Vegetation Portraits on Oil Cloth?

Cyclamen on Oil Cloth - 16 x 12" Oil on canvasboard
 by Tracy Feldman

     This is another in the series that I am painting of objects on the wonderful oilcloth I bought for my kitchen table.  I had been calling the series, "Vegetable Portraits on Oil Cloth", but I think I'm going to need to change the name to "Vegetation on Oil Cloth" because as the growing season is coming to an end locally, I am going to need to look further afield for my portrait models.  What do you think?

     This one is of a lovely plant that a friend brought me and suggested would be a great subject for a portrait.  It's called a cyclamen.  Several varieties grow here in Ireland.  Some, like this one, are hardy enough to over-winter here (at least in mild winters).  Others go dormant over winter but return in very early spring (February) to brighten the forest floor.  Their vivid hues are very welcome during Ireland's particularly gray months.

 Cyclamen underpainting

      As you can see on the right, I used the under-painting technique I learned this fall from Dreama Toll Perry.  But because I could not finish the piece in one sitting, I used my painting medium when completing the painting.

           I chose to show the plant from over head because that point of view made the cyclamen appear to be growing out of the tablecloth  -- and that appeals to my "reality with a twist" sensibilities.  I also took several portraits of the plant from the side. I'm also going to paint one of those because I loved the way the perspective changed how the "leaves" look on the oil cloth.  So keep your eyes peeled for that, and for a persimmon and cranberry portrait that is also in the works!

Guest Room on a Snow Day

Guest Room on a Snowy Day, 8 x 10",  Oil on Canvas, by Tracy Feldman

Watercolor sketch for this oil painting.

Here is the oil painting I said that I'd create the earlier watercolor sketch I did of my guest room. 

I like both, but I prefer the texture and value range I was able to capture using oils. I also love the way the snowy day view outside the window came. Notice that I added some of the brick colors in the bedspread. Doing that helped visually tie the piece together and using a warmer hue in the foreground also helped draw the side of the bed closer to you. It was that image that initially captured me and inspired me to create a painting. 

I wanted to paint this piece because of how that beautiful snowy view contrasted against the still, formality of the bedroom.  The composition brought to mind Van Gogh's "Bedroom in Arles", and I thought it would be fun to capture the feel of that piece. He used oils, so maybe that is another reason I prefer my oil of the same scene.

What is funny to me is when I went on-line to see Van Gough's work, I realized that while both have a bed, paintings, and a window, they are very different.  But, even so, they still give me a similar feeling. 

Today I am posting this little oil on auction in my daiypaintworks.com gallery.  So, if it appeals to you, check it out.  For the first three weeks, it will be listed on auction -- starting at $25.  After that, I'll list it for sale at its normal, higher, on-going price. 

The Best Laid Plans

Guest Room on a Snowy Day, watercolor on drawing paper, 8 x 10."
by Tracy Feldman

It's funny how things work out sometimes.  Today I opened the door to our guest room and saw such a beautiful snowy scene out the window that I had to paint it right then. 

 Unfortunately, I started with the bed area first and part way through realized that almost none of the view out the window would fit on the page. 

The view that inspired today's work.

 I still like the piece, but I took a photo of what inspired me, so you don't totally miss out on what inspire me.  

I am thinking about painting a small oil of my guest room and putting it up for sale in my dailypaintworks.com gallery.  I think the texture would add another dimension to the work, and  I don't like how the whites of the sheets turned out.  

Mea-Culpa Me

Mea-Culpa Me,  Watercolor on Paper by Tracy Feldman

Didn't get enough sleep last, but I still wanted to complete a sketch/painting. So, I checked out my photos and up came this image of me that I took to illustrate my next newsletter. I wanted to communicate the feeling I was saying "Mea-culpa" for the month's delaying to my newsletter for a long time. I thought doing a sketch might be fun. The techniques and materials I used included starting with a pencil sketch done on my Strathmore Drawing Pad, then adding watercolor, and finishing with Sharpies and white gel pens.

