All in Good Time

First Maddie is painted as if she is completely White! Then I add the distinctive Ivory Black spots to make her a beautiful Dalmatian! Jeana asked me to change the frisbee to a stick, Maddie’s favorite outdoor toy! You may click on any of the images to see them larger.

Some of the browns from the slate walkway are used for Phoebe’s dark patches.

VIDEO DEMONSTRATION: Painting the Black Eyed Susans

A couple of bunnies, nestled in the Black Eyed Susans, watch the action.

The sign is lightly covered with thin mixes of White + Ultramarine Blue and White + MUD (2 parts Ultramarine Blue + 1 part Alizarin Crimson). The original lettering is faintly visible, giving a guide to follow as I delineate the calligraphy with Magenta + Liquin.

Monarch Butterflies lazily float over the Black Eyed Susans, seemingly oblivious to the commotion caused by the playful pups behind them.

Jeana asked me to add some pink Poppies, I thought they’d be a perfect compliment to the Turquoise mailbox!

“ALL IN GOOD TIME”

Jeana’s Dream Cottage is complete. Now she can escape to her special spot anytime she’d like! And one of these days, “ALL IN GOOD TIME”, she’ll have the real thing. Thanks for following along! With Colorful Smiles and Hugs,ALL SENKARIK IMAGES ARE PROTECTED UNDER INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW

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Movin’ Right Along

Jack always laughed when he used one of his favorite quotes, “As Kermit the Frog would say….We’re Movin’ Right Along!” Brings a smile to my heart thinking of his gravelly voice. SO anyway….the red Roses nestled against the front porch are combinations of Alizarin Crimson + White, Alizarin Crimson + Cadmium Red Deep, Cadmium Red Deep + Cadmium Red Light and Cadmium Red Light. Don’t forget, you may click on any of the pictures to see enlargements.

Some of the Cadmium mixes from the Roses are used for the brilliant feathers of Mr. Chippers, balanced on top of the mailbox post. The lightest highlights are made with Cadmium Red Light + a little White. This brighter hue makes the Cardinal appear to come forward from the flowers behind him.

Two Chipmunks, perched safely out of the way on the sturdy arm of the Adirondack Chair, watch the boisterous play of Maddie and Phoebe.

The distinctive lawn chairs are painted with mixes of Pthalo Turquoise Blue + White.

Paint from the tree behind the house is used for the fire in the circular brick pit. My brush is pulled upwards to soften the upper tips of the crackling flames.

The turquoise Adirondack Chair mixes are also used for the mailbox.

VIDEO DEMONSTRATION: The Slate Path

We’ll be working on those playful pups in the next session! Hope you’ll come back to visit my studio and follow along.

I just want to remind you that even though we must practice social distancing right now, we can still do something nice for someone else! Pick up the phone and call someone you know who is lonely. Write a letter to a friend, your handwritten sentiments will be cherished. Or if you need to make a trip to the grocery store ask your neighbors if they need anything. Especially a mom with children, I guarantee she will be thankful for your help. Moms are juggling many hats right now, they definitely need extra help and prayers. If we think just a little bit all of us know of others less fortunate than we are, let’s extend a helping hand filled with the Love of Our Lord! God Bless You!

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Fall Touches

Fall is a favorite time of the year for Jeana so we decided to hang a bouquet of Maize on her front door. This also gives a little Southwestern flavor to the scene. Oil color remaining from the foliage of the tree behind the house is used for the colorful Indian Corn. The golds, reds and oranges appear extra vibrant against the Ivory Black door. You may click on this, or any of the other images to view enlargements.

The brick bases of the columns are painted with several mixes in different proportions of MUD (2 parts Ultramarine Blue + 1 part Alizarin Crimson) + Cadmium Orange + Alizarin Crimson + White and Ultramarine Blue + Cadmium Orange + White. Short, choppy strokes are made with a Bright, square tipped brush. The heavy texture gives the impression of rough bricks.

Pumpkins settle in at the top of the steps leading to the porch.

The stair railings are drawn over the brick column bases, steps and pumpkins with a mix of MUD + Liquin. Next Hydrangeas are planted along the left side of our Craftsman Cottage. The lush blossoms are mixes of Dioxazine Purple + Ultramarine Blue + White and Dioxazine Purple + White. Large leaves are made with Pthalo Blue + Lemon Yellow + Cadmium Yellow Medium. I make sure to bring some of the green behind the Cardinal, this will accentuate his red feathers.

Magenta Hollyhocks line up to the right of the porch. The papery flowers are mixes of Dioxazine Purple + Magenta + White and Magenta + White. Greens from the Hydrangeas are used for the foliage of the Hollies.

We’re making progress! Hope you’ll come back for our next session! With Colorful Smiles and CyberSAFE Hugs,

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Craftsman Cottage

The brilliant fall foliage on the tree behind our cottage is painted with mixes of Alizarin Crimson + Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Red Light + Cadmium Orange and Cadmium Orange + Cadmium Yellow + a tiny bit of MUD (2 parts Ultramarine Blue + 1 part Alizarin Crimson). Please keep in mind as you read through my blog, you may click on any of the images to view them larger.

Jeana asked me to “carve” a heart on the tree with the initials RW + SW.

Now we’ll start construction on the Craftsman Cottage. The slate part of the roof is painted with mixes in varying combinations of MUD + Cadmium Orange + Ultramarine Blue + White. The standing seam metal roof over the front porch has a little more Ultramarine Blue + White added into the mixes. Then some of the yellows and oranges from the sky are pulled into the wet paint of the metal to give the impression of the sky reflecting down into it.

The ridges where the individual panels of the standing seam roof join are highlighted with White + Ultramarine Blue.

It’s fun adding the gable details on the trim of the upper dormer. My wrist is braced against the mahl stick, hooked over the top of my easel, to steady my hand as I delineate these quintessential hallmarks of Craftsman architecture.

Cedar shingles are mixes of MUD + Cadmium Orange + a little Cadmium Yellow + White. Brushstrokes of White + Ultramarine Blue are made on the back part of the wall, causing it to recede. COOL COLORS RECEDE, WARM COLORS COME FORWARD!

The window areas were previously washed in with mixes of MUD + Liquin and Ultramarine Blue + Liquin. Now that is completely dry, so I’m able to come back and draw the details of the distinct mullions over the dark background with a mix of White + Ultramarine Blue + a touch of MUD.

We still have more to do on Jeana’s Dream Cottage, hope you’ll come back and follow along.

But before I finish today I’d like to invite you to join a group I’ve started on FaceBook called “Uncharted Path”. At times like this with the Corona Virus disrupting our normal daily routines we need encouragement, spiritual support and hope. “Uncharted Path” is a place where we can connect and share Bible scriptures that give us inspiration, uplifting messages, pictures of this beautiful world God has created for us or fun ways we’re dealing with the inconveniences. A safe retreat where we can reach out to one another in love and fellowship as we move through this season together, striving to make the best of these difficult moments. So please feel free to  join in the conversation and share on my new FaceBook Group, knowing the light of Our Lord will guide us on this “Uncharted Path”.  CLICK HERE to visit and join  “Uncharted Path”.

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a Light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105

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Colorful Sunset Sky

We’ll begin with the sky. Since it provides the light for the entire painting it will influence the color in the rest of the piece, so we start there. My mixtures are as follows: #1 – MUD (2 parts Ultramarine Blue + 1 part Alizarin Crimson) + White. #2 – MUD + more Alizarin Crimson + White. #3 – Alizarin Crimson + Cadmium Orange + a touch of MUD + White. #4 – Cadmium Orange + a bit of MUD + White. #5. Cadmium Orange + Cadmium Yellow Medium + White. #6 – Cadmium Yellow Medium + White. To learn more about the Double Primary Color Mixing System I use that Jack developed CLICK HERE!

The darkest clouds are painted first with Mixes #1 and #2. You may click on this, or any of the other images, to see enlargements.

Mixtures #3 and #4 are used for the Orange parts of the sky. Then some of #5 brightens the area around the setting sun.

The orb of the glowing sun is painted with the lightest mix, #6.

The most distant hills are combinations of MUD + Ultramarine Blue + White. Painting forward the closer ridge is covered with several mixes in different proportions of Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Orange + White. Some of the #4 mix is used to illuminate those trees highlighted by the setting sun.

The lower part of the mountain is painted with a mix of White + Ultramarine Blue. This gives the impression of mist settling in behind the row of trees along the back edge of the meadow. The trees are made of mixes in a variety of combinations of Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Yellow Medium + White and Pthalo Blue + White.

An old fence hugs the base of the trees. A bit of mix #4 is used to indicate sunlight glimmering along the top rail.

We’ve got a good start! Hope you’ll come back and visit my studio to keep following the progress of Jeana’s Dream Cottage! With CyberSAFE Hugs,

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Dream Cottage

Beginning on a new commission today for a long time client. Jeana sent me this picture of a Craftsman Cottage, saying this is where she wants to live one day. I’ve done several unique paintings for her collection in the past, she always comes up with some wonderfully inventive ideas that make me really stretch! 

