umbrella to its right.

The green umbrella to the yellow umbrella's left will tie in nicely to the foreground umbrellas. I spent some time mixing the greens because I wanted them bright but not so bright to distract from the two dominant umbrellas.

The blue/teal/stripe umbrella is definitely the most complicated beach umbrella I have painted so far.

My usual palette is a 12" X 16" disposable one. Once I had the sky, water, sand, and sand dune painted, the palette was mostly covered with mid-tone natural colors. I decided to grab one of my smaller disposable palettes, a 9" X 12 so I could build the bright umbrella colors. Surely this size would be plenty large enough for a few umbrellas. Well, take a look!

Same subject, new story

In these times with art shows going virtual, a gallery sale for many artists is to be treasured. Well, any sale can make an artist's day.
I've painted two beach umbrella pieces for a gallery on the east coast. Last year's piece sold on opening night of my group show. This year's piece just sold 2 weeks before the opening.
Obviously, the gallery would like another beach umbrella piece ... now. For a "new" painting, I could just change a couple of scenery elements and change the color of a few umbrellas and call it "good." But, I wouldn't be telling a new story.

I'd rather run the risk of not selling than "selling out." I want all my collectors to have a unique piece and I don't want to cheat myself. How will I grow as an artist if I essentially paint the same painting?

However, there is no reason why I can't paint the same subject with a new story. I don't know if the new story will resonate with any collector, but isn't that the chance we take with any painting?

Summer Bouquet, 2019

 Stripes and Solids, 2020


I've decided to make this new piece vertical.

Fortunately, I am really enjoying using these bright colors. My palette has been greatly expanded with Michael Harding's handmade oil paints. I have been able to achieve new, more vivid colors.
Some of them may continue to translate into interesting color explorations in my wildlife pieces.

 

The Song

The Song

16" X 12"

Original Oil 

The colors look a bit different from my works in progress. Today the painting is dry enough to place on my flatbed scanner which gives more accurate colors than quick photos on my cell phone.

I couldn't think of a title until the very end. Yellow-headed blackbird...... cattails..... singing bird......

Ah,

The Song. 

Painting Continued

The whole painting was lightened by adding the "white" of the cottony heads of the seed pods.

This painting was all about the bird but I learned that indigenous peoples of North America, Europe and Asia used all parts of the cattails. The shoots and other sections were cooked and eaten, the leaves used for furniture and baskets, the cottony inside for insulation and bedding, and even the pollen was collected and used as flour.

And I was just thinking the cattails made a handy perch for a bird.

Starting on the yellow-headed blackbird

Close to Home

In early May, I drove to Williams Lake just outside Turnbull Wildlife Refuge. The drive is only a little over an hour from my home.
While Turnbull is pretty wild boasting moose, elk, porcupine, pelicans, numerous ducks, and nesting trumpeter swans, Williams Lake is prime fishing ground. Most COVID-19 recreational fishing restrictions had been lifted and the boat launch was a busy place. Just to the right of the boat launch is a large section of cattails.

Yellow-headed blackbirds were flitting in and among the cattails, singing. The inspiration for my next painting.