Sloan's Lake Sunset (Painting Reference)

This image began as  a photo that I took during one of my trips to Denver; I recently cropped it to make it work as a painting reference. I am not sure of the date, but I think this was taken in September of 2011.  Almost all of my trips to Denver were to see family, including my aunt, my cousin, and her family, who lived one block from Sloan's Lake in Denver.  And soon after I arrived or before I was about to leave, I would walk over to Sloan's Lake to see the mountains. 

"Near Colorado Springs" in Members' Show, Galatea Fine Art

On January 16th, we headed to Boston for the closing day for Galatea's annual "Member's Show".  We finally had a chance to look at the show and I am glad we didn't miss it.  It was a great show, and as always, seeing the artwork produced by the artists of Galatea put a big smile on my face.  I also finally had a chance to see my painting on the wall, so I took a picture.

Sunrise on Pike's Peak (Acrylic Mixed Media Painting)

On January 14th and 15th, I softened the sky with some pasted paper and made many small adjustments to the colors. This is the finished version.  

Sunrise on Pike's Peak (Painting as of January 13th, 2022)

Here's my painting of that Pike's Peak sunrise as it looked on January 13th.  I continued working on that second row of mountains, trying to match colors and shapes to my painting reference.* This is acrylic paint and pasted tissue paper on cradled board 16 x 20. 

*The photo that inspired this painting is posted here January 17th, and the painting reference that I created from the photo is posted here January 18th.)

Sunrise on Pike's Peak (Painting as of January 12, 2022)

 

Here's my painting (Sunrise on Pike's Peak) as it looked on January 12, 2022.  I applied more layers of blue and purple tissue paper to the foreground, and then painted into it to emphasize the shapes I wanted.  I also worked on some of the shapes in the second row of mountains.  Still a ways to go! This painting was inspired by an early morning view from my friends' spare bedroom on a visit to Colorado in 2005.  I took a photo even though it was hard to see the mountains behind the trees. The original photo is posted here January 17th and  the painting reference I created by digitally altering the photo is posted here here January 18.

Sunrise on Pike's Peak (Painting as of January 11, 2022)

Here's my painting of the morning sun on Pike's Peak as it looked on January 11th.  Here you can see rough preliminary work done on the two shapes in the foreground. This is acrylic paint and pasted tissue paper on cradled board  16 x 20 inches.  

Sunrise on Pike's Peak (Painting as of evening, January 10, 2022)

Here is my painting of the rising sun on Pike's Peak as it looked at the end of the day on January 10, 2022, after a second painting session.  I used acrylic paint and pasted tissue paper to begin work on the sky as well as the second row of mountains.  To be continued. . . .

Sunrise on Pike's Peak (Painting as of January 10, 2022)

Here is my painting of the sunset on Pike's Peak as it looked on January 10th (first painting day).  I used a combination of acrylic paint and pasted tissue paper to establish some of the shapes in the furthest mountain range. To be continued. . . .

Sunrise on Pike's Peak (Sketch for Painting)

Here is the sketch for my painting of the sunrise on Pike's Peak. (Painting reference is posted here January 18th).  I used conte crayon to draw the basic shapes right on the painting surface.

Sunrise on Pike's Peak (Digital Painting Reference)

This is a digitally altered* version of the photo I posted here yesterday. I took the original photo in the fall of 2005 from the spare bedroom of my friends' house in Colorado Springs.  The sunrise on the mountains was beautiful, and so I took the photo even though some trees were in the way. I recently decided to make this into a painting reference so I could paint that sunrise.  So I opened the image in Painter and got to work drawing over the trees and branches with digital chalk, matching the nearest color.  This took quite a while.  The colors of the sky and the mountain tops are as accurate as I could manage.  I didn't want to include rooftops etc., so I invented the shapes in the foreground, using the gray of one of the rooftops and the burnt orange of the aspen leaves.  This digital image is both photo and invention. I printed out a copy to use as a reference for a painting that combines memory and daydream.  To be continued. . . .

