Sunshine Petals

Sunshine Petals                                 6 x 6 inch oil

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Sunflowers are harbingers of summer, sunshine and happiness.  When you see one, you're obliged to smile!  I'm having fun with lusciously thick paint.  My painting process is a combination of brushwork, scraping and palette knife.

Joy and Happiness

Joy and Happiness                  6 x 4 inch oil

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The sunflowers that I brought to the studio on Monday are holding up beautifully, especially considering the heat.  As long as they continue to pose so prettily, I'll happily keep painting them.  Today I tried a closer cropping, and really like the result.  Next, I'll paint them with a blue background in hopes that the coolness of the blue will help me ignore the air temperature!

Three Sisters in Blue

Three Sisters in Blue         6x8 oil on panel

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The temperature in the studio today was in the 90's.  I can even feel the heat in the colors and haziness of this little painting.  Maybe gazing at "Three Sisters in Blue" next winter will bring back a little of that heat!

Pearfect Fit

This mug fits the pear to "pearfection" and she looks so 
comfortable that I don't think she'll be leaving anytime soon! 
 "Pearfect Fit," 6x6" oil on panel.  $65 unframed, or by
 auction at my Daily Paintworks Gallery.

A Sunny Face

There's nothing happier than a sunny face shining your way!  "A Sunny Face," 5 x 5 inch oil.


To bid or purchase, click here:   My Daily Paintworks Gallery

Pig in a Poke

According to the Oxford American Dictionary, "a pig in a poke" is something that is bought without seeing it first (with reference to the formerly common trick of selling a cat concealed in a bag (poke) to someone who was expecting a pig.)  It is apparently a centuries old piece of advice to unwary shoppers.  When one went off to market, they had to be certain to check the contents of the sack they were handed, less they risk being defrauded by an unscrupulous merchant.


Does this pig look unscrupulous to you?


To purchase or bid on this 6 x 6 inch oil, click here:   My Daily Paintworks Gallery

 

June Meadow

June Meadow   6x8" oil                 

There is no greater painting pleasure for me than painting outdoors!  I love being out in nature with all of her sights, smells, and sounds.  This meadow with it's contrasting greens caught my eye last week.  Starting bid is only $35, or you can buy it now for $95.


Click to Bid in my Daily Paintworks Auction  Opening  bid is $35.


or


Buy It Now

The Cherries Are Out of The Bowl

I walked into the room too late to see what happened, but if you ask me, the pig is trying to look casual and the cherries seem dazed and confused....


8 x 8" oil on canvas panel.  To bid or purchase, click here:  My Daily Paintworks Gallery.

Striped Mug and Company

6 x 6" oil on canvas panel    

 The Impressionists hung out in a cafe, the artists in Old Colorado City hang out at Jives, a local coffee shop just beneath my studio.  While getting my coffee last week, I spied this striped mug and asked to borrow it to use in a painting.  24 hours later, I returned to the coffee shop owner, mug pressed against my cheek to say, "We're in love.  My facebook status now reads "In relationship with Striped Mug."  I MUST HAVE THIS MUG to paint for the rest of my life."  And so, after a strategic trade, the mug is now mine. Expect to see it again!

Opening bid $25  Click to bid

White Peony

I live in what's considered an alpine desert climate with a short growing season.  Between that and the 6 or 7 deer who hang out in my yard, my flower options are very limited.  The jewel in my garden is a white peony.  It's so gorgeous, and I'm always torn whether to cut a bouquet to bring inside, or to admire them in the yard.  This year, I selected one to bring indoors to model for me.  This 6 x 6" canvas was painted with the flower on my studio windowsill.


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Mr. Pepsi Head

"Mr. Pepsi Head"   6 x 8" Oil      NFS

Today's post is just for the fun of it.  I painted this for a friend with whom 

I share a Pepsi One obsession.  Every time I run across a photo of this guy, he 

makes me happy.  I'm hoping that he'll make you smile today too!  I may need

 to paint a happy couple of Mr. and Mrs. Pepsi Head for myself....

To see more of my paintings, visit my website and my Daily Paintworks gallery.

Trimmed With Sunlight

I completed this painting several weeks ago, but have held off putting it up for auction because I wanted to enjoy looking at it for awhile!  

"Trimmed With Sunlight" is a 5 x 5" oil on panel.  Auction begins tomorrow on Daily Paintworks.  If you'd like to bid on it, click here.

Day 5

Carol demonstrated glass today and I enjoyed painting this little jar and daisy. I loved painting glass and reflective surfaces in watercolor, but have stayed away from those subjects in oil. I think I'm ready to get back to them now though.


I highly recommend Carol's workshop to anyone who enjoys painting still life, and if you are interested, she'll be teaching a streetscape workshop in San Francisco this upcoming October. The students going will include many of my classmates here in Sedona, and I can recommend them as a great group to paint and play with.


Stop by my studio on the first Friday ArtWalk (June 1) and see in person the paintings I did this week as well as the work I do between now and then.  I'm pretty excited to get back to work tomorrow!

If you are interested in purchasing this painting, click here:

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/julie-kirkland/trimmed-with-sunlight/62733

Day 4

I'm very happy with this strawberry painting and accomplished it on my own with only one comment from the instructor. Carol pointed out that the background strawberry on the left was blending in too closely with it's shadow, but that was an easy fix.


