Day 43, Project 125 Yamhill, Oregon Red Barn oil landscape painting BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy   Nightfall       oil    6 inches x 6 inches      $125.

Click here to purchase.

Today I played with color after finishing my large barn painting, Yamhill Barn, 30"x40" oil. I felt like a nocturne. I had had this one in my mind for a couple of weeks. It was one that I was going to paint larger, but I thought I would try it first in a small size. I'm not sure if I will go larger with it or move on. I need to get some sunsets going in larger sizes. That may be next on the agenda.

In this painting I used a small range of colors keeping them grayed with subtle differences between them. It is always tricky to get enough light in the painting, but dark enough to tell the viewer it is nighttime. Without enough light it is just a dark painting. I like to have some definite light hitting an object to create more interest in a nocturne. In this one the moon is outside the field of vision.

© 2013 Becky Joy     Yamhill Barn    oil on linen      30" x 40"

A few openings in my workshops:

Hood River, OR Sept 4

Carmel, IN Sept 27 - 29

Superstitions, AZ Oct 3 - 5

E-Book: How to Create Better Paintings Using Foundational Concepts

Preview the book, 

I'll talk to you all tomorrow.

Becky Joy

workshops

Day 38, Project 125 Peaceful and Restful oil landscape painting BECKY JOY

© 2014 Becky Joy    Peaceful Respite    oil     6 inches x 6 inches      $125.

Today (I always start out that way, don't I).   Hmmm.... gotta mix it up a bit.  Anyway, on with the day. I shipped off my paintings for the Plein Air Artists Colorado Annual Show at Abend Gallery in Denver. The show runs Aug 10 - 31.

Then, it was off to the art store in Scottsdale. I needed some smaller new tubes of paint for traveling on the plane. Some of my tubes were no longer readable, so much better to be safe and have labels clearly marked and full tubes. Then a couple more errand and lunch with my daughter. The afternoon was finally spent painting. This was painted in the studio, a kind of restful, peaceful scene. I think I needed that.

I hope some of you can join me painting in Italy at the Posara Watermill June 7 -14, 2014. Booking from now until Aug 31, 2013 there is a special discount where you can save on the rates. For more information on the workshop click here.

Now, a quiet evening!

Becky Joy

Workshops

Day 25, Project 125 Baker City Oregon plein air oil landscape painting BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy     Baker City Oregon Clouds   oil on panel     6 inches x 6 inches  

It is been a challenge with the computer the last couple of days. I left my family in Oregon 2 days ago and have been on the road. I stayed the night in Baker City, Oregon which is in Eastern Oregon. The internet access that I had was verrrrry slow, but I did manage to get some work done. And, that was the problem, some but not all the work. I uploaded my new e-book, but was not able to finish the job. So, those that paid were not getting the e-book. Once I got to my friend, Shanna Kunz' house in Utah I finally got a good connection. This morning I was able to finish everything with the e-book and now trying to catch up with the blogging, emails, etc, etc.

I've got some more photography to take to catch up. But for now, I'm painting with my friend Shanna!

Talk to you all tomorrow.

Becky Joy

Workshops

Day 23 Rural Austin Texas Dusk, plein air to studio mood painting BECY JOY

 

© 2013 Becky Joy    Rural Austin Texas Dusk      oil on panel     6 inches x 6 inshes     $125.

This may be Texas, but I'm still in Oregon. I was itching to paint some mood paintings. This is one of them. I used a small 6x6 plein air that I painted in Austin, TX in May while at the OPA Show. Even though I invent the color of my mood paintings, the plein air paintings are very useful to me. The plein air will show me the relationship of colors to each other, which is something that I am still concerned about in paintings that I invent colors. I did change the lighting direction of this painting. I don't always do that, but I felt to balance the painting it was best to have the light come from the right rather than the left. This also left more sky open to put the lightest warmest color in this space. This painting is a little later in the day than the one that I painted yesterday, thus making the sky a cooler color. The ground colors reflect that sky color becoming cooler also.

