Butterfly hunt painting is finished!

I finished my painting yesterday of my children with their cousins at cascade Springs last summer. The grasses were pretty challenging to figure out how to do. I like a lot of elements of this painting but might try a few different things next time… Might make the trees fade into the sky a little bit.  Might make the vertical landscape lines more irregular for visual interest. But overall I like it.  If you see something that you could suggest to me that might make this painting better I would love to hear it.  Shoot me a comment.

This Lemon is No Lemon!

Cathy just finished a still life yesterday.  So proud of her.  Love the bold colors she picked.  The scale is large and fun (11x14).

A Visit to Anne Marie Oborn's Studio

On Saturday, February 21 I took my little Anne Marie with me to the art studio of Anne Marie Oborn to pick up the painting I had commissioned her to do (of that daughter). It is inspired by a photo that I took when Anne Marie was about four or five years old and was out in our little rose garden enjoying the roses.  Anne Marie has always loved flowers--particularly roses. Every year when they are in bloom she goes and smells them all, picks some and throws them into the air and thoroughly enjoys the experience!  I wanted to capture that moment with an oil painting. Take a look at what we got:

While we were there we were invited to walk in her Gardens where there was a enchanting little playhouse and water wheel.  It was a delightful experience.

Thank you, Anne Marie Oborn!

Good Things Happening in My Little Art Class

I really enjoyed working with each student last Friday.  They are doing such a fantastic job.  Cathy is painting bottles, Nicole is painting rocks in a beach.  And Chris is painting a rose.

Cathy took her painting home and worked on it some more. Check it out!

Study #2- Purple Sunset

(Top painting is the finished palate knife study.  The bottom painting is a partially completed brush study of the same sunset over Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake)

My first painting of this image was done using a palate knife only; very challenging.

This is my second attempt at this image but I used a brush.  I think I like it better than the palatte knife painting but I was surprised at how even though I didn't have as much control over the fine details of the palatte knife painting, I did like the texture created by the knife.  It was like spreading butter on toast.

My landscape painting teacher, Diane Turner, helped me figure our how to do the rays around the sun.  After I painted the rays she had me use my pinky finger to smudge the paint to make it look diffised.  I LOVE how it turned out.

BDAC Advanced Oil Class-Landscape Painting

January 13th was my first class with Diane Turner this winter. I took a class from her last year and loved it! One of her teachers was the Utah artist LeConte Stewart; famous for his impressionistic landscapes.  

Four years now I have been taking hundreds of photographs of the sunset over antelope Island that I can see from my house. I have been wanting to paint this for a very long time. I took several photographs with me to class and chose one to work on. She encouraged me to try a new technique by using a palette knife to paint with instead of a brush.  I must admit it was very difficult at first. I almost gave up and quit. But I decided to carry-on.  I'm glad I did. In fact, I might try it again. 

During the second class I decided to do the same painting but with a brush and see how it would compare.  I am not finished with it yet but you can see a picture of it as it looks right now (The painting on the top is the one done with a palette knife and the painting on the bottom is the one done with a paintbrush).  I'll keep you posted on the progress of the second painting.

Art Classes Resume

Today was the second day of my winter session. Here you can see a photograph of DeAnn and her daughter Faith. DeAnn is working on a landscape scene and her daughter is working on a watercolor of a flower. They both did a great job.  

I love teaching!