Mar 3, 2013

Indian Summer

20 x 20" original oil
sold

More backlighting. I just love it. The colors here are just so yummy and the light is so strong. This is my favorite kind of painting to do. I will be repainting this bed of flowers with different cropping on a 30 x 45" scale for the piece I'll be submitting for consideration for the Spring Salon down at the Springville Museum. That is a show I have gotten in to once out of eight years of trying. Wish me luck this year!

Indian Summer is a name I chose for the fall colors and warm temperatures that fit the feel of this painting. It has a nice ring to it. 

This 20 x 20" will be available for purchase at Art & Soup the first week of April. It's a show that you have to buy a ticket for, but all ticket sales and a portion of all art sales will benefit Community Nursing Services, a charitable hospice provider. This is CNS's major fundraiser of the year. I'm happy to be able to participate and help out! Click here for ticket, location, parking, and other Art & Soup information.

I had so much fun with the blossoms in the background that are out of focus and full of different colors. I didn't mix anything ahead of time on my palette. I just grabbed two, three, four colors with my brush, swirled them around, and put them right on the painting. I exaggerated some colors, for example the reflective greenish edge on the one blossom in the background, upper left, but it's OK. My philosophy is that it's never a bad thing to exaggerate a bit of color, or a bit of warmth. 

Can't you just close your eyes and feel the sunlight warming up your face? I love that about painting. I can take a blank canvas and paint light on it, and when it's done, I can feel the sunlight. Not bad on a stormy day in March. :) 

I would have loved to post close-up pics of Indian Summer, but I was lucky to get nine shots in before the rain started pattering down, and I shot this one outside this morning in the perfect overcast light. Maybe later!

I had a group of artists from the Utah Valley Artist Guild come tour my studio a few days ago and they got to see this painting in progress. I hope some of them see the finished piece here on my blog and let me know what they think about how it turned out. It was a pleasure having them at my studio and I wish them all luck.

2 comments:

Jeanne Gomm said...

Hi Cristal. I loved coming to your studio. I was impriessed with the tidiness! When I first saw "Indian Summer" on the blog I excitedly called my husband over and said"I saw that before it was finished." I felt a connection. It turned out beautiful. I know I need one of your pieces in my home someday. Thank you for the invitation. It was a pleasure to meet you and your husband. I hope to get together again some time.

Unknown said...

How nice Jeanne. Thank you so much!