Morning Daffodils...done!

Morning Daffodils

by Carol Adamec
Original: Oil, alkyd on gessoed panel
10" x 8"

And here it is....the Morning Daffodils painting all done.

I'm taking a break this weekend by going to Santa Fe on the Railrunner this Saturday. I want to see the current show at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, "Modernists in New Mexico."

If I don't have a new painting/finished piece to share with you on Monday, I'll still have a report on my trip to Santa Fe. It's always a fun adventure to travel north to "The City Different."

Thanks for taking a look today. See you on Monday.
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Artwork and text ©2009 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

First Colors

Morning Daffodils (WIP)

by Carol Adamec
Oil, alkyd on stretched canvas
10" x 8"

As explained in last Thursday's post, I am sharing the day-to-day stages of my working process, from the underpainting to the finished painting, of a new piece "Morning Daffodils."

Today's post shows the first colors I've applied to the light areas, while maintaining the values (the light and dark areas) of the overall image. These first colors are loosely painted into the appropriate shapes...no details or defining hard edges yet. Since I am working from a photographed image, I have also done some re-drawing of the composition.

One lesson to be learned from translating a photographic image into a painting is that the viewer will accept, without question, the "truth" of a photograph and will compensate for any distortion created by the camera lens or angles. At the same time, the viewer is far more critical of the "reality" presented in a painted image, even if the painting is a faithful rendering of the photograph; i.e., it's the artist's fault if it doesn't look "right."

With this awareness, the painter must frequently adjust a painting's composition (and other elements) to resolve those visual distortions in the photographic image. Otherwise, the painter is simply rendering the photograph rather than recreating the reality of what was actually seen at the moment of inspiration.

Well, that's your art lesson for today! Check in on Thursday for Stage 3. See you then.
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Artwork and text ©2009 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Second Versions

Morning Tulips II, 2008
by Carol Adamec
Oil on Italian canvas panel
Framed Size: 7.5" x 9.5"
SOLD

Many apologies to my faithful readers! I am "off schedule" having missed my posting last Thursday, and now today, I am finally uploading this entry late on Monday.

I have been invited to send a group of small floral paintings to Memphis for inclusion in the L Ross Gallery holiday exhibit which opens in December. I have been reworking and varnishing the paintings, and making frames...my least favorite art-related activity, but a necessary one when putting work in shows. Since these paintings are small and I like the viewer to see the whole image, I "float" frame so that all four edges are exposed.

The image above is familiar to those of you who have been reading along since I began this blog in May. The first version of "Morning Tulips" appeared on May 21 and sold in the September show at the Harwood Art Center. This painting is "Morning Tulips II", a second version. If you compare the two paintings closely, they are different in subtle ways.

I usually don't paint second versions of my paintings, as I am more interested in painting a "new" image...or just keep painting on the first version to get it the way I want. But this second version was a pleasure to do.

Thanks for taking a moment to visit my blogsite.

To all my loved ones, friends, and readers:
May you enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
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Text and image ©Carol Adamec 2008. All rights reserved.

Back in the Garden

Morning Light, 2008
Original, oil on canvas panel
10" x 8" unframed
SOLD
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This is another painting inspired by the Eola Heights neighborhood where the Central Florida Plein Air artists had their April "paint out" this year.

I started the painting a few months ago, then let it sit around the studio, unfinished. This week, I was determined to complete it, and I'm glad I did.

The painting challenge of this piece was to convey the "temperature" of the morning light, which is cool and bluer than the warm sunny light of the afternoon. The method is to cool down all the colors while retaining the warmth of the spring season. The other challenge was the interplay of light and shadow patterns on the garage wall and trellis.

For a painting which I had almost given up on, it came together rather nicely. Many thanks to the Muse of Inspiration for all of her guidance!

I hope you have a great weekend planned. See you Monday.
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Text, images, and artwork ©Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.