Golden Path (Oil Bar Painting Day 2)

Golden Path (Oil Bar Painting Day 2)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is one of the oil bar paintings I have been working on this week, a sunlit path through fall folliage. This is how the painting when I had finished working on it on Day 2, which was December 27. I added more dark shades to the foreground, and began to add detail to the trees in the distance. I am trying to capture the sense being in the woods, in the shadows, and looking ahead to bright sunlight on the path. (I am using one of my photos for reference, also called "Golden Path" and also found on this site.)

Golden Path (Oil Bar Painting Day 1)

Golden Path (Oil Bar Painting Day 1)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is another oil bar painting that I have been working on this week, a painting of a sunlit path in October. This is how the painting looked on Day 1, which was December 26th. My goal that day was to just rough in the composition, which turned out to be a bit of a challenge because I couldn't get the path to behave itself. I struggled with the perspective, and was getting lost in revisions and changes, until finally I used a big red oil bar to draw in the outlines of the path. That seemed to do the trick. This painting is loosely based on a photo that I took at Long Hill Gardens in late October. (If you want to see the photo, it is also called "Golden Path" and I posted it on this site on October 27, 2009)

Woods in Durham, NH (Oil Bar Painting Day 6)

Woods in Durham, NH (Oil Bar Painting Day 6)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is one of the paintings I have been working on this week. I thought I would post this one today because I was thinking about it when I woke up, and it is the first one I worked on today. I intended to add more highlights to the painting to make it brighter. But in my photo, the one that I am using for reference (Morning Light in New Hampshire, also posted here), the shadows in the woods are actually darker than in my painting, but the sunlit areas really stand out. So I added more dark blue areas, and sure enough, that seemed to brighten the lighter areas. (It is a paradox in art that the contrast with darkness makes things bright.) Then I added more light green to the foliage as well.

Woods in Durham, NH (Oil Bar Painting Day 5)

Woods in Durham, NH (Oil Bar Painting Day 5)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is my painting of the woods in Durham, NH, as it looked on December 24, which was Day 5. I added some more shadows to the foliage to give it more depth. I am still planning to add more highlights to the foliage.

Woods in Durham, NH (Oil Bar Painting Day 4)

Woods in Durham, NH (Oil Bar Painting Day 4)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is another oil bar painting that I have been working on, from one of my photos, taken in Durham, New Hampshire last September. This is how the painting looked when I finished working on it on Day 4 (December 23). That day, I was concentrating on the foliage, trying to give it fullness by changing some of the shapes, and more depth by adding lights and darks. I tried a little dark blue for the shadows, and I liked the way it worked.

Sunset Celebration (Oil Bar Painting Day 3)

Sunset Celebration (Oil Bar Painting Day 3)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is another oil bar painting that I have been working on this week. (I am getting ready for a show in January so I have several paintings in progress at the moment.) On December 23 (which was Day 3), I adjusted the composition slightly by extending the water further to the right. Then I added some pink to the water and the sky, and also added white highlights to the clouds. I need to clean this one up an seal the edges, but apart from that, I think it is pretty close to finished. (But I reserve the right to change my mind about that!) This painting is based on a photo that I took with my phone cam from the passenger side of a moving car. If you want to see the original photo, it is also called Sunset Celebration and can be found on this site as well, posted July 30, 2005.

Rising Sun on Woods and Snow (Oil Bar Painting Day 4)

Rising Sun on Woods and Snow (Oil Bar Painting Day 4)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is one of my oil bar paintings as it looked when I had finished painting yesterday. I adjusted the shapes of some of the trees and added a bit more to the foliage. I am never completely sure that a painting is finished; this one certainly needs to be cleaned up and sealed before it can be hung. If I do anything else to it, it probably won't be much, maybe extend the foliage just a bit in a few places. But I like the painting as it is now. In fact, I am sending this image out with holiday greetings to my friends.

Rising Sun on Woods and Snow (Oil Bar Painting Day 3)

Rising Sun on Woods and Snow (Oil Bar Painting Day 3)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is one of the oil bar paintings I have been working on. This is how this snow scene looked yesterday when I finished working on it. I changed the shape of the tree on the right. I also worked on painting the sun shining through the trees, trying to get the effect of the sunlight but still shows the trees.

