Landscape Artists International

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Day 33 and 34, Project 125 Painting the Desert Colors | BECKY JOY

Well, I am having a hard time getting to all the posting as I said. Consistent posting was also a goal of mine in this project. I figured it would be a long enough project to get some habits going here. Maybe. This is another painting playing with color. I'm also trying to simplify the brush strokes, which is much easier to do with small paintings than large.

This is actually from an old painting that I did about 3 years ago. I no longer have the painting, but I do have a photograph. The colors aren't a lot different, but I have loosened up a lot. I would say that my strokes are much more confident. It is hard to get those loose strong brushstrokes without putting some miles behind the brush and feel confident in what you're doing. I remember hearing "paint with confidence". Easy said, when there is so little that you know.

It has been very hot here in Phoenix now, Of course, it's summer. Surprise! We had a good monsoon storm last night, wine, rain, lightening, the works. It's exciting with the weather change like that. I didn't even have to water the lawn today. Yay!

I just got my flyer for the Tuscany workshop. If you sign up before Sept 1, 2013, you will save a substantial amount on the trip. If you are interested in more details, email me at beckyjoy@beckyjoy.com. My workshops are either full or very close to being filled, so make sure to sign up if you are thinking about signing up. workshops

Talk to you all tomorrow.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Day 31, Oregon Country Road oil landscape painting | BECKY JOY

Back in the studio today blocking in a couple of large paintings. This small one is one that I painted in the studio starting with a photo from Oregon. I blocked-in the 24"x30" using this small painting as a way to work out the colors and composition. It is always a challenge to go from small to large and still have that fresh look. It also takes a big brush.

Today we finally had some rain in Phoenix. It's about time. Not only do we need the moisture, but it does give a reprieve from the incessant heat, even if it is for just a short time. Tomorrow I will be back in the studio continuing on a larger painting and working out another. I've always found the small paintings a good way to experiment.

Talk to you all later.

Easel Notes Blog

E-Book: Create Beautiful Paintings Using Foundational Concepts

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Day 28, Prickly Pear Cactus with Blossoms Painting BECKY JOY

Today I spent some time with my daughter and grandkids with a little painting in the morning. This was one of the paintings that I worked on. It was actually a complicated scene with a lot going on in the background. I started painting much more of what I saw then realized I needed to simplify. So, I started by keeping the values close together in all but the shadows on the cactus and what was cast on the ground. I kept the background behind the cactus in different colors and a little cooler and grayer than the foreground creating some distance in the painting.

I pulled out some of paintings from the trip and found that some needed a little more work. Below are a couple of those paintings. I also still need to do some photography for a couple of the paintings from project 125 that I haven't posted. Hopefully, I catch up on all this tomorrow and get paintings ready to ship too.

I painted this in Southwest Idaho in the late afternoon before going to my friend Shanna Kunz' house. I love the farms in that area and just had to pull off the interstate to paint. I hadn't eaten lunch by the time I started painting. I was painting away in the heat and felt a little sick toward the end, so I had to pack it up and finish a little bit of the painting in the studio. The clouds needed a little more work and I had to deepen the values of the farm buildings a little. So, that was my job this morning.

I painted this one at the old farm in Oregon with my friend Romona Youngquist. I thought I had finished it at the time, but I decided there were two things wrong with it. First, I had a solid line along the field in the light orange color dividing the distant hills and field. I broke that up by adding the small group of trees along that line. It helps to connect the field and the background hills. Secondly, that line was going downhill too much to the right. I raised that line a little on the right. I felt by doing so that it balanced the painting more.

Talk to you all tomorrow when I post some more paintings.

workshops

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Day 25, Project 125 Baker City Oregon plein air oil landscape painting BECKY JOY

It is been a challenge with the computer the last couple of days. I left my family in Oregon 2 days ago and have been on the road. I stayed the night in Baker City, Oregon which is in Eastern Oregon. The internet access that I had was verrrrry slow, but I did manage to get some work done. And, that was the problem, some but not all the work. I uploaded my new e-book, but was not able to finish the job. So, those that paid were not getting the e-book. Once I got to my friend, Shanna Kunz' house in Utah I finally got a good connection. This morning I was able to finish everything with the e-book and now trying to catch up with the blogging, emails, etc, etc.

Talk to you all tomorrow.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Day 23 Rural Austin Texas Dusk, plein air to studio mood painting BECY JOY

rural road trees field mountains sunset painting

This may be Texas, but I'm still in Oregon. I was itching to paint some mood paintings. This is one of them. I used a small 6x6 plein air that I painted in Austin, TX in May while at the OPA Show. Even though I invent the color of my mood paintings, the plein air paintings are very useful to me. The plein air will show me the relationship of colors to each other, which is something that I am still concerned about in paintings that I invent colors. I did change the lighting direction of this painting. I don't always do that, but I felt to balance the painting it was best to have the light come from the right rather than the left. This also left more sky open to put the lightest warmest color in this space. This painting is a little later in the day than the one that I painted yesterday, thus making the sky a cooler color. The ground colors reflect that sky color becoming cooler also.

