Tuscan Hay

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! Ours was filled with laughter and fun, (which is an easy achievement when there is a 3  1/2-year-old in the house). We are still in the middle of winter break, but fortunately I can still carve out a few more painting hours between now and the dawn of a new year. I've been playing around with a composition of the Tuscan landscape of a hillside decorated with the pattern of freshly gathered hay. The meandering pattern of those undulating lines of hay shaped by the rolling hills are what first inspired me to start sketching, first in my notebook, and then more purposefully on my  20x24" canvas:

My plan is actually to create those lines carved out by the harvested hay a lot more subtly, but they are pretty linear right now because I just want to establish their pattern. In the distance is a terraced hillside punctuated by cypresses, as well as  old stone walls and towers, and cypresses so typical of southern Tuscany.

Summer Blooms, Ansouis (final)

I'm happy to report this post will wrap up the Ansouis painting I have written about in my last couple of entries. In the shot below, I have fleshed out the rooftops and the distant mountain. I am keeping the background fairly plain because there is already a lot going on with the architecture and plants.

The people of Ansouis take loving care of their little village. Not only are there potted flowers gracing nearly every window and doorway, but the public spaces also have beautiful plantings as well. This square in the village had a lovely combination of lavender, yellow roses, and deep pink blooms. I lay the flowers in last after the painting has set up a bit. This allows me to overlap the background buildings and helps to push them further back into the background.

Summer Blooms, Ansouis Oil on linen, 20x24"

There, that about wraps it up! I'm glad I was able to finish this up before Christmas week, because the holiday schedule is heating up and I'm not sure when I will be back in the studio again before the new year. In light of that, let me seize this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a joyous holiday season!

Update on the Ansouis painting in progress

Now that we have some real Christmas deadlines looming, I've decided to give the self-hosted auctions a rest for a while. Thanks so much to those who bid and followed my auctions! It's been an interesting little experiment that I might revisit in 2014. But it was a lot more time consuming than I imagined, at a period in my life when it is a challenge just to maintain a normal studio schedule. Meanwhile, the painting of Ansouis is still on the easel (case in point!) Here are the latest progress shots:

  So now I have the whole canvas covered. I started in on some of the details sooner than I would have liked, but there were a few breaks in the continuity of my painting sessions that compelled me to tackle certain areas while they were still wet. Over the next session or two I'll be finalizing the background mountains and fleshing out the flowerbeds. I'm going to do my best to finish this up in advance of Christmas. School's out for a couple of weeks for Christmas break so my studio time is about to get a lot more dicey.

Ansouis (W.I.P.- continued)

Here's some progress to report on the composition I sketched out in my last post.

After laying in the sky and distant mountains, I set out to establish the broad areas of light and dark in the painting. I'm really trying to think of my composition in terms of underlying masses of light and shadow, and not just a group of individual objects.

I'm using a broad palette of colors- my usual red, yellow, and blue, plus cad. orange, cad. red, permanent rose, sevres blue, as well as two earths; gold ochre and burnt sienna (for the tonal sketch) and, of course, white (titanium).

This is as far as I got today- about 2 1/2 - 3 hours' work- before it was time to pick up my daughter from preschool.

I'd really rather not allow this to set up, as this is my "first pass," and there is so much more to lay in. I am going to try and work on this again tonight after my little girl falls asleep, but I'm not normally good for much creative work after wearing the "mom hat" in the evenings. We will see. Otherwise my next dedicated painting day will be Friday, and I'm afraid it may be too tacky for my liking by then.

Ansouis/French village painting in the works

Note: I have gotten word that some users are having difficulties placing bids on my auctions. I believe I have fixed the issue now (the bid button was missing!) But if you have attempted to bid unsuccessfully, or if you are having any issues now, can you please contact me and let me know about your issue? Now, on to the new painting! Not a great photo here, but I'm doing a bit of mobile blogging and the image editing options on my phone aren't optimal. Nevertheless, I  thought I'd share the rough sketch I've started on a 20x24" canvas of a French provincial village street scene.  Even though I mapped out the composition more or less to scale in advance, it took a little more editing than usual  to get the layout the way I wanted it (the first pass had things too centered).

The plan for this painting is to portray a square in the center of the charming village of Ansouis. I have a busy next few days with family, but I hope to be able to get back to this soon. I'll post further developments as they unfold!

Lilacs and Forsythia

This is the first time I've posted two auctions in the same week. But while this painting would be great on its own, it's also a nice companion to my other still life auction, "Daisies in a Blue Jar". This auction will start at 9 a.m. this morning. Read on for the details!

