"The Look Outs"

"The Look Outs" ©Laura Gable, 8x8 oil painting on board.

These echinacea flowers have beautiful large showy heads of composite "purple coneflowers" and they bloom from early to late summer.


They rise above the lavender bushes in this Louwden Lavendar farm in late summer, where they appear as though they are the look outs at the command post. Maybe they are looking for the invasive sunflower, trying to separate the chaff from the grain in this utopian farm society. Or perhaps it's a wandering dog they will sound the alarms for. I'm sure you can make up your own story.


Wikipedia states that they are endemic to eastern and central North America, where they are found growing in moist and dry prairies and open wooded areas. I spied these in Walla Walla, plus we have some growing in our front yard. The name derives from the Greek word echino, meaning "sea urchin" due to the spiny central disk. Some species are used in herbal medicines and some are cultivated in gardens for their showy flowers. A few species are of conservation concern.

Siblings

"Siblings" ©Laura Gable, 6x6 oil painting on canvas board. (SOLD)

Like a family these fluffy petaled heads, vie for attention from the viewer.
Can you almost hear their sibling cries... "Mommy-Daddy, look at me??"
Growing up in a large family, I remember a few times when we had to jostle for attention. Or at least it seemed that way in my fluffy tow-haired head.

One often resorted to a bit of "showing off" especially if there was company visiting. We'd do cartwheels in the living room, practice juggling (well maybe not), tell jokes, show off our gardens (we each had our own). I recall another occasion when my siblings and I performed a makeshift concert for my visiting grandparents. Through the "Squeek, and squack" from 2 clarinets, a flute and one coronet -- they still seemed to enjoy it. Isn't that what grandparents do? (... see the "blackmail" photo below)

Loving the horn rim glasses, and the clarinet that I played from 6th grade to Senior year.

What is it about sunflowers that draws us in? Why are so many of us enamored by the these vibrant abundant fields filled with bobbing heads that rotate as the sun moves across the sky. There were a few of those lively fields in Nebraska where I grew up. The local farmers found new crops that needed raising and grooming ... these were most likely for bird seed or sunflower oil.

Sunflowers are rich in color, they elicit a joyful presence. They are all knowing, as though there is wisdom implanted in these beautiful heads.

Windows of the soul,

eyes of the sun,

grown from mother earth...

Why do I return to sunflowers so often in my paintings?
I guess it's a bit of a touch stone, especially if I've been away from the paints for a period of time. It's familiar territory which I feel I can navigate. Perhaps I see my progress as an artist to return to this recurrent subject in order to see how I can best express concepts, especially after learning new things. Like this newest painting, the goal was to express the color and "mass-tone" while moving away from an exact representation of each petal. I'm getting there, I believe.

Yes, it's also a JOY thing. I just love them and so why not paint what makes you happy.

Plain and simply, paint what you love -- enjoy the process. And the frosting on top, is if you, dear viewer, enjoys it as well. Here's a little 6x6 oil painting that I did yesterday. Share your experiences and connections to the sunflower too, if you'd like.

Visit my website: http://LauraGable.com

Miss Kitty

The studio where I used to rent space, has a "shop kitty" who made the place her home.
She is quite comfortable there and very well taken care of. The owner artists' diligently take care of her daily needs with morning tuna, treats midday and offer her long play sessions in the afternoons or evening.
In the summers she roams the enclosed area out the back door, but mostly she just lays in the sun and roll in the dirt. In the winters she has a heating pad in her bed atop one of the artists bookshelves. She is often a fixture in their display window, her tawny Bengal colors match so beautifully with the owners' turned wood art pieces.

"Katarah" ©Laura Gable, 6x6 oil painting, SOLD

Though I must admit she has no blue in her coloring, it was fun to experiment with the tones and reflections from her surroundings and the multi colored rug on which she sat.
Her expectant look says it all. "I love you", mixed with "please feed me". This was a common pose I saw from her as she sat patiently in front of my desk drawer where I kept her treats. The owners felt I might bond a little bit more with her if I had a private stash of the treats. I admit that when the treats ran out, I substituted treats with her daily food but assumed it took on the same favors of the crinkly crunchy pouch. She still gobbled up the pieces.
Do you have any sweet "gato" stories to share as well?

