Serene Retreat

The first step in painting the water is to cover the entire area. Then the flat planes of the two upper levels of the waterfall are blocked in. The rocks show through the thin layer of water flowing over them.

Using a large Bright brush, strokes indicating the cascade of water are dragged down. The paint of the underlying boulders is dry so I allow the brush to skip over their texture, being careful to let some of the dark rocks show through.

The lightest part of the water is the top edge of the falls where the sun catches the water spilling over. The upright part of the falling water is darker. Then the bubbling water at the base of the falls lightens up. Reflections dance on the surface of the rest of the pool. Cathy loves Irises, she requested a combination of soft yellow and blue ones. I paint the foliage first, a departure from my usual sequence of Flowers First, Leaves Last.

The Iris blossoms are painted after the leaves since they sway and bob above the long, strap-like foliage. Then the Canna Lilies growing in the pond are added.

The last flowers to plant are the Deep Pink Peonies growing along the rocks lining the pond. I use mixtures of Alizarin Crimson + White for them.

WE’RE DONE. Painting the sides was a new experience for me. Jack and I love the way they turned out. The hardest part was figuring out how the perspective lines on the floor would go! You can click on the images to see the pictures larger.

Serene Retreat   27″ x 31″   Original Oil Painting

The courtyard garden leading to the red door and the yellow chair, along with the melody of the water splashing happily over the falls, offers a Serene Retreat for our collector’s office. As soon as the piece dries a bit it will be packed up and on it’s way to its new home.

Before I close today we would like to offer prayers to everyone affected by the tornadoes that devastated Oklahoma yesterday and today. It’s hard to know what to say when we see the pictures and hear the stories on the news. We hold all of you close in our hearts,

Happy Hollyhocks

Let’s move to the clump of Hollyhocks nestled behind the water feature. The large blossoms are blocked in with mixes of Magenta + Dioxazine Purple + White.

Painting the foliage around the purple areas helps to shape the individual flowers. Then I add their deep centers with Magenta mixed with Liquin.

Delineating the characteristic tall stems and seed pods of the Hollyhocks finish out these happy flowers. Some of the yellow from the chair was used for the stamens in the centers of the blossoms.

The Daisies in the container are blocked in with Lavenders, Blues and Aquas. This mass of color will provide the shadows of the White flowers.

The leaves of the Daisies are painted, then centers and highlights are added on the individual flowers. The rocks of the water feature are made of mixes of Ultramarine Blue + Cadmium Orange + White. MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) is added to the mixtures for the dark shadows. A few strokes of Ultramarine Blue + White are made on the rocks where reflected light from the water illuminates them. Have a great day. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

A Friendly Gecko

I love geckos and am so glad Cathy requested one for her painting. The base color of the tile is painted first, then I add the design. Bracing my wrist on a mahl stick to steady my hand I paint the little lizard with Magenta + Liquin. What is a mahl stick? CLICK HERE to find out.

The shadow on the tile helps to cool it and make it drop into the background.

The yellow chair adds a bright, cheery touch to the corner by the door. Sunlight spilling over the Trumpet Vine lights the upper posts of the back and the front edge of the seat.

Geraniums are some of my favorite flowers, a fact which I’m sure my regular readers can confirm. They certainly are regulars in our garden and show up in a lot of my paintings. The Reds of the blossoms are blocked in to begin with; following my usual sequence of Flowers First, Leaves Last. The green leaves on the right were done when I painted the side of the canvas and the Alkyd Oils are now dry.

This is a good place to see how well the Alkyd Oil paints match the regular Oils. The foliage on the left is made with regular Oil Paints, mixed from various combinations of Pthalo Blue + Lemon Yellow. Can you see any difference from the leaves on the right? Highlighting the petals and adding flower buds are the finishing details on the Geraniums. A few petals have fallen to the ground in a gentle breeze that drifted through the courtyard. That does it for today, hope you’ll come back tomorrow. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

Website: www.senkarik.com

Door to Floor

The dark portion of the red door is a mix of Cadmium Red Deep and Magenta. I’ve mixed enough paint so there will some left over to use for the window which is also in shadow. The part of the door in the sunshine is pure Cadmium Red Light.

After completing the door and window I turn my attention to the satillo tile floor. The entire surface is covered, establishing the light and shadow patterns. Notice I make it bluer, or cooler, in the back near the door and chair. This follows a simple rule that artists use to give the feeling of depth in a painting: Cool Colors go back, Warm Colors come forward. Next I draw the perspective lines of the tile into the wet paint with a fine liner brush dipped in a mix of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) thinned with Liquin.

