Packing a Wet Painting

Before boxing Highway 1 Escape I spray it with a light coating of Grumbacher Retouch Varnish. Then the painting, attached to the backing, is placed on another piece of double ply cardboard the same size. If you would like to see how the canvas was secured to the cardboard CLICK HERE.

The two pieces of cardboard are taped together in the center of each side.

For packing our paintings we use Pink Panther Fiberglass Insulation in 4′ x 8′ sheets purchased at Home Depot. Here is a closeup of the label. Absolutely DO NOT use white styrofoam insulation for packaging your paintings. The little white pieces will break off and get into the wet paint. We know from experience, we’ve tried it with disastrous results. A summer garden scene ended up covered in “Snow”!

4 inch strips are cut and taped together, making a rectangle the same size as the cardboard backing on the painting. This will be the sides of the box. The rectangle is placed on the cardboard backing.

See how the painting “Floats” inside the box?

The top of the box is a triple ply piece of cardboard. This is placed on top of the fiberglass sides, which keep the cardboard from touching the surface of the wet painting. We buy 40″ x 48″ sheets of single ply cardboard in bulk. I cut them to the dimension needed and glue two or three together for the thickness desired.

The corners are anchored with blue painter’s tape. This is just to hold everything in place, I’ll use stronger tape later.

You can purchase fancy UP arrows for your packages. We used to do that but we’ve found using a large Sharpie pen and drawing arrows works just as well. I make certain to mark the package on the top piece of cardboard before turning the box over to finish taping. The painting will need to opened from this side. I don’t want to get confused and forget which side is the top!

The final taping is done with brown plastic tape. The edges and sides are covered entirely.

The package is ready to go, all we have to do is write the shipping address on it with a Sharpie and attach the FedEx label. A dotted line is drawn around the lip of the top of the box, showing where to cut when opening. This makes it much easier for the one unpacking Highway 1 Escape.

And the Smiley Face you ask? Well, we had quite a scare when we shipped my large showstopper painting, A Touch of Romance, for our Annual Collector Event in Santa Fe this past Labor Day. FedEx got our package on the wrong truck and it was happily traveling around the country for days. The show painting took our event title “TRAVELS” to heart! We’ve shipped with FedEx for almost 30 years and have never had a mishap like this. Chris, the FedEx representative who helped correct their mistake was wonderful. We must have been back and forth on the phone 20 times over a few days. He kept us completely updated as to what was happening. FedEx found what truck the piece was on by the tracking number, the painting was heading to the east coast, not Santa Fe. Then they had to look at every single box when the double container 18 wheeler arrived at the terminal in order to locate ours. When we were trying to track the painting down the FedEx representative asked me to describe the box. What could I say? I replied, “It’s brown cardboard like the zillions of other boxes on FedEx.” I described the hand drawn arrows and “Cut along dotted line to open.” They were able to find it and our painting was rerouted to a special flight and delivered by an express courier, compliments of FedEx. Although it was several days late it arrived just in time for our opening reception. So NOW I write “Have a Great Day” with a Smiley face on the outside. This makes the package easily identifiable in case FedEx has to physically locate our box among the millions they ship. And yes, we wrote a letter of commendation to Chris’ boss at FedEx and received a nice letter from him in return. He said, “Our customers are the most important part of our business. When we mess up we want to make sure we get it right and YOU are happy.” Now, that is customer service! Have a GREAT day. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

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Highway 1 Escape

Before we step up to the easel today I just have to share a bit of our garden with you. Fall has arrived and the nights are so wonderfully cool. A welcome respite from the hot summer we’ve had. The light last evening was so beautiful I wanted to let you join Jack and I in enjoying the last rays of sun skipping across our back courtyard.

AND……. we had almost 3 inches of rain 10 days ago. This morning I discovered our Bluebonnets are beginning to pop up in their beds. These little seedlings will grow to bring us beautiful blooms in the spring. YIPPEE!

The picture above was taken in our garden last year in the middle of March. We Texans go kind of nuts about Bluebonnets, as if you couldn’t tell!

Enough gardening. Let’s get to planting on the canvas. Sunflowers always look so cheery next to a red door. The yellow is blocked in first with mixes of Cadmium Yellow Medium + Cadmium Orange + a tiny bit of MUD and pure Cadmium Yellow Medium. The leaves are then worked around the yellow, forming the blossoms. Please remember, if you would like to enlarge any of these pictures just click on the image.

Dark centers immediately identify these as Sunflowers. The final touch will be to highlight the petals with Cadmium Yellow Medium + Hansa Lemon Yellow.

The Gardenias, a special request by my collector, are a first for me. Growing up in the south I’ve experienced the delightful fragrance many times but I’ve never painted them closeup before. Here goes, the mass of blossoms is blocked in with various aquas, blues and lavenders that will serve as the shadows of the flowers.

Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Orange + Hansa Lemon Yellow + White is used to paint the broad leaves of the Gardenias. Some of the deep blue from the distant ocean is worked into the shadows of the foliage to add coolness.

Highway 1 Escape   18″ x 28″     Original Oil Painting

Bright White highlights the Gardenia blossoms touched by the sun cascading over the wall on the right. Breathe in deeply and you can catch that wonderful scent filling the air in the private courtyard of Highway 1 Escape. It has been so much fun working with our collector and her daughters on this special gift. In the next session I’ll show how we package the wet painting to ship it safely. Have a great day. 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!

Terra-Cotta Tile Courtyard

The lantern is drawn over the wet paint of the wall. Some of the stone color comes through giving the glass a translucent appearance. You can click the image to enlarge the picture.

The red-orange Trumpet Vine is painted: Flowers First, Leaves Last. Mixtures of Cadmium Red Light + Alizarin Crimson and Cadmium Red Light + Cadmium Orange are used for the blossoms. Long trailing vines, streaming down the wall add interest.

Now for the courtyard pavers. The light and shadow pattern on the terra-cotta tile floor is blocked in first. Blue is added to the floor in the back near the boulders to make it recede. Then the perspective lines are drawn freehand into the wet paint. This is done without the mahl stick, giving me complete freedom of movement in order to make the lines smooth.

Next the horizontal lines separating the terra-cotta tiles are drawn with my fine liner brush.

The edges of the pavers are highlighted and we are done with the floor. WOW, all that warmth we are getting in the foreground really makes the Big Sur coastline begin to drop way into the distance. What do you think? A bit of Cadmium Red Light is added to the tile mixtures to paint the terra-cotta containers for the red Azaleas. Alizarin Crimson + a tiny touch of White makes a beautiful deep red that is just perfect for these fluffy spring flowers.

After the foliage is painted I go back and indicate the deep centers of the individual flowers with Magenta. We will finish out the planting in our next session. Hope you will come watch. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

Website: www.senkarik.com

Draping Wisteria

Let’s Rock! Mixtures for the rough stone wall are laid out on my palette. The basic color is Cadmium Orange + Ultramarine Blue + White. MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) is added into the darker shadow mixes and more White for the lighter ones. A blob of Ultramarine Blue + White for additional coolness is also made.

After covering the shadow part of the wall, the crevices between stones are indicated using the corner of a medium Bright brush. I don’t want to totally outline each and every individual rock but rather just give the impression of the rough wall. To see this larger click on the image.

The sunny side of the rock wall is finished in a similar fashion. Notice the blue toward the back of the walls jutting forward on both the right and the left. This makes them cooler so they recede, just as in painting the most distant peninsulas of the Big Sur Coast in our last session. Now to the red door. The dark part is Cadmium Red Deep + Magenta while the part in the sunshine is pure Cadmium Red Light.

Wisteria heralds the arrival of spring in gardens all over the United States. The Sunflowers we’ll plant in a later session are summer bloomers. That is one of the joys of painting, I can make flowers bloom in any season! The base purple mixes of the Wisteria blossoms are various proportions of Dioxazine Purple + White.

The leaves are painted around the purple, shaping the blossoms. Some of the twisting, curling stems of the vine are drawn into the wet paint of the wall.

Bracing my wrist against the mahl stick that is hooked over the top of my easel, I paint the individual petals of the Wisteria blooms. The same brush used on the crevices of the rocks is employed here. If you would like to learn more about our mahl stick CLICK HERE. Have a wonderful day. 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!

The Big Sur

I begin today by sketching the basic elements of the painting on the canvas with a brush dipped in a thin oil wash made of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin) + Liquin. To see any of these images larger just click on the picture.

For those of you unfamiliar with this region the Big Sur is the beautiful, rocky Central coast of California extending from Carmel to Morro Bay.  The name is derived from the Spanish term “el sur grande” that means “the big south”. Others say it came from “el país grande del sur” or “the big country of the south”. Both refer to the location south of the Monterey Peninsula. Following Highway 1 along the cliffs and bluffs is spectacular. Jack and I love this area and I’m so excited about the opportunity to paint the picturesque coastline for our collector.

So let’s get to painting. Since the light comes from the sky it is painted first. My basic sky mixes, from left to right, are Pthalo Blue + White, Ultramarine Blue + White and MUD + White. Below these three is a mixture of Cadmium Orange + a tiny bit of MUD + White to be used for the highlights on the clouds. If you would like to learn more about our Double Primary Color Mixing System CLICK HERE.

The blue portion of the sky is blocked in. The lighter mix is used toward the horizon and the darker blue near the top as the dome of the sky extends overhead. Then the dark part of the clouds are painted into the wet blue.

