Blog

Shattered Reality XLVII Finished

9/15/2010 7:43:07 PM

Today I finally finished the 47th painting in the Shattered Reality series. I started a couple of weeks ago, completed about a third of it, and then life got in the way, as it often does. We had a wonderful trip out of town to visit family and then I came home to preparations for the 7th Annual Town & Country Studio Art Tour. It will be held Saturday, September 18th and Sunday, September 19th. Preparations completed and then it was time to finish the painting.

For this piece I chose Red-eyed tree frogs as the subject. I love these little whimsical creatures with their bright green skin and bright orange eyes and appendages. These nocturnal carnivores live in trees in the rain forests of Central America, are excellent jumpers, and will eat any small animal that will fit in their mouths. They are quite small, usually measuring about 3 inches in length. These tiny little frogs rarely leave the trees to be upon the ground.

The painting has a bit of a comic book feel to it. It is hard to paint a serious portrayal of such a whimsical creature. I hope this painting brings a smile to your lips.

Comment on this View Full Post

What Classification Does the Shattered Reality Series Fit Into?

8/23/2010 10:08:37 AM

I have been painting the Shattered Reality Series since 1996 and am working on number 47 in the series. People have asked me over the years "What is this kind of art?". Frankly I haven't had an answer for them. It isn't abstract art because you can clearly see the image and you know what the subject matter is when looking at the painting. If the subject is parrots, you can see the parrots, if it is shells you can see the shells, and so forth. The images aren't totally clear because the painting is broken up into sections, however is you study the work you will see the image.

These paintings aren't modern art. Modern art includes works that were created between 1880 and 1960's or 70's. The paintings aren't contemporary art because, even though that category includes paintings created between the 60's or 70's until today, contemporary art is usually devoted to work that is socially conscious. There is nothing socially conscious about the Shattered Reality paintings.

The paintings in the Shattered Reality series are just about subjects that I have found interesting or fun. They usually feature colorful subject matter such as the angel fish found in Shattered Reality XXXV or the Monarch butterfly featured in Shattered Reality XLVI. I am currently working on Shattered Reality XLVII. The stars of this painting are tree frogs, little creatures that I find fascinating with their bright green bodies and their orange eyes and appendages.

So, what classification does the Shattered Reality series fit into? I still have no answer other than to say they are FUN. I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoy painting them.

Comment on this View Full Post

The painting of Shattered Reality XLV

1/21/2010 4:25:42 PM

I finally finished a painting I sketched and mapped out a couple of weeks ago. I was excited to get started on it, however, life got in the way. We had company from out of town (much welcomed company I might add) and then I caught a bug that was going around. I was finally able to work a few days ago to put in the dark sections and then worked on it yesterday and finished it today.

Working on the Shattered Reality paintings is quite fun for me. I make preliminary plans for what I would like to use for colors but I never know for sure what colors I will use until the painting starts taking shape (this process was explained in a previous blog. For this painting I wanted to tone down the colors a bit and not make it as bright I sometimes paint them. I grayed the colors of the floats quite a bit, however I painted the colorful parts of the shells without graying them.

This painting, Shattered Reality XLV, was created from reference photos I took at a sea museum in Port Gamble, Washington.

Comment on this View Full Post

Bounty

1/2/2010 1:41:24 PM

I love the colors of fresh vegetables and wanted to portray some of the more colorful ones in watercolor. The finished result is my painting "Bounty" and its Shattered Reality version "Shattered Reality XLIV".

I purchased the vegetables and set up a still life on my table with the veggies spilling out of my fruit basket. I am happy with the results and I think it is my husband's favorite painting. He is a guy that takes the camera into the produce section of stores in town as well as when we are on the road.

I was able to frame them on December 30th and get them ready to go into the gallery in a week or so. Now it is time to plan out the next painting.

Happy New Year to all of you. May your year be prosperous and joyous. Thank you for visiting my blog.

Comment on this View Full Post

Process for creating a Shattered Reality painting

11/30/2009 11:07:19 AM

I have been painting the Shattered Reality series for 13 years and have had the same questions asked for that entire time: "Do you tape off the sections?" and "How do you decide what to paint where?

The answer to the first question is easy: No, I don't tape off the sections. I tried that with the first painting and was not happy with the time it takes to do that and felt it is easier to paint the edges slowly. I do have a problem with tremors sometimes due to a medication I take so if my hands are shaky on a day I want to paint, I just don't paint.

The next question requires a more detailed answer. I first sketch out the subject of the painting and then divide it into sections. There is no specific formula for this, I just try to make it pleasing to the eye. The substance of the painting will be dark sections that will contrast with light sections in addition to warm sections contrasting against cool sections. I map out the sections as to warm, cool, dark, and light. Next I decide whether the feeling of the painting will be warm or cool and decide on the dark color I want to use.

I then proceed to paint all the dark sections. In this case I wanted the painting to feel warm, so I selected a green.

Next I paint all the warm sections. If the painting was to be mainly cool I would paint the cool sections at this point.

Next I paint the lights, which in this painting are the warm colors with lots of water added.

And finally I add the cool sections.

The painting is complete and all that is left is to frame it. I always frame these in metal and will probably use a green frame for this painting.

People tell me often that the paintings remind them of quilts and some viewers feel they look like stained glass. I really enjoy doing these paintings and have done 47 of them so far. Will I ever get tired of them? I don't think so, but only time will tell.

1 Comment View Full Post

Blog

Shattered Reality XLVII Finished

What Classification Does the Shattered Reality Series Fit Into?

The painting of Shattered Reality XLV

Bounty

Process for creating a Shattered Reality painting

Topics

Archives

Recent Works

Join My Collectors Club

Upcoming Events