Friday, July 29, 2016

I WANT A DO OVER



Hey Friends, Yeah, that's right - - I want to start over.  Starting your life over would be fabulous, but I'll settle for my art to do over.

I've been unsettled, maybe disappointed or maybe I'm just tired of the same ole same ole..

So to help speed things up (I pray) I'm trying to clear out the studio.  I have put a good bit of the works in my Etsy store.  So I'm taking them out and listing on EBAY.  I'm really hoping to cover the cost of materials in Ebay.  Most people are
looking for bargains on Ebay so maybe they will go fast.  Then maybe I can start over.  And what if I don't like my start overs?  Well, I'll cross that bridge before it burns.  Everybody has an opinion and if you want to express yours, please do.  I will continue with plein air studies and see where that leads.

I hope to show you soon what I'm really wanting to do with paints.

Mean while go see if you want anything in my EBAY kiosk.

Happy Trails

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

I FINISHED IT


Hey Friends,  I finished this painting started at Carvin's Cove last week.
Below you can see the underpainting/sketch done with Golden's Metallic fluid paint.


I almost finished it and went to the photos to see how well I had done!  BOY, what a disappointment!
I guess, in my defense, it looks like my memory.  But it does not look like the real scene.
There were not any yellows like I painted, or like my memory stored.

So now I will do the same routine with a small one I started Monday at GreenHill Park in Salem, Va.
Will post that memory tomorrow.

Happy Trails

Thursday, July 21, 2016

CARVIN'S COVE - A PAINTING WE DID GO


Hey Friends,  It was a lovely day here in SW Virginia.  It was getting pretty hot by the time we packed up.  Supposedly a HEAT WAVE will be with us for next several days.
I did my usual today.  I got my START on canvas.


Loved the way this path gently zigged and zagged its way along the shore.  I may have said already, that I like getting an understanding down on sight and finishing later from memory


Had to include one Fisherman.  Don't see too many motorboats on this little body of water.
It is a peaceful, quiet place to concentrate on your work.

LIFE IS GOOD.

Happy Trails

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

ANOTHER GREAT DAY FOR PAINTING ! ! !

The only way to see the video is to go to the blogger site by clicking up there on the title of this post or on "Dairy of a Madd Painter up there.  And I just found out this video is 2 seconds long, the battery died.  Man, what a learning curve.  Hoping to get better at this.


Hey Dear Friends,  Hope your day was fun and fruit full like mine.  The painting above was started a month ago in the field.  Just got back to it and finished it.  I'm going to title it Fleece Vines 'cuz I think that's what the pinkish blooms are.






I made 4 videos today.  Of me painting 3 different works.  And they are all to long (too many MB) for Blogger.  Has to be less than 100MB.  I just need to figure out how many minutes or seconds that is ! 
Sheesh, as if computers aren't enough work already.
So whadda ya do with videos that are too long?  Get a YouTube Channel you say?  Well maybe I'll fool with that some day, when I can't get outside.

The video here is about trying Robert Burridge's technique.  I've seen several of his Bob Blast's and I've been hankering to try something new.
I've always painted fairly realistically and I just want to stretch a bit.

I have had this argument with myself for years.  the Art Establishment/Galleries say you should pick one technique, or one subject, or one theme and stick with it for years.  They say it will confuse your collectors to change.  Well, my feeling is "If you're a world famous artist this might be true".  But for me (since I'm not famous) I don't think it matters much.

We are always reading that we should follow our Bliss and paint what we want to see, so that's what I'm doing.  At least until I'm bored.  I really want to paint abstracted landscapes or maybe it's called expressive landscapes.  Whatever,  maybe I'll wind up with Suescapes.  HA.

More coming your way, so stay tuned!  And any healthy advice is welcomed.

Happy Trails

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

FINALLY - A DAY OF PAINTING !!!


Hey Friends,  It has been a great day here in the steam bowl of SW Virginia, also known as the Roanoke-Salem area.  The photo above was taken when my paint group, DLP, was at the Peaks of Otter on the Blue Ridge Parkway last month.  I started 3 paintings that morning.  I finally finished one today.