I'll be off and on the road tomorrow, on my way to Salt Lake City to stop and visit and paint with my friend Shanna Kunz. Can't wait to paint with her. I'll be posting something on the drive there when I take a break. 

The next part of my adventure, Salt Lake City, UT.

Fredericksburg, TX plein air workshop Oct 24 - 26

Becky Joy

Workshops

Day 19, Project 125 Gaston, Oregon Farm House plein air oil painting BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy   Day 19, Gaston, Oregon Farm House    oil on panel     6 inches x 6 inches   

Hi everyone, Another great day here in Oregon. I didn't post yesterday, although I did paint in the morning. It was a busy day! This painting was painted along a small quiet gravel country road near Gaston, Oregon in the Willamette Valley. Another place not too far from my parents and sister.

This house was abandoned and it was obvious that no one had lived there for quite some time. In fact, a neighbor who watches the property, came out to check on me, what was I doing there in front of the house. It turned out just fine and she went back into her house up the hill. I love some of the big old farm trees. This one was a maple tree. It towered over the house and such bulk to it.

After painting, I came back home and my sister picked me up just before noon with her 3 Chinese daughters. The oldest was celebrating her 18th birthday. She picked the activities and off we went to Portland. We spent the day there going through a few meager shops in Chinatown in Portland, which is pretty small. A lot of restaurants, but not many shops. After that we went to Voodoo Donuts, interesting shop and a waiting line, but overkill on the sugar. Below is the lineup for the shop. We also went down to Portland State, where she will be going to school in the fall and met my older niece who works there. After starbucks and time to kill before dinner, we walked up to Powell Books. Powell's has always been a stop of mine when I come up. It is the largest bookstore in the US. It's at least 5 stories high and takes up a city block. Over the years different stores were added to it, so it is a maze and each subject has it's own room. Guess where I went! Yes, the art room. I didn't have enough time to really look at a lot and sadly, left with nothing but memories.

At dinner time we met up with my older niece again and went to a Chinese Hot Pot Restaurant. It was a small little restaurant, but the interesting part of this is that the place looked really familiar. The longer I sat there the more I realized I've been here. I asked the owner how old the building was. It was built in the late 60's. That was when the waterfront area was starting to be developed and rebuilt. I realized that this was the same building and space that I worked at for my first job out of beauty school (I was a hairdresser for 19 years). When I walked outside to the parking lot and surveyed the scene, yep, it was the same place. A few changes in 40 years, including apartment buildings in the back of the commercial space, but it was all there. Strange coincidence. Now that brought back memories.

I was too tired and hot to post when I got home, so a day late on that end.

Talk to you later,

Becky

Workshops

Day 20, Project 125 Yamhill Oregon Farm plein air oil painting

© 2013 Becky Joy   Yamhill Oregon Farm Field      oil on panel    6 inches x 6 inches     

This morning I went out in the Yamhill area and painted two paintings. First was a 10"x8" on linen, which is posted below. I liked, of course, the group of trees and the road, but also the lay of the land. It was quite sunny and nice this morning. The only real shadow was the group of trees. The dirt road and the field were in sunlight. It was a nice quiet road again, a pattern here on those quiet roads.

After driving around and taking some photos of more farms, hills and trees, I found a spot to pull over and paint my 6"x6" today, the Yamhill Oregon Farm Field. There was a variety of colors in the field with the flowers and different grasses and weeds. It made an interesting pattern.

© 2013 Becky Joy    Gaston Oregon Drive     oil on linen    10 inches x 8 inches 

Still spaces available in the one day plein air workshop in Hood River, OR  Sept 4

Check out my other workshops including Italy and Croatia.

Talk to you all tomorrow. Who will I be painting with tomorrow?

