Southeast (Alaska) Mood

I think the best paintings might get painted quickly, 
when you are not thinking too much and maybe are distracted a bit.

Plein air painting can be like that.

While painting at the Shrine of St Therese one early spring day, 

this is what happened to me.

We had just arrived for our painting retreat

and some of us rushed outside to catch a couple of

hours painting time.

I didn't go very far from the lodge, a couple of steps away. 

Just beside the labyrinth.

I didn't even take any progress photos.

When I got the painting home and lived with it for awhile,
I realized there was too much sky. 

So I cut it off.

And it works now.

Southeast Mood        oil on Arches Huile paper mounted on Masonite     

en plein air     8.75 x 15.5 inches   

Dorland's CWM varnish    

Here it is in its beautiful frame made by my own hubby.💞

Looking back, I did a post about the retreat, here, and this painting

was in the post. But it doesn't hurt to talk about it again, I think. 

Especially when I like the painting.

Hope you are hanging in there. Please take good care and give yourself

some quality time during the holidays.

Paint!

🎨

The Brightest One - a painting

Hi out there in Neverland.

This is a detail of the latest thing I have finished painting. 

 
I'm also still working on my DOR project 
but not ready to post anything else 

besides my last post about it. Here.

About to begin my third DOR painting and I haven't even finished the first two! 

Here are the progress shots for The Brightest One,

including the photo of the still life bouquet that was my inspiration.

The background is a cardboard box cut out so a corner and walls remains.

The painting happened fairly quickly. Only a couple of shots of progress.

My goal was to paint with freedom and not too much thought. I had my colors picked out

and tools handy and began with large arm movements.

This really helped me to loosen up.

The unvarnished and unframed painting.

The Brightest One    oil on panel     16.5 x 11.75 inches

I just realized that this painting has a really nice Thanksgiving-ish color scheme. 

So I am wishing you all a good Thanksgiving - 

and

try to find things to be grateful for.  

It will help your day (any day).

and

be good to your fellow human.

Thank you for checking this blog. Stay safe and warm.

🦃

Backcountry Heaven (Douglas Island - Juneau, Alaska)

Winter is on the way! A neighbor who does lots of adventures

sent photos of a wintertime ski trip on Douglas Island (my home).

I asked permission to try to make a painting from one or a combination

of his photos, and he gave the A-Ok.

The following are shots of the painting's progression.

My sketch of the scene. It was a combination of a couple of his photos.

Transferring it to my surface with charcoal ... I don't think I set it with alcohol this time.

I just began painting.

Backcountry Heaven  ©TGRobus    oil on board      12.5 x 16.5 inches

Matt had made a support and a frame ages ago, so I just had to prepare the surface and he glued it all together, I painted the reveal and the frame black. 

So, it is a wood panel mounted on wood panel in a floater-style frame!

Here is the back.

I enjoyed painting this. 

When you look at it, I want you to feel as if you can imagine skiing 

the snowy mountains of the backcountry in winter. I haven't been 

in this particular place, but have been skiing in similar

Alaskan snowscapes. I hope I captured the

feeling of awe and joy when you are out

in the quiet of the winter land.

As we enter from autumn to winter, I hope everyone continues to be safe 

and stay healthy and active ...

... and do things that make you happy.

Thank you for checking this blogpost ... I really appreciate it!

😷

🎨

❤️

So Many Ideas, So Little Time!

I am working on a new series,

one that may not be too inviting to some.

It is called

DOR

(Dead On Road).

This is kind of a hard one to explain, but here goes.

There have been paintings of dead things throughout

history. Think of the paintings by Chardin.

The Ray by Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin   1728    

45 x 57 inches  It is at the Louvre. 

I love the cat.

and

Rabbit and Copper Pot  1739-40

 

My idea is to give a bit of dignity and beauty to these poor creatures 

who tried to get to the other side of the road.

Road savvy these guys were not.

For the past 9 - 10 years I have been stopping on the side of the road - 

while biking, walking, driving or being a passenger asking for the driver to please stop 

and let me go take a quick picture or two of the DOR.

Well, I guess it is better in many ways,

than being a parasitologist, as my uncle was ...

and now my brother is - when they see a DOR,

it is picked up! and put in a bag 

to take back to the lab to look at its

guts for parasites!

I only take away photos.

I decided the first one is a baby porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum,

that I found on the side of the road while I was biking North Douglas Hwy.

 My supports are all Masonite and all the same size, 

24 x 16 either horizontal or vertical as I am doing here.

I used acrylic for my underpainting and am continuing to do the

painting using oils and Cold Wax Medium (approx 1/2 & 1/2 mix).