We did a color mixing exercise using the warm and cool primaries. Carol doesn't use the terms "warm" and "cool" though; she instead likes to talk about a color "leaning" toward red, green, blue or yellow. I talk to my students about this "leaning" when trying to explain what colors are warmer or cooler than others, but personally will probably always think in terms of warm and cool as I did when painting these strawberries. Cool reds in shadow and distance, warm reds closer and in warm light. If you look at the painting, you'll be able to distinguish reds with more blue in them and reds with more yellow.

Day 3

2 paintings today, but I forgot to photograph the second one. Carol's emphasis today was on brushwork and composition. Those skills are ones that I've spent a lot of time on, so I was able to focus on painting whites. I think that I tend to paint shadows and things in shadow too colorfully, so I struggled to neutralize my colors a lot more. In the end, I may just prefer sticking with luminous shadow colors, but the other students really responded to this piece, so I'n paying attention to that...


By the way, this was a brushstroke exercise. Every single brushstroke had to be a different color. No dipping into previously mixed piles; every stroke had to be altered somewhat. Looking at the photo now, I'm happy to see that my edges are coming along.

Day 2

After thinking more about why yesterday's painting seemed so easy to paint, I realized that it was because of the canvas panels and the brushes that Carol Marine recommends. Normally, I would take my usual canvas panels and the brushes I like to a class, but a few weeks ago, I was listening to the Internet radio show "Artist's Helping Artists.". The topic was how to get the most out of a workshop, and they highly recommended using the supplies that the instructor calls for, simply because you may discover something that you really like. Well, I REALLY like the smooth canvas Raymar panels and the brush Carol recommends! I think that painting has been easier the last two days because I'm not wrestling the paint onto the canvas; there's a greater ease in application. I'm definitely switching to the Raymar panels. If anyone is interested in buying my current supply of panels, let me know!


Tuesday's focus was on values and an afternoon of 10 minute paintings.

Workshop

Lately, I've felt I'd reached a plateau in my work, as though I was stagnating a bit. I knew that it was time for some new input. I've had a couple of terrific oil instructors on a regular basis, but their primary subject matters aren't still life, the subject that still appeals most to me. I've been following a painter named Carol Marine for the last six years and admire so many things about her work that her workshop was an easy choice. Easy to choose, not so easy to get into. She's an excellent instructor as well as painter, and her classes fill up rapidly. A year and a half ago, I registered for this May 2012 workshop in Sedona, Arizona, and here I finally am!


This afternoon's assignment was to paint anything that we wanted, just to give her an idea of our levels and to see how far we could get in an hour. I looked at my paint and the canvas, and decided that I'd forgotten
how to even hold the brush (I hadn't painted at all in the last two weeks and had workshop jitters.) I just had to close my eyes and go for it without thinking too much about it, otherwise I may have stood there paralyzed for the rest of the week. The resulting painting was actually a pleasant surprise. I don't think that any of my little paintings has been that effortless. Go figure...


I've come this week to learn more about color mixing, edges, and composition (as well as marketing.). After today, I've figured out that I could coast this week if I wanted to, but instead I'm going to challenge myself. I stopped at the grocery store this evening to buy a lot of white items to paint. White still stumps me, so I'll try to work on that this week. I'll try to post all of my paintings, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Forgive me if my pieces look like Carol Marine's, but I always start by trying to duplicate what the instructor is doing and then by using those skills consistently, it doesn't take long to make my own twists on technique and color.


Here's this afternoon's painting.

Africa Commission

11x14" oil on canvas

This is my newest painting from my experiences in Africa.  While in the villages, we kept our cameras in our bags unless we could ask someone for permission to photograph them.  One afternoon, we did have an hour in the market of Kwaggafontein with the freedom to photograph everyone and everything of interest to us.  The photo of this young shopkeeper was taken across the street from her with my zoom lens.  It's obvious from her posture and expression that her business didn't welcome any "monkey business."   I wanted to capture her youthful beauty and strength. 

To read a bit about my trip, and see all of the resulting paintings, please visit my blog  Painting By Heart

A Glimmer

It feels like ages since I last posted something.  I've been hard at work, but only recently am I wrapping up some "blog worthy" pieces.  I experienced a two week period where I wiped the paint off of every single canvas I touched.   It was a (thankfully) short, but very frustrating period that had me seriously doubting that I'd ever get anywhere with oils (I feel this way on a semi-regular basis!).  I took a day or two off, painted some more bad paintings, wiped them off and then suddenly had a few successes.  I have three paintings right now that are close to being finished, along with the one I'm posting today.

Sun Drenched Blossom,  5 x 5"            $75, unframed

This little painting was exciting to me for two reasons.  First, it was the first painting that I hadn't had to wipe out after 80 hours of painting and secondly, it's a glimmer of where I think I'd like to go with oils.  I love the glow and the expressive brushwork I achieved here, especially since I so often rely on extremely dark backgrounds to push the intensity of light.  In this painting it's produced by the warm petals on the cool background.

I'm looking forward to soon showing you the other paintings I mentioned!

Questions?  Contact me at info@juliekirkland.com

Sprinkles On Top

This week's challenge was to paint donuts.  It was pointed out that we could paint them instead of eating them.  Yea. Right.  The biggest challenge in painting these (besides not eating them until I was finished) was that the stack of donuts kept falling over.  The combination of the hot light I had focused on them and the weight of the upper donuts slowly crushing the lower donuts was evidently less than ideal donut engineering.  Did you know that when donuts topple over, they make no sound?  

This 6 x 12 inch original oil (unframed) is $175 plus shipping and applicable tax.  Don't hesitate to contact me at info@juliekirkland.com if you have any questions. I'd appreciate it if you'd "Like" this painting on Facebook (button below).