A Comfortable Perch

Tall, upright blossoms of Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia) guard the lower left corner of the piece. Dioxazine Purple + White is used for the lavender blooms. The flowers are blocked in first……..

Then the foliage is painted around the flowers, helping to define their shape. The leaves are made of several variations of Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Orange + a touch of Cadmium Yellow Medium + White. You can see how I work around the side of the gallery wrapped canvas.

Now for the Sunflowers. Their sunny yellow blossoms appear even more brilliant when juxtaposed against the Purply-Blue door. Placing the complimentary colors (Yellow and Purple) next to each other makes each look brighter.

The Sunflowers also extend over the side of the canvas. The final touch on the cheery flowers is to highlight them where they are illuminated by the sun. Thick brushstrokes of Cadmium Yellow Medium + Lemon Yellow are used to form the individual petals caught in the light.

Finally we’ll plant the California Poppies in the Blue Ceramic Containers. These are painted in the same sequence as the other blooming plants: Flowers First, Leaves Last. By blocking in the bright colors of the blossoms initally the hues remain crisp and clean. If I were to paint the leaves first my brush would pick up some of the green when adding the flowers, muddying their color.

A Comfortable Perch     14 inches by 14 inches

Well…….Do you think Nathan and Chloe are happy, snuggled up there in their Comfortable Perch? I thank you for following along! Hope you’ll come back and visit our studio soon. BIG HUGS,

http://www.senkarik.com

 

Nathan, Chloe, Pavers and Books

Today I’m working on a couple of Jeana’s fur babies, Nathan and Chloe. They snuggle together on top of the adobe wall where they can watch all that goes on below. My wrist is braced against my mahl stick to steady my hand as I paint the fine details in their faces.

I love Pathos (Philodendron). The leaves make the most wonderful heart shaped shadows on the ancient adobe wall.

The entire surface of the entry floor is covered, establishing the light and shadow pattern. Thick, textured brushstrokes are made with a large Bright (Square) brush. Would you like to know more about the brushes I like to use? CLICK HERE to find out.

The painting is taken down from the easel and placed on my taboret in order to paint the lower edge. Having the wet canvas attached to a piece of double ply cardboard makes it much easier to handle. All of our extra ALKYD Oil Paint is stored on the top shelf of the taboret. You can click on the image to view it larger.

The piece is put back up on the easel so I can draw the irregular perspective lines into the wet paint of the floor.

Next the horizontal lines separating the individual pavers are drawn.

Back to the taboret to finish out the pavers extending over the side of the canvas. Molly, one of our rescue kitties, is supervising.

You can see how the initial textured brushstrokes add to the charm of the old, irregular pavers on the entry floor. I can just hear Nathan and Chloe giggling when somebody stubs a toe on one of the rough edges!

Last, but not least, ALL of our books at Senkarik Publishing are 25% OFF through midnight tonight, Monday March 28. Just use the code MONDAY25 when you checkout. This includes ALL of the Print versions of Jack White’s Art Marketing Books and his Historical Novels but not the downloads.  CLICK HERE to go to our online bookstore.   Have fun browsing through all four pages. HAPPY SHOPPING,

http://www.senkarik.com

God’s Paintbrush

We’d like to share the beauty of God’s paintbrush and the Easter color He splashes all over the landscape here in central Texas. We took these spring shots a few years ago near our home in Floresville. This is a great opportunity to let you know your friendship, continued support, thoughts and prayers have been incredibly wonderful. We are so blessed to have all of you in our lives. Jack and I wish everybody a Happy Easter. We live in peace and tranquility knowing……

For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

Rejoice, CHRIST HAS RISEN!

 

Lovely Lilacs

Lilacs brighten up Santa Fe with their colorful, fragrant blooms. I’ve used several mixes of Magenta + Dioxazine Purple + White and Magenta + White to block these in. The warm green leaves are mixtures of Sap Green + White.

Next I come back and paint the adobe structure with various mixes of Cadmium Orange + Ultramarine Blue + MUD (Alizarin Crimson + Ultramarine Blue ) + White. As you read through my blog please remember, you can click on any of the pictures to see them larger.

Jeana asked me to make the door and window a Purpley-Blue. I played with a few different combinations before settling on a mix of Dioxazine Purple + Ultramarine Blue + White. Extra White is added for the portion of the arched door brushed by the sun. I’m a bit frustrated, these photos show the door to be a little more blue than it actually is.

The building, door, window and lintel are complete. Now I can come back and finish the Lilac blossoms.

Blue ceramic containers wait to be filled with California Poppies. Close your eyes and breathe in deeply. Can’t you just smell that wonderful fragrance of the Lilacs? And…..if you would like to receive an email every time I publish a new post you can 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!

http://www.senkarik.com

Summer in Santa Fe

This commission is one of a grouping of seasonal paintings. We’ve finished Fall, Winter and Spring, now it’s time for Summer in Santa Fe.

As always I begin by “constructing” the building and wall of the courtyard entry. The plan is sketched on the canvas with a brush dipped in a thin mix of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin.

We’re including a couple of Jeana’s kitties in this piece. Nathan and Chloe nestle on top of the courtyard wall.

