Perception Shift

 

This painting is a failure. 

Yes, you read that right, I painted this sunrise in 2009, it was the view from our house in Taos Canyon looking towards the east, I used to love to watch the sunrise colors shine through the branches of a group of juniper trees and one young ponderosa pine. 

I remember struggling with this painting for a long, long time. My sunset colors were too bright at first, I toned them down, but I couldn't get them to blend how I wanted, purple and yellow made an awful muddy color where they met in the sky, I couldn't get the dark color for the trees to be less transparent, plus the clouds looked just awful to me. I finally reached a point where I declared it “finished enough," put it away and decided painting sunrise/sunset landscapes was just not for me.

15 years later...

Imagine my surprise when I pulled it out of the cardboard box it was stored in last week and realized, it’s not as bad as I remembered, I had actually captured the look of those sunrises from that particular place and time!

What in the world was wrong with my perception that I thought this painting was such a failure?

If I remember correctly, I think I was too invested in making it look exactly like the photo. I had the idea that if I followed the colors in a photo precisely, my painting would be successful, I couldn't fail, and I was truly disappointed that I couldn't get the clouds or the colors to express the joy I felt on those mornings.

The irony is that this spring I finally made a little sunset painting that I absolutely love. I was taking a class on painting light taught by Jed Dorsey, and instead of following the reference photo for the class assignment exactly, I combined his color strategy and my own memories of Greece.

 

The sunset colors are kind of over-the-top bright, but I love them, as well as the whole glowing rocky shoreline moodiness of the painting. I didn't think I had sunset painting capability in me, but there it is!

This was truly a lesson learned, I think being so obsessed with perfection clouded my judgement, I couldn't see clearly what I had done right! I also never imagined that letting go of the strategy to copy colors exactly would give me more of what I was looking for.

Let go of the fear of doing it wrong, and trust more -

Happy Creating!

>^-^<

Tina

A Little ShihTzu for Christmas

The last week of November, I received a request for a pet portrait to be given as a Christmas gift. It's really fun to be a part of a Christmas surprise, but I also feel the anxiety of getting a special gift like that just right and ready on time! My strategy; make a detailed list of every step required and when it needed to be completed. It really helped my inner 'fraidy cat to get all that information on paper and out of my head! Here's the final portrait and the journey of how I got there.

"Sophie" 8"x 8"in., oil on gessobord, ©2017

Meet Sophie, a miniature Imperial ShihTzu and beloved work buddy of her owner. Isn't she cute? Out of the five photos that I received, I thought this one expressed her personality the best and featured a soulful expression in her eyes.

The portrait size requested was an 8x8 inch square. First step, order the best substrate for the job. I went with Ampersand's gessobord, a cradled hardboard on birch wood that has a smooth surface, already primed and ready to paint. When I work this small, I don't like the texture of canvas interfering with the details.

Next, I adjusted the color tones on the photo, then cropped it down to a square and created a grid to guide me in my drawing.

I forgot to take a photo of my first pencil sketch, lol, but here are the acrylic paint sketches made over that drawing on paper. This is where I worked out the color palette and composition problems.

The  acrylic sketches helped me to decide to change the shadow color I started with and crop the image even tighter.

Because I changed the composition, I needed to make another detailed pencil drawing. In this photo, I am transferring it to the gessobord using graphite paper.

 Finally, I get to the joy of actual painting! I begin working back to front so the layers of painted fur will look like they overlap each other. 

The water soluble oil paint I use dries faster than traditional oils, but it stays wet long enough to blend the paint layers with a soft brush and get that nice fur-like texture.

After finishing the painting, I stained the birch wood sides with a wood stain to match the sienna background and let the whole thing dry for several days before spraying it with Kamar varnish. The painting was delivered on December 23rd and best of all, was hearing the happy exclamations and thank you's I received when they saw Sophie's portrait. Definitely made the season bright for me.

Happy creating to all, and to all, success!

>^-^<
Tina

A Different Direction

"Good Morning" 8"x10" oil on panel,Gessobord ©2014

My friend Evelyn here in New Zealand commissioned this painting for her husband's birthday last October.  She wanted a seascape with the boats in Island Bay. I haven't considered landscape painting to be one of my strengths, every time I have tried it in the past, I haven't been completely satisfied with the results. I did, however, want very much to please my friend.

