Grateful Bouquet

Grateful Bouquet                6 x 6 inch oil on stretched canvas

This month, I'm giving away the small painting pictured above!  If you are already subscribed to my blog,   you're automatically entered for a chance to win it.  If you haven't already subscribed, just go to the top of the sidebar on the right and enter your email address. 

That's it!  

On September 30th, I'll have my handsome husband (David) pull a name out of a hat and I'll announce the winner here in a blog post that should arrive in your inbox no later than October 1.  I will actually post the email address of the winner, as that is the only record I have of my subscribers.  Since I object to having my personal address posted online due to the spam it generates, I'll only post the part of your address that come before the "@"  and leave off your email provider.  

Good luck!

Questions?  Email me

My Website

My Daily Paintworks Auctions

Summer's Warmth

Summer's Warmth          6 x 6 inch oil on canvas panel

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Long, hot summers....I soak them up knowing that winter comes quickly.  I like to think that I can store summer's warmth in my bones to summon up on cold winter days.

Sunflowers, and now Rudebekia, continue to entertain me and I'm having fun exploring different ways of painting them.  Now that the stores are no longer selling sunflowers,  I've purchased some gallon plants to model for me in the sun.  I have photos to continue working from, but have noticed that the subjects that I paint from life are so much more expressive.

I'd love for you to sign up to have my blog posts sent directly to your email inbox.  Sometime in September, I plan to give away a small painting to someone on my subscriber list!

Contact me at info@juliekirkland.com or by commenting below.

"Indian Summer"

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Looking at this painting,  I feel the weight of late summer heat on a still day and hear lazy, buzzing bees and chirruping cicadas.   Ahhhhh....where's my iced tea?

While sunflowers are tall and narrow, I put this blossom in a short, wide format because it communicates the calm, drowsy mood and the weight of the flower's heavy head. The composition I chose is unusual, but I really like it.

"Indian Summer" is a 6" x 12" oil on canvas panel.

Glamour Girls

Glamour Girls, 6 x 8 inch oil on panel                   $95, unframed

Click here to bid

I'm really enjoying painting sunflowers--each piece seems to unfold with an energy that's all its own.  I need to take a break from them temporarily to complete a couple of commissions and to prepare for a show that I have coming up in mid-September.  That show is at Retrospect, a store featuring nostalgic items from the 50's and 60's in Monument, CO.  I'll be creating works featuring some of the retro pieces in my still life collection and expect to have a lot of fun with it!

This painting is now being auctioned on Daily Paintworks with an opening bid of only $39.    I'm new to the auction game, and still building a following, so right now, the auctions are a great opportunity for you to own my work at very low prices.  Until there is a bid on "Glamour Girls," I offer a "Buy it now" option in case you'd like to insure that this painting will be hanging on your walls!

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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.


Click to Bid

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.