One of those days

Sometimes you just have to laugh so you don't scream! For two days I could not get anything done that I started, and yesterday it really got to me. So I took a break from it all, took a shower and watched TV for a change!

Today was a little better, didn't stress, just took it as it came. I didn't let things steal my peace.

I had to remind myself that I cannot try to be like someone else, and if someone isn't happy with me or my work, then that is their problem. If I am doing the best I can then that is all I can do! I have to let the rest go. So today I forgave myself, relaxed, enjoyed friends and family and tomorrow, well, I will try to be true to myself and to the Lord.

Free painting lesson

"Out Fishing" Step 1




(click on images for larger view)

Step 2


















1. The first 2 steps are very fast and fun! They are laid in with thin paint. It is thick enough for good coverage, and worked one section at a time. Starting at the top, use lots of white, some ultramarine blue, and a touch of phthalocyanine blue. Add some water to make the paint workable. The top of the sky is darker. Leave the land unpainted for now. The water is the same as the sky, just less white.

2.Make your horizon line above or below half way for a stronger composition.Use dark blues, greens, reds,and/or purple instead of black, for the dark section. I used dioxizine purple and green deep permanent. then use some bright greens by adding cadmium yellow medium or a touch of orange. The trees are laid in with burnt umber and white with a touch of Orange. some ultramarine blue and white are added for grayish reflected light on the off side of the light source. Always choose one side or the other for a strong light source, as this will make your job easier!


Step 3. I went back and added clouds with thick paint. This is optional. I changed the bent palms reflection, and added clouds in the water. Some foliage is also added to the trees and reflections. Remember that water is like a mirror, it is not the same as shadows. everything in the water pulls straight down, shadows can lay to the side. I could have left the painting like this. Just touch up a few spots and call it done. I like the strong contrast here.





Step 4. I decided to push the land back into the distance, so I added highlights and lost some of the strong shadows, which I may put back in later. Everything gets highlights and thick paint. Again I work one section at a time to get that wet in wet look.












Once again I could be finished here, but I want to show you that you can keep it simple or add more to it. I really lay in the water thick: I love lots of brush strokes and movement.
The great blue heron is added after I sketch a few from reference pictures. These birds can appear a grayish blue, or brownish or even very white with gray markings. be sure to find something with the colors that go with your painting, and keep the light source coming from the correct side. it should be consistent on everything in your painting!



Step 5. I added some vines to the bent palm tree, and the foliage in front of the heron last. Don't forget to sign your name small and with a color that goes with your painting. You do not want to have it take away from the art work. Put all information that is important to you on the back! (Your full name, the date, the title, etc . . .)

Click here to see my daily paintings for a better photo.

PS: I use Liquitex professional paints, they are thick, and they have strong colors and good coverage. You can use any brand that you like.

Remember you can move trees around, change colors or add more birds in your painting.
If you try one like this, I would love to see it! or if you have a question feel free to ask . . .

Happy Painting!

my pony

Just thinking about when I was a teenager and I had a pony that I rode all over the place. He did not have a nice name (Rawhide), he was not very handsome, nor could he do anything special. But, he loved me. He did not let others ride him much, and even bit them at times. He was not easy to ride or to control. He listened to my leading, however, and I could get him to do almost anything I asked. He even crossed hard to get through places for me. We had a great time together.

I broke him at the beach, thinking it wouldn't hurt to land in the water . . . He didn't buck or fuss at all. So I took him to the shore and when I got back on he took a few steps. All of a sudden he took off bucking! Once I was on the ground he just stood there staring at me. He didn't run away as I thought, he just came up to me and nudged me with his head. So I got back on, and that was the end of it! I rode him a while and then lead him home.

He became my best friend. In contrast to people, he didn't lie, didn't betray me, always forgave me if I did something wrong to him, and he trusted me. I told him all of my heartaches and spent many hours just sitting on him and laying my head on his neck. I found healing in his friendship.

In the spring of my senior year in high school, we were in a car accident that took his life and almost took mine. For many years I could not forgive myself. Now I am thankful for the memories, and wish I could tell him 'thank you'.

Boards

I went to the Home Depot to get a large board to cut down and prime for painting on. Thought I would save some money. My quality canvas boards cost about 35 bucks for ten, if they are already primed and ready to paint on.