I can never tell if this irresistible pull to please people is a positive or negative thing in my life.  On the plus side, I will face all sorts of fears and resistance to please someone or a cause I care about, but on the other darker side, I will also trample over what is best for myself to achieve this goal. Ouch! Does anyone else struggle with wielding this double-edged sword?

After taking over 200 pictures of Island Bay, stressing mightily over boat arrangements and painting ocean waves, (arrrrgh!) I felt reasonably happy with the result.  More importantly, Evelyn and her husband were happy with the painting!

I am bringing all this up because of my interview with the gallery last week. My darling cats were not a good fit there. After thinking about this situation, I proposed painting a series based around the rock cairns I photographed here last fall in Island Bay. I wouldn't have had the courage to even offer this if I hadn't completed that painting for Evelyn. The owner is interested to see them and now I need to get busy painting.

I am hoping I did the right thing.  I love my cats and I wanted to stay true to my earlier commitment to paint a monthly cat art piece this year.  I'm also excited to try the new series, but I have a sneaky suspicion that I may be putting too much on my plate again, which will result in feelings of overwhelm and anxiety.  (There is also my album of songs about grief that I promised to finish, my regular blog and newsletters to write, plus looking for a part-time job...)

It's a wonderful thing to be able to dream up more projects than I can possibly do.  It's not so fun to have to decide which ones will get to exist in reality.  Wish me luck, I realize am not very good at saying "no."

>^-^<  Tina 

My inspiration for the new painting series

 p.s. If you are not a newsletter subscriber and you would like to read last week's post featuring"The Safety Zone", all about what I learned from my anxiety meltdown in going to approach a gallery, click through to a copy on my facebook fan page here:  Tina Welter's Artist Life Experiment

Twinks loves Easter

"Twinks loves Easter" 10"x 8" oil on gessobord

Twinks is a pretty little cat I had the chance to "cat sit" for ten days for a neighbor.  She is a cat after my own heart, since she is shy and a bit of a 'fraidy cat too.  After she decided I was all right, there wasn't enough ear scratching possible, which is why I took my camera to catch her rubbing her ears on her basket.  I find her smile irresistible. 

This is a fairly new style for me to try, since I added a lot more elements than are in the original photo.  To help myself, I actually created a digital collage first of what I wanted the finished painting to look like.  It did help, but I still encountered a good bit of creative anxiety in dealing with the complex weave of the basket and the grass texture had me worried too.

Even more powerful was the huge dose of the discouragement tar on my soul that was really slowing me down.  This last month I have finally had to admit that financially, I need to go find another job.  I have been putting all my energy this last year into getting my on-line art business up and going. I am maintaining a regular presence on Etsy, Fine Art America, Instagram,Twitter,Pinterest, Facebook and Blogspot, plus launched a newsletter, but it just isn't enough yet.  It's been hard for me to come to terms with.  I always think if I just work harder, the money will happen, which may be true, but in this case it just isn't happening fast enough.  Since I was so focused on achieving this particular goal, job hunting feels like I failed and that is a distracting emotion. Plus, I get this awful little voice in my head telling me "why paint and push yourself so hard, no one really cares if you get it done on time or not".  This may be true, but it isn't a particularly helpful or motivating voice. 

In thinking it over, I am actually proud of myself for fighting through the discouragement sludge and getting this painting completed, even if I missed my deadline.  Twinks really is adorable and that doesn't change.  I hope her smile is contagious for you too, no matter what time of year it is. 
 
What do you tell yourself to get out of the discouragement tar pit?

>^-^<
Tina

ps. I'll be sharing my digital collage with my newsletter subscribers in the next issue. If you are interested,please sign up and get my latest newsletter about "To Fear or Not to Fear" as well.

If you would like to see an example of one my newsletters, here is one I posted on LinkedIn.  Fear Equals "Real" Artist? (click to read)

Solo vs. Duo

"A Time to Dance" 7"x 5" oil on gessobord

I really debated about writing this post or not.  Is it a good thing to show the "behind the scenes" goofs?  Does it take away the magic and mystery of art making if I do so, or does it help others to know that not all creative ideas work out perfectly?  Since I have publicly declared my desire to question my own perfectionist inner voices this year, (RE:Is Your Best Ever Good Enough?)I decided to share this even if it makes me a little anxious to do so. 

