Thursday, January 10, 2013

Forward Motion

"Forward Motion" 12x12 oil pastel and oil paint on board, ©Laura Gable
Today I wasn't able to connect with the studio, so I painted a bit at home with the materials I have here. Or actually, I felt like I had an opportunity to play at "coloring" with my old friends -- Sennelier metallic super creamy oil pastels. They are so fun to work with--a step up from the crayons I used when I was young.  The surface is an Ampersand aqua board, which I like because it has a lot of tooth. In a few places the color was thinned and spread a bit using mineral spirits; plus I added layers of oil paint and oil glazes in places. I wanted the lines to have a lot of dynamic tension, with pleasing color, and a definite focal point. Also focused and spreading the light, middle, and darkest values around the painting.
title: "Forward Motion"
size: 12" x 12"
medium: oil pastel and oil paint
surface: aquaboard (formerly called clayboard textured)
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Wednesday, January 9, 2013

In a Crowd (sold)

Ever feel invisible in the midst of a crowd of people, or lost in a world of your own imagination? Gives the mind pause to think how visible or invisible we can seem at times. When I was little I had recurring dreams of being invisible. Wonder if that's normal for shy children? I also dreamed that I could fly a lot. I'd go running and my feet were really springy, and then I'd bound up really high with each step.

"In a Crowd" 6x6 oil on board, ©Laura Gable, available for sale

Sunday, January 6, 2013

At the Seashore, revised (SOLD)

This is one of the paintings that I did during my 100 day challenge last fall. I had a few artist friends critique it recently, and they gave me some suggestions to help with the boy's physique, and skyline. He was holding a bag of sand, which I removed because it was confusing. I added a cast shadow, and with that connected the two figures making for a stronger composition (and with that I'm recognizing the difference between a cast shadow and a reflection). His back side was adjusted so his pants had more droop fixing the butt area. I added shadows under his arm, and highlights along the top. The skyline and background colors were softened a bit to let the figures spring forward. I realize that if I were to put them on a different plane the painting would be more powerful, so perhaps I'll do a mini-series of this seashore scene. Here's the original post of this painting.

Revision of "At the Seashore" 8x8 oil on board, ©Laura Gable

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Mandarin with Leaves

"Mandarin with Leaves" 5x5 oil on art panel, ©Laura Gable
Paintings are just more fun when you have something to observe. I try the imaginary one, but my mind can't quite recall all the details. As my artist friend says, "I'm just intrigued by realism." Though I do enjoy a good abstract, or a swirl of paint on a page, there is something to be said for doing a true study of an object. These little mandarins are so sweet this time of year, and if they sit still long enough without being eaten, they make nice little subjects.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Commission

I'm working with a client to create a nice long painting to fit in a specific spot in her family room. We're going for stylized garden which will bring the outdoors into the inside living space. She has the nicest garden and yard, so I have a lot to work with for inspiration. The initial sketch focused on the garden in the foreground with the fence-line in the background. As I sketched it in colored pencils, I decided that it needed an entry point to come into the painting, so I placed the walkway in there and an opening in the front for the eye to enter the painting. I'll keep you posted on the painting's progress.

black and white sketch for client
colorized sketch for client


December 12th Challenge with my Book Arts Group

The Tri-City book arts group had a great deal of fun on December 12, 2012 sharing our creations with each other. It was an exchange challenge, where we created 17 pieces for 17 participants, all sized 12x12 inches. Some artists did 17 versions of the same image, while others had variations on a theme, and others created samplers of their work. The results were very fun and amazing. I hope others will post what they created on our book arts blog. I did variations on the same theme, using my pink poinsettia as inspiration. Though the technique was the same, each piece became a unique expression of this single theme. It was done on Velin arches paper, using acrylic inks, waterproof markers, white gel pens and colored pencils.

Laura Gable, 12x12 challenge for our exchange on December 12, 2012