Splendor of Santorini

Santorini is truly a special place. Perched high on the cliffs overlooking the Aegean Sea you feel as if you can see into tomorrow! After sketching my basic plan on the panel for this week’s eBay piece, I begin painting the sky.

If you would like to go directly to the auction CLICK HERE.

 

I follow a simple rule that helps give depth to the painting: Muted colors go back. Intense, Bright colors come forward. The ocean is painted with muted blues toward the horizon line, the color of the water becomes more intense closer to the foreground. I paint the distinctive blue dome with mixes in different proportions of Cobalt Blue + White.

I love painting the geometric planes of the church building. Various mixes of White + Ultramarine Blue + Cadmium Orange are used. A little MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) is added for the darker shadows.

The entire surface of the stone floor is blocked in first. Then I come back and draw the wide grout joints into the wet paint.

Santorini is very dry. You find agave everywhere, growing out of cracks and crevices in the stone. Combinations of Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Orange + White are perfect for the wide, fleshy leaves.

Splendor of Santorini   10″ x 10″   Original Oil Painting

With white buildings, blue domes, brilliant hot pink bougainvilleas and endless views of the ocean the islands of Greece are magical. Enjoy the Splendor of Santorini every time you view this Senkarik Original Oil Painting on your wall. Or perhaps someone special in your life has been to Greece; gift them with a memory catcher that will bring warm remembrances for years to come.

To go directly to the auction CLICK HERE.

Splendor of Santorini measures 10″ x 10″ and would retail in our galleries for $490. But to make it more fun we are starting the bidding on the auction at 1 cent. That’s right, ONLY A PENNY! But you’ll need to act quickly, the auction ends, Sunday, June 29 at 8 PM Central Time! And don’t worry about doing any framing, Splendor of Santorini is painted on a panel with 1 1/2″ finished sides. You can take the EMBRYO out of the box and hang it directly on your wall. We even provide the hanger and nail!

CLICK HERE to go directly to my auction.

HAPPY BIDDING and HUGS,

 

The Enhancement of Sunflower Serenade

Finished up our latest gardening project this morning. I had planted Zinnia seeds in the center of the raised bed to go with the Sweet Potato Vine and Purple Heart. But they never popped up. Jack knew I was so disappointed, he suggested we go buy some Zinnia plants. Well…..don’t ever send me to the nursery to get just one thing. I’m like a kid at Baskin Robbins, I saw all kinds of goodies. Came home with Zinnias, Blanket Flowers, Cone Flowers and Helenium! What do you think?

Am working on another Limited Original for the same collector. This one is for her mother who loves Sunflowers. The unenhanced giclee is shown above.

Like on Unforgettable Elegance I glaze several areas of the piece first. The Lavender fields in the distance are glazed with Dioxazine Purple + Liquin.

Judy’s mom is also a Texas A&M fan. So the Poppies in the foreground are glazed with a maroon mixture made of Alizarin Crimson + Magenta + Liquin.

The large blossoms of the Sunflowers are now painted with heavy brushstrokes. I like to add lots of texture to the happy flowers. If you would like to see this or any of the other images larger just click on the picture.

Coming back to the Red Corn Poppies in front of the Sunflowers. Maroon mixed of Alizarin Crimson + Magenta + White is used for the shadow areas. Thick brushstrokes of Cadmium Red Medium make the highlights on the papery blossoms.

Sunflower Serenade     24″ x 30″   Limited Original

Highlighting the Daisies in the foreground with pure White completes the Limited Original of Sunflower Serenade. Why do we call them Limited Originals? Each piece is one of a limited edition but no two can be embellished exactly. Therefore Jack came up with the name, Limited Original. Thanks for following my blog. 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!

 

 

Embellishing Unforgettable Elegance

 

Before we get started today I just want to share Sissie’s newest favorite place to sleep. The microwave cart in our kitchen is just to the side of the window overlooking a bird feeder. Watching our resident cardinals, blue jays and finches wore her out, she had to take a little catnap!

I’m embellishing a giclee of my original oil painting Unforgettable Elegance. The un-enhanced image is shown above. The giclee is taped to a piece of double ply cardboard to paint on it.

The giclees tend to be a bit blue when we get them from our printer. So my first step is to glaze certain areas to enhance the color. #1. Turquoise Blue + Liquin. #2. Magenta + Liquin. #3. Burnt Sienna + Liquin. #4. Ultramarine Blue + Liquin. #5. Pthalo Blue + Liquin. #6. Alizarin Crimson + Magenta + Liquin.

The water is glazed with mixture #4 in the distance near the horizon. Mix #5 is used for the middle portion. The brightest water closest to the foreground is glazed with mix #1. The floor has been covered with mix #3, making it warmer and richer.

Our collectors are Texas A&M Fans, the school colors are Maroon and White. Judy asked me to change the Purple flowers to Maroon. NO PROBLEM. To begin the transformation I glaze them with Mixture #6.

The door is completely repainted with light and dark mixes of Ultramarine Blue + Pthalo Blue + White.

After painting the foliage I come back and use opaque mixtures of Alizarin Crimson + White to delineate the flowers of the Maroon Vine. Thick brushstrokes are used to add lots of texture.

The Sunflowers have been repainted, now I accentuate the Cadmium Red blossoms of the Geraniums.

Unforgettable Elegance      Limited Original     #4/49

Painting the Zinnias dancing in the lower right corner finishes up the embellishment of Unforgettable Elegance. Can you see a difference from the un-enhanced version shown at the beginning? Thank you for following along today. Hugs,

 

Sunny Primaries

Santa Fe courtyards are so quaint! Wouldn’t you love to start your day opening this gate and venturing out into the world? As usual I begin by sketching my basic idea up on the canvas.

CLICK HERE to go directly to the auction.

Recently one of our readers asked what I do first in a painting. Almost always I “Paint Forward”. This means blocking in the most distant elements to begin with, here it’s the background. Then the adobe wall is painted. She also inquired about the sequence of painting a chair. I carefully work the adobe color around the sketch of the Southwest style chair.

Blocking in the Wisteria, I don’t want to cover over my drawing of the chair.

A mahl stick is used to steady my hand as I delineate the details of the latch on the red gate.

Now to the happy sun face tile. The entire white portion of the tile is painted first. Then I come back and add the design.

The White Daises residing in the Ultramarine Blue container are completed before work begins on the sunny yellow chair. I use mixes in different proportions of Cadmium Yellow Medium + Cadmium Orange + a touch of MUD for the shadows. Pure Cadmium Yellow Medium is used for the sunlit portions.

Sunny Primaries   10″ x 10″   Original Oil Painting

We saw this wonderful little sun face tile in Greece. It’s the perfect touch juxtaposed next to the primary colors of the red gate, blue ceramic containers and yellow chair. Let this happy garden setting splash the Sunny Primaries into your home or office.

Sunny Primaries measures 10″ x 10″ and would retail in our galleries for $490. But to make it more fun we are starting the bidding on the auction at 1 cent. That’s right, ONLY A PENNY! But you’ll need to act quickly, the auction ends tomorrow, Sunday, June 22 at 8 PM Central Time! And don’t worry about doing any framing, Sunny Primaries is painted on a panel with 1 1/2″ finished sides. You can take the EMBRYO out of the box and hang it directly on your wall. We even provide the hanger and nail!

CLICK HERE to go directly to my auction.

HAPPY BIDDING and HUGS,

 

Boisterous Color

I want the walkway to be old, uneven pavers. A gentle curve is always a nice design element, I let the flow of the tiles follow the base of the planter on the right. The entire surface of the walk is covered, establishing the pattern of light and shadow. Then the lines indicating the turning perspective are randomly drawn into the wet paint of the floor.

Next the horizontal lines separating the individual pavers are drawn with a fine liner brush dipped in a mix of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin.

Day Lilies are some of the few flowers that I don’t paint in my regular sequence of Flowers First, Leaves Last. It would be difficult to work the thin, strap-like leaves around the blossoms. So the foliage is blocked in first. Then I gently “lay” the paint of the flowers on top of the leaves. I have to be careful to not pick up any of the underlying green on my brush, it would dirty the Oranges and Yellows of the Day Lilies.

Boisterous Color      14″ x 14″    Original Oil Painting

White Daisies and Pink Geraniums add to the jumble of Boisterous Color in this entry garden!

I let the design cascade over the sides of the canvas, giving extra dimension to the painting. Thank you for following my blog. 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!

Willow Twigs

Our Santa Fe Gallery needs a couple of pieces so our subject today is the ‘city different’. This is going to be painted on the sides, I’ve attached the canvas to a flat FedEX box to make handling easier. To see how this was done for another painting CLICK HERE. I begin by drawing up my basic plan in a thin oil wash.