I don't know if I'll use the piece to illustrate my next newsletter, but I had a great time doing it. Hope you enjoy it too.

Even Unwanted Kittens are Cute

Can You See Me? 10 x 10" Watercolor and Inktense Pencil on
Canvas by Tracy Feldman

Yesterday, I looked out my front door to see this cutie asleep in one of my hanging planters.  He's one of the new crop of feral kittens that have been born in our community this summer.  Like all of his brethren, he is adorable. But ... he's squishing the succulents I put in that hanging basket, and he's going to present another danger to the local birds and other fauna.  Even so, I couldn't resist photographing, sketching and then painting him.  

    Painting him also gave me a great excuse to play with the new Derwent Inktense Pencils my sister gave me.  Derwent describes these pencils by saying, "Pencil to ink in just one wash!".  I knew from my sister that the colors would get very intense when you put water on them, so I started with laying down a light watercolor wash and then added the pencils for intensity and precision.  Although they are in theory permanent after they dry, they're not really intended to be put on a primed canvas, so I wasn't sure how permanent they would be. Also, watercolors definitely are NOT permanent on canvas without being treated, so like with others of my watercolors on canvas, I gave this little painting a quick spray of a clear coat to protect it from water, wear, and the fading effects of sun.  I hope you like it as much as I did painting it.  I'm going to put it up for auction in my DailyPaintworks.com gallery.http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/403123

Summer's Bounty as Models

Mmm ... Tomatoes, 6 x 12", Acrylic on Canvasboard by Tracy Feldman

We are going down to visit with our niece and her family for a few days.  Since it is full summer and we are coming from the place in the US with the richest non-irrigated farmland, we asked them if there was anything we could bring.  My niece asked for tomatoes, and so I went to a roadside stand to get them.  They had lovely, red beefsteak tomatoes, and green tomatoes, and I decided to get both in case they thought it would be fun to make fried green tomatoes (made famous in the movie of the same name).

       After I got home I realized that I also had some low-acid (oranger) tomatoes and some cherry tomatoes that I had just gotten at our favorite Amish farm stand, and looking at all their luscious colors, I thought about what a beautiful painting it would make.  I was particularly pleased because I realized  with the addition of a paring knife and a yellow-green cutting board, these lovelies would make perfect models for a painting.  Thus, I went out onto my deck and set up the still life.  I really love the the way the glass top of the table I was sitting them on created the impression that my still life is floating on water. I also love the idea that my tomatoes will have a career before they come to a tomato's typical end (on the top of a fork).  I hope you enjoy viewing it as much as I did painting it.

     As usual, I'm placing this little work in my Daily Paintworks gallery for sale. It will be initially place on auction -- starting out less than I'll sell it for at a show. So if you are interested in checking it out and bidding on it click here.
     

Barnyard Bully Boy

Barnyard Bully Boy, acrylic on canvas, 10 x 8",
 by Tracy Feldman

Years ago, when we were visiting Bunratty Castle Park in Ireland (by Shannon Airport), we saw this remarkable rooster strutting around. I loved his look -- so puffed up -- and  I had always wanted to paint him, but I lost the picture I took of him.

    Just the other day I found a group of old photos and there he was.  I still found him visually compelling, but the dusty farmyard in which he strutted his stuff was uninspired.  So I painted him, but simplified the background to let him shine.  As I worked on him, I realized that he had protrusions under him that looked like they were made of claw material -- which made him look even more like a tough.  Thus, the name of the work was born: Barnyard Bully Boy.  I hope you enjoy it.

   Tomorrow I'll post another small work I did based on the old photos I came across.

    As with my other small works, I'm putting my bully boy up for auction in my digital gallery on Daily Paintworks.

