Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Today's Oil Study - Another Hummingbird!

I've had a lot of requests for hummingbirds so I just finished this little oil study of one that could be either a broad-tailed hummer (Western US) or a ruby-throated (Eastern US) as the species are similar and I don't paint enough detail to show the differences.

I must remember to photograph a study before I soften the background, as I have in this piece.  I soften the background if the brushwork feels too busy or sometimes just for a change. It would have been interesting to show you the difference with the brush strokes showing compared to the finished piece.  Next time!


Hummingbird
5" x 7" oil study on board, unframed
$75 plus $6 shipping

SOLD




Monday, May 30, 2011

A Bluebird for Memorial Day

Today was one of those days where I wiped off more than I painted. Maybe I'm just tired or perhaps the right side of my brain knows that everyone is off work today and I should be too! I made a valiant effort but didn't paint anything good enough to post for my 75 for $75 however I have two pieces that may look better tomorrow once the painting fairies have worked on them during the night.

The bluebird is a reserve piece I painted last week for my 75 for $75 project. I've got five pieces 'in reserve' because  starting on Wednesday, I'll have my grandkids at my house for the fourth annual Camp Sweetie-Pie.  It's a summer camp with official t-shirts, a flag and daily activities.  Every year I add a day as the kids get older.  Now we're up to six days!  So starting on Wednesday painting will be the last thing on my mind, but I will post a reserve piece every day.


Western Bluebird
7" x 5" oil study on board, unframed
$75 plus $6 shipping within the U.S.

SOLD

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Posting Tomorrow's Painting Today - Great Horned Owl






Just in case I don't have time to get a piece done tomorrow, I've painted it today and thought a few of you might also be interested in my step-by-step process.  As you can see,  I don't do a preliminary drawing.  I just 'knock it in' with a #2 flat (Silver Bristlon is my favorite brush).  Then I work fairly traditionally - dark to light. Almost forgot to mention the most important part....I paint with the panel sideways or upside down - seldom do I work with the painting right-side-up.  When the image is upside down,  rather than seeing an owl I see shapes and design. 

I've done similar backgrounds in the 75 for $75 project - the Red-tailed Hawk and the Barn Owl...but in both of these studies I softened the background with a small watercolor mop brush. I intended to do the same with the Great Horned Owl background but I sort of liked the hard edges where one color transitions into another - so I left it as is.  Hope you like it! 


Great Horned Owl
7" x 5" oil study on board, unframed
$75 plus $6 shipping within the U.S

SOLD




Friday, May 27, 2011

Hummingbird for Today!

Today's painting is a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, found in the Eastern U.S.   Or is it a broad-tailed hummingbird found in the Western U.S ?   I confess that I painted this little guy so he could be either or ...they're similar birds.  Some days these little oil studies fly right off my brush - and other days, like today, it's a struggle from start to finish.  But he's finished and I like him!  Hope you do too.

This is #14.  I have 61 more to paint to meet my goal.  If you'd like to see the first thirteen, click on this link.


Hummingbird
5" x 7" oil study on board, unframed
$75 plus $6 shipping

SOLD


Thursday, May 26, 2011

A Green Heron for Today


Green Heron
7" x 5" oil on board, unframed
$75 plus $6 shipping

SOLD




Yesterday my blog wouldn't allow me to post an image.  I kept getting a 'Server Rejected' error message.  I googled the problem and I think it had something to do with hitting the limit of 1000 images on the blog. Once you hit 1000 images, blogspot is supposed to create another album but this didn't happen,  so I spent an hour or two deleting old posts from 2008...and voila!  I can post images again.

Today's image is a green heron. I've always steered away from painting them - they're such strange looking birds - but I liked this little guy with his beak up in the air so decided to give it a go. 

My focus on last year's 75 for $75 was brush work....but this year it seems to be color.  I'm still working on brush strokes, daring to use really thick paint - but good things seem to be happening with my use of color. I particularly like the background colors in yesterday's egret piece.  The idea for my 75 for $75 project came last year after I read Malcolm Gladwell's book, The Outliers, where Gladwell states that the more often you do something, the better you get....and that doing something 10,000 times is the secret to success.  As I felt my brushwork needed to improve, I challenged myself to paint 75  5" x 7" oil studies in 30 days. 

Last year my son, Shane (commercial illustrator) joined me in the project. This year he's been overloaded with his freelance work but yesterday he announced that he might have a couple of days this week to paint. I'm looking forward to posting a couple of Shane's contributions to the project!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Today's Painting - An Egret


Egret
7" x 5" oil on board, unframed
$75 plus $6 shipping within the U.S.
SOLD

I'm not particularly fond of painting egret portraits.  I like painting egret in flight but there's something about their beaks (or does an egret have a bill?) that is difficult to paint.  Perhaps it's the placement of the eye and the little feathers that are on the underside of the beak that are hard to get right.  But as the purpose of my 75 for $75 project is to learn, I decided to tackle an egret portrait without resorting to noodling.   A miracle happened - I like the finished painting!