The horizontal lines separating the individual pavers are now drawn. If you would like to enlarge any of these pictures just click on the image.

Sunshine streams across the floor catching the edges of the tiles. The final touch is to illuminate the leading edge of each paver. The highlights are made cooler toward the back which helps to make the floor recede.

While the paint of the floor is still wet I go ahead and sign the piece. The cardboard backing gives me a place to brace my hand to avoid the edge of the canvas. Thanks for stopping by our studio today. I appreciate all of your comments. And please….feel free to ask any questions. Have a great evening. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

Adobe Walls and Trumpet Vine

Work on the front of the canvas begins by blocking in the adobe building. My paint mixes of various combinations of Ultramarine Blue + Cadmium Orange + White are laid out on the palette. MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) is added to make the darker shadow mixtures. To learn more about our Double Primary Palette Mixing System CLICK HERE.

The light areas of the wall are now painted. To enlarge any of these pictures just click on the image.

The large, brightly colored mass of the Trumpet Vine is blocked in with combinations of Cadmium Red Deep, Cadmium Red Light and Cadmium Orange.

The green leaves are worked in and around the Red-Orange flowers, helping to give them shape. I also paint the Vigas protruding out from the adobe wall. When they are finished I’ll let a few leaves and blossoms drape down over them.

Highlights are added to the blossoms, leaves and trucks, finishing out the Trumpet Vine. Thanks for following along today, hope you’ll come back soon. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

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Painting the Edges

Several of my readers have asked about starting a blog. So before we get to painting today I’ll give you some insight into ours. Jack researched many blog sites and found www.wordpress.com was the most user-friendly. We aren’t computer geeks, we need SIMPLE. I’ve found it very easy to set up, add images and use on a daily basis. Best of all WordPress is FREE. Hope this helps a little.

Back to work. All of our studio furniture is on wheels. I place the canvas and cardboard on top of a taboret. The wheels enable me to turn it as I work on the sides, much like a Lazy Susan.

A plastic garbage bag is cut into strips that are placed under each side and clipped at the corners to hold them in place. This way I can paint the sides and the cardboard stays clean. If I didn’t put the plastic down, thick paint would accumulate between the edges of the painting and the cardboard. When it dried the canvas would stick to the cardboard; it would be a mess to separate and bits of cardboard would adhere to the side of the piece.

I use Alkyd Oil paints for the edges of the gallery wrapped canvas. They dry much faster than regular Oil Paint and are available in the same colors, making it easy to match with the front of the piece.

The taboret is moved close to my palette where I’ve mixed all the colors I’ll need for the sides. It’s easier for me to paint the edges in this manner than to try to do them upright on the easel.

As the sides are painted I bring the color onto the face of the piece. This will make the transition smoother and there is no danger of leaving any white canvas exposed along the front edge.

After the sides are completely finished the plastic is removed. I go back and touch up any spots where the white canvas shows through. I also run my palette knife between the canvas and cardboard all the way around the piece to remove any excess paint. I’ll let this dry overnight and we’ll be ready to start painting on the front.

AND…….Last but not least. Jack’s newest article has been published at Fine Art Studio Online. CLICK HERE to read Hubris Precedes the Plunge. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

Progression of the Sketch

My collector really loves the general setting with the red door, yellow southwest style chair, gecko tile and red orange Trumpet Vine in the above painting, Wrapped Up In Color.

But Cathy also likes both the waterfall in the background and the fountain in Expressions of Enjoyment. She said, “One or the other would be fine. Especially like the little waterfall.”

Here’s the sketch. I’ve taken the basic layout of Wrapped Up In Color and added a water feature in the foreground. Some of Cathy’s favorite flowers are Hollyhocks, Irises and Peonies so I made sure to include them. You can click on the image to see it larger.

After reviewing the sketch she decided the flower pot in the window was too much. Cathy also wanted to see more of the adobe wall on the left, more like in Wrapped Up In Color. The final sketch is shown here.

Now to the easel. I begin by making the perspective lines of the building and vigas, the beams extending out of the wall above the door. I lightly outline where the rocks of the water feature will be, then draw the uprights of the door and window.

The drawing on the canvas is made with a brush dipped in an oil wash mixed of equal parts of Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson. Liquin is added to thin the mixture.

