Eggs, Linen & Glass: Finished At Last!

Yes, it's true, I'm finally calling it done--not sure that I can't improve upon it, but at this point, I don't care. I simply can't look at it a moment longer. I think the lace was probably more of a challenge than the glass--lace has fewer hard edges and requires more blending. I could have done more, but Todd was constantly over my shoulder saying "Don't overwork it!" As if!

Okay, I did overwork it a tad, but I'm pleased with the results. It is 8" x 10" and I now need a stronger pair of readers...

...so...I've got an idea for my next project...something highly reflective, small and sentimental...but I have to wait for some bright sunlight before I can start it, and in Michigan, well, that could take a while...

Eggs, Linen & Glass: Not Quite Done...

I know I said I wasn't going to post again until I finished, but all the finer details in the cloth and lace--let alone the glass--is taking longer than I wanted it to. Therefore, I'm posting this just to show that I am progressing...

I also noticed that I needed to darken the tone in places, so, overall it looks a bit darker. Then once I'm happy with the tone, I can add the white glaze where I want to brighten it...

...and then there are all those hardline edges I need to add for the finishing touches!

Eggs, Linen & Glass: Step 7

I feel the need to post something... Again, it may not look like much, but I workded on the lace, which is as painstaking as the cut glass. Just so it's not the same ol'-same ol', here's the photo, too. I won't post again till it's done. Hopefully that won't take too long...

Eggs, Linen & Glass: Step 6

Okay, I'm just posting this so I can see that I have progressed...besides, I never pomised this would be exciting...

Eggs, Linen & Glass: Step 5

I started out slow today, but once I got going on the eggs again, I found it oddly soothing. I must remember that for when I start feeling anxious; Paint Eggs.

Speaking of painting eggs—I can't remember if these where white eggs or brown, but I'm thinking white. This made for an interesting observation this late afternoon when the sinking sun crept in the window behind me, illuminating the photo from which I'm working. It highlighted and exaggerated the different hues of the eggshell. Ultramarine, crimson, ochre—colors you would never expect, right? (Okay, I did have a hunch they were hiding there). When the sun disappeared, the colors again subdued, but I like the color in the eggs so much better. Perhaps I’m getting creative with my painting and not so rigid…

I'll bet you wish you knew what the photograph looked like!

Eggs, Glass & Linen: Progress

Not much progress, but I want to provide proof that I have been working on it--and more than just that lace loopy thing on the side...

Eggs, Linen & Glass: Step 3

Even though I've done a painting similar to this one, it was so long ago that I don't remember exactly how I approached all those facets of glass. This one is a little larger, and good thing!My eyes are that much worse these days (go figure). As I go along, I'm finding that the best approach is not to focus on one area for too long, and keep reminding myself that it always takes shape in time.

Eggs, Linen & Glass: The Wash

Well, most of it is 'washed', however I couldn't really 'wash' the cut glass. All those facets--well, each one is its own peculiar shade of gray and umber. At least you can gather the color scheme.

This will be more of a study in texture rather than color, and an exploration of backlight and reflection. It will be tricky going--I may even need to don the magnifying goggles, but I shall prevail!

Finally, A New Project

...yes, it's true, I'm undertaking another watercolor, but this is no ordinary painting; it may quite likely be the painting that drives me to the brink of insanity! (Yes I know that's not a far drive from where I'm at.)

I know it's probably hard to tell what it will look like from all those teensey-weensey lines, but if you've been to my Website, it may look familiar. It is, in fact, a variation on a theme I worked up several years ago, and I can tell you that it tested my wits even then (back when I had a few more wits about me). I posted something about that a long while ago, and even now I can't believe I'm considering this project (okay, I'm more than considering it, 'cause I've done the drawing and posted it).

I can't gaurantee that this will be a happy ride for observers, but I'm going to try hard not to whine about it. I can't promise I will finish it in a timely manner, but I may post more stages, just to provide evidence that I'm still working on it...

The finished painting will be 8 x 10 inches, and in case you're wondering, it is titled Eggs, Linen & Glass.

Window on Eggemoggin: Done

One of the details I really like on this is the hook at the bottom.

Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to paint next...

Slow Progress

This is the labor intensive part where it probably doesn’t look as if I’ve made much progress…

...and yes, I did intensify the orange...


I don't think I'll post again until it's done...I think you get the idea...

The Photograph

I think it’s time to display the original photo from which I’m working. You may notice that I’ve altered the composition just a bit—the perspective and placement. One of the advantages of painting, as opposed to shooting a photograph, is that I’m not confined to any particular angle and don’t have to worry about showing up in reflected glass.

By the time I’m done, all the shingles will receive the same attention as the shakes at the top.

Thanks again to photographer Doug Wood for allowing me to place his copyrighted image on my blog!

Every Single Shingle

You might think that painting old, worn cedar shakes might be less intense than painting a cobalt pitcher—I know I did—but the more I work on this the more I realize how much detail is in each shingle. Granted, it’s not the same kind of intense, because there’s a lot more leeway in representing wood.

I know that the traditional watercolorist probably wouldn’t insist on all that detail, but what can I say? I’ve never claimed to be a traditionalist…

…and, by the way, this painting is 6” x 10”

Giving It a Wash

Thought I’d better post this before I get too carried away.

I thought I was done with the gradations of color on the windowpanes, but decided to add a little glaze (you probably can’t even tell…). Then, I gave the shingles a grayish wash, and next, I’ll jump around, painting individual shakes, building up the detail as I go.

Window on Eggemoggin

Here are the beginnings of a new painting. I’m working from an image by photographer Douglas Wood, who shoots some beautiful scenes of Maine*. So much of his work captures the world of my novel, Story for a Shipwright, and I do so love reflections on glass…don't know how well I'll capture it here, (it remains to be seen if this makes a far better photographic image than watercolor interpretation). It will be a less intense work than my previous two paintings, which is a nice reprieve.

After transferring the sketch onto watercolor paper (I don’t sketch it out on the actual paper, which does not like erasures), I mask the boundaries with tape.

Since I want the reflected sky evenly gradated, I use masking fluid (brush on latex, that really messes up the brush) to keep the muntins free from paint.










Essentially, the sky is done. The reflected foreground will receive added detail.







*Seriously, you should check out his Website. He even has some evocative black and white shots of a workshop--makes me think of my novel, again.

WhooHoo! Finished Another!

Okay, this is a pretty big deal for me—I actually finished it in just a few sittings. And, I enjoyed doing it! One thing I don't like is how conspicuous my signature looks. I need to find a more discrete way to sign small paintings; makes me want to wipe it out and do it in a muted color, but I already took the masking tape off (which leaves a sticky film if it's been there for over a year). Oh well, not tonight.

Here’s something even more exciting. I actually have another project in mind. Something brand new and completely different…stay tuned for the entire process…

Comparison

A little more progress,

and the photograph…

The background is a little blurry, and I'm still in the process of deciding if I'll bring it into focus or go with what's there. Guess I should have used a different F-stop...Oh well.

Another Painting in Progress

Time to post another watercolor in progress. This was originally one of my first posts, a second painting in a pair, (the first one has been done for years). I decided to work on something so similar because it had been a long while since I painted at all, and the portrait was freaking me out. Give me some hard lines of a still life—that ought to be easier, I thought. But for whatever reason, I found it immensely tedious and quit. After all, I had a novel begging my attention.

After the size of my last painting, (several times larger than I usually work), this now feels quite manageable at 6”x 6”, less than a quater the size. I’m even having moments when I find myself enjoying it. Besides, it will help me stay distracted while I send out queries for my novel, Story for a Shipwright.

 Here's where I left off:

Once I really get going on it, I'll post the photograph from which I'm working. (It's the writer in me—I don't want to give away the ending too soon!)

Fried Synapses

I love—used to love—painting glass. This project may have cured me of that obsession. It is only 9 ½” x 7”, the typically small size I like—used to like—to work with. All those little facets of cut glass seemed like a good idea when I chose that bowl from among my Grandma Bee’s treasures. It is not the last painting I completed, but I think the intensity of it shorted out some of my creative synapses.

It's called Amber & Cut Glass