Vintage Marbles

Vintage Marbles

Oil on Masonite Panel  6X6

Time to get back to painting.  It seems that since the holidays, there has been a steady (but VERY welcome) stream of house guests!  Now I need to put painting time back into my regular schedule.  I have plenty of new art supplies to keep me busy.  I stocked up on canvas of all sizes and lots of masonite panels- along with a good supply of watercolor paper.  No excuses.

The painting above is a small part of the jar of marbles my mom has from her childhood.  It is times like this that I am so happy that my grandparents had a basement AND the desire to keep so many of these little treasures from long ago!

Painting Roadside Americana- Vintage Neon

Shell Beach Inn   8X10 Oil on Masonite

I haven't been getting a lot of painting time in lately, and have been painting in spurts instead.  I am trying to alternate between oils and watercolors when I do have time.  This week is an oil painting week.  I just got a great package of  art supplies in the mail- including a stack of masonite panels.  I love to paint on masonite since the paint just glides over the surface and it makes it easier to get those fine details.  Canvas is great, but the texture can make it tough to paint the smaller details.

I am not sure when it happened, but most of the great neon signs that we used to see along the roadside are just gone.  I have become a bit obsessed with these retro neon signs and take photos of them whenever I do see them.  They are my kind of painting subject- full of great detail and history.  Sometimes, the more beat up they look, the better.  This one is great looking, and far from worn out- maybe it isn't even that old.  Don't care- love the look.  

The Shell Beach Inn is in beautiful Pismo Beach, California.  I have not stayed there, but love the sign. We spent Fourth of July in Pismo and had a great time so this seemed like a good place to start painting my set of neon signs!  I apologize for the image quality here, the painting is too wet to scan yet, and this is just a photo.  Will post the scan soon!  

17- Mile Drive, Pebble Beach Oil on Canvas

17- Mile Drive    Oil on Canvas 15X30

I finished this painting a while ago and I'm just getting it posted.  The view along 17- Mile Drive is absolutely beautiful, and we have been there many times.  Last time we were there, I took lots of photos to use as reference photos.  The photo I used for this painting was actually four separate photos that I merged together to get this panoramic view.

100 Paintings Challenge #32, #33

 oil on canvas 5X7"

Oil on masonite 5X7"

These are the last two paintings I posted for the 100 Paintings Challenge.  Every time I am ready to post, I get stressed out.  The blog suggests that you stick with one medium instead of trying to "master" more than one.  When I started the challenge, I had intended to just use my watercolors.  I have been taking some time with the oils also, and when I paint with oils for a few weeks, I don't have new watercolors to post.  Why waste the oils and not count them?  They are still paintings that I am painting, and learning from.  Many/most of the main ideas of painting are shared between mediums such as perspective, value, shadows, etc.

Well, as you can see, I did decide not to discount the oils I have been doing since they are definitely learning experiences.  Some of the other participants have included sketches, pen and ink, acrylic, and watercolor- so why not oils and watercolor?  Why must I over think everything, anyway?

Now that I have had my morning stress, time to enjoy my coffee and crossword puzzle!

Cherries Painting- Oils on Masonite

Finally got a good photo (actually a scan) of the finished cherries. I had a lot of trouble since the finish is reflective and I kept getting glare with my photos even with the flash off. So much for taking a quick photo to post! Fortunately, my scanner has a professional mode and definitely gave me a perfect image. There isn't much difference in the two photos, I just put some final touches on the glass to give it more of a shine- but it was definitely worth it!

Thank you for visiting and for any (much welcomed) comments-

Sheryl

Another Still Life- Cherries!

I am finishing up the still lifes and other small oil paintings I started last week. They are a great way for me to have fun while working on my skills with reflections, light and shadow, etc. My favorite part is at the end when I add things like water drops and highlights. The champagne/sorbet glass with cherries is almost done. Need to wait for the paint to dry so I can add a little shine to the side of the glass. I will post it when it is done- I will wait a day to be sure I don't end up ruining the under layer of cherries. I painted the single cherry on a 4X4 canvas and the glass of cherries is on 5X7 gessoed masonite.

