#23: Out of my Window

You might say this is my first "commissioned" piece. My younger son moved to Nebraska for a job. He misses the mountains terribly and asked if I would paint him a picture of the mountains. So that was my inspiration for this work. I decided I would recreate the view from his bedroom window (taking some artistic license to remove a few houses and some power lines!!)

#23

20" X 24" Canvas Board
Acrylic

What I like about the painting:

• I am especially pleased by the color in the foothills. I like how the bluish greens blend and give the sense of some prairie grasses.
• I sense a bit of rolling hills in the foreground - or maybe it is just me, knowing they are there!
• I limited myself to primary colors, white and black. I like the variation in color I achieved.

What I might do differently:

• OMG - I was so pleased with my cows until I sat back and realized how small they are given the overall perspective of the painting. 
• Likewise, the fence by the barn is far too tall.

What I learned:

• Joy Schultz (see previous post) kept telling the class that we didn't need to sketch things out on the canvas in detail before painting. I 'framed' the view from my son's window, and made preliminary marks for the key features of the painting… and it worked!
• One afternoon as I was painting, the cows came into view. I grabbed a sketch book and make some quick sketches of the cows in different positions. It helped when it came time to paint the cows - which I did without sketching on the canvas first.

Our son's apartment is very dark. We saw a wood window at a local hardware store and both hubby and I thought it might be possible to create a light box with the window. This is the project, in progress. Eventually we will add LED lights behind the frame, and trim.  We will either paint or stain the wood.

#19: Windows on the World

Inspiration: I borrowed Acrylic Painting Step-by-Step, by Jelbert, Massey & Hyde, from our local library. In the first section, Wendy Jelbert illustrates and describes step-by-step instructions for painting a sunlit window. As I looked at her picture it brought back memories of a trip I took to France. I remember walking narrow streets in several towns with beautiful homes. I knew I had taken pictures of several homes, similar to Jelbert's painting. After searching through my photos I found one I wanted to try to paint. I took this shot in Arles, France. To be honest, I can't recall why I took the picture, but painting it would present a challenge!

I cropped the photo, and then to add another challenge, created a sketch as if seen from the street, looking up, similar to the picture Jelbert used for her painting.

 #19: Windows on the World

What I like about the painting:

• I liked the way the masking worked.
• I was pleased with the transition I made between the view in my photo to the perspective I used in the painting. 
• It would have been easier to use the earth-tone colors Jelbert used, as she included mixing instructions. However, I decided to try to maintain the original colors of the photo. I was really pleased with the colors of my blocks.

What I might do differently:

• I liked the lamp in the photo. I regret that I didn't incorporate it in the picture.
• I'd make the flowers stand out by using larger flower pots
• The painting seems static. I'd like to find a way to pull the viewer into the picture.

What I learned:
I used several new techniques in this painting. The first was using masking fluid to block areas I didn't want to cover with paint. I also used paint straight from the tube and applied it to the canvas with a palette knife to create texture, an impasto technique. The texture is more apparent in this view:

Many of the techniques Jelbert demonstrates in this painting are similar to painting with water colors. I have been leery of this medium. It was interesting to experiment with painting some details first, and then painting around them, blending paint on a wet canvas, and using a wash several areas.