Donut Holes

Donut Holes                   5 x 5 inch oil

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No donut painting series can be complete without donut holes...  At first, painting the glaze of icing on these and the other glazed donuts seemed daunting, but when it came down to it was pretty simple.  The secret is to just paint thinly and only in areas where the glaze was thickest.

Purple, With Sprinkles

Purple, With Sprinkles                  5 x 5 inches

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Donut 5 seemed so out of place at the donut counter--all pastel and purply in the midst of the Christmas reds and greens.  All "Island of Misfit Toys" like...I had to claim her!

Boston Creme

Boston Creme                            5 x 5 in., oil

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The Boston Creme.   Chocolate.  Custard.   Need I say more?

I loved painting the warm browns and highlights of the chocolate frosting.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Tangerine Challenge

Tangerine on Turquoise,  6 x 6" Oil on Canvas Panel  $75 unframed

I've been true to my word and have kept at the challenge of painting the same object multiple times.  I have actually kept a total of 6 of the tangerine paintings (the others were best wiped off.....)  Everyone who visits the studio seems to have a favorite, and this one happens to be mine.  I love the complementary color contrast of the orange and blue.  I'm still enjoying the subject matter and the infinite variety of things that I could try, so expect to see more of these!

This painting, "Tangerine on Turquoise" is currently available in my studio and will be sold through a Daily Paintworks online auction that starts tomorrow, Jan. 17.  Visit my DPW gallery http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/jkirkland-51 and click on the painting image to take you to the auction.
You can see more of my work at http://www.juliekirkland.com Questions about this painting, or any of the other tangerines?  Contact me at info@juliekirkland.com.

New Year, New Goals

"The Fruit Gets Sweeter As It Ages"    6 x 12 inches   oil on panel

Are goals and resolutions the same thing? 

   goal

  noun

1. the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.  2.  the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result; the destination of a journey.
RESOLUTION noun    1. a firm decision to do or not to do something.

Goals and resolutions both involve a directed effort at something, but a resolution seems focused more on just the end result, while a goal acknowledges that the journey along the way is just as valuable (or more so) than the destination itself.   I've never been one for making New Year's resolutions, but I have gotten into the habit of setting new goals to promote growth in my painting skills.  My goal this year (or for at least a few months!) is to paint the same item everyday for a week.  Initially, I thought of doing this as a way to become more confident in my color mixing--mixing the same colors for 5 days in a row might help me mix color without having to think about it so hard.  But the exercise is evolving into something even better:  a journey that unfolds before me as each little painting suggests a new thing to focus on in the next.
I found a Satsuma tangerine at the market a few days ago and, feeling inspired by it's eloquent leaves, decided that it would be my first subject for the year.  I've done three versions so far in the last three days at the studio.  With the first, I focused just on getting the color correct.  I set the Satsuma on my windowsill and got to work using definite brushstrokes and angles to create a graphic look:

Satsuma 1      6 x 8 inches  oil on panel

That led me to experiment with doing the next version with softer edges:

Satsuma 2      6 x 6 inches  oil on panel
For painting number 3 (top of the page), I set the goal of trying to turn the edges of the fruit and leaves using temperature (cooler color at the edges making the edge recede).  That was my initial goal, and I did think of it occasionally, but mostly I was just having so much fun painting that I forgot to focus on that and just enjoyed the process of painting it!  What do you know--I had already begun to think less about how to mix the colors involved and was just doing it!   I'm still interested in focusing just on color temperature tomorrow, and I'm sure that will lead to trying something else the next day.  In fact, I'll need a minimum of 10 days to even scratch the surface of possibilities.  I'm picturing the public coming into my studio at the next Art Walk:  they'll see a wall full of the same tangerine and carefully back out of the room so as not to provoke the lunatic artist.
And so, I prefer goals to resolutions.  Goals involve a journey.  I'm on a road trip where I can pull off to see everything that intrigues me from serious learning experiences to huge balls of twine.  From day to day, I don't know where a painting will take me, but it will always be exciting. 
A note on the title.  With Satsuma's, the older the tree, the sweeter the fruit it produces.  In fact, the most flavorful fruit comes from trees that are at least 50 years old.  That encourages this old tree!
"The Fruit Gets Sweeter As It Ages" will be sold through a Daily Paintworks online auction.  Visit my DPW gallery http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/jkirkland-51 and click on the painting image to take you to the auction.
You can see more of my work at http://www.juliekirkland.com  Questions about this painting, or any of the other Satsumas?  Contact me at info@juliekirkland.com
Happy New Year!

Autumn Stream

"Autumn Stream", 8 x 8 in., oil on panel

All artists love autumn.  The colors, textures, and golden light are a feast for the eyes and senses.  I have so many fabulous fall reference photos that I'm excited to paint, and this scene is one of the handful that I've chosen to paint recently.  Initially, I painted it with a brush, as I normally do.  I ended up with an overworked, dull result that I scraped off of the canvas.  The ghost image left on the canvas confirmed that it was a good composition and that I had been on track with the right colors, I had just scrubbed the paint to death by stroking it over and over.  I've discovered that whenever I'm not using enough paint and pushing the paint around too much with my brush, using a palette knife is like hitting a reset button in my brain.  The palette knife forces me to use more paint and to lay it down in one stroke without scrubbing it into the canvas.  I'm very happy with the results of this painting!  The palette knife strokes lend a sparkling quality to the water and the fall colors are fresh and bright.

The price of  "Autumn Stream" is $200 plus shipping and tax (if applicable).  You can purchase it at that price right now, or you can visit http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Buy/Auction/16942 to participate in my online auction.  Starting bid is $100, and the auction ends October 6th. 

Contact me at info@juliekirkland.comwith any questions you may have.

October Bouquet

"October Bouquet", 6 x 8 in. oil,  $125

Fall is undeniably in the air and I'm looking forward to the autumn colors and the pleasure I get painting outdoors in the September and October.   The leaves aren't turning yet, so I'm looking through some of the magnificent photos that I took last year, and am painting some of my favorites.  Not only does it satisfy my urge to paint in an autumn pallete, it also makes the fall season seem longer!  "October Bouquet" is framed in a beautiful gold, 3' wide plein air frame.  Tax and shipping apply depending on your location.

If you have any questions, you can contact me at info@juliekirkland.com