Zinnia, Portland Open Studio, Washington County Open Studio

Zinnia

10"x 10"x 1.5"

oil on cradled board

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This is one of twelve paintings of flowers that I am doing for a calendar and note cards that I am having available at the Portland Open Studio and Washington County Open Studio tour, 

October 10-11, 17-18, 2015. 

My son, Thomas, and I look over black and white photos for the calendar.

I am almost done with my paintings. I have laid out samples of envelopes from Envelope Mall to see if any of them match. (look how many "greens" they have!) The next thing is to email images of my paintings to the printer.

Canna Lilies are blooming right now, and although they are one of my favorite flowers, I decided not to paint them but to use them to show you how effective light can be.

(That's my daughter Claire a few years ago. She's 5'10" now!)

Here is sunlight directly on the leaves... 

...and this is sunlight from behind the leaves.
Notice the difference? Isn't it beautiful?!
That is why "light" is always so important to me when I paint.

Studio Tip:

I clean my brushes in Murphy Oil Soap. 

Oil, water-based oil, acrylic,....whatever, it's great at getting all the paint off!

If you have any other ideas about a cleaning solution, let me know. :)

Listening to while I paint:

Audiobook:  

"The Scarlet Pimpernel", by Baroness Orczy. I watched the movie in 1982 with my dad. It had Anthony Andrews, Jane Seymour, and Ian McKellen.

Podcasts: 
American's Test Kitchen, hosted by Christopher Kimball
Online Marketing Made Easy, hosted by Amy Porterfield

The Nerdist, Patrick Stewart, hosted by Chris Hardwick

Artists Helping Artists, hosted by Leslie Saeta

The Chalene Show, hosted by Chalene Johnson
Social Media Examiner, hosted by Michael Stelzner
"Wait, Wait.... Don't Tell Me!", hosted by Peter Sagal
Splendid Table, hosted by Lynne Rossetto KasperTruth For Life, hosted by Alistair Begg

Music: 
My iPod

What I am reading:
Youtility, by Jay Baer

Really helpful!:

I am continually checking a dictionary, thesaurus, spell check, but one thing that has been particularly helpful is the grammar check. Please excuse any errors that I make and tell me! :)

Portland Open Studios, Washington County Open Studios, Calendar

I am in the Portland Open Studios tour (Oct. 10-11, 17-18, 2015) and the Washington County Open Studios tour. 

(Oct. 17-18, 2015)

This is your chance to go to the artist's studio, see their workspace and their processes.

I have been setting up all the things I want to show you. :)

 Here is the Portland Open Studios catalog....

.....and the maps to different artist's studios that you can visit over the four days.
It's been really good for me because I have to think through what my process is: taking pictures, setting up a still life, drawing, painting, etc. .

Along with my approach to painting, I've decided to have a calendar and note cards available during the tour. 

I like to paint on wood panels, so I ordered 12, 10"x 10" to do flower paintings for the calendar and note cards.

These cradled boards have a very nice, smooth, 1-1/2 inch edges, so I decided to tape them (with Painter's tape) because I don't know if I am going to leave them natural, stain them, or paint them. 
Since I only have one working hand, I put the tape on the side of the table and pulled down.... 
it worked perfectly!

The boards needed to be prepared by using gesso as a substrate. Gesso is designed to penetrate supports and provide a surface to which paint can adhere. I am going to try Krylon Gesso Spray. 

More to come!

Listening to while I paint:

Audiobook:  

"To Kill A Mockingbird", by Harper Lee, narrated by Sissy Spacek 

Podcasts: 
American's Test Kitchen, hosted by Christopher Kimball
Online Marketing Made Easy, hosted by Amy Porterfield

The Nerdist, Patrick Stewart, hosted by Chris Hardwick

Artists Helping Artists, hosted by Leslie Saeta

The Chalene Show, hosted by Chalene Johnson
Social Media Examiner, hosted by Michael Stelzner
"Wait, Wait.... Don't Tell Me!", hosted by Peter Sagal
Splendid Table, hosted by Lynne Rossetto KasperTruth For Life, hosted by Alistair Begg

Music: 
My iPod

Really helpful!:
I am continually checking a dictionary, thesaurus, spell check, but one thing that has been particularly helpful is the grammar check. Please excuse any errors that I make and tell me! :)