MORE FLOWERS?

Yep, more flowers. This time its Zinnia. My wife plants a bunch of zinnia in front of our home each spring and by June they fill in and look amazing.  A sea of color...anyway, I'm not sure why I'm painting flowers a the moment, but its been more fun than expected. Here are some process pics of this painting.

this last pic is a little washed out... in it's frame it looks pretty good!...well, at least better than the pic!

Holly hocks finished

I took a few pictures of some holly hocks that were growing close to my home last summer.
They were amazingly beautiful.  I actually saw them for the first time while I was passing them in my car, and I made mental note to come back and take some photos.  I don't usually paint flowers, and I've been trying to paint more from life, but these flowers just needed to be painted.

Chuck Taylors progress pics

Started another small 8X10 painting.

Here I am trying to sketch things out and blocking in some value.

...and this is as far as I got with the time I had on the first night.

Here is where I got last night...hope I can keep going and still make it better. I would like to loosen it up a bit, maybe try to add some subtle color into this. We'll see.

This is how it turned out. I'm pretty happy with a few aspects of this painting...just need to keep working and I'll get better. I have a friend that used to say, you can't even call yourself a painter until you've painted 100+ pieces.  I may still have a ways to go, but I'll get there.

Finished, Framed, and SOLD!

Tangerine SOLD

Here is how this one turned out. I was surprised to see that this one sold for the highest price at the dinner/art auction fund raising event the other night (highest out of my four paintings that is). Congrats to the new owners, you bought one of my first paintings from my "restart" in 2016. Thanks!! I hope you enjoy it for many years to come.

salt and pepper process

 here are a few pictures of the stages of this painting. I've been trying to loosen up...but it's still a struggle. There were moments while painting this that I felt I was making some progress, but the more I work on something, the more I tighten up.  Can't seem to paint thick and loose.  Maybe in time.

gift for my daughter

"Fall's first color" is a painting of maple mountain which is located just a little south of my home.
I tried to loosen up on this a little and I'm somewhat happy with the results...I hope my girl will like it when she sees it. It definitely has a Utah mountains feel to it, so that should make her happy.

Finished Pepper

5x7 oil on masonite. quick little study of a anaheim pepper. I'm pretty happy with the way this one came out. I tried to leave some brush strokes...I'll get there maybe.

"Baseball"

8X10 Oil on Masonite.
If you have interest in buying this painting you can click on the auction link below.

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/331781827056?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

I've had this glove for almost 30 years...it's an old Rawlings with Willie Stargell's signature on the inside. If you know your baseball, that'll tell you how old it is.  It's so "broke in" I used to call it the rag.  I used to use it as my softball glove and have never been able to let it go.

Pepper

Here is the start of a simple little pepper. 5X7 oil. It's fun to paint these little guys. Just what I need to hopefully build my confidence while I learn/remember what I'm trying to do here.

Art Auction

It's been a while since I've tried to sell any of my work. A neighbor of mine has asked me to participate in a dinner/art auction fund raiser for her non profit nowIcan foundation. This piece, "Strawberry Jam" will be auctioned off this week, then the dinner will be Feb 9th and I'll have 3 more works available for auction that night. Should be fun.

Progress on my Tangelo

Here is a progress shot of my little 8X10 tangelo painting. I know this is rather simple, but this little painting represents some real breakthroughs for me.  This has been really fun to paint and I have managed to keep it much looser than my normal paintings. My goal is to paint realism, but still have it look painterly.  This is hard for me with my illustrator background. I tend to want things smooth and clean, which somehow takes the life out of a painting for me.  I'll keep pushing...wish me luck.

Another Start

I've started another little painting.  This one is a tangello. Here is a progress shot.  I'm trying to use bigger brushes, stay a little looser and vary my edges a bit.  We'll see if I can do it.

Here are some paintings in frames. It's amazing what a frame can do to make a painting look better/different.  I still need to varnish these so they may look a little better when I'm done.

First 3 DONE!

It's kind of fun to look at my first 3 paintings together. I'm not happy with everything about these.. (that's the hard part about being an artist, nothing I do is ever good enough) What I am happy with is the fact that I'm painting again and having fun trying to improve. I can do better, I"m sure of that.  Let's see what Feb '2016 brings.

idea

Most daily painters have painted an orange or tangerine at least once. So this isn't anything too original, but I was thinking I could step back and paint something a bit more simple and try to push  color and brushwork a little. This was a sketch out of my mind while thinking along those lines.
Not sure if anyone comes here anymore, but check back soon to see how this one progresses.

Progress

I'm happy with the progress on this painting. I don't know if I'm learning or remembering how to paint, but it seems to be getting a little easier....at least on this painting.

another start.

Here is the very beginning of another painting. These are some beach rocks gathered up by a neighbor of mine.  She has several of these buckets on her porch and when I saw them I thought they might make a cool painting...we'll see.

calling this one done.