"A Time to Dance" was inspired by a lovely pair of swallowtail butterflies flying in the sun with a wall in shadow behind them.  The green bar on the left of the painting wasn't there at first.  When I had finished painting, I just felt something was off. I showed it to Jeff and he mentioned that the proportion of the photo I was working with was different than the 5"x 7" gessobord I was using.  Good grief, I couldn't believe I had missed that!  I added the green bar to adjust for my mistake.  It is an o.k. solution, but I felt the whole painting just didn't capture the movement and joy that I had envisioned.  Sigh.  I set it aside and went on to other things.

"A Time to Dance Solo" 8"x 10" digital detail of the original painting.

Recently I had a chance to learn how to better use the Pixelmator program on my computer and that started me thinking about this painting again.  What if I took a new photo, cropped it, and figured out how to add my signature to the new image?  It took some doing, but eventually I had something I was really pleased with.  I like the larger brush strokes and the butterfly just feels less static to me.  The other great thing is that I can make nice prints from the new image, so in essence, it is another piece of art in it's own right.

So what do you think?  Do you prefer the "duo" or the "solo" dance?  Does it ruin the mystery of a piece of art to tell the secrets about it's creation? Let me know what you think in the comments here or on facebook.

Happy fear-less creating!

>^-^<
Tina

If you would like to see how "A Time to Dance Solo" looks on a card, canvas print or pillow, click here to visit my FineArtAmerica site.

Lucky

"Lucky" 7"x 5" oil on gessobord ©2015

Oh those moments, when it is hard to believe that what I do affects anything or anyone and I struggle with believing in myself. Sometimes it seems easier to freeze and not make a decision, especially when I don't expect to find a solution that will work for me. When I stopped and really asked myself "why" for this post, I was surprised to find that underlying all of these beliefs is the feeling that I am trying to avoid the pain of disappointment.

I have lived 26 years with a person who amazes me because his approach is so opposite to mine.  Over all these years, I've been able to see for myself whose approach gets the better results. :0  I have lost track of how many times I have heard people tell Jeff "oh, you are so lucky..."  I've tried to learn from him and for today's post, I am going to share with you some of Jeff's thoughts on luck.

Jeff''s basic recipe is:
Luck = preparation and awareness

His steps are:
-Decide what he would like.
-See what is available.
-Analyze resources.
-When the right combination comes together, don't hesitate.

Seems simple enough, but what people don't see but I do, is the hours and hours he puts into doing these steps over and over.  It's like he has all these possibility puzzle pieces in his head and part of his fun is testing out all the ways they could fit together.

Other key aspects I have observed:

An optimistic outlook.  Jeff expects success, he sees the world as full of possibilities.   I, on the other hand, can immediately see everything that can go wrong.

Flexibility.  This includes considering unconventional solutions and an ability to allow a plan to change.  I can get so fixated on only one possible solution, that this one plan is all I can see.

Accept that there will be big disappointments!  I was stunned when he said this, since this is my underlying fear that I mentioned before.  Somehow it never dawned on me that he takes that part of it into account.

Getting a step closer to your goal is great, even if it isn't your perfect solution.  I want the whole perfect answer in one nice package!

Have these two different view points ever caused friction in our marriage?  Oh baby, yes!  I think we could have lit a few cities with the energy released in some of our discussions, especially early in our marriage.  But my point of view was always considered and ultimately we made the decisions together.  I've just learned to appreciate better what Jeff so naturally does.

 Luck grows in the garden of action.

Obviously, I'm not saying we can control everything, and we are genuinely grateful every time a plan falls into place.  I'm just recognizing that there are actual mindsets and actions to increase the odds of finding that four leaf clover!

>^-^<  Tina

If you are interested in a greeting card of "Lucky", please Click here to visit Tina's Fine Art America site

Got Anxiety? Find a Friend!

