Friday, May 31, 2013

Red Leaves in the Woods (Oil Bar Painting as of May 31, 2013)

This morning I worked on this oil bar landscape (from my photo of the woods at Long Hill Gardens in October, posted here May 29.) I am blocking in areas of color, and trying to establish the composition. I am still struggling with the position of the central tree (next to the red foliage). I moved it this morning, but may change it again. I don't want to add much detail until I am sure of the composition.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Red Leaves in the Woods (Oil Bar Painting as of May 30, 2013)

I started a new painting this morning. I am using oil bars, and painting from a photo that I took in October. (I posted the reference photo here yesterday, a view of fall colors in the woodlands around Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA.) Today my goal was just to sketch out the composition. I thought that might be difficult in this case because the foliage is so complicated. It would be easy to get lost in those woods! I had printed out some copies of my reference photo, and I decided to divide each side into thirds, creating a big grid with nine squares. Then I used a ruler to divide the sides of the canvas into thirds as well. I didn't draw the grid on the canvas, but instead used pieces of blue painters tape on the outside edges. This helped by giving me some landmarks. Then I drew the basic composition in with gray oil bar, and started establishing some colors, especially reds and oranges. This worked pretty well, but I am still trying to work out the position of one of the trees. To be continued. . . .

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

View of Red Leaves in the Woods (Posterized and Digitally Modified)

I have been looking for another scene to paint. Tonight I found a photo that I took back in October (2012) at Long Hill Gardens here in Beverly, MA and published a posterized version of it here on November 9th. I like the complications of shapes and colors, especially the flash of red leaves. But I needed to make some changes for painting. I put a very pale blue color overlay on the sky (using the "magic wand" tool), and then I cropped the original composition to get a square format. I hope to start this next painting soon, perhaps tomorrow.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Cabbage Seedlings at Green Meadows

Last week, we stopped off at Green Meadows Farm in South Hamilton, MA. Lots of seedlings were on display out front. I liked the way these little cabbage plants looked, still wet from the afternoon rain, so I took this picture. Tonight I used iPhoto to do a little retouching, then cropped the image to get this composition.

Monday, May 27, 2013

First of May at Long Hill (Oil Bar Painting)

This morning I did a little work on this oil bar painting, a landscape loosely based on a photo that I took at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA. At this point, I am just making minor adjustments. I added some shadows to the trees on the left, and made some small changes to the trees on the right, trying to create some diagonals with the pink areas. Then I got started on sealing the canvas (painting the edges). This afternoon, as an afterthought, I added a few more shadows under the bushes on the right. But now I am ready to say that this is finished. It is time to start the next painting.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

First of May at Long Hill (Oil Bar Painting as of May 26, 2013)

This morning I got up early and worked on this painting first thing, even before having coffee. I started this painting last week (May 19th), and have been posting my progress daily. This landscape is loosely based on a photo that I took at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA. Today I started by mixing up some pale blue and reworking some areas of the sky. Then I mixed up some bright acid green and did some touch up on the lawn. Then I worked on the trees on the right, using that same light green to suggest trees leafing out, but also to link that area of the canvas to the sunlit grass below the fence. There may be a few more changes to this painting, but they will be small ones. I think I am almost done. Good thing, because it's time to start sealing the edges of the canvas so I can submit this painting for an upcoming art show.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

First of May at Long Hill (Oil Bar Painting as of May 25, 2013)

Today I worked on this painting, a landscape done with oil bars. This is a view of Long Hill Gardens (in Beverly, MA), loosely based on a photo that I took there a few weeks ago This morning I added some detail to the trees on the right, and did a little work on the fence. With this much of the painting done, it is far easier to ruin it than to make it better, so I am working slowly and carefully. There are still some things that I plan to change, but this painting is getting close to finished -- or at least I think it is. (I have been wrong before.)

Friday, May 24, 2013

First of May at Long Hill (Oil Bar Painting as of May 24, 2013)

I worked on this painting again this morning. I am using oil bars on canvas, and a reference photo, which is a picture I took at Long Hill Gardens on May 1. Today I added contrast to the foliage on the left, modified the shapes of the small bushes under the white tree, added detail to the tree branches in the upper right part of the canvas, and added just the suggestion of a path beyond the gate. There are still some things I want to change, but the composition is pretty much set.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

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

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.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

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

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.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

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

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.

Monday, May 20, 2013

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

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.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

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

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.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

First Day of May at Long Hill (Posterized)

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

Friday, May 17, 2013

Another Heart Shaped Box as of May 17, 2013

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/

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Redbud Tree and Green Window (Digital Woodcut)

Tonight I used Painter 12 to add a woodcut effect to my photo of redbud trees, posted here yesterday. I took the photo during a recent stop to see the butterfly garden at Willowdale Estates (in Topsfield MA, inside Bradley Palmer State Park).

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Redbud Tree and Green Window (Willowdale Estate)

Here's another photo from last week's little excursion to the Willowdale Estate in Bradley Palmer State Park (in Topsfield, MA). We walked around to the back of the house to see the butterfly garden. Lots of things were in bloom, so I took plenty of photos with my iPhone camera. I love redbud trees and I liked the way this one looked against the backdrop of the stone walls and green window frames of the Willowdale house. Tonight I cropped this image out of the original photo, to emphasize the top of the tree against the second story window.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Boston Strong (Digital Woodcut)

On Sunday, we were in Boston's Back Bay and walked over to Boyleston Street to see the make-shift memorial near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Lots of people have tied running shoes to the guard rails (also part of the memorial). I took just one picture. Tonight I applied Painter 12's woodcut effect and cropped the image to get this composition.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Pink Tulip after the Rain

Pink Tulip after the Rain by randubnick
Pink Tulip after the Rain, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.
Last week, we went to Bradley Palmer State Park and stopped to see the flowers at Willowdale, a beautiful stone house which used to be a private residence. There were lots of bright tulips planted in a small garden in the middle of the driveway near the front entrance. Although I took a lot of pictures of those tulips, this is the photo I like the best, just one pink blossom, with its petals still covered with raindrops from an afternoon storm. Tonight I used iPhoto to crop the image to get this composition.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Mother's Day Surprise (Public Radio Roses)

This weekend has been full of Mother's Day surprises, and here's another one, a delivery of roses that came for me this weekend. They are very beautiful so I took some pictures, and tonight edited this one. I kind of like the quirky composition, with the white background on the left. I used iPhoto to crop the original photo and clean it up with a little retouching. (I call these "Public Radio Roses" because they are part of pre-Mother's Day fundraiser. The roses are a bonus for donations and you can have them sent as a Mother's Day present. As the recipient of these roses and as a supporter of public radio, I think this is a great idea.)

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Mother's Day Flowers (Posterized and Modified Photo)

Yesterday some beautiful flowers came (an early Mother's Day delivery): lilies, tea roses, and pink daisies. So I took some pictures. I liked the composition of this one. I used Painter's digital pastel to do a little cleanup of the background just at the bottom edge, and then added a bit of posterizing.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Pink Dogwood (Digital Woodcut)

Here's one last look at the pink dogwood tree. Two days ago, I published the original photo here, and yesterday I published a posterized version. To make this third and final version (and my favorite at this point), I used Painter 12's woodcut effect. I adjusted the controls (with a lot of trial and error) to get the right amount of black outline and to get it to go where I wanted it to be.

Thursday, May 09, 2013

Pink Dogwood (Posterized Photo)

Tonight I used Painter 12 to apply posterizing effect to the image I posted here yesterday, a photo of pink dogwood blossoms that I took on a foggy morning. I also created a version with a woodcut effect and I plan to post that one here tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 08, 2013

Pink Dogwood

Pink Dogwood by randubnick
Pink Dogwood, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.
There was heavy fog early this morning, and the pink dogwood looked beautiful, so I went outside and took some pictures with my iPhone camera. This is the one I like the best, with the blue spruce providing a contrasting background. Tonight I did just a tiny bit of cropping, but otherwise this is the image just as it came out of the camera.

Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Near the Bass River

Near the Bass River by randubnick
Near the Bass River, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.
It seemed more like spring today, with warmer temperatures and trees beginning to leaf out. This is a photo that I took today during a little walk near the Bass River, here in Beverly, MA. I cropped the original to play up the long diagonals of the shadows. It is a pretty simple composition, but I think it might be a good scene to paint.

Monday, May 06, 2013

First of May at Long Hill Gardens

Here's another view of the gardens at Long Hill (in Beverly, MA) from a batch of photos that I took on our most recent outing, which was May 1. There were a lot of flowering trees to see, so I was taking pictures. You can see azaleas, magnolias, and weeping cherry in this photo. Tonight I used iPhoto to do a tiny bit of retouching and then experimented with the crop until I decided on this version. I like the long diagonals created by the late afternoon light, and I think they help to balance the composition.

Sunday, May 05, 2013

Forget Me Nots (Posterized Photo)

We went to Long Hill Gardens this week, and the forget-me-nots were in bloom, so I took a couple of photos. Tonight I cropped this image out of the best one. Then I did a little digital cleanup with Painter 12's digital pastel, and then posterized the image.

Saturday, May 04, 2013

Another Heart Shaped Box (As of May 4, 2013)

Today I went to the studio at Porter Mill and worked on this project, a heart-shaped box that I am covering with collage made of printed metallic ribbon. The box once held Valentine's candy (Turtles, to be specific), and the beautiful ribbons were discards from a friend who was clearing out old craft supplies. I have been pasting down pieces of ribbon to establish stripes of purple and orange ribbon. It is slow-going and I have to fight the urge to just cover up the remains of the candy company logo. But I am trying to find and past in pieces of ribbon that have bands of gold running across color. So I am concentrating on that in an effort to get the same look across in all the stripes. Although I can see a little bit of progress, it is slow. I refer to this as "Another Heart-Shaped Box" because I have done this before. And when I get frustrated or discouraged or impatient, it helps to look at my first heart-shaped box, because I am very happy with how it turned out. Follow the link if you would like to see it too: www.flickr.com/photos/randiart/sets/72157632769935420/

Friday, May 03, 2013

Daisies in Blue and Purple

Daisies in Blue and Purple by randubnick
Daisies in Blue and Purple, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.
I made this image tonight on my desktop computer, using Painter 12's pattern pen, loaded up with the "Oopsie Daisy" pattern that I made some months ago. This was fun to do, and I think I might be able to use in on Zazzle.

Thursday, May 02, 2013

Spring Blossoms (Digital Woodcut)

Here is the third and last version of my photo of spring blossom. For this one, I used Painter 12 to apply a woodcut effect, adjusting the controls to get the black line to fall where I wanted it to go. Perhaps this is a lot of fuss over blossoming trees. But I don't think so. When the trees blossom, I always think of one of my favorite poems, "Loveliest of Trees" by A.E. Housman. Follow the link to read the poem on screen as it is read aloud by the poet himself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=uN5k9wauu94

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

Spring Blossoms (Posterized Photo)

I used Painter 12 to add a posterizing effect to the photo that I posted here last night. Posterizing simplifies shapes, intensifies colors, and I think it works well with diffused light and soft focus. I also used Painter to add a woodcut effect to the same photo, and I plan to post that image here tomorrow.