Hilltop Barn

Hilltop Barn, oil on canvas, 36x24"

This is one of the largest paintings I have done in years, and I love working this size again.  I feel like I may need to do away with the tiny paintings for a while, and regain my footing a bit larger.  I've been working slowly towards one of the cliches that are thrown around a lot, "emotional color palette" within my work, without being overly emotional!?!  But with that for me comes expansive space.   The combination is actually where the emotion lies. 

Spencer County Farm Lane

"Spencer County Farm Lane"

Oil on canvas, 14x18"

I went out sight seeking a couple of days ago, to seek both inspiration and composition. I didn't end up with a whole lot of material, but I had enough to work with to be able to combine photographs together, to make several potential paintings. This is the first.

Plein Air Day

Plein Air Day, oil on board, 10x8"

The last few times I have attempted to paint on location, I have failed miserably, to the point of frustration. Part of the frustration comes from the fact that I would spend all my waking time outside if I could, so to paint outside is all I want to do. But to have the opportunity but no success is enough to make me crazed.  This painting worked. Finally!! I tweaked only the color of the road, but not the shadow when I got home but other then that it remains how it was painted on the side of the park road. 

Storm over Kansas

Storm over Kansas, oil on board, 18x24"

I'm heading out to the knobs of southern Indiana today to hopefully set up shop, dog and daughter in tow.  I finished this painting a few days ago, but didn't immediately post until I thought it was finished.  Even though a landscape is often simple, there is always so much more going then at first glance. Storms in Kansas, if you have driven one side to the other, come up fast and furious.  So much so, that the rest stops have emergency alert notifications that go off before you can see a storm on the flat plain. It is one of the scariest and exhilarating experiences I have encountered. Nature showing its strength.

Rainy day Sunday

Rainy Day Sunday, oil on board, 8x10"

I went out to paint yesterday and the sky was cloudy AND  sunny. Soon it turned into a downpour. I had brought my umbrella just in case, and in the process of opening it, I spilled my odorless mineral spirits and medium.  Brand new  bottles :-).  Nevertheless I continued painting until the downpour turned to a drizzle. And then the sun came out....again.

Park Road

Park Road, oil on gessobord, 8x10"

The "heat dome" has spread over the majority of the U.S. and I went out to plein air paint earlier this week. I learned a lot during my 3 hours in the park near my home such as:   
1. when the light is overly bright, tone down your colors  2.  when dealing with mostly greens, decide the spectrum and mix up four greens to simplify this spectrum.  3. Bring food if you haven't eaten yet. I started to get shaky even though I was in the shade.
Also,  I want to say that several strangers spotted me and stopped to chat and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversations.  Thanks for taking the time  out of your exercising  to do so.  

Long Way 'Round

Long Way 'Round, oil on Arches oil paper, 8x12"

Day 30, 30 paintings/30 Days

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This is the final painting of the 30 challenge. I am extremely proud that I accomplished 29/30 paintings, missing one only because I was too sick to stand at the easel. As I have said, the most important thing that I take away from the challenge is the fact that my painting are developing to where I finally feel comfortable again as an artist.  On a painting spectrum, my vision of what I want a finished piece to look like and the actual finished piece are each moving closer to the center.  I may take a few days off and catch up on things that have fallen by the wayside.

Also, I am happy to say that one of my 30/30 paintings has been donated as a fundraiser for St. Francis of Assisi school.  I mounted the watercolor paper on an archival board, with ph neutral glue, something I haven't tried before. The frame was also made by hand using a different method then previous frames.
Here is "Single"

Flatland

Flatland, oil on Arches oil paper, 12"x16"

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I should entitle this one Falling Clouds.  And, I should be painting scenes of snowmagedan, but I just haven't been able to do that yet.  I should also note that the photos I have taken of my pieces lately have not been the best representation of the works, but it has been too cold to photograph them outside in subdued light. So, no matter how I try there always seems to be bits of uncontrollable glare. 

Overlap

Overlap, oil on gessoed watercolor paper, 6x8"

day 15  30 paintings/30 days

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I worked and reworked this little painting, and I am just not satisfied with it. I did not want to scrap it because I love the composition contained in the reference photo, but somehow could not interpret it quite how I envisioned. But, I decided to post it as-is, to show that I painted for day 15, even though the end result was not up to par.