"Best Friends" 8"x 10" oil on gessobord, ©2015

This post is in honor of those friendships and loves that push us to go beyond what we think we can do ourselves.

I mentioned in my original 'Fraidy Cat post  how "love doesn't cast out all fear, but it helps."  I really wanted to illustrate how much that has been true for me.

Here is a list of examples of fear producing situations I know I faced because of Jeff.

- Facing the anxiety of boxing up all my belongings.   
   (I had never moved everything I owned before.)
- Driving a stick-shift truck and facing the uncertainty of using a clutch on a hill.
- Driving all the way to Alaska with no cell phones or GPS.
- Practice calling people I don't know well on the telephone.
   (I had a terrible phobia of this when we were first married- goofy, I know!)
- How to take action when you want a really big dream to come true.
- How to face disapproval of your dreams from others.
- Selling our first house.
- Moving to Montana and living in the woods with all those trees and bears. 
   (I'm serious, the trees used to make me feel claustrophobic!)
- Learn all about living off grid and generating our own electricity.
- Facing the fear of drinking lake water.
- Practicing how to have faith and move forward by letting go.
- Learning how to make stained glass art.
- Moving to the mountains of New Mexico. 
- Learning I could drive 700 miles successfully by myself.
- Building a house from scratch on bare land.
- Learning how to snowboard.
- How to organize, produce, and perform in our own play.
- Facing my fear of flying.
- How to let go of a dream that we have worked 15 years to achieve.
  ( face the fear of change and let go again.)
- Living in a foreign country and trying to learn the language.
- Dealing with my insecurities to keep writing music and painting.

It's not that Jeff isn't afraid, but it usually hits him later than sooner and by that time I can encourage him.  The idea is to help each other and eventually both of us feel better. 

I heartily recommend to anyone who is looking to overcome a fear, find a friend or someone you trust, who is a little bit less afraid than you are that you can be accountable to. This has made all the difference in the world for me to really dig deep and get the motivation and practice I needed in facing my fears.

So, when facing anxiety, keep these three things in mind: 

1.  Anxiety? Find a friend who is a little bit less afraid than you are! (click bird to tweet)

2. Be willing to try.  Jeff always told me that my willingness to try always made a difference.   I know that mindset does help me. I am often frightened, but usually willing to try.
  
3. Bonus!  Keep in mind that this is one way the questionable habit of people pleasing can actually be useful!  :0


Happy Valentine's day Jeff,  

I know I would have lived a completely different life without you. 

>^-^<   Tina 

If you would like to purchase a print or greeting card of "Best Friends" for yourself, please click here to visit my Fine Art America site.

                                                **********************
Why does it seem that I don't learn I am capable from my successes?  

I delve into this question in my "Confessions of a 'Fraidy Cat" newsletter from last week, "Walking the Tightrope?"  If you would like to read what my answer was, fill out the subscription box on the right and I will send you last week's issue.

'Fraidy Cat Walks the Mental Tightrope" ©2015

Finding the Perfect Gift...

"The Perfect Gift" 5"x 7" oil on gessobord ©2014 Tina M Welter

How much we sometimes scramble around, trying to find the "perfect gift"!  I think part of the fun and pressure of the season is the anticipation of surprise and delight we hope to give those we love.  

When I think of the delight of perfect gifts, I think of the movie the "A Christmas Story".   Young Ralphie spends the whole movie thinking his requests for his perfect gift - the Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock and "this thing which tells time" - are not being heard or even worse, being dismissed.   Who hasn't experienced that intense combination of hope and uncertainty?

For me, it was a wish for an acoustic guitar when I was 17.   Being a teenager and shy, I don't recall being very direct about what I wanted, plus it was one of those things I had deemed "too expensive" to even ask for.   But like Ralphie, I was completely stunned when my Dad surprised me with the desired guitar on Christmas morning.  It was a second hand guitar, a bit worn, but I didn't care.  What filled my heart was knowing that Dad had heard what I wanted and did his best to make it happen.

Isn't that the key thing, the perfect gift is the feeling of having our wants and needs heard and noticed?  So my advice on finding the perfect gift is to really listen.  It may not be a "thing" at all, perhaps it is a wish for time spent together or an experience to share.   I hope I have given you something worth thinking about as well as a new painting image to enjoy.

