Magnolia Blossoms (Oil Bar Painting as of August 31, 2014)

Here is my painting as it looked when I had finished working on it this morning.  This is oil bar on a canvas that is 8 x 10 inches.  I am working from my photo of a magnolia tree in bloom. (My reference photo is posted here on August 14.)  This morning I had a little more time, so I continued to work on the blossoms.  I am trying to add some suggestion of light and shadow, so I used a pale periwinkle and some purple on some of the blossoms.  Just a little bit more to go on this one, I think.

Magnolia Blossoms (Oil Bar Painting as of August 30, 2014)

Here is the most recent version of the oil bar painting that I am working on. This is oil bar on a canvas that is 8 x 10 inches. I am using one of my photos as a reference (posted here August 14.) I didn't have much time to paint this morning, but I decided to use the time I had to work on the tiny green leaves and stems. I think I will be able to finish this painting very soon.

Dad Waiting for Subway (Rescued Snapshot)

Yesterday, I posted a colorized and posterized version of this image. Tonight I am posting the snapshot as it looked after I did a little cleanup with iPhoto. This is my dad, on his honeymoon. He was on the way to Brooklyn with his bride, going to introduce her to his family. While they were waiting for the subway, my mother took this picture. I like the composition and the effects of the light.

Dad Waiting for Subway (Posterized Photo)

This image began with a snapshot from my mother's album. (This album begins with her first date with my date and continues through their marriage and their time apart during World War II.)  This photo is close to the beginning of the album.  It was taken during their honeymoon.  They met and married in Pueblo, Colorado, where my father was stationed. A few weeks later, they took a train trip to NYC so my mother could meet my father's family and my father could see his family before he went overseas.  This photo was taken after they got off the train to New York City and were waiting for the subway to Brooklyn.  (I know all this because my mother wrote descriptions in the album, white ink on black paper).  And on the photo it says "Waiting for Sub." The photographer must have been my mom.  I really like the composition and effects of the light. Today I used iPhoto to do some basic cleanup of the snapshot, then used Painter to add color overlay and posterizing. I am posting in celebration of my Dad's birthday (August 28th).  His memory is a blessing to me, for sure.

Magnolia Blossoms (Oil Bar Painting as of August 27, 2014)

This morning I worked on this painting again. This is oil bar on an 8 x 10 inch canvas, and I am working from one of my photos (posted here on August 14). Today I concentrated on the blossoms, trying to show where the light hits them, where the petals overlap, and where each blossom is in relation to the others. I worked slowly and spent a lot of time looking at my reference photo. I think I made progress, and hope to be finished very soon.

Magnolia Blossoms (Oil Bar Painting as of August 26, 2014)

This is my oil bar painting as it looked when I finished working on it today.  I am working from one of my photos (posted here on August 14, 2014).  Today I kept going with the blossoms, trying to add light and delicate shadow.  I also did some general cleanup with the background color.  It seems that the closer I get to finished, the slower I go.  But I think that's because there is more to lose if I make a mistake.  So this is still a work in progress, but not for long.

Magnolia Blossoms (Oil Bar Painting as of August 25, 2014)

Time was short today, but I worked on my oil bar painting for a little while this morning. This painting is roughly based on one of my photos, posted here August 14. I am trying to suggest sunlight on the branches, so I added some yellow to some of the tiny leaves, and also added more light and shade accents to the blossoms, using my reference photo as a guide. This is still a work in progress . . . .

Magnolia Blossoms (Oil Bar Painting as of August 23, 2014)

Here is the painting I have been working on as it looked on August 23. I worked on adding a little bit of light and shadow to the blossoms, using my reference photo (posted here on August 14.) I am working slowly at this point trying to get the details right. This is oil bar on an 8 x 10 inch canvas. This is still a work in progress. . . .

Magnolia Blossoms (Oil Bar Painting as of August 22, 2014)

Here is the painting I am working on as it looked on August 22.  This is oil bar on a canvas that is 8 x 10 inches.  I am using one of my photos as a reference (posted here on August 14).  For my painting session on the 22nd, I began with the goal of adding light to the branches, using my photo as a guide.  A little bit of light can make a big difference. This is still a work in progress.  To be continued. . . .

Magnolia Blossoms (Oil Bar Painting as of August 21, 2014)

Here is my painting of magnolia blossoms as it looked after yesterday's painting session. I am using one of my photos as a reference (posted here August 14). This is oil bar on an 8 x 12 inch canvas. Yesterday I added some shadows to the branches. I mixed purple with cobalt blue and green to get a dark purple. I added it to the parts of the branches that are in shadow, using my reference photo as a guide. I decided I was going in the right direction. This is still a work in progress. To be continued. . . .

