The Painting Spectrum - Circling Seagulls

     Some days are just more profound than others. Today is one of them - I put the finishing touches on a one-shot seascape / bird painting (which means I won't be painting this genre on a regular basis). This is also the first time in two months I've been able to blog. Between painting, doing a commissioned mural, a painting class, and a local display of my works, the last six weeks have been hectic. Good - but hectic.

     Another profound day was last week while out on my daily walk with a friend. She noticed seagulls circling over a large fishing vessel. She mentioned, "I love when they do that... as long as I'm not directly underneath them!" We continued walking along the local boardwalk and rested on a bench near the South End beach. After about ten minutes or so, the flock of seagulls flew over to near where we were and once again began their circling dance. We counted approximately 25 birds flying in synchronicity - diving, swooping, swirling back up, then circling again.

     I pondered as we watched - it always amazes me these birds never hit each other. It's so beautiful; like a rehearsed ballet. Another five minutes passed, the seagulls moved on to another locale. "Wow! That was spectacular!" I finally said. "Are you going to paint it?" my friend asked. "I've seen a painting with the harbor below the birds. However you paint it, I'd like to see it when it's done."

     It was about four days later when I began the process of recreating what I saw onto canvas. I thought about what my friend had said about a setting for this painting. I finally decided that sky and birds would be enough. I mixed Ultramarine Blue and White until I achieved the shade I wanted for the sky. I had to wait until that paint dried before attempting the birds. That way they would "stay" without smudging. When that time finally came, I tried patting in a shade of grey, but found that my brushes were too big. The strokes just made big blobs of paint hanging in the air, so I had to wipe them off and begin again.

     I waited a few more days. In the meantime, I dug through my art supply closet and found some smaller brushes that I haven't used in a quite a while. At first I was disappointed - while the brushes were in good shape, they still had a little brightly colored paint on them. I had read in a trade magazine that using Murphy's Oil Soap was just the trick to remove old paint & bring the brushes back to life. Going for broke (like I usually do), I poured a bunch of M.O.S. into a large Mason jar and put 20 some odd brushes in it to soak overnight. Low and behold, the next day I rinsed them all off, and they were clean & looked like new!

     With small brush in hand, I went at the canvas again with the medium grey paint to resemble birds in flight. This time I was satisfied with the results and called it good. So did my friend - she now has a mated print hanging on her wall.

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill

The Painting Spectrum - Thinking Pink

    I wonder if insects think this, especially bees; think pink. As the title of this post implies, the featured work is a group of flowers that are a bright, hot shade of pink, with a shade of red towards the middle and bright yellow pistons sticking out. This process of attracting bees must work in nature's grand scheme - as I was attempting to photograph this group, insects were flying all around them. I actually had to shoot my subject from a distance and use the zoom lens, so as not to disturb the balance of daily work for the bees and me getting stung!

   I used a fan brush to glaze on some white paint in order to highlight the fine ridges of each petal. I added a touch of violet for shadow on some of the petals. I was a little nervous taking some of these artistic liberties, but in the end, I liked the effect.

   This particular work has now been framed and will be featured in my latest art showing coming up in October. I'm using a gold frame purchased at a yard sale. Numerous readers ask me frequently what frames (or type) should they use. In my humble opinion - it's your art work. Frame it as you like it best! Experiment - see what you like! Because in the end, if you don't like it, that thought process will be conveyed to others - verbally or not.

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill

The Painting Spectrum - New Paintings, New Directions

     It's hard to believe it's been almost a month since my last blog post. As we near mid-September, I can look back with fondness at this past summer. Weather wise as a whole, it has been stellar since last May. I've painted more in the past four months than I have in quite a while. I've painted everything from barns, to flowers, to seascapes, to abstracts, with sizes ranging from 8x10 to 24x30. I spent an astronomical amount of time outdoors, painting, and reading.

     I've shared this before - I'm not a technological person. As a result, I realize that my Internet and social media presence has been somewhat minimal at best. Perhaps when the winter weather settles in again by December, that I'll be posting more blogs. As a result of my unpredictability, I've changed the name of my blog yet again. I feel the title of "The Painting Spectrum" is more accurate than ever now that I've thrown the time-frame portion out the window.

     The work I'm highlighting today was influenced by a book I read about Shakespeare's gardens. The geranium flowers that are in the gardens are exquisitely beautiful. It took several layers for not only the flower, but also the background to get things just right.

