Red and Green

Red and Green, 8 x 6

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As cold and bare and brown as it is here, I thought I'd deviate a little and post a bit of Spring green with a little red thrown in for Christmas. A family member (who shall remain nameless) shared that this barn could perhaps be all red, rather than just the side........but, I replied, it really does have just a red side. Sometimes you run out of paint, sometimes you use what you have, sometimes you want the barn to be red on one side. Applies equally well to painters or those who build barns. Here's to a little or a lot of color in your holidays. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all. :)

-julie davis

Mt. Bonnell Cedars

Mt. Bonnell Cedars, 8 x 10

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"The Allergens" or "Cedar Fever" were two other names I considered for this piece, but I didn't have the heart to prematurely condemn it through the eyes of so many Central Texans who might read this blog. So, I gave it a dull name based on where the scene actually is....atop Mt. Bonnell in Austin. Lake Austin flows behind and far below these cedars. This is a slightly larger version of "Roadside Cedar Trees" (couldn't go with the names then, either). Merry Christmas Eve.

-julie davis

Cold December Morning

Cold December Morning, 8 x 10

sold

My husband and I took a day trip out to the Hill Country on Friday, and I was able to take some photos here and there. Barns are impossible to pass up, especially those that have been around awhile. Add that to the delicious color of the grasses in the winter, and my bare branch phase right now, and I had a pretty fun composition. This barn was between Johnson City and Fredericksburg.

-julie davis

Losing It

Losing It, 6 x 6

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I'm still exploring bare branches, and am determined to find time all week to at least paint for an hour a day. I'm up to 192 paintings including this one since I started the blog last February 28 (some never made the blog, but were done nonetheless). My goal is to hit 200 by the end of 2009--11 days, 8 paintings to go. Think I can make it!

-julie davis

November On Red Bud Isle

November On Red Bud Isle, 6 x 6

sold

I revisited a subject from November when Laurel and I went out to Red Bud Isle to paint. The fall color was amazing for Austin, and when I saw the painting I'd done indoors, I laughed at how vibrant the colors were (it was a bright day). I toned them down in this one--hopefully a bit more reflective of what was there.

-julie davis

Mesquite Bouquet

Mesquite Bouquet, 6 x 6

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Anyone who has spent much time in West Texas can easily spot a mesquite tree--they're quite common and are usually small and often found in groups, thus the name here.

I find I'm in a tree phase again, and these 6 x 6 panels are a nice size for a study of one tree, one subject, but I'm itching for several hours to do something larger. December madness dictates otherwise, I guess.

-julie davis

Intersection

Intersection, 6 x 6

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Trees can look so indecisive for a brief period in early winter, when some branches have foliage and others do not. This one was no exception. I'd like to explore painting bare branches on a larger canvas this winter -- it's a challenge to keep them looking elegant. Laurel Daniel painted a tree in this "transition" recently. It's beautiful. Check it out.

-julie davis

Neighbors

Neighbors, 6 x 6

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Some cedars from nearby Mt. Bonnell. The rocks define the trail area in this spot. I find it interesting that two trees of the same variety (and especially one as unvaried as the cedars here) growing right next to one another can still have a slight variation in coloration in the light.

-julie davis

Roadside Cedar Trees

Roadside Cedar Trees, 6 x 6

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Cedars don't have the best reputation around Austin due to their ability to make some of us miserable with allergies this time of year. As trees, however, I find them fun to paint. They have an elfish quality, the little branches reaching upward like pointed ears. And that fits right in to the Christmas theme, so how about that for a timely post?

-julie davis

*I've taken the "click here to purchase" button off the pieces in my show, but if you're interested in one, just email Shannon at Wendow and she'll help you out (shannon@wendowfineliving.com).

December Walk

December Walk, 8 x 10

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Finally got a little time to paint inside today where I can think! I painted outside Thursday with our Plein Air Austin group, but the cold temperatures numbed my fingers and I think my brain as well from the looks of the painting I did. That one won't be posted, but today's felt better.

If the overall color appears different, it's because I had to take the photo indoors. It gets dark so early these days I often run out of time to snap a photo in the daylight. The subject is a path at Mt. Bonnell, a small park that overlooks Lake Austin.

