"ILLUMINTATA II" working process

STAGE 1

I've been working madly on my large paintings for the Weems flower show.
I chose four large chunky canvases and started creating.
This is canvas number two.

I always start by toning the canvas in a very thin wash of orange/red.

Then I move to what I call, "making marks."

I sketch a very loose sketch of where I want to put in the main flowers and stems.

Then I start loading thin color on the brush and placing the main shapes.

STAGE TWO

I've worked a while and have the canvas covered.

Looking at it, I can see that I don't like the sky so dark and I am 

unhappy with the dark green in the upper right corner.

This is spring - it needs to be brighter!

STAGE THREE

This is the finished painting.

It's been painted black around the sides (in acrylic) and varnished.

The painting is actually laying flat on my easel and I photographed it at a weird angle.

As you can see, I've lightened a lot of the color,

gotten rid of the dark green in the corner and added my sky color further down into the painting.

It is now at the gallery for the opening tomorrow of the Weems show, 

"FLOWERS, FRUITS, AND VEGGIES."

I dropped my paintings off in a hurry yesterday, 
but I took a peek and the show is going to be fantastic!  

"ILLUMINATA II" is 30x30" on a 3" deep canvas and is $2100.

Contact Weems at 505-293-6133 for details.
They are located at Montgomery and Louisiana NE.

Happy weekend!

seeing red...in more ways than one

Greetings!

Today has been a weird day.

It started off really well - I woke up, slept good, then went to Planet Fitness to work out.

I had a good workout riding the bike for 45 minutes. Until...

Until I went to get into my car, and it wouldn't start.

Okay, I'm pretty laid back.

I usually just try to let things roll off of me.

I don't usually get very stressed.

BUT....we have put over $2000 into this car just since August.

I was seeing red. Lots of red. Frustrated red.

So my trusty husband came and jump-started me and off we went to the mechanic.

Turns out we need a new battery. Another $155.

But worth it for a car that runs and starts when I need it to.

So I got dropped off at my house, and I was so tense.

Just hyped up and couldn't seem to get motivated to do anything.

I decided to make myself some lunch, sat down on the couch 

and became a certified couch potato for an hour.

I watched Millionaire Matchmaker and LA Shrink.

Those two crazy shows put my problems into perspective and I felt better.

I finally made it into the studio and finished toning my panels.

And yes, they were red. But a calming reddish-orange, not mean and angry red.

And I slowly began to breathe again.....

Here are a few photos my toning process.

 On the left is a SOLD commission still life in the works.

It will be a blue vase of poppies. And the poppies will be sort of a dark fuschia red.

the red you see in that little red frame on the right.

When I tone, I do the panels all at once and they are put everywhere - on top of photos, 

on top of a roll of upstanding paper towels, on top of my paints. 

I even have one balancing on top of my trash can.

But look at how organized my table looks!

Enjoy it while it lasts...

 Oh I'm sorry, I have not one but TWO panels balanced on my trash can.

I even have one lying on top of my brushes. 

My bad.

A semi-arial view of toned canvas everywhere.

I think I toned about seventy-five of those babies.

Now what to do?

More on that later....