062816 12x16 Lilies!

Nice day to work "en plein air" out in the lily garden!

Here is the finished painting.

"Lilies, June 28, 2016", plein air oil on panel, 12" x 16", c. Charlene Marsh.

Happy Trails!

Charlene 
 
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033016 12x12 Sunflowers

I start the painting by blocking in the background colors. I paint the negative space around the bird bath which will be added later.

After the background is painted in, I add the flowers and details working wet into wet.

Here's the finished painting, "Sunflowers", oil on panel, 12" x 12", c. 2016, by Charlene Marsh.

Thanks for following along!  

Happy Trails!

Charlene Marsh

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032816 S 12x12 Poppies and Purple Coneflowers

I need to get some 12" x 12" flower paintings done for my upcoming show schedule.  I juried in to some shows with just flowers so I need to make sure I have enough to fill my booth! 

So this is a fun 12" x 12" with a creek, waterfall, poppies and hollyhocks.

I start with the darks and work to the light values.

I block in the greens and turquoise of the water on the creek.

I paint in the light of the sky last.  Lightening a dark is much easier than trying to make a light dark!  In fact, it is impossible to darken a light!

I start to add the details of the flowers - poppies, lilies, sunflowers, and coneflowers.  I add the white water to the waterfall in the creek.  I continue to work over the entire surface of the painting from teh background to the foreground and back again.

Here is the finished painting:  

"Poppies and Coneflowers", 12" x 12", oil on panel, c. 2016, by Charlene Marsh

032416 24x36 Summer Flowers Next to the Creek

The support for this painting is a 24" x 36" hardboard panel that I have already prepped and tinted with napthol crimson acrylic paint.  The rule is "fat over lean" meaning oil can go over acrylic but not vice versa.  Same rule applies to food, too!  Ha!  Fruit (lean) first followed by fats!  Fruit digests so quickly, that if you eat it after the fat, it will start to ferment in your digestive system and cause problems.

Anyway, back to the painting.  I draw out the initial sketch using a brush dipped in cold pressed linseed oil and magenta and cerulean blue. 

I mix a dark green using Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Yellow Light, and a bit of Magenta Red or Cadmium Red Medium and start blocking in the background trees.  A dark earth color is mixed with the Ultra Blue and Cadmium Red Medium and used to flesh out the creek bed.

I mix blue greens to recede into the background and mix greens with more yellow and warmer colors to move forward.

I mix a violet with the Magenta and Cerulean or Magenta and Ultra Blue and pick up a little mixed green to dull it down a bit.

I mix a turquoise for the creek as well as some of the Cadmium Red Medium mixed with Cerulean Blue.

I mix a very light sky blue with Cerulean and Titanium White and pop it in along the horizon line where the sky is lightest. 

 The sky is filled in with a mix of Cerulean Blue and Titanium White.

Once I have the "muscles" of the painting in place, I start adding the flowers. 
I use the pure Cadmium Red Medium and Light for the poppies.  A mix of the magenta with a touch of yellow and lot of white are used for the initial hollyhocks.  As the painting progresses, I mix up various hues and values for the hollyhocks.  Some with magenta and white and other mixes have some cerulean or ultra blue added. 

I add the little waterfall to the creek and the ripples on the water.  All the while continuing to add all kinds of flowers to the painting.  

Wildflowers, poppies, lilies, sunflowers, and Queen Anne's Lace are added and worked over the surface. 

And the finished painting, "Summer Flowers Next to the Creek", oil on panel, 24" x 36", #032416 24x36, by Charlene Marsh.

Thanks for following along!

Happy Trails!

Charlene 

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030416 30x60 PART 2 Poppies, Hollyhocks, and Lilies by the Creek

Okay, this blog will start where I left off, starting the second canvas in this diptych.  Please click HERE for PART 1.   

I had already sketched out the scene when I started the first piece so I was able to dive right into the painting.

This canvas will feature a waterfall so I block in the darks of the rocks around the creek and waterfall and the background trees.  I change the creek so it curves back to the right instead of the left.

 

Then I start to block in the greens plus some of the violet that will pick up the color of the flowers.  The greens are mixed with cerulean blue and cadmium yellow light.  Plus some have cadmium red light and medium mixed in.  I premix the greens and then premix an orange.  Then I pull a bit of each color from each premixed pile to get a wide range of greens.  I mix small batches at a time and then mix more as soon as it is used up.

  

I pop in the various shades of greens and violets throughout the painting working the entire canvas at the same time.  I start painting in the poppies, wet into wet, using a circular motion with the palette knives. 

 

I start fleshing out the tumbling waterfall using cerulean blue and a bit of cadmium yellow and titanium white.  Some of the cadmium red on my palette also mixes into the water colors.  Hollyhocks and broad leaves are added. 

I keep working the entire surface adding more poppies, hollyhocks, broad leaves into the wet paint.

White water is added to the waterfall and ripples added to the pool of water.  Goldfish are flecked into the water and ripples pulled over them.  

This is my palette by the time the painting was completed.  My taboret is an old AV cart I bought at IU Surplus for something like $10.  The cart even has an electric cord and outlets if I ever want to plug it in!  But it is the perfect height to paint standing up and has two shelves for painting supplies like brushes, knives, paper towels, etc.