-julie davis

The Shortcut

The Shortcut, 16 x 20

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This is the largest painting I have in my show at Wendow right now, and it's a piece that reflects where I am and want to go right now in size, style, and somewhat in palette. 7 more pieces sold yesterday, so it's been a good week.:)

-julie davis

Photos from the Wendow show

So, first a plug for Wendow. What a fantastic venue for any artist to show his or her work. Shannon and Catherine have excellent taste, and made last night entirely easy and beautiful.

Second, great night. Despite bitterly cold, rainy weather, many friends and acquaintances braved the night and came out. I sold six pieces (!), and the work will be up through January, so perhaps a few more will make their way out the door. :)

-julie davis

On the Rocks

On the Rocks, 10 x 8

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Show update: Wendow in Austin will be hosting a large portion of my work until February or so. The work will be up as of Tuesday, December 1--wine and cheese from 6 til 10 that night. If you can make it, I'd love to see you there! Wendow is having several events that week to kick off the Christmas season--if you live in Austin and haven't been there, definitely check it out--it's one of my favorite stores here. The owners have fabulous taste in antiques and other home furnishings and accessories (not to mention art!).

This post is a scene from our class up at Mt. Bonnell (overlooking Lake Austin). Again, somehow I became enamored with the trees and rocks instead of the water.

-julie davis

Mt. Bonnell Trail

Mt. Bonnell Trail, 10 x 8

$250 + tax, $12 s/h

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Our last plein air class met at Mt. Bonnell Park overlooking Lake Austin. It's hard to be up there and not paint the water, but the shadow on this trail was too compelling.

I'll write more about this later, but for those of you in Austin, a good portion of my work will be on display and for sale at Wendow Fine Living on 38th as of Dec. 1.

-julie davis

A Clear Path

A Clear Path, 8 x 10

sold

One of my daughters and I just returned from spending the weekend in NYC, and I didn't have much time to paint today for hitting the ground running, so I grabbed a photo I've used many times and decided to try more muted tones than I've used for it in the past. One thing I'm definitely accomplishing this fall is painting "larger", faster (as in 8 x 10 is larger than 6 x 8). :) I'm still taking about an hour. The real fun is getting to paint for several hours--rare, but so much fun.

-julie davis

Canyon Path

Canyon Path, 8 x 10

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Working with the same palette here of my black mix, cad yellow, and white. It works for the gray days or mornings when the light is not over the treetops yet. This path winds along Lost Creek here in Austin.

-julie davis

Dog Trot

Dog Trot, 10 x 8

sold

Today our plein air class met at a park in central Austin--this historic dog trot house was adjacent to the playground. (A dogtrot house is basically two log cabins with a breezeway between them under a common roof. The breezeway provided a cooler covered area for sitting, and I guess, a space through which the family dogs could trot!) I painted half of it--go figure.

-julie davis

Family of Five

Family of Five, 8 x 6

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I didn't have the courage to post what I painted today at Red Bud Isle with Laurel Daniel--just go look at her post from today and that's what we saw--what I painted didn't turn out, well, quite like that. :) So you're treated to a painting from a photo I took while in England last spring--at Blenheim Palace--amazing lawns that went on forever, majestic trees, cold weather and gray skies.

-julie davis

Shadow Family

Shadow Family, 6 x 6

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This is a smaller study from the photos I took in class Wednesday. Groups of tree engage me--if trees each have their own gesture, then groups of them pose--some serious, others playful, some inviting, others off-putting. This bunch has a shadowed area that seems an invitation to shelter.

-julie davis

HIllside Gathering

Hillside Gathering, 8 x 10

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Another limited palette exercise, this time using various combinations of orange (aliz. crimson and cad yellow), green (ult. blue and cad yellow), and deep purple (ult. blue and aliz. crimson). Our class met last Wednesday in a park on Lake Austin--I thought I'd forgo the water and focus on a clump of trees. Unfortunately, I had a sick one at home so I didn't get to stay to paint en plein air, but I did a sketch, took some photos, and went straight home and painted.

-julie davis

Value Chart, 4th post (and last!)