The basic “bones” of the painting are established. We’ll begin painting in our next session. Several of you wonderful readers have contacted us to see if something was wrong with Jack because I haven’t posted for a while. Well, he is absolutely fine. But, silly me; I accidentally pulled my laptop off the taboret by my easel. Of course it fell on the corner where the charging cord plugs in. It broke the internal electrical connection so had to get a new one. So I’ve been computerless for what seems like forever while getting everything set up. Let me tell you, I am definitely not a computer geek. I’m back now, almost totally up and running. Just have a few more files to extract from our backup hard drive and programs to load. Thank you so much for your concern. BIG HUGS,

http://www.senkarik.com

Bringing ‘Em In

Let’s get to the water. It is made darker at the base of the “Splash” because of the shadow. The water just in front of the shadow is made of Ultramarine Blue + MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + White. Coming forward the mix is Ultramarine Blue + White. In the foreground the color is a more intense mixture of Ultramarine Blue + Pthalo Blue + White.

Next I start to work on the reflections. In the right foreground some of the dark tree color left over from a previous session is dragged straight down over the wet paint of the water.

The water kicked up by the horses is also dragged over the wet paint underneath. I begin with a medium dark mix of Ultramarine Blue + White.

A darker mixture of Ultramarine Blue + White is used for the part of the splashing water in the shadow under the horses.

The mare’s right leg, breaking out of the shallow water, is highlighted. By the way, one of my wonderful readers asked what color mixes I used for the white horse. The shadow colors are White + Ultramarine Blue + a little Cadmium Orange + MUD and White + MUD. The lighter portions of the mare’s coat are mostly White + a bit of Ultramarine Blue + a touch of Cadmium Orange. The highlights are pure White. My hand is braced against the mahl stick to steady it as I work. What is a mahl stick? CLICK HERE to find out.

Bringing ‘Em In      24 inches x 24 inches

The final step is to add the highlights on the spray of water that is glistening in the sun. If you look closely you might notice our mama is a bit heavy. It won’t be long before our colt has a new brother or sister. As they say in the horse world, she is a Three-in-One package. A foal by her side and one on the way. The crimson shirted cowboy is Bringing ‘Em In! It’s fun to be painting more horses, thank you for following along! Hugs,

http://www.senkarik.com

Cowboy in Red

The cowboy is dressed in a red shirt. The shadows are made of Cadmium Red Deep + a bit of Alizarin Crimson. Pure Cadmium Red Light is used for the highlights which glow against the muted blue-green trees in the background.

The sunlight illuminates the upper part of the cowboy’s chaps. His leg, below the knee, remains in shadow. A few strokes of Ultramarine Blue are made along the inside edge of the chaps, this helps make the leg appear round.

The sunbeam also highlights the upper neck and head of the cowboy’s mount. The rest of the horse’s body is made dark so it will fall back behind the splashing water, foal and mare. Please remember as you read through my blog, you can click on any of the images to see them larger.

The Bay throws his head up in the air to avoid the spray of the water. Seeing the white of his eye you can tell he’s not a happy boy!

This feisty fella has a lot of Brio. His rider has definitely grown up in the saddle and is totally in control of the spirited Bay! Big Hugs,

http://www.senkarik.com

Now for our Mare and Foal

The dark trees behind the mare accentuate her head. Pulling the mane, wet into wet, over the background gives the impression of movement. My wrist is braced on the mahl stick to steady my hand as I delineate the sun’s highlights on her alert ears.

The foal is painted with mixes of Cadmium Orange + MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + a touch more Ultramarine Blue + White. Some of the shadow color from his mama is used for the star on his forehead. Please remember as you read through my blog, you can click on any of the images to see them larger.

The mare’s right front leg and hoof breaks out of the splashing water while the rest of her legs will be hidden.

Brushstrokes follow the anatomy of the colt’s shoulder.

Our mare and foal are done. Hope you come back for our next session, we’ll be working on the cowboy. I have a neat thought to leave you with today. This wonderful sentiment was shared by our good friend Elaine.

“Sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.”

Big Hugs,

http://www.senkarik.com

Painting the Background Trees

I’ll begin with the background. The darkness of the trees will accentuate the horses and splashing water. My color mixes are shown above. #1. Two mixes of MUD + White + a touch of Cadmium Orange. #2. Ultramarine Blue + White. #3. Cool greens made of Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Orange + White. #4. Warmer greens mixed with various proportions of Cadmium Orange + Pthalo Blue + White. #5. Three shades of mixes #3 + a little Lemon Yellow + White.

VIDEO: Following the simple rule Cool Colors Go Back, Warm Colors Come Forward the background is blocked in.

Leaves are added loosely to give the impression of the foliage. I don’t want to paint each and every individual leaf. Then I go back and “Punch” sky holes into the mass of green to indicate the shapes of trees.

The brush and golden grass along the bank finishes out today’s session. The colors are kept muted so they will remain in the background. I really appreciate you following along. Please remember, you can click on any of the images to see them larger. Hugs,

http://www.senkarik.com

More Horses

Neat thing about the portrait of Chunky, The Boys, that I finished a few sessions ago. Santa Fe Art Collector Gallery has asked me to paint some horses for them! So…….in addition to my flower/architecture pieces they will be carrying my equine paintings. Here is my sketch for the first, a 24 inch square.

A grid is drawn on the sketch. This will make it easier to keep the proportions correct when I draw the horses up on the canvas.

A corresponding grid is faintly drawn on the canvas. You can see it more clearly if you will enlarge the image, just click on the picture.

Now the horses are lightly penciled in using the grid as a guide.

The next step is to establish the basic values of the horses and cowboy with a thin oil wash made of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin.

I love the white mare in the foreground, she is so alert! My wrist is braced against the mahl stick to steady my hand as I delineate the details of her head.

I’ve changed the head of the cowboy’s horse to give the painting even more action. We’ll begin applying color in our next session. And….I’ll have a video! Hope you’ll come watch. If you would like to receive an email every time I publish a new post you can 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! Hugs,

http://www.senkarik.com