Becky Joy

Day 17, Project 125 Oregon, Home Grown by BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy    Oregon, Home Grown     oil 6 inches x 6 inches   

Today, I spent a lot of time at home, cleaning my car (that was a job), on the computer, and doing nothing. I went out painting late in the day. I had seen this little overgrown place along the highway. I always like those unkept places with more character. I was drawn to the variety of color in the foliage and the house peeking out from the bushes. It had an old rusted tin roof which certainly adds to the character. In the foreground their were some  ferns and all kinds of weeds growing. Some of the colors in the foreground were picked up in piles with the brush and layed on like a palette knife.

Tomorrow I think I will get out early. It is hot for this area in the afternoons.

I would like to find out from some of you what you would want me to teach you if you were taking a workshop from me.

Talk to you all tomorrow.

Becky Joy

Workshops

Day 13, Project 125 Painting Oregon farms by BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy       Oregon Farme, Trees and More Trees      oil   6 inches x 6 inches

I finally made it to my destination in Oregon late last night. It was a light, typical rain almost all through my drive in Oregon.  I slept in this morning, but did get out for a short time later in the day. In this scene I was attracted to the clouds that enveloped the top of the mountain and of course, the green field.

Everything is pretty green right now, and a nice, pleasant temperature. It will be heating up by the end of the week, sounds like record temps to me. I visited with family today and will be seeing friends and more family while I'm here. I'm a fourth generation born in Oregon City (my son was a fifth). You can imagine that I have a lot of relatives here. It's funny every time I come up here, I'm struck by how green it is, certainly compared to the desert. Summers are perfect in the Northwest.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to start getting out and doing a little more plein air, hopefully early in the morning. You'll see what I see tomorrow.

I still have space in my one day workshop in Hood River, OR on Sept 4 during the plein air event that I will be judging. Check out the details here.

I'll be here tomorrow.

Becky Joy

workshops

Day 12, Project 125 Susanville, CA Barn plein air painting

© 2013 Becky Joy    Susanville, CA Barn      oil      6 inches x 6 inches    

I didn't get out of Lake Tahoe until almost 11:00. (I had to stop by the post office to get something in the mail that was overdue, oops!) Anyway, got my work done and posted my painting from the night before.

I remember Susanville from years ago going through there on the way to Reno from Oregon. I don't know why it has always stuck in my mind, but I do love those old barns and farms. In this barn I got a great shot of an old truck, which is below. I'll have to paint that later.

It was afternoon by the time I got in Susanville. I was struck by the beautiful blues of the mountains. That blue always seems indescribable in paint. It's kind of an ultramarine & colbalt combination. In this painting I placed the light of the sky against the dark of the barn, adding a little yellow and cad red to the white, just a tiny, tiny bit. I very seldom use a pure white in a painting and only sparingly.

Upcoming Workshops:

Hood River, OR  1 day plein air Sept 4, click here for info

Carmel, IN  3 day plein air Sept 24 - 27, click here for info

Tuscany, Italy June 7 - 17, 2014, click here for info

Korkula Island, Croatia  Sept 14 - 23, 2014, click here for info

Talk to you all later,

Becky Joy

workshops

Day #9, Project 125, Twin Lakes, CA Cabin, plein air oil by BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy    Twin Lakes Cabin   oil  6 inches x 6 inches   $125.

Day #9, a long time camping and up at dawn, not the norm for me, but I do get up at dawn for painting. This was painted at about 8 am after starting another at dawn that I wasn't able to finish. I liked the shadow shapes, but also the contrast of the red-orange of the cabin with the greens in the scene. The topography was also interesting to paint the flat field and the hillside with the cabin. It was a nice calm morning with the wind picking up in the afternoon.

© 2013 Becky Joy     Bridgeport, CA, Green and White    oil  9 inches x 9 inches   $900.

