Monday, June 30, 2014

Doorway with Roses (Digital Woodcut)



Tonight I used Painter to add a digital woodcut effect to the photo that I posted here a couple of days ago. I fiddled with the controls until I got the colors and the amount of black "ink" that I wanted to see. The photo was taken at Willowdale Estates at Bradley Palmer State Park (Topsfield, MA). This is around back at the big stone house, where the garden is located.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Red Mountain, Pink Sky (In Galatea Artist's Alcove)


Today I went to Galatea Fine Arts to drop off some paintings for the July group show.  While I was there, I took a picture of this painting, which has been hanging in the "Artists' Alcove" for the month of June.  To learn more about Galatea Fine Arts, visit http://galateafineart.com

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Doorway with Roses (Willowdale Estate)



Yesterday, on the way back from the vet, we stopped at Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield, MA. This time, we decided to look at the flowers at the Willowdale Estate. We walked around to the back of the big stone house to see the garden. Lots of things were blooming, but it was hard to beat these roses, cascading over the doorway.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Pink and Yellow Roses (Digital Woodcut)



I used Painter to create this digital woodcut from the photo of pink and yellow roses that I posted recently.  I fiddled with the controls to try to get just a little bit of black outline. (This was a quick picture that I took in the floral section of the grocery store.) 

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Pink and Yellow Roses (Posterized Photo)



Tonight I used Painter to create this posterized version of the photo I published here yesterday, a bouquet of pink and yellow roses that I saw at the grocery store. I also used the photo to create a digital woodcut which I plan to post here tomorrow.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Pink and Yellow Roses (Digitally Edited)



Here are more roses, another bouquet that I saw at the store yesterday.  Although I love yellow and pink roses, I didn't buy these because they already looked like they were fading. But I did take a picture.  Tonight I used the retouch tool in iPhoto on them, and now they look a little better. 

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Roses and Reflections



I stopped to buy some roses today. All the roses looked beautiful and it was hard to decide which color to buy. I liked the way the roses looked on display, so I took a few pictures. I am partial to this photo because of the reflections at the bottom of the image, and the pale pink roses at the top. I am also partial to bright pink, so these are the roses that I bought.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Summer Cherries



I bought some cherries today.  I liked the way they looked right after I rinsed them off, so I took some pictures.  I think this is the best one.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Illustrations in the Studio



Yesterday was Open Studios at Porter Mill, and we decided to pin these drawings up on our bulletin board. These are all illustrations that I made for our recipe blog: seasoningforeverypalate.wordpress.com. It was fun to see these drawings up on the wall together, so I took this picture.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Porter Mill Open Studios June 21, 2014



I spent most of the day in my studio at Porter Mill, where it was Open Studios. I took a few pictures, so here is a little look inside. The paintings on the wall are done with oil bars.  There are mountain sketchbook drawings, mini-drawings, and mini-paintings on the counter.

Friday, June 20, 2014

Spirea in Bloom



Last week I was at the Cove Community Center here in Beverly, MA, where we go to pick up our weekly share for the fish CSA. The spirea shrubs were in bloom, so I took some pictures. Seeing spirea in bloom always makes me think of home because I remember shrubs just like this framing the front porch  when I was growing up.  

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Diagram for Making Stuffed Cabbage (Illustration)



Here is my illustration, a diagram for making stuffed cabbage. I added the color with fine-tip markers and colored conte crayon. I tried to used color to show movement or process, using darker green to indicate the "current position" of the cabbage lear, and pale green to indicate the prior position. I used arrows borrowed from drafting and technical drawing to make this feel like a diagram. If you want to read the recipe, go to seasoningforeverypalate.wordpress.com

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Diagram for Making Stuffed Cabbage



This is a pencil sketch for another illustration for our food blog seasoningforeverypalate.wordpress.com and is a diagram for making stuffed cabbage. It was a challenge to show a motion or process in a drawing. I tried to draw each step, while making sure the preceding stage was still visible. That was hard to do with just lines, but it got easier when I added color. To be continued. . . .

