Day 30! End of the 30 in 30 Challenge

Day 30 in the Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days Challenge!  The morning started with an incredible sunrise so it was only fitting to honor the last day of the Challenge with a painting of the canyon sunrise.  It is a treat each morning here as I sit and read and watch the changing light on the Snake River Canyon!  The Perrine Bridge is in the distance and the canyon walls reflect the morning light.  Different each day!

Day 29 - A Drive By

This winter scene was painted from a photo I took while riding in the truck and thus the resulting name: A Drive By.  With iphone in hand, I often snap pics of scenery for later painting consideration.  Many times the drive by photos turn out to be nothing of consequence, but sometimes they are great.  And there is that handy delete key for the dogs!  These photos give me a quick reference and a sense of the place. I see the shapes and relationships between those shapes which is the key to good composition. Having photos that I can easily crop and manipulate in the iphone editing program is a real bonus to quickly finding a composition to paint.

Day 29 of the 30 in 30 Challenge!  If you go to the Challenge site, check out the painting by Cindy Gillette, number 32.  It knocked my socks off!

Day 28! Closing in on the Finish!

This is the winter that never seems to end.  We did  a road trip to Montana and found that we have a lot more snow piled up at home than we saw in the areas around our destination in Ennis.  Great place Ennis, small town with a big heart and good restaurants!  The snow there had melted during a slight warm up, but now it is extra cold and the river is frozen over with ice jams.  The sweet waitress in the drug store/restaurant said there was not much to do since her horse didn't like to go out in the cold!  They are looking for a break in the weather there too.  Fishing is slow and not even the fly shop folks say they are going out.

This small farmstead piece above is my salute to the hardy farmers and ranchers who go through this kind of winter and take care of animals and their families under harsh winter conditions.  Rural America!  A wonderful place!

Check out the postings on the 30 in 30 Challenge page.  Getting down to last chances to see what other artists are posting.  I am having fun viewing their art and making new art friends!  

Day 27! Late Post - Better Late than Not at All!

We have been to Montana and back, but I am determined to post to make my 30 in 30 Challenge goal even though it is late and I am tired!

This little 4x4 canvas piece is a look down our lane at one of the houses in our neighborhood.  It was fun to finally do a painting of it since I see it most days and have thought about painting it for a long time.

Day 26! Closing in on 30

This piece done on a 4" x 4" canvas covered with Watercolor Ground depicts one of the amazing snowy views in the Silver Creek area.  It is a beautiful quiet place with winter covering every bit of the landscape.

Day 26 of the 30 in 30 Challenge.  It has been a good run and closing in on the finish line is showing me that posting each day is doable.  Good to know!

Day 25! Robins Clean Up

The flock of robins are gone and the tree branches have been stripped of their fruit.  Great!  So glad that we had a food source for them.  It brings the question, where are they now?

And it is Day 25 of the 30 in 30 Challenge.  Five days left!  Take a look at the site where you will see other post by Challenge participants.  I especially like the post by Kim Smith, #9.  She knows birds!  Check it out!

Tiny Apples - Winter Scene 24

Good thing I painted these tiny apples yesterday!  The apples grow on an ornamental apple tree outside my studio window and have provided me with color on otherwise grey days.  Yesterday we had snow again, and a flock of robins descended on our trees and this morning there is not an apple left.  The tree is bare!  We had great fun taking photos of the robins even though they were hard to catch sitting still for long.  I do have some reference photos and will attempt a watercolor using the birds as subjects.  A bright spot in a day of shoveling.

Day 24 in the 30 in 30 Challenge.  Check out the site for a look a some work by my fellow 30 in 30 painters.

It is snowing again! Day 23 of the 30 in 30 Challenge!

The good news is that there is no wind and the snow is stacking up again on the branches of the little apple tree outside my studio.  This helps to make a plan for the painting I will do today.  There are still a few apples left on the tree so the contrast is just what I am looking for.  I need to hurry before the robins come in today since food is scarce and they eat all they can.  Can't believe they are here, it has been such a cold January.  We also need to fill the bird feeder again.  I am just glad that we have our Hawthorne tree berries and the apples to help them along!  Oh, and our bunny is back!  He/she likes the apples too!

Day 23 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge!  Check out the paintings here.  My favorite in the posts so far today is the tulips #28 done by Laurie Mueller!

Sunday - Day Twenty Two

One of my favorite places to paint is up Murdock Creek near the SNRA headquarters north of Ketchum.  Good  painting views there, winter or summer.  There is a small gurgling creek and a great hike to high mountain lakes!  Looking forward to doing that one again this summer!  Also there are nice places to camp all along here.

Day Twenty Two in the 30 in 30 Challenge!  Check out the website for the Challenge here.  I am especially enjoying the abstract pieces done by Challenge creator Leslie Saeta.  She posts each day and her theme for this challenge is to do a piece that might be a fit for one of the houses done on the Fixer Upper Show on HGTV.  Very creative!