Warm highlights complete the clouds, painting wet into wet keeps the edges soft. The Pacific Ocean is made a muted blue, Ultramarine Blue + MUD + White, in the distance. The color is more intense as the water comes closer to the viewer. I’m using a mix of Ultramarine Blue + a little bit of Pthalo Blue + White for the portion of the ocean shown above. This is one of those simple rules painters use to give the feeling of depth in a painting: Muted Colors go back, Intense Colors come forward.

The closest water is Pthalo Blue + a hint of Hansa Lemon Yellow + White. Moving to the coastline another rule is employed: Cool Colors recede, Warm Colors come forward. The most distant mountain is made bluer, or cooler. The next one coming closer is made a little warmer. The closest bluffs are the warmest, or more orange, so they advance in front of the others. Distant objects are also lighter, so the farthest mountains are lightest, the closest ones are the darkest.

The sun warmed rocks lining the coast are finished. They offer a nice contrast with the clear blue water. Monterey Cypress Trees found in the area look so “arty” with twisted, gnarled trunks. The trunk is edged with a little of the Ultramarine Blue + White from the ocean. This helps to “round” the tree trunk. Thank you for visiting our studio today. Hope you will come back tomorrow. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

Website: www.senkarik.com

Planning Ahead

Today I’m beginning another commission. It is based on the painting above, Colors of Capri. Our collector is giving this as a Birthday/Christmas present to her husband. Their daughters are collaborating in the surprise as well. It was fun visiting with them and exchanging ideas.

Calvin especially loves the Big Sur coastline. So we replaced the view of Capri with the rocky California coast. To give the feeling of an isolated retreat all buildings were removed and a Monterey Cypress Tree is nestled against one side of the arch. They loved the purple color of the vine. I made it into a Wisteria to give a different flower shape since we’ve added Trumpet vine cascading over the wall on the right. The Trumpet Vine has more of a round profile, the purple vine in Colors of Capri would have been too similar. Sunflowers, Red Azaleas and White Gardenias were also specifically requested. Please remember, if you would like to see any of these pictures larger just click on the image.

Here is where planning ahead really comes in. The painting will be framed in a traditional manner, not in our Senkarik Signature Frame. So this is how we prepare a standard canvas in order to make shipping the semi-wet painting a snap. The first step is to put the title, copyright, our control number and the personalization on the back. On every piece I paint a rectangular area with white acrylic for the previous information. It is labeled with a big Sharpie pen, the acrylic prevents any ink from bleeding through. I love the name our collector came up with, Highway 1 Escape! Then two screw eyes are put in the stretcher bars as shown. If the painting was larger I would use four, one in the center of each stretcher bar.

The screw eye is not inserted all the way. It needs to protrude enough to go through the backing cardboard.

A piece of double-ply cardboard that extends outward approximately 3 inches on each side of the painting is cut. This painting is 18″ x 28″ so the cardboard backing is 24″ x 34″. The canvas is centered on the cardboard and lightly pressed down. The screw eye makes an indentation in the cardboard.

An ice pick is used to make a hole all the way through the cardboard.

The canvas is then placed on the cardboard, the screw eyes pushed through the holes and nails are inserted, holding the canvas tight against the backing. The nail will be covered with blue painter’s tape to keep it from coming out.

The canvas and backing cardboard are placed on the easel and we are ready to begin painting. This technique makes it easy to handle the wet painting. When we are finished I will show you how we pack the piece for shipping.

My painting setup is a culinary cart with two shelves underneath, making it easy to keep my supplies organized and close at hand. The palette on top is a 1/4 inch piece of glass placed on a white shelf board. Odorless paint thinner is in a plastic gallon water jug with the top cut off, leaving the handle. After using a bottle for a few days I can pour off the clean thinner into a new one and dispose of the old one, gunk and all. Toilet paper is used to wipe my brush, a clean brush is the secret to crisp colors on your canvas. An aluminum walker holds a garbage bag for my trash. And…..it’s football season, GO COWBOYS! We’ll start painting tomorrow, do come back and watch. 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!

Chili Surprise

Jack’s newest article has been published on Fine Art Studio Online. CLICK HERE to read Good Gallery or Bad Gallery.

The picture above shows the basic steps I use when painting most flowers.

#1. The mass of flower color is blocked in first. For these Geraniums I use several shades of red and dark pink so the finished flowers will have variations.

#2. The leaves are painted around the red, shaping the blossoms.

#3. The finishing details of buds and highlights on the individual petals and leaves are now complete. If you would like to view this larger just click on the picture.

The Flowers First, Leaves Last sequence is also followed on the Shasta Daisies. Varied Blues and Lavenders are used, they will be the shadow areas of the white flowers.