The basic elements are sketched up and we’re ready to begin painting. Hope you’ll come back tomorrow and follow along. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

Website: www.senkarik.com

First Tomatoes

Our FIRST tomatoes of the year! Sissie, one of our shelter kitties, just had to check them out before I brought them in from the garden.

Collaborations are so much fun to do. This one is a little different. My collector wants the image painted around the edges of a gallery wrap canvas. I have to do some advance preparation on the canvas before painting begins. After labeling the back of the piece with the title, code of authenticity, my signature and personalizing it to the client I attach a hanging wire and hanger. I pencil an arrow on the front of the canvas indicating UP. I’ve made the mistake of not doing this step and ended up with the labeling on the back upside down to the painting. Then screw eyes are put in the stretcher bars on three sides. Note the red arrows.

A double ply piece of cardboard is cut that extends beyond the canvas by approximately 3 inches on each side. The canvas is centered on the cardboard and lightly pressed down.

The screw eyes make an indentation in the cardboard. They are enlarged with an icepick.

The canvas is placed back on the cardboard and the screw eyes pushed all the way through the holes. Then a nail is inserted through the screw eye that extends beyond the surface of the cardboard. This securely holds the canvas tightly against the cardboard.

Since the piece will be painted on the sides the cardboard makes it much easier to handle the wet painting. It will also allow us to ship the piece safely before it is totally dry. The thicker globs of oil paint take up to 6 months to dry completely through, I don’t think our collector wants to wait that long to begin enjoying her special piece. Thank you for following along today, hope you’ll come back and watch the progress. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

If you would like to receive an email every time I publish a new post please feel free to subscribe to my blog. CLICK THIS LINK and scroll to the upper right side of the page. You will see a heading EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS. Just enter your email address and click the button “Sign me up!”  It’s easy. And if you enjoy my blog please CLICK the FaceBook LIKE Button. As we say in Texas, “Much Obliged!

Calming Waters

The foreground patio provides a spot for the person looking at the painting to mentally stand and enjoy the view.

The warmth of the terra cotta tiles and flower pots makes the cool colors in the distance begin to drop back. When the intense colors of the flowers are added the depth in the painting will increase even more.

The bright flowers of the Red Penstemon and Nasturtiums are now blocked in.

Greens of the foliage are worked around the blossoms, helping to shape the flowers. Some strokes of the teal blue window color are made into the leaves to give added dimension.

Long dangling tendrils and deep centers in the flowers finish the Nasturtiums. They would add a tasty touch to a summer salad!

Now for Nancy’s Roses. Paul sent some pictures of her favorites from their garden. She especially loves the soft pink and buttery yellow ones. So I use mixes of Permanent Rose + Cadmium Red Light + White for the pink roses. Then Cadmium Yellow Medium + a touch of Lemon Yellow + White is mixed for the yellow flowers. The two colors are randomly “Smooshed” around to block in the mass of colorful, fragrant blossoms.

Calming Waters      24″ x 30″    Original Oil Painting

Listen carefully, can you hear the music of the water rushing over the falls? Let the Calming Waters sooth the hustle bustle of your day. To enlarge the picture just click on the image. Thanks for following my blog. Hope you’ll come back and visit our studio again soon. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

If you would like to receive an email every time I publish a new post please feel free to subscribe to my blog. CLICK THIS LINK and scroll to the upper right side of the page. You will see a heading EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS. Just enter your email address and click the button “Sign me up!”  It’s easy. And if you enjoy my blog please CLICK the FaceBook LIKE Button. As we say in Texas, “Much Obliged!

Reflections of an Old Mill

The entire surface of the water is first painted with a muted blue made of mixes of Ultramarine Blue + MUD + White. The most distant part of the pond is painted darker, it becomes lighter in the foreground. Then using color leftover from the stone building I begin to drag reflections straight down into the wet paint of the water.

When painting water think of it as a mirror. The reflections are upside down from the objects making them. Closer to the foreground I drag some horizontal strokes across the downward ones. This gives the impression of ripples in the water.

The sunlight cascading down the cattails on the left slides across the water and illuminates the lily pads floating at the base of the building.

The water tumbling over the falls is lightly dragged over the dry paint of the rocky wall. The sun highlights the water on the top edge of the falls.

Foam collects at the base of the falls. A few more horizontal ripples into the calm water finish the pond. WHEW! I must admit, this was the most intimidating part of the painting. But after I got over my initial fear and dove in, so to speak, the challenge was actually fun. Thanks for all of your kind comments! Hugs, Mikki Senkarik