Now is a good time for a challenge!

From time to time I'll get an urge to create an "abstract" painting. This painting is as abstract as I get.

I don't know if there are any "rules", and to that end I've joined an online work shop with a California artist, Melinda Cootsona. I really like her work and she offers awesome inspiration and guidance.

I'm going to set up a new collection on my website titled "Projects". You can view my progress and it would be helpful to have your insights and suggestions.

The paintings below are two of the assignments I've completed so far.

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March 4 - 6, 2014 Plein air Workshop Phoenix, AZ

I have had several people ask me about teaching a workshop in the spring in Arizona. I've now got one on the books. Join me March 4 - 6 out at the Superstitions for 3 days of plein air painting. All levels are welcome. For more info on this workshop go to: http://www.beckyjoy.com/superstitions-plein-air/ I've been busy painting away at the Celebration. Some of you will be surprised at what I've been painting behind closed doors. I've been painting portraits. I'm loving the challenge. I've also been told I need to go public with them and start offering commissions on portraits. Well, this is the unveiling! Here is Sofia!

June 7 – 14	Tuscany, Italy	7 day painting getaway!	Click Here for details!
July 12 – 19, 2014	Normandy, France	7 day tour and plein air painting	Click Here for more info
summerpending	Tetons at Jackson, WY	5 day workshop	email me at beckyjoy@beckyjoy.com if you are interested
Sept 14 – 23	Korcula Island, Croatia	10 day painting getaway!	Click Here for details!
Oct 2, 3, 4	Phoenix, AZ	3 day plein air	Click Here for details
Nov 13 -15	Prescott, AZ	3 day painting workshop	Click Here for details!

Becky Joy
 http://beckyjoy.com
 beckyjoy@beckyjoy.com

End of the Day—Painting, Workshop and Project 125 BECKY JOY

"End of the Day"   11"x14" oil

As some of you may know, I just got back a couple of days ago from teaching a workshop Ohio. I had a great group of students and the class was a resounding success thanks to the organization of Donna Pierce-Clark who put it together. Thank you Donna!

I started each morning with a quick demo and lecture, then everyone went back to their easel to paint. Everyone brought in their own photos which gave a lot of different paintings for everyone to learn from during the critique. Of course, one of the paintings that painted was a sunset. What I hear from most artists is that they want to learn how to paint sunsets and create light in their paintings. Each student was also given my book, Create Better Paintings Using Foundational Concepts which helps to reinforce what I taught and is a good reminder. I was so busy teaching and helping 16 students that I didn't get around to taking a group shot. Below are some of the photos that I do have of the workshop and student work.

Thank you to all my students in Ohio for making a great three days for me. I appreciate each of you and keep up the good work.

I've had plenty to catch up on since I've been gone. One is to get a few studio paintings done. 

Next up, I have decided that I will have to suspend the Project 125. I have had so much happen with family lately and too many commitments that I need to follow through with that are more important. I will continue to paint some small paintings pricing them at $125. each until the end of October. I was beginning to feel too much pressure to do some other work that I need to get done, so......

While I was in Rocky Mountain National Park, I video taped a demo. I will be putting it together for my second video workshop by next week. I'll let you know and I will continue to be posting big and small works both, almost everyday.

Next workshop up is Hood River, OR where I will be judging the plein air show and teaching a one day workshop. Then Sept 27 -29 will be the Carmel, Indiana workshop. Hope to see some of you there.

Becky Joy

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Day 44, Project 125 Ranch House, plein air paintings BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy      Day 44, Ranch House    oil    6 inches x 6 inches    $125.

This composition is reminiscent of yesterday's. I've been using the small paintings painted in the studio as a way to experiment, but also trying to find ones that I want to paint larger. What struck me about this scene was the grasses and the fence posts. I may do something similar to this painting, creating more foreground with the fence posts. I'll have to play with this one some more.

After painting this one, I worked on a couple of plein air paintings that have been hanging around the studio. The first one was painting in Zion last fall during the plein air festival. I liked the overall scene, but felt that it just didn't have the wow factor to it. I painted some shadow in the foreground which helped to bring out the background light. I also softened the mountains and clouds on the left side to help bring out the bright yellows on the right side. I think the painting is much more successful now.

© 2013 Becky Joy     High Desert Dance     oil   11 inches x 14 inches

Next up was a painting that had just literally five strokes on paint added to it. I painted this a couple of years ago in Escalante, Utah. I was attracted to the afternoon light and all the junk in and around this little shed. The pile of light colored "stuff" on the right is where I added a little more light. I wanted the attention there and it needed to be lighter to bring the viewer there.

© 2013 Becky Joy      Utah Storage    oil     8 inches x 10 inches

Tomorrow I need to get down to some serious painting. I spent too much time working on my facebook page this morning. Unfortunately, I find the computer and photoshop too much fun.