And I had my wits about me and took the camera out to the studio for progress shots
I even made a tiny, 30 second video, at the bottom of this post.


This is a sycamore tree that may be in it's final stages of life.  Slowly, limb by limb, they die.


Almost finished here, about another hour will do it..  This is on a gesso'd panel.  My favorite surface.
I do love the "YES" canvas but the gesso'd masonite is the best.


And here is the little video, I do hope it works.  I have one of my favorite CD's play in the background.  That would be, Beaux Jacque and the Hi-Rollers.  A zydeco band from Louisiana.
It's hard to paint while they are playing.  All she wants to do is dance!

I will post my others in a day or so.  I may hate them in the morning.
Thanks for your visit.

Happy Trails

Thursday, July 14, 2016

the DLP'S HAD A GREAT LITTLE DAY TRIP TO BLACKSBURG


Hey Friends, If you are into art, plein air painting or local history you should go to #Blacksburg and/or Va. Tech.  Go to the visitor center first to get your parking pass and have your mug taken with the big, ugly bird.


This is a tranquil spot at the Hahn Garden Center.  It has colorful KOI in it.


At the #Moss Art Center we saw 3 exhibits.  The one above is "100 Faces in 100 Days" by #Steve White. Loved his work


This is a beautiful painting (Photo really bad) by Walter Biggs.  He was from Salem, Va.  You can see a few more of his paintings at the #Salem Museum and the DT Salem library.

I'm sure some new paintings inspired by this little day trip will show up soon.

Happy Trails

Saturday, July 9, 2016

SWEET MAX AND SILLY JOSH


Hey Friends,  Yep, I'm still with you but I've been working on this computer most of this week.  Yep, I'd rather be painting but we all have to do crap we don't wanna do.
So I'm showing this photo of my niece Tesa Marie and her sweet pup Max.  Tesa has found a new love and I really think Max feels neglected, but he's getting some Mommy time here.


The only brush I held this week was to change the edges on Josh's paintings.  His Mom (my sister) has redecorated his room to look beachy or tropical or maybe "Key West" style.  And it looks great!  Now his pollinator paintings will still look good on his wall.

Hope you are having a great summer and stop in again.  I'm working on new ideas to show you soon.

Happy Trails

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

PLEIN AIR STARTS FROM A TRIP TO THE PEAKS OF OTTER LAST WEEK


Hey Friends,  Do you find yourself busy as the devil in the summer??  What happened to the lazy dazy days of summer, like in the past?  I should not complain.
Last week, I went with the DLP's to the Peaks of Otter for a relaxing day of plein air.  I'm continuing with my STARTS for now.


This 8x16 started with the focal point, the huge tree in the left.  Yeah Its pretty dark back there but that's 'cuz the camera focused on the white canvas.  My thought was to put in the dark's and some of the mid values and of course I'll have that photo to help guide me.  Just hope I can remember to take more progress photos.


You can barely see the lines here but I used a WC pencil instead of paint to locate the stones.


This is showing you the scene.  My focal point will be the tiny dash of white water close to the left.



And here are the dark's and mid's, really looks different.


This is my third start.  Just about the same scene from a different angle.  Both are 9x12.
I'm finding I don't do so well out there in the big world with a tiny canvas like a 5x7 or 6x6.
That tiny size works better indoors with smaller brushes, for me anyway.


Here is the days LOOT.  The starts !


And here was our last curious collector.  She wanted the cookies, not the paintings.  She came very close, so you know people have been feeding her.  I'm sure she will die by the hands of some people. 
Nature is too trusting in some cases.
Hope there are NO idiots feeding the bears.

Hope to work on one of these starts today and post some progress shots tomorrow.

Thanks for taking the time to visit.
Wish we could visit in person.

Happy Trails

Sunday, July 3, 2016

FOURTH OF JULY - CELEBRATE ! !


Hey Friends,  Hope you have a big celebration planned.

A great time to make big noise.

Be safe !

NO drinking and driving.

Happy Trails