"Lilacs and Forsythia" Oil on canvas (gallery wrapped) 8x8" Place your bid in the auction widget on the right sidebar of this page! Congratulations to Barbara T. for winning this auction!

Even though it's the season of Christmas, springtime doesn't feel so far away with this delicate painting of cut lilacs and forsythia. This original oil painting measures 8x8" and is painted on a gallery wrapped canvas with 1 1/2" deep edges. The painted edges provide a finished look, so no extra framing is needed! This gallery-wrapped painting offers a number of great opportunities for display. It looks equally great perched on a mantel or bookshelf as it does hung traditionally on a wall.

This painting retails for $450.00, so this is a wonderful opportunity to purchase it at a fabulous price (and still in time for Christmas!) Signed by the artist, lower left.

Here's how the auction works:

• All auctioned items are offered unframed.
• The opening bid for this painting is just $100 (a fraction of my retail price).
• Bids increment by $25
• Highest bidder at the auction’s end wins the painting.
• When the auction has ended, I will send the winning bidder a Paypal invoice.
• Virginia residents are subject to a 5.3% sales tax.
• I ship via U.S. mail within 3 days or less of receiving cleared payment.
• Free shipping in the continental USA!
• Visit my auctions page for more details

New still life floral up for auction today

I've posted something a little different today on the auction block. Read on for the details!

"Daisies in a Blue Jar" Oil on canvas (gallery wrapped) 8x8"

Place your bid in the auction widget on the right side of this page! Congratulations to Barbara T. for winning this auction!

Fresh-cut flowers are a surefire way to brighten any day. Now you can enjoy that feeling any time with this floral painting of fresh, cheerful daisies. This original oil painting measures 8x8" and is painted on a gallery wrapped canvas with 1 1/2" deep edges. The painted edges provide a finished look, so no extra framing is needed! This gallery-wrapped painting offers a number of great opportunities for display. It looks equally great perched on a mantel or bookshelf as it does hung traditionally on a wall.

This painting retails for $450.00, so this is a wonderful opportunity to purchase it at a fabulous price (and still in time for Christmas!) Signed by the artist, lower right.

Here's how the auction works:

• All auctioned items are offered unframed.
• The opening bid for this painting is just $100 (a fraction of my retail price).
• Bids increment by $25
• Highest bidder at the auction’s end wins the painting.
• When the auction has ended, I will send the winning bidder a Paypal invoice.
• Virginia residents are subject to a 5.3% sales tax.
• I ship via U.S. mail within 3 days or less of receiving cleared payment.
• Free shipping in the continental USA!
• Visit my auctions page for more details

The Potted Garden, Pienza (painting complete)

With school out for the Thanksgiving holiday, my studio time has been a little dicey. But now that we are back in session I have managed to wrap up my posting about the Pienza painting from earlier last week. Before I dive into painting the potted plants, I finish up the main architectural features of the painting-- the final touches on the windows and doors, and completing the distant bench.

 Now let's move onto the flowers!

Here is the final:

"The Potted Garden, Pienza" Oil on panel, 12x12" Click here for more info!

The hill town of Pienza is lovely for a number of reasons. First, it overlooks the gorgeous Tuscan valley called the Val d'Orcia. Second, like so many of these small towns,  the whole village is oozing with charm and dripping with flowers, just like the scene I have painted. Third, it is the home of Pecorino cheese! Need I say more?

Happy Thanksgiving! Plus, a little studio tour!

On this eve before Thanksgiving, I feel extremely grateful for the blessings of both my personal and professional life.  To my collectors, past students, and readers of my blog and newsletters, I give my heartfelt thanks. Knowing that people have taken such an interest in my art (and my meandering thoughts about it) does my heart more good than I can adequately express! Happy Thanksgiving to you all! One of the many other things I've been extremely grateful for professionally these past few years, is my studio. Since  I just cleaned it up, I thought it might be nice to show some pictures of how it looks today (now that I have had about 5 years to break it in.)

The last time I posted pictures of my studio, I had only barely moved in. But, while it may have  a little bit more clutter now than it did initially, it is still a "clean, well-lighted space".  It continues to be a place of inspiration for me,  and now for my little daughter as well. And since I've become a mom, I have thanked my lucky stars these last few years that I have my studio within a stone's throw of my back door. Sometimes the only time I have to paint is in the wee hours, so proximity has been key.

Any way, without further ado, on with the tour!

This first shot is more or less the view straight on as I walk in my side door (the main entry door for me as it leads to the house.) Following this path leads me straight back to my painting space, which sits across from that big brown easy chair and the French doors beyond (just out of view to the right). In that far back corner are storage bins (built by the D.H.) for frames and canvas.

From this spot, looking slightly to the left, you will see the framing table and flat files. That table from Ikea, as well the room divider, hold all of my framing tools and shipping supplies, small canvas and panels, etc. I got the flat files for a song at a thrift store. Luckily it just so happened they fit under the table nearly perfectly.

Directly across from the framing table is my computer desk. I also have more storage for frames, shipping tubes, bubble wrap, etc., in the loft area overhead. Nothing too heavy goes up there, as the only access is by that very tall loft ladder!

Here's another shot of the loft, as well as the "side door" that I use to enter. To the left of this area I have carved out a reading nook. This area has kind of become a little annex for my daughter's arts and crafts, but I still can use it for guest seating when I need to.

Moving past the room divider now, we come to my painting area. Being my primary workspace, this side of the studio is a little more about form following function. ;-) The sink sits in the far left corner. The "mini-split" we installed for heating and cooling sits on the wall nearby. It  keeps things nice and comfy. I have another one over the windows of my reading nook. In hindsight I really think I could have gotten away with just one of these units in this space. They are very efficient!

So there you have it! The nickel tour. Again, Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I'll be out of pocket for the holiday, but back to posting again by this weekend  Eat well and safe travels!

New Key West auction posted!

Congratulations to Barbara T. for winning this auction!

"The Shady Side" Oil on Canvas Panel, 6x8"

When things heat up from the tropical sun, a shady verandah is just the thing--especially if that verandah is in Key West, and you can imagine yourself there sipping a nice cool beverage! This little painting of Key West conch houses may help you to do just that.  This painting would retail for $375 (unframed).  Now is your chance to win a slice of sunshine for yourself, at a great price! This original oil painting on canvas panel by Jennifer E. Young measures 6×8" (a perfect size to fit under the Christmas tree!) Unframed, it is signed by the artist, lower right. To begin bidding, enter your bid in the auction module in the sidebar of this blog. Here’s how it works:

• All auctioned items are offered unframed.
• The opening bid for this painting is just $100 (a fraction of my retail price).
• Bids increment by $25
• Highest bidder at the auction’s end wins the painting.
• When the auction has ended, I will send the winning bidder a Paypal invoice.
• I ship via U.S. mail within 3 days or less of receiving cleared payment.
• Free shipping in the continental USA!
• Visit my auctions page for more details

Shadows, doors and floors

Here is a little progress on my painting of the Tuscan street scene I posted a sketch of in my last entry. Now that I have my design, I am ready to start laying in some color. My palette is fairly expansive, which I tend to do in the studio when I am more pressed for time. Here I'm using a few convenience colors in addition to my basic primary palette of red/yellow/blue. My colors for this piece are Titanium White, Cad Yellow light, Cadmium Red Light and Medium, Alizarin Permanent, Ultramarine Blue, Sevres Blue, (Rembrandt- kind of like Cerulean but a bit brighter with more tinting strength),  Gold Ochre (also Rembrandt brand- like Raw Sienna but warmer and more golden; yum) and Burnt Sienna (tonal sketch only). I start by laying in more concretely the pattern of shadow and light. I really love the way the shadows from the potted flowers spill onto the stone wall and red door:

 I use lots of the Gold Ochre for the wall, mixed with both blues and Alizarin in varying degrees, as the stone has lots of warmth but lots of variation in it too. For the door I started out with pure Cadmium Reds in the sunlit area, but whoa! I then decided to mute this a bit with touches of white and a tiny bit of yellow plus Sevres Blue to give it a more authentic sun-washed look. The door in shadow is a mix of Cad Red Medium, plus Ultramarine and Alizarin.  Next I start to lay in some of stone bench:

As you can see, I use violets in the shadows (Ultramarine Blue and Alizarin, plus touches of  white and yellow) to contrast with the bright warmth of the sunlit stone.

The bench established, I add a little more texture to the stone wall and then begin to lay some pavers. Even though they are terra cotta- colored pavers, they are still very light in value in relation to the wall. I've cooled them off with a bit of  Sevres Blue as they recede, to send them back and lay them down where they belong. Next I'll start working on the potted plants and add some more color to the scene. Stay tuned!