The man that was working said he could cut them down for me and it wouldn't cost too much. So I said sure. I needed 8 x 10 or 9 x 12 inches. As he was cutting, every board came out to a different size. not even close to either of the sizes I stated. I was getting frustrated thinking I would have to pay for it and not have one the correct size. When he was finished I informed him that I could not use those, they had to be 8 x 10, or 9 x 12 inches, or at least very close.

He informed me that he did not have a saw that could cut precisely and said " you should have told me they had to be a certain size, you said it could just be close." I informed him politely that I had told him the size I needed and he didn't even get close to either size!

He began to try again on a new board. Now I am calculating the 14 dollars for each large board twice! and they still had to be sanded and primed. So much for saving money!
He got two rows correct and one long piece that was too short to even make the 8 inches. I told him that was fine, could he just get as many 8 by 10 boards out of the first two rows . . . He did.

Then he told me that you have to take into account that the blade takes away part of the board, so out of a 24 inch side you can not get three equal rows of 8 inches.

I was a little ticked by now, and I said, "You work here, not me, you should have known that. I have never cut things with a saw!"

I ended up with 9 - 8 x 10 inch boards or close enough to be able to frame them. I was very upset at this point and asked him how much I owed him as he wrote up a ticket.

All it said was $2.01, so I thought it would be $2 for each board, and I was OK with that. The lady at the register charged me $2.o1 for all of the boards. I asked her if it wasn't for each board, and she said no, it is for all of them. Then I told her that could not be correct. She said that if I didn't get the board whole and it didn't turn out right, then I wouldn't be charged for it.

I felt like a heel.

Now I am priming and sanding my boards and more than happy to pay the $35.00 for ten ready to paint on canvas boards!

Say a prayer

Just need to take a minute to slow down. A friend of mine has an 18 year old son who was in a car accident. He and his 17 year old friend are in the trauma unit in Delray Beach. They are not doing well at all. I have gone down there a couple of times, and will probably go some more. Looks like weeks before they will get to go home. One has a fractured neck, and the other has crushed legs. Both boys have been undergoing serious surgeries.

I have never felt so useless and helpless. You think you will go and be supportive and pray with them and somehow make a difference. But really, I am nothing. I have no words to give that can do anything. I realized Sunday that even though I am powerless, God is not. Nothing I do or say will make any difference, but just being there, just asking God for his touch, well, it may. It is only by His mercy these boys are even alive. The car was completely totalled. My heart breaks for the mothers.

The older boy was driving, his friend has the broken neck. Yes, they had been drinking. Sadly, they will pay for it for the rest of their lives. I just hope they will use this tragedy for eternal good. I pray God will do miracles for them.

Contests

I have been trying to post some new art work, but the blogger isn't working right today, so I will wait until later.
I am excited about some art contests that are coming up. I rarely win anything, but that's OK, because every time I enter something if it doesn't place I still sell it! once I sold a piece for $800.00 after it was rejected! The $800.00 was more than I would have won, so I was very happy. You can see the painting of "OH Brother" at EBSQ Art.

New History

It has occurred to me that I am painting history. The drought of 2007, the worst in recorded history for this area, is being included in my plien air paintings. I am doing a series of Nubbin's Slough right now, and it really shows how low Lake Okeechobee is! Just a tittle, like "Nubbin's Shore" is odd, because Nubbin's Slough never had a shore before! It was just a pile of rocks and then the water came up on the rocks. Now people walk out for a quarter of a mile to get to the edge of the water.

Mowing the lake

(Click on the image to enlarge)

This is so odd. the second largest fresh-water lake in the US, Lake Okeechobee, has grass and weeds growing for so long now that they are actually mowing it where the water used to be!

In the distance you can see bulldosers dump trucks and front-end loaders dredging up the sludge and the muck that has been coming down from the Kissimmee River for hundreds of years. They hope the lake will be cleaner and healthier when the water levels rise.

Here is a link to a painting I did in January, just before the drought, you can see the water came up close to the cypress tree.

http://fawnspaintings.blogspot.com/2007/05/last-december-plein-air.html

Not to Worry

I have been told they are not going to start building anything on Eagle Bay. They are just cleaning out the muck and settlement so the water will be clean when it fills back up.

All of the dirt here was a marsh, plus it went off to the right.

Wiped out

I went down to Eagle Bay today. This is a marsh of shallow water and all kinds of wildlife. The last time I went it was dry with grass growing everywhere, no water at all. Today I cried a few tears as I looked at what man has done. They have bull dosed the whole place! We are talking achres of wetlands completely wiped out! Machines, and piles of dirt are everywhere you look.

Click here to see Eagle Bay before the drought.