Rising Sun on Woods and Snow (Oil Bar Painting Day 2)

Rising Sun on Woods and Snow (Oil Bar Painting Day 2)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

I worked a little on this painting yesterday. This is a photo of it as it looked when I finished painting on Day 2 (which was December 22). I worked on the colors, and added more definition to the some of the lines and shapes. There is more work to be done here. To be continued. . . .

Rising Sun on Woods and Snow (Oil Bar Painting Day 1)

Rising Sun on Woods and Snow (Oil Bar Painting Day 1)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Here is another oil bar painting in progress as it looked on Day 1 (which was yesterday, December 21). I had two goals: rough in the composition, and avoid running out of white paint! For reference, I am using a photograph that I took a few years ago (also called "Rising Sun on Woods and Snow" and posted on this site on March 26, 2007.) I have three oil bar paintings in process at the moment because I am painting for a show in January, and hope to show six paintings (one of which I already completed last year). Now that I have a new studio set-up at home, I am trying to make up for lost time. I am trying to get all the paintings roughed in early to maximize drying time, and then go back and add detail. Most of the paint goes on at the beginning, at least the way I paint it does. . . .

Woods in Durham, NH (Oil Bar Painting Day 3)

Woods in Durham, NH (Oil Bar Painting Day 3)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is another oil bar painting that I have been working on. (This is loosely based on a photograph that I took last year in Durham, New Hampshire. It is called "Morning Light in New Hampshire" and is also posted on this site.) This is how the painting looked on December 18th, which was the third day I worked on it.

Sunset Celebration (Oil Bar Painting Day 2)

Sunset Celebration (Oil Bar Painting Day 2)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Here is one of the oil bar paintings I have been working on this week in my new home studio set-up. This is how the painting looked on the second day that I worked on it, which was December 18, just two days ago. This painting is based on a photograph that I took with a cell phone camera from a moving car! (The photo is also called Sunset Celebration, posted here on July 30, 2005.)

Sunset Celebration (Oil Bar Painting Day 1)

Sunset Celebration (Oil Bar Painting Day 1)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is another oil bar painting in progress. I started it on December 17th and this is how it looked after I worked on it for about an hour. This is very rough; my goal was just to block in a general idea of the composition. My reference is a photograph that I took with my cell phone camera back on July 30th, 2005. (The photo is also called Sunset Celebration and is also posted on this site.) I had fun painting this. . . .but then, I always have fun painting.

Many Metallic Menorahs

Many Metallic Menorahs
Originally uploaded by randubnick

I decided to post this tonight because it is the last night of Chanukah. I created this pattern in Painter from the digital sketch ("Metallic Menorah") that I posted last week. Happy Chanukah (and many menorahs!)

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. . . .

Boston Clock Tower (Posterized)

Boston Clock Tower (Posterized)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

I went to Boston tonight for a meeting, near the Boston Harbor Hotel. The air was cold but the lights were beautiful! I didn't have much time to spare, but I took a few quick pictures. I love the Clock Tower, so I took a photograph. Later, when I got home, I cropped this image out of the original and corrected the color in iPhoto. Then I opened the image in Painter and posterized it.

Winter Sunset (Digital Woodcut)

Winter Sunset (Digital Woodcut)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Today I was transferring old photo files from my PC into iPhoto. In the process, I found a photo of a winter sunset that I took back in 2002. It was taken at a family gathering in Huntington, Long Island. (I remember Chanukah candles, so I think it was in early December.) The sunset was beautiful, but the photograph didn't do it justice. (I was using a disposable camera.) Once I had the photos developed, I was disappointed. The colors of the sky near the horizon were vibrant, but the rest of the image was black. So tonight I decided to see what I could do with the photo. I used iPhoto to try to lighten it up, then transferred the image to Painter and created a digital woodcut from the image. I used some color overlays and posterized the result. Then I did some cropping to get this image.

