New work to share! Here’s what’s on my easel, about to be signed. Sons Sam & Will, with their families, and Pat & I visited the Virginia side of Great Falls on the Potomac River last Christmas. I finally got around to making a studio painting of the magnificent scene!
I’m not great at landscapes, but I think I made real progress on this one!
My most recent small painting features some bright cardinals showing off among their Plain Jane pals. It was based on photos taken last year. Our feeder is empty and there are few birds to watch now. (Our neighborhood has been encouraged not to use feeders so birds won’t gather and spread a new virus among themselves.)
For the artists who are reading, this painting was an experiment in “cmyk” colors — a very limited palette of cyan, magenta, yellow and black. This group of colors is used with great success in color printing, but it’s pretty rare to see it underpinning an oil painting or water-based art.
For this attempt, I used the closest hues in my paint stash: manganese phthalo, quinacridone violet, azo yellow and ivory black. I managed to mix everything in the painting without resorting to additional colors ~~ other than the male cardinals, for which I dipped into cad red. I can’t say I enjoyed the experience or like the outcome! I’m not sure whether I’ll try it again!
#22. Birds in the Backyard. Oil on Primed Arches Oil Paper. 8″ x 10″
In the last post, I included a photo I took of Dad during our July 4th party in 2010. I have always treasured that shot. Back in 2014, when I was beginning to experiment with gouache, I decided to hazard a rendering of the fuzzy image. I got it to this stage in my first session and put it aside for further work. I have never had the nerve to do more on it because I was afraid of messing it up or not doing Dad justice. I’m now declaring it ‘officially unfinished’. It’s not gonna be changing. I like it ‘as is’, shortcomings and all.
As much of Biloxi knows, the O’Keefe family always celebrated the 4th (and our dad Jerry’s July 12th birthday) with a frolicking bash on the front lawn of 510 Beach Blvd. We would chow down on burgers, hot dogs, beer & cake and boogie to the sounds of “Butterbean” delivered by Bo & Dee. (That assumes Martha had supplied the right brand and quantity of gin for Dee!)
We always took a crop of photos of Dad, Martha, ourselves and the fireworks that followed, all overlooking our beauties: the beach, Dad’s palms, Biloxi Sound, and Deer Island. Here are a few glimpses of times past (an especially colorful 2010 & our Dad’s last party in 2016, a month before he passed away at age 93).
Lastest funny off the easel — in my occasional effort to humanize toothbrushes! Composition is a bit too busy but . . . it is what it is.
Toothiness 2 – NO, Mama, NO! Oil on Primed Arches Oil Paper. 8″x10″.
Before the recent workshop on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, I tried to get in the groove by painting one of the places we would visit there. I call it ‘Susan’s Marsh’ because it was based on a photo my sister took in showing us potential venues. I didn’t finish it then, but did so a couple of weeks ago so I could include it in our new Maplewood Exhibit. I decided to spice it up a bit by adding a heron — it was looking a bit too tranquil without it!
This hibiscus was growing in my sister’s yard. I generally shy away from screaming colors but, hey, this one was trying SO hard I just had to snap its portrait and paint it. We may need sunglasses for this one!
Neon Hibiscus. Oil on Primed Arches Oil Paper. 20″ x 8″.
Reference Photo
Some years ago I took a workshop from nationally known artist Carolyn Anderson. One of our tasks was to paint an interpretation based on one of her stash of photos that she uses for inspiration. I selected the one I liked and did a nice start, I thought. I’ve always liked that old painting and decided to finish it up last week. It only took a few minutes. Ahhhhh. That felt good! Here it is and below that, its state before the touch-up, as well as the reference photo.
I hope everyone had a good and thoughtful Memorial Day weekend. I spent a lot of it remembering and reflecting about my late father and his military service. Thank you, Dad!
Thought I’d share some photos from his service as a Marine pilot in the Pacific in 1945. As many of you know, he shot down 5 Japanese planes on his first combat mission, becoming an ace at his first opportunity. He never gloried in these killings. In fact, he had a Mass said on behalf of those other young pilots every year on the anniversary of their deaths.
This is another beauty from our garden, continuing the ‘big flower’ theme for a bit. Fortunately our three hibiscus plants made it through the winter and we might have more of these later in the summer. Yum.
Painting #14. Screaming Red Hibiscus. Oil on Primed Arches Oil Paper. 10×8.