I Get by with a Little Help from My Friends

Part 2

I took photography in college but now I mostly snap pics on my IPhone. I can compose my shots in the camera giving me good reference to paint from later. Painting outdoors is great, but as I’m painting one thing I see a dozen more things around me I want to paint.

I have friends who are photographers and who are generous enough to allow me to use their photos from time to time as reference for my paintings. They have more patience than I do to get some fantastic shots. This “White Iris” was shot by my friend, Deb Drew Brown, which I turned into paint.

Available at Daily Paintworks: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/689337

“White Iris” 8×8″ oil on canvas 

I Just Can’t Contain Myself

If ever there were a flower bursting with joy it would be the peonies growing behind my deck. When I first moved into this house they were growing on the side of the house. Who could see them there? I moved them right outside my back deck where I can see them from my desk and they have flourished.

I have invited other artists over to paint them, as I just had to share their beauty. I feel like there is a garden party the whole time they are in bloom. I cannot paint them enough.

I present to you “Bursting Peony” available at Daily Paintworks: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/685548

Bursting Peony, 6×6″ oil on panel

I Feel Like I’m in a Detective Novel when I’m Downtown

I grew up in the suburbs and I enjoy drive in the country, but I was born in the city. I only lived in Detroit for 4 years but we visited my grandmother there for years.

And I went to art school downtown right behind the Art Institute.

Maybe I’ve read too many novels or seen too many movies. When I’m in a large downtown I get a feeling of mystery. I want to know everyone’s story. Especially on a gloomy day the intrigue seems intensified. A perfect time for a painting of an urban landscape.

Crossing Capitol Ave., 10×10″ gallery-wrapped canvas

Available at Daily Paintworks: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/669057

Feminie Mystique

People watching is as interesting as visiting the animals when at the local zoo.

Seeing this girl watching the lions and then seeing her reflection at the same time had a zen like quality that I had to paint.

“Feminine Mystique” acrylic on canvas, 12×12″

Available at Daily Paintworks: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/666513

Surveying Her Subjects

She came in as the younger, smaller cat in the house, but soon took over as the one in charge. The back of the couch is the highest point in the room that is comfortable. She can see the whole room, the other cat, me, and the backyard out the window across the room. She has great color, sort of black and brown, some rust and white, a pink nose and “odd socks” as I call them, meaning each paw is different.

Quite a demanding little kitty, she yells at me when she wants something, but if I whisper at her, she will whisper back. She is a great model and I could paint her all day long. Now that the springtime sun is making its way into our home, and sunbeam naps are on the schedule, a new painting is inevitable.

“Surveying Her Subjects”, 6×6″ oil on panel

Available at Daily Paintworks: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/664015

Vitamin C

My birdfeeders in my city neighborhood attract a lot of brown Sparrows with a few Blue Jays, Cardinals, Woodpeckers, and when I’m lucky, the brilliant yellow Goldfinch.

My photographer friend, Deb Drew Brown has a backyard that is much more woodsy that attracts a larger variety of birds. She has given me permission to paint from some of her photos including this Baltimore Oriole snacking on an orange on the railing of her deck. This is a brilliant delight against the neutral background of the Michigan winters.

“Vitamin C”, 6×6″ oil on panel

Available at Daily Paintworks: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/648986

The Fire That Is Fall

Gold Glory, 8×6″ oil on panel

I was driving home from the artists’ breakfast that we have every Saturday morning and in my neighborhood the sun was hitting this tree in full fall colors. I got a couple blocks down and knew I had to go back and snap some photos with my iPhone. I went home and began painting. It’s not often I get to use Cadmium orange and Cadmium yellow right out of the tube. I must say I did get too thick too fast though. I guess I was too excited. It was going so well and then it wasn’t! I was getting picky—painting every leave. So I wiped out the tree and began again, slowly layering the paint. Much happier with the results.

The Fire That Is Fall, 8×8″ oil on panel

The neighborhood is full of trees in all stages of color and falling leaves. I had a plethora of streets to shoot my photos. This one with its deep shadows complimenting that fiery color activated my “OH!” factor.

Available at http://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/andrea-jeris-5884/artwork

 

The UNDO Command – Oh Technology

Long ago when I learned to use a computer I quickly got used to the UNDO command. My thumb and middle finger became ingrained in this keyboard motion and I found my fingers repeating this motion in spite of myself whenever I make a mistake whether I was on a computer or not!

There is no such command in painting. I think I’m done with a painting but…maybe…that one area might look better if it were a bit lighter…noooooo. It doesn’t. UNDO. UNDO. UNDO. Sigh…

If the paint underneath was dry I might be able to wipe it off, but that is not the case. So I scrape it off and repaint, telling myself how stupid I am. But, frustrating as it may be, it always turns out better than it was to begin with. Wow. And I’m happy again.

A friend of mine confessed that her thumb and finger try to expand pictures in magazines to make them bigger. Ha!

Oh, technology.

“Kayak the River” 6×8″ oil available at MICA Gallery

Nature is Overwhelming

One of the biggest challenges for plein air painters (painting outdoors) is the vastness of what we are looking at. Trying to get the huge outdoors and fit it on our teeny, tiny, little canvas can stop an artist in our tracks so to speak.

All the advice, tips, and rules I hear from experienced painters seem to leave me when I am out there enjoying the wonders of nature. “Paint what you love.” “Look for the big shapes.” “See the darks and lights.”

Ever since I saw my first Monet painting I wanted to paint water lilies. We were at a beautiful garden with a pond with the most perfect water lilies you can imagine. I was so excited.

By the end of my painting session I was so disappointed. I had wanted to paint water lilies. Here is a sketch of what I did. I went home and scraped it off.

Luckily I took lots of photos and when I enlarged the photo and painted in my studio, I actually painted water lilies.

Now I am happy.

“Water Lilies”, 6×8″ oil on panel available at:

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/597815

Go Figure

When I lived in California I was lucky enough to take a week-long portrait and figure painting, watercolor workshop from world famous artist Mary Whyte. One afternoon we ventured out of the studio to the beach (we were right on the coast in Crescent City) to take some photos of the model. Let’s face it, you don’t normally come across young women dressed like this strolling the beach.

It was a foggy day and the light was strange. The ocean and the sky was a strange, muted yellow green. I painted it once true to the photo, but after the online course I took this past winter, photos are just a reference and I have broken free from trying to reproduce them—a very big breakthrough for me.

Some people don’t like people in their art; others love the human, lively element people add to a painting. Which do you prefer?

“Shell Searcher”, 8×6″ oil on panel, SOLD

“Sandy Walk”, 8×6″ oil on panel, SOLD

Thanks for looking. 🙂