Hidden Barn

Hidden Barn, 6 x 6

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Another jump in the palette knife direction. I pulled this together this morning before I had some house guests. Besides the texture, another quality I enjoy about palette knife painting is that it seems to come together more quickly for me--at least with the small sizes. It's almost like laying or blocking in the main values in a painting, and then being finished. You cannot fuss with it. I like how this one came out.

The house guests I mentioned were some dear friends who have a monthly or "as needed" Friday tradition of hitting the latest art exhibits in town and doing lunch: Jane Hill, Mitzi Easley, and Gayle Roche. (Today was an exception being Wednesday, but what the heck.) They were kind enough to put my studio on their list for a stop on their tour, and we had a great morning here at the house. Thanks, friends!

-julie davis

Along the Creek

Along the Creek, 8 x 10

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Our Wednesday painting group met at Bull Creek again last week. It's always amazing to me how many people are walking dogs, taking a stroll, and just enjoying the weather on any given weekday there. As one young man said to me as he paused on his walk, "That's what I love about Austin--you see people painting outside on a random Wednesday....you just don't see that everywhere."

-julie davis

Cabin in the Trees

Cabin in the Trees, 8 x 10

Fairly certain that I'm showing my ignorance of the proper method of painting with a palette knife here, and because of the novelty of the process I've missed some areas where my values should agree, and don't.....BUT fun!! This one did begin with a paintbrush, but then spiraled out of control into a palette knife event. My infatuation with lots of paint is leading me right now--it will be interesting to see how it settles out.

-julie davis

May Cedars

May Cedars, 6 x 8

This little group of cedars line a private drive in Hunt. The colors in this one went kind of electric on me--still trying to get more paint on the canvas, too. I find there is so much that I want to experiment with after Skip's workshop--some of these "experiments" are definitely not making it on the blog, but that's part of the process!

-julie davis

Wimberly View

Wimberly View (study), 8 x 10

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The last day of the Whitcomb workshop I did something I've never done before--used a palette knife to paint. I didn't intend it--it just happened! I used my knife to load more paint onto my panel, and I was enjoying it so much I just kept going. I'm certain my technique is all wrong, but I was pleased with the outcome--and had quite a good time with it. (And no snakes that day, just bugs...)

-julie davis

Next to the Highway

Next to the Highway, 6 x 8

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On the way to the Skip Whitcomb workshop in Wimberly last week, I kept passing this red barn. It caught my eye every time, as the morning light couldn't have been more beautiful on it.

-julie davis

Sunlit Entry

Sunlit Entry, 9 x 12

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It's been a really busy week--I've been challenged by Skip Whitcomb's workshop and am learning so much. This piece is the one I did on Tuesday at a ranch in Wimberly. Just as I finished, a 5 foot snake in a big hurry decided to head my way. Fortunately, he noticed me and did a 180. To top that, today an even longer one slithered within about 6 feet as I painted near the water. I'm thinking tomorrow I'm wearing those snake-proof boots my husband recommended! Yikes!

-julie davis

Workshop Work

"group mass"

"L" or "tunnel"

This week I'm taking a workshop in Wimberly with Skip Whitcomb. We started today with a couple of hours of Skip sharing his wisdom --so much to learn! We spent the afternoon attempting to put it into action--no paint, just sketching. We were attempting to see the landscape with the visual vocabulary taught by Edgar Payne, in his book , Composition of Outdoor Painting. Laurel teaches using these compositional tools as well, so I was familiar enough to feel good about what we were doing. I did 16 sketches--here are two. I think tomorrow he'll let us paint. :)

-julie davis

Camp Stables

Camp Stables, 8 x 10

sold

As promised, here is a painting I just did using a study I did on-site from our Plein Air Austin trip. As I mentioned, I wasn't pleased with several of my plein air pieces--for a variety of reasons. The way my paint was taking to the canvas was one of them--I've since determined that the panels I was using seem to absorb more paint than the one I used here. I really liked the way the paint stands on top of this panel--it's a Pannelli Telati canvas panel from Jerry's. I've been using RayMar, which I like for other reasons, but I think I'll be gessoing the remainder I have to get the results I want. Like anything, it's a learning process.

This stable is one of Camp Waldemar's, in Hunt, Texas. It's the first subject our group of four stopped to paint on our recent PAA annual trip.

-julie davis