Sunset Tropicale

Ever notice how putting an E on the end of a word makes it more fabulous?

Royal + e = Royale

 

So in the spirit of "More Fabulous, Please"

 

Sunset Tropicale



Sunset Tropicale
11 x 14"
original oil on archival board
$145
©Maggie Ruley 2014

Stop by my gallery to view this painting in person

Maggie Ruley ~ Island Inspirations

933B Fleming Street

Key West, Florida, 33040

 

The 30 Day Challenge continues

 

Note to e-mail readers:

To read this post in its original format click here

Simplicity Day 6 30 day challenge

There are 2 painting supplies that I find make my life easier when I paint with oils; Weber Res-n-gel and Winton mixing white.  The res-n-get is a paint extender and drying agent that adds a beautiful uniform sheen to the colors and the mixing white is a big soft fluffy white paint a little on the cool side.  Making painting easier is a good thing.  I can stay in a positive mood and create more to send out into the world.  I call it

 -paint and release-

Simplicity
oil on canvas panel
11" x 14"
$95
© Maggie Ruley 2014

Today's painting is inspired by the painting seen here

The photo below is a more accurate color representation of today's painting.  The photo above is a little on the warm side. 

Always buy the big tubes of white, always, always, always! Unless they are Out :(  Or you just want to test a brand.

A painter needs more than one knife. The unfortunate thing about knives is once they bend they are useless, and they tend to be on the bendy side.  I'm not sure why that little foam brush is in the pic?  Maybe a photo bomb?

To see the other paintings in Leslie Saeta's 30 day painting challenge

click here

to see the full blog post

click here

to go to my web site

click here

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

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.

Sunset and palms, day 14, 30 day challenge

Sunset and Palms, oil on paper, 6 x 8"
day 14, 30 day challenge
$40 ©2013 Maggie Ruley
 I am half way through the challenge and today I had to play catch up in order to have 7 paintings this week.  Tomorrow some time in the afternoon I will have the drawing for the painting give away so leave a comment if you have time.

When I realized I was a day behind in the challenge all of the palm tree starts I had been fussing about became a blessing.  I had a lot of framing to do today and still wanted to catch up with the group.  So I grabbed 2 of the palm tree starts and my oil paints and gave my self a time limit of 40 minutes each.  This is the second of today's 2 paintings. To see more of the challenge paintings click here. 

And read below to find out how to enter the drawing for this week's give away

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.

3 Sunset studies

"Sunset Study #1" Exaggerated color for excitement.

"Sunset Study #2" Dry brush technique for hazy atmosphere.


"Sunset Study #3" Wet into wet for painterly clouds.

These paintings are basically the same composition painted in 3 different styles. In all three I kept my palette colors and my point of view the same, low horizon, late afternoon, back lit mangrove islands.

Sunset study #1,2 and 3

8 x 10" each

acrylic on canvas on board

in a 3" plein air gold frame

$195 each