*Major understatement

Sunrise on Pike's Peak (Inspiration for Painting)

This is a photo that I took during a quick trip to Colorado, during the fall of 2005, I believe.  I visited friends in Colorado Springs, and stayed over. This was the view from their spare bedroom in the morning.  Although those aspen trees were lovely, I really wanted to take a picture of the sunrise on those mountains in the distance.  This photo was the result, and the best I could do. Even though it isn't a good photo,  I am glad I took the picture anyway because I recently decided to use it as the inspiration for a painting.  I decided to try to paint that sunrise, but it would take some work on the computer to turn this into a painting reference.  To be continued. . . .

Reposting: Tree in All Seasons (video)

Today I am posting this little video that I made on my iPad in 2019, with the Procreate app.  This little animation shows a tree in all seasons, and I am posting it to mark Tu b'shvat (New Year of the Trees), a Jewish holiday that starts at sundown tonight. As a child,  I fell in love with the idea of a new year for the trees, and   I still like this reminder to celebrate the trees and value the natural world,

Front Range Thunderstorm (Mixed Media Painting)

Here is the painting that I finished on January 6, 2022.  It was inspired by a photo that I took during a 2006 visit to Colorado. I got stuck in traffic while driving through Colorado Springs, and  then a thunderstorm went through. Since traffic was at a standstill, I took a picture.* The last step in finishing this painting was to rework the mountain slopes, adding pink highlights with strips of paper.  This is acrylic paint and pasted paper, 16 x 20 inches on cradled Hardbord.

*Photo reference posted here January 2, 2022

Front Range Thunderstorm (Painting as of January 5, 2022)

This is my painting, "Front Range Thunderstorm" as it looked on January 5, 2022, when I used acrylics to paint into the shapes of clouds, sky, and mountains that I had formed with pasted tissue paper.  I use the paint to smooth out the shapes and adjust the colors.  I often mix the paint with acrylic medium, which adds another transparent acrylic layer that acts like a glue.  I am working from a photo that I took in 2006 during a thunderstorm in Colorado Springs.* But even though I am painting a rainstorm, I decided to include the sun peeking through the clouds, as it often does during those fast-moving late afternoon thunderstorms in Colorado.

*Painting reference posted here January 1, 2022.

 

Front Range Thunderstorm (Painting as of January 4, 2022)

Here is how this project looked on January 4th.  At this point, all the basic areas were covered with pasted tissue paper, and I was starting to "paint into it" a little bit. This is easiest to see in the foreground, where  I pasted lime green tissue paper and then painted into it with a quieter green. 

Front Range Thunderstorm (Painting as of January 3, 2022)

This painting is based on a photo* that I took in 2006 while I was stuck in traffic driving through Colorado Springs during a late afternoon thunderstorm.  In Colorado, it is very likely to rain around 4 PM. Sometimes the storm leaves so fast that the sun is shining while it rains. Today's post shows that at this point in the process, I was working on the sky, using purple tissue paper to suggest storm clouds and gray tissue paper to suggest rain.  To be continued. . . .

*Posted here January 10th.

Front Range Thunderstorm (Painting as of January 2, 2022)

I got this painting started on January 2nd, using the photo reference posted here yesterday.  Here you see a combination of pasted tissue paper and acrylic paint (the green band of color).  This is very rough but you can see what I mean when I say that painting is scary, especially when you are trying something new. To be continued. . . .

Front Range Thunderstorm (Photo Reference)

Time for another painting, so I went looking through my photos.  I looked on the computer and found some photos from a trip to Colorado in 2006.  I was visiting friends in Colorado Springs, and got caught in traffic while driving from the north part of Springs to the south.  One of those quick late afternoon front-range thunderstorms moved through while I was sitting in traffic, so I was able to take pictures.  I really like the colors and composition in the original photo, but to make it useable as a photo reference, I used Painter to enlarge it and get rid of the fences and buildings in the foreground. 