We’re adding all kinds of personal touches, that’s one of the best parts of collaborating with my collectors! Please remember as you read through my blog, you may click on any of the images to see them larger.

After making a few guidelines in pencil I begin sketching the plan up on the canvas with a brush dipped in a thin oil mixture of MUD (2 parts Ultramarine Blue + 1 part Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin.

VIDEO DEMONSTRATION: Easy Technique to Center the Middle Column in Perspective

Pumpkins take up residence on the porch steps.

The glass part of the windows and door are covered with translucent washes of the MUD + Liquin and Ultramarine Blue + Liquin. I don’t want these areas to be opaque, the translucency will give the feeling there is something in the room behind the window when the mullions and frames are added.

Originally Jeana asked me to letter the saying, “All in Good Time” above the arches on the front porch. I decided it would just be too small there so I’ve added a mailbox with a hanging sign underneath for the whimsical calligraphy. 

A fire pit with a couple of Adirondack Chairs provides a comfortable spot to enjoy cool evenings.

We’re including two of Jeana’s fur babies playing out front. Phoebe is a beautiful Great Dane. I went on Google.com and found a picture of one in just the position I wanted.

Maddie, the dalmatian, completes our oil sketch on the canvas. We’ll begin applying opaque Oil Paint in our next session. Hope you’ll come back and follow along! 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. Please keep in mind, to move through the blog when you get the posts just CLICK on the small titles at the top of the page. The right one for the next post or the title on the left side for the previous session. Thank you for subscribing! With Colorful Smiles,

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A Second Look

I’d like to share a tip with you that I’ve learned over the years. When a painting is finished I leave it on the easel overnight. Almost always, when walking into the studio the next morning, I see something that bothers me and needs to be fixed. At first glance the painting above looks done. But on a fresh, Second Look the building with the green window beyond the terrace takes all the attention away from the focal point; the Table, Wine Bottle and Glasses. My gaze immediately is drawn to the hard edges of that sunlit square. Travel through the painting is stopped COLD, my eye never gets to the distant coast bathed in sunlight. It just keeps coming back to that bright SQUARE!

Endless Vista

SO, the light portion of the building is repainted in a darker adobe mixture made of MUD (2 parts Ultramarine Blue + 1 part Alizarin Crimson) + Cadmium Orange + a tiny bit of Pthalo Blue + White. Then a Lilac Tree is planted to cover the lower right corner of the window. Magenta + White is used for the pretty blossoms.

Before                                                   After

Now you may compare the two, click on the image to see it larger. The sunlight spilling into the painting from the right points your eye to the Table, Wine Bottle and Glasses. After you’ve taken a seat, the light on the distant coastline of Southern France beckons you to enjoy the “Endless Vista” that spreads out forever! I really appreciate everyone’s kind comments on my paintings and garden! You all are the best. AND, I’ll be starting on a new collaboration in our next session. Hope you’ll come watch! With Huge Hugs,

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Springing In Our Garden!

SPRING, my favorite time of year, has arrived in our garden! Plants are waking up and putting on a fine show. The Texas Mountain Laurels are full of beautiful purple blossoms, their delightful fragrance wafts throughout the entire garden. Please remember, you may click on any of the images to view enlargements.

My Pansies have actually been flowering all winter but burst out with even more blooms this past week. These are visible from our kitchen window. Their cute, happy faces always make me smile.

Mr. and Mrs. Plum Bob, our Mexican Plum Trees, look as if they are covered with large snow flakes!

Here’s a close up of the delicate flowers.

Our Redbud Trees are spectacular. Pinkie is on the left, Rosie on the right. Ruby is just out of the picture on the far right! The coolest thing is Jack designed this part of our garden so I can enjoy these pink beauties from the studio window as I paint.

I may not have a Yellow Rose of Texas but certainly have a Yellow IRIS of Texas! The beauty of God’s incredible flowers is amazing.

This year I’ve been rewarded with several large plantings of Bluebonnets, our Texas State Flower! Each year I collect the seeds and plant them so we’ll have even more the following spring. Little by little, Bluebonnets are popping up all over our garden.

Mr. Chippers came to enjoy some of the Bluebonnets I planted in pots in our little kitchen garden! I truly believe, “Cardinals appear when Angels are Near!” I can just imagine My Angel Jack and Our Lord are close by, watching over me! Just thought you’d like to see what’s Springing in our garden! With Colorful Smiles and Big Hugs,

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Finishing Radiant Valley

Lavender parading along bottom of the split rail fence is painted with several shades of Dioxazine Purple + White. Please remember as you read through my post, you may click on any of the images to view enlargements.

