Woods in Durham NH (Oil Bar Painting Day 2)

Woods in Durham NH (Oil Bar Painting Day 2)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

I painted this morning for about an hour in my new studio set-up at home. I started by working a little bit on this oil bar painting, inspired by a photograph that I took last year in Durham, New Hampshire. (If you want to see the photo, it is called "Morning Light in New Hampshire" and can be found on this site.) First, I made a change in the composition that I have been thinking about: I moved the most prominent tree because it was too close to the center. Then I toned down the yellow in the foliage and added more light to the lower part of the painting. Then I stopped working on this painting for today so I could get another painting started. (I am painting for a show, and am planning to lay in the composition for all of the paintings before doing any detailed work on any of them.) So I did get another painting started this morning, and I plan to post it tomorrow.

Heart Shaped Box as of December 12, 2009

Heart Shaped Box as of December 12, 2009
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Late last week, I was packing up the studio at Red Brick, so I brought this project home. (I am covering this heart-shaped box with collage and decoupage created from printed metallic ribbon.) I decided to set up a place for it at home so I could start to work on it right away, which is what I did. I took this photo after working on it for an hour on December 12th (set up on a table near an upstairs window). Sometimes change brings little unexpected bonuses, such as the venetian blinds at home, which made for an interesting pattern of light and shadow on the heart-shaped box.

Woods in Durham NH (Oil Bar Painting Day 1)

Woods in Durham NH (Oil Bar Painting Day 1)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

I have been moving out of my little studio at Red Brick and getting set up to paint at home again. Yesterday I started this painting in my kitchen, an oil bar landscape of woods in Durham, New Hampshire. I am working from a photo that I took on the University of New Hampshire campus last September. Yesterday I blocked in the colors and basic composition. I have an art show coming up, and it is great to have a project right now, motivating me to start painting right away in this transition from a studio in an art community to studio space at home. Today I finished moving out of the studio at Red Brick and got a good start on setting up my home studio.

Collage Projects in Studio on December 8, 2009

Collage Projects in Studio on December 8, 2009
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is a photograph that I took in my studio on December 8, one of the very last days that I worked in my studio. When I took this photo, I had already taken all my art work home apart from these two projects, the heart-shaped box, and a collage tray ("Ribbon Roses") that I made in 2007. I think I worked in the studio one or two more days after I took this picture, but it gradually began to feel less like my studio and more like just an empty room. At this point, I still have a few pieces of furniture to retrieve from the studio, but I have already started working on the heart-shaped box at home. And today I started painting (in the kitchen, for the time being). So I guess I am now ready to say goodbye to my little studio, which is why I am posting this photo today.

Heart Shaped Box as of December 11, 2009

Heart Shaped Box as of December 11, 2009
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is a collage and decoupage project in progress, a heart-shaped box that I am covering with bits of printed metallic ribbon. For the past week, I have been slowly moving my art and art supplies out of my studio, but with every trip, I have been spending an hour working on this project. This is how the heart-shaped box looked on December 11th, one of the last few days that I would work on it in the studio.

Metallic Menorah (With Texture)

Metallic Menorah (With Texture)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is a second version of the digital sketch of a menorah that I posted yesterday, created with Painter's pattern pen and digital pastel. In this version, I applied a texture, and I think I like the result better than the plain background. I also straightened it a bit in iPhoto.

Metallic Menorah

Metallic Menorah
Originally uploaded by randubnick

I recently got the upgrade to Painter 11. (I am counting it as a Chanukah present.) I needed to upgrade that so I can run Snow Leopard on my Mac. I have been using it for the past few weeks, but haven't had much time to explore. Tonight I decided to try out the pattern pen. All the patterns I made in Painter 9.5 have disappeared, so I will need to recreate them or make new ones. So I decided to work with the ready-made patterns that come with the computer. I thought I would sketch a menorah since Chanukah starts tonight. I used the pattern pen for the menorah, with a pattern that looked metallic. I used the same pattern loaded with pastel for the candles, and then drew in the flames with digital pastel. I like this funny little menorah, although I am not sure it is finished. . . .