Flatirons in Winter (Mixed Media Painting)

Here is my painting, "Flatirons in Winter," as it looked when I finished it on January 1, 2022.  Most of the big changes I made were to the right-hand side of the canvas, to make the slope in the foreground fit in to the rest of the scene.  I also made lots of other tiny changes as I finished this up. This is acrylic paint and pasted paper on a 16 x 20 cradled board.  

Flatirons in Winter (Painting as of December 30, 2021)

Here is my painting "Flatirons in Winter" as it looked on December 30th.  That day and the day before, I worked on this painting to integrate those huge rocky outcroppings with the surrounding mountains and hills.  I made many changes, painting into the pasted paper, and using my painting reference (posted here December 26th).  At this point,  my painting was looking better to me, although there were still things to fix.  Meanwhile, over those few days, I began to hear and see very alarming news stories about the huge fire south of Boulder. . . .

Flatirons in Winter (Painting as of December 28, 2021)

Here is my painting of the Flatirons in winter as it looked on December 28th.  My reference* is a digitally modified version of a photo that I took in Boulder during a visit to my home state back in 1974.  This is pasted paper and acrylic paint. On the 28th, I painted into the clouds, defined the preceding day with pasted tissue paper.  I also used the dark green paint from the mountains to paint into the outcroppings, also defined with pasted paper the day before.  Then I worked on the foreground, using white pasted paper and phalo blue paint to redefine the shapes.  To be continued. . .

*Posted here December 26th.

Flatirons in Winter (Painting as of December 27, 2021)

Here is my painting of the Flatirons in winter as it looked on December 27th. I started working on this painting that morning,  but for once I had the luxury of time so I returned to this project in the afternoon, and again at night. (I took this picture around 10 pm under artificial light, which is why the colors have a slightly yellow cast.)  I worked from my painting reference, a digitally modified version of a photo that I took in Boulder back in 1974.  I started by using pasted tissue paper to building the shapes of those huge outcroppings. (I hadn't planned to use pink, but I best remember the Flatirons turning pink at dawn. So when I saw the pink tissue paper, I had to use it.)  I also use pasted paper to create the shapes of the sky.  Then I used acrylic paint for the mountains.  To be continued. . .

Flatirons in Winter (Sketch on Aquabord December 26, 2021)

Back on December 26th, I started my painting of the Flatirons in winter by sketching on the Aquabord with conte crayon.  My painting reference* is a digitally modified version of a photo that I took in Boulder during a 1974 visit to my home state of Colorado. 

*Posted here yesterday, January 4, 2022.

Flatirons in Winter (Painting Reference)

I used Painter to transform my 1974 photo of Boulder (posted here yesterday) into a reference for a painting.  I cropped the original photo, and used digital pastel to simplify the foreground, replacing buildings and streets with a snowy field.  I adjusted the colors and added some posterizing effect. 

Flatirons with Snow (Photo 1974)

Time to paint more mountains, so I was looking through old photo albums again.  I found this one, was taken in 1974, probably in December. We moved from Boulder to Emporia, Kansas, in August of 1974, so I think this was our first trip back. We went to visit a friend who had a lovely house on a hill, and I took this picture from her front porch. Great view, great memories. But I needed to make some changes to use this as a painting reference.  To be continued. . . .

To Brighter Days Ahead (Final Version of Video)

This is the final version of the video I posted two days ago.  I used Procreate to create the original video, then edited the final frame in Painter (digital drawing posted here yesterday). Finally, I used iMovie to add the edited drawing to the video.  Anyway, sending this out (again) to wish everyone bright days ahead in 2022.

To Brighter Days Ahead (Digital Drawing)

This is the last frame of the video* that I posted yesterday, cleaned up with Painter.  I am sending this out to wish everyone bright days ahead.  

