January 31st 2012

Worked on a painting from last years 90 days that for some reason I never got around to finishing. Much to do but it is really fun painting this. Impossible to photograph because it is 4 ft x 4 ft and glossy.

January 29th 2012

Worked on another mason jar today. Not quite done with this one. Its in colored pencil because I really didnt feel like messing around with pastels. I wanted it tight.

January 28th 2012

I did a water study from a photograph that I took at Lakeside this past summer. Its kind of abstract I suppose but I really wanted to get into the subtleties of the water and shore.

January 27th 2012

Painting started late, plucked this photo from my wall of choices. I painted it last year and I have to say that I like this years much more. Day 27

January 26th 2012

A new leaf uncurled itself today on my rubber tree. A fine specimen to paint because of its bright warm colors. Maybe I can repaint it when it turns half green.

January 25th 2012

A mason jar today. Going for the feeling of the glass and transparency.

January 24th 2012

My roses that I painted the other day were really getting yucky but I wanted to get another painting out of them. So, I painted the back side of them. I like that the greenery is more important than the flower itself.

January 23rd 2012

A sky from SR 23. Again, no mixing allowed. Trying to keep my fingers from solving all of my problems with shading, which leaves me with more of a palette knife approach to pastels. And those poles are ticking me off, supposed to be phone poles not a tiny fence. Having the phone poles makes the sky seem so much bigger, which it was :) Day 23 check!

January 21st 2012

Today I planned on buying another new bonsai start to paint, but couldnt find what I wanted at the nursery, so I painted the trunk to a bonsai that a teacher gave me in the fall. Also to note, I did not do any blending of the pastels. I just layered them and kept my fingers out of the equation. Myself, and artists in general, get too tight and need to loosen up every now and then. Play with the medium and try new things, you might surprise yourself!  I love the immediacy of pastels without blending. I could make a completely smooth rendition of this tree and thought about doing that, but where is the beauty, the feeling in that?

January 20th 2012

Painted my hand today. I love drawing hands so I thought why not paint one!

January 19 2012

Obviously, its an eye, my eye. I was thinking today about one of my favorite paintings by Rene Magritte the kiss, which led me to think about painting my eye. Eyes are freaky if you stare at them for 40 minutes to paint them!

January 17th 2012

Orchid flower today, feeling exceptionally lazy therefore one flower and no background. I love the color of the orchid bloom but it was hard to paint because there was little variation in its tone. Daily painting, check!

January 16th 2012

A rose today, simple. I might crop it differently if I ever frame it.

January 15th 2012

Sunrise storm clouds today. There is some sort of battle within this painting, a pull from the black giant cloud and the gentle soft colors of the sunrise. It felt good to settle into this painting today, perhaps thats because it is the weekend and I did not have to rush to paint :) Day 15 complete.

January 14th 2012

Painted Plein Air today at High Banks Metro Park. Its a frozen creek bed. I wanted to keep working but my fingers got too cold. I need to work out a better glove situation so I can paint more. Unfinished but its worth posting anyways. brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

January 13th 2012

Today I went with painting bananas. I have never painted them before and I knew I would have to find very delicate transitions since it is a white fruit. Overall, its a good study. Hopefully some plein air work for tomorrow

January 12, 2012

Today I painted grapes. I thought about doing a whole bunch, but then realized I wanted to get down to the basics and just paint a few. I really wanted to play with the vine to connect things and I think I accomplished that. Day 12 complete

January 11th 2012

Painting from a photograph again today. I tried to paint plein air but it was raining and I really hate painting inside of my car. I like the idea of painting something you cant look at and paint, you cant look at a sunburst and paint it... well you could but you might as well poke yourself in the eye. ha!

January 10th 2012

Painting from a photograph taken just before twilight in Batelle Darby Creek Metropark. Day 10 CHECK!

January 9th 2012

Today I kept it simple and fast. With daily paintings, sometimes I have time to paint and sometimes I dont. Tonight I had the time, but not the mental capacity to think deep. Sometimes the most surprising things come out of me when I work this way. love boats.

January 8th 2012

 Sunrise on SR 23.

Pickaway puffy clouds. 
Day 7 and 8. Well technically I didnt paint yesterday. This years 90 day thing will be different. There is more wiggle room to lead a somewhat normal life mixed in with daily painting. If I need a day off, I take it. If I want to make up for it, I do it. No pressure just me and the easel chillin daily.

January 6th 2012

Today I worked on sketches again for conceptual pieces. I have been drawing these figures for probably 8 years now and I think its time to seal them in an actual painting. On the first one I had the most focus it seems, with playing with the negative space between the people. On the last one, I want to go to bed so I drew myself there. Actual paintings and not just sketches to come soon!

January 5th 2012

This drawing today is a detailed sketch that is for a conceptual piece to be completed later. I have lots of thoughts about life, and how I fit into it, and I picture these thoughts as analogies that involve real objects. This mason jar is a part of that picture in my brain. One of the components is to draw swirling smoke in the jar with the smoke just about to curl out of the top. I tried lighting several things on fire in my kitchen today, mostly paper towels and trapping the smoke but it seemed to dissipate too quickly. More research into smoke is necessary...

January 4th 2012

Todays painting is from a photograph taken in Luna Pier Michigan. It is of the sunrise over Lake Erie. I really love this photograph from the sky shapes to the concrete forms in the water. Day 4 complete!

January 3rd 2012

Todays painting is from a photograph I took on the North forty. It was dark outside, twilight actually and the sky turned this amazing blue purple. The dark puffs of clouds were perfect. Day 3 complete!

January 2nd 2012

ugh, oranges. I wanted to do a landscape but they looked so pretty (but I know I will hate painting them, but they look so pretty, but it wont look good, etc etc etc). So I did oranges. I got my revenge and ate one. ha!

January 1st 2012

90 days, or some version of it, begins again. Last year I successfully painted everyday for 90 days. The rewards were amazing throughout the process. My skills grew exponentially and my approach to art is now rock solid. Getting started in painting is one of the most challenging things for most artists. The idea is there but you fear the result and the possibility of failure. With 90 days, you push past that and force yourself to get over it. Because tomorrow you will paint again and its "just a daily" painting. So here is the first painting of 90...