In These Months as Winters Watch Unfold

I painted this piece as one of the several entries I need to have for a number of upcoming holiday themed art shows that I want to enter.  The last few pieces have been of cute little chickadee so this trio of white tail deer was a nice change.  I was so inspired that I even wrote a few lines of poetry to go along with it.

You know as a child, I remember snow being so much fun and I enjoyed many a day sledding, building snowmen and winning a snowball fight or two.  The best days were those when school was cancelled due to road conditions.

As an adult snow doesn't offer the same appeal to me.  I'm very happy to live in an area that snow is all but a non-issue and in 38 years I have only had to really contend with it once and for any seasoned winter driver, my stress I felt that on that day would be laughable.

It is beautiful however and painting it is enjoyable.  So I've been painting my share of snow scenes these past few weeks.  This particular piece I'm calling "Winters Watch" It is painted in acrylic on an 18 x 24 inch gallery wrapped canvas and will be making it's public debut hopefully at the gallery at Lake Las Vegas during December.  I will keep all my art show participation information current on my social media and website.

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Winters Watch

By

Julie Townsend

Dreams of coming spring are covered thickly

Under a sparkling blanket of fresh fallen snow

Pine needles glistening frosted and no longer prickly

Bowing to the ground in a white splended show

The trees are a cast robed for a part in the icy scene

The moonlight adds drama and suspense as the curtain begins to rise

Nothing but twinkle and glitter to fill each gully and ravine

Such beauty spread softly that you scarcely believe your eyes 

The sounds of the hooves breaking through the ice crust

Are muffled by the thickness of the surrounding bitter cold

Their each step is exaggerated by the added effort and thrust 

Life is full of drama and conflict in these months as winters watch unfold

Not a Creature was Stirring "EXCEPT FOR THE MOUSE"

Except for the Mouse

There is nothing like the chill that comes to the morning air in October.  I'm thankful that I have once again survived another hot summer of oppressive heat of the Mojave desert and blessed with a feeling of  renewed energy and creativity.

As an artist, I really should be working on my Christmas ideas in July but that is just so hard to do when all you're trying to do is to stay cool.  So here it is in October and I'm feeling the pressure of getting my Holiday designs down on paper.  My goal is to have four or five unique sketches created by the end of this week.  I have these two so far.

With both of these designs were so much fun to draw.  I found myself smiling most of the day as I added in the details of these furry little decorators.  

All day the words to the famous Christmas poem by Clement Clarke Moore, "Twas the Night Before Christmas, when all through the house.  Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse" kept rolling around in my head. The difference was that I would change the last phrase to "Except for the Mice".

Decorating Committee

These little guys are hard at work putting on the final touches of the decorations and you can see just how hard they must work to get the ornaments hung just right on the tree and this beautiful wreath so it can be hung on the door to welcome with cheer everyone that visits.  So I'm calling these "Except for the Mouse" and " Decorating Committee".

If you would like to check out more of my work, please feel free to visit my website.  I work hard trying to keep it updated with my new pieces but sometimes that is a challenge when you draw and paint as much as I do.  Here is the Link: JulieTownsendStudio.com

Time for a Make Over

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only artist out there that has painted something to then several years later pull it out from a dark corner of the studio storage closet to have a "What was I thinking?" moment.  After all, even the masters were known to paint over pieces that they decided they didn't like. Have you ever painted over a canvas or do you just open a new one?   

Last week I pulled out the piece I painted back in 2012 and was struck with what I saw were flaws in my composition and execution.  I had an overwhelming desire to FIX it!  And fix it I did.  This painting is 24 x 36 and was based off photo and memory of our hike at Galena Creek Trails near Reno.  The Aspens were ablaze with color and the chill in the air was invigorating.  I painted several pieces based off reference material taken during that hike but this was one of two larger pieces that I painted.       

This was my original piece that I called "Morning Trail"

 I really liked the idea of the aspen grove and the trail that goes off the canvas to the right and then continues towards the top.  It gives that fell of climbing to a higher elevation.  I liked the shadows and light but I didn't care for fence that seemed too tall and was cutting the canvas in half.

Undergoing a drastic transformation

I approached this make over backwards to how I would have painted the original piece.  Rather than painting top to bottom I actually began in the bottom right corner and began working my way up the painting.  I was happy with they bottom portion of the composition right away and couldn't wait to see how the rest of the changes I had in mind worked out. 

Completed just today- "Mountain Trail"- 24 x 36 Original Acrylic on stretched canvas

Here you can see that I have painted over most of the foliage and removed the fence.  I wanted the leaves to have a dainty shimmering appearance that is so typical of aspen trees and I felt that I really had to redo them to get that effect I wanted.  I left the back ground trees in place but decided to change the middle ground aspens to be more of a small sapling growth. 
For more depth I added a mountain range visible in the background and let more pine trees be visible.  The pines make a very nice dark background to contrast the bright yellow of the aspen leaves.  Rather than an old split rail fence, which was actually really part of the scene there on the trail, I decided to add a fallen tree.

PLEASE LEAVE ME A COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.  DO YOU AGREE THE PIECE IS NOW IMPROVED OR DID YOU LIKE THE ORIGINAL PAINTING BETTER?

Autumn Gold- 24x36 Original is sold

16x20-Galena Creek Trails

Galena Aspens

I Would Much Rather Paint Snow than Shovel it!

First Light

This piece was absolutely a joy to create.  I can honestly say that I love painting snow, I love looking at pictures of snow but I have never been a great fan of being out in it.  I'm pretty sure there are times as a little girl growing up in the Missouri Ozarks that I experienced some childhood enjoyment from the cold wet stuff.