Magnolia Blossoms (Oil Bar Painting as of August 20, 2014)

Here is my oil bar painting as it looked yesterday at the end of my painting session, and it is still a work in progress. I am using one of my photographs as a reference though I am not trying for an exact copy. (If you want to see my reference photo, it is posted on this site on August 14.) Yesterday I worked on some of the blossoms that I had moved the day before when I modified the composition. But I spent most of the time working on the lines of the branches.

Magnolia Blossoms (Oil Bar Painting as of August 19, 2014)

Here is my oil bar painting as it looked yesterday (August 19) when I finished painting. (I am now a day behind in posting.) This is based on a photo that I took; the reference photo is posted here August 14. This is still a work in progress. Yesterday I straightened out some edges, and revised the composition, moving some blossoms around and eliminating others. For example, I painted out a blossom in the upper right corner. I think this composition works better because now the diagonal lines are stronger. This painting is part of a series of small oil bar paintings of branches. If you want to see the other paintings in the series, follow this link: www.flickr.com/photos/randiart/sets/72157646682793975/

Another Heart Shaped Box as of August 18, 2014

Yesterday I was at the studio at Porter Mill and worked for a while on this project. I am covering this former candy box with collage designs made from printed metallic ribbon. I am currently working on the top of the box, making purple and orange stripes out of bits of ribbon. It is slow going, but I am getting there. I call this "Another Heart-Shaped Box" because this is not the first one I have made; if you want to see how my first heart-shaped box turned out, follow this link: www.flickr.com/photos/randiart/sets/72157632769935420/

Magnolia Blossoms (Oil Bar Painting as of August 18, 2014)

Here is the latest version of my oil bar painting. (My reference is one of my photos, posted here on August 14.) I worked on the painting this morning and it is still very much a work in progress. Yesterday I roughed in a dark background and I was itching to neaten up all the edges. But I knew I needed to wait for the paint to dry a bit. So I worked on the color scheme and placement of the tiny light green leaves and the branches. To be continued. . .

Magnolia Blossoms (Oil Bar Painting as of August 17, 2014)

I worked on my oil bar painting again this morning. This painting is roughly based on a photo that I took (posted here August 14, 2014). Today I went over the branches with purple. This is not the final color (though there will be purple in the branches), but purple is easy to see and will help me to get lost. Then I got started on the background with a deep blue-green. This is just the first coat (underpainting); no doubt colors and details will change. But I am getting an idea of how the blossoms will look against a dark background.

Magnolia Blossoms (Oil Bar Painting as of August 16, 2014)

I worked on this painting this morning. This is oil bar on an 8 x 10 inch canvas. I am using one of my photographs as a reference (posted here on August 14) but am changing things around a bit for the sake of the composition. This painting is part of a series, so I am trying to match the scale to the other paintings. Today I added more shape to the magnolia blossoms, and more detail to show where the blossoms connect to the branches. This is going to have a dark background, so I made a few strokes just to get an idea of how that might look.

Magnolia Blossoms (Oil Bar Painting as of August 15, 2014)

This is the painting that I started this morning. This is oil bar on an 8 x 10 inch canvas. I am using one of my photos as a reference (see yesterday's post) but I am not planning to reproduce it exactly. So this morning I worked on sketching out the basic composition. I was also working on the scale because this is part of a series of paintings of branches, and all of the paintings are 8 x 10 inches. So I want the basic size of the magnolia petal to be roughly the same scale as the leaves in the other paintings. I used my thumb to measure. Even though I didn't get too far today, it felt great to be painting.

Magnolia Branches (Posterized Photo)

This image started with a photo that I took in April of 2010 of the magnolia tree in my yard. Today I cropped this image out of the original photo and posterized it. Then I printed out an 8 x 10 version of it.  I am going to use it as a reference photo for an oil bar painting that I am going to start working on tomorrow.

Another Family Tree Prototype

I recently made this little mixed media collage to serve as a prototype for an illustrated family tree.  I made it in preparation for yesterday's Memory Imprints workshop.  Although it is small, it is an example of another way to show family relationships in a visual organization.  If you want to know more about Memory Imprints, visit this link:  http://memoryimprints.net

Illustrated Family Tree (Sample)

I have been working on this project for the past few days, and finally finished last night.  This is a sample of an illustrated family tree that I made for Memory Imprints.  I used it as a sample in a workshop that we gave today, but it is also going to be used as a example of the kind of photo display that we can create for clients.  This is collage on masonite board.  If you want to learn more about Memory Imprints, go to http://memoryimprints.net

Seaside Roses (Digital Woodcut)

Tonight I used Painter to create this digital woodcut, working from a photo that I took on August 7. We stopped off at one of the tiny seaside parks off of Lothrop Street, here in Beverly, MA. These little parks are hidden away, so small you might miss them entirely. Each one is about the size of a lot for a house; they all begin at street level, but slope down to the sea, some with a staircase. Each one is marked with a little sign that says, "Please enjoy this public way." And I do.

