Study of Carla #2

Study of Carla #2
Originally uploaded by Benita S.

I painted this one rather quickly. The nose is not how I wanted it but I was concentrating more on the emotion of the painting than accuracy. I already have accurate photos and sketches and I wanted to get at least a little more of an abstract feel before I start the final painting. I'm thinking of switching to watercolors for this one. I think the medium will work much better for what I am trying to achieve.

Study of Carla #1

Study of Carla #1
Originally uploaded by Benita S.

Finished this one yesterday. It was done as a quick study and as such won't be added to my website. Once the final painting is created however, I will offer it at auction. I will post a link when it becomes available.

Painting in Progress - Dancer 07-01-2009

Painting in Progress - Dancer 07-01-2009
Originally uploaded by Benita S.

This painting is still in progress so it is still a little rough. I am painting this one in oil on canvas. At this point I am allowing the paint to dry some before refining the image. It measures 48" W x 38" H.

Whats New ...

As I write this, it is Sunday afternoon and cold. We can have crazy weather here sometimes. Yesterday, before the storms it was 70 degrees. Now you must wear a jacket outside and I turned the heat back on today. Oh I hope it warms back up this week! Everything here is already green and getting greener. The trees are all in bloom and it is beautiful. Our property looks like the Creator took a paintbrush and splattered gorgeous colors everywhere!

Unfortunately, there is nothing new with my studio (the one being built anyway). There are still building materials all over my yard. That makes it kind of difficult to cut the grass. Sometimes I go look at my tiny new studio and get so excited I want to jump up and down like a six year old. lol. The roof is on, the walls are up and the windows are in. I have two whole walls of windows, the largest facing the north. The other wall has four tall windows in it and looks out over my front lawn. There is going to be so much more natural light than my current area I paint in!!!

In the meantime... I have completed several new paintings that I have been and will be adding here soon. If you scroll down some you will see the first in my new "Conversations with Mother Nature" series. It is separate from the obsession with trees series in that the paintings may or may not have trees and they are all based on emotions inspired by nature. Or in some instances, the lack of it. I have also started a new series of abstract figures. The name of this series hasn't been revealed to me yet. Maybe soon.

I will be updating my website soon with a few changes. Some of the changes will be:

• Ability to purchase directly from my website.
  
• Galleries sorted by series.
• I will phase out the "In the News" page as I will keep updates posted here instead. Be sure to subscribe to my blog if you had a subscription to the news page!

Until next post... Peace and happiness!!
Benita

On the Easel - Abstract Landscape Painting in Progress

Here are the latest developments in the painting.

I added two trees and some grass. Sorry about the photo. I got a late start today and had to use the flash so there is a glare.

I signed the painting but I am still unsure if it is finished. I am thinking about changing the shadows at the base of the trees and/or maybe adding more trees on the opposite end of the field. It would be easy to overwork this one though so I am going to hold off on making any more changes at least until tomorrow. Maybe longer. And as usual, a title as yet eludes me.

On the Easel - Abstract Landscape Painting in Progress (Part One)

I had already worked on this painting some before I decided to share its progress. In this 1st photo I had already applied about 5 - 7 layers of paint. This painting measures 40" x 24". When I paint in acrylics I use any tool needed to get the paint to do what I want. So far in this painting I have used brushes, fingers, rags and old credit cards.


As you can see this photo was taken at an angle in order to get the whole length. The lighting wasn't great today and I was using my daylight lamps so the colors may be a little more off than usual.

I then added in the background treeline. This was also several more layers and I ended up with a lot of paint on me instead of the canvas. lol

I will add more photos as I progress so be sure to check back.