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Another Heart Shaped Box as of June 14, 2014



Over the weekend, I went to the studio at Porter Mill and worked on this project for a while. I am covering this heart-shaped candy box with collage designs created from printed metallic ribbon. I am still working on the purple and orange stripes on the top of the box. I call this "Another Heart-Shaped Box" because it isn't the first I have done. You can see the first project if you follow this link: www.flickr.com/photos/randiart/sets/72157632769935420/

Monday, June 16, 2014

Chili Egg Pie (Illustration)



This is the finished version of my illustration.  It has already been posted on our food blog.  If you want to read the recipe, go to http://seasoningforeverypalate.wordpress.com 

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Two Fathers (Digital Woodcut)



This image began with a negative that I found today when I was looking for a picture of my dad.  It was a small negative and I could make out who it was (but not where) and I couldn't tell the quality of the image.  But I was curious, so I scanned it in to the computer, and then used Painter software to create a "positive" image from the negative.  Yes, it was a photo of my dad holding me and my Uncle Bob holding my cousin.  (I was raised in a big house that held two families: my parents, my aunt and uncle, my cousin, and my grandma.)  I was excited because I didn't recall seeing this photo before.  But I could see why, because the focus was too soft and the image was a little blurry.  But I thought the image had potential, so I kept going.  I still couldn't figure out the location (and something seemed strange) so I decided to flip the image horizontally.  And that was the problem: I had scanned the image wrong way round, and once I got it right, the faces looked better and I recognized the house where I grew up!  So then I had some fun adding color and posterizing and finally turned this into a woodcut.  I thought this would be a good post for Father's Day.

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Chili Egg Pie (Illustration as of June 14, 2014)



Here is the six-part drawing I have been working on.  This is going to be an illustration for a recipe on our food blog,  http://seasoningforeverypalate.wordpress.com  I have been working in crayon and colored pencil, but today I added colored conte crayon (similar to pastel).  That allowed me to lighten some areas and add saturated color to others.  Now this is almost finished. There are just a few things I want to fix tomorrow. . . .

Friday, June 13, 2014

Chili Egg Pie (Illustration as of June 13, 2014)



Here is the project I have been working on for the past few days.  This is going to be an illustration of a recipe for our food blog, which is http://seasoningforeverypalate.wordpress.com  Today I started working out the colors, using both crayons and colored pencils.  This illustration is made up of six small drawings, so I decided to have the color scheme shift a bit with each drawing. And although some of the colors are determined by the ingredients, I also wanted to use bright pastel colors like pink, turquoise, coral (like the Fiesta ware).  This is still a work in progress, so this is to be continued. . . .

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Chili Egg Pie (Illustration as of June 12, 2014)



I was short on time this morning, but I worked on this project for a little while.  This is going to be an illustration for a new recipe in our food blog which is Seasoning For Every Palate.

This illustration is really a series of six small drawings.  Today I cleaned up the lettering, straightened out the lines, and tried to make all those pesky ellipses make sense.  Then I started going over the main lines with colored pencil.  It is going to be fun to start adding color, which is what I plan to do tomorrow.



Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Chili Egg Pie (Illustration as of June 11, 2014)



This morning I started working on an illustration of a recipe for the food blog  (Seasoning for Every Palate)  In the time I had, I was able to  sketch the idea out in pencil and then clean the drawing up a bit. (Well, it is actually six small drawings.)  Now I am trying to figure out the color scheme. To be continued. . . .

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Mountains in Pink and Purple (Acrylic Water Media)



Here is the painting I have been working on.  This is a small landscape (9 " x 12 "), painted with acrylics used with water on watercolor paper.  I paint these mountain landscapes from imagination and memories of the Colorado Rockies.  This painting was almost finished yesterday, but I wanted to put some highlights (pale purple and pale pink) on the tops of the mountain ridges.  Now it is done. 

