Hand Made

 

Hand Made

12” x 9” watercolor

Yesterday, I painted another still life. This time, I included several things from my studio that have been hand made. The straw doll is something I got at an art and craft fair in Redmond, WA, many years ago. The stand holding the brushes was hand made from a length of bamboo. It is from Japan. The brushes in the stand are handmade hake brushes. They are great for water washes. The wood block stamps are handmade in Indonesia, I think. I got them at Artistic Artifacts in Alexandria, VA. The books are hand made. The two on the bottom are still empty. I made those. The standing book, that does not close because I have been filling it with small art, was a gift from the maker, Sally-Jo. It was fun to do a painting highlighting these special pieces.

I am feeling a need to clean out my studio space. The floor is dusty, as is every other flat surface. That is a Spokane condition. I also need to start weeding out all the stuff I don’t use anymore. Of course, the minute I get rid of it, I will need it. At least I can start with the dust. I don’t foresee a need for it.

Painting a glass blowing glory hole

Glory Hole WIP

10 x 8 soft pastels on sanded paper

by Miki Willa

This is another gift painting. Our oldest son is a glass blower, so I used a reference photo my husband took of son blowing a vase, which I have on my mantle. I wanted to capture the intensity of this part of glass blowing. The fire is so hot, the edges around it are blurred. There are subtle shapes and forms in the dark areas. I still have to flesh them out a bit and clean up some of the lines I want to be sharp. I am pleased with the colors and values, so far. This has been a challenge, but a very enjoyable one. It took me outside my normal comfort zone and there is not a speck of green here! I am adding this to my small spaces series.

Paintings as gifts

Bread, Beer, and Edam

8 x 10 soft pastels on sanded paper

by Miki Willa

Doing a painting as a gift is always a tricky thing, I think. Unless you really know someone really well, you may easily create something that will reside in their storage closet until you are expected for dinner. For instance, I would never paint something for my daughter unless she requested it because she really knows what she likes. My son's, on the other hand, have asked me to do paintings for them for a long time. They each have paintings by my husband, their father, but not by me. I decided to remedy that this year. Our oldest is a pastry chef who enjoys a good beer. He has been giving me bread making lessons, and I have become very popular with my daughter and sister every since. I decided to do this still life for him. I threw in the Edam for color and shape. Besides, we really like to eat Edam now and then.
I had some trouble with the beer in this painting. I expected the foam to last much longer than it did. Fortunately, I took a photo before it went away, and I didn't pour it until I had the sketch done. I started on that part. Another thing was the glass. I haven't painted glass in a long time. I am pleased with the final results, but it was difficult to get there.

I hope he likes this painting. My other son is a glass blower. That painting will be an even greater challenge.

I have not been idle between paintings. I spent several hours making Christmas stockings for five people. I haven't had a sewing room for many years, so it was good to get back to that sort of creativity. In the new year, I will be splitting my time between quilting and painting. I am really glad I named this blog Pastels and More. That way, I will be able to share all my endeavors.

If I don't get back before the 25th, Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate. To my readers who worship in another way, a blessed season to you all.

Still life in the Ancient Colors

Tea for Two or Block Party (can't decide on a name)

9 x 12 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

Hooray! My paper order from Dakota Art arrived. I even ordered some Wallis paper so I could do some more pastel and turpenoid underpaintings. I can't wait to open the box. It is like Christmas when our paper orders arrive. I will be so happy to get back to Washington state when I can just drive to the Dakota store if I am getting low.

When I first set up this still life on the dining room table, it was quite big. There was another teapot on top of the concrete block, a tea cup sitting on one of the openings, and a blue on white serving dish leaning against the block. Of course, I never got around to painting it, although I did make sketches. I took several photos, however. This morning, when I was looking for something I wanted to paint, I came across a photo of the setup. I started cropping and found something I liked. I am still playing with the four walls. I decided I needed to leave out the cup in the hole and he teapot on top of the block. I am quite happy with the results. (My husband made me write that, but I really am.) The reason the concrete block is that color is because it had been outside with our local red dirt. Red dirt dyed t-shirts are big business on Kaua'i.

I will be off-island (local term meaning I am going to another island or to the mainland) for the next week. I will be visiting family in Seattle, Washington. I am not sure how often I will be able to post, so plan on me being back on Friday, the 28th. For my Christian readers, have a joyous Easter.

Painting a Still Life

Eggplant Parmesan

7 x 10 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

I decided this morning that I haven't painted from life in a long time. In an attempt to remedy that, I pulled a few things out of the refrigerator that will become tomorrow's dinner. I have trouble setting up still lifes for myself. I have to try and think about darks and lights and how they will move the viewer through the picture. I have to remember balance in composition. I remember when I first started painting still lifes, my instructor tried not to laugh when I centered the entire set up on my paper. Far be it for me to fill the paper. I would look at the others during critique time and admire the way people had some things going off the edge. I would, however, do the same thing the next week. I just didn't get how to do it. One of the best things about practicing my art is the way my vision has improved. I see things in different ways now.

As for this painting, I tried a couple of interesting things to draw the viewers eye to the eggplant. First, I made sure I put all the detail I saw in it. It doesn't show up well in the photo, but the red of the tomato is reflected on the side of the eggplant. Another thing I did was to soften up the edges of the other elements, except the bottle which I thought would help draw the eye down. My light source was almost directly overhead, thus no shadow on the back wall from the bottle. That would have been fun, but I couldn't pull it off in this one.

Take a look at Gurney Journey for today. He has a very interesting discussion about the color of moonlight.

Another Barn

Once Upon a Time on the Plains

11 x 15 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

Several years ago, I drove across the country with my best friend. We loved so many things we saw. We stopped to take photos of silos, rolling corn fields, wild flowers, and barns. We were in South Dakota when we spotted this on at the end of a road that took us to a very small town. I am not sure why we were there, but I fell in love with this barn. The roof was nearly gone. It had been deserted for a while, but it still stood there telling its story. My friend, now my sister-in-law, used to have a large photo of it hanging in her house. I only have a small one in a photo album. I wonder if she remembers it.

Today is Cezanne's birthday. He was born to a wealthy father in 1836. He wanted to be an artist from a young age, but his father fought him on it. Eventually, he got his way. After time spent in art school in Aix en Provence, he headed to Paris. There he was introduced to Pissarro and Monet who convinced him to start painting outdoors. Before that, his paintings were dark and melancholy, often with a religious theme. Once he started painting outside, his pallet changed and he began painting with much more vivid colors. In 1872, he spent two years in Pontoise with Pissarro painting as much as he could outdoors. He entered works the annual Salon exhibit was always rejected. Twice, he entered his works in the Impressionists exhibit but they were soundly derided. He left Paris fed up with the city and the style of the Impressionists. He wanted to paint what he saw and felt. He began to develop his own strong style that did not worry about depth and dimension so much as feeling and color. It was twenty years before he exhibited his work after the last Impressionist show he entered. By the end of his life, his works were being recognized and selling well. Here is a still life of his to enjoy on his birthday.

Apples, Peaches, Pears, and Grapes

15 1/8 x 18 1/4 inches oil on canvas

Paul Cezanne

To see more of Cezanne's work, go here. To read more about him, go to this site.

Still Life with Fountains - cool

Still Life with Fountains - cool

9 x 7 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

This was much harder than I thought it would be. I was trying to work with values rather than color, while staying with the cooler colors as I see them. The wood was done with cooler colors than the other one, but they look so warm compared to the rest of the colors. Some of the color pinks show peachy next to cooler purples. This has been a very interesting exercise during which I learned the value of using both cools and warms in a painting. Color temperature can help set a mood if judiciously and thoughtfully placed. I don't think I will be doing this still life again any time soon, but it was a good learning tool.

Still Life Fountains - Warm

Still Life Fountains - Warm

9 x 7 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

I learned many things about myself doing this painting. The most important is that I am more of a cool color person. I think each of the colors I used is yummy as a small part of a mixed temperature piece. I had a hard time resisting the colors in my pallet I think of as cool colors. I did use some in the cast shadows, when I remembered to put them in. There was not a strong light source showing in the reference photo, so I had to select one. I noticed when I looked at the photo that I totally forgot them on the left two pots. I will fix that on the cool color painting. I also want to drive the center piece more into the background. As it is now, my eye is drawn to it as soon as it gets past the green. I decided to leave the green as it was and add some of it into one of the pots. I am not sure it really works, but I still like the green. I also need to work on making the fountains look more like water is coming down the sides from the bubbling top. That will be a real learning experience. I will have to do some research on how that can be done. tomorrow, I am going to work on the cool color painting from the same reference photo. I already know some value adjustments I am going to make so I can develop a clear focal area. I think I will also make the front right pot into a working fountain. I guess tomorrow will tell. What an interesting exercise along the journey.

Warm Still Life

Still Life with Fountains

detail of WIP

Miki Willa

Some days, it is really difficult to get in enough painting time in the morning. I left home at my usual early hour, but the traffic was a bit worse than usual so I got to work later. By the time I got set up to paint, I only had 20 minutes left before our staff Christmas celebration. Fortunately, I did the sketch for one of the paintings yesterday. I should not have taken the time to do the second one before I started painting. When I finally started, I decided to work one element at a time. I don't usually do this, but I am glad this time because I have something to show.

I tried to stick with only warm colors, but sometimes I found I needed something a bit cooler. The lavender I used in a couple of places was the warmest one I found in my pallet. I love the green on the wall. I think this may have been the reason I selected this photo. I does need to be toned down, but it was such fun to paint. I will wait until I have finished the whole painting before I go back to it. I may be able to work a bit of it in somewhere else and see what that does. The other challenge I am finding is creating the rustic look in some of the pieces. I am enjoying working with colors I don't often use. There is a luscious peach in my Great American set I have never used before. It may become one of my new favorites.

Looking back, a little

Orange and Blue

11 x 14 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

When I first started using pastels, I tried valiantly to teach myself with my husband's helpful hints. For a Christmas gift, Tom signed me up for a series of classes taught by Helen Iaea. Until that time, I had been copying other people's work. In Helen's classes, we painted still lifes she set up for us each week. After several months, we started to work on glass. For me, this was quite a challenge, but I was fascinated with the process. I finally got to where I really enjoyed it and looked forward to my Saturday classes. Once I finished each of these paintings, I dutifully took a photo, and put them back in the storage area for paintings done in class. Today, I spent some time on the computer trying to find all the photos of Tom's and my paintings to put in one folder to create a back-up disc. When I came across this one, I was reminded how much I liked it when it was first finished. I may have to dig this one out and take another look.

Pumpkins All Around

Fall Fruits

5 x 12 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

Today, I decided to paint a still life of three of the pieces out of the fall arrangement in the library. It has been quite a while since I did a still life. I think I would like to do more.

The white pumpkin got out of hand and nearly ruins the painting, but I thought I would post it anyway. Sometimes it is important to put the learning pieces out there as a reminder to stay humble. Just another step along the journey.