January Work

Ahhhhh, back to the studio after weeks of absence.  December duties called, and by the time  January rolled around and the brushes could be picked up again, I felt quite rusty.  Here are some examples of exercises I did to warm up again.  

A variety of studies: some sketches of winter scenes, color charts, playing with paint to remember color combinations, and some ideas from Maggie Latham's studio blog to get the wheels turning.  The most important thing is to just get the brush moving, even if you have no idea what you want to do or where to start.  It's only paper and paint!

Decided to try some snow covered teasels; something I attempted when I very first started painting in earnest a few years ago.  It went pretty badly back then, but I really love them and I've learned a lot since that time, so am giving it another go!  I took pictures, did sketches, painted color charts and small  studies.  If anybody wonders "how long" does it take for an artist to do a painting, these are some examples of what goes on behind the work.

 First attempt at a finished painting.  Better than my first tries, but I will try some more as my little color studies that didn't mean anything are looser and more innocent somehow.  Luckily this winter has provided some gorgeous snow and beautiful scenery to keep practicing and painting!