*I used the Procreate app on my iPad to do this; it captures a stroke-by-stroke replay as you draw. Here's a link to the video in case you missed it:

www.facebook.com/randa.dubnick/videos/889087868469182

To Brighter Days Ahead (Video)

 

Sending this out to wish everyone brighter days ahead in 2022!

I created this today on my iPad with the Procreate app, which creates a video replay as you draw.

Mountain Road (To Breckenridge): Acrylic Mixed Media Painting

Here is my "Mountain Road" painting as it looked on December 25th, which is when I finished it. As usual, I made a lot of very small changes as the painting neared completion (and I may make a few more as I clean up stray marks, etc.). But the main thing I did to finish this was to resolve the shapes on the right side of the canvas to eliminate some unwanted confusion. And then I made sure that the major lines extended all the way to the edges of the canvas. I think I might use this painting to publicize my next show of mountain landscapes (coming up in March at Galatea Fine Arts).)

Mountain Road (To Breckenridge): Painting as of December 23, 2021

Here is my mountain road painting as it looked on Thursday, December 23td.  I spent two days working on the right side of the foreground: the trees and the snow.  I was trying to get the textures and shapes right.  When I took this picture, I was finally happy with the texture of that stand of trees, but I was still not happy with some of the shapes.  To be continued. . .

Mountain Road (To Breckenridge): Painting as of December 21, 2021

Here is my mountain landscape as it looked on December 21 (last Tuesday). I did some more work on the sky, and also worked on the foreground. My painting reference is a (digitally altered) photo (posted here on December 12th). I took the original photo back in July of 2018 during a trip to Colorado and then used Painter to create the snow.  To be continued. . . .

Pink Apples on a Branch (Oil Bar Painting)

Here is my painting of apples, which I finished on Tuesday, December 21st.  I enjoyed getting lost in the detail of leaves and branches, sunlight and shadow.  I spent the past few days sealing the edges, and as soon as I have a chance, I will take it to Porter Mill to hang in the studio.  This is part of my branches series, oil bar paintings on canvas, 8 x 10 inches.

Mountain Road (To Breckenridge): Painting as of December 20, 2021

Here is my latest landscape as it looked on Monday, December 20th.  I was concentrating on the sky, creating more clouds out of tissue paper, as well as the foreground.  This is acrylic paint and pasted paper on Aquabord, 16 x 20 inches.

Birds Say "Enjoy the Season" (Digital Drawing)

Yesterday I drew this scene on my iPad with the Procreate app, which creates a little frame-by-frame animation as you draw, and posted the video here. Today I took the drawing from the last frame of the Procreate video and imported the image into Painter to clean things up.  I was able to zoom in and add eyes and beaks to all those birds.  Here is the end result.  Wishing everyone happy times and bright days ahead.

Birds Say "Enjoy the Season"

 

 

I drew this on my iPad with the Procreate app, which captures a "stroke-by-stroke" video as you draw.  I am sending this out to everyone and joy this chorus of birds in hoping you will enjoy the season!

Pink Apples on a Branch (Painting as of December 20, 2021)

Here is my painting of apples, still a work-in-progress, but almost finished.  On the 20th, I was continuing to add light and shadows to the canvas, as well as defining leaves and twigs where possible.  Almost there. . .

Mountain Road (To Breckenridge): Painting as of December 19, 2021

Here is my mountain landscape as it looked on Sunday, December 19th.  I am creating this with acrylic paint and pasted tissue paper (on Aquabord), using a photo that I took in 2018 as a reference.  I am experimenting with combining pasted paper and paint, and for the sky, I decided to apply the paint first, and then apply the paper to see how it would look.  That's how I found myself creating clouds out of tissue paper.  I also did a little work on the foreground. To be continued. . . .

Pink Apples on a Branch (Painting as of December 19, 2021)

Here is my painting in progress as it looked on Sunday the 19th.  I continued to work with light and dark, trying to define shapes of leaves and twigs as I go.  Like the other paintings in my "Branches" series, this is oil bar on a small canvas (8 x 10 inches).

