Finished WIP "Old Canoe' Fall painting

 'Old Canoe'  14 x 11" on Ampersand Gessobord

 

Photo of the finished piece.  It is at the scanners so I will have a better pic for making prints.  I am not a very good photographer so I get them scanned so customers can order large prints that will be crisp and clear.  The colors in the original piece are brighter - especially the canoe. 

 

I love fall and painting fall scenes.  This reference photo was courtesy of Wet Canvas, a great tool for artists with no strings attached.  People have told me that I like bright colors.  I guess I do if that is what the piece calls for.  I can just as easily use more subdued colors for the right painting.  Check out 'Pont Vecchio Landscape' below.  This painting is from a photo taken on a dark day in the morning.  Visit  http://lynne-reichhart.artistwebsites.com/ to purchase prints of this piece.  Prints of 'Old Canoe' will be available shortly once I get the scanned image back.

 

 Thanks for visiting and come back next week for a new installment~



Pixley park in Winter and work ethic!

I thought I would start this post with my latest painting.  I titled this one "Pixley in Winter'.  It is acrylic on 12 x 16 Ampersand board.  I love the smooth surface of these boards.  They do get me to loosen up just a little :).  I was itching to do a winter scene since I had months of inspiration outside my window this winter.  The reference photo for this piece was taken at a park just a few miles from my home.  It is also a great  place to cross country ski though I haven't done that for a couple years now.  I must admit that I am not the fan of winter that I used to be, but I love painting snow!  I also needed a new winter scene for my annual calendar that I do at Zazzle! 

The other reason for this post is to inquire about others work habits.  It seems that being a creative sort, I am always working.  I am either painting, promoting, working on my online shops or learning!  I feel guilty taking time for myself.  When I worked at my corporate job I had no problem using the weekends to 'play' - now I spend at least a portion of the weekend working.  Lately, I have thought about actually making a cup of tea and reading for an hour or so, but alas I am doing this post instead.   I do take my evenings off pretty much when hubby is home from work though.    How do others balance work and me time?  I really would like to know.

Indie Artisans, Farm Animal art, Spring and more!

I wanted to share a really great site and group that can help with your occassion shopping or just put a smile on your face!

'The Indie Artisans  is an ever-changing collection of the best handmade has to offer, presented on one timely page that makes shopping for gifts or yourself easy and fun.

The collection changes with the seasons or on a whim, so check back often for the finest artisan goods hand selected from the most creative, experienced group of online artisans ever assembled.'

You purchase directly from the artist when you visit their latest collection!

This month my little lamb is featured in the Spring, Sweet Collection!

You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter as @indieartisans!

I created these four farm animals (including the lamb) for a friend.  She wanted them for her little girl's room.  I did them all in colored pencil to add a more childlike quality.  The pig has turned out to be very popular!

You can find them as prints on Etsy.

 Mary did have a little lamb and it was very colorful and whimsical!

Buy the print here!

What is cuter than a baby duckling?

Buy the print here!

This pig has turned out to be the most popular of the set - people tell me it just makes them giggle!

Buy the print here!

This guy is my favorite.  It makes me think of the Saturday Night Live sketch about needing 'more cowbell'  In fact, I have a whole line of merchandise on Cafepress featuring this adorable bonine and the tagline "More Cowbell'!

You can buy the print here!

All the prints are 5x7 and can be framed with off the shelf mats and frames.  They look great as a grouping of 4!

New Painting Work in Progress - View at Camp.

I am finally on to a new piece.  I must admit that I am not a marathon painter - a couple hours at a time is typically my limit.  That being said, we shall see how long this one takes me.  Also, since my style tends towards realism details are important and take me time to render. 

 This new piece a view from the new side deck on our log cabin camp.  I love sitting on the new deck surrounded by trees in the peace and quiet.  I hope I can do it justice.

Above, I am just getting some paint on starting with the largest, darkest area first.  Then I proceeded to the deck which is a tricky color.  I may still need to darken the values in the shadows, but want to get some more color on first.  This is the point where it is really ugly, but come back, I promise it will get better!

In my next session, I worked on the chair and I really like how it turned out.  I am so procrastinating on doing the foliage.  Trees have never been my favorite so I need to push myself to work on that.  I really prefer to work a section to completion, but learned that it is better to get some values established first.  As you can see I completed the chair anyway - it kills me to leave stuff unfinished :) 

I will be back with more progress the beginning of the week.  I am psyched to work on this one now that I have it to this point.

I love this colorful jelly bean treasury!

I always get so excited when I am in a new treasury on ETSY.  Treasuries are items curated by Etsy members.  They can include similiar colors, common theme or just be someones favorites!  There are so many items on Etsy that I am always honored to be selected for a treasury.

This was created by lifePOINTimages.  Thanks you!

Acrylic peacock painting Bird Part III - next to last!

OK!  We are getting to the home stretch!  I finished the shutters and am getting some color on the bird - finally!  At this stage, I did an underpainting and am just starting to work on the feather detail.  I am using various mixtures with Phthalo green - cerelean blue for lighter and purple for darker.  I am also using some interference paint in the sun kissed areas.

I will use this as an opportunity to give a plug for my favorite acrylic paints.  I use Golden Artist Colors.  They use no fillers and are more true to color.  You can get them for a reasonable price at Dick Blick and such places.  They make a great selection of interference colors.  GOLDEN Interference Acrylic colors offer a unique "interference flip." When viewed from difference perspectives, Interference colors flip between a bright opalescent color and its complement. 

I am quite happy with the stone work and the shutters.  Now the main event is going to be challenging.  I'll tell you a secret - I am further along right now than in this pic and the tail feathers are not too bad.  I am not looking forward to the wing detail though!

New Watercolor and a frugal tip from the Cheap artist!

This watercolor was inspired by the beautiful Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. They have gorgeous ceiling displays and this is one of them. Can you say Vegas, Baby! The delicate paper parasols just screamed to be painted in translucent watercolor. You can find this in my etsy shop http://artbylmr.etsy.com.

Being a starving artist, I am always looking to save a buck. I was in Kmart the other day looking for storage bins since we artists have so many supplies everywhere. They have bins that stack, slide and everything else that run 6,7,8$ or more. Just next the the bins there was a pile of white dishpans that cost less than $2. I snatched some of them up. They are a good size, have handles and are solid which is sometimes better than the sides with holes.

Just a little hint from you friendly neighborhood cheap artist!
Thank you very much.