Rooftop process

I've got to figure out how to share video on this platform. Suggestions welcomed. I tried the built-in uploader, but it did not seem to like my iPhone videos, and wouldn't play once uploaded. So these stills will have to do!

Monday I set up on the roof with a little 8 x 10 panel. It was really overcast all day, which was great because the light didn't change much, and the grays of the buildings were pretty saturated. I almost always begin a painting with a wash of color--from a simple neutral to Transparent Red Oxide to whatever this was--I think a mix of TRO and Cad Red Light. I use a paper towel to wipe away the lights until I see the shapes I want. This is a fairly quick process--maybe 5-10 minutes tops. It gives me a sort-of Notan look, so I can judge design and value before I start. (This is after I've done a thumbnail sketch or two, which I tuck behind my panel on my easel while I paint).

I then work primarily dark to light. Someone on my Instagram post about this piece asked if it was hard to work around the supports of the towers--and the answer is yes--it is tedious, but I really can't get the darks like this in after lights are put down. I find it best to put them in, work around them, then  touch up the darks if I need to near the end. 

Next, the background and the foreground. Lots of shapes and perspective to contend with!

Last, the sky. It's hard to tell in this photo, but there are some super subtle value shifts in the sky. I love those, as well as the fun subtle hue and value shifts on and among the tall buildings in the background. This is New York, after all, and the buildings go way, way back, so there are lots of depth (= layers of atmosphere) even between the background buildings.

That's it! Wish I could've shared video of the view; hopefully, I can figure that one out before long. If you follow my instagram account, you'll see me post video in my story quite often. meanwhile, let me know if you know how I can do it here!

-julie davis

The One with the Blue Shutters, study

6 x 8 in., oil on panel

sold

Taking two months off from posting was never my intention.  I promise that much has been going on beneath the surface. Like a duck's feet paddling underwater, I've been invisibly at work (and play), and I'll send out a newsletter soon with more about that (sign up for it on my website: www.juliedavisstudio.com), but it's time to get back to posting.

I came across this little apartment on our trip to St. Remy in Provence a while back, and admired the blue color they chose for the shutters so much that I stopped to take pictures. I decided to only paint the upstairs--there was not much going on at the street level. I think I envy whoever lives there. 

-julie davis

Hilltop Village

Hilltop Village

6 x 8 in., oil on panel

sold

My first go at a European village. This is the town of Gordes in southern France--one of the most beautiful little villages in the Luberon because of its location on the edge of a plateau. My family was fortunate enough to get to tour it last summer, and it's taken me a while to get up the courage to paint it.  For me, the challenge was to refrain from using too much detail, while still getting enough in there.  

-julie davis

Now Open

Now Open

6 x 8 in., oil on panel

sold

I love that this delightfully green little structure plainly expresses that it is "Now Open," but leaves the passerby guessing as to what type of business it is that is "now open."  I've passed this many times and have not figured it out yet.

-julie davis

The Warehouse

The Warehouse

6 x 8 in., oil on panel

sold

Sometimes the subjects I decide to paint surprise me.  This old warehouse wasn't much to look at, but I liked the shadows and angles--and the old unreadable, faded signs.  I also find a gravel / grass foreground fun to paint; I can get a lot of energy and direction in it to lead one's eye into a piece.  The grass and gravel were an important part of the composition here--allowing me to place the warehouse off the panel a bit more than would be typical and to focus on shapes rather than a particular building.  That made it trickier to name, until I got really basic and went with the obvious. :)

-julie davis

The Window

The Window

6 x 8 in., oil on panel

sold

During our time in Provence last summer, we came across so many intriguing doors and windows in the old sections of the various towns we visited.  The use of color on doors and shutters juxtaposed with the neutrals of the old building materials was beautiful, and the personality of each, unique.  These blue shutters made this window one of my favorites.

-julie davis

Hill Country Restaurant

Hill Country Restaurant

sold

You know your favorite restaurant.  The one where they make that dish you crave, that has the perfect atmosphere, where you see happy, familiar faces, or where you can almost always sit outside?  When our family visits Kerrville, Texas, that place for us is a downtown corner spot called Francisco's.  The blue umbrellas are closed in this cloudy-day painting, but most of our meals there are eaten underneath one of them.  The building is an old one, brought up-to-date to make a cozy, happy place to eat out.  

-julie davis

In the Shadows

In the Shadows

12 x 9 in., oil on panel

nfs

The beautiful weather of the past week made for a near perfect first experience of a plein air painting competition for me.  I participated in the three-day Kerrville Outdoor Painters' Event (KOPE) in Kerrville, Texas.  The organizers arranged access to exceptionally paintable properties for the artists--I thoroughly enjoyed each minute, and finished with some strong paintings and some new artist friends, and reconnected with others I don't see often enough.  

This painting was my first of the event.  We painted on a ranch a few minutes from Kerrville that had numerous old structures--this was the old smokehouse.  

-julie davis

Anderson Mill Study

Anderson Mill Study, 12 x 9

Working on 5 hours of sleep, today I started a plein air workshop here in Austin with Calvin Liang. Having spent an unplanned TEN hours in the San Francisco airport Sunday due to weather delays, and getting to bed at 1 a.m. Monday morning, I was not as prepared as I had planned for the morning, and inconveniently left my tripod behind. I did retrieve it, but missed some valuable demo time!

Today we painted at the site of a replica of the Anderson Mill, a mill apparently used during the Civil War. It's a lovely subject to paint, and Calvin's demo was a joy to watch--following his painting with my own of the same subject was kind of a bummer! I like some aspects of this, but when I do a larger one in the studio I'll make some adjustments to the wall in the foreground--indicate more water, or include less of the wall....don't know yet. It was a great day, and I'm looking forward to the remainder of the week. Thanks to Qiang Huang for getting Calvin to Austin!

-julie davis