Visit my website: http://LauraGable.com

Visit my website: http://LauraGable.com

A bit more about "Faith"

This seems fitting to post today. It's a poem by America's beloved poet, Emily Dickinson. The last painting I posted, also shares the same title.

"Faith" is a fine invention
by Emily Dickinson

"Faith" is a fine invention
When Gentlemen can see—
But Microscopes are prudent
In an Emergency.
------------


- visit my website: http://LauraGable.com

An insightful blog

I've been following this blog recently, and am enamored by the eloquent words she uses to describe her devotion and spirituality. She is the niece of one of ny good friends from the Denver area. If you get a moment, read Erica Staab's insightful blog:
http://ericastaab.com/

A new direction?

A recent trip to the quaint village of Langley on Whidbey Island, allowed me to experience a most amazing Whidbey Island Fine Art School  oil painting workshop taught by Dreama Tolle Perry. She is a magical person, and the paints she uses are equally magical. We focused on the usage of transparent colors, and more expressive brush strokes. I tell you, I am hooked! So look for more of these juicy and vibrant colors in some of my upcoming art. I'm in love with painting again, my soul sings!!

"Brilliance" ©Laura Gable, 8x8 oil painting, available for sale.

The community is located just off the coast of the Seattle area, accessible by the Mukileteo Ferry. Color and flowers abound, and delightful little flower boxes.

I stayed with a local resident who rents out 3 rooms in a wing of her house that has been left vacant when their children moved away. It was a fun way to get to know other class participants. This little sitting area was located off the front porch. It was just beckoning for a cup of tea and a good book... if one had more time.

The owner of the school, hosts a dinner one evening to get to know the other students and the teacher. It was quite an affair, with homemade breads, fresh pasta, and sparkling wines. She makes her bread in a dutch oven. This is the book she uses. Going to have to get that one. It sounds quite easy, no kneading required.

The first day's exercise ... we all painted the same image and ended up with a room full of 

Italian architecture and lovely flower boxes. The colors just radiate. 

Another Wing Study, alcohol ink experimentation.

Today while perusing the many offerings at Craft Warehouse, I happened into the alcohol ink aisle and down the rabbit hole I went. With so many pending projects that need attention, I can scarce afford to point myself in another direction.... but with it's similarity to watercolor, I gave it the green light. After a short while, my day's dilly-dally moment became another expressive piece in my newest "Wings" series. These seemingly disjointed pieces will somehow come together into a wonderful expression of all things winged. 
How to do it? You need a slick surface paper, like Yupo (I used drafting acetate). Water doesn't work too well with the inks, so keep them pretty much away. I did a lot of dripping from the fine tipped bottles of ink and watched mesmerized as the blobs took on a life of their own--mixing with other colors and pushing them out of the way. I used a brush too on the edges and a paper towel for blending. Also a Sharpie and extremely fine tipped archival marker was used to create some stippling and edges. I'm sure there are more advanced techniques, like spraying or using other mediums for resists, etc. Will have to discover more next time.

Brilliant alcohol inks, in a "wing" format

Wing Study

wing study, watercolor

detail

detail

The morning was filled with brilliant light, hearkening to an impending Spring-time. The warm temperatures made me wistful for the coming months. I felt like a young calf wanting to kick up it's heels after being penned inside the barn for the entire winter.

It seemed like a fitting time to play a bit with watercolor on hot-press. A lighter weight paper, with a bit more vellum cotton in feel, proved a playful surface to begin my series of wing themed artwork. I see that I need to study the actual forms a bit more in order to make this believable and not just an abstract shape. My super fine tip pen added some light stippling off the edges, and a white china marker was used on the surface of the lovely Prussian blue areas, to add the feather-like dimensions.

Mandarin Blues, winner announced

Marnelle Sheriff with Mandarin Blues

During the Girls Night Out and Open House event held at my studio in early December, many entered a drawing to win the small oil painting, Mandarin Blues. The display was so delightful, with a quote about the mandarin's connection to Christmas, as well as a variety of the little orange globes scattered about. 

"The mandarin is also called the Christmas orange because it produces fruit in the middle of winter. It was thought to be God's gift to people--a symbol of purity & generosity."

The drawing was held shortly afterwards, and we were pleased to announce that Marnelle Sheriff was the winner of this small painting. Congratulations, Marnelle!

