Art – Page 42 – red paper boat

My Favorite Birthday Book

February 27, 2008November 11, 2015 Shelly

My Favorite Birthday Book
Grosset & Dunlap, New York, 1945
Illustrated with Persian Miniatures by Mahmoud Sayah
7 1/8 x 14 1/4 inches

I started scanning this last January, and I meant to post the pages for each month throughout the year. Better late than never, right?

Holy crap! There’s a copy of it on eBay with a “buy it now” price of $100. Alibris has a copy listed for $50 and AbeBooks has copies going from $38-$99. Those are all, I think, unmarked copies, which mine is obviously not. I think I’d rather have a well used copy with no intrinsic value. It’s more interesting to me.

Art, Paintings

Three Pears

February 26, 2008November 11, 2015 Shelly

Three Pears (detail, in progress)
oil on canvas
32 x 48 inches

The background drapery is only about half done. I also need to do some tweaking to the fold that goes behind this pear. And add the stems. And do the platform they’re sitting on. It’s getting there, though.

Oh, and it’s raining again, which will probably mean more ice by morning. Fun.

Art, Paintings

Another Progress Shot

February 3, 2008November 11, 2015 Shelly

Pears (in progress)
oil on canvas

Please ignore the bad flash. I do have a tripod, but there’s still not enough light inside to get a decent shot. The way things are going, by the time I finish this, the weather will be warm enough to take outdoor shots of it.

These are the two flanking pears. There’s a Bosc pear between them, but that one is only blocked out at this point, so there’s nothing to see. The two red pears are by no means done, but they are progressing, at least.

Hopefully, I’ll remember to shut the studio door, so the cat will not be able to lie against the bottom of the canvas while it’s still wet. The last one I was working on needs some cosmetic surgery, because Pandora smeared the paint around. That’s what I get for leaving a towel on the table in front of it. She thought it was a nice bed, I’m sure.

Art, Paintings

Pears

February 3, 2008November 11, 2015 Shelly

Pears (in progress)
oil on canvas\r\n\r\n

This one is fairly large (32 x 48 inches), and this is not the only pear in it, but it’s the farthest along. It’s still just underpainting, though.

Art, Paintings

A Little Red

January 27, 2008November 11, 2015 Shelly

Art, Paintings

Progress Report

January 27, 2008November 11, 2015 Shelly

oil on canvas (details)

Art, Doodles, Journals

DIY Planner: 14-20 January

January 22, 2008November 11, 2015 Shelly

We had three (four counting today) clear days in a row. That has to be some sort of record. It was cold, too, so I drank a lot of tea last week. The little tags fold open, so you can make notes inside them.

Art, Paintings

In Progress

January 21, 2008November 11, 2015 Shelly

I was noticing yesterday that the plastic coating is wearing through around the viewfinder of my camera. I got it almost three years ago. It’s been a good little camera (as long as you don’t want in-focus photos of painted canvas!), but I think it may be time to upgrade.

Art, Paintings

In Progress

January 20, 2008November 11, 2015 Shelly

I added another layer this morning. This is only the left-hand side of the canvas. It’s actually in landscape format, not portrait.

It’s been a few years since I’ve really painted in oils. I don’t know why, maybe because I’ve been sidetracked by working in books. Anyway, I forgot a lesson I learned years and years ago: be careful to cover the wall behind where you are working. Oops! I now have a lovely spattering of fine dark teal polka dots on the wall above my work bench. I need to re-read my lease. I’m pretty sure that it says that they don’t charge for re-painting if you live in a unit for two or more years. I hope so!

Art, Paintings

Underpainting

January 19, 2008November 11, 2015 Shelly

This is just the first layer. It’s a little more army green than I’d intended, but it’ll eventually be mostly blue.

I hate working with paint thinner, but there is just no other way to get this sort of spidery wicking of the paint.

True story: In a rebellious fit of stupidity, I once tried to use a mixture of linseed oil and paint thinner. The drippy effect was pretty good, but apparently, I’d used too much linseed oil and too little thinner. When I went back to the studio the next day, the entire painting had slid off the canvas. Weird, huh?