Fun Facts About Monet's Garden in Giverny

I saw the first Spring blooms of azaleas this week and became obsessed with thoughts of gardens.  This led to musings on the grandest of gardens, Claude Monet's living masterpiece at Giverny, France.  So I decided to do a little research to learn more about the topic.   I learned the following based on an article by the New York Botanical Garden:

 

1.  Monet thought like an artist when planting his garden.  He focused on color, scale and atmospheric effects.  He planted monochromatic beds of flowers for more impact.  He used complementary color schemes to create more visual intensity and interest.  He used reflections of sky and water to add with shapes and color and increased the effects of sunlight and mist with specific colored plantings.  Blue and purple blooms increased the perceived blueness of the sky.  Plantings of orange, pink, gold and bronze tulips and wallflowers increased the richness of the glow of each sunset.

 

2.  Monet added sparkle among the colorful flowers by adding white flowers in and around the more brilliantly colored blooms.  Patterns were repeated.  Nothing was random or sparse. 

 

3.  His favorite garden color combinations were pink and blue, yellow and blue, red, silver and green, blue/purple, pink and white.  One has only to see the stunning bright green lily pads reflecting on the blue water along with yellow, blue and mauve water lily blooms to realize how wonderful his ideas were.

 

All in all, Monet's gardening "hobby" was another form of masterpiece making!  Awesome.

 

 

Copyright Mona Vivar, Dreams of France, 14 inches by 11 inches, acrylic on canvas, private collection

 

Using Oil Paints Without Solvents

A long time ago I discovered that turpentine or any similar oil paint solvent would cause me to have skin rashes even if I never actually touched it.  Rather than give up on oil paint completely, I kept reading, experimenting and learning about leaving the solvent out of the equation.

 

After much trial and error I discovered that I could use oils perfectly well by avoiding solvents completely.  Here's how:

 

1.  I use only Winsor & Newton Liquin as a painting medium to thin paint when needed, otherwise I use oil paint full bodied.  Liquin doesn't seem to bother me at all and has less of a smell than a solvent.

 

2.  I keep my hands clean by using baby oil to remove any stray paint that might get on them.  Protective gloves are another option.

 

3.  I clean brushes at the end of the day with a product called Bristle Magic.  It's non-toxic, biodegradable and it works.  I just rinse out the brushes with dish detergent and water after letting them soak a bit in the Bristle Magic.  Works like a charm.

 

 

 

 

 

So there you have it, all you who have stayed away from oil painting because of the solvent issue.  Happy painting!

 

Copyright Mona Vivar, Roosting Rosies, 10 inches by 10 inches, oil on canvas

Now available on Ebay at Mona Vivar Fine Art

Three Actions for a Fun Valentine's Day

Today's post is all about you.  And all about how to enjoy yourself on this not so serious holiday.  Any of these will lighten your heart, and all of them will make you and at least one other person feel good.

 

1.  Eat some chocolate.  Preferably out of a festive heart-shaped box.  Chocolate in moderate quantities has health benefits, but really, it's just darn good.

 

 

Copyright Mona Vivar, Heart of Chocolate, 5 inches by 7 inches, acrylic on canvas

Sold

2.  Smell the roses (or any flower you might come across).  If they make you sneeze, just sit back and enjoy their color and shape!

 

 

Copyright Mona Vivar, Lavender Fantasy, 7 inches by 5 inches, acrylic on canvas

Now available on Ebay at Mona Vivar Fine Art

 

 

3.  Tell someone you love them, and mean it.  Doesn't matter if it's child, parent, grandparent, spouse or friend.  Just let them know.

 

 

Copyright Mona Vivar, Roosting Rosies, 10 inches by 10 inches, oil on canvas

Will be available on Ebay Sunday, Feb 16, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. PST at Mona Vivar Fine Art

 

 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO YOU ALL!

Birds and Critters

I once heard that whatever interests one had at the age of five or so winds up being what one is most interested in as an adult.  At five I wanted to be outside with the birds and critters.  I studied blades of grass up close while lying on my stomach.  I rolled over to watch clouds roll by.  I brought all manner of creatures home, including a garter snake that was promptly returned to the wild when I showed it to my mother.  I walked in shallow ditch water seeking tadpoles and once in a while, crayfish.  I wanted to pet cows, horses, dogs and cats, any furry creature.  And I drew.

 

So it shouldn't come as a surprise that I find myself painting birds, fish, animals.  I figure, why fight it?  Skill comes more easily when I know my subject. 

 

Expect more bird and critter paintings. I hope you enjoy them.

 

 

Copyright Mona Vivar, Happy Otter, 7 inches by 5 inches, oil on canvas

Showing Sunday Feb 9 (6:00 p.m. PST) on Ebay Mona Vivar Fine Art

 

 

Copyright Mona Vivar, Floating Free, 11 inches by 14 inches, oil on canvas

Now on Ebay at Mona Vivar Fine Art

 

 

Copyright Mona Vivar, Mr. Majestic, 5 inches by 7 inches, oil on canvas

Now on Ebay at Mona Vivar Fine Art

 

 

 

 

 

When White is Not Really White

In my last post I talked about Frank W. Benson's beautiful handling of white in his paintings.  I learned that his visions in white are actually a result of many colors working in tandem.

