How I photography my work.

For the majority of artists the painting isn't finished when the signature is applied and the brushes are cleaned.  There are still chores to be done to get that painting out into the world and into someone's collection.  And photography is one of those tasks, (probably a better word than chore)

This painting is oil and wet and messy so paper is placed under it to protect the floor.  The photo is being taken with my iPad.

The photo is cropped to take away the distracting background.  I only leave the background around a painting if I want to show scale or some other relationship, on my easle, next to the supplies I am using, on a wall or in a room to show it hanging.

The photos above were taken with the lights on -daylight flourescent bulbs.  The photo below was taken with the lights off.  Notice the shine of the wet paint is gone and the colors are cooler.



A Hint of Fall
oil on canvas
11' x 14"
$245
© Maggie Ruley 2014

There are, of course, other ways to do photographs.  And there are a number of professional kits you can purchase to help you.  This is just the system I use and for now it works for me.

 

 

I continue on with the 30 day painting challenge.  Painting every day is not the challenge.  The posting every day is.

Fast and loose ~ Day 10

Day 10 of the 30 Day Challenge and I continue to work on my flower series.





Abundance

acrylic on paper

7 x 5"

Matted to 10 x 8"

$45

©Maggie Ruley 2014

 

As I continue to work on the backgrounds of the paintings I only add minimal paint to the vase interiors.  I want to keep the transparent and reflective look of the vases.





nine little bouquets in progress

At the stage you see here the painting is going pretty fast and loose.  Jacklyn Karabaich asked me if I was using fluid acrylics.  They aren't fluid as in Golden Fluid Acrylics but I do like the softer bodies paints like Lukas and Amsterdam.  I also use gesso for my white.  A Bob Burridge trick.

 

 

E-mail subscribers to see this post in its original form

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Today's Bouquet

I 'm taking a Robert Burridge workshop in February, (birthday treat for myself) so I am refreshing myself with his techniques.  This will be my 3rd workshop with Bob.

Today's Bouquet
7" x 5"
acrylic on paper
matted to 10" x 8"
$45.00

Burridge starts his studio day with small warm-up paintings on paper.  A sheet of water color paper is toned and then divided.  While the paint was still wet I used the end of the paint brush to lay out basic shapes and composition.  The paintings are all 7" x 5".  By the way, did you know, that painting dimensions are correctly given as vertical size first and then the horizontal dimension?

The painting above was the lower right hand grid.  As you can see the final composition is different than the first one.  If you take a Burridge workshop you will hear him say, "Anybody who doesn't change their mind, doesn't have one." 

Today's Bouquet is painting # 7 in Leslie Saeta's 30 day Painting Challenge

Click here to see the other paintings

Reinventing the wheel Day 5

One way to find inspiration in the studio is to "Reinvent the Wheel"

Here is how I do that.  I make a watercolor sketch from a finished painting I like.  I know this is backwards but it works for me. Some times I use watercolors, sometimes I use a watercolor app.

Islands in the clouds
oil on canvas panel
11" x 14"
$95
©Maggie Ruley 2014

 

 

Islands in the Clouds was inspired by "watercolor" below

digital watercolor
©Maggie Ruley 2014

This "watercolor" is derived from the acrylic painting below



Sunset on the Gulf
acrylic on canvas
20" x 24"
$580
©Maggie Ruley

 

I have the Waterlogue app and I use it to make watercolor sketches.  The "watercolor" is the bare bones of the painting and I used it as a sketch for today's oil painting.  I can use the same sketch over and over because the finished paintings will never be the same.  There is always something I want to change on the next one.

 

To see the other paintings for today in the 30 day challenge

click here.

To see day 5 from last year click here

Fire on the Edge #4 of 30 in 30

Still working that palette knife.  Well that is not exactly true.  I have more than one knife.  And I do lay down a thin sketch with a brush before I start using the knife.  I find it helpful to pre-mix colors and  different values of the colors before I start to use the knife.  Of course I never mix enough, but that's okay because you end up with variety and some slight grays in your mixes.

This painting is #4 in Leslie Saeta's 30 Day Painting Challenge

Fire on the Edge
11" x 14"
 oil on canvas board
$95.00 unframed
© Maggie Ruley

I invite you all to stop by my studio/gallery and see it in person.

This was day 4 of last year's challenge.

#3 30 in 30

I have two series of paintings started. A series of oil sunset paintings and a series of floral paintings.