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill

The Weekly Spectrum - Two Pink Roses

   I'm unsure as to why this still comes as a surprise to me; the summer is flying by! I have been spending a great deal of time outdoors, dealing with some personal issues, painting, photographing inspirations to paint, visited the the beach once or twice, and painted even more! My painting lately has been mostly for escape purposes, more than anything. I'm not a technological person - people who know me, realize that. If one thing regarding my art that will fall by the wayside, it is the technology aspect of blogging, website updates, and social media. It has been a gorgeous summer here in Maine and it seems the only thing I do while inside is paint! So my apologies for the Weekly Spectrum being not so weekly yet again...

   I've said before, "...inspiration is where you find it." These beauties were given to me by my oldest daughter Meg - freshly cut right out of her flower beds in full bloom. At that time, (back in early July), they were healing balm for a sorrowful heart. A very dear friend of mine had been fighting brain cancer for 10 years and unfortunately, she lost the battle.

   I visited her in the hospital just over a month ago when her doctors told her and her husband she only had a week to live. Well, one week turned into two, which turned into approximately five weeks. She was able to leave the hospital, go home, and be with family and friends until she passed peacefully. She was a strong soul, but felt at peace in her final weeks.

   At this point, it doesn't truly matter how I painted this particular work. The process, the colors, any frustrations I went through - don't even register on the scale when compared to my dear friend. She passed way too young, but lived a full life. These roses remind me of this woman's beautiful soul - never to be harmed again. Peace be with you, my dear friend.

Until next time,
Jill

The Weekly Spectrum - The Passion Continues!

   Sometimes I feel we live in a world of hybrids - from automobiles to produce to plastics. Flowers are no exception and can produce some fairly stunning results. This week's blog focuses on the Lady Margaret passion flower. It's official classification is Passiflora 'Lady Margaret'. Apparently, deep blood red is a rare color among these types tropical vines which sport some of the most exotic flower architecture in the world. The Lady Margaret, is a hybrid between two South American species, the red Passiflora coccinea and the deciduous native of the American southeast, Passiflora incarnata.

   Confused yet? Join the club! Sometimes we can wrapped up in all the technical details and miss one important and simple factor that's right in front of us - it's a beautiful flower. One that begs to be painted. Using the mantra, keep it simple, I used basic colors for this work - primarily Alizeron Crimson and Phthalo Green mixed with a little bit of yellow. 

   Anyone who knows me, knows I love flowers. If anyone wants to know what to get me for Christmas this year - here you go! Nudge, nudge, wink, wink...

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill

The Weekly Spectrum - Violet Passion Flower

   The inspiration for this painting came from a photograph in a magazine - while the representation was fantastic, almost no photo can do the beauty of this flower justice. These South American tropical flowers can be cultivated and thrive as patio plants. They grow on vines and will grow intertwined in pots. As long as they are in a brightly lit sun-drenched area, have decent soil, and plenty of water, they've been known to have zero problems indoors during winter months in the snow belt. In fact, with light fertilization, the Passion Flower has been known to provide vigorous growth.

   Sometimes I'm amazed at how resilient flowers and plants can be. When given the proper environment, nourishment, patience, care and love, they can basically thrive almost anywhere. The same can be said for us. Granted, while we're not destined to live a life indoors all the time, we can thrive, grow vigorously, and bear good fruit when we realize that our needs our met. Unfortunately, at numerous times, it can be the unhealthy wants that's in our minds that block us from that balance.

   With this mindset, I kept this particular work a little more simple. There isn't as much fine detail, the edges are a bit rough, and the textured background is a bit more obvious. Without going into phenomenal detail, I tried capturing the spirit of this wild beauty.

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill

The Weekly Spectrum - Beach Rose

   I was out for a walk about a week or two ago with a friend, when she plucked a prime specimen of a North Atlantic Beach Rose. She handed it to me saying, "Honey - you gotta paint what you're passionate about!"

   And so it goes and things change - blog posts as well as painting inspirations. After about two months, I'm satisfied with, and have run my course, with Maine barns and farms. I feel in my heart that my painting will now enter yet another chapter.


   A rose by any other name would not be so fair, nor smell so heavenly. And yes, here I am at it again painting flowers. However, with this new series, I am trying something different (at least for now). While I've painted every type of floral from bouquets, to small arrangements in vases, to abstracts, I've never focused on one single flower.




   Mixing and remixing paint to achieve the correct lavender shade. Layer upon layer, fold among fold. The petal ere so sweet shan't be trampled by mans feet. High upon the thorny branch, the delicate rose perchest. Plucked in the light of day - until its life spirit flitters away...


Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill