Creek Reflections

Creek Reflections, 12 x 16, oil on panel, L. Daniel

SOLD

The marshlands of St. Simons have a particular draw for me... but when deep reflections are involved, I am unable to resist! The stillness, the soft ripples, the warm winter grasses... Mmmm Mmm... so delish! I am looking forward to getting back! 

Sand Castles - Figures on Friday!

 

Sand Castles, 8 x 8, Oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2022

Gifted! 

I have so much respect for portrait artists. Capturing someone's unique personality and one of a kind facial expressions is HARD! This "quick" little study of my niece became a multiple day challenge for me. I could not get her face right and had to keep wiping out her entire head to begin it again. It took WAY more time than I expected, but I am finally happy with it. Whew!

Oil Painter Friends, here is a take away tip:

If you run into a problem area like this one while painting... Resist the urge to keep adding more and more paint on top of the problem. Stop. Admit defeat. Deep breath. THEN... Scrub out the small section that you are "fixing", wiping it completely down to the canvas. (Completely.) I use a paper towel carefully wrapped around my finger to tackle the specific area. When area is clean, rebuild the passage from the ground up. Start with the dark neutral underdrawing and re-sketch, then build the color from dark to light. Highlights last. You might have to do it more than once, like me, but you'll be surprised how well it works!

From The Clearing

From The Clearing, 6 x 8, oil on panel, L. Daniel

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I loved seeing this little cabin through the trees, all lit up by the morning sun. I have painted it before from several different angles, but this more "distant" view was a new one... very compelling. Was it the light? the mystery? Probably a little of both! ;)

Walk On The Pier - Figures on Friday!

Walk On The Pier, 8 x 6, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2022

NFS

Here is another "family" memory for Figures on Friday this week. This is my dear father-in-law with one of his great grandsons (my grand nephew). One fun thing about painting people you know is that it feels like you are actually having a little visit with them! Love that!

I'm also including my block-in for this piece to contrast with last week's block-in. You can see that I started with my usual approach, the dark underpainting. But this time, instead of working dark to light, I painted the light areas around my dark sketch. This allowed me to lock in the shapes of the figures which is really helpful. After that, I toggled back and forth between the figures and everything else. I also adjusted the drawing a bit, as the figures were leaning to the left at first. Can't have that! ;)

Painted around Block-in... 

Final painting.

Winter Marsh

Winter Marsh, 8 x 16, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2022

Available

Even in the Golden Isles, some days are cold, wet, and wintery, especially in January. But if it's a painting day, well, one can not be deterred! Fingerless gloves help (if you remember them) and it's always an adventure! The colors are subdued and the soft light offers an overall tonal quality I so love. Even in the cold, the joy of being out makes it worth the effort.

The view from my easel. You can see that the tide went out while I was painting! :)