Mountain Road (To Breckenridge): Painting as of December 18, 2021

Here is my mountain landscape as it looked on December 18th.  I adjusted the color of the darker shapes to provide more contrast.  I also adjusted some of the shapes.  To be continued. . .

Pink Apples on a Branch (Painting as of December 18, 2021)

Here is my oil bar painting-in-progress as it looked on December 18th.  I had been having trouble with the shape of one of the apples but finally corrected the problem by studying my photo reference (posted here October 17th). As I continue to paint the leaves, I am trying to create the same diagonal as in the photo reference, with yellow-green leaves dominating the top left part of the canvas, and dark leaves in shadow dominating the lower right.

Mountain Road (To Breckenridge): Painting as of December 17, 2021

Here is my landscape-in-progress as it looked yesterday.  I worked on the sky, and then painted into some of the other areas, adjusting the colors.  I am figuring out what to as I figure out what to do.  This is acrylic paint with pasted tissue paper on Aquabord, 16 x 20 inches.

Pink Apples on a Branch (Painting as of December 17, 2021)

I returned to this painting today. This is oil bar on a small canvas (8 x 10 inches).  I used brown and green to add dark areas, especially to the bottom right corner, and added some highlights to the apples.  To be continued. . . .

Mountain Road (To Breckenridge): Painting as of December 12, 2021

Here is my current work-in-progress as it looked on December 12th.  This is acrylic paint and pasted tissue paper on Aquabord, 16 x 20 inches. I am working from a photo that I took during a trip back home to Colorado in 2018. (My photo reference is posted here on December 12th.) I am using the pasted paper to define shapes as well as to create colors when layered with the paint.  On Sunday, when I used silver tissue paper to define the shape of the road and the mountain, I was very happy with the outcome and felt much more confident about the process.

Mountain Road (To Breckenridge): Painting as of December 11, 2021)

Here is the mountain landscape I am working on as it looked on December 11th (though I actually photographed it the next morning.)  As with my most recent mountain painting, I am using acrylic paint and pasted paper. I am using colored tissue paper to establish shapes, based on my photo reference (posted here December 12th). Working this way puts the emphasis on strong, simple shapes that I then paint into.  In addition, I am also using the pasted paper for color mixing. For example,  that dark green (the darkest area) began with pasted maroon tissue paper, which I then painted into with a medium green (Hooker's Green).  Working in a new way is exciting but scary.  I take courage because this method worked well for my last painting ("Near Colorado Springs," posted here November 20th.)

Pink Apples on a Branch (Painting as of December 14, 2021)

I haven't forgotten about this little painting.  Here is how it looked after today's painting session.  I am adding leaves and twigs to the composition.  This is oil bar on an 8 x 10 inch canvas.

Mountain Road (to Breckenridge) Sketch on Canvas

Over the weekend, I made a quick start on my painting by sketching out the composition with conte right on the canvas. I decided to start with a sketch because I am going to be using pasted paper and it helps to have the composition already in place.  To be continued. . .

Mountain Road (to Breckenridge): Painting Reference

Yesterday's post was the photo that gave me the idea for my next painting. Today I am posting the photo reference I created from that photo.  I used Painter to get rid of two cars, traffic signs, etc.  The original photo was taken in June.  In Colorado, it is not uncommon to see snow in the summer at high elevations.  But inspired by the snow, I decided to add more, so I used Painter's tools to add more and create a winter scene.  I liked the result, so I cropped the image one more time, and this is the result.

Mountain Road (to Breckenridge) (Photo)

This photo is the inspiration for my next painting.  I took this photo in June of 2018. We we were visiting my home state of Colorado and doing some sight-seeing with old friends. This was taken on the day we went to Breckenridge and I loved seeing the snow on the ski trails, even though it was summer. This photo brings back lovely memories, but it is not  quite ready to be a photo reference: two cars, road signs, construction barriers.   So I opened the image in Painter and got to work.  To be continued. . .