Storm a Brewin'

today's watercolor lesson, landscape study

This small landscape study was my student's focus lesson yesterday. The primary objective was to create strong and dynamic clouds. Onto a very wet page, the dark prussian blue color was laid down first, with a touch of cobalt in the upper right corner. The paper was held upright, allowing the paint to streak down into the white space. Then the tool of the day - a crumpled, dry paper towel - was applied with very firm pressure against the paper's surface, blotting up the paint. Suddenly the white of the paper emerged. The hills and trees were added last. It was a quick little lesson and we all had a great deal of fun "playing" with the landscape.  [I must put a disclaimer here that this was not an original design. I borrowed it from another online artist, Mary Nolan.]

Though I Walk in Fear

Though not as parodied as da Vinci's Mona Lisa, the popular "Starry Starry Night" by artist Vincent Van Gogh is a close second. There is something about the turbulence of the skies, and movement of the giant cypress trees that evokes a sense of unsettledness, drawing in the viewer. I understand he was trying to represent the motion of the wind and the glittery nature of the stars in this famous nighttime painting.

I chose to use this artwork as a model, in my interpretation of one fearful night in a region quite like our own--with arborvitaes and basalt cliffs. It is the first of a 3-part commissioned series that follows a familiar Bible Psalm--taking the viewer from this fearful yet hopeful location to a place of calm waters and then finally to a glorious place of renewal.

... though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Thou art with me ... (after van Gogh)  ©Laura Gable 2012

A divergent path today

A few days ago, I was thinking about this kid who sat behind me in 1st grade--he was missing an eye. Whenever the teacher would leave the room he would pull on my shirt sleeve until I would turn around, then he would plunge his eye socket open wide, forcing me to peer inside. I admit I was a bit curious, yet quite frightened. My reaction today would be quite different. I know I would placate both my younger self, and the odd little boy who thought he could frighten girls with his oddity. Yes it's a bit of a different painting for me. I've always thought art was a healing tool, so perhaps by painting this, I'm healing some little part of myself that was still bound up by this memory of the past.

creepy eye socket  ©Laura Gable 2012

Long Shadows of Mid Winter

Long Shadows  ©Laura Gable 2012

"In the bleak mid-winter, the snow lay on the ground." A favorite stanza from a Christmas carol comes to mind as I peered out the window yesterday morning to this most beautiful sight. I love it when the sunlight streams through the neighbor's arborvitas and onto the glistening snow covered lawn. Hard to capture, but I've made an attempt here in oils for a quick "sketch."  

Realism, and D-R-A-W-ing advice

"Morning Light" watercolor on 140# paper   ©Laura Gable 2012

This is a watercolor in a very realistic style I did last month (with just a few strokes of reflected light added today). It was painted from a photograph, with a few liberties taken in the background and shadows. If I were to observe this from life, I would discover that there is more to be seen in the dark shadow areas. Watercolor has the wonderful capability of blending two colors together by themselves without any assistance from the brush. That's my favorite part of working with watercolors, much different from the way oils behave.
~
On another note, I'm reading a book called "Learn Watercolor the Edgar Whitney Way," a distinguished artist, who in his day trained many of our current masters. He discusses the value of drawing, which I thought was relevant, since we've got so many diligent sketchers here...

    "In his last class at the Pratt Institute where he had taught for so many years, high on the front wall of the classroom, as large as he possibly could, he wrote the word D R A W. Then he underlined the word and took the line down the wall across the floor to the opposite wall, and up as high as he could, he wrote "Good luck, goodbye."
     It was his way of ramming into his students' heads the importance of drawing. He felt passionately that drawing was the absolute foundation of visual art. "Without draftsmanship--the discipline endured and the mastery achieved--your work will have limited context. It will lack the essential quality of ease and the sense of power."
     He told his students, the way to learn to draw was to draw everything, everywhere in sketchbooks, the more frequent, the more fast thinking and skill one gains. Ten minutes ten times a day is better than six hours once a week. Great draftsmen were eliminators, putting down only essentials, and this skill can be learned with a sketchbook because the limited time teaches you what is important and what isn't. You have to discipline yourself until drawing everywhere and at all times becomes a habit.
     Remember when you're sketching, you're not after results. The drawing is not important--the experience is. Your emotion and your degree of understanding leak through the pencil or brush onto the paper as you make your stroke."