This is the first finished in the sunset paintings. This is painting #3 in the 30 day Challenge.  Our host for the challenge, Leslie Saeta paints with a palette knife.  It certainly saves on the brush cleaning chore but you go through a ton of paint.

 

 

Sunset on the Edge
oil on canvas board
11" x 14"
$95.00 unframed
© Maggie Ruley 2014

Catch that wave #2 30 day challenge

Here is painting #2 for the 30 day painting challenge hosted by Leslie Saeta.  This year there are over 700 artists participating. 
 I especially liked Helen Trachy's submission for yesterday because she painted a gray tabby cat and I have a gray tabby named Mango.



Catch That Wave
Oil on canvas
5" x 7"
$85.00 unframed
© Maggie Ruley

Here is day # 2 for the 2013 challenge

Now I am going to head over to Leslie's blog and take a peek at today's paintings.  Want to join me?

Click here





Let's learn Hawaiian

As I painted this charming seaside cottage I wondered if I could learn Hawaiian just by listening to Iz?

( Israel Kamakawiwo'ole)

 

Such a beautiful language to listen to and I love the music.  I do hope to make it back to Hawaii someday.

Idyllic Cottage
Oil on canvas
7" x 5"
$85 unframed

This will be painting #1  the 30 day Challenge hosted  by Leslie Saeta

September Challenge

It's time again for the 30 paintings in 30 days Challenge hosted by Leslie Saeta.  I will be participating this year.  I have a few more days yet to decide if I want to choose a theme.  I knowing will be doing smaller work than the my standard size of  20" x 24".  That's good because my stock of small paintings is a bit depleted.  

This will be a good time to do some experimental painting; use up those odd materials, try some new techniques,  work on that "things I'd like to paint" list.
Here are some links to last year's challenge 

http://maggieruley.blogspot.com/2013/09/906-seabreeze-lane-day-9-30-day.html

http://maggieruley.blogspot.com/2013/09/smathers-beach-looking-north-6-x-8-oil.html

http://maggieruley.blogspot.com/2013/09/chunky-funky-palm.html

E-mail subscribers:

 You can Click below 

http://maggieruley.blogspot.com/2014/08/september-challenge.html

To see original blog post

Anybody else out there doing this year's challenge?

Vacation! 1 more chance to enter

25 of the 30

 

The final post to the 30 day challenge is a collage of paintings.  I picked 25 I wanted to highlight.  If you would like to learn how to make this collage and see the other collages  Leslie Saeta gives instructions in her post today.

 

 

Some of my small early oils, now dry went to the Key West Art Center yesterday.

Smathers Beach and Blue Lagoon framed
at the Key West Art Center
 

Don't they look polished in the plein air frames?

 

I guess this gives you one more chance to enter for the give away.  I will draw the name tomorrow.  But as the title of this post says,

 I am going on vacation!

 

I will announce the winner, then you probably won't hear from me for a while.  Winning pic will probably ship when I return.

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.

Day's End, day 30, 30 day challenge

Day's End, acrylic on paper, 8 x 10 inches
day 30, 30 day challenge
SOLD ©Maggie Ruley 2013

 

 

 

It seems appropriate to end this challenge with a sunset.

I want to say, thank you, to all of you who have encouraged me this month.  I love the conversations we have had and I hope they continue.  I know I spent a whole month talking about me, but I want you to know that what you have to say is really important to me.

 Really, really,

Thank you!

I will draw the name for this week's give away some time on Tuesday.

And thank you Leslie Saeta for hosting the challenge.

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.

Yesterday, day 29, 30 day challenge

Yesterday, acrylic on paper, 8 x 10"
day 29, 30 day challenge
SOLD ©Maggie Ruley 2013

This is what the Gulf of Mexico looked like yesterday.

 

There really is something lovely and calming about blue and white. I really wish you could all have seen the water and sky here yesterday. Usually my camera is in the car, but not yesterday.  So I conjured this from my memory.

 

Distant Islands

Calm water, same color as the sky

very white clouds

no haze

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.

Almost Home, day 28, 30 day challenge

Almost Home, oil on paper, 6 x 8"
day 28, 30 day challenge
SOLD ©Maggie Ruley 2013
 

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.

What fun art apps do you have?

No "real" painting today, but here is an app you might like.

UKIYOE.  
You can take photos from your camera roll and turn them into wood carvings.  The free tools includes a pencil, eraser, fine point cutting tool and a round gouger.  The studio is hot and my paints are put away so I did this quick sketch.  You can save them, email them to yourself and then print them out.   Or you can just draw from your imagination and then carve.  It even makes a carving sound and you see the wood chips fly away.