I'll be off and on the road tomorrow, on my way to Salt Lake City to stop and visit and paint with my friend Shanna Kunz. Can't wait to paint with her. I'll be posting something on the drive there when I take a break.

The next part of my adventure, Salt Lake City, UT.

Fredericksburg, TX plein air workshop Oct 24 - 26

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Day 18, Project 125 Meadow Lake Rd, Oregon plein air painting by BECKY JOY

Day 18 now. I went out early this morning to beat the heat, but instead I spent most of the day out painting, not too surprising! I started the morning driving out in the country. I just turned on a road that looked interesting. I drove down several roads, finding one that had several old farm homes and barns. I spent an hour or more photographing, some while driving. Thank goodness they weren't busy roads. The problem with country roads is that there aren't many places to pull off and park. I then turned down a road with a familiar name, Panther Creek. I knew it was by my sister's old farm.

As I drove I got deeper into forest and I could tell I was heading toward the coast. I stopped when I saw an old abandoned farm house with some big trees and the remnants of an orchard and the plus, there was a place to park. (The painting is below) I almost finished the painting when a man and his high school age daughter stopped to see what I was painting. We talked and he gave me some history on the house. It was his grandmother's house and had been vacant for about 20 years. He lived across the street on part of the family farm. The farm had been in the family for generations and was the old stagecoach stop on Panther Creek from McMinville to the coast.

We also got to talking when I told him that I stopped on Panther Creek, because it was near my sister's old farm. I told them she was a teacher in Carlton and said her name. The daughter asked if she was the one with 3 Chinese daughters in high school. Yep, that's her and with two older kids that are grown. The girl had been a student of her's and she now was in high school with the younger girls. The father then said, "You know there are some Henry's around here." I said both he and his brother lived here, so there are others in the family. I said I knew I was close to there place.

When I left and went out to the next cross street I could see the name of the road, Meadow Lake, the road my sister lived on. I drove about a mile down the road and there was their house up on the hill with the field and oak trees. It has been a good 15 to 20 years since she moved. Strange, I was driving all these roads I didn't know and landed up right there. Anyway, I had to stop along Meadow Lake and paint on the road. The result is the top painting. It was HOT by then!

Talk to you tomorrow,

Friday, June 28, 2013

Day 16, Project 125 Oregon Barn Painting by BECKY JOY

This morning I met with Ramona Youngquist, an Oregon painter just living down the road from my family, to go painting. I followed her to an old abandoned farm that she has been painting at since last spring. There were so many paintings there. The views were fantastic and the old house was great. I told her it looked like a "Romona" house. This painting is about texture and shapes. The composition, obviously is simple. I loved the bright yellow-green moss and the peeling paint.

Below are a couple more painting from today. The view, a lot of wineries around this area. In fact, this piece of property was bought by one of the wineries.

Workshops:

Hood River, OR 1 day plein air Sept 4 I just had a cancellation for my Mississippi workshop Nov 3 - 5

Tuscany, Italy June 7 - 14, 2014

Talk to you tomorrow.

Becky

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Day 15, Project 125 Oregon Trees, A Green State by Becky joy

If you have never been to Oregon to see the variety of greens, I'm sure you've heard about them. Oregon is a very green state, in more ways than just the color. This is from the back deck of my parents place. I ran around doing errands today and visiting some friends, so there wasn't a lot of painting time. (I'll have to make more tomorrow.) I came home and started painting at about 5 pm.

This painting was really about the greens and showing the subtle differences and varieties. The foreground tree was really the only one in light. The trees are in a ravine with the weeds going down the hillside. The grasses are starting to dry out and turn a warm color. Besides just using color to indicate distance, I used brushstrokes, larger brushstrokes in the foreground and the large diagonal stroke on the left grass to indicate the direction of the land.

The photo of the tree.

Workshops:
Hood River, OR Sept. 4

Tomorrow I plan on meeting a painting friend and get out in the area. So talk to you all tomorrow.

Becky Joy
Workshops

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Day 14, Project 125 McMinville, OR Church Plein Air Painting BECKY JOY

McMinville, OR is a nice friendly old town south of Portland. My parents live her and my sister a few miles away in a neighboring small town. I was drawn to church by the shapes and the darker tower against the light of the cloudy sky. There were very few shadows from the sun, at least really noticable ones. So, it was more about shapes and subtle color differences in the painting. I also added a little more intense color in the tower to bring your attention to it.

