Rustic painting Ompir style....

Weather was a bit hot today, so after a bit of lunch up at the Robertson Cheese Factory, I thought I'd go to the shed and do some 'practice' painting.  

You know, the sort of thing you do when you don't have anything in particular in mind, but want to paint something.

Today's practice was some rustic bird painting in the style of Peter Ompir.

I love the simplicity of his style, yet it is very bold.  More bold than I am accustomed to.

I found this photo online of one of his bowls.

I'm not really sure what the bird was suppposed to be, but I thought I would interpret into my own bird.

Painting stylistically is a lot of fun.  

While on the rooster trail, I painted this one up.

It is really unusual for me to paint on a white background - sort of reminded me of french provincial style farmhouse painting.

I'm calling it a day now - off to cook.

What have you been painting/making lately?

cheers

Fi

Today's painting......

Well, I've had a blast this morning, painting away in the shed.

I'm combining my love of Peter Ompir style folk art, various modes of transport, and naive landscapes into one.

I couldn't help thinking there was something missing here though.

 

And so there was - a rooster.

What - don't you take your rooster on bike rides?

Now (to me anyway), it's telling a story.

I want to know where they are going.

And I want them to take me.

Have a great day.

cheers
Fi

Back to the shed, and four seasons...

Finally got to saunter over to the shed today, although the weather started off a bit hot to be too energetic.

As you can see from the photos, there's probably too many things going on at once in here.
Time for a sort out/tidy up.

Found and dusted off the old easel and dug out some canvases.
I had a lot of fun playing with thin layers of paint mixed with a bit of glazing medium. 

After taking this photograph, I noticed that the top left corner of the painting is sagging a bit - does anyone know how to fix this?

I even had the sewing maching out, trying to hem curtains.  I say trying, because I only got one set done.  The other four sets are hanging up on the window with pins in them.
I will get back to them....

Tried my hand at a bit of angel painting, again glazing layers of paint.

 

This is what I was supposed to be doing - painting little houses.  I love painting houses, I find it very therapeutic.

The book behind them is a birthday present from my daughter.

 

Haven't really had a good look through it yet.  I'm saving it for that moment when I can just relax and drool over it for a while.  Doesn't it look so - clean? And pretty.

 

This priority mail envelope from the U.S. contained another birthday present (self-bought).

I say priority mail, but it did take weeks to arrive (mainly because the local post office had it sitting there for a week, and hadn't let me know it was there.)

 

I'm sure some of you guessed where it was from.

Yes, that's right.  More Jo Sonja stuff.

I'm building my collection of her dvd's, as it is just like having a workshop with her, and I don't have to leave the country.

I did go to a workshop of hers about 20 years ago when she came to Australia.

Along with Heidi England, Helen Cavin, Linda Wise and Helen Barrick.

I might show you the packages in a bit more detail in a few days.  Maybe talk to you about why I picked each one.

I made a bit of handmade soap over the holidays.

All pure and natural, with pure essential oils.

This is the soap drying on the rack.  It takes about 6 weeks to 'cure'.

The middle ones are soap too.  These are my first attempt at cupcake soaps - I have a long way to go.

I need a bit more practice using a piping bag.

The ducks have finally made it onto the wall.

We've had some really hot days here over the last week or so.  I know I live in Ozland, but, I live in the Southern Highlands, where the weather is supposed to cooler.

Thank God for air conditioners.  (Scots like me need them in the heat)

My lovely hydrangea bushes are wondering what is going on.  Look how shriveled and sad they look.

I picked a few so they could get a drink of water and maybe perk up a bit.

I normally leave them in the vase to dry naturally, but I doubt that the ones I picked today will dry well, due to the state they were in.

Anyway, would you believe, before I even got a chance to upload the photos complaining about the dry and heat - this is what happens!

Hail!
And thunder.
And rain.
All over my washing......

Then ten minutes later - the sun is back out.

Followed by this - looks pretty cool though, don't you think?

I'm thinking maybe my plums should ripen nicely though.  Good heat to sweeten them up.  Rain to swell them up.

Now I'm off to calm the dog down, who thinks that every time it rains and thunders, she has to sit on my knee - not easy to type when she does that!

cheers
Fi

Stepping it up a bit

I've been playing today.

I took the design from my last post - home is where the heart is - and scaled it up a bit to paint onto a small canvas I had on the shelf.

I think this version emphasises the Swedish influence more.

These roses are often found in traditional Swedish painting.  And they are fun to do.



 

I love how the flowers become larger than life in this style - totally whimsical.

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Folk art painting on canvas

It's pouring rain here today. Has been all summer.

So I am in the studio.
I want to paint, but I don't want to think too hard about what to paint. My concentration level is a bit on the low side.

I have boxed canvas that I had previously painted on, then didn't like the outcome.

If I paint over it, I can get one of my books from my all time favourite artist Jo Sonja Jansen, pick a design, then recreate it to fit the canvas.

That will be a great exercise in brush skills.

So, I choose this design.



This is the back cover of 'The Art of Folk Painting', by Jo Sonja Jansen (and David).
I bought this book over 20 years ago, as you can probably tell from the scuffs and scrapes on it.

It will be a good subject for practicing brush skills, but I don't want mine to look so 'neat'.
Let's see what we end up with...

Here is my canvas, all painted up and ready to go.

Ok, I have the pattern sketched on there - yes, I did say 'sketched'.  It is a good habit to get into to freehand your designs on, and this isn't too hard if you keep a few things in mind.

Like, if you look close enough, you can see that I have divided the canvas down the middle, both horizontally and vertically. You could then split those areas in half again if you liked.

These lines help you place things in a balanced, symmetrical way.  No real detail here, just enough for you to base in the shapes.

The more you practice, the better you get.  No shortcuts here.Here is the palette that I have chosen to go with.  All acrylic.

Going from the white on the top right, anticlockwise, we have -

Titanium White, Moss Green, Sap Green, Green Oxide (2 splodges of), Teal Green (but I didn't end up using it), Celadon, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Storm Blue (there is a splodge of Blue deep there, but that wasn't used either), Purple Madder, Burgundy, Napthol Crimson, Red Earth, Napthol Red Light, Raw Sienna, Yellow Oxide, Turners Yellow.

Most of the colours are Jo Sonja Artist Colours.

I always use a wet palette, when working with acrylics.  One in a shallow container with a lid.

Most folk art designs require you to base in the shapes in a medium value.  Then we come back to shade, highlight and decorate.

Can you see how I've used a sponge and a rough bristle brush to 'scrub in' colour to the background colour of the canvas.   I stroked this colour around most of the design objects, to 'ground' them.

It also gives the canvas more of the rustic look I was after.

Here is the finished painting.

till next time
Fiona

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