Value Chart

This is the last of the chart postings for now--they're not the most exciting posts, but I loved the way they allowed me to explore more limited palettes, and practice correctly identifying the values in the planes of a landscape. Laurel suggested I put the colors from which I mixed each palette at the top of each set of values--a very good point! Laying out all that tape had me stressed out enough--it's no wonder I missed something. :)

-julie davis

Value Chart, 3rd post

Value Chart, 3rd exercise

This morning's challenge was with cad yellow and indigo (mixed from ultramarine blue and cad red). The three top colors are 1) mostly indigo with a bit of yellow (adding white as I went down the column), 2) about an equal mix of each (again, adding increasing amounts of white all the way down), and 3) mostly yellow with a bit of indigo (you know the drill).

I may try this exercise again someday soon, but using different scenes--the change may be helpful--getting a little used to this one.

-julie davis

Value Chart

Value Chart

Halloween and a four-day weekend for the kids delayed my progress on this, but I'll get there. I'm not thrilled with my judgement on the values in this second exercise--too light on the ground plane. On my very first experience with this exercise I'd gone too dark on the ground plane, so I think was reacting to that.

Again, I used a limited palette in hopes of challenging my brain to think in values and not necessarily in local color. Here I used a mixture of cad red and a green (which I mixed from cad yellow and ultramarine blue).

-julie davis

Value Chart - Planes

Value Chart - Neutrals

Closer

I thought it would be helpful to create four versions of the same scene in different neutral/limited palettes. I started this yesterday, and am going to try to complete it by Monday using different "base" colors. In this one I used the same values used in class on Wednesday, using cad yellow and the black mixture, and lightening with white. It's helpful for me to have these permanently on a board, to reference in the future. Laurel is always advocating making value charts like this, so I'm pretty sure she'll be happy with me here. :)

-julie davis

Waterloo Park Path

Waterloo Park Path (study), 10 x 8

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Finally back outside! It was a cool, overcast day, but our plein air class members were collectively very happy to be outside (last week it rained all day). Laurel had us painting with a limited palette of white, cad yellow, and a black mixture (alizarin crimson, french ultramarine blue, and raw umber). We mixed three different colors using only the black mix and the cad yellow, then mixed five values of each by adding increasing amounts of white. We were to continue to focus on the idea of the four value planes (sky, verticals, slant, and the ground).

It was a real challenge with the limited palette alone, not to mention this exercise demands that you nail the values. I wiped parts of this away several times, but once the lightbulb went off, I had quite a bit of fun. I enjoy the large contrast between the dark trees and the gray sky--much like the recent still lifes I did with the dark backgrounds, the drama in the contrast is appealing.

-julie davis

In the Thick of It

In the Thick of It, 12 x 12

sold

Under a tree and in the midst of wildflowers...seems like a good location for almost anything to me. The donkeys that used to live in this old shelter had a pretty good view of the Guadalupe River, and of course, a decent view of these flowers. This is a slightly larger version of "Unexpected Color" from another post. I keep wanting to get a closer composition of the barn, so I guess I'll just have to go back.

-julie davis

Field Guide

Field Guide, 6 x 6

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This was another value planes study I did early this morning--again taking it slowly as an exercise in making accurate value decisions. It's funny, though, because I was using yesterday's paint (which I'd moved around on my palette), and was so tired I wound up using pthalo blue instead of french ultramarine to mix my greens. Not an "accurate decision," but I decided to stick with it, as it was just a study and the colors didn't matter as much as getting the values right. It put a twist on things, but I kind of like the resulting color combinations.

-julie davis

The Substitute

The Substitute, 6 x 8

sold

Today we began Laurel Daniel's plein air class for this semester--except that it rained all day, so today we painted inside and studied value planes. Interestingly enough, it was an invaluable lesson! She took us slowly through the development of a landscape, concentrating on making sure we were accurately recording the values in the four planes of a landscape (sky, ground, slant, verticals). Laurel gave us each a copy of this photo from which to work--"The Substitute" fits because we painted from a photo, instead of outside. (It's late, clever is not easy). : )

-julie davis

Winding Road

Winding Road, 6 x 6

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This is painted from a photo from our recent trip out to Hunt, Texas. The weather was entirely drizzly and gray and cool, but so perfectly appropriate for October. This is a portion of FM 1340, and it runs along the North Fork of the Guadalupe River.

-julie davis

Unexpected Color

Unexpected Color, 8 x 10

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The unexpected part was finding wildflowers in bloom this time of year. On a recent trip to the Hill Country of Texas, my family and I found fields literally covered with yellow--and even some blue. Whatever these were, they were a pleasant surprise.

-julie davis