Monday, June 09, 2014

Mountains in Purple and Pink as of June 9, 2014



This morning I went back to the painting that I started yesterday.  (This is acrylic used with water on paper, and I am painting from imagination and memories of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.) I wasn't crazy about the composition so I decided to change the lines of the mountains.  I mixed up some purple and got to work.  By the time I finished, I had modified the lines of both of the mountain ranges and I was happier with the composition.  I am not sure this is finished, but it is getting there.

Sunday, June 08, 2014

Mountains in Purple and Pink as of June 8, 2014



This is a painting that I started today.  I did this with acrylic paint used with water, on watercolor paper.  I am painting from my imagination and from my memories of the Rocky Mountains in my home state of Colorado.  This painting is 9 inches by 12 inches. (Many of the acrylic paintings posted here recently are 18 inches by 24 inches.) Well, this is still a work in progress, so I will say "To be continued. . . ." 
rt

Saturday, June 07, 2014

Ferns at Bradley Palmer



This morning on the way home from the vet, we stopped at Bradley Palmer State Park (in Topsfield, MA). We took the dog for a little walk and I saw these beautiful ferns under some trees.  I liked the patterns of the leaves in the sunlight so I took some pictures. Tonight I cropped this image out of one of the photos to get this composition.









Friday, June 06, 2014

Sunlight and Shadows (In Porter Mill Gallery)



This is one of my oil bar paintings, "Sunlight and Shadows". It is a  view of Salem from Obear Park here in Beverly, MA. This painting is on display this month in the gallery at Porter Mill Studios.  I liked the way it looks on the white wall of the gallery, so yesterday I took this picture.

Thursday, June 05, 2014

Pink Mountain Blue Sky (Acrylic Water Media)



Yesterday I worked on this painting one last time.  This mountain landscape is painted with acrylics used with water on watercolor paper.  I am painting from my imagination and memories of the Colorado Rockies.  I have been working on correcting the color, trying to tone down the purple towards the top of the mountain range.  Yesterday I used a layer of translucent pale pink over some of the darker areas that I wanted to cover.  I blended it in and let it dry.  Then I went back and painted another layer of the original hot pink.  Now I am happy with it and am willing to say that it is finished.

Wednesday, June 04, 2014

Pink Mountain Blue Sky as of June 3, 2014



Yesterday I continued to work on this landscape.  I am working with acrylic paint used with water on watercolor paper, and the subject matter is inspired by my memories of the Colorado Rockies.  I am happy with the composition but have been working to adjust the color. I had added some purple to create shadows, but I wanted it to be more subtle. So yesterday I added some magenta washes over the purple. I also added a pearly pink wash to the sky to even things out. To be continued. . .

Tuesday, June 03, 2014

Pink Mountain Blue Sky as of June 2, 2014



This is the painting I have been working on as it looked yesterday.  This is done with acrylics used as water media paint on watercolor paper. It is part of a series that I call "mountain daydreams" because they are painted from my imagination and memories of the mountains in Colorado, my home state.  Yesterday I added some purple to get some depth, maybe a little more than I wanted.  But this is a work in progress, so let's see what happens. To be continued. . . .

Monday, June 02, 2014

Pink Mountain Blue Sky as of June 1, 2014



Here is the painting that I started yesterday.  This is another acrylic water media landscape, painted from my imagination and my memories of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. This is a work in progress; in fact, the painting was still wet when I took this photo.

Sunday, June 01, 2014

Another Heart Shaped Box as of June 1, 2014



I was at Porter Mill Studio this afternoon and worked for a while on this project.  I am covering this (former) candy box with collage patterns created from printed metallic ribbon.  I am still working on the top of the box and the work is slow but the orange and purple stripes are getting easier to see.  I call this "Another Heart-Shaped Box" because I have already made another one.  If you want to see the first one, follow this link: I was at Porter Mill Studio this afternoon and worked for a while on this project.  I am covering this (former) candy box with collage patterns created from printed metallic ribbon.  I am still working on the top of the box and the work is slow but the orange and purple stripes are getting easier to see.  I call this "Another Heart-Shaped Box" because I have already made another one.  If you want to see the first one, follow this link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/randiart/sets/72157632769935420/