I took this side shot of the painting to show the thick, heavy, impasto paint on the surface.  Photos on the internet simply fail to convey the energy and richness of the thick paint!  

And here is the final, finished shot of the diptych:

 "Poppies, Hollyhocks, and Lilies by the Creek", oil on canvas, diptych, 30" x 60" overall, each canvas 30" x 30", Code #030416 S 30x60, by Charlene Marsh, c. 2016.

Thanks for following along!

Happy Trails!

Charlene

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Morning Glories and Magic Lilies 020716 12x12

Seems when I shoot progress shots while working on a painting in the studio at night, they come out slightly blurry!  I debate whether it is better to show a blurry pix that some may get a small benefit from or leave them out!  I guess this time, I'll include them.  After all, I often paint sans glasses so it is all blurry to me!  Ha!

As usual, I start with a tinted panel and sketch out the basic layout of the scene and start blocking in the darks.

I wanted to include a large tumble of morning glories that I use to disguise an ugly electrical box next to the deck along with the magic lilies, hollyhocks, and goldfish pool.

Henry decided to take a nap on the second shelf of my taboret.  Such a cutie at the moment - but he can be a little rascal!  Sometimes he tries to take a nap on the top shelf when my palette is full of paint!  He hates paint on his paws and jumps right down, sometimes leaving a trail of paw prints all over the studio! 

After blocking in most of the greenery, ground, and background, I start adding the flowers, wet into wet.

Working the entire surface at the same time, I pop in flowers and vines and branches, background, foreground, back and forth.  Small details like the centers of the morning glories and ripples of wind on the goldfish pool are added and the painting finalized.

Here is the final painting, Morning Glories and Magic Lilies, 020716 12x12.  

Thanks for following along!  

Happy Trails!

Charlene

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Warm Weather Flowers Code #011916 12x12

I shot some photos of this painting in progress but they didn't turn out too good so I deleted them.  Hey, I'm a painter not a photographer!

"Poppies by the Creek", 12" x 12", oil on panel, c. Charlene Marsh, Code #011916 12x12

I just love painting these beautiful flowers in the studio with the wood stove burning brightly and the weather outside is cold and snowy!  

Thanks for tuning in!

Happy Trails!

Charlene 

Lilies and Coneflowers 112815 S 12x12

Lilies and Coneflowers

Today I am sharing how I made this lovely little 12" x 12" flower painting featuring lilies, coneflowers, and wildflowers from my garden.  I start with a tinted panel and then loosely sketch out the scene I want to paint.

Then I begin by painting darkest darks of the forest, trees, and green leaves of the flowers.  I pop in some of the color of the flowers.  I want the colors of the flowers to vibrate against the greens.

I start to add the lighter greens in the background and middle ground while adding more flowers and stems.

The lightest leaves are added in the foreground.  I mix up the sky with Titanium White and a bit of Cerulean Blue and block that in last.  I use a bit more of the same blue in the water that reflects the sky and put that in at the same time. 

I loosely criss cross the panel with stems and branches using the edge of a palette knife and a rubber tipped implement.  I add more leaves and stems and more details to the flowers.  I work quickly and intuitively adding flowers and dancing fairies to the painting.

I continue to work over the entire painting, pulling foreground flowers forward and pushing background elements back while adding more branches and leaves and flowers.  I step back often to see how the painting looks from a  distance and make adjustments accordingly.

Here is the finished painting:

Lilies and Coneflowers, oil on panel, 12" x  12", c. 2015, by  Charlene Marsh.  SOLD

Happy trails!

Charlene 

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Hollyhocks, Echinacea, Lilies, Daisies, and Queen Anne's Lace Code #121515 S 12x12

Let's end the year with a lovely flower painting! 

I first make a panel by cutting the hardboard into the size I want then sealing the panel with GAC 100.  I apply two coats of gesso to the front and back sides of the panel.  Then I tint the panel with a napthol crimson red acrylic paint.   Using alizarin crimson and cerulean oil paints thinned with cold pressed linseed oil, I sketch the initial drawing on the panel staying very loose with the drawing.  This preliminary sketch is used to place where I want the flowers and pool and birdbath to go and the basic structure of the painting.

I start with the darkest darks of the background trees and the foreground space.  I also pop in the pure reds and pinks of the flowers.

I have a rubber tipped implement -- looks kinda like an eraser tip -- to loosely add branches and tendrils.  I also put in the birdbath.  I work back and forth between the foreground and background as well as all over the entire surface at the same time.

Flowers are added and then pushed back or painted over and even painted out, in an ongoing "back and forth" play throughout the entire surface.

The finished painting, "Hollyhocks, Echinacea, Lilies, Daisies, and Queen Anne's Lace" next to a gold fish pool.  Oil on panel, 12" x 12", c. 2015. Code #121515 S 12x1.  SOLD.

I want to wish you a Happy New Year and many blessings in 2016!  I appreciate you very much!  You are the reason I continue to paint and create beautiful artwork to enrich our living spaces and lives!  Thank you for your interest and support over the years!  I plan to make 2016 the best year ever with more fabulous paintings!

Please be sure to sign up for my email newsletter in the upper right box so you can get a once a week email with new paintings in progress and also when they become available as well as upcoming shows, news, specials, info about classes and workshops, tools and gear, and fun insights into the life of an artist.  Thanks!

Cheers,

Charlene