House on Angel Hill

This was our final painting of the week. Trying to put all the concepts to work. As I said yesterday, I was not feeling the love that day. It was the hottest day of the week and the hottest week of the summer. It was like standing in the furnace with the hot air blowing. I started this, wiped it, started over in a different format. I got it blocked in and by that time had to retreat across the street to the shade. So my perspective was a little different and the light had quickly changed.
But I got kudos from the owner of the house and from the two boys who flew by on their skateboards! What more could ask?

It's always a race for me when I am painting outdoors. All in all, it was a great week. It always is when I can devote that much time to painting and be surrounded by other artists - it's just so energizing.

And wouldn't you know it - this week's weather is wonderfully cool!

Thanks for visiting!
©2009 Deb Kirkeeide. All rights reserved.

At the park and down to the river...

Day 3
This day we worked on shape and color. Keeping it simple but working on color temperature.




Day 4
We went down to the river this day and worked on memory and visualization. The first painting was done with our backs to the scene. We had 5 minutes to look at the scene and 15 to paint from memory. With this repeated 3 more times for a total of an hour.
Then we put our painting away and started another of the same scene with a time limit of an hour. This time we got to look at what we were painting. The exercise is meant to help tune out the extra stuff we tend to paint and get down to the basics and creating the essence of the painting without showing every little thing we see. It was a very interesting excercise.
I really do like the simplicity of these paintings even though they aren't very polished. Workshops tend to overload my brain and I don't really produce my best work with all that thinking!
Tomorrow I'll post the final -although I admit I was not feeling the love that day.

Do not adjust the color on your monitor!

Well I'm happy to report that I did find people to sit with at lunch (and dinner and even a glass of wine or two) and I think the teacher liked me.... good grades? I'll let you be the judge!

The workshop with Marc Hanson was awesome. He is a great teacher, artist, and all around nice guy. I finally learned those key ingredients that so many other workshops talk about but don't help you understand. Value, shape, color temperature etc.
This week kicked my butt. Lots of hard work, making my brain absorb all this new information...and wouldn't you know after such a cool pleasant summer we get the hottest temps of the summer all week!

So this was day one. We were only allowed to paint in black and white for value studies. It was a bit tricky getting my head wrapped around painting in black and white.

Day 2


Day2 we had to do two b&w value studies - one broken down into 3 values another taking that same breakdown and adding the subtleties to make a finished study.
THEN, we had to do the same thing in color - simplified shapes and values and a more finished painting. It was funny after getting our heads wrapped around the B&W painitngs when it came to color I found myself having to readjust. More concentration on my part to seeing the shapes and values and applying it to color.

We all met again after dinner in town for a session of nocturne painting. Once it finally got dark we set up along the street and proceeded to paint with just a booklight attached to our easel. Unfortunately I misplaced mine and had to set up under a street light. This turned out to be a very yellow light that completely neutralized a lot of my colors so it really was a shot in the dark! Here's my effort. Not great for sure, but it was pretty fun! I also think maybe I should have worn my glasses since I see even less at night!



I'll show more tomorrow.

Thanks for your visit!

©20009 Deb Kirkeeide. all rights reserved.

Moonstone

I'm gearing up for my workshop with Marc Hanson next week in beautiful Taylors Falls, MN.
He is a wonderful artist. You can expect some landscapes coming up and hopefully a new approach to my paintings. I'm so happy to spend a solid week painting, although sometimes workshops are a bit going back to school after summer. Will the teacher like me? Will I have anybody to sit with during lunch? Will I get good grades?
Yikes! Some feelings never go away do they? They just change scenarios! Either way it will be good to be away from the routine.
Moonstone
6x8 Oil on canvas panel

Thanks for your visit!
©2009 Deb Kirkeeide. All rights reserved.

Push Up

A figure study. It seems like it deserves a more intimate title, but the only thing that comes to mind is Push Up.
As she stood before the mirror, she marveled at the engineering wonder of the push up bra...

Push Up
6x8 Oil on canvas panel
135.00 + 12.00 S/H

Thanks for your visit!
©2009 Deb Kirkeeide. All rights reserved.

Lost in Thought

Lost in thought. Where do your thoughts take you? Do you dream of things to come? Destinations waiting for your arrival? Do you visit loved ones who can't be with you in that moment? Or do just enjoy the moment? Thankful for what is, right now, right here? Happy in this place where you have arrived.
Of course, no one needs to know. these private journeys are yours and yours alone, but somehow it always makes one want to travel with you.

Lost in Thought
6x8 Oil on canvas panel
150.00 + 12.00 S/H

Thanks for traveling with me!
©2009 deb Kirkeeide. All rights reserved.

Summer Queen

Thanks
First of all, I want to thank those who have sent or left such wonderful words of comfort and comments on my last post. I appreciate it so much. I always marvel at the wonderful sense of family that has developed in this world of "Blog". People from all over, some I have never met in the flesh, strangers really, yet all offer such a sense of support to each other. It really is a wonderful thing. Thank you!

The painting.
This one has been a huge struggle. We have fought all along the way! She has been without vision many times (or was it me?) because I just could not get the proportions right. Something still feels off but I can't pinpoint it and it is time to move on. She is nothing like I first imagined, she just evolved into this somehow. I've been reading some books centered around the legends of Avalon and the Queen of Fairy shows up periodically throughout the books. Maybe that is who came out in the painting! You never know!

Summer Queen
10 x 20 Oil on Canvas
650.00 + S/H

Thanks for visiting!
©2009 Deb Kirkeeide. All rights reserved.