Am I being too negative about my painting?  Maybe.  I don’t know.  I decided to get crazy and use a big canvas this week.  You probably can’t tell by the pictures, but most of my oils are about the size of a piece of printer paper, so this was a significant step up (well specifically, a significant step up in the cost of my materials).  In my head, the idea was beautiful.  The result was…well, I just hate it.  But let’s get this over with.  Here she is:

March 14, Refusing to Name This, Oil on Canvas

I let it sit there for 2 days, getting increasingly frustrated every time I looked at it.  Maybe it’s fine, but it’s not what was in my head.  So I took matters into my own hands and I scraped it all off.

Now THAT was fun.  Here is the excess paint, in case you’re interested.  I’m making it big because it’s so cool.

I then painted over it with a raw umber, leaving lots of interesting lines peeking through from the original painting.  I haven’t decided what it will be yet, but I’m hoping something awesome.  Knock on wood.

If I had to pick a theme this week, it would be stealing scenes from photos that others post on Facebook.  This was is from a Tanzanian friend who recently moved back to England.  This is where he lives.  What?  Seriously?  I want to live there.

March 13, “Seaford,” Oil on oil paper

Another scene from a Facebook photo is this cow in a field.  I tried to give it the vintage look that it had in the photo.  Not sure I succeeded, but I do like the palette.

March 15, “Cow in Field,” Oil on oil paper

Next we have an abstract using some new colors I recently purchased.  I’ve never loved orange anything, but I love orange oils.  They are just so pure and vibrant.

March 15, “Feeling Orange,” Oil on oil paper

Then I tried this abstracted urban scene.  I wasn’t paying much attention to the vanishing points, but I think it reads well enough.

March 17, “Anonymous Street,” Oil on oil paper

And then lastly, two color sketches of some plants in my yard.  The first is a loquat (not quite ripe).  Anyone ever have a loquat?  They taste sooooo good.  We spend a significant amount of time in the Spring out by this tree, picking the fruit and feeling sorry that we never knew what a loquat was until 2 years ago.

March 18, “Loquat,” Watercolor Pencil on Shipping Paper

This last one is of purple daisies that seem so prevalent around here.  The centers are a deep electric blue surrounded by specks of orange.  The underside is purple.  Just beautiful as far as a daisy is concerned.

March 18, “Purple Daisies,” Watercolor Pencil on Shipping Paper

I feel more botanical drawings coming on this week, though Matt says I should start focusing on abstracts.  We shall see.