Backgrounds Are A Challenge

"Red Background"

Oil on Canvas, 10x8," c. Catherine Vines

   

For me at least.  

So I decided to make a preemptive strike, so to speak. This red background is for a landscape I have planned. My idea to to selectively let some of the red show through.

This is another foray into Color Relationships. In this case, each red is slightly different - not so clear in the photograph.

The next step will be a value study, then on to the painting.

Daily Paintworks Challenge - Landscape2

"German Landscape"

Oil on canvas, 10x8" c. Catherine Vines

This is my second entry in the Daily Paintworks Weekly Challenge - for the previous week!  

I am still concentrating on my color studies by developing color relationships. There are parts I love in this painting, or at least like: the road, for instance. On the other hand, my Main Squeeze thinks the road looks like a river. He could be right.
Seth Godin writes in "How to Fail" that successful people fail often and learn from it. At least I've got the first part down and I'm working on the second.

Daily Paintworks Challenge

"German Ess Curve"

Oil on Canvas Board, 10x8," c. Catherine Vines

For sometime now I have been wanting to participate in one of the on-line challenges. Being such a slow painter, the sponsors are usually way onto the next challenge, before I am ready to participate. But I finally made it. On the last day.
The site is called "Daily Paintworks." Here is the link to the Challenge where you can see the original photograph and view the other entries.
p.s. It's my birthday! Be happy!

Paint Relationships

Oil on canvas, detail, 48" sq.,  c. Catherine Vines

I started this current group of photographs based on the idea of light, capturing those clear luminous patches of light within the landscape. The series "Trees as Sculpture" was created with the intent of trying to portray that light.  But then, as always, I fell in love with color and my focus switched to using color schemes to paint from. With this latest tree - nearly finished, yea! - I have concentrated on developing relationships between colors, working my way up and down the value scale. As Ken Kewley says, "The life of a painter is a life of exploring."

Painting from Photographs

Photograph, 2011,  c. Catherine Vines

My tree series is called, "The Tree as Sculpture." In the beginning as I walked my dog, I would photograph trees just because I liked them.  After I better identified what it was that drew me to the trees, I began to be more selective. Since I am primarily a value-driven painter, I started out by trying to reproduce the values - if not the colors - I had captured.  And I worked primarily from photographs.  But at some point, I have to put the photographs away and paint in response to the painting. Like many others, I believe the photograph is only an aid, and only useful to a certain point. Then the painter must take charge.

Painting Local Color

Oil on canvas, 6" sq.,  c. Catherine Vines

I realize the term 'local color" can have many meanings; but in this case, I am referring to where I live.  Literally.  These ibises were foraging for food (do birds forage?) in my front yard. More that the birds themselves, I love the shadows across the lawn.  In fact, many of my neighborhood photos have to do with catching the light. I love the interplay of dark and light, warm and cool. This painting is done with a palette knife.

What Makes a Series

Oil on canvas,  8x10,"  c. Catherine Vines

My neighbor got me started painting trees. Joan is on the Tree Board of our town and she asked me to donate a painting for their silent auction.  Since the subject was trees I thought I should try one, even though I am not a landscape painter. This is one of my early paintings for the festival (our "Treebute"). It took several attempts for me to identify what it was that attracted me to the trees. Even back when I was just visiting the town, I had always loved the sculptural quality of its trees.  Once I honed in on that quality, I was able to branch out (so to speak!) into my current series. What interests me the most is learning that I don't have to start out loving something for it to grow into a meaningful and rich series.