Happy listening!  All my best wishes for a joyous season of giving and receiving.

Tina  

If you feel this little message is worthwhile, please feel free to use the links below to share, or tell me about your experience with receiving your perfect gift in the comments below, I would love to hear about your joy.

Click here if you would like to buy "The Perfect Gift" as a card or a print.

Watercolor Versus Oil

"On the Rocks" 7"x 5" oil on gessobord © 2014

Watercolor versus oil paint.  Sometimes it's a challenge to decide which medium I want to use to paint a subject.  After painting so much with oils, it was a nice break to try the last three paintings in watercolor.  I was curious to see if the watercolor would be faster.  The result, the watercolor of this same seal and rocks was faster.  My "Farewell" seal took five and a half hours, this same baby seal in oils took me almost three times longer, a total of sixteen hours!  I was really surprised.  I have had other watercolor paintings take almost as long as an oil painting of the same size and subject.  I think I must have been "in the zone" with that first seal painting.

The next question is, which one do you like better? (Scroll down three posts to see the "Farewell" seal)  Team watercolor or team oil?  I like both of them for different reasons, but I do feel like my seal in the oil looks better to me.  What is your vote?  If you were buying one of them, which one would you choose? 

Trouble Brewing...

"Trouble Brewing" 8"x 10" oil on "Gessobord" c. 2013

Hurrah, I am finally posting my last painting from 2013.   I chose to paint this trio of kittens for a couple of reasons.  One, they make me smile, and after the loss of my mother in July, it was so helpful to have these kittens to focus on.   Two, I relate to the black kitten.  The striped one is plotting mischief, but will get away with it, the orange kitten is clueless and just up for any type of fun, whether it leads to trouble or not.  The black kitten knows there is going to be trouble and she will probably be the one to get caught and blamed for it, yet part of her just can't resist seeing what will happen.  Curiosity.  It's not just for cats. 

It took a lot of time to finish this painting.  44 hours all together to be exact.   It takes more time to do three separate subjects and a complicated background, more than just one subject for a painting of this same size.   I thought I had learned this lesson when I did the Christmas manger scene with a kitten, see "Houseguest" from the Feb. 25, 2013 post "Second Christmas.  That one took 39 hours.  http://tinawelter.blogspot.co.nz/search/label/Christmas 

This is when I begin to tell myself I am ridiculous to think anyone will pay me enough for the real cost of my time for such a small painting.  I guess I can be happy that I am reasonably consistent in my painting time.  I can also learn to choose less complex subjects or paint larger.  Always lessons to be learned.  Who knows, maybe someone won't mind spending the money.
 

Truly Bliss

"Bliss" 8"x 10" oil on "Gessobord" c. 2013 Tina M. Welter

This painting was inspired by a wedding we couldn't attend.   Instead of going to a wedding, we were flying home to see my Mom because she was seriously ill.   I wanted to do something special for this couple and I knew from the bridegroom that his fiancee loved cats.

I don't like to use other people's photography because of the copyright issues, but when I saw the photo of those two kittens online, I knew it was the perfect inspiration for this painting.  I tried to find the owner of this photo, the best reference I found is that it was posted on "We Heart It.com" by Laufoo who credited Kerodragon.  So Kerodragon, thanks for the great photo and just so you know, I didn't make any money off this painting since it was a gift.

I loved painting this.  This is what I call "kitten therapy".  Just looking at those sweet little faces cheers me up.  Some people paint images that reflect their pain,  I like painting beautiful stuff to forget about the pain, and for a moment feel the bliss.

Collaboration

"Endless Love" 10"x 8" oil on "Gessobord" c. 2013 TMW

I had promised a painting for two dear young friends of mine as a wedding gift.  When I asked what they would prefer, a painting of swans or of the Salt Lake City LDS temple they were married in, the bride sweetly asked if she could have both.   !!!

I was a bit stumped.  I had never considered combining the two, since swans don't regularly wander around Temple Square in Utah.  My first thought was, "not possible", but being a people-pleaser I decided to try and make some sketches.