Tuesday, May 24, 2011

An Oriole for Today

My oil study for today is an oriole - technically a Hooded Oriole, but with a little stretch it could be an Altamira Oriole. When I see Hooded Orioles in my garden I know spring is officially here.  As I write this I can hear one fussing outside my studio window.

The study felt a little drab until I added the purple - but the purple is slightly exaggerated in the photo compared to the original.   As purple is yellow's complement, it made the painting pop.  A cheap trick but it works. 


Hooded Oriole
7" x 5" oil on board, unframed
$75 plus $6 shipping within the U.S.

SOLD


Painting Workshops in New Zealand

I have been teaching workshops both in the U.S. and overseas for a long time.  The next international workshop I'm teaching (with Joe Garcia) will be in New Zealand in 2012.  The workshop was full but we've had a cancellation and now have an opening for a single woman, sharing accommodations with another woman.  For more information go to www.PaintNewZealand.blogspot.com.

Now that the we've done all the groundwork for our New Zealand workshop, we're making the workshops available to other instructors. 

Mark Horton and Chris Groves will be teaching an oil workshop for us in New Zealand from February 26-March 3, 2013 and Michael Chesley Johnson will be teaching from March 6-March 13, 2013.  I won't be involved in teaching in these two workshops but I will be there as your guide.  What better what to see New Zealand than with a New Zealander!  Michael, Chris and Mark are fabulous artists!  We only ask the best.

If you're interested in information on these workshops - otherwise known as Painting Holidays, go to our blog at www.PaintNewZealand.blogspot.com 

Monday, May 23, 2011

A Barn Owl for Today

I like the light and color on this oil study. This one took a little longer that it should - I like to do the 5" x 7"s in my 75 for $75 project in less than an hour - usually around 45 minutes.  If it takes longer, then I know I'm noodling otherwise known as 'rendering'.  Not to sound like a broken record, but my reason for the project is to become a more painterly painter with quick brushwork, less attention to detail and more attention to mood.

I haven't painted many barn owls - I think I did one or two in the previous project but I steer away from them because of their strange eyes.  It's hard to get them just right.


Barn Owl
7" x 5" oil study on board, unframed
$75 plus $6 shipping within the U.S.

SOLD!
 

Saturday, May 21, 2011

My painting for Sunday, May 21.

Tomorrow I'll be busy with grandkids so I'm posting tomorrow's 75 for $75 oil study today.  There's something about snowy owls that I love to paint - though they're not easy. I have to really fight the temptation to render all those little dark stripes. I just underpaint the values of the bird, ignoring the stripes - then I dot and dash the dark spots and lines in without being particularly careful. Most of the studies in this project are painted in 45 minutes.  If it takes me longer then I know that I'm rendering.  Aghhhh!  I do not want to render!  This is the entire reason for my project.   Loosen up!  Become a more painterly painter!  

I might do another snowy owl or two for the 75 for $75 project just because I enjoy painting them so much!


Snowy Owl
5" x 7" oil study on board, unframed
$75 plus $6 shipping within the U.S.

SOLD

Bird for the Day - Lesser Goldfinch


 Lesser Goldfinch
5" x 7" oil on board, unframed
$75 plus $6 shipping within the U.S.

SOLD


Today's oil study for my 75 for $75 project is a lesser goldfinch.  I used complementary colors - yellow and purpley/brown/red , my favorite combination.  The photo isn't the best - will rephotograph it in a day or two.  Hope you like him!

Friday, May 20, 2011

Today's Painting - Anna's Hummingbird

Today's oil study for my 75 for $75 project is an Anna's hummingbird.  The range of these little guys has really expanded.  When I first moved to Northern Arizona I never saw an Anna's - and now they outnumber the broad-tailed hummingbirds.  If you live in the western half of the U.S. and are in an area where both Anna's and broad-tailed hummingbirds are found...it's easy to tell them apart. (aside from the male Anna's red head, but it doesn't always show up unless the bird is in bright light).  A broad-tailed hummer makes a buzzing sound when he flies.....and the Anna's flight is almost silent.

 Anna's Hummingbird
5" x 7" oil on board, unframed
$75 plus $6 shipping within the U.S.

SOLD


Wednesday, May 18, 2011

A Bright Spot on a Rainy Day

It's raining and the morning is dark, so I decided that today's 75 for $75 should be something bright and happy.  The cardinal oil study is the fourth painting for the fourth day of my 75 for $75 project.

I'd like to kick things up a notch and try to paint and post two oil studies a day, but I have gallery commitments.  I'm currently working on some big Southwest oils for Legacy Gallery's annual group show, Legacy of the Southwest which opens July 7th. I'll post the work here as I finish it.


Cardinal
7" x 5" unframed oil on board
$75 plus $6 shipping within the U.S.

SOLD


Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Today's Study is a Mourning Dove

This is today's study for my 75 for $75 project.  Often, I use complementary colors for the background but on this piece, I used the same colors that I used for the bird, except for a bit of green here and there.  Where the bird is dark, I used a lighter color behind it and where the bird is light, as on the chest, I darkened the background.  If you want to make something look lighter, put a darker color around it.


"Mourning Dove"
5" x 7" oil on board,
$75 unframed, plus $6 shipping within the U.S.