Getting to enjoy a SNOW DAY would probably top that list.  We would have school cancelled because the vast network of gravel roads in Miller County were too dangerous to travel when they were covered with snow and ice.  Sledding was also a lot of fun and I can remember that perfect hill between my neighbor, Donna Wood and her brother Don's house.  What a thrill to fly across the snow and end up rolling into a snow bank.  I also have great memories of building a snowman with my grandmother on her front lawn in Swedeborg, Missouri.

 I have ZERO experience driving in the stuff and find dealing with it stressful and exhausting.  I think it has only snowed in Las Vegas maybe 4 or 5 times in the 38 years that I have lived here.  After all I was only 16 when I moved here and so I have never had to deal with it on a daily basis.

This piece maybe small but the colors are impacting as well as eye catching.  In the right frame, this piece can easily become a focal point in any room.  If you are interest in seeing more of my work, then please click on the gallery tab above or visit my website at JulieTownsendStudio.com.

I also think this piece makes an amazing shower curtain or throw pillow.  You can order prints or accessories at my Fine Art America Site

Trying Something New

The past few weeks I have been creating something a little different in my studio.  I finished a commission piece for a friend and ever since then I have just had a real urge to break away from painting on a canvas and have been turning my attention to using a combination of watercolor, pen and ink and colored pencils.  I love the richness that the colored pencils give some of the areas when I go over it using the watercolor as a base. The end result is a  combination of looseness and yet rich details that neither the watercolor or the pencil has on its own.

I am also stuck on the look of outlining in pen all of the randomness of color and designs that are created by using watercolors for my backgrounds or on the fur.  It creates an abstract effect that I like in the background.  I have no idea if anyone else will actually like this technique, but I'm having a BLAST!

All these pieces will be hanging by Preview Thursday (October 1, 2015) at City of the World Gallery.

Watercolor pieces getting matted and framed

Fun piece to paint of a lions eye

Almost finished with the details on this Red Eyed Tree Frog

There is Just Something Stunning about Birch Trees

This week I have been working on a large 24 x 36 acrylic painting that I think I'm going to call "Autumn Gold".  This painting was inspired by a collection of photos that we took while on an October hike, with my oldest son on the Galena Creek Trail, near Reno, Nevada.  A beautiful hike and has been a continued inspiration for me as I have produced a number of paintings in this past year from the photos we took.

There is just something amazing about the color and contrast that birch trees bring to a mountain slope.  The leaves have a quality that make them almost appear to sparkle when there is a gentle breeze blowing across of the mountain side.  The white of the bark glows and provides a striking contrast to the heavy pine trees in the area.

With this piece I've attempted to capture that feeling of a crisp October afternoon as you walk along a small mountain stream somewhere in the mountains.   The sounds of the breeze and water fill your ears as you stand frozen just drinking up that peace and beauty.

I might add a little bird in the pine tree but haven't decided for sure. I have used a paste medium additive to my paints for the first time.   This gave me a thicker application that I actually applied with a palette knife to give that impression of heavy bark on the pine tree.  That was fun and I think the final results turned out just as I had hoped for.

Last Leaf

I started working on a little piece today that I think I'm going to call "Last Leaf". We've had a long, hot summer and an autumn with unseasonable warm weather but today that all changed...rain and snow fell across the valley and the cold northern wind has done an effective job of relieving the trees of the last of the reluctant leaves.  The original photo that I used for my inspiration was taken by Dini Esplin, a talented photographer from Spring Creek, Nevada.  When I saw this photo I knew this would make a great painting and I hope that I can capture the emotion that occurs with seasonal transitions.  This "WIP" (work in progress) is oil on a 12x16 inch canvas.

Last Leaf  WIP as I am working on the fine details

Last Leaf- 12 x 16 Oil

Week 3-Be Patient and Paint the Plan

My oil painting is progressing along nicely and I'm pleased at the progress.  I knew that I would learn a lot by taking one on one lessons but I find myself struggling at my home easel now.  I'm trying to incorporate the things I have leaned these past 3 lessons into my own works at home and I feel a bit lost.  I think this is normal and I just have to keep working at it until I break free of old habits and take my time staying with the plan.  Painting TOP to BOTTOM, BACK to FRONT.  No cheating even if I can't wait to see how that bright yellow foliage of the Aspen trees are going to pop against those dark green pines.

For the past two years that I have returned to my childhood passion,  I have been committed to practicing and have painted nearly 100 pieces.  Some of course better than others.  I have sold about 8 pieces in that time but have many stacked around the house.  I believe I have shown my dedication and have reached that point of taking my art to the next level.  Private lessons are what I feel is needed for me to advance to the next level. 

I think there are plenty of other new, struggling artists that must feel the same way that I do.  At 51 years old, do I have enough time to progress my talent to where I want it to be?  Only God knows that answer,but in the mean time I want to either be painting, teaching or sharing what I am learning with others by blogging about my experiences.

Original Photo that I chose to use as the inspiration for my first oil painting

WK 1- Laying out the composition by sketching the main details using a neutral colored paint

WK 1- blocking in the main base colors that will eventually be the mountains, sky and foreground

WK 1- Stopping the first lessons with my canvas covered in a layer of acrylic paints.

WK 2- Here I am painting my canvas top to bottom and back to front.  Most of this background area will be covered up with my foreground details but you have to give the viewer that distance to create interest

WK 3-  Here I have changed the mountain color from purple to more blue.  Blue gives a better feeling of distance because of the haze created in the atmosphere that gives a blue tint to objects in the distance.  I have focused on my areas of light and shadow and developed the path way.  The view's eye is drawn to both areas in the distance that reflect the sunlight.  It makes you feel that the path continue down over the hill and there must be something interesting there.