Day 48

Between Worlds

(6x8", Oil) Price: $100.00

Okay, it's another rocket...

I had this idea yesterday morning, and although it didn't turn out quite how I'd seen it in my mind, it isn't too laughable. The original glows in the light, but this image doesn't do it justice. Face it, no painting ever looks good in anything but its original canvas.

So, the nebula is reflected in the lake along with the space ship, and a tiny figure - NO it is not stick figure, he's in a space suit - stands on the firmness of a world, looking up at another world (the nebula), while both are reflected back into the water, which offers yet another world. I guess this could be considered a sketch for something larger. Hopefully, it doesn't look too goofy in this incarnation. It scratched an itch, anyway...

Palette was: Cobalt Blue, French Ultramarine, Permanent Rose, Titanium White, Burnt Sienna, and Cadmium Lemon.

Brushes: 1/2" Flat, Size 8 Round, and a Size 1 Round.

I'm not too confident about this one, so I think I'll get back to birds. There's this swan I want to paint...

See you tomorrow,

Marianne

Day 47

Bottlebrush Leaves

(4x5", Oil) Price: $45.00

Well, it wasn't my intention to paint this image this week. However, I was tossed a challenge from David McMahon in Australia in his attempt at tag-team blogging. He took the photo and posted it and the challenge on his blog, my task was to paint it and post the result on my blog. Not sure what happens after that. It kind of resembled working with an Art Director, though. Sorry the photo doesn't do this sketch justice. Maybe he'll send me a flower to paint next time, or birds...

Anyway, David is a photojournalist and carries his camera EVERYWHERE. He and his observations on life, news and the world around us, can be found on his excellent blog 'Authorblog' at http://david-mcmahon.blogspot.com/ Go tell him what you think...

The palette: Cobalt Blue, Cadmium Yellow Light, Titanium White, and a teeny bit of Alizirin Crimson to dab into the background and do the redish highlights on the leaves and stem. Pity both have been kind of lost in the digital translation.

Meanwhile, I got rockets and birds, and lots and lots more to paint...
See you tomorrow,
Marianne

Day 46

Reach

(6x8", Oil) Price: $120.00 SOLD

Well, it's 'pointy rocket week' in the Plumridge/Eggleton household this week. Bob has to paint some classic space scenes for his own Painting a Day blog, Bob's ART du Jour (see link at left), at the request of Roq La Rue Gallery in Seattle. They are having a big science fiction show next month, and the curator wanted to some small classic pieces to fill out Bob's display, and in general. Those pointy rockets certainly are popular. I suppose they speak to a lot of us who were born just before or during the 'space race' era. I remember watching a lot of movies as a kid, that had those sleek and wonderful rockets ferrying men and women into space. You could almost hear the whispers of people's dreams as they watched. Something to strive towards, and reach for their dreams of doing something important and impossible; reaching out to touch the stars; and wanting to get out and explore those stars. There are times today when I can still reach out and touch my own personal feelings about those visions, even though many labour under the burdens of everyday life. I am not alone in this. With the paintings that Bob and I do, we can keep the dreams alive somewhat - for us and for others.

So here is my offering. Possibly not as streamlined as I might have wished, but it satisfied the vision I woke up with yesterday morning. Hope it reaches you too.

The palette was: Cobalt Blue, Permanent Rose, Cadmium Lemon, Titanium White. Yeah, I know - 'girlie colours'. Brushes included: a Size 6 Round, 1/2" Filbert, and a Size 4 Flat.

Anyway, I'll get back to birds real soon now.
See you tomorrow,
Marianne

Day 45

All Puffed Up

(Vermillion Flycatcher)

(4x5", Oil) Price: $110.00 SOLD

Okay, so Vermillion Flycatchers are supposed to be well, more red... but this one is a lady Vermillion Flycatcher. The female of the species don't have the bright and brilliant plummage that the males do, because it's the males who have to catch the female bird's attention - enough to make her want to be his mate. Cardinals - the birds, that is - work the same way. Normally, this little lady is svelte and thin, but in this painting, she's fluffed up her feathers and now looks like a sweet, puffy soft toy. Perhaps she's cold, or trying to make herself larger to discourage a lurking predator.

Anyway, she was fun to paint.

Same palette as yesterday, but with the addition of a little Cadmium Red Light to help the 'vermillion' bits along.

See you tomorrow,
Marianne

Day 44

Oregon Sea Lion

(6x8", Oil) Price: $100.00

And now for something completely different...

I wanted to take a breather yesterday and do something fairly quick. I flipped through our photos from Oregon from a few years back and discovered the bay seals and sea lions all over again. Bob and I stayed at Newport in Oregon, on the coast ,and visited the 'Cannery Row' like waterfront in the old town. Below one of the piers was a floating platform that a about half a dozen or more extrovert sea lions came and lounged upon for the attentive audience above. They sunned themselves and struck poses of attitude in vying for good positions, and were quite often very funny doing so. Bob sketched, and I took photos with both of our cameras. This was one of them. Don't you love the arrogant 'here I am, aren't I beautiful?' pose of this chap?