Imagine my delight when I discovered there was a reflecting pool in front of the SLC temple.  Aha!  I could combine my swans from an earlier painting, "Encounter" with a reflection of that iconic building.  My thanks to David C. Moore for the photograph that inspired me.  Sometimes, two or three heads are better than one.  I love how these ideas combined to create a much better painting.

I would also like to honor my dear parents in this post.  My Mom recently passed away in July, eleven months after my Dad.  They demonstrated such kindness and love to each other all of their lives, truly "Endless Love" represents them.  Thanks so much Mom and Dad.  I miss you.

Elusively Allures

"Will-o-the-Wisp" 7"x 5" oil on "Gessobord" c. 2013

Finding just the right photo or idea to get me excited about the "next" painting does often feel like searching for the "Will-o'-the Wisp": "A person or thing  that is elusive or allures and misleads".   I recently spent several hours going through my photo library and then sketching from some images I found on the internet, trying to illustrate some ideas for my next paintings.

I usually prefer to use my own photos.  First, because I don't want to worry about copyright infringement, which is an issue I take seriously and second, I usually get the right light and subject if I take the photo myself.  Sometimes though, it is nice to get an infusion of new images and ideas.

In my search for copyright free images, I found an excellent blog, "Painting My World" by Karen Margulis where she suggested two sites to go to: WetCanvas.com and Morguefile.com.  These sites have images you can pay for and also copyright free images to use for artwork.  (If you use the image unchanged, you do need to contact the photographer.)  Eureka!  I felt I struck gold.

Along with other ideas, I was looking for cats that had a "story" and this little ghostly kitten captured me and made me itch to get painting.  I loved his silvery-ghostly softness and the look in his eyes that he was ready to disappear at a moment's notice... my Will-o'-the Wisp!

Second Christmas

"House Guest" 8"x 10" oil on "Gessobord" c. 2013 TMW

January was just plain rough.  What I thought was a sinus infection drained my energy all month.  I managed to keep going little by little and finally finished "House Guest" which was supposed to be my Christmas painting.  Jackie Gratton gets the photo credit for the adorable photo of their kitten Maiyu that inspired me.

February came and with weeks of unrelenting grey, I finally got a photo of the painting that was a reasonable exposure during a brief break in the clouds for 20 minutes of sunshine.  I am not kidding, that's all you get and then clouds lock back up for weeks.  I tried some photos when it was cloudy and they had too much of a blue-cast in them.  I just had to wait.

The sinus infection turned out to be a tooth that needed a root canal...ouch!

This painting was fun to do, just very time consuming getting the lighting right on all the little figures. A good thing to remember for future paintings.   I have Jeff to thank for mentioning to add the star, it really gave it a finishing touch.   I hope you will enjoy a little "Second Christmas" spirit in February.  I know I needed it!

Journey

"Journey" 8"x 10"oil on "Gessobord"c.2012 TMW

This painting is a something I haven't attempted in a long time...a landscape.  Some of the first paintings I attempted years ago in watercolor were landscapes and I felt they were not successful.  I tried a few more here and there over the years, but resigned myself that I was just not a landscape painter.  I am happy to say that after a year of focusing on my painting that I am finally satisfied with one of my landscapes.

"Journey" represents to me how the unknown lies before us and even with family or friends, inevitably we still have to face our fears and anxieties alone.  Moving to a country where I don't speak the language, trying to figure out my artistic voice, losing my father to cancer three months ago– I have felt the intensity of panic, negative beliefs about myself, and just plain uncertainty about everything.  The most relief I have experienced was when I could give myself some approval, reassure myself that we will have enough.

With Skype, I shared this painting with my sweet Mom.  She thought I should have painted two swans...I don't disagree.  Every journey IS better when shared with someone else, and I am so grateful I have Jeff to share with, but I couldn't change it.  Each of our experiences are so unique.  Heading out under the bridge into larger water, means something different to everyone.  My swan swims alone.

Inspiration Quest

"Rock and Roll" 7"x 5" oil on "Gessobord" c. 2012

I am always on the hunt for any sculptures to inspire a painting here in Vienna.  Sometimes an idea is obvious, often it doesn't occur to me until much later when I am looking at the photos on my computer. 

Lady with a lyre, my inspiration.