Day 21!

Amazing that we are already at Day 21 of the 30 in 30 Challenge!  Today's post is another 5" x 5" piece done on a birch block covered with Watercolor Ground.  Watercolor Ground enables me to use my favorite medium but use an alternate support.  And the bonus, no glass is needed!  It sits nicely on my bookshelf or easel.  I personally like the finished look of the wood edges.  The question is do I stain the wood or leave the natural birch color?      

Day 20 - A Study in Indigo

I love the Indigo made by Holbein!  It has an intensity that makes it possible to use it alone in a study and achieve the lights and darks in a range of values.  It has rich deep color that does not lose its punch when pushed to the limits of light and dark.  This series has been interesting, and I will start with the Indigo next time since it makes a value piece to work from when adding color in the subsequent pieces (which of course is the right way to start!).

Also, while on the topic of series, I refer you to a twice weekly letter from Painter's Keys that came to my Inbox this week.  It speaks to the merits of working in a series and the freedom a series imparts.

This is Day 20 of the 30 in 30 Challenge!  Check out the Challenge here.  You will see a wide variety of pieces done by hard working artists from the US as well as across the world.  A worthwhile diversion today.

Day 19! Snow, Snow, Wonderful Snow

And it showed again last night!  The 30 in 30 Challenge theme I chose, Winter Scenes, does not lack for material to paint.  This scene is the view out our condo window in Elkhorn.  So beautiful, so amazing the amount of snow this year.

Also, Happy Birthday to little Miss Mae who turns two today!

Day 18! Still Winter

This is Day 18 of my posting to the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.  I saw some really nice pieces on the site yesterday and recommend that you go to the site and check it out here.

I chose the theme Winter Scene for the Challenge, and it is definitely the winter for it!  More snow reportedly on the way today.  Must get out to get a few pictures before the shoveling eats up my time again. I need new material!  And I do have aspens in my yard and I see from my studio window that the light is good right now.  Gotta Go!

Another Sweet Barn - Day 17 of 30 in 30

This is another piece done at my Second Tuesday painting session.  Interesting the difference I am seeing in the color results by using my travel palette vs. my at home palette.  I am getting softer color on the canvas 4" x 4" block for who knows what reason!  Most of the colors are the same in both palettes.  Maybe it is the smaller well.  It does explain the lack of value in some of my on site sketchbook paintings!

This is my Winter Scene 17 for the Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days Challenge.

Day 16!

The Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days Challenge is pushing me to paint every day.  I am appreciating the discipline and frankly that January cold that keeps me in the studio.  This is another small piece I did at my 2nd Tuesday painting group the other day.  Painting ahead helps to take some of the pressure off since the painting I did yesterday still needs work or a do over!

Winter Scene 15 - Some Days Go Like This

Working on this aspen series using a similar composition plan, and some days the painting works and some days it is a bust!  Today is a an example of a overworked, poorly planned and do it again painting!  My overall plan was to use back light this time instead of light coming from the sides.  I like the sky and background trees, but have missed the mark on the foreground and kept adding darks to try to salvage.  Oh well, that is why I have lots of paper!  Will post on the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge just to show myself that everything does not always work out as planned, or more importantly that a plan is a good thing. Hmmm.  Wonder if a thumbnail value sketch might help?

Day 14 and Working Toward 30

It is Day 14 of the Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days Challenge!  I recommend that you click on the link to the Challenge to see the work of the artists that are also participating in the challenge.  I am finding some new artists to follow and am inspired by the excellent artwork posted each day!

This piece is the second in a series of paintings. I often work in a series to see where a painting might take me.  A series allows me to decide on a composition and then work through the paintings to change up colors, values and watercolor techniques to achieve something new.  If you look at yesterday's post, this is similar in composition, but is a different take on the background.        

End of Day 13 Post

Better late than never!  In the hopes of making each day in the 30 in 30 Challenge, I am posting at the end of my day and feeling the relief of making it happen even when it has been a long day!  This is a larger piece, 15" x 22" and one that I learned a lot from while painting.  Grading colors into the background to make a more interesting winter scene was the goal.

Day 12 - 30 in 30 Challenge

Moving on again from the small canvas and posting this piece for the Challenge.  This piece is a half sheet of watercolor paper.  I did this one last winter, and learned a lot about color while doing it.  Love those blues...a complete accident!

Winter Retreat - Day 11

Holy Cow!  Already Day 11 of the 30 in 30 Challenge!  This little cabin in the aspens was fun to paint and imagine how cozy it might be inside.  This is a departure from my other Challenge pieces in that it is done on watercolor paper instead of the canvas blocks I had been working on.  Mixin' it up!  