The leaves are painted with a mix of Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Orange + a little Cadmium Yellow Medium + White.

Chili Surprise    16″ x 19″      Original Oil Painting

Bright, pure white highlights are popped on the petals of the Shasta Daisies bobbing back and forth in the gentle breeze. And…. we are done! Chili Surprise will soon be on its way to our collector’s sister. This has been a lot of fun to paint, thank you for following along. I’ll be starting on a commission of the Big Sur coastline in California next,  hope you will come watch. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

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Let’s Begin Planting

The Trumpet Vine draping over the stair-step wall and vigas is painted Flowers First, Leaves Last. By working in this sequence the blossom color remains bright and clean. If the leaves were blocked in first my brush would pick up some of the green when painting the flowers. This would make the color muddy and the petals wouldn’t be nearly as vibrant.

Ah, Sunflowers. If you’ve been following my blog very long you know these are some of my favorites. The base yellows for the sunny blossoms are mixes of Cadmium Yellow Medium + Alizarin Crimson and Cadmium Yellow Medium + Cadmium Orange.

After the leaves are painted I go back and add the dark centers of the Sunflowers, delineating the individual blooms.

The last step on the Sunflowers is to highlight the petals with Cadmium Yellow Medium + Hansa Lemon Yellow. Now for the southwest bench. I use another color not normally found on our Double Primary palette, Pthalo Turquoise. The shadow areas are completed first.

Painting the sunlit areas of the bench adds the finishing touch. The chili ristra, hanging by the door, was previously washed in with a mix of Alizarin Crimson + Liquin. That is now dry, I go back and paint the individual chili peppers with some of the deep red from the door shadow. A little White is added into the red mixture for the highlights. We’ll plant the rest of the flowers tomorrow. 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!

Rounded Adobe

We’ll paint the adobe walls first. The color mixtures are laid out on the palette and we’re ready to begin. The basic mix is Cadmium Orange + Ultramarine Blue + White. For the darker shadows MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) is added. If you would like to learn more about our Color Mixing System CLICK HERE.

Shadows cast by the vigas, chili ristra and Trumpet Vine cascade down the old adobe walls. The upright plane of the steps on the top of the wall are made darker. The flat surface of the steps are lighter because they receive more illumination from the sky above.

One of the elements of Southwest architecture seen everywhere in Santa Fe are the beams protruding out of the walls, or vigas. To make the viga appear round the lower edge is rimmed with a mix of Ultramarine Blue + White.

The shadow of the door is a mix of Cadmium Red Deep + Magenta. These two colors are not regulars on our double primary palette but are brought out for special occasions. The sunny part of the door is pure Cadmium Red Light.

Now for the curved tile floor. First the entire surface of the floor is covered, establishing the light and shadow pattern. One of the most basic rules in painting is Warm colors come forward, Cool colors go back. So I make the part of the floor near the door bluer, or cooler, so it will recede.

Using a fine liner brush I draw the curved perspective lines of the tile into the wet paint of the floor. This is done freehand so the curve will be smooth.

The horizontal lines separating the individual pavers are drawn next. Then the edges of the tiles catching the sun are highlighted. While the floor is wet I sign the painting. It’s much easier to do at this stage than to wait until the underlying layer is dry. Then it would be difficult to make my signature smooth over the bumps and lumps of stiff paint. That’s all for today. Hope to see you again tomorrow! Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

Website: www.senkarik.com

A Combination of Paintings

Wrapped Up In Color (#12 on http://www.senkarik.com)

Since about 30% of my paintings are commissions we have the pieces on the Originals Page at www.senkarik.com numbered. This makes it much easier for our collectors to communicate with us when collaborating on a commission.

Pause and Enjoy

Our collector likes several of my paintings. He finally settled on the two above as the basis for this commission. His email read in part, “I like the window, the vases and the logs sticking out of the adobe structure in #12. I like the curve around walkway, the tree trunk, the chair and the chili in ‘Pause and Enjoy’ on the Walden gallery website.”

The first step is to make a pen and ink sketch for our client’s approval. I have flipped the composition and then combined the elements he liked.

Now to sketch up the basic plan on the canvas. Both paintings are brought up on my laptop to use as a guide, along with the pen and ink drawing attached to the easel. The blue tape on the canvas covers our Senkarik Signature Frame. When the painting is complete the tape will be pulled off, leaving the frame pristine. It’s football season, GO COWBOYS!

Using a brush dipped in a thin oil wash of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin perspective lines are drawn to help establish the door, window and logs, or vigas, projecting out of the adobe wall.

The basic elements of the painting are completely drawn. In our next session I will begin applying paint. The flowers are labeled so I won’t forget what we decided to plant! Have a wonderful evening and hope to see you tomorrow. 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!