Essential Office Tool

Yup. After burning the broccoli, nearly forgetting to pick up my kids, and having 20 minutes online turn into 60 without me even noticing, I splurged and bought an egg timer.
Yes, Alyson Stanfield recommended this time management tool when I took her organizing class a year ago.....why oh why didn't I heed her advice and warnings sooner?!
Time's up! Gotta go ...on to the next task!

Sushi For Karin

5"x 7"
acrylic on masonite

Here is my latest entry for Karin Jurick's Different Strokes From Different Folks challenge.

It continues to amaze me how much color you can find in things when you really scrutinize them!
This was a quick painting that involved a lot of squinting and bold brush strokes. Very fun!

Beaverton Farmers' Market GeraniumsTriptych

3- 18"x 36" canvases
acrylic

I was given the opportunity to hang artwork in a local coffee shop but, since my recent paintings have been under 12"x 12" or commissioned pieces, I needed to create something larger for the space.

I spent many Saturdays last spring and summer at the Beaverton Farmers' Market and have been wanting to do a series of paintings from the photos I took, so when the coffee shop owners said they would like "nature and bright colors", I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to paint these bright geraniums from the Farmers' Market!

Because the space is so large, I decided to paint a triptych that could be purchased as a whole or as separate pieces. I really enjoyed painting the three canvases simultaneously and maybe will get adventurous enough to attempt something on the scale of Don Tiller's "Neighbors: The Connection Series" !

The color chart that I made and mentioned in my last post proved to be invaluable. I painted with more confidence, avoided making mistakes that would cost me time, money (for paint!) , and frustration, and found that the color chart was also a tremendous help with the value scale.

Color Checking

Sample of color checking papers

I am working on a triptych of canvases that are 18"x 36". When I get excited about a painting I just want to start! But I made myself slow down and spend some extra time planning before I started painting. With this size canvas, making a mistake on the color I'm using could cost a lot of time and money. I am painting a scene from the Farmers' Market with a booth of geraniums in bright sunlight, so I want to keep the reds and greens clean and intense. I spent about an hour looking at my reference photo and going through my colors and deciding on a palette. I painted samples on the edge of paper so I can hold it up to the reference or the painting. I also made notes as I mixed the colors and I can now file the papers away for future use. Dave the Painting Guy showed a different kind of color checker that he saw on The Carder Method website. (There's a very short video clip that shows how to use it)

So far this has been working great for me. I find that I am feeling much more confident as I paint and since the decision for the color has been basically made, my mind is free to focus on other things.
Do you have any methods for picking a palette or checking your color?

Wigs In A Window

Here is my latest entry (my cartoon on top, reference photo below) to Karin Jurick's Different Strokes challenge. I usually do a painting, but I just thought that those poor wigs are stuck in the window with nothing to do but look outside and they MUST be thinking and saying something! I enlisted my 17 year old daughter and her friend to help with the dialog...they had a blast! It was fun to look at comic books for reference material and just to do something fun and different!
Click on image for larger view ....so you can read what they're saying!

Inspiration From You - February 2009 & What Do You Do When You Get Stuck?

Adam The Altar Boy
5"x 7"
acrylic on masonite

First of all, meet Adam the altar boy! Adam loves going to church and asked if he could help serve in some way and was given the honor of assisting on Sundays by lighting candles and carrying the cross, etc. This painting is from a photo of Adam's very first time serving as an altar boy!
Now, it is March 3rd and I just posted the February painting!? I must tell you that this is the THIRD painting that I have started in the last week and a half. I haven't given up on the other two, they just weren't working. Which leads me to my question to you. What do you do when something isn't working? I have a tendency to expect each painting to work on the first try AND in a timely manner! If it isn't working, I want to ignore everything else until I get it to work or just finish it! Not very realistic! I am realizing (at least for today) that it is sometimes helpful to leave a painting for a while and come back to it with fresh eyes and attitude! I also find it helpful if I'm struggling with a piece to find something different that I can finish. This gives me a sense of accomplishment and more confidence. Going for a run also helps! So what do you do when something isn't working?