The Gift - Day 3 of the 30 paintings in 30 day challenge

The Gift - floral still life

by Marion Hedger

oil palette knife painting

18x24cm MDF canvas panel

AVAILABLE

This plant was a gift from a friend. The colour of the hydrangea was really nice but the pot appealed to me more. The rough texture was very tactile.

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30 paintings in 30 day challenge Collage

 30 paintings in 30 day challenge

Collage of all 30 paintings.

Well, another challenge over and 30 paintings completed. Once again it was fun and, well, challenging. Because of the size of some of the paintings, a few still needed those final touches. I managed to finish a few today and will finish the rest over the next couple of days.

The completed paintings are available here. I will add the others as they are finished.

Thank you to everyone who commented for your support and encouragement and especially to Leslie Saeta for hosting. To view the participants final collages, visit Leslie Saeta's blog

Threatening Sky in Provence, sky study - Day 5 of the 30 day challenge

Threatening Sky in Provence - Sky study

Palette knife painting in oils

20x30 cm (approx 8"x12") on gesso board
See yesterday's painting here
Available on Daily Paint works

The skies were threatening when I took this photo near Caussols, about a ¾ of an hours drive from home. Yes it's true, the skies are not always blue in Provence! If you  know my paintings, you will know that the sky is mostly blue as I love to paint the feeling of sunshine. So my challenge today was to get out of my comfort zone and paint more of a skyscape.

About this painting

This is the first time I have painted on gesso board. I purchased several of these boards well over a year ago but never used them. They are a laminated panel covered in very smooth gesso. They looked so pristine it seemed a same to use them! The smoothness also seemed daunting as I normally work on a very textured surface. After umming and ahhing for a while I covered them in thick liquitex gesso using a palette knife. This gesso takes a day to dry so it wasn't until this morning I could work on them. However, the surface was still smooth to the touch although it was still somewhat textured - I hope that makes sense. I assume that the gesso had been partly absorbed into the original layer.

Using underpainting white
I used underpainting white for mixing the sky colours for it's quick drying property, but it dried so quickly and was unworkable after a very short period - faster than normal. I also assume it was because of the absorption of the original gesso. I have quite  a few of these boards so I have plenty of time to get used to them. Perhaps working with a brush and paint mixed with medium would work better? If anyone has experience of using these boards, any tips would be appreciated.

Foreground
As this is mainly about the sky, I kept the foreground very understated.

Some close ups

Antibes Walk, day 4 of the 30 day challenge

Antibes Walk

Palette knife painting

Oil on canvas MDF panel

18x24cm (approx 7"x10")

NFS work in progress

A sunny walk in Antibes. I have lots of photos of street scenes from around our local towns and villages, taken in the hope I would paint them someday. But painting street scenes is one of my many 'Bête Noir'. Well, the 30 day challenge is a challenge right?

About this painting
The challenge in this one - apart  from the obvious perspective one - was how to keep it loose and suggestive, avoiding the detail. It soon became apparent that the siz e of my support was too small for the subject. I wiped out some of detail so the focus was on the main flower basket. I also put in the suggestion of the people - another first.

I am not sure that this painting works. I like it on one level, so I will leave it and look at it for a while and maybe make some alterations later. It has made me want to do this scene on a larger scale though and hopefully edged me towards painting townscapes. So objective achieved!

Some close-ups

Splendour in Death - Day 3 of the 30 day challenge

Splendour in Death

Oil palette knife painting

18x24cm (approx 7"x10") on MDF canvas panel

Available on Daily Paintworks

See yesterday's painting HERE

 

Whenever I go out and about I am always taking pictures of trees. My husband thinks I'm mad as often the trees are not 'picturesque' in themselves but there is something in them that catches the eye. With this one it was the way the dead branches played against the light of the sky and how, even in death, it supported life.

About this painting
The original painting had a secondary tree next to it

I thought I had almost finished so I put it on my stand for a dose of 'looking at' to see what final touches were needed. It suddenly struck me that it just didn't work. I asked myself "What is this painting about?" It was about the branches against the sky which was clouding over. I took my palette knife and completely wiped out the second tree and replaced it with more sky. It was a good reminder to not simply copy the photograph and to use your artistic license. What do you think? I think it works much better.

Some close up of the knife work

And how it would look in a frame

Shady Walk - Day 2 of 30 day challenge

Shady Walk

Oil Palette knife painting

25x30cm (10"x12") on box canvas x 2cm deep
Edges are painted black
Available for $150 on Daily Paintworks
See yesterday's painting HERE

Where has summer gone. It's flown by for me keeping busy with family around - first my granddaughter for 6 weeks, then my son and partner for the last two weeks and my brother and family for the last week. Fortunately they have their own apartment, but when they visit our normally very quiet house turns into a hive of activity (and noise!)  Unusually, I did manage to fit in some painting time. I also painted a little with my granddaughter and that was enjoyable.

About today's painting

This shady arbour at Hanbury gardens, just over the border in Italy. I loved the way the dappled light played through the foliage. I first tried this scene a few weeks ago but it wasn't successful as the support was too small for subject. This larger canvas worked well. Working small has it's advantages as well as disadvantages. Mostly (but not always) they are quicker to paint and great for practicing different subjects and techniques but I have to fight against adding too much detail and creating a too busy painting.

Some close-ups of the knife work

Champs de Lavande et Tournesols - SOLD and a new 30 day challenge

Champs de Lavande et Tournesols -

Fields of Lavender and sunflowers

Provence landscape palette knife painting

Oil on box canvas

15 x 20 (6x8") x 1.5cm
This painting is now in USA, thank you Barbara.

New 30 day challenge
I am taking part in another 30 painting in 30 days challenge hosted by Leslie Saeta.
Once again my paintings will be landscapes and florals. First off the easel is a floral painting of white roses, see here.

I am still trying to decide what to paint for tomorrow. I was hoping to be more organised and have my subjects all worked out, but life, as they say, go in the way. It was lovely though to spend lots of time with my family who were over here for their August holidays.