Candy Canes and Christmas Package

Candy Cans and Ornaments – Oil on Canvas Panel – 10″ x 8″

Christmas greetings from my studio to you.

Christmas Package and Ornaments – Oil on Canvas Panel – 6″ x 8″

Plein Air – Midway – Anticipating Blossoms

Anticipating Blossoms; Plein Air Oil on Canvas Panel 8″ x 10″

Rain threatened. Rather than travel far and lose the day to rain, I drove over to Midway Village. Quickly set up with a view of the gardens by the Breckenridge house.

The overcast/cloudy conditions made it rather comfortable to work. Enough of the right light to yield some degree of shadows and yet offer protection from the glare of the sun.

The painting worked well. I had to pay attention to alter the greens.  Too much of the same color can be overbearing. To minimize the “green”, I started by putting a light wash of Alizaron Crimson in areas which would be foliage thus using a complimentary color as a background. I would liked to have had color from flower blossoms, but that was not to be. Good day for painting. Oh, by the way, it started to rain as I started to pack up my gear.

Candle and Teddy Bear Redux

Candle and Teddy Bear, Oil on Canvas 14" x 11"

As we move from autumn to winter, I find that I am spending more time in the studio. Over the summer and early autumn I spent more time outside and tended to neglect housekeeping  in the studio. A week ago, I  decided that some organization and clean up was in order. In the process, I opted to clear the studio of a few paintings. A few “clinkers”. Paintings that I realize are not good enough. About couple dozen such works.  The nice thing with oil paints is that you can apply gesso over old, unsuccessful works and start afresh. For now, each evening before leaving the studio, I grab a few paintings, apply gesso and leave them to dry overnight. Within a few days, I will have less inventory of paintings and a greater inventory of “blank” canvases ready for me to paint.

As I was clearing out the clinkers, I came across this work. I created this from life last year during the Christmas season. Before destroying this work, I decided to take some time and play with it first. A few touches of paint to the front side of the table. Brighter, more intense colors to the ornaments, greens and candle. Then, darken up the background. I have attached an image of the original design for your comparison.

Candle and Teddy Bear - Original