Reflections Study

"Reflection Study"

Image size 8" x 10"

Acrylic/Oil

This is a very rough first attempt painting reflections in water.  I'm not at all happy with it, but will continue to experiment because I want to try this in an encaustic painting.  

Buellton

"Buellton"

Image size 6" x 6"

Oil

It's been a while since I've done a palette knife painting.  I really enjoy this technique and the textural look of the finished painting, but have been preoccupied with encaustic paintings. 

I'm planning to paint 'en plein aire' in June for a local contest so I thought I should start practicing with oils since I will be using them and can use some practice.  It's stressful enough painting outside (since I never do that) so being comfortable with my medium will help.

Buellton is a small town in Santa Barbara county and there are several nearby wineries that are fun to visit.  I love the look of the rolling hills with dotted greenery behind vineyards.

Iris on Yupo

"Iris On Yupo"

Image size 11" x 14"

Watercolor

This probably looks like one of my older paintings and it should.  I started this probably 8 years ago and never finished it.  I've been cleaning out my studio (again) and when I found this painting, I decided I needed to finish it.  I think this is the only painting that I have done on Yupo (a plastic, non-absorbent paper) because I find it to be a very hard surface to paint on.  The results can be interesting, but I have trouble with lint getting onto the surface and in the paint.  After I finished painting this, I spritzed it with a light mist of water which gave it an interesting texture.

Energized

"Energized"

Image size 15" x 22"

Acrylic

This was a fun exercise in acrylic.  I used a variety of thicknesses of the paint along with different applications to achieve this effect.