Sunny Days, Sunflower palette knife painting

Sunny Days

Oil palette knife painting

6x6" on box canvas

Available in my Etsy store

Living in the South of France has it's disadvantages -- depression sets in if we have two consecutive grey days! A couple of weeks ago we had several days of heavy rain and so no sun. To cheer myself up, I got out the Cadmium yellow and painted these loose sunflowers. The colours and the act of putting lots of luscious paint onto canvas really cheered me up.

Vineyard painting - Waiting for the Bees

Waiting for the Bees - Provence vineyard painting

Oils, palette knife

18x24cm (approx. 7"x10") on 3 mm MDF canvas panels.
Available

You may have noticed that I like painting vineyards. (As an aside - I also like drinking the end product, always in moderation of course!). They always make for an interesting painting with the lines of the vines taking your eye through the painting. Care has to be taken that you don't created tramlines and very straight lines that don't allow the eye to rest and explore.



Close-up of the palette knife work

How it would look displayed on a mini-easel

Purple Sea oil palette knife painting

Purple Sea

Oil palette knife painting

18x24cm on 3mm canvas MDF panel

Available for purchase

Back to my beloved lavender scenes. I was getting purple withdrawal symptoms!

Painted from photos of the Valensol plateau which is awash with purple in the summer.

About this painting
This painting includes a version of the trees I was sketching previously see here. My husband commented the other day that my lavender paintings always look like you are looking down on them. Well that's right! The best vantage point to take the photos from is the verge which is usually higher than the road and gives more of a view and raises the horizon line.

I used a pink ground here and allowed it to poke through in places. The finishing touch was splattering paint over the foreground.

Some close-ups

Autumn flavours - Day 17, 30 day challenge

Autumn Flavours

Palette knife painting

oil on loose canvas

24x30cm (approx 10x12inch)

140€/$200 (int. shipping included)

Contact me about this or any other painting here

Of course I couldn't do this challenge without painting some autumn scenes. The fall here in Provence is not very colourful, mainly consisting of the vines changing colour, plus it is a little early yet for the changing colours. So I have to rely on photos that others have taken and use my artistic licence! Some sites I use are PMP (paint my photo), Artists Reference Photos on Facebook, wetcanvas.com reference library and morgue file. The standard is variable, but with a little help from Photoshop and my licence I can usually get a workable idea for a painting.

About this painting
I had difficulty with the rocks. I used to be able to paint rocks very well (especially when I used pastels), but since taken some web lesson on how to paint rocks and incorporate them into a painting I have not had a lot of success lately. I certainly need to put in some hours practicing to make it second nature again. Should I have left the rocks out of this painting? Let me know what you think.

Some close-ups

And how it would look in a frame

Irises galore - Miniature Treasure, original palette knife oil painting, 6x4inch

Irises Galore  Miniature Treasure Painting

Palette Knife Painting

Oil on MDF panel

15x10xcm (6x4inch)
This painting is Sold

I can't wait for the irises to come out in my garden. I have some small ones that are the first indications that Spring is round the corner. Maybe then, the rain will stop!

Another fun miniature treasure painting. I was trying to use a limited palette of  pinks and blues to give an idea of a mass of irises.

Provence Lavender palette knife oil painting

Provence Lavender

Palette knife painting

Oil on box canvas

23 x 30 cm (approx 9x12 inch)
Available in my Etsy Store

A different format and orientation for this small painting. I have lots of canvasses that have accumulated over the years waiting for inspiration to strike. I had already painted a ground on this in a mix of blue, pink and yellow horizontal blocks and then did not do anything with it. I noticed it again a few days ago and as the block in was horizontal, it suggested a portrait format, not the typical orientation for my landscapes. The light bulb went on and this is the result.
Here are some close-ups of the knife work