Morning by the River

Morning by the River

6 x 8 in., oil on linen panel

I had a few minutes Saturday morning to play with a photo I'd taken years ago in a park here in Austin. I love the light in it, and though I painted this same view back in 2010 when I'd been painting just a couple of years, I felt enough time had passed that another attempt would be free from any vivid memories of the first try. Not that the first try was a bad memory at all, I just wanted it to feel more like a case of first impression.  And thankfully, it did. :)

-julie davis

2010

Rising Above

Rising Above, 8 x 6 in.

sold

Monday I painted at another old haunt, Mayfield Park, which, since we moved in the fall, is fabulously close to our house.   Instead of painting in the gardens, as I have in the past, I walked around to one of the trails and found a beautifully tall tree to paint.  :)  I know, you're shocked.  The funny thing was, in order to stand in the shade and to get the view I wanted, I had to stand near a port-a-potty.  No, I wouldn't have stayed had it smelled!  But I did get some quizzical looks, and one man even asked, jokingly, if I was painting the port-a-potty (since I had my easel turned toward it to avoid sun on my panel!)

-julie davis

Fenceline Grove

Fenceline Grove, 6 x 8 in.

sold

Sincere apologies for the inconsistency in posting lately. We have sold our house and are moving! In town....but hectic doesn't quite describe the last few weeks. I'm trying to get my painting legs under me again, and am most excited that I'll have a larger studio--a whole room all my own. Things might be a little off and on for the next few weeks, but I'll post when I can and know that I'll be consistent again soon.

This little painting was from my Idaho trip--this old fence just blended into the trees along it. With a lovely field adjacent, it caught my attention.

-julie davis

Tree Study 13- Copying the Masters

Tree Study 13, 8 x 6 in.

Several people have asked about whether the "active" side of the tree is always the lit side of the tree. It makes sense to assume that it would generally be the case, as light draws the eye. However, assume the entire tree is in shadow/silhouetted. One side could nevertheless be more "active" than the other. One side should have more emphasis, the other would be subordinate. Here, I have a tree that is obviously lit from one side, but I intentionally made the shadow side the active side, just as an example.

Even after doing all these studies, it's still difficult for me to restrain myself from "decorating" the entire outline of the tree with activity. One strives for balance, and this exercise is about interest. The balance would come in from the rest of the composition, as these are studies, and not meant to stand alone.

-julie davis

Tree Study 6

Tree Study 6, 8 x 6 in.

It may seem redundant to do the same subject over and over, but trees are something I adore painting, and their importance in a landscape cannot be underestimated. Any new manner of approaching them that I come across, I want to play with it until it becomes second nature. In addition to the active/passive side I've written about, Scott stressed the importance of the core of the tree being the darkest, and painting toward the core as you address the shadow and light aspects of the tree.

I'm not sure I subordinated one side of the tree here as successfully as I could have, but these studies are learning vehicles for me as much as anything--so go easy on me as I try to absorb and incorporate it all! :)

-julie davis

Sunblock

Sunblock, 6 x 8

sold

This backlit tree and field is the first of a few paintings I've done lately in which I'm experimenting with textures and temperatures in foreground. It's something I'm finally growing into studying, if that makes any sense at all, and I'm often captivated by how other painters handle foregrounds in paintings. This is a teeny, tiny bit of foreground, but I figured I'd start small. :) I wasn't focused as much on composition, and I can tell it, but I had fun with my brush and palette knife in this one, and have found myself using my palette knife--perhaps relying on it? a little more--in the ones I'll post in the coming days.

-julie davis

Morning Light

Morning Light, 12 x 16

Austin was hopping this weekend with the ACL (Austin City Limits) Music Festival. The weather was unbelievable --it just couldn't be better here right now. Perfect for plein air painting, too. :) This piece is a larger version of the painting I posted on September 21. I'm creating some larger works for a show I'll be a part of at Wendow in Austin starting December 1.

-julie davis

Early Light

Early Light, 6 x 8

Here's the color version of yesterday's post. Remember, I did this one outside, and went back and did the value study because I wanted to see the difference it would make in the range of values I used. I also corrected what I thought were some drawing issues in the second one. I think there is a more dramatic range in the black and white study--now if I'd just do it again in color!

Tomorrow I'm heading out to CA for the Weekend with the Masters workshop, so I won't be posting for a few days. I can't wait and will have much to cover when I return I'm sure.

On another happy note, I'm thrilled I've been asked to join the Daily Painters Originals group! I'll begin posting with them sometime after I return from my trip and can focus on that. Thanks to all the members of DPO for the warm welcome!

-julie davis

Field of Green

Field of Green, 6 x 8

It's been much too long since I last blogged, but we've finally finished the hill country remodel, and I think I'll be getting my painting life back! To that end, I painted with a new friend this morning at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center. Becky Joy was in town from Arizona for the Salon International in San Antonio last weekend, and we met to paint. Becky is a fellow Windrush Gallery artist, and it was great to meet her--and now I have someone to paint with when I visit Arizona!

-julie davis

Overcast Morning Cedar

Overcast Morning Cedar, 8 x 10

Austin got a good bit of rain today, but before it really poured, our plein air class met near a creek (and under a bridge to avoid the drizzle) in Austin's Lost Creek neighborhood. I'm sure we were quite a sight as we were all set up and stashed under a bridge like a family of trolls! The view was beautiful, though, and we all painted this cedar tree using a block in method that Kevin Macpherson uses--blocking in with large shapes and obvious color within the shadow, then light families, then moving on to detail after we had it blocked in.

-julie davis

Compatible

Compatible, 20 x 16

Apologies for being away so long--Spring Break trip with the family took a good bit of prep time, then the actual vacation..... I painted this before I left. It's a larger version of (perhaps too similarly named) "Compatibility", done a couple of weeks ago. I'm hoping to get back on my daily painting kick this week--I've had a lot going on, but am really ready to get back to my routine.

And on an exciting personal note, I'm on the Windrush Gallery website as of last weekend. If you have a chance, check it out. I'm extremely honored to be a part of John McCullough's group of artists--a link to his site is on my blog, and, well, right here.

-julie davis

Palm Tree Study

Palm Tree Study

What a great day....today was the start of Laurel Daniel's plein air class. It got me back outside, and the weather was phenomenal. Laurel had us follow along as she did a demo, and line and mass block-in on a simple subject was the assignment. This group of palm trees was on the grounds of Austin Museum of Art's Laguna Gloria campus (where our classes take place).

-julie davis

Compatibility

Compatibility, 8 x 6

These two looked like they'd been together for so long--clearly they are compatible. And speaking of compatibility, I'm thrilled to report that I've been asked to join the family of painters at the Windrush Gallery in Sedona, AZ! I've sent several paintings out this week--I'm on cloud nine.....

-julie davis

Intersection

Intersection, 6 x 6

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

December Walk

December Walk, 8 x 10

sold

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

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

Canyon Path

Canyon Path, 8 x 10

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

Family of Five

Family of Five, 8 x 6

sold

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

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

Field Guide

Field Guide, 6 x 6

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