Artist dilemnas

As an artist, you face many challenges. What to paint, where to paint, what colors to use, what mediums to use, how large should something be? ETC!!! Well, recently I got my new pochade box to paint outdoors at an upcoming two week painting trip to Tuscany, but when painting outdoors, your supplies have to be at a minimum and the weight of everything has to come into play. So the first thing was getting the right weight box...the pochade as pictured works perfect, it came with everything I need and more including a bag to carry it in.

Now I am trying to decide what oil colors to use because I don't want it to be weighed down with a ton of oil paints. For a normal class I can use a ton of colors and I do, but I have a rolling cart to carry my supplies in, which I won't have for the trip, unless I figure something different out. There's also more supplies than usual to carry like a tri-pod, a folding seat, drop cloths, waste bags, etc, so I have to be really particular! Then I have to figure out what colors are best to paint TUSCANY, I mean, you use different colors to paint those scenes than you would a snowy scene in Vermont! So I'm doing online research and I will also ask all the artists I know to help me with my questions. I know my friend Diane will say go minimum, three colors and white, but SHE can paint with just those amount of colors and do it good, I need more variety. What I need to do, is go painting with Diane and practice using the pochade box...want to go Diane? I'm ready...

Well, just about...haha!

Just goes to show, every painting has planning in it...

Working, working, working on a triple portrait...so does this count as one piece of artwork or three? (Three to me...it's a lot of work!) Regardless, the lady whom I'm doing this portrait for likes what I've done...thank goodness!

Kaua'i Painting FINISHED!!!!

Today I finished my small 8" X 10" painting of Kaua'i of a beach I stood on and gazed upon the Lord's beauty. I just had to capture it! Everyone who's seen it at the art center said I should do a large one. I will, but I made my mistakes and learned by doing the small one. There's a method to my madness. But I really like this one, it brings me back to Kaua'i, and that wasn't even my favorite Hawaiian Island!

CURRENT WORK!

Currently I am working on a triple portrait for a friend who lost her horse. She said she never had a picture of her with the horse and with her husband in the picture. So I am creating something that never happened. She had her horse "Kyla" for many years, so you can imagine the heartache. I'm doing it in pastels and as I compete phases of it, I'm sending her photos from my blackberry along with a message or a question. Sometimes while I'm doing portraits, I have questions regarding a color or something, so I take my time and do it right. This just happens to be a labor of LOVE.

Pictured is the initial sketch, the layering of colors to be sure I have the correct shades, and then the first blend of colors, and the second blend of her husband Walter. I have a lot of work yet to do, and when you look at it, remember the head has to be larger so when I put his hair in, it appears to hang over his head. She (Christine), looks very "excited" at this point, but I had to do that so I can tone her down a bit later on.

This has been fun to create.

I finally got a REAL "easyl" box!

My husband purchased for me a traveling easel box by "Easyl", designed by Kevin MacPherson. It weighs less than ten pounds and includes the easel box, tripod, brush wallet holder, brush bin, detachable palette board, a viewfinder and also a wet carry box! To make life a whole lot easier, he also got me a stone bag, which attaches to the tripod to hold it from tipping, and it holds stuff while you're painting. Also a closed hinged cup for my turpentine! I'm in HEAVEN! Can't wait to receive it, but moreso to use it!