Contrast

Contrast, oil on gessoed watercolor paper, 9x12"

day 14, 30 paintings, 30 days

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The dark blue under the clouds was actually the stormy sky breaking through under the swift clouds. My kind of scene!

Single

Single, oil on gessoed watercolor paper, 6x8"
Day 13, 30 paintings/30 days
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A wide open space with a designated single lane. I always see these when driving around and want to turn onto them to see where I will end up. But in the end, I respect the fact that it's someone's personal property, and just admire from a distance.

Zion

Zion, oil on watercolor paper, 9x6"

Day 3 30 paintings/30 days.

What can I say?  I would live in the National Park if they would let me! :-)

Westward

Westward, oil on gessobord, 6x6"

While I was deciding where to trek to paint yesterday, I painted this from a photo reference from my summer trip. Still wish I was there. Sigh.

Road to Moab

Road to Moab, oil on gessobord, 8x6"

I have put painting on hold for a couple of weeks, much to my chagrin, due to life's many circumstances. Today...free time!!! It has been fun going through all my photos of my recent 2 week "Department of the Interior" trip.  I was struggling with the way some of the photos turned out because I couldn't see a painting there. A few days ago, I was listening to a great radio show podcast called "Artist Helping Artist". The episodes are archived and when browsing, found one of my favorite contemporary painters, Karin Jurick, who lives in Atlanta. Karin did not study art in an academic way and has had an interesting path to where she is today - selling almost everything she paints. When asked about painting from photos her reply was, "I don't paint what's in the photo, I paint an interpretation of a scene that I photographed." In other words, it is simply a reference and the rest is up to you. I loved this and it struck a cord as I was struggling to find a handful of photos to paint. Road to Moab is painted from a photo that almost wasn't. The road was so twisty, that every other turn provided a spectacular view. I was erasing as many photos as the number I kept.  This photo had it all, foreground, middle and enough distance to satisfy me. And of course the twisty road....always one of my favorite subjects.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/celia-kelly/road-to-moab/408044

Road to Somewhere

Road to Somewhere, 9.5 x 13" (approximately), oil on board

I have painted this image before, a few months ago, but swiped it away because I wasn't satisfied with it. I don't do that very often, mostly because I don't like wasting paint. I kept coming back to this photo, rethinking it several times, and finally got a "keeper". This is done on gessoed board, and the size is approximate because my skills with a circular saw are not spot-on. I like how moody this turned out. Subconsciously, I think it was because Hugh is leaving for college and my favorite critique-er won't be home any longer to talk me through rough creative patches.  On a good note, I am finding myself becoming more gestural as time goes by which is how I painted many years ago. It was very freeing in a sense so hopefully this is a good progression so far. 

Italian Landscape(s)

 Italian Landscape (Me), oil on gessobord, 8x10"
SOLD

Italian Landscape (Hugh), oil on gessobord, 9x14"

A couple of nights ago I ask my son Hugh, who was in an "almost a graduate, not yet done with high school" mood, aka no more assignments to deal with, to paint with me. That perked him up. Since I returned to painting a year ago, we have not had an opportunity to work side-by-side, again because his Visual Arts magnet school provided him with plenty of work. He usually had 2-3 assignments going on together, whether it be painting, drawing, photography or printmaking.  Kind of like  being an art major in college, but he is still in high school. 

He decided to call our painting time a "paint off" and he chose an image from which we worked.  It was a great experience, and fun, and in my opinion his painting was a hundred times better than mine. He picked this image because the sky was so dramatic, and his painting captures it beautifully. I am very proud of him and know it will be difficult when he leaves for college in the fall.

The Straight and the Narrow

The Straight and the Narrow, oil on gessobord, 9 x 14"

Over the weekend I participated in my first Art Fair-type event. My son and I spent a few hours setting up the evening before, and my good friend Lynn helped hang up the artwork the morning of, only to have the event overtaken by storms. Despite being disappointed for the sponsors of the event and for the lack of visitors, I learned quite a bit, and am contemplating another event. 
While still in my post-fair fog, I hid in my studio and painted a few bad paintings (a reflection of my mood I guess). Somewhere in all those bad ones this emerged...a road to somewhere. Maybe a metaphor, maybe just a road, in the middle of some beautiful plains headed to the mountains. Maybe yet, a hint of my future!?!