I'm showing you the good, bad and ugly of the process

so strap yourselves in.

Oh, and I am not even finished with this one and I am beginning another,

so this will be something I will post

now and then.

Thanks so very much for checking in!

Take the greatest care!

🎨😷

Strong Women Series #10 (10 of 10)

 

Last November (2019) my husband and I were able to visit

the SAM's (Seattle Art Museum) exhibit,

 Flesh and Blood: Italian Masterpieces from the Capodimonte Museum

which was on view Oct 17 - Jan 26 2020 ...

... and here's proof! 

Me in front of 

Judith and Holofernes,

a painting by my favorite Italian Master from the 1500 and 1600's -

Artemisia Gentileschi! 

So - 

it didn't take too much thought to choose the woman 
to paint for my number 10 and final Strong Women Series painting.

I knew it had to be Artemisia Gentileschi. 

This Wikipedia link has a ton of info if you would

like to read more about her. Talk about a strong woman! 

But ... I wasn't quite sure how to go about designing

the painting. Coming to the rescue (what are painting friends for?)

was my friend, and artist - Patrick!

He sent me this:

This painting is by Artemisia, and called "Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting", 

made when she was 45. Oil on canvas, 38 x 29 inches. 

I had already been thinking about this and a couple of other paintings 

by Artemisia and Patrick had a great idea! (Thank you again, P!)

 I thought I would give it a try. 

But WHO would Artemisia be painting?

That was another fairly substantial roadblock, 

but I didn't need help to find her.

I found the perfect 

Strong Woman.

RBG!

Ruth Bader Ginsberg  - this link will direct you

to her Wikipedia page where you can read

why I chose her as another strong woman to be in this painting. Two for one!

There are lots of photos of her online. I needed a portrait-type picture.

I found this which is an ad for a poster-like picture

that you place in the window of your car to make 

it seem like RBG is riding along with you.

And after messing around with the position,

I jumped in and began painting.

One of Artemisia's first paintings, 

when she was 17 years old,

is this one.

Susanna and the Elders  oil on canvas  5'7" x 4'   c1610

Here is the Wiki link to read more about the painting.

I decided to put a small section of this painting

on Artemisia's wall as if she had done a study

for her final painting.

The painting of RBG was looking not quite right

and my husband & daughter suggested making the painting-in-the-painting's

placement more "attached" to the wall behind, 

kind of like she was painting on the canvas attached 

to the wall. I had lots more help when I asked family for suggestions

and I took their advice to good effect. It always helps to have "new eyes"

look at the painting that you have been staring at and working on.

The photo below shows that I made the perspective

a bit more true.

The blue in the canvas was too bright

so I dulled it down and now I feel the painting

(before varnish)

is finished.

Artemisia and RBG       12 x 18 inches      oil on Masonite 

Thank you for reading all of this; I hope you will look up some of the links.

Let me know if Artemisia Gentileschi is a new painter from history for you.

Happy Painting

Stay safe and healthy!

🎨

Strong Women Series #9 - Bella Donna

 

My mother has this little bronze sculpture:

One time when my folks were traveling on the Baja peninsula, Mexico,

 in San Jose del Cabo;

they wandered into a shop and saw this, 

fell in love with her, bought and brought her home.

Mom named her Bella Donna, after the Lilly Amaryllis belladonna, or Naked Lady Lilly - 

which they actually grew on their place in Oregon. When they bloom, nothing else

comes up out of the ground but the stalk 

and the blossom ... thus, naked.

One day when I was visiting home,

I sketched the statue.

When thinking about another strong woman for my 9th

painting, I came across this sketch in one of my sketchbooks.

I felt like she was strong; a powerful nude figure (even though small in size)

sculpted by a strong artist. 

I have not been able to find Anita Corta, sculptor, 

when I google for her.

If anyone knows of this artist I would love to find out more about her.

Below is a photo of my mom's hands dusting Bella Donna,

for scale. Bella Donna is tiny!

Anyhoo, I am showing you guys this next painting process

in just a few photos ... I didn't take many during the progress.

I'm not entirely sure why I chose this surface;

it is Micaceous Iron Oxide. 

I am all about experimentation, that is probably why. 

The mica particles reflect light

and is iridescent. It is very rough!

I used some green pencil to do my drawing.

Bella looked a little lonely seated up there on her pedestal. 

I decided to put some Lillies around and about her.

Funnily enough, I liked the way colored pencil looked on the surface, 

so I actually kept those marks there as the stems, 

instead of painting them in.