The adobe building is blocked in first with mixes in various proportions of Cadmium Orange + a tiny touch of Pthalo Blue + White. MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) is added for the darker shades. Shadows are darkest nearest the object casting them, becoming cooler or bluer at the ends.

I pull out a special color for the door. It’s painted with a soft Turquoise made of Turquoise Blue + a little bit of Cadmium Lemon Yellow. White is added into the mixture for the sunlit portion.

I’ve always liked this door with the willow twigs in the window, it adds such a nice southwestern touch. The Red-Orange of the Trumpet Vine is the complimentary color, or across the color wheel from the Blue-Green door. Placing them close to each other makes both colors appear brighter. Thank you for following along today. Hugs,

 

 

Serene Morning

Let’s extend our Texas spring for just a little bit longer with Bluebonnets and a stately old barn that’s a favorite of ours. I’ve used it as a model many times before. Every time I paint the ancient structure it comes out different! I begin the piece by sketching up the basic plan in a thin oil wash of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin.

 To go directly to my eBay auction CLICK HERE.

The sketch is complete. I label the flowers so I’ll remember what my original ideas were as I’m pushing paint around on the canvas. Sometimes I forget 🙂 Please remember, you can click on any of the images to view them larger.

The uppermost portion of the sky is blocked in first with Cobalt Blue + White. The hazy clouds in the dawn sky are then painted with mixes in different proportions of MUD + Alizarin Crimson + Cadmium Red Light. After the distant hills are finished the sun rising over them is indicated with White + Cadmium Yellow Medium + a touch of Cadmium Orange.

The trees, barn and windmill are painted over the wet sky. This allows me to keep the margins of the huge Live Oak Trees feathery and soft.

The entire mass of Bluebonnets is blocked in first. Mixes of Ultramarine Blue + MUD + White are used nearest the barn. Then mixtures in various proportions of Cobalt Blue + White make up the blue in the foreground. I come back to add the foliage and little White caps on the Bluebonnets.

The intense blooms of the Indian Paintbrush are made of Cadmium Red Light + Permanent Rose + White. I follow my usual sequence of Flowers First, Leaves Last.

I love the early morning. It’s so beautiful to watch the sunlight dancing across the landscape, waking up the world. And when Bluebonnets are in bloom the splendor of a Serene Morning is mesmerizing. I decided not to put in the White Thistles that were indicated on my initial sketch. I felt they would take away from the intensity of the sun peeking over the hills.

CLICK HERE to go to my eBay auction.

Just a closeup of that weathered old barn. It would make a nice painting just like this!

Serene Morning measures 10″ x 10″ and would retail in our galleries for $490. But to make it more fun we are starting the bidding on the auction at 1 cent. That’s right, ONLY A PENNY! But you’ll need to act quickly, the auction ends Wednesday, June 18 at 8 PM Central Time! And don’t worry about doing any framing, Serene Morning is painted on a panel with 1 1/2″ finished sides. You can take the EMBRYO out of the box and hang it directly on your wall. We even provide the hanger and nail!

CLICK HERE to go directly to my auction.

HAPPY BIDDING and HUGS,

Red, White and Bluebonnets

It’s almost the Fourth of July. Jack and I love the fireworks lighting up the sky in celebration of the birth of our great country. To say “Hurray for the Red, White and Blue” we’re offering this triptych of Senkarik Original Oil Paintings on eBay. They are designed to be displayed together or individually. The grouping of three pieces would retail in our galleries for $1,770 but to make it more fun we are starting the bidding on all of the auctions at 1 cent. That’s right, ONLY A PENNY! But you’ll need to act quickly, the auctions end Friday, June 13 beginning at 8 PM Central Time!

CLICK HERE to go directly to the three auctions for the

Red, White and Bluebonnets Triptych

Red Hot

Love Poppies! Let their vibrant, RED HOT color bring some Zip and Zing to your home or office every day.

Radiant White

Bring the freshness of Radiant White Lilies into your home; these elegant blossoms will never fade. Perhaps someone special in your life has a birthday approaching. Senkarik Original Oil Paintings make unique gifts that are sure to please. Radiant White will deliver smiles long after candy and regular flowers are gone.

