Here you can see the second layer of painting on the middle panel and the left panel.

I having fun, but trying to make the oil painting have the same style as a pastel is a difficult task.

My oil paintings have more of a "brush stroke" look. The pastel paintings have a somewhat softer look and the strokes are less evident.

So . . . I like a challenge . . . and this is definitely one of those. I have actually started on the second triptych. I have progressed quite a bit further and will be posting the remaining work on this triptych. I have stopped on it at the moment to let it dry a little before continuing with it. I would consider it about 80 percent done -- maybe a little more. I am not happy with it, and will be looking, and deciding what I need to do to make a better painting of it . . . and of course, to make me like it!

The photo on the left shows some of the panels where I have them lying flat for me to put a finish and the gesso on them. Behind them are several more panels waiting for me to finish these before I can get them on the flat surface to receive their gesso.

To the right, is the underpainting of the middle panel of my first of two paintings that are a triptych for the hospital commission. You can see how thinly I am putting down the paint to just have a road map for coming back and adding good thick paint and details.

The photo below that is the panel that will be to the left of the middle one. The underpainting is a little more vivid on this one. I was getting a little bolder with my initial lay in. Though it looks a little spotty at this initial stage, these colors will be good as a base for what I put on later. These will show through some of the later layers and will give the painting depth and life!

I am in the beginning stages of creating four oil paintings for a hospital -- a commission that will be installed in the middle of March. Two of the paintings are divided into three panels each -- called a triptych. This photo shows the cradled wood panels as I start putting a finish on them. After this dries I put three coats of gesso on the panels and each of the sides.

I have started the underpainting of the first painting -- one of the triptych paintings. These are all scenes of creeks that I have painted already in pastel. They will be based on the original pastels, but not an exact replica. The scene will be the same, and the style and colors. I am free to make changes as long as I stay with the concept of the pastel painting.

The second photo shows the first part of the underpainting process. I'll post the progress shots as I can.

New Oil painting by Alter Ego - Helena!

I haved started my second experimental painting using my alter ego name of "Helena". I wanted to play a little bit and felt that if some of these experiments should turn out to be "frameable" -- then I would not want to confuse my patrons and potential clients with a different style, should I decide to place them in one of my galleries for sale.

Here is the first shot of the painting in progress. I have toned the canvas a warm light peach, and started with the scrubbing process I wanted to use for the trees. I have used several different colors for the dark area and have left them very thin. I then started placing the pinks in the distant field -- and those strokes are somewhat thicker.

I think it is finished, and I will post the second in-progress shot next. I will have to take another photo on Wednesday of the painting as it is now. But . . . I always like to let them "meditate" for a few days, or week or so, before it tells me it is finished (or not)!

This one is a little different from the first "alter ego" painting that is a "cubist" approach. I am thoroughly enjoying painting in a somewhat different style from my main work. They are terribly different, but enough that I thought it would be more "play" than work!

Tell me what you think?

First Painting using my Alter Ego name

Today I have painted in oil a 30" x 24" on canvas. I have been trying in acrylic to do something that is somewhat abstracted. I have a hard time not doing my normal detail work that I do in pastel.

I edited the photo in Photoshop Elements to something that would not look just like the photograph. I painted from the altered photograph. I also tried to use strokes that I don't normally do -- somewhat of a geometric nature in the foreground. I softened the background so there were not so many "hard" edges. I still think there are too many color changes in the trees -- I will probably do something about that. As you can see I did an image that is gray scale to see if there were too many value changes. No too bad, but could probably be better. I am relatively pleased with the field and the stroke production.

I want to create an alter ego -- not to be a secret -- but another name to use when I am working on experimental work, abstract, etc. I will be using my middle name, "Helena", with no last name. These works will be slightly less in cost than my normal work. These will be considered studies!

Tell me what you think. Or, tell me what you see that I have missed!

I Have A Winner!

The painting you see won "Second Best in Show" at the First National Juried Show for the Southern Appalachian Artist Guild in Blue Ridge, GA this month.

The show was juried and judged for awards by a nationally known artist and judge, Alan Flattmann of New Orleans, LA. There were about 450 entries from 23 states. The art pieces accepted represented 19 states and were both three-dimensional and two-dimensional. There were 80 2-D and about 36 3D in the show which is still being exhibited in the Historic Fannin County Courthouse in the Richard Lowe Evans Gallery. The show opening and award reception was well attended.

I was very excited about being accepted into the show, much less being an award winner. There were many exceptional pieces of art in this show. If you are in the Blue Ridge, GA area before Nov. 14 be sure to stop in and see this awesome show!

Again, I am apologizing for ignoring posting on my blog. Hopefully you will forgive me and come back again.

I am posting today a painting I have just finished -- hopefully finished! I wanted to paint a green scene and not use too much green. I have brushed off this painting in the upper left corner (as you are viewing on the screen). I had several tree trunks and it made the painting look as if there was one painting on the left and one different painting on the right. The first image is the one before the fix!

The second image is after the fix. The background that is somewhat abstracted was beautiful to me -- so I brushed out all but one of the tree trunks and continued the nice blues and lavendars to the left side behind it. I think the painting is now more harmonized. The painting is 24" h x 36" w and is painted on an Ampersand Pastelbord.

Don't you think the second one after the fix is a better composition. And the funny thing is I originally did not have those extra trees in the painting. Does this tell me that I should stick with my original plan and vision? Maybe so. Don't second guess myself after the plan is made. But then sometimes a painting tells you what it needs that is not part of the original plan. Something to ponder? Give me your thoughts!