By the time I painted this painting, it was windy, which is probably the norm in this region. I saw this scene the first day I arrived in Bridgeport, CA. Today I stopped across the street to see if I could park in a motel parking lot to paint. I was told "NO". So I went across the street and found a better view anyway. It was fun painting all the shades of green and white. I had to play down some of the whites to get a brighter white up on the peak of the background house. I also used a thicker brushstroke there and brightened the red roof next to the white bringing the viewer to that area. Below are photos of the above scenes.

          

Now, it's on the road to my next destination, Lake Tahoe, to my friends house. Nothing like stopping at a friends for a hot shower. Nice!
 Talk to you all tomorrow.
 Becky   Joy
website
workshops

Day #7, Project 125 Yosemite Trees, Again BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy    Yosemite Tree    oil 6 inches x 6 inches    $125.

Packed up early this morning. I hate that packing away a tent. It never fits back the way it came, but I got it in that bag. Nice. Car's all packed, gassed up and ready to go. Paints are always in the back ready to pull out.  On to the next stop.

I got stuck on the trees a lot. Actually the smoke wasn't real good for some of the views. I had a few ideas, but I know that the view wasn't the same as what I first saw. Oh well, next trip here. And, I will definitely be back.

Talk to you all tomorrow.

Becky

Workshops

Project 125, Day #5 Yosemite Becky Joy

© 2013 Becky Joy   Among the Trees   oil 6 inches x 6 inches    

The RSS Feed has been fixed. Now, the blog! The read more links don't work. I have gone through trying to figure out what is wrong to no avail. I have a message into my computer guy to look into it. So sorry about this mishap. Today I drove into town and am working on the internet. Too many things piling up that need to be addressed. Also, a lack of electric when camping is difficult when working on the computer. Hmmm.... imagine that, you need electric. I think I will be buying a battery charger to take with me. That could make life easier. I will be staying her in Yosemite for a bit more painting. There are way too many things to paint and I may not make it to Oregon if I don't give it up and move on. Computer issues have been my greatest frustration, camping is the easy part! Talk to you all tomorrow. Oh, and the batteries on my camera are out. Now to recharge them on the drive back to the park.
 Becky Joy
http://beckyjoy.com
Check out my workshops at http://beckyjoy.com/workshops

ranch windmill plein air oil painting by BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy    Ranch Windmill    oil     8 x 10 inches   

The last painting in my studio sale.  Painted on location at a friend's Arizona ranch. With the clouds in the background behind the windmill, it was an afternoon  sky becoming warmer in color. The field had lots of vines and plants overgrowing some of the junk. free shipping in US

Becky Joy

Workshops

beckyjoy@beckyjoy.com

My website

California Farm plein air oil landscape painting by BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy    California Farm   oil      9 x 12"  

I've been cleaning out my studio and I am overrun with plein air paintings. I decided to add some paintings to a studio sale. A painting each day for a while. This one was painted in Central California. As you know, I'm always a sucker for farms.

I've been working on my presentation for the Plein Air Convention this next week. Hope that some of you will be coming to the event. I will be speaking at the Basics Course and painting on location.

Check out my post today on Easel Notes about how to paint successfully in the sun without an umbrella.

Becky Joy

http://beckyjoy.com

Workshops

"A Land to Love" by Li Mahalik

Oil on Ampersand Gessoed Panel, 18x24

I'm inspired by an excerpt of an article by George Inness about art. I hope you feel the same way. In it it says:

"...Art aims is not to instruct, not to edify, but to awaken an emotion of love, pity, veneration, of hate, of pleasure, of pain, but it must be a single emotion if the work has unity, as every such work should have...."

*****

Please come visit my new web site here.

Or, visit my blog.

Thank you for visiting!

"Morning", by Li Mahalik

Oil on Canvas, 8 x 10

With an image in my mind, I painted this with a palette knife mostly, and a brush. The process was quite exciting. The palette knife makes it easy to create color blocks and lines for the perspectives. Since I love abstract, I can see going farther with this technique. If you're interested in this painting, please contact me at dreamcobbler@cox.net.

Or, visit my web site, limahalikart.com. Thank you!