Day 43

Tin Roof, Rusted

7 x 5 inch oil on panel, © 2012 Kathleen Coy

75.00

This one was painted on location at my friend Linda's farm. She has several lovely old barns, but this long, white building has always caught my eye, and this day I decided to paint it. I like the rusty old tank in front of it, too.

This painting gets it's name from a line in a song from the 80s. Bonus points if you know what it is.

Day 42

Fran, 7 x 5 inch oil on panel

© 2012 Kathleen Coy

Another pose painted at my figure drawing group. Again, the 40 minutes flew by. I like the sense of form here, the way the hips are stacked with the hand resting on them. 

For these figure sketches, I lay down a wash of paint thinned with odorless mineral spirits (Gamsol) first, then wipe out the form with a paper towel. I then paint shadow to light.

Day 41

Kissing Nectarines, 6 x 6 inch oil on panel

© 2012 Kathleen Coy

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After the intricacy of yesterdays skull painting, I wanted to paint something loosely. This happy pair of nectarines looked like they were kissing as they ripened on the counter, so I set them up the same way in my studio. I rather like the colors in this one.

Day 40

Turkey Skull, 6 x 6 inch oil on panel

© 2012 Kathleen Coy

SOLD

I found this turkey skull on ebay and thought it would make an excellent still life subject. I love skulls because they remind us of our mortality, as well as reminding us that there is far more to us than what we see as our physical bodies. As an artist, I'm interested in anatomy, and skulls fascinate me for that reason also. I find them incredibly beautiful.

This was a very complex painting, and I really took my time with the drawing and getting the proportions correct. Things like this require my entire focus and become a zen-like experience for me. 

Here is a shot after I had sketched it out with paint thinned with a little odorless mineral spirits, and a shot of the actual skull in the still life box:

I really enjoyed this one. Expect to see this skull show up in more paintings...

Day 39

Bridge Lights, 6 x 6 inch oil on panel

© 2012 Kathleen Coy

SOLD

We were on our way home from a rodeo last week, (I got lots of great reference photos for paintings!) and since I had my camera next to me, I was able to snap a quick pic as we went over the new bridge at night. This is my first time painting a night scene, and it was really fun for me. I'd like to do more of them.

Day 38

Shallot with Fresh Garlic, 6 x 6 inch oil on panel

© 2012 Kathleen Coy
SOLD

We bought a couple fresh garlic bulbs with the green tops still on them at the farmers market last weekend. My husband said I needed to paint the last one before he ate it. It seemed lonely on the still life table, so I had him pose with a shallot. They became good friends, and will probably end up together in a stir fry.

Day 37

Blanket, 5 x 7 inch oil on panel

© 2012 Kathleen Coy

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Another one painted at my figure drawing group. This pose was almost an hour, with 2 breaks for the model. I loved the blanket, but I didn't want to get too detailed with the pattern, because a. I didn't have time to get too detailed, and b. I like the look of suggesting details and letting the viewers eye fill in the rest. I really enjoyed painting this one. 

Day 36

The Business of Being a Terrier, 6 x 6 inch oil on panel

© 2012 Kathleen Coy

NFS

Well, here I am painting my dog Cloud again, just for the simple fact that he is so incredibly beautiful to me. (Not to mention, he is awesome and I'm crazy about him.) As much as Cloud loves to cuddle and be part of the family, once he's outside, he shifts into business mode. Anyone who knows a terrier knows what I'm talking about. The back yard is his domain, and he must constantly secure the perimeter and be vigilant for any small invaders of the furred or feathered kind. He is so business-like in his demeanor, I always get a kick out of watching him.

On to the painting, it feels like a break-though piece for me - the looseness of the brushstrokes and the strong values is what I've been reaching for. I am incredibly happy with this piece.

Day 35

Cadmium Red Light, 6 x 6 inch oil on panel

© 2012 Kathleen Coy
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This color is on my palette 99% of the time, whether it's a limited palette of only a few colors, or my main palette of 11 colors. The reason there is yellow paint on this tube is because I always lay my colors out in the same order, with yellow coming before red, and for the life of me I can't open any tube of yellow paint without getting some of it on my hands. Hence the yellow paint on all my other paint tubes.

In case you were wondering, this tube of red paint is Gamblin. Gamblin's Cadmium Yellow Light looks like Windsor Newton's Cad Lemon, which kind of bugs me. So instead, I use Windsor Newton's Cadmium Yellow Pale for my bright, sunny yellow. Colors can vary between brands, which is irritating in a way, but good when you find one that seems better than the others.

Day 34

Don's Jar, 6 x 6 inch oil on panel

© 2012 Kathleen Coy
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My husband had some new pottery fired in our friend's wood kiln last week. Our friend Don had some pieces in the firing as well. When we opened the kiln a few days later, amidst all of the beautiful pottery sat this little jar of Don's. I loved the shape of the jar, and the colors of the raw clay next to the green glaze on the top.

I knew right away I wanted to paint it. One of the benefits of hanging around with mud-slinging pyromaniacs (aka potters) is first dibs (usually, haha.) Since Don was out of town that day, everyone thought it would be ok if I took the jar home to paint. Hope you don't mind, Don. I'll give it back when you get home, I promise! ;-)

Day 33

Sally, 5 x 7 inch oil on panel

© 2012 Kathleen Coy

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Another oil study painted at my figure drawing group. I had to move my seat to capture this view, but the trade-off was the lighting on my easel wasn't very good. I got a little frustrated trying to mix the right flesh tones, but once I got home and looked at it, I thought the colors turned out ok. I think I need to invest in a small clip-on light for my easel, (maybe similar to a Kindle light) in case I'm in another situation where I need more light on my palette. 

I rather like this one.