Cool Blue

You know it’s spring in Texas when the hills are covered in Bluebonnets. Immerse yourself in the Cool Blue of our Texas State Flower.

Each piece measures 14 inches x 14 inches; the flowers cascade over the sides of the canvas, adding an extra dimension to the painting. Don’t worry about hanging, each piece is wired and we even provide the hanger and nail. Just take your painting out of the package and put it up on your wall.

Bring the celebratory colors of Red, White and Bluebonnets into your home. The auctions are staggered 7 minutes apart so you can win one, two or all three Original Oil Paintings for your home or office. AND…..If you win the entire Triptych we will give you FREE SHIPPING! Don’t linger, the first auction ends Friday, June 13 at 8 PM Texas (Central) Time.

CLICK HERE to go directly to my eBay auctions

HAPPY BIDDING and HUGS,

And You Think You’re Having a Tough Time……

Jack surprised me with a red bird feeder the other day for our new house. It’s squirrel and dove proof so we can feed the smaller birds, cardinals and blue jays without interference. We decided to hang it from the rose arbor outside our kitchen window. Our two rescue kitties love to watch as the birds go back and forth. Sissie had a front row seat this morning.

Suddenly a squirrel appeared, “YUMMMMMM, Breakfast Time!”

He scampered down the hanging wire and as soon as he hit the slanted roof, off he went. Scrambling wildly, he grabbed the perch for the birds to keep from falling to the ground. That of course closed the opening, preventing him from reaching the sunflower seed. I swear I could hear Sissie laughing!

“How in the world do I get back up?”

“Man, this is a lot tougher than I thought.”

 

“I don’t think this is going to work.”

“OOPPPSSIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE……………..”

And with that our hungry squirrel fell to the ground. I’m sure he’ll be back to try again. They are so fun to watch, I know Sissie was totally entertained. Oh, our rose arbor is made from a 16 foot length of steel hog panel that is 34 inches wide. We arched it over and wired it to steel fence posts. Peggy Martin Roses are planted at the base, the arbor will be totally covered by next year masking the neighbor’s electric meter and breaker box. Have a great day. Hugs,

Romance of the Coast

Let’s run away to Carmel, California for my eBay paintings this week. I sketch the basic plan on the panels with a brush dipped in a thin oil wash of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin.

To go directly to my auctions CLICK HERE.

As a rule I generally “Paint Forward” on my pieces. This means beginning with the sky, then working on the distant bluffs along the horizon line. Next the rocky point and crashing waves are painted.

While the sky and water are still wet the bright yellow umbrella, wine glasses and wine bottle are delineated.

Jack and I are helpless romantics, I just had to put heart shaped backs on the bistro chairs! And what better combination than a Yellow Umbrella and a Red Door? The floor is painted with various mixtures of MUD + Cadmium Orange + White. Strokes of Ultramarine Blue + White are added into the back part of the terrace floor to make it recede. If you would like to see this or any of the other pictures larger you can click on the image.

The boisterous color of the Petunias is made by combining different proportions of Permanent Rose + Cadmium Red Light + White. What a luscious hue.

Song of the Surf

Don’t you love the ocean and the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks? Carmel is exceptionally beautiful and romantic. Imagine sitting on this terrace under the yellow umbrella having a sip of wine and enjoying the Song of the Surf.

Coastal Color

The flowers in California are amazing, they look even more brilliant at the coast with the Pacific Ocean in the background. Let this little gem bring a spot of the happy Coastal Color into your life!

To go to our eBay auctions CLICK HERE.

These two Senkarik EMBRYOS, Song of the Surf and Coastal Color, are designed to be displayed together or individually. Original Oil Paintings this size normally retail in our galleries for $390 each. However, to make it more fun we are starting the bidding on both auctions at 1 Cent! That’s right, ONLY A PENNY!

Each piece measures 6″ x 6″. And don’t worry about framing them, these little gems painted on panels with 1 1/2 inch finished sides are ready to hang as soon as you unpack them.

Father’s Day is just around the corner. Give that special dad in your life a magical trip to Carmel every time he sees Song of the Surf and Coastal Color on his wall. The auctions are staggered 7 minutes apart so you can win one or both Original Oil Paintings for your home or office. AND…..If you win the TWO EMBRYOS we will give you FREE SHIPPING!

BUT HURRY, the first auction ends Saturday, June 7 at 8 PM Texas (Central) Time.

 CLICK HERE to go to the auctions.