Create Better Paintings Using Foundational Concepts E-Book 

Talk to you tomorrow,

Becky Joy

Workshops

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 28, Prickly Pear Cactus with Blossoms Painting BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy     Prickly Pear Blossoms   oil    6 inches x 6 inches   $125. 

Click here to purchase.

Today I spent some time with my daughter and grandkids with a little painting in the morning. This was one of the paintings that I worked on. It was actually a complicated scene with a lot going on in the background. I started painting much more of what I saw then realized I needed to simplify. So, I started by keeping the values close together in all but the shadows on the cactus and what was cast on the ground. I kept the background behind the cactus in different colors and a little cooler and grayer than the foreground creating some distance in the painting.

I pulled out some of paintings from the trip and found that some needed a little more work. Below are a couple of those paintings. I also still need to do some photography for a couple of the paintings from project 125 that I haven't posted. Hopefully, I catch up on all this tomorrow and get paintings ready to ship too.

© 2013 Becky Joy    Idaho Farm    oil on linen     11 inches x 14 inches    $1000.

Click here to purchase.

I painted this in Southwest Idaho in the late afternoon before going to my friend Shanna Kunz' house. I love the farms in that area and just had to pull off the interstate to paint. I hadn't eaten lunch by the time I started painting. I was painting away in the heat and felt a little sick toward the end, so I had to pack it up and finish a little bit of the painting in the studio. The clouds needed a little more work and I had to deepen the values of the farm buildings a little. So, that was my job this morning.

© 2013 Becky Joy      Oregon Farm Tree     oil      11 inches x 14 inches     $1000.

Click here to purchase.

I painted this one at the old farm in Oregon with my friend Romona Youngquist. I thought I had finished it at the time, but I decided there were two things wrong with it. First, I had a solid line along the field in the light orange color dividing the distant hills and field. I broke that up by adding the small group of trees along that line. It helps to connect the field and the background hills. Secondly, that line was going downhill too much to the right. I raised that line a little on the right. I felt by doing so that it balanced the painting more.

I still have openings in my workshop in Hood River, OR on Sept 4 for a 1 day plein air class. All my students in the workshops will receive a copy of the e-book, How to Create Beautiful Paintings Using Foundational Concepts, that I just published.

Talk to you all tomorrow when I post some more paintings.

Becky Joy

workshops

Project 125

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Day 27, I'm home from painting in CA, OR, ID and UT BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy    Pond Reflections    oil   6 inches x 6 inches      $125

I arrived home late last night, LATE, after driving all day, about 14 hours. Needless to say, I didn't got much done in the way of painting. Although, I did paint a little. I cleaned up all my things, washing, putting things back in the studio and pulling out paintings. I've got a few paintings that I felt need some more work. This was one of them. I actually painted this in Texas when I was at the OPA show. I felt the reflections were a little weak. I deepened some of the colors in them and added a couple more brushstrokes on the shoreline the it was texture against the smooth water. I have a couple more that I worked on today and photographed a few paintings also.

Tonight I will be at the Royal Palms Resort doing a demo as I have done on some previous Friday nights. It's late notice now, but if you are in the area stop by. I will be there next Friday also. I'll be back in the studio tomorrow packing some sold paintings and prints, cleaning up and getting ready for some serious studio painting. The sales on my e-book, How to Create Beautiful Paintings Using Foundational Concepts have been going very well. There have been a couple of glitches. 1. I inverted two terms, but corrected that and got the new version out the few that bought at first. 2. I set up the sale with paypal, an email with the download link was supposed to go out after your purchase. It has been inconsistent with some people getting the link and others not. I've had to keep an eye on the paypal and send out the link as quickly as I can. So, that is disappointing. I have now talked to the person that works on my website about finding a cart for me to do what I want. Hopefully, this will be resolved soon. In the meantime, if you purchase the ebook and don't get the download link, email me at beckyjoy@beckyjoy.com


Talk to you all later.
Have a good weekend.
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

plein air oil landscape painting by BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy      The Pond     oil    8x10 

I loved the variety of colors in this scene, the warm violets contrasting with the bright yellow greens. The sunlight filtered through the grasses creating shadows on the water. This is a plein air painting from Flagstaff, AZ

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Check out my workshops for regular updates

Becky Joy

beckyjoy@beckyjoy.com

my paintings

Clouds plein air oil landscape painting by BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy    Clouds   oil    8 x 10 inches   

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Plein air oil painting from Telluride. It was a gray day with very little light on the landscape. I couldn't find too much to inspire me where I was except for the clouds. Clouds are always interesting and a moving target when painting. You need to paint the essence of what you see.

Check out my workshops for new ones that are periodically added.

Becky Joy

beckyjoy@beckyjoy.com

My paintings