I recently did my own experiment with white by depicting an egret in the surf.  I used oil paints to create some of the color notes that I saw in the white dresses in those Benson paintings.  When we look at the egret in Surf Fishing quickly, superficially he does look white.  But closer inspection reveals much more.  Notice the shadows on the bird.  I mixed titanium white with small amounts of alizarin crimson, ultramarine blue, phthalo blue and cadmium yellow to darken it and to add reflections coming up from the turquoise water.  White in any lit setting with other colors around it will reflect those colors.

 

The places on the bird that are the lightest are actually a mixture of white with a tiny bit of cadmium yellow mixed in.  That produced a rich, brilliant color that reads as bright white in this particular painting.  I never use any white straight out of the tube in representational paintings because white out of the tube is not what we see in nature. 

 

Lesson to be learned: white is not really white when we paint!

Copyright Mona Vivar, Surf Fishing, oil on canvas, 14 inches by 11 inches

Now available on Ebay at Mona Vivar Fine Art

Frank W. Benson, Ibises and Girls in Bright Dresses

I have been painting a lot of bird images lately.  I strive to make each painting better than the last, so I look for ways to improve.  White birds can be especially tricky.  How do you make sunlit white shine in a painting?   



To answer this question I looked back to the paintings of American impressionist, Frank W. Benson (1862-1951).  His paintings of women and girls in white dresses are beyond compare.  Here are two of my favorite examples.



Frank W. Benson, The Sisters, (1899) oil on canvas

Frank W. Benson, Summer, (1909) oil on canvas
 

Fabulous!



I find that the only way to learn from a master such as Benson is to do a study of one of his paintings.  I worked up a small study of the girl in the hat from The Sisters painting.   I painted in oils in order to more closely duplicate the color, tone and style.  I learned that the whites in the painting are reserved for the brightest highlights only.  All the other colors are anything but white! 

 

The surrounding colors are quite dark when taken separately, but look deceptively light.  The shadows on the dress and hat are full of rich colors--turquoise, pink, blue, purple, yellow.  I would have never understood this had I not tried to duplicate the painting.  This exercise was well worth my time.  I want to paint white birds such as Ibises and Egrets in sunlight with the same dazzling shine.  Now I have a guideline to help me do that.  Here is my completed painting.

Mona Vivar, Girl in Sun (study), 6 inches by 6 inches, oil on canvas

 

And here is an Ibis and Roseate Spoonbill painting in acrylic using some of the same reflective colorful shadows.  Next week I will have an Egret in the surf worked in oils to discuss.  I like the way these turned out.  I always benefit from taking a lesson!

 

Copyright Mona Vivar, Mixed Company, 11 inches by 14 inches, acrylic on canvas

Available on Ebay at Mona Vivar Fine Art

 

 

Painting a Roseate Spoonbill

I think Roseate Spoonbills are the best birds to depict in paintings.  They are graceful and odd looking at the same time.  The long, wide-tipped bill adds a comical touch to a bird who competes with the flamingo in color.  Spoonbills also add a nice contrast to the rich greenery of Florida.  I jumped at the chance to do a commissioned painting of a Spoonbill recently.  Here is my step by step process of painting Beauty in Motion.

 

My customer liked a Spoonbill painting that previously sold, so I used that image as a starting point.  I sketched out another pose so that the two paintings would not be exactly alike.  My reference set up and vital coffee and drinking water is shown below.  The book peeking out from the sketch is Artist Confidential: Secret Guidelines of Professionals by Jack White.  I have followed artist Jack White and his artist wife Mikki Senkarik for art advice and find all of their information extremely practical and wise.  The book can be found on Lulu.com.  No one paid me to say this.  It's just my honest assessment.

 

 

 

I worked this painting in acrylics.  I use a limited selection of colors to keep my colors from becoming muddy.  I also put a Sta-Wet Masterson paper on top of damp paper towels to keep the paint wet for long periods of time.  I keep my water for brush cleaning handy.  The next photo shows my handy spray bottle and a low sided container with water that I lay used brushes in to keep the paint from drying on the bristles while I am in the middle of painting.

 

 

 

I use a mixture of ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson to sketch out the bird and basic guidelines on my canvas.  The canvas was previously toned with a thin wash of yellow ochre.  I don't like to see flecks of white canvas showing on the finished painting, but I do like a uniform background color to give cohesiveness to the final image.  Toilet paper roll to the left of the painting is the best way to wipe off brushes as I go.  The trash can is just below but not shown.

 

 

 

 

Everything is constantly changing and being corrected as the painting progresses.  I have to tell myself not to panic at the awkwardness of the middle painting stages.  It's always kind of messy!  I work from the background forward.  The bird will be the center of attention (literally) so I save him for last.

 

 

 

 

I keep developing the background and bringing color forward.  I lightly spray the canvas with water from time to time to keep the paint workable.   Unlike oils, acrylics dry extremely fast and are a challenge to keep workable on the canvas.

 

 

 

 

Now I tackle my favorite part, the bird itself.  The pinks, whites and yellows contrast nicely with all the green and blue of the background.  Again, there are constant adjustments of wings, head, body of the bird as I keep going.

 

 



 

 

Here is the final version (below).  I softened the tree line in the very back because I thought the hard edges made them look like mountains!  I also finished highlights on the water, shaped the bird's head and added his eye.  Of course, I signed the piece at the end.  This bird is now on the way to his new home.

 

 

Copyright Mona Vivar, Beauty in Motion, 14 inches by 11 inches, acrylic on canvas