Painting Not Blogging

Agh!  I had to get more painting done today sooooo I neglected this week's post.  I did, however, want to let you know that I was in the studio painting.  I worked on Marigold Chicken for a nice customer.  I wanted that spicy Latin feeling that comes with beautiful Mexican pottery.  I kept my acrylic palette colors warm and bright--pinks, reds, green, light blues and yellows.  Black was used for contrast.

 I listened to Trova Radio and wore a colorful maxi dress just to get more in sync with this particular painting.  Here is the middle stage.  Colorful dress matches the painting.  Ha!

What about the finished painting?  I will post that photo when completed.  Stay tuned.....

Easter Wish

Have a blessed Easter.

Copyright Mona Vivar, Day's End, 14 inches by 11 inches, acrylic on canvas

On Ebay at Mona Vivar Fine Art

Sailing Into Bigger Ideas

Sail boats have caught my attention lately.  Not actual boats, rather the idea of boats.  The imagery of  boats on the sea is powerful.  It implies vastness, the unknown, danger, beauty, longing, a journey.  Isn't that what life is? 

 

Boats and vast oceans are now a part of my painting vocabulary.  Intensity is added with thick paint applied by palette knife.

 

"Not all who wander are lost."  JRR Tolkien

Copyright Mona Vivar, At Rest, 14 inches by 11 inches, acrylic on canvas

Now on Ebay at Mona Vivar Fine Art

Azaleas and Palette Knife Painting

I look out my window and see the bright fuchsia of the azalea bushes in the yard.  It is the brief few weeks in the south when all plant life shows off its finest colors.  I hustle to get the oils out to try to do justice to nature's decorations.  I pick a batch of blooms, put them in a glass pitcher and begin work.

 

My palette consists of Titanium White, Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Orange, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue and Phthalo Blue.  I add Weber Res-n-Gel quick drying extender to the paint because I use a palette knife and apply the paint very thickly.  I want the paint to dry in a few days, not a few weeks.  The Res-n-Gel helps with both thickness and drying time.

 

I work very quickly and finish the piece in one session.  There is no dawdling when it comes to painting live flowers.  They change so rapidly.  I do not use my camera this time because I feel only the live subject will spur me on to bolder painting.   Here are the results.

Copyright Mona Vivar, Azalea Burst, 14 inches by 11 inches, oil on canvas

Available on Etsy at Mona Vivar Fine Art

Azalea Burst detail

Azalea Burst detail

 

 

Azalea Burst detail

Azalea Burst detail