I went to the post office today and while there drove around taking photos of the old houses. I used to do a lot of pen and ink drawings of the old homes in Oregon City years ago. When I would take my kids to some art classes there when they were little, I wondered about drawing while waiting for them to finish the classes. I wasn't painting a lot at that time, but occasionally I would paint one in watercolor which is what I was working with at the period in time.

Upcoming Workshops:

Phoenix, AZ Oct 3 - 5

Hood River, OR Sept 4

Tuscany, Italy June 7 - 17, 2014

Korcula Island, Croatia Sept 14 - 24, 2014

Talk to you all tomorrow with #15,

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Day 13, Project 125 Painting Oregon farms

I finally made it to my destination in Oregon late last night. It was a light, typical rain almost all through my drive in Oregon. I slept in this morning, but did get out for a short time later in the day. In this scene I was attracted to the clouds that enveloped the top of the mountain and of course, the green field.

Everything is pretty green right now, and a nice, pleasant temperature. It will be heating up by the end of the week, sounds like record temps to me. I visited with family today and will be seeing friends and more family while I'm here. I'm a fourth generation born in Oregon City (my son was a fifth). You can imagine that I have a lot of relatives here. It's funny every time I come up here, I'm struck by how green it is, certainly compared to the desert. Summers are perfect in the Northwest.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to start getting out and doing a little more plein air, hopefully early in the morning. You'll see what I see tomorrow.

I still have space in my one day workshop in Hood River, OR on Sept 4 during the plein air event that I will be judging. Check out the details here.

I'll be here tomorrow.

Day 12, Project 125 Susanville, CA Barn plein air painting

I didn't get out of Lake Tahoe until almost 11:00. (I had to stop by the post office to get something in the mail that was overdue, oops!) Anyway, got my work done and posted my painting from the night before.

I remember Susanville from years ago going through there on the way to Reno from Oregon. I don't know why it has always stuck in my mind, but I do love those old barns and farms. In this barn I got a great shot of an old truck, which is below. I'll have to paint that later.

It was afternoon by the time I got in Susanville. I was struck by the beautiful blues of the mountains. That blue always seems indescribable in paint. It's kind of an ultramarine & colbalt combination. In this painting I placed the light of the sky against the dark of the barn, adding a little yellow and cad red to the white, just a tiny, tiny bit. I very seldom use a pure white in a painting and only sparingly.

Upcoming Workshops:

Hood River, OR 1 day plein air Sept 4, click here for info

Carmel, IN 3 day plein air Sept 24 - 27, click here for info

Tuscany, Italy June 7 - 17, 2014, click here for info

Korkula Island, Croatia Sept 14 - 23, 2014, click here for info

Talk to you all later,

Monday, June 24, 2013

Day 11, Project 125 Summer Solstice Moonlight Painting on Lake Tahoe

Well, I'm a little behind on my blogging, but not behind on the painting. One more painting to get in today. I will be taking off in a few minutes leaving rainy Tahoe for probably rainy Oregon. I haven't looked at the weather for Oregon. Yep, just looked.... cloudy and rainy. It's before the 4th of July, so it was a safe bet I was right. So, I guess my next painting will be a rainy one.

I had a busy weekend here on Lake Tahoe with my friend Michele de Braganca. Friday night we went down to the lake beach for a bar-b-que/solstice party to watch the moon rise over the lake. It was beautiful and BIG, which I think I told you a little about in the last post. Anyway, this painting was painted the next morning from memory. The sunlight was hitting the tops of some of the mountains while the moon was comiing up. It was gorgeous.

Sat, I felt a little lazy, but did take care of business things, went on a walk and painted the above painting. In the late afternoon we all went down to the beach again for the start of the summer concerts with the "Trey Stone Band". Lots of fun dancing and listening to 60's music. It felt like HS days out there. Then dinner when we came home.

Michele and I are already planning my trip next year stopping here longer, going out camping and painting to several locations around the area. Now, it's off to my next destination. Talk to you all later today or possibly two posts tomorrow to catch up on the blogging.
Becky Joy
Website

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Twin Lakes, the Lake Tahoe Day 10, Project 125 BECKY JOY

I started at Twin Lakes and ended at Lake Tahoe, what a difference. Actually, I was in Tahoe all day getting here last night at my friend, Michele de Braganca's house. We went out painting today at Obexer's Boat Yard. I've heard there are several artists that have painted there, a lot of material. I intended on painting a small one after the larger painting that I painted, but I was wiped out and layed down in the camper after the painting below. I had this one painting from the day before that I thought I would add today for #10.

I was drawn to the shapes in this scene first thing and then all the color in and around the boats. I kept my hard edges for the boats and around them.

I'm hurrying to get this post done so that we can all go to a soltice party on the lake. It should be great with the BIG moon tonight. Have a great weekend everyone. Talk to you tomorrow.

Becky Joy

website