So here I've rendered him in paint. The result is kind of stark, but all of the smoodgy detail is centred in his face and whiskers.

The palette: Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Blue, Cadmium Lemon, Cadmium Yellow Hue, Burnt Sienna, Titanium White, and Transparent Gold Ochre. Brushes: Size 6 Filbert, Size 1 Round, and a 1/2" Flat.

Back to birds tomorrow!
Cheers
Marianne

Day 43

Kookaburra

(4x5", Oil) Price: $140.00 SOLD

I was really, really tired when I started painting this, so it's a bit of a contrast to yesterday's flashy white peacock. I wasn't even sure that this one was going to turn out, but I persevered. Just as I was putting the finisheing touches to the beak and tweaking feathers, it sort of suddenly all fell into place, and I rather like it after all.

The kookaburra is a famous Australian native bird, and forms the Aussie branch of the Kingfisher family. Colloquially, it's called the 'laughing jackass'. It's got a very distinctive call that sounds like racous laughter, so I suppose it is apt. The subject for this painting was a photo I took at a small wildlife park in Sydney, which I took Bob to on his first trip downunder. The bird seemed really calm amongst all of the wandering humans, as did most of the birds and animals wandering free or fenced in. I remember one young emu thought Bob was soft touch. It followed him around, and when Bob's attention was elsewhere, the emu snuck it's head under Bob's arm and it's beak into the open seed bag Bob was holding. Sneaky bugger.

Anyway, the palette was: French Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna, Cobalt Blue, Cadmium Yellow Hue, Cadmium Lemon, a tiny bit of Alizirin Crimson, and Titanium White.

Well, on to the next birdie!
See you tomorrow,
Marianne

Day 42

White Peacock

(4x6", Oil) Price: $100.00 SOLD

I took reference photos of this beautiful white peacock nearly ten years ago when I was showing my soon to be husband around the local sights in Australia. However, I'm not sure if this bird and its stunning mate of regular colours were strutting around the Ettamogah Wildlife Sanctuary on the New South Wales border, or a similar place in Sydney. I fell in love with the bird's uniqueness of colouring and the way the sunlit surrounding colours bounced off the white feathers.

I took this photo of the painting in the studio, so it's not the greatest. I'll retake it in sunlight when next the sun decides to put in an appearance. It's grey and overcast outside at the moment. The painting and photos make me feel warm when I look at them - reminding me that at this time of year, the incredible heat of an Australian summer is fading fast.

The palette consisted of: French Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna, Titanium White, Cadmium Yellow Hue, and Alizirin Crimson. Canvas board, gessoed with an extra coat, sanded back and pretinted with the usual burnt sienna mix, and allowed to dry before painting. Brushes: Size 4 Filbert, 1/2" Flat, and a Size 8 Round.

See you tomorrow,
Marianne

Day 41

Spindrift Moon

(8x10", Oil) Price: $80.00 SOLD

This is the painting I mentioned a couple of days ago. And yes, there are parts of it that are still drying - the impasto white bits, of course. Anyway, although this is not a good reproduction, it's the best I can do for the moment. 'Spindrift Moon' is an extrapolation of the initial idea I used in the little 'Moon Fantasy' piece from a few days ago. The same palette and idea, and just added the dolphins above water and underwater.

Unfortunately, the white highlights have become light blue - so much for the distinction of the Digital camera. I believe the technology has a long way to go before it perfects the capture of Pthalo Blues and Greens.

In the right light, this painting - like its predecessor - glows.


Meanwhile, it's back to birds for tomorrow I think.
See you then,
Marianne

Day 40

Baby Lily Trotter

(4x5", Oil) Price: $85.00   SOLD

Awww...ain't he cute? This is a baby Lotusbird and is an Australian native bird. Colloquially, he's a 'Lily Trotter'. Sounds Victorian, doesn't it? Anyway, I needed to paint something for this week that I could actually photograph and post. I did another painting, but because it resembles the 'Moon Fantasy' piece from a few days ago, it's been difficult to capture in digital. I'll have to wait until it drys well and try and scan it.

Meanwhile, this little birdie caught my eye this morning and inspiration struck, so I painted him in all of his fuzzy glory. Those elegant extra-long toes were fascinating to detail in overly wet oil paint. When he gets older, he'll grow into them, more or less, and he'll happily skitter across many lily pads. I placed the half open Lily flower behind him to give an idea of how little he is, and give an homage to what his life's pursuit will be.

The palette for this one is the same for yesterday, however, I added some Permanent Rose for the flower, and exchanged the Cadmium Yellow Light for Cadmium Lemon. The Cadmium Lemon makes a really nice fresh green with the Cobalt Blue. Brushes were: 1/2" Flat, and a Size 4 Filbert. I did a bit of blending with a soft fluffy round brush.

