Fresh off the easel!

I feel so productive this week! Today I finished a still life painting:

The Key And The Cup

9x12, Oil on Panel

If you have been following along, it may seem like I actually finished two paintings within a week. I should let you believe that. But to be honest, I've been working on this painting on and off while working on "Surrendered to Daylight".

Painting tarnished silver is so much fun. There is so much color and depth to play with. This still life was painted directly from life, as most of my still lives are. I bumped the set-up a few times, knocking the cup around. Usually it is a major problem if anything in the set-up moves even the slightest bit. I'm either lucky or getting better at my craft, because it was not an issue. (I'm going with "lucky" by the way)

This weekend I'll be starting my next figure painting. It's going to be another self-portrait, but a lot different than the last self-portrait. I'll keep you updated on the progress.

Progression Video of a Figure Painting in Oil

Finished! After four weeks in the studio my latest figure painting is done. Now we can both step out into the daylight, blinking and rubbing our eyes.

Surrendered To Daylight

This was an enjoyable painting to work on. There were no real difficult parts, so no tantrums or breakdowns. The surprising thing is, the painting experience is different every time. Some paintings are emotional, some are easy to paint (as this one was), some are a struggle at times. Sometimes finishing a painting feels like the end of a marathon race I was not ready to finish. Other times it's a relief. The only constant is that I'm ready to start it all again the next morning, but first I need to dig myself out of the pile of laundry that somehow got out of hand. 

I've been trying something different with my works. I start out with a set idea of how the figure should look, but I let the background evolve as the painting progresses. Rather than starting with a study of the full painting, I will do small studies during painting to get a better idea of how certain colors will look. It's a little scary to not know ahead of time what the finished product will look like, but it's exciting too.

As promised, I made a video of the progression:

Figure Painting in Oil Demo

My plans are to make more videos and cover topics on things like how to chose an easel, setting up your palette, and other tips for the oil painter. If you have a topic you would like me to cover, feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail me at rae@raewhalenart.com.

Here's wishing you a productive, artistic day!

Growing up is for grownups

I tried, I really did. I had a job at a bank. I woke up with an alarm, showed up on time, attended mandatory meetings, drove that 45 minutes home. I did it all over again the next day. I got my weekly paycheck, health care, retirement. I hated every minute of it. I felt guilty for hating it. It was a good job, with good people. It just wasn't for me.

I don't regret leaving. I don't miss it at all. I don't miss trying to be a grown up.

I still have a slight twinge of fear of what others think of me. This society is so strange, telling us to be individuals but shaming us for being unique. Fortunately for me, today I didn't care.

What an artist does on her day off.

Yup, that's me. Out in the snow. Building a snow dragon.

Snow sculpture!

I don't have kids. I can't use the excuse "it's for the children". No. It's for me.

Snow Dragon

All in all it took around 2 and a half hours. I didn't want to stop, there was much more detail I wanted to add. But blizzard conditions started setting in and my jacket was water logged. I went back inside to warm up with a nice cup of herbal tea. Back to being a grown up, sorta.