Cattails at Bradley Palmer (Digital Woodcut)

Here is one last look at those cattails at Bradley Palmer. I used Painter to apply a digital woodcut effect to my photo (taken on July 25th at Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield, MA.) I had to do a lot of fiddling with the controls to get this to look the way I wanted it to, but I am happy with the result.

Cattails at Bradley Palmer (Posterized)

This is a posterized version of the photo that I published here yesterday, a photo of cattails that I took at Bradley Palmer State Park (in Topsfield, MA). I also used Painter's digital pastel to do a little cleanup in the foreground. I also decided to add more color to the sky. Tomorrow I will post a "digital woodcut" version of this scene.

Cattails at Bradley Palmer (Digitally Modified)

This image began with a photo that I took on July 25th, during a visit to Bradley Palmer State Park (Topsfield, MA). This was taken from the little wooden boardwalk near the river, very close to the Willowdale Estate. I liked the cattails and their reflections, which is why I took the photo. But there was a big old dead tree branch hanging down right in front of the cattails. So tonight I opened the image in Painter and used some cut-and-paste as well as digital pastel to hide the tree branch. I might try to paint this scene sometime. Anyway, I also created a posterized version and a woodcut version, which I plan to post here in the next few days.

Another Heart Shaped Box as of August 7, 2014

While I was at Porter Mill Studios this evening, I worked for a while on this collage project. I am covering this former candy box with designs made from bits of printed metallic ribbon. I am still and forever working on the top of the box, creating purple and orange stripes which are easier to see every time, even though progress is slow. I call this "Another Heart Shaped Box" because it isn't my first. You can see how the first heart-shaped box turned out if you follow this link: www.flickr.com/photos/randiart/sets/72157632769935420/

More Daisies at Willowdale (Digital Woodcut)

Yesterday I posted an image cropped from a photo of daisies that I took at the Willowdale Estate in Topsfield, MA. Tonight I went back to the original photo and created a more generous crop. Then I opened the image in Painter and used digital pastel to hide some wilted daisies. Then I posterized the image and added a digital woodcut effect, adjusting the amount of black line and "heaviness" till I got the look that I wanted.

Daisies at Willowdale Estate

This morning I took a picture of some daisies at the Willowdale Estate (in Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield, MA). I wanted to show the garden to a friend who was visiting. Tonight I cropped this image out of one of the photos.

Necklace with Pink Beads and Silver (Closeup)

Yesterday I finished this necklace and posted a picture of it here. In this closeup view, it is easier to see the colors and the textures of the silver beads. The plum colored beads are vintage glass and the cherry-colored beads are dyed jade.

Necklace with Pink Beads and Silver

I have been working on this necklace for several days and finally finished it this morning.  I must have strung and restrung this one three times, due to modifying the design, but also due to miscounting the beads!  Oh, well.  I am happy with the result.  I started with vintage glass beads in a plum color and combined them with small beads of dyed jade in a cherry pink.  The metallic accent beads are silver plate as well as sterling silver.  I used stretchy cord so there is no need for a clasp.  

Remembering Montreal (Watercolor)

I took along my little travel watercolor kit for the recent trip to Montreal. I didn't really have much opportunity to use it, apart from this little painting (5 x 8 inches), which I worked on one afternoon in the hotel room. I was working from impressions and memories of what I had seen so far. I was pretty far into this painting when I began to doubt my memory. Weren't most of the buildings on Rue St. Paul four-story buildings? So where had I seen little houses like this? I have a pretty good visual memory, but I thought maybe was confusing the scenes in Old Montreal with the cute little farmhouses I had seen as we drove through Quebec. I was annoyed with myself but decided to keep going anyway, and work on the painting as it was. That evening as I returned to the streets of Old Montreal, I saw that I had not been entirely mistaken after all. Some of the older restaurants (like those I had seen in the main square (Place Jacques Cartier) are in little three-story houses like the ones in my painting.

On Rue St. Paul (Digital Woodcut)

I took this photo during a recent trip to Montreal.  This is Rue St. Paul, the main street for tourists, souvenir shops, and restaurants. It was late afternoon, the last day of our trip, and I liked the way the light played on the buildings. Tonight I did some basic editing in iPhoto, and then used Painter to do some digital editing, including simplifying the scene a bit and changing the appearance of the people in the scene. (This was to eliminate distractions but also to avoid producing a recognizable image of anyone.)  Then I posterized the image and applied a digital woodcut effect.