Glass House Astilbe & Happy Accidents

Glass House Astlibe, acrylic on canvas, 10 x 8",
by Tracy Feldman

I painted this little acrylic painting today. It is part of my Longwood Gardens series. It is called Glass House Astilbe.  I have always loved astilbes for their shape, vibrant color, and because the are one of the few really colorful plants that thrive in shade gardens.  They even are perennials -- which appeals to my fantasy that perennial gardens are trouble- free once you plant them.  Of course, as with anything in life, if you want things to continue to be in good shape, maintenance will always be required.

Before I found recovery from compulsive eating, that fact seemed like a cheat, and that used to really bug me.  Now it's just a fact I accept, which frees me to enjoy the good things about a perennial garden -- even if it will always need work.  Thus, maybe I'll even get around to planting some of these beauties in my own back garden some day.  But at least I've finally gotten around to painting them.

The expression "happy accident" is used by artists to indicate that an unexpected thing happened during the painting process that could have been a problem, but when you look at it, you realize, "Hey, I like it even better this way".  The "happy accident" with this piece occurred because I too quickly sprayed a thick coat of clear glaze over the painting, and so some of the edges in parts of the painting got softer (less sharp) than when I originally painted them.  When I initially noticed the softening, I though "Oh NOoooo!"  But then I took a breath and placed the work on a flat surface -- to prevent any dripping/shifting. After a couple of minutes I looked back at the piece and thought, cool, it looks even better.  Yea!"  Hope you enjoy and would welcome any comments.

• This work is also up for auction on the Daily Paintworks site.  Bidding will start at $25.  If it doesn't sell at auction, I'll include it in the small works section of my next show, for considerably more than the starting bid. Click here , or on the Daily Paintworks icon to the right to get to my gallery and bid.

Dipping Into and Out of Abstraction -- part 1

Ever since I started painting, I have thought of myself as being a realistic/representational painter. Like so many self-taught painters, initially my painting style was very tight.  At the time I was painting almost exclusively in watercolor, which is a medium much more dominated by realism and that often values precision. But, even so, I realized that the most compelling pieces often had looser/more abstract parts within them. Thus, while didn't feel much pressure to experiment with abstraction in general,  I came to understand that if I let myself get looser, less literal (at least in parts) my paintings could be more interesting.

Teacup Pineapple, watercolor on
paper by Tracy Feldman 8 x 8", 2004

The little watercolor to the left is currently available on auction in my Daily Paintworks Gallery. It is an example of my  loosening up within a very realistic piece.  I reached past the literal by messing around with placement and how I named the piece.  So, I did a very realistic painting of a mini pineapple and a teacup for which it was named. I also placed the items on a tablecloth decorated with pineapples.  For me, it was an amusing piece of "reality with a twist". But as the years went on, I had a growing feeling that in order to keep growing as a painter, I needed to challenge myself even more by allowing myself to let go of my realism touchstone.

Reef,  by Tracy Feldman,
Acrylic on Canvas, 24 x 36" , 2010/11

Something that helped me loosen up was expanding my painting milieu to include oils and acrylics.  Being easily able to paint over sections of paintings to change the composition and coloration helped me feel safer using a looser painting style.

By 2010, I was willing to take a foray into abstraction.  I took an abstract painting class at the PA College of Art and Design.  During that class, I found that a brother-in-law of mine was ill.  I worried about him, and knew there was nothing direct I could do to help since they lived in another state.  So, I decided to use a number of his underwater photos as the inspiration for  an abstract work and send him good energy while I painted. That one piece grew into a series of figurative abstracts -- which means in my case that while my painting had identifiable "real world" shapes, the objects in the pieces were so simplified, and the color scheme modified in such non-naturalistic ways, that the final pieces became abstracts.  

But, these abstract works clearly didn't signify that I was moving from realism to abstraction.  At the same time, for example, I also was painting a number of very realistic pieces.  Furthermore, the next year, while my husband and I once again went to Galway, Ireland for his sabbatical, I went back to realism. More on this topic in tomorrow's post.