New Italian village painting

I really enjoyed the square format of my last painting, so I thought I'd experiment with another one--this time set in the rustic hill town of Pienza in Tuscany, Italy. Here's the compositional sketch so far. I threw a  lot of angles and right edges in there to make it interesting. ;-)

New Key West painting auction starts today!

On the auction block today Congratulations to Barbara T. for winning  this little bit of Key West Sunshine!

"Towering Bougainvillea" Oil on canvas panel, 6x8"

Nothing says warmth and sunshine to me as much as the cheerful pastel "conch" houses and tropical flora of Key West. I have traveled there  many times to "chase the sun" when it's cold and rainy back home. This painting would retail for $375 (unframed)  in a gallery.  Now is your chance to win a slice of sunshine for yourself, at a great price!

This original oil painting on canvas panel by Jennifer E. Young measures 6×8? (a perfect size to fit under the Christmas tree!) Unframed, it is signed by the artist, lower right. To begin bidding, enter your bid in the auction module in the sidebar of this blog.

Here’s how it works:

• All auctioned items are offered unframed.
• The opening bid for this painting is just $100 (a fraction of my retail price).
• Bids increment by $25
• Highest bidder at the auction’s end wins the painting.
• When the auction has ended, I will send the winning bidder a Paypal invoice.
• I ship via U.S. mail within 3 days or less of receiving cleared payment.
• Free shipping in the continental USA!
• Visit my auctions page for more details.

Dancing Light in Ansouis

My recent experiments with painting small inspired me to look again at some of the little pieces I have done in the past. Why not, I thought? They may not all translate well to a larger canvas, but in many instances with the composition and color work already fleshed out, they provide great jumping off points for further development.

"Dancing Light, Ansouis" Oil on Canvas, 12x12" Click here for more info! Contact me to purchase!

This painting is based on a compositional study of a charming little Provencal window that I did a while back. The scene is from Ansouis, a beautiful little village with flowers tucked in every nook and cranny, and gorgeous painted shutters and doors perfectly washed by the sun.

Speaking of small works, there is still time to bid on my current auction, also of Provence in spring. The auction ends Sunday evening at 9 PM, EST.

New auction of Provence

"Springtime at the Chateau de Lourmarin" Oil on panel, 6x6"

Technical difficulties on my blog last week didn't exactly create a seamless experience for my first auction. But I'm trying again with a new feature that I think will work much better. This week's auction is  a sweet 6x6" Provence landscape. Click over to the auction page for all of the details. Or if you simply can't wait, start bidding in the sidebar to the right of my blog! Congratulations to Pat H. for winning this auction!

Small works auction launch!

This week I am trying something new- auctions of some of my smallest works and studies. I've been toying with the idea of auctions for a while, but quite frankly have not had the time to dive back into eBay since my experiment with it for charity auctions some years ago. But, after reading an article  on the FineArtViews newsletter written by Keith Bond about holding low-tech auctions, I was inspired to give auctions another try right here on my blog. Like the author, I have a number of small works (under 8x10) and studies that I don't consign to galleries, either due to economics or to the fact that some of  my paintings fall more into the category of "studies".  While I do like to save some of my studies to reference for larger studio paintings, a lot of them have a nice degree of finish and/or a quality to them and I think they deserve to find a home. These are  original paintings and perfectly sized for gifts, so it's a good way to get some of that holiday shopping done early.

Here's how it works:

*Each auction will be announced in a blog post with all the vital information. Since I also blog about other things, any "live" auctions will live on an "auctions" page located in its own tab at the top of my blog entitled (you guessed it) "Auctions".

*All auctioned items are offered unframed.

*Each opening bid will be set much less than my retail price, with no reserve. Each bid beyond the opening bid will increment by $25.

*These offerings are for a limited time. Each auction will end at the time specified in the listing- highest bidder gets the painting.

*When the auction has ended, I will send the winning bidder a Paypal invoice.

*Shipping via U.S. mail is free.

First up on the block is this little beaut celebrating the spirit of autumn:

"Falling Leaves on Wilmington Avenue", Oil  6x8"

Starting bid is just $100. This auction will end on Sunday, November 10th at 8 PM (EST). Just click over to the Auctions page to bid! This auction has ended.

Shadows of the Blue Ridge

Well it took a while but now I've wrapped up my 24x30" studio painting that I started in my last post. I finally got rid of that white canvas. Hooray for small miracles! Here is the painting fully laid in, with the sky. I decided to keep the sky fairly simple in this one because I want to play up the large tree:

Next, I go about refining everything and adding more paint overall:

And then, the trees:

"Shadows of the Blue Ridge" Oil on Linen, 24x30" Contact me for more info!

