Lots to be thankful for

A little family time this past week, but I do have a "work in progress" (of sorts) to share--some new pics of the new studio. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

French pastoral complete, and another in progress

We've had a lot of rain here this fall, and when it's not been raining, I've been trying to manage the parade of contractors who are working on the new studio . Unfortunately this means I've mostly missed the chance to capture the gorgeous fall colors en plein air. Well, it's a worthwhile tradeoff, I think. Meanwhile, I have the consolation of finally having finished a painting: 

"Pastoral, St. Germain de Bel Air",  Oil on Canvas, 20x24" (SOLD) ©Jennifer Young

I'm also just beginning to lay out a new composition, again of the beautiful part of Southwestern France I visited last spring. To you it may just look like a bunch of scribbles. But trust me, I'm sketching out a street view of Frayssinet, the village where I stayed. I'm attracted to the scene for the sheer beauty of the place, but also by the interesting cast shadow pattern of the afternoon light:

WIP- Frayssinet, 24x30"

What I havedone here is just a pretty transparent wash to figure out my composition and the rhythm of the shadows. To do this I've used a mixture of Transparent Red Oxide and just a little Ultramarine Blue.  Transparent Red Oxide is the one earth color that has consistently made itself at home on my palette of late, and I'm finding it such a useful addition. For an underpainting it adds a warm glow, but unlike Cadmium Red light, it is beautifully transparent. It also lacks the high staining properties that Alizarin Crimson does so it is easier to make adjustments in the preliminary stages.

WIP- Pasture at dusk, southern France (continued)

The progression continues. Yesterday I developed the painting further, focusing on the foreground cows and building.

Why is it my four-legged friends always start out looking like pigs? Maybe I should attempt to paint pigs and see if they look like cows or dogs? Any way, I think I finally got the hang of it and produced some semblance of "cowness".

I'm facing a couple of challenges right now because I'm in between homes and my computer is in a different location from my easel, so timely blogging is a bit impossible. These photos were taken inside earlier in the evening so they are looking a little dark and grainy on my computer. I continued to work on the sky and surrounding trees, pulling it all together. Just a finishing touch or two at the studio today and I'm done, so if I can get a good shot of it outdoors, I should be able to post a final tonight or tomorrow a.m. when I'm back at home. 

Back in the saddle (WIP)

Or rather, I'm back at the easel (I think.) At the risk of jinxing myself I'll say I'm painting again. It's pretty slow going though, as I've been fighting a cold and sore throat. For me, painting is a bit like exercising. Get out of the habit for too long andI start to feel a bit like a (flabby) fish out of water. It's also been a while since I've done any kind of painting indoors, so I'd thought I'd get started by just having fun with lots of color and a manageable sized canvas (20x24").  Becausethis is a scene attempting to evoke a pasture (southern France) struck by the golden glow of late afternoon, I started with warm colors right from the get-go:

It has been too long. It's not that it's really taking me forever to paint this, just that I'm still pretty easily distracted. The shell of the studio is pretty much complete, save for a few adjustments (photos to come). But we've a long way to go before the inside is in move-in condition, and I'm anxious to get it DONE. 

To whoever suggested that angst is good for creativity-- sorry, I didn't get the memo! (ObviouslyI didn't get the memo about patience being a virtue either.) But since it looks like it will be at least December before I can move in, I might as well try and get a little painting done in between all the hand wringing, eh?

I'm off to IKEA for most of tomorrow (Monday) to see what they have in the way of sinks and shelving, but I hope to have this piece completed by Tuesday or Wednesday. Here's where I've left off: