Windblown Sunflowers

 

These sunny blooms always inspire me to paint!  I only wish they lasted all year!  It's a bit of a trick to paint them on such a windy day, but the movement adds to the drama!  Using my oils and a fresh and loose stroke to get them down before my time runs out.  Painting number 5131 in 5131 days. 

Sunflower Solo

 

Oh boy! The sunflowers are blooming like crazy now!  I look forward to painting these beauties all year long, and not storms or heat has kept them from their glory.  What began as a chance wild sunflower in this bed several years ago, has become a whole sunflower section at the front of a raised vegetable garden!  I thinned them out early, transplanting some of the volunteer seedlings to other beds. Two of these were blown sideways, and one has bloomed from the ground, as 8 or 9 stand tall and loaded.  They are wild and wonderful, and it is so fun to watch the birds pluck seeds from the heads as pollinators of all kinds flock to them!  With oil, I'm painting this sunflower now, after a fun day of working on the gardens.  I hope to paint these multiple times before they fade for another year!  Painting number 3887 in 3887 days. 

Windy Day Sunflowers

 What fun to try to capture these wild beauties while they blow in the wind!  I love this wild variety of sunflower, native to this area, so I have allowed these giants to grow in a few different locations on the property.  Native blooms are great for the pollinators, and these sure are buzzing with bees and butterflies - when the wind doesn't catch them!  This was a joy to paint, and now I must get back to work in that garden!  Painting number 3870 in 3870 days.

Sunflowers!

 

Only the top of these wild sunflowers are blooming yet - and they are so far above my head!  My neck is a little stiff after looking up and I can't wait until the blooms open at eye level!  We had some strong storms a couple of weeks ago, and a few of these blew over, but they are still preparing to bloom from their side!  When I can reach them, I'll bring in large bouquets for the house, they last so long in a vase! This is another painting that has a secret painting behind it, as I recycle old paintings into new!  Painting number 3865 in 3865 days. 

Wild Sunflowers

I LOVE finding wild roadside sunflowers blooming profusely!  I try to grow some each year just so I can paint them and bring them in for arrangements. This year, however, a GIANT plant of them - almost 300 blooms - blew over in a storm, snapping the base off low!  These beauties withered and faded before they could really be captured in paint, much to my dispare!  So once again, I am left hunting them up along the road, to paint their beauty before summer is gone!  I think next year I'll cage them - to shield them from the strong wings on this hill!  Painting number 3170 in 3170 days. 

October Sunflowers

purchase here

It's getting harder to find these roadside sunflowers as the season progresses!  On the news of a dear family friend under the weather, I instantly thought of her love of sunflowers, and had to paint them!  The flower of Kansas, these are commonly found all over the rural pastures and roads.  I have saved a bunch of seed which I will be tossing along my own fence lines, to ensure I never run out next year!  Lol!  These tangled beauties make for difficult compositions, so I normally paint them negatively. By filling in the sky holes, the sunflowers emerge.  I find this easier than blocking in every stem and mass, at least at first.  That is the next step, though!  Painting number 2827 in 2827 days. 

Roadside Sunflowers

 

I love these wild sunflowers that grow with reckless abandon!  With sprawling branches, they bloom profusely - and oh how the bees and birds love them!  Today I just oils to capture their beauty - tangled stems and all.  Rather than sketch my composition with brush and paint, I started with the masses of color, dotting in every area like a puzzle.  This actually helped me paint accurately, since their were no stems winding through as my brain would have it.  I like the very realistic portrayal this process led me to.  Painting number 2792 in 2792 days. 

Wild Hydrangea Inked

After a drawing as a painting, I was headed to meet the rest of the Art Mob when I saw this.  I could not resist,  and HAD to pull out pen and paper for a quick sketch!  My water brushpen tip was a little tacky from the sizing on one of my journals, so, the water did not flow as it should. Squeezing out a little on my hand, I was able to make it work!  (A good washing returns the tip to new.)  One of my favorite flowers, I did not know they grow wild in Missouri!  What a fun day this has been - now on to the next event!  Painting number 1626 in 1626 days.