This painting had a few moments of fun. Every time I paint now, I wish I would have continued painting and not let life get in the way so that I could draw on that experience now. "If wishes were fishes...." Can't look back now, just need to keep moving forward.

last progress post

Thought I'd post one more progress post. I thought I'd finish this over the weekend, but this was as far as I got.  Almost there, slow progress.

progress

got in a little more time in on this last night.  Kind of just sloppy block in of rough color, but I was having fun doing it and I felt like I was getting in some what of a groove not worrying about much except just covering the canvas, now the fun will start.

new painting for the new year

I started a new painting a couple days ago. Here it is about an hour into it. I'm not sure when the timid stage will go away, but it is amazing how hard it is for me to start something new.  Hopefully this one will come together.  2016 needs to be a year of painting. I need to get back what I've lost and continue to improve from there. Comments welcomed!

baby steps...almost done

I got in a little more time on this one last night.  Kind of embarrassing how many days I've been painting on this little piece, but if you only get 1/2 hour to an hour of time each session, then it'll take a while I guess. Trick is to keep on painting when I can.
Here is an update.

more progress

Not much time to paint last night...but I got about an hour in and every little bit of painting helps!
I'm starting to think, just paint every day no matter how long. Even a half hour can be productive.
So with that in mind, here is a shot of where I ended last night.

Work In Progress

I'm not sure if anyone ever stops by this blog anymore, but after 10 years of focusing on other things, I have not been able to let go of the "need" to learn to be a better oil painter. As proof that I am again entering the fight, here is a work in progress.  Loose and rather timid, but oil on a board is progress.
I hope to have more updates and progress soon, so if you want to watch the progress, please check back. Any words of encouragement would be warmly welcomed!

I'm still alive...

I'm still alive...
and I'm going to try to start posting here again!

I've always wanted to be a real painter, but have had a hard time in the past deciding what to paint.
I try this subject and then that subject, always with this underlying need/pressure to find my voice as a painter. I feel like I have made a little progress in the past, improving at painting, but when I don't get the results I see in my head, I get frustrated and stop painting.  Sometimes for years. I'm lucky that I get some creative fulfillment at my 9-5 job, but still the desire to become a competent oil painter is always there nagging at me.  So I'm picking up my brushes once more.  I feel like I'm starting from the very beginning. If there is anyone out there that reads this, please wish me luck...and stop back to view my failures and hopefully some successes as well.  I have set goals...

"Iron"

SOLD

here is my painting from this weekend. This one is 8X10 and took more than one sitting. I'm fairly happy with the results...I feel like I'm making some progress in my effort to remember how to paint.

"brushes in blue glass"

SOLD

These old blue glass mason jars are fun to paint. I haven't painted much glass before, it was fun, but I hope to get some better results next time.

I've got a SUPER FAN!

I just got a photo from a "super fan" who has bought a bunch of my paintings. She has just got them all framed and wanted me to see. Wow! This painting a day thing is sooo fun. Thank you so much for letting me see, it's very rewarding and also motivating.

I also got an email from another very nice lady who has bought a couple of my paintings. It's probably the single nicest letter I've ever received reguarding anything I've ever created...illustration or painting. Here is an excerpt I'll share.

"Oh Lael! I just received the painting and am completely blown away! It is absolutely gorgeous!! I bought it to hang in my home as a tribute to my dad who is a talented carpenter....
Anyway, I can't really describe in words what the painting of the planer means to me...it is truly a masterpiece. I just wanted you to know that you are amazingly talented and I am honored to own your work. Thank you so much."

No, thank you so much...really it's things like this picture and note that keep us "unknown" artists wanting to paint and create. Thank you both so much!

"Rusty Spur"

9X7 oil on masonite. You can bid by clicking here


I've haven't had the chance to paint for a while now, and this weekend I "stole" a few hours for myself and had fun painting this old spur. I hope you like it.

"Ball and Glove" finished

10x8 oil painting on masonite board

You can bid on this painting by clicking here.

SOLD



It's amazing what just an extra hour on something can do. I put in just a little more time on this painting tonight and am glad I did. I've been making a real effort to keep things "loose"...but for me there is a real fine live between loose and too loose. I think I tightened up on this just enough. Hope ya like it.

"Ball and Glove"

It sure feels good to be painting again after a few days off...had to take advantage of the nice weather this weekend and do a bunch of stuff around the house and yard. This piece marks another mini milestone...one month! This is the piece I painted tonight. I'll call it a work in progress, because I still want to add a little more detail...but I like the way it's comming. Had a lot of fun painting this old glove...it's been around a while! The signiture on the inside is Willie Stargell!

"Mending Time"

9X7 oil on masonite board.
You can bid on this painting here.

SOLD


Here is last night's effort...a pair of my Grandma's sewing scizzors. They are very new looking, but I'm told my Grandma won them by winning a sewing contest in middle school. That would make them about 80 years old! This painting was really fun to paint. I'm happy with the way it turned out. I hope you like it too.

"California"

It's funny how certian things can bring back floods of memories. For me, black California license plates bring back so many memories from "the good ol days"... and of course sun and cool cars!