This last subject falls exactly into that category.  Jeff actually pointed out "that great light" that was on those sculptures, and so I got off the tram and took a few photos, not really feeling particularly inspired other than by the lovely lighting.

I had planned to post the finished painting today, but a miserable cold kept me completely down for the last four days!  Catching a cold in the summer should be illegal.  I decided to at least give you the photo of the inspiration.  I had an idea to give this musician an update.   Hopefully, I will be able to show it to you next week.

The Keeper

"The Keeper" 7"x 5" oil on "Gessobord" c. 2012

Soccer is a really big deal here in Europe.  Where ever there is a little open space,  you will see many people playing soccer informally here.   Being next to the Donau Park, we can see several games going on simultaneously.   One of my favorite teams was a group of Orthodox Jewish boys playing the game complete with black hats and prayer shawls flying. 

On one of our photographic expeditions,  I found the best goalkeeper of all.  I can only imagine the lively game that ended with this result.  Yes, there was a little open plaza in front of this church in a block thick with buildings.

I used the same palette of colors that I used in the painting "Wait for it", but I leaned more to the warm tones and added some Burnt Umber to the mix.  I am always amazed at how much you can do with basically red, (Alizarin crimson) yellow (Ocher), blue (Manganese) and some black and white.

No Soccer players yet...

Simplify and Focus.

St. Stephan's Cathedral - photo by Jeff Welter

At the very center of Vienna is the St. Stephan's Cathedral.  Construction for this church began in the 1300's, but it sits on the site of two even older structures built for worship.  Before the Christians, it was the site of a pagan Roman temple.  Some of the oldest remains can be seen underground in the U-Bahn station nearby. 

"Wait for It" 7" x 5" oil on "Gessobord" c. 2012

Walking around this intricate Gothic style church, it was hard to get a decent picture because it is so large and there is so much detail.  I did like the Gargoyle dog waterspouts and I took a few pictures because I thought I could see a few pigeons perched way up there on those stone dogs.

I was so delighted when I got home where I could enlarge the photos on the computer and found some fun images.  It pays when there is too much detail to simplify!   Even with a very limited close-up view, it still took quite a bit of time for me to get those details right.   I chose a simple palette for this painting: Manganese blue, Yellow Ochre, and    Alizarin Crimson--plus black and white.

Trying to Capture a Mermaid

"Mermaid" 5"x 7"oil on "Gessobord" c. 2012 TMW

 I optimistically thought it would only take me a week to finish my second attempt at the Mermaid.  She wasn't so easy to catch.

 After looking at the palette choices for the first painting, I felt the ultramarine blue was just too cold.  I did some more exploring and mixing and found that the manganese blue mixed with yellow ocher made the nicest warm green I was looking for.  You  can see the new palette with my favorite mixes circled.  That was the fun easy part.

Burnt Sienna, Manganese Blue, Yellow Ochre & Alizarin Crimson.

I really struggled with getting the balance of the colors on the Mermaid and the background and the face in the shadows to all work together.  I repainted things several times, lots of layers.  Something that looked good one day didn't the next.  Also my lack of experience with painting people, I redid eyes and lips, I don't know how many times.  I wanted her to look more alive than the original statue, but also still otherworldly.

 Overall, I think the painting works and I am ready to call it a tie.  I agree with the old sailors, beware of mermaids, they are tricky creatures!

Try and Try Again

First palette color choices for "Mermaid"

I decided to focus on the wonderful sculpture that is everywhere here in Vienna as my next painting subjects. After painting my self-portrait, I realized I could use some time on the human figure. I tend to avoid painting people, but I think it is time I face some of that fear. At least sculptures can sit for you for hours.

My first subject that interested me was a fountain I took a picture of at night. Challenging to paint the human face with the light source coming from beneath it, but I liked the eerie, unusual feeling that I think is appropriate for a mermaid.

"Mermaid" first try...

My first attempt was pretty good on color and light, but I didn't like the composition. Too much dark, empty space on the bottom of the painting. I realized after I got the basic color in place that I was going to have to start over again. Sigh. I am glad that the second try as a horizontal painting already looks better, even in the grey under-painting stage. Now, if I can keep from getting too "busy" with the background...continued next week.