Mountain Shadows

Continuing with my exploration of the southern landscape, I started a new 24x30" painting today based on my recent trip to the mountains. Here is the initial tonal drawing to determine the composition and basic shapes. This is an early morning scene so the shadows are nice and long:

Next I start the block in, very broadly, laying in the darkest patterns first, followed by the lights. Aside from the usual burnt sienna I use for the tonal sketch, I have limited my palette to three primaries plus white (cadmium yellow light, alizarin permanent, and ultramarine blue).

The sky will be my lightest light, but I've put off laying that in until I have something of the mountain laid down.

Here's where I am after a few hours' work:

Next I will start laying in the sky and blocking in the haybales before going back in to refine overall. I think I've gotten some good information down so far. Now I just need to keep building on it and solidify my plan. More to come soon!

A gray morning in the mountains

It's been a while since I have painted a studio piece of the American south, but my recent trip to the mountains has inspired me to explore the subject back home in the studio. This little mountain painting was a bit of an experiment, as I tend to shy away from painting gray days. The light is flatter, color is more "local", and values tend to be a lot closer. While I have sometimes been "forced" to paint gray days when I'm field painting, without that beautiful sunlight casting shadows across the picture plane, composing a subject of a gray day  is a challenge I too often tend to avoid. So this is a painting of facing that resistance head on.

"Morning in Gray and Gold" Oil on Linen, 12x16" Click here for more info!

It doesn't hurt, of course, that in the mountains many of the grayest days are incredibly stunning and full of quiet majesty and spectacular atmospheric effects. The sun was scarce on the first half of my painting trip, so I had plenty of opportunity to observe these effects.

This painting is based on wiper I did on site. The wiper didn't survive (which is why its known as a wiper!) but the memory did, as well as a number of photos I took of the area. This location is a birding trail I happened upon while exploring Nellysford, VA. I think those yellow flowers are goldenrod (?) They were everywhere, along with many other stunning wildflowers. The main attraction for me though, was the mist and clouds that settled on the distant mountains, with just a bit of the mountaintop peeking through. It was really something to behold.

A trip to the Mountains

This past weekend my fabulous husband gave me a wonderful gift of a getaway to the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was just an overnighter, so I didn't have a ton of painting time; but I did have enough to do this little mountain study.

I also spent part of the trip scouting around for future painting sites.I was in the town of Nellysford, VA (near Wintergreen) which has long been a favorite of mine. In the past though, I have always been able to scout while my husband drove. Driving on my own through this gorgeous countryside, I realized how oblivious I have been in the past to what a white-knuckle a drive route 151 can be (sorry honey!)  It wasn't very easy to ogle without also risking driving oneself off a cliff. I did find a few spots to pull over though, and even though the leaves haven't yet made their autumn transformation there, it was still stunningly gorgeous and inspiring.

The above painting is really a study. I was mainly interested in getting a feel for the planes and shadows of the mountain. I struggled with the canvas panels I brought though. They were oil primed linen, which are supposed to be primo, right? But I found them to have a both a heavier weave  and yet to be much slicker than I am accustomed to, at the same time. It might just be a matter of getting used to them, but they gave me problems last weekend and I felt like the surface was a major distraction.

I also learned that my overreliance on my handy dandy rolling bag has caused my plein air painting gear to get a little hefty. I love using the Soltek easel (when it's functioning properly) when I'm around town, but if I am going to get back into traveling I really need a lighter setup for my backpack. I do have a very light setup already, but it has proven almost too light for me, and I find it to be so much less stable-feeling  than my Soltek or other pochade boxes I've used in the past. I also have become extremely reliant on the large paint-mixing surface of the Soltek (which I have expanded even further--more about that in a future post). So the tiny mixing area of my current travel box makes me feel like a giant in Munchkin-land.

Yet again, I may just need to get myself accustomed to the change. But I've been finding myself eyeing another paint box of late (here we go again!). I've had my eye on it for a number of years. It's by Alla Prima Pochade. The models I am considering are either the Bitterroot or the Bitterroot lite. I can always rationalize needing an auxiliary easel  for travel and for use in case my Soltek breaks down again. They seem really well made and are so intelligently designed (I've seen them before in action.) But will either one significantly reduce my setup size while still allowing an adequate paint mixing area? That is the question.