Class Study 1.26

Class Study, 16 x 20

Laurel's spring still life class has gotten underway, so I'm diving back into it. This was the set-up I worked on this morning. After several very unsatisfying paintings over the last two weeks, I finally have another I feel good about. (A good bit of my time and creative energy lately is going to a remodel project we have in the Hill Country....soon to finish, but it's affected primarily the time I have to paint in a measured, calm way, thus the unsatisfying results). Hopefully, more satisfying paintings to come. :)

-julie davis

I'm looking forward to

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

Waterloo Park Path

Waterloo Park Path (study), 10 x 8

sold

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

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

Staying Up Late

Staying Up Late, 11 x 14

This morning was the last day of Laurel Daniel's still life class at AMOA. It's been a great refresher in both values and still life. The challenge today was to create a painting with relationships of 2/3, 1/3, and smidge values--we could choose to do 2/3 of the painting light, 1/3 mid-tone, and a smidge of dark, or 2/3 dark, 1/3 mid, and a smidge of light.....or even 2/3 mid....you get the idea. I went with the 2/3 dark, 1/3 mid, smidge of light (since I've been experimenting at home with dark backgrounds). It's a pretty dramatic result, but I'm liking the drama lately....

-julie davis

Values Exercise

Values Exercise, 12 x 12

Greatest day--yesterday we started Laurel Daniel's class again--four short weeks, but I love learning, and learning about painting is such a kick for me-even when it's studying value. This is actually the third I did in class yesterday--the first dealt with local color with a light, medium, and dark object. The second was painted with a range of 7-8 grays from black to white, and the third we were allowed to use color, attempting to keep the same accuracy in value shifts. This doesn't look too colorful, but the objects were quite neutral, and I didn't go crazy with the background color. I like the neutrals, even though the subject matter isn't glamorous. I suppose it helps the form stand out more.

-julie davis

Gray Days

Young Cypress, 6 x 6

When our plein air group met to paint yesterday, it was spitting rain and generally gray outside, one of those days when the shadows are hard to find and the value range is narrow. Since I'm on a tree binge, I parked myself right in front of this young cypress by the water.  I think I got a little fussy with it, but I at least wasn't ready to frisbee my canvas as I had been the week before!

-julie davis

Spicewood Farms

Stable Straggler, 6 x 8

sold

This is one I did at home this morning after our plein air class met yesterday at Spicewood Farms.  I painted one yesterday, too, just did it so quickly that I didn't get much more than a framework with color notes.  It was a little windy, but our weather in Austin right now is beautiful--creeping towards hot, but not yet.

-julie davis

Blue Skies

Paris Street #2, 8 x 10

The rain finally broke this afternoon and it became a stunning day--one of those days when you're just thankful for participating.  I painted this piece in class yesterday (from a photo from our recent trip).  We were supposed to be outside painting, but with the rain we were stuck inside not painting en plein air in a plein air class.  I mentioned the composition techniques Laurel stressed yesterday (there were many), but the one I think I used here is radiating lines. There is also an element of triangles used in the sky, shadows, and sidewalks.  And if I had to list a third, the buildings almost give the tunnel effect.  Next week's class critique will reveal whether I'm correct or not!

-julie davis

Rainy Day

Here is the Steeple..., 6 x 6

It was a rainy day in Austin today.  I didn't get to photograph the piece I did in class, but I painted this one Sunday, so here it is.  I had the best day, despite the storms.  We started our plein air class today at AMOA with Laurel Daniel.  Her classes are always the highlight of my week.  The focus of this one is composing a strong landscape, and Laurel stressed several different composition techniques, I'm sure none of which I've used in this painting, but I'll be experimenting with them going forward and I'll try to identify them if and when I can.

-julie davis