Day 10! 30 in 30 Challenge

The record snowfall here and in the Sun Valley area has inspired me to stick with these aspen snow scenes for the present.  The 30 in 30 Challenge   is in full swing and I am happy to report that I am on track.  I recommend that you check out the website (here) to see the pieces displayed by the talented artists who have signed up for this thirty day run.  It has been fun to follow the links to blogs of artists I haven't run into before.  Some great work going on all over the country!

Monday Morning

Day 9 of the 30 in 30 Challenge and enjoying the discipline of posting each day.  I have been visiting the blogs of other artists in the Challenge, and am having a great time learning about new artists and the creative things they are doing in watercolor and other media.  Great way to start the new year.

Beginning of Week Two of the 30 in 30 Challenge

Learning a lot as I work my way through this 30 in 30 Challenge.  I do love aspens and I love painting snow from my studio view over the reality of shoveling it from our driveway!  

I am working to get the shadows to move along the dips and valleys of the snow banks and drifts.  It means direct study of the snow when those shadows appear.  Hello sun!  Where are you today, I need some help here.  Another storm on the way, and along with it, flat light!  No help!

Day 7 and Another Snow Storm on the Way!

Day 7 of the Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days Challenge.  This piece is currently at the Full Moon Gallery here in Twin Falls as part of the Twin Falls Center for the Arts winter show.  It is an 8" x 10" watercolor on a birch block.  The block is coated with Watercolor Ground and then painted and finally sprayed to preserve the finish.  It sits nicely on a shelf or hangs easily on the wall.

And yes, another snow storm on the way.  They are predicting 6 to 12 inches.  Just wondering where we will put it!  Staying in the warm today!

Day 6 - Cold and Crisp

Got up to -9 degrees this morning!  Good day to stay in and paint! I am working on more pieces for the 30 in 30 Challenge and will be posting them this month.  This is Day 6 and painting!

This piece is one of the Creek Series that I am working on from places along the Big Wood River in and around Ketchum.  My husband is a fly fisherman and takes great reference photos for me while he is out.  Fortunate for me, since it is much too cold for me to set up along the stream.  I have read that vodka in the painting water helps with the cold.  Hmmm.

Still Shoveling! Day 5 of the 30 in 30 Challenge

Good thing I learned how to handle a snow shovel growing up in ND!  We shoveled again today after the wind blew most of the snow we shoveled out yesterday back into our driveway.  We have three to four foot drifts!  Thanks to our good neighbors with 4wheelers  for their help in clearing the biggest drifts!

And on to the painting of the day!  Day 5 of the 30 in 30 Challenge.  And now I know why I chose Winter Scenes for the Challenge.  I think this snow is sticking around for a bit!

Snowed In!

The snow is still coming down, blowing and drifting in the driveway and I see no reason why I can't get into the studio today!  Grocery shopping is delayed another day!

This is my Day 4 entry for 30 in 30 Challenge.  I will be placing it in the Full Moon Gallery today for the January through March show.  It is a watercolor done on a 5"x 5" Aquabord panel that I ordered from Dick Blick.  Interesting surface, but I think I prefer the watercolor ground that I have been using from Daniel Smith.  The watercolor ground seems to be a softer surface and takes the paint more like paper.

Getting in the Rhythm - 30 in 30

Day 3 of the 30 in 30 Challenge!  My theme is Winter Scenes and I draw on the many scenes of wonderful aspens from the Wood River Valley here in Idaho.  There is ample snow this year and that provides interesting shadows throughout the day.  Skiing is excellent too!

I did this watercolor on a birch wood block using Daniel Smith's Watercolor Ground.  This one is a 5" x 5" and I am finding a real difference in how my paintings turn out when comparing the paintings done on a 4 x 4 canvas with the paintings on 5 x 5 woodblocks.  Either the extra inch is making me add more detail, or the surface is smoother.  Not sure which!

Day Two for 30 in 30

The is my Day Two submission for the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge!  This Challenge is sponsored by Leslie Saeta and has artists from all over the world submitting paintings on a daily basis.  I find this Challenge to be a good January, get with it, project!  I started painting before the holiday start date so that I would have a few paintings ready to go, but I will be working daily to have new postings as we go.  That is the goal, painting daily to push my skills.

And, I am trying something new to me! The paintings are done with watercolor (my usual medium) but are painted on 4" x 4" canvas that is 1 3/8" deep.  I am using Daniel Smith's Watercolor Ground. to coat the canvas, let that dry for 24 hours, and then I paint.  When I finish I seal the watercolor so that it is ready to hang, or sit nicely on a book shelf!  During the holidays, I wrapped the canvas with red ribbon, and they could be used as an original ornament.  Very fun!

30 in 30 Days

I have joined the 30 in 30 Challenge offered online.  I will be posting paintings of winter scenes that I paint each day and will hopefully improve my skills along the way!