Orange Abstraction

Orange Abstraction, Acrylic on Gessoboard, 6"x6", $195

Day 30 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.  I made it! Although I did skip a few days (I ended up with 27 postings.)  I want to extend a great big thank you to all the people who looked at and commented on my paintings this month.  You really helped keep me going especially when I thought I had run out of things to paint. 

I had so much fun doing yesterday's orange that I decided to try another abstract/realism mix.  I went for the back lighting which gives it a surreal effect.  I also got a bit looser with the shadow under the orange.  Based on what I learned today, I plan to go back into yesterday's abstract pattern to make it work a little better.  After that, I think I'll paint something other than oranges for a bit, although they turned out to be a really good vehicle for some major experimentation. 

To purchase this painting, please click here (you will be transported to the 30 in 30 Challenge Paintings page on my website.)

Abstract Orange

Abstract Orange, Acrylic on Gessoboard, 6"x6"

Day 29 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.  I was looking at some photos of paintings that integrate representational and abstract elements and was inspired to try this out.  It was clearly a lot of fun. So much so, that I plan to do another one tomorrow.  I can see that getting the balance and location of the abstract elements right can be tricky.

Artist's Note (March 19):  I wasn't entirely satisfied with how this painting came out, so I made a bunch of changes to it.  It is now called Orange on a Windowsill. You can find it in a subsequent post, as well as on my web site and in my Daily Paintworks Gallery.

On the Shelf

On the Shelf, Acrylic on Gessoboard, 6"x6", $195

Day 28 of the 30 paintings in 30 Days Challenge.  Today, I was trying for a more abstract background for the orange.  This is a good start, but I think I can take the idea further and make it more exciting (something for tomorrow.)

To purchase this painting, click here (you will be linked to the 30 in 30 Challenge Paintings page on my website.)

Backlit Oranges

Backlit Oranges, Acrylic on Gessoboard, 6"x6", $195

Day 27 in the 30 in 30 Challenge. Most of my orange paintings have used a side light of one angle or another. Today I thought I would try using a really strong back light like you would get with the sun coming through the window.  I could envision how I wanted this painting to look but getting it to that point proved challenging.  Still, I like how this came out. I think I got the effect I was after. 

To purchase this painting, click here (you will go to the 30 in 30 Challenge Paintings page on my website.)

Some Like It Hot

Some Like It Hot, Acrylic on Gessoboard, 6"x6", $195

Day 26 of the 30 in 30 Challenge.  In today's painting, I switched the hot and cool colors.  I gave the oranges a green under painting and then left the lit sides a bit greenish.  Tough to photo, though.

On another note, I took most of the afternoon off to go on a snowy owl hunt.  There have been lots of sightings of snowy owls around Dead Creek (a wildlife management area about an hour's drive from here), so my husband and I decided to go and see if we could spot one.  We not only saw one, but it decided to come down out of the tree it was in and swoop low over our heads before returning to its perch above the fields.  Wow! What a magnificent bird!

To purchase this painting, click here.

Light-Struck Orange

Light-Struck Orange, Acrylic on Gessoboard, 6"x6", $195

Day 25 of the 30 in 30 Challenge.  After playing with the orange-green-blue combination for a few days, I wanted to see what would happen if I placed the beautiful oranges against a warm neutral background.  So this time I used all shades of brown and tan to create the light-dark pattern.  I added pale yellow to the light struck area (it doesn't come through very well in this photo, although it is pale) to make it feel sunny and I let the shadow side of the orange disappear into the browns of the background.  As with the other orange paintings, I restricted myself to a yellow, an orange, a red, and a blue plus white and (int his case) buff.  The blue here is ultramarine blue rather than the phthalo blue I used in the other orange paintings.

To purchase this painting, click here.

Orange and Green

Orange and Green, Acrylic on Gessoboard, 6"x6", $195

Day 24 of the 30 in 30 Challenge.  Another day, another orange. Actually, I was playing with lighting here.  I asked myself, "what if I tried strong sidelight?"  To do that I decided to make a lead in band of rich yellow-green on the left and made the cloth under the orange lighter, too.  The dark areas on the right are a mix of red and blue to make them dark with a bit of yellow to make it greenish (this photo doesn't show it very well.)  Then I gave the orange a light green base under the orange - not much of it shows through but I think it still makes a difference.

To purchase this painting, please click here.