Heart Shaped Box as of December 8, 2009

Heart Shaped Box as of December 8, 2009
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This morning I went up to the studio to clear out a few more things. I am closing in on moving out. (Almost all my art and most of my art supplies are already moved out, so the space is becoming less and less my studio, and more and more just a small room in a big building.) While I was there, I spent an hour working on this decoupage and collage project. I have been concentrating on the bottom of this heart-shaped box. I finished the floral border, and today spent time filling in gaps in the central area, which is going to be brown. I don't know if I will finish this part of the project before I leave the studio for good, but if I don't, I will continue working on the project at home.

Heart Shaped Box as of December 7, 2009

Heart Shaped Box as of December 7, 2009
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This morning I continued to move my paintings and supplies out of the studio, so while I was there, I also spent some time working on this project. I am covering this heart-shaped box with collage and decoupage created from printed metallic ribbons. This is the bottom of the box. Today I concentrated on filling in the gaps in the center with pieces of brown ribbon. I am making progress. It would be nice to be able to finish this part of the project before I move out of the studio, but I think I will be all moved in a few more days. That doesn't really matter, because I will continue this project (and my other art work) from home. But it helps me to have a deadline, and working on this project has really sweetened the process of moving out of the studio.

Morning Snow (Posterized Photo)

Morning Snow (Posterized Photo)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

It snowed last night, the first of the season. I liked the lacy snow-covered branches against the morning sky, so I took some pictures. I cropped this image out of one of the best photos. I edited the image in iPhoto, and then used Painter to posterize it just a little.

Heart Shaped Box as of December 4, 2009

Heart Shaped Box as of December 4, 2009
Originally uploaded by randubnick

I am in the process of moving out of my studio, so this week I have been making daily trips to collect my art work and supplies. But each day, while I am there, I have been spending some time working on this project, a heart-shaped box that I am covering with collage and decoupage. This is the underside of the box, and I am creating a decoupage floral border, with a brown center. This photograph was taken yesterday, and I was very happy because I had completed the floral border.

Heart Shaped Box as of December 3, 2009

Heart Shaped Box as of December 3, 2009
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This heart-shaped box is a collage and decoupage project in progress. This photo shows how it looked yesterday. I am in the process of moving out of my studio, so I have been making daily trips to the studio to collect my paintings and supplies. But I don't like to waste a trip to the studio, so while I am there, I spend a little time on this project. Besides, working on my heart-shaped box always cheers me right up! This week I have been concentrating on the bottom of the box (unfinished heart, pictured). I have been working on the floral border as well as the center, which will be brown. I want the design to echo the design on the top of the box (also shown in the photo). I like the way the printed metallic ribbons catch the sunlight.

Watercolors of Portugal at Home

Watercolors of Portugal at Home
Originally uploaded by randubnick

These are some of my watercolor landscapes of Portugal, done from photos that I took during my visits there. They have been on display in several shows during the past few years, and most recently have been hanging in my studio. But I am in the process of moving out of the studio, sad to say. I brought these paintings home yesterday and decided to hang them up in my house right away. It was a great idea because once they were hung, I couldn't stop smiling.

Heart Shaped Box as of December 2, 2009

Heart Shaped Box as of December 2, 2009
Originally uploaded by randubnick

Today I continued the process of moving out of my little studio (which makes me sad), and also continued my plan of spending a little time working on this project while I am there (which makes me happy). I am covering this heart-shaped box with collage and decoupage created from printed metallic ribbons. Today I concentrated on the bottom of the box (floral border with brown center.) I filled in some more gaps in the floral border, and also added some bits of brown ribbon to the center. This photo shows the relationship between the top of the box (in front) and the bottom of the box (in back). Today I concentrated on the bottom of the box, which will have a floral border with a brown center. I filled in some more gaps in the floral border, and made some progress on center, too.

Heart Shaped Box as of December 1, 2009

Heart Shaped Box as of December 1, 2009
Originally uploaded by randubnick

I am continuing to move paintings and art supplies out of my little studio. I hate to waste a trip to the studio, so while I was there, I spent about forty-five minutes on this project. I am covering this heart-shaped box with collage and decoupage patterns created from printed metallic ribbons. Today I continued what I was doing yesterday, working on the bottom of the box (shown here) which is going to be brown in the center, with a floral border. Today I added to the floral border and also added some brown pieces to the center. I want this design to echo (but not overpower) the design on the top of the box (also shown in the photo), which is why the center area is going to be brown.