September Sunflowers

This was a windy painting day!  With gusts blowing those sunflowers hither and yon - it was a challenge to see them well enough to paint them!  I love these blooms, and each year at this time, I long to study them again.  We are expecting heavy rain on Thursday night, so I am "making hay while the sun shines" and not losing these painting opportunities.  Many may be hanging their heads come Friday, and then I might resort to buying some stems for study.  I did not want to take the time to reload my yellows, but I will have to before the next sunflower painting.  I have completely used up my cad yellow light - which is totally necessary for these beautiful blooms!  Painting number 1342 in 1342 days :)

Bold Beau

Bold Beau
Oil on gallery wrapped canvas, 8x8

This sweet little lab weighs over 100 lbs - and thinks he’s a lap dog!  His head is larger than mine, and his feet bruise mine when he happens to step on them as he goes outside first thing in the morning!  So full of energy, he has certainly been a handful - but he is so full of sweetness and love, that all is forgiven.  My husband’s “special boy” is my muse tonight, as I push the colors in a bold direction.  It was a little harder for him than it has been for the cats and Ray.  He is such an unusual red lab color, and it was hard to translate that into the vivid hues.  I started with highlights, then dropped in bolder colors a little at a time, testing them against their neighbors as I went.  So much of the energy of a painting is in the relationships of the hues - what lays next to what.  He has the most unusual light green “people” eyes - they seem to glow in real life (it was a little creepy at first)!  I’ve mainly used my brushes for this one, but I did do a little topping off with my new catalysts - which I love!  If you don’t have one, you simply must try one!  They make marks unlike any other tool.  This painting makes 1155 in 1155 days.

Ray

Ray
Oil on gallery wrapped canvas, 12x12

colors in progress...

So, I have probably lost my mind, but I am having great fun with color as I get wild with Ray Charles tonight! What possesses me to go after this portrait in such a way?  Painting daily takes away all fear when it comes to trying new things!  I’m undaunted when I slap down a strong, vivid stroke, the unexpected is just that much more exciting, and most of all - it is sheer, undiluted fun to push those boundaries way, way back!  I chose Ray Charles, because I love the infectious joy that his smile exudes......and it kind of goes with the music theme I had going with a few paintings last week.  I got my new catalysts yesterday, and I have used three new styles on this painting - the square, the arrowhead and the large chisel edge.  I love each of them!  I used the tip of the arrowhead for those little choppy hair curls, and the others throughout.  I probably used the square head most of all!  I think they are SO much better than palette knives, and I may never pick another knife up!  This wild and crazy painting is the 1154th in 1154 days :)

first sketch over old landscape!

Contemporary Cat

Contemporary Cat
Oil on gallery wrapped canvas, 12x12

Goodness me - I have taken a trip to crazy town!!  Painting with such vivid color is exhilarating!  When approaching a painting in such a way, my biggest question is what color to choose.  I am letting my intuition guide me, as heaven knows I have not done anything like this before!  I start first with colors that are really there, the whites, the warm yellows, cool shadows - and then exaggerate those colors.  I pushed the yellow to cad orange and cad red light, the shadows to purple.  The landscape in the background has it’s roots in the true colors, the foliage is green - although I’ve pushed that to yellow green with cad yellow highlights.  The sky blues are also present - turquoise to violet blue.  As I block in the masses, I try to be mindful of how I use the warms and cools.  I’ve used the catalyst again here - and I am loving the variety of strokes that I can achieve.  I have more on the way - I can’t wait to take them out for a spin!  Painting number 1153 in 1153 days.

Surprise!  Another secret landscape underneath this first sketch of contemporary cat!! 

Thoroughly Modern Charlie

Thoroughly Modern Charlie
Oil on gallery wrapped canvas, 12x12

Oh my!  My wild side is showing on this painting!  I don’t think I’ve painted like this since I was 12 years old....so I must be channeling my inner 12-year-old!  The desire to get into some bold paint has been nagging at me for a couple of weeks.  Ideas for paintings will pop into my head - and they are not my normal stuff!  Unable to resist the urge any longer, I have painted over an old landscape on this gallery wrapped canvas, and my country cat is now a city cat!! I have used brushes and catalysts here, and some little used colors, yellow green, perm. rose pink, turquoise, and cad orange AT FULL STRENGTH!!  Super fun.....and crazy!  My youngest son affectionately refers to this as my “acid trip art”!  This crazy painting is my 1152nd in 1152 days.

first marks - surprise landscape underneath!!

in progress

Wild Roses and Iris

Wild Roses and Iris
Mixed media on unstretched canvas, 4x6
purchase here

on location

Today was a baseball tournament day, leaving little time for painting. So, here I have painted a little floral scene from the edge of the old cellar.  Wild roses have snuck into this bed - and I will soon remove them, but for now, they are a nice compliment to the old white and yellow irises.  This is a very small mixed media piece - only 4x6 inches.  I started this one on a white surface, only because I didn't think of toning it until I had already done my pastel sketch!  Building the petals and foliage up with molding paste, I then started the background with oils, as I left the paste drying.  The flowers were the last to be painted, finishing with a little knife work.  I am planning a full day painting at the arboretum tomorrow - I sure hope the weather cooperates!  Painting number 877 in 877 days :)