April Morning with Process Shots

April Morning, 10 x 8, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2022

Available - Click here for information

It has been a busy spring for me... A big museum show in Kerrville TX, a weekend workshop in Austin TX, and a couple of commissions! I got behind in my blogging, and will try to play a little catch up starting with the workshop. I had a great group of students and I always love seeing their work and progress! So rewarding! Here is the break down of my demo on the second day...

Loosely outlined shapes of major masses.

Indicated dark values in the layers to give a road map for rest of painting.

Painted shadow family in upright plane – began to establish foreground, middle ground, background. 

Painted light family in upright planes, muting and cooling as each plane recedes.

Added ground plane and sky plane. It's important to get the canvas covered completely in order to see what is working and what needs adjustment... 

Made adjustments to better define values and separate layers. Saved highlights till the very end. Always!

Morning Stroll - Figures on Friday #11

Morning Stroll, 9 x 12, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2015

Available

It's the week before the actual week of Christmas, and life is speeding up. Very predictably!! 'Tis truly the season, and I hope yours is wonderful.

I am in the middle of Christmas preparations and having to admit to myself that I won't be getting to the easel today. SO... my Figures on Friday offering this week is an older plein air piece from the archives. Scenes like this are what make me want to get faster at capturing human movement and gestures. When a cute little mom and her son walk by, it's just so fun to try and pop them in! :)

May your weekend be merry and bright... 

Field of Cactus - Fix It Friday #24

Field of Cactus, 12 x 12, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2020

Texas cactus! It's beautiful, especially when it blooms and... it's very invasive. Once it gets started, it just duplicates itself over and over. If an "ear" falls off, stick it in the ground and it will happily survive, grow, and spread!! All that to say, my fix today is all about better depicting ranch land full of propagated cactus. 

BEFORE

AFTER

CHANGES

Problem - Layers of cactus were not "laying down" on the picture plane.

Fix - Created a definitive scale shift from front to back, making layers incrementally smaller as they move into the distance. 

Fix - Muted layers incrementally as they recede.

Problem - Field just didn't have enough cactus!! 

Fix - Added another layer of cactus at the fence line.

Problem - Overcast sky was lack-luster in color and interest.

Fix - Intensified the purplish color that was there and popped the bit of light. 

OBSERVATIONS

Working with elements in the landscape to push them into the distance is a great challenge. Today's fix was a wonderful exercise in doing just that... scale shift, atmospheric perspective, overlapping, and layering were all used here. 

Soaring - spring workshop information

Soaring, 12 x 12, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2018

SOLD

Back to the Golden Isles of Georgia... Out on the marsh, birds love to feed and perch at the "hammocks". Hammocks are stands of trees or bushes that have grown up in the wetlands... where two different eco-systems collide. It's fun to watch the birds playfully helicoptering in and out. On this day, they seemed to be having a convention!

I have three plein air workshops coming up in the spring and would love to have you join me. Put it on your Christmas list! ;)

Workshop Dates (click HERE for details and descriptions on my website)

March 25-28, 2019 - Wimberley, Texas

Contact Helena Hauk, Wimberley Artists Workshops, 800-327-1913

April 11-13, 2019 - St. Simons Island, Georgia

Contact Mary Anderson, Anderson Fine Art Gallery, 912-634-8414 

May 10-11, 2019 - Austin, TX

Contact Registrar, Contemporary Austin Art School, 512-323-6380 

Peaceful Sky and Artist Reception

Peaceful Sky, 12 x 12, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2016

SOLD

Please join me at the artist reception for my solo show this weekend!

"Laurel Daniel's Works of Nature" 

Reception: November 13, 1-3 pm

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

McDermott Learning Center

4801 La Crosse Avenue

Austin, Texas

If you are in the neighborhood, please stop by! Admission is free for attendees (just tell them at the kiosk that you are my guest). Hope to see you!

Click HERE to see entire show online.

Seaside Lookout

Seaside Lookout, 12 x 12, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2016

Available

Perfect shade... dappled light... ocean breeze... oh, the glad freedom of summer!!! Painting this view was really delightful. Until... I looked up and saw a girl with her cell phone looking for Pokemon. Let's just say I was a little worried that I was about to be swarmed. Then, she went away and I was back to my peaceful, seaside quiet. (Apparently, Pokemon was somewhere else. Thank goodness!)

Please join me at these upcoming fall workshops:

Still Life: Color and Form - September 16-17, 2016, 9am-4pm.

En Plein Air: Shape and Movement - November 4-5, 2016, 9am-4pm. 

Contact: The Contemporary Austin School of Art 512-323-6380, or click HERE.

Sunlit Terrace

Sunlit Terrace, 12 x 12, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2016

SOLD

This is one of the summer cottages in the millionaire's village on Jekyll Island in Georgia. It's especially dramatic in the slanted morning light. I love imagining a family "taking tea" on the terrace next to the house. It must have been a great playground for the kids in those families!

Please join me at these upcoming fall workshops:

Still Life: Color and Form - September 16-17, 2016, 9am-4pm.

En Plein Air: Shape and Movement - November 4-5, 2016, 9am-4pm. 

Contact: The Contemporary Austin School of Art 512-323-6380, or click HERE.