First of May at Long Hill (Oil Bar Painting as of May 23, 2013)

First of May at Long Hill (Oil Bar Painting as of May 23, 2013), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This is a work-in-progress, an oil bar painting I started this week. It is loosely based on a photo that I took on May 1 at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA. I have been posting my progress every day. In between painting sessions, I have been using the computer to help me resolve problems with the composition. Two days ago, I used Painter's digital pastel to draw over a photo of the painting so I could try out a change to the two trees on the left. Yesterday's post shows the painting after I applied the solution. I also did the same thing to figure out what to do with the bright pink azalea bush in the foreground, and this post is the result. (I love azaleas and I wanted that color in the painting, but even in the reference photo, that plant is a bit of a distraction.) So late yesterday, I came up with a solution on the computer with Painter, and very early this morning (12:30 to 1 AM), I got out my oil bars and tucked that little azalea under the tree with some other bushes. It's still there, which makes me happy, but now it doesn't distract the eye from that long walk across the lawn to the gate.

First of May at Long Hill (Oil Bar Painting as of May 22, 2013)

First of May at Long Hill (Oil Bar Painting as of May 22, 2013), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This is a work-in-progress, an oil bar painting that I have been working on, loosely based on a photo that I took at Long Hill Garden here in Beverly, MA. Since yesterday's post, I have been thinking about the trees on the left. I wasn't happy with them, so I did some poking around on the computer to figure out why. I enlarged the original photo, and looked hard. Then I opened the jpeg of yesterday's post in Painter and tried out some solutions by drawing over the photo with digital pastel. I came up with a solution and printed out the image. This morning, before breakfast, I worked on the painting and made the changes that I had planned. Here is the painting as it looked after I made the changes in those trees. There are still problems to solve in the foreground (that pink bush), but this afternoon I went back to Painter and again drew over the photo of the painting with digital pastel. I think I found a solution. . . .To be continued.

First of May at Long Hill (Oil Bar Painting as of May 21, 2013)

First of May at Long Hill (Oil Bar Painting as of May 21, 2013), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

I got up early today and worked on this painting before breakfast. This landscape is an oil bar painting based on a photo that I took (on May 1st) at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA. Today I worked on modifying the composition, modifying shapes and moving things around. I modified the shapes of the bushes in the shadows on the right, and moved them a bit to set up a diagonal with the gate. Then I worked on the trees and bushes on the left side, and made adjustments to set up some diagonal lines on that side, too. I extended the line of the wall, and then worked on modifying the trees to make the shapes more subtle.This is still a work in progress. There is more to do to make this quirky composition work, and I can see things I want to correct. But I am happy about the way this is going.

First of May at Long Hill (Oil Bar Painting as of May 20, 2013

First of May at Long Hill (Oil Bar Painting as of May 20, 2013), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This morning I got up early to make time to work on this project. This is an oil bar landscape that I started yesterday. I am using one of my photos as a reference and starting point for this painting. The photo is a picture of trees blooming and beginning to bud out at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA (posted here on May 18). Today I kept going with the basic task of figuring out where I want things to be on the canvas, trying to get the best composition. Even though I see things I want to change, I am happy with the way this is going, and even better, happy to be painting.

First of May at Long Hill (Oil Bar Painting as of May 19, 2013)

First of May at Long Hill (Oil Bar Painting as of May 19, 2013), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This morning I got up early and got this painting started. I am painting from a photo that I took a few weeks ago at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA. I posted the reference photo here yesterday. I woke up knowing that I wanted to rearrange some of the shapes for the composition, but wasn't sure about what to do. So I started by printing out some extra copies of the photo and marking them up to get some ideas. Then I got to work, and painted for about an hour, just laying down some basic color and establishing the composition. When it was time to stop, my hands were covered in green and pink paint, but I had a great big smile on my face.

First Day of May at Long Hill (Posterized)

First Day of May at Long Hill (Posterized), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This is a photo of Long Hill Gardens on the first day of May. (I posted a version of this back on Ma...

Another Heart Shaped Box as of May 17, 2013

Another Heart Shaped Box as of May 17, 2013, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

I went to the studio early this morning to work on this project, a heart-shaped candy box that I am covering with collage patterns made of printed metallic ribbon. The design on the top of the box is going to be stripes. I continued establishing the edges of the stripes by pasting down pieces of purple and orange. The stripes are slowly becoming more visible, and the Turtle logo is beginning to disappear. I called this project "Another Heart-Shaped Box" because it is my second one. To see the first one, follow this link: www.flickr.com/photos/randiart/sets/72157632769935420/