It's really fun.  And nobody has to see the finished product but you.

What fun art apps do you have?  I have several.

the fish whisperer

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.

I hear it in the shells, day 26, 30 day challenge

I hear it in the shells, acrylic and ink on paper, 8x6"
day 26, 30 day challenge
$40 ©Maggie Ruley 2013

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.

Still learning, day 25, 30 day challenge

I am still learning....

A.  How the different nibs work, what kind on line they make, and

how much ink they hold.

B. Which ink lines I should put in first and which

I should do at the very last.

C. To be patient and let one layer dry before applying

the pattern.

What I would do differently.

I would put blue artist tape on the paper so the un-matted image wouldn't look so messy.

It speaks to me, acrylic and ink on paper, 8 x 6"
day 25, 30 day challenge
$40 ©Maggie Ruley 2013

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.

15 Palms, 6 x 8" oil on paper
day 24, 30 day challenge
 SOLD ©Maggie Ruley 2013

 

 

After all the palm tree lagoons I have painted it is hard to believe that I still have 2 more starts left to finish. There is one more start I definitely want to work on, the other may just have to bide its time until the next challenge.

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.

Midnight, day 23, 30 day challenge

All this little tree study needed was some stars in the sky and a sweet little moon.




Midnight Moon, 7 x 5", acrylic on paper
day 23, 30 day challenge
$35, ©Maggie Ruley 2013

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.

 

Bucketful of shells, day 22, 30 day challenge

 

This is a very long winded post, and if you are like me and don't like long winded posts, feel free to just look at the pictures. There are lots of those too.

 

 

 

 

I was so annoyed with myself yesterday that I couldn't even talk about it.  I did the above sketches and put black wavy lines around the edge to remind myself not to put any elements there because when these small paintings are in mats, the mats cover the edges.

 

So what did I do?  I put some elements like shells and beautiful pattern on the edges that the mat covered up.  So for yesterday's painting I ended up painting another piece of paper and mounted the painting to the second piece of paper.  Maybe the next time I will remember.

 

Bucketful of Shells, 10" by 8", acrylic and ink on paper
day 21, 30 day challenge
$45.00 ©Maggie Ruley 2013

When I first started putting color to these black and white sketches I wasn't happy, they were looking very much like coloring book pages.  But once the layering and pattern started to go in they really perked up and became richer in feel.  I love that pattern on the edge and to hide it was heart breaking.

 

Bucketful of shells 2, 9 x 6", acrylic and ink on paper
day 22, 30 day challenge
$25 no mat, ©Maggie Ruley 2013

 

The next annoying thing that happened is that the paper size for the second painting was too big.  I neglected to check the measurement when I started painting.  The image below shows how much of the image a standard size mat covers up.  Not Good.   I am not going through the painting and mounting process again so it is sold without a mat.  But it would be totally cute just hanging from a little clip somewhere as a touch of whimsy.

 

 

Look how much the mat covers up.

 

 

 

DRUM ROLL PLEASE 

 

AND THE WINNER OF THIS WEEK'S DRAWING IS

 

MAGGIE LATHAM!

 

Congrats Maggie, you have your choice of one of the above paintings. I did make a few prints of 906 Sea Breeze Lane, if you would rather one of those. 

 For those of you who don't know, Maggie is a watercolor artist who used to live in that house and she suggested I paint it. She is also participating in the challenge. See her entries here.

906 Sea Breeze Lane

 

 

There is one more week left in the 30 day challenge and one more drawing.  I want to thank everyone for their fun and thoughtful comments.  Once again here is the info on how to participate in the drawing and see what the other challenge artists are painting.

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.

Primavera, #19 30 day challenge

Primavera, acrylic on paper, 7 x 5"
Day 19, 30 Day Challenge
$35 ©Maggie Ruley 2013

 

I have finished a couple of the tree starts.  These trees were started with a technique taught to me by artist Robert Burridge.  You paint loosely on more than one image at a time, you use a lot of water, and move from frame to frame, trying not to spend too long in any one area.  Then you begin to do some negative shape painting and simplify areas.  Using a discarded mat as you work helps you isolate the painting and show you which areas need work.  This painting took on a more spring like aspect as I worked on it. And the yellow background gives it an Easter feel.  I'll push harder for fall in the next painting.

 

To look at what the other artists are painting for the challenge, click here.

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

 

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.