Pink Apples on a Branch (Painting as of December 10, 2021)

Today I worked on this painting again. I am working from a photo that I took back in 2018. I posted my photo reference here on October 17th. This afternoon, using my reference photo, I marked some of the darkest areas.  I also began to suggest some of the smaller branches. This is oil bar on a small canvas (8 x 10 inches).

Pink Apples on a Branch (Painting as of December 9, 2021)

I worked on this painting this afternoon. My photo reference is posted here, October 17; it is a photo that I took a few years ago near the apple trees at Long Hill Gardens.  This is a small painting (8 x 10) with oil bar.  It is been a while since I have done an oil bar painting, so I rehabilitating my brushes and sorting out the colors as I go to see which are still in good shape.  I am enjoying the oil bars, but it is such a different way to paint. I am using a palette knife to get the paint on the canvas, and then following with a brush.  It is bit of a struggle but I think it is a good struggle.

Pink Apples on a Branch (Painting as of December 8, 2021)

This is my latest project, which I had planned to get to several weeks ago, but today I actually started painting. My photo reference (posted here October 17th) is a photo that I took back in 2018. I am using oil bar on small canvas, just 8 x 10. This is part of my "Branches" series. It was lovely to get back to oil bars. I haven't used them in a while, so as I was painting, I was also freshening up my tools: soaking brushes and going through the oil bars to see what is still usable. I started with just a few colors applied with palette knife, and then switched to a brush.  At this point, I am defining the composition, and counting the apples to make sure I get them all in.

Pink Apples on a Branch (Sketch on Canvas as of December 7, 2021)

I finally got this painting started today by sketching the composition on the canvas (with conte crayon).  My painting reference is posted here October 17th, and  at the time, I thought I could work on three paintings at once and finish this one in time for Open Studios at Porter Mill. But life got hectic and that didn't happen. Although I wasn't able to get to this project,  I was able to work on two paintings at once -- an acrylic mountain landscape (now on display at Galatea Fine Art) and a commissioned pet portrait (now on its way to its new home).  Well, better late than never.  I am getting this one started now. This is going to be oil bar on a small canvas, 8 x 10 inches.

Reposting: Light the menorah

Reposting as Chanukah post for night number 8.  I created this back in 2011, using the Brushes app on my iPad.  Sending this out to say "Happy Chanukah" to those celebrating.

Reposting: Hurry Up Chanukah Menorah (Stroke-by-Stroke Video)

For Chanukah Day 7, I am reposting another little animation.  I created this one using the Brushes app on my iPad back in 2015.   I must have been in a hurry (seems to happen a lot around Chanukah).  Just press play to watch those candles light up.

Reposting: Tree of Life Menorah (2018)

I created this in 2018, to remember those lost in the attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue that year.  I drew this on my iPad with the Procreate app, which captures a video replay of each stroke as you draw.

Vinnie (Portait)

I have been making a lot of tiny changes to this painting, but now I am ready to say this is finished.  I have enjoyed getting to know this lovely cat, but it is time to send this portrait off to the person who commissioned it, and who will present it to Vinnie's owner as a Christmas surprise.  This is acrylic on canvas, 8 x 10 inches.

Reposting: Menorah_2019 (stroke-by-stroke video)

Here's my post for the fifth night of Chanukah.  I created this in 2019 using the Procreate app on my iPad. The Procreate app captures a stroke-by-stroke video playback as you draw. Wishing everyone light, freedom, and every once in a while, a little miracle.

Vinnie (Painting as of November 29, 2021)

Here is my painting of Vinnie as it looked on Monday.  This is basically the portrait. It is time to "seal the edges" and get it ready to mail.  As I do that, I usually clean up any little problems that are bothering me. I don't plan to make changes to the face. But I need to do some minor adjustments to the body and background, and cleanup some stray marks.  Nearly there. . .

Reposting: Lighting Menorah Video

Here is another menorah for Chanukah day 4.  I created this one back in 2010 I think, drawing on my iPad.