Holiday Open House

I'm having a terrific time preparing more work for you to enjoy at the upcoming Holiday Show at The Second Floor Studios and am looking forward to visiting with everyone!  I'm also privy to the new work that my fellow artists are planning to show, and you are in for a real treat!  This week, I'm working on small pieces that will fit anyone's budget.  Here's a 5 x 5 inch titled "Day Dreamer."

Daydreamer   5x5" oil

Saturday and Sunday, December 5-6, 2015, 11am to 6pm.

The Second Floor Studios, 2418 W. Colorado Avenue

Above the Michael Garmin Gallery.  Entrance faces Bancroft Park. Just follow the signs!

Putting on the Dots

Putting on the Dots     6x6 inch oil

 

Whenever I play with patterns, this little guy shows up front and center. This time I think he's imagining how he would look in orange polkadots.

Painting Sunflowers

Since my sunflower paintings are very popular, I thought you might be interested in how many of them come about. 

I like to work from life, but every time that I've bought a bunch of sunflowers this summer, I've made sure to photograph them as well. Sunflowers seem to disappear from my local markets in late fall, and I want to be sure to have photos to work from through the winter if I want. Here's a photo of the setup I worked from for this particular piece. Actually, I've used this photo for several different paintings recently and each is very different, as you will soon see.

Reference Photo

Following the Sun, 4 x 6 inch oil  SOLD

Red Warms My Heart 5 x 5 inch oil

The Yellow Rose of Kansas   6x6 inch oil

Now you know!  Don't be surprised to see more versions from this same photo!

A Touch of Gold

A Touch of Gold         8x8inch oil on panel, framed      $310

I'm beginning to think that either my monitor is going kapoot, or that my camera is losing it (it has shown other signs), because for the last few months, I'm had trouble getting the color right in my painting photographs...the color tends to be too saturated and I haven't be able to correct in Photoshop.

  I'd love for you to visit me during Art Walk on November 1st to see this painting in person.  It was something new for me in that the majority of the subject was in shadow, so essentially, that was where the most interesting color was.  I struggled with it for awhile, not going dark enough in the shadow area, and although I started painting with a brush, I switched to the palette knife about 3/4ths through.  In the end, it's now one of my favorite paintings. 

Any thoughts on my photo problems?

Turning Toward the Sun

Turning Toward the Sun                            6 x 6 inch oil

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I can't promise that this will be the last sunflower on red, but I am moving on to a different background color tomorrow.  In this painting, I'm particularly fond of how abstract I got the background flowers.  I also love the light on the petal that drips into the flower's center.

Plenty of Sunshine

Plenty of Sunshine                         6 x 6 inch, oil

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A few years ago, I discovered an artist online who painted thirty different compositions of three plums, and for some reason, that made a great impression on me.  I'm thinking of her as I work with my sunflower series, wondering if I won't lose interest before long...my red phase is drawing to a close, and soon I'll turn to some other background colors!  With each piece, I learn something new that I can do with the palette knife...

Sunny Faces

Sunny Faces                5x5 inch oil         Sold

 So far, this little piece is one of my favorites in the sunflower series.  I got really loose with it and love the  purple/yellow color scheme.

Sunflower on Red

Sunflower on Red                                    5x5 inch oil

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I'm committed to my series on Sunflowers and am learning more and more about using the palette knife.  I'm also learning to quit sooner than a do.  I often leave the studio vowing to give up painting altogether given the "mess" I've made on the canvas, but am almost always surprised to walk in the next morning with a fresh eye and find that what looked disastrous the night before is actually quite exciting.  It's the "just let me add one more stroke" that leads me to reworking the whole thing, and in doing that I often end up with something more generic looking.  Luckily, that didn't happen with this piece!  Current auction bid is $40.

Red Makes Me Happy

Red Makes Me Happy                   6x6 inch oil

This sunflower was painted entirely with a palette knife and I've decided that is my favorite method of painting these flowers.  The strokes give the petals such energy and expression.

Currently not available for sale.  Please let me know if you'd be interested in purchasing this piece when it becomes available.

Radiant

Radiant                                                      6x6 inch oil

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Summer is here, and sunflowers are back!  I'm doing a series of them with thick paint, using a brush and/or a palette knife, and experimenting with different background colors.  I find it much easier to be more expressive with sunflowers than I am with many other flowers.  I think that it's because their petals are so pleasantly unruly.

Gentle Nosegay

  

Gentle Nosegay                          5 x 5 oil on canvas panel

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The palette for this piece was chosen based on Edgar Payne's color exploration of the yellow/purple compliments.  In this painting, I used predominantly purple, with yellow mixed into everything, plus white, orange and blue.  I painted it on a red ground.  This painting has a lovely, gentle feeling to it.

David in Sunlight

"David in Sunlight,"  6 x 6 in. oil on canvas     $85

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This small bust of David was a gift from an artist friend, Tim Deibler, who consistently challenges me in my artistic growth.  The bust has been sitting on the sill of my studio window for a year now.  It often begged me to paint it when the sun streamed in, but as a new subject for me, I wasn't sure that I was ready to tackle it.  I finally worked up my courage last week!  I'm happy with the results and plan to try it on a larger scale.

Old Fashion, Glazed

Old Fashion,  Glazed         6 x 6 inches, oil

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In preparation for the Pikes Peak Studio Tour, I set out to paint some small, very affordable paintings,  5 x 5" in size.  Who knows why, but I decided to start with a donut.  One thing led to another, and I ended up painting a dozen donuts and a cup of coffee.  Powdered sugar, chocolate covered, jelly-filled, sprinkled, boston creme....  They're charming on their own and will be great displayed in groupings.  This Old Fashion Donut I painted expressly to auction on Daily Paintworks, so it is the traditional 6 x 6".  

I'm dying to show you all of them, but am keeping them under wraps for the tour.  Your first chance to see them will be at the First Friday ArtWalk in Old Colorado City.  Did I paint your favorite donut?  Come see on November 2nd.

In hopes of preserving my figure, I'm now turning my attention to painting inedible things...

Cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitan                                   9 x 12" Oil  

I've had this photo of my daughter Audrey for two years now, and finally decided to tackle it.  The style's a bit different for me, and I took some liberties with the photo, adding a background, changing her scarf color and dressing her up with some jewelry (including that big rock on her finger).  I had so much fun painting it that I'm planning to do some more portraits in like this if I can find some suitable subjects in my reference photos (or get my daughter to model for me again).

Bottoms Up!

"Bottoms Up!"        6 x 6" oil on panel

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This little painting was inspired by the Daily Paintworks challenge to paint an egg--out of its shell.  I loved painting this shot glass, so don't be surprised if you see more of it!

Email me:  info@juliekirkland.com

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"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.