Nasturtiums tumble over the fence rails on the right. The fragrant blossoms are mixtures of Cadmium Orange + Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Orange + Alizarin Crimson and Cadmium Orange.

Sunlight skips and dances over the tops of the White Daisies, the petals illuminated by sunshine are highlighted with Pure White. I’ve repainted the shadow parts of the flowers with mixes of White + Dioxazine Purple, White + Pthalo Blue and White + Ultramarine Blue.

Bright Orange California Poppies are painted with some of the mixtures left over from the Nasturtiums. A little of the Deep Red Orange mixture from the fence, that matches Mary Ellen’s paint chip, is added into the darkest tones of the flowers. CLICK HERE to see this in my previous post. The blossoms are accented with touches of Cadmium Orange + Cadmium Yellow Medium.

Deep centers are made in the California Poppies with a #4 round sable brush dipped in a mix of Magenta + Liquin  (seen on the left).

Yellow Daisies painted with Cadmium Yellow Medium + MUD, Cadmium Yellow Medium and Cadmium Yellow Medium + Lemon Yellow fill the lower right corner. Notice how the centers are made in 3 steps: #1. A large dot is made with MUD + Liquin. #2. A Cadmium Yellow Medium dot is made in the middle of that. #3. A tiny dark speck of MUD + Liquin touched in the very center of the yellow finishes the process.

“Radiant Valley”  LIMITED ORIGINAL #1/25

We’re DONE!

Now, compare how all the painting we’ve completed has changed this LIMITED ORIGINAL Hand Embellished Giclee! We’ve transported the viewer from the Napa Valley in California to Tuscany, Italy! This piece is a good example of why Jack came up with the term LIMITED ORIGINAL for my Hand Embellished Giclees on Canvas. Each piece in the edition starts out exactly the same, a high quality digital reproduction of one of my original paintings. BUT the magic of this is that every painting in the edition ends up different, making it Original. Thus the name LIMITED ORIGINAL.

As soon as it dries a few more days “Radiant Valley” will be off on FedEX to it’s new place in Mary Ellen’s beautiful home. I’d like to thank everyone for your wonderful comments. Your support and encouragement mean the world to me! With Big Hugs,

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Changing Napa into Tuscany

I’m starting on one of my Limited Original Hand Embellished Giclees on Canvas today. My collector saw the painting above and asked me to do a large, 30 inch by 40 inch Limited Original for her. WELL…there was one tiny problem. The painting she loved, “Hills of Tuscany”, measured only 10 inches by 18 inches. There is absolutely no way it could be enlarged to 30 inches by 40 inches.

BUT, several years ago I did a very large painting of the Napa Valley. I sent the image to my collector and suggested we crop the large piece into the format she wanted.

Here’s the cropped version of the Napa Valley painting. I assured Mary Ellen that I could transport the scene to Tuscany and add a Tuscan Hilltop village in the background.

SO let’s get started. My first step is to highlight the clouds warmed by the sun. A mix of White + Cadmium Red Light + Cadmium Orange is used. The clouds to the right of my brush have been embellished, those to the left have not. Please remember as you read through my blog, you may click on any of the images to view enlargements.

Mary Ellen sent me several paint chips to show the colors in her decor. This is very helpful to make certain the painting is compatible with the area in which it will hang. The chips are placed on my palette to help me mix matching hues.

Some of those special colors are used for the roofs and buildings in the small village topping the distant hill. My wrist rests on the mahl stick that is hooked over the top of my easel, steadying my hand as I delineate the details of the church.

Another vineyard is planted below the village. The entire field is first covered, then the rows are drawn into the wet paint.

The road leading to the village winds, up and down, over the rolling hills.

Sunlight dances along the tops of the vines in the closest vineyard. The large grape leaves are painted with mixes of Ultramarine Blue + Lemon Yellow + White. Notice how the curve of the rows directs your gaze to the quaint village.

Some of the “adobe” colors corresponding to Mary Ellen’s paint chips are used for the road in the foreground.

The rail fence has been repainted with the rich “Burnt Sienna” and “Terra Cota” mixtures matching the color swatches. Hope you come follow the rest of my progress in the next session. 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. Please keep in mind, to move through the blog when you get the posts just CLICK on the small titles at the top of the page. The right one for the next post or the title on the left side for the previous session. Thank you for subscribing! With Colorful Smiles,

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