SOLD


Monday, May 16, 2011

My Birds in Art entry

If you're not familiar with Birds in Art, it's (IMHO) the best exhibition of bird art in the world, showing the work of artists from the U.S. and many other countries. The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum has hosted this annual event since 1976.  I and the many artists who paint the natural world, are honored when one of our pieces is selected for the annual exhibition. And I love that it doesn't matter who you are in the world of bird art.  Often the works of famous artists are rejected and there are often many unknowns in the annual exhibit.  My Birds in Art catalogues have been packed away so I can't count the number of years I've been accepted - but I think this might be my 17th year. 

I entered two pieces this year;  Turangawaewae, a 40" x 32" of the New Zealand bush with Piwakawaka (fantail) and Flamingo Study, a 9.75" x 8" oil of flamingos, dashed off the day the entries were due.  I thought Turangawaewae stood the best chance of getting in but to my surprise, the little flamingo study was accepted.  But thinking about it, it makes sense.  Birds in Art is always full of surprises with art in all forms -  highly rendered photo-realistic,  impressionistic, field sketches and even my quick little study.  Once again, I am honored. 


"Flamingo Study"
9.75" x 8" oil on board

SOLD

My Painting for Today

Today's original oil study is a Great Blue Heron in flight, 5" x 7" on gessoed board.  With the 75 for 75 bird studies, I don't want to paint a background - but rather a few broad brush strokes that might suggest leaves, light or in this case, a waterway.  Sometimes I find myself adding detail which goes against my goals for this project, so I wipe it out and start again.

Who was it that said in order to increase your success rate, you must increase your failure rate.  Or, "I haven't failed 10,000 times, I have successfully discovered 10,000 ways that don't work!  Or as Malcolm Gladwell states in The Outliers", in order to get good at something, you must do it 10,000 times.  Today's 5" x 7" is the 123rd piece in the 75 for 75 project - so I've got a fair number to go!


Great Blue Heron
5" x 7"  oil on board
$75 unframed plus $6 shipping

SOLD


Sunday, May 15, 2011

Red-tailed Hawk

This is the first painting for my second annual 75 for $75  project which starts today. I will post at least one 5" x 7" oil study daily which will be sold for $75 each plus $6 shipping within the United States. All paintings are originals and are sold unframed.  But 5" x 7" is a standard size so you can purchase an inexpensive frame at Michael's or a similar store - or go all out and have it custom-framed at your local frame shop.  Paintings will be shipped as soon as they are dry and varnished - which usually takes about a week.  Shipping will be through the Post Office, priority mail - so when purchasing, make sure you enter in the address where you receive your mail once you click on the Paypal button. 

Last year's 75 for $75 project was a great success.  My son participated - but this time he probably won't be joining me as currently he almost has more commercial illustration work than he can handle.  This is a good thing!

My goal?  The same as last year - to become a better painter.


 Red-tailed Hawk
by Adele Earnshaw
$75 unframed plus $6 shipping

SOLD



Friday, May 13, 2011

The second annual 75 for $75!

Last year starting on May 15th, my son and I started a painting project called 75 for $75.  We painted 75 oil studies in 30 days - all selling for $75 plus $6 shipping.  The majority of the studies have sold - often within hours of posting them here and on my website. My goal for the project was to work towards a more confident style with a strong painterly approach. It has made such a big difference in my work, I'm doing it again! 

Unfortunately, Shane, my illustrator son, probably won't be able to participate as he is
up to his ears in commercial work.  But you can see his commercial stuff at http://www.blot.com/ or his oils at http://www.turpitout.blogspot.com/.

I'm on the road so until I get home I can't post images here on my blog.  But stay tuned because starting Sunday May 15th I will post at least one $75 oil study (5" x 7") each day! 

Monday, May 2, 2011

Mood, Color and Design

I have a note taped to my studio wall that says:

IF THE PAINTING ISN'T ABOUT MOOD, COLOR AND DESIGN, DON'T BOTHER!

I make a conscious effort to remember these basic elements as I paint.  Lots of not-too-bad paintings get turped out if I don't feel they are a step towards fulfilling my goal.  Painting never seems to get any easier - always a struggle!

This is an unfinished painting - still untitled - 20" x 20" oil on canvas.  The bird is a Gambel's Quail, very unfinished. The painting is at the point where I lean it against the studio wall for a couple of days so I can sneak a look at it while working on something else.  After a day or two I start to see what the painting needs.  In this case, the foreground was looking too busy so I used a wide brush stroke and darker value paint to simplify the areas that bothered  me.   Now I am can see a 'U' shape across the bottom of the painting formed by these darker brush strokes that I've got to get rid of.  I think a few carefully placed, bright, light strands of grass will solve the problem.  Then I  must finish the quail and I think the painting will be done!


I almost always photograph a painting before it is finished so that I can look at it on the computer.  I flip it horizontally so I can see the mirror image of it (a mirror works as well!). This helps me pin-point problem areas as does reducing the size so I can see the painting much smaller.  I use this to figure out compositional problems.  I like this painting flipped and reduced so once the foreground issues are resolved and the quail is finished, I think I'll have a nice painting!