The reason I've had time to do this today, is that there's a blizzard raging outside as I write this. We've been getting ready for a convention all week, and were supposed to have been on the road to Rye, NY first thing this morning. However, the weather had other ideas, and we'll leave tomorrow morning instead. Hmmm. Think I might go paint something else...

See you tomorrow,
Marianne

Day 39

Indigo Bunting

(4x5", Oil) Price: $85.00 SOLD

Yes, and Indigo Bunting is a bird. A songbird to be precise. However, I can't get past the fact that the name sounds like an 'old boy' from an Agatha Christie murder mystery.

This little chap was a joy to paint. He's in 'who's there?' mode, looking back over his wing/shoulder. I like birds, and I've found that I rather like painting them as well. Lots of smoodging in painting the feathers, and lots of happy accidental smoodging in the background. I've been having fun creating 'edges' with the edge of the brush - soft or hard - instead of lines. Building up splashes of colour in form rather than painting an outline first. It takes some getting used to, but I find it's rather liberating.

The palette was changed just a little for this painting: Cobalt Blue, Burnt Sienna, Titanium White, Transparent Gold Ochre, and Cadmium Yellow Light.

See you tomorrow,
Marianne

Day 38

Black Capped Chickadee

(4x5, Oil) Price: $110.00 SOLD

Okay, I took a sideways detour to paint a few birds this week. Don't worry, I'll get back to waves and mermaids soon. Anyway, this little chap caught my eye, and then the cute factor cut in. So I just had to paint him. This is a dark little painting, and unfortunately the photography wasn't the greatest: it was artic cold outside when we took the shot and my knuckles were aching something awful. I was trying to photograph a whole bunch of stuff at one time, so this one just slipped through. I will attempt to remedy that really soon, now that the weather has warmed up considerably.

Palette consisted of: Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Yellow Light, Titanium White, Transparent Gold Ochre. And whatever was left on the palette from the Moon Fantasy painting from the day before went into the smudgy background behind the bird. Brushes were: Size 4 Synthetic Filbert, 1/2" Flat, and a Size 1 Round.

As usual, this painting was done in one sitting, 'alla prima'. This means that the painting was completely still wet while I was putting the finishing touches on it. Wet in Wet technique in oil painting takes a while to master, to control the paint, but it was the first way of painting that I learned when I was 12 years old. This painting a day thing helps me to regain not only a sense of purpose and achievement, but helps me to revive my neglected control over oil paints in situ. Therefore, every painting is a learning curve or a nudge to forgotten ways of doing things. At least for me. I hope you're enjoying this journey as much as I am. As gruelling as it may be some days for me, I enjoy it just the same.

Thanks for stopping by,
Marianne

Day 37

Moon Fantasy

(4x6", Oil) Price: SOLD

While I was on the fantasy wave theme this week, I let loose and painted this little thing. I love this kind of simple fantasy work. It can be both evocative to paint and to look at if done well. I do try...

Unfortunately the photograph that I took of this painting lost some of the crispness of the white wave tops. The blue is richer and deeper too. Oh, well.

The palette was: Pthalo Blue, Pthalo Green (Blue Shade), Titanium White, and Cadmium Yellow Light. Incidentally, the canvas was tinted with the Burnt Sienna mix I like and let dry before I started painting the image.

More tomorrow,
Marianne

Day 36

Fantasy Wave Study

(4x6", Oil) Price: $65.00 Framed!!

This is the second wave study I did. It ended up being a fantasy one because I wanted to extrapolate a fantasy element from my reference photo. Yes, another photo reference of waves from Nausset Beach up on Cape Cod.

I painted this under a lot of emotional duress, so it's not as 'just right' as I'd like to have made it.

Same palette and brushes as yesterday.
See you tomorrow,
Marianne

Day 35

Wave Study 1
(4x5", Oil) Price: $65.00 Framed!!

Well, I'm finallly back into painting mode again! I was completely exhausted after getting back from Dallas last week and found it difficult to paint at all, what with business stuff to do, 'n' all. I tried to start a woolly mammoth painting last Thursday - but after the fifth scrub back to canvas, I decided to give up for the time being. However, I began some harmless wave studies, the first of which you see above. Over the next few days, I'll be posting more waves, a fantasy moon/wave thingy, and a bird or two.


The palette for this one was: Pthalo Blue, Titanium White, Cadmium Yellow Light, a bit of Ultramarine Blue and a tiny skerrick of Burnt Sienna to deepen the darks. Brushes were: 1/2 inch Flat, a Size 4 Filbert, and a Size 1 Round.


Although it's a bit sketchy, and really brushy, I think I got the point across in this being a wave. I really enjoyed painting it too.


However, see you tomorrow,
Marianne