Thanks for visiting and thanks in advance for your comments!

Sheryl

Seashell Trio- oils on canvas

I am finishing, one at a time, the oil paintings that I started earlier this week. Sometimes I find I get more done by starting a batch of paintings at once. If I prime multiple canvases, they are then ready to go and easy to start. No excuses. Painting on these small canvases is so fun, too!

The dark still life starts out on a canvas covered in dark (usually black) acrylic paint. It is faster and uses less of my more expensive oil paint. Then, I can mix my darks for the background- usually alizarin crimson, burnt umber, and ultramarine blue. For the beach/sand paintings, I usually start with a raw sienna mix. Then come the grains of sand, then the shells and beach glass. Some of my shells and fruits (cherries, pomegranates, etc.) get a pure black background to make them really stand out.

Time to go paint- I have more than a few paintings waiting in my studio!

Thanks for visiting-

Sheryl

"An artist is somebody who produces things that people don't need to have." - Andy Warhol

These little 2X2" mini canvases make fun painting projects. Sometimes they are a good way to get my painting ideas flowing. You don't need to come up with any big concept for them, just something simple- a great way to not take painting too seriously! They even come with their own easel to display the painting. Sometimes, I like to paint something on them in small scale that I have done in larger scale already- just to change things up a bit.

Now that I have a few done, and plan to do more, I will start to list them in my Etsy shop.

Thanks for looking!

Sheryl

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." Pablo Picasso

I am having one of those weeks where everything goes right! This is starting to make up for that last week that went exactly the opposite way. I have gotten lots of painting done and that, in itself, makes for a perfect week. I am counting from the middle of last week when things started to turn around. I was soldering charms and couldn't seem to get anything right- after I got them all in the mail to their new owners, things started to go my way. I started on a group of canvases (mostly 4X4", a few 2X2", and a couple others). I like to put the base coat on a bunch at one time, so they are ready to go when I decide what to paint on them. I usually put the base coat/ background on in acrylic so it is dry and ready faster than if I use oils. In this case, I was planning some still life paintings with dark backgrounds- my favorite. When I really want to paint a serious still life, I start with gessoed masonite- these were for fun, and on canvas. When one painting is too wet to work on, I go to another- working on a group of paintings seems to work for me, and my attention span. Anyway, here are a few from my latest batch. I will be listing these on Etsy now, and then it is watercolor time again!

Thanks for looking!

Sheryl

This week in my studio....

I spent all week soldering charms to fill Etsy orders. I really do enjoy soldering the charms, but sometimes when I am in a rush to get the orders filled, I get a little crazy. The orders got filled and sent out, and this week is for painting. I work better when I can focus on one medium at a time and that means one mess at a time! Art is not neat and tidy - at least not in my world. It just doesn't work well when I have soldering to do, but also want to work on paintings. They both require lots of supplies and different types of work areas. I got my soldering things put away last night and my work area is already littered with paint tubes, canvases, dirty brushes, etc. At least now I can focus on oil painting for a day or two. I am working on a variety of canvas sizes- mainly one of my favorites- 4X4". I am concentrating on still life paintings for the most part (this week, anyway). Then, it will be on to the unfinished watercolors that are waiting a few feet away. Looks like this will be a fun painting week!

Thanks for looking!

Sheryl

Watercolors in Progress

Making progress, need to deepen the tones and add lots of detail (my favorite part of a painting)

My half finished oil painting

I have made a little progress on the watercolors I posted Wednesday. I spent yesterday working on an oil painting from one of my garden photos. I actually prefer to work on my watercolors until I finish, but sometimes they don't work out that way!

Check back, and hopefully soon I will have the finished photos!