VancannonArt

VancannonArt

Friday, February 27, 2015

Cup of tea

I had planned a Bay Area painting day with some friends, but last minute changes caused us to stay local. It worked out great since we still met at Patris Studios in Sacramento and brought our still life props outdoors. 

We tried to create a charming outdoor patio scene. It reminds me of the days I slow down and take time to sit outside on the back patio with my cup of coffee. 

 This speed studies took about 90 minutes.

Artist Ann Larsen zooms in on the bouquet of flowers and bowl of lemons. 

Patris takes on the table top still life too - speed studies creates lots of loose and bold brush strokes. A great response to the beautiful scene. 


I had time to get a second still life in before the sun moved behind the building. Thinking of Spring, I composed a vase of camellias and sliced lemons (courtesy of Ann's garden) on the table top. This speed studies took about 90 minutes. 

Want to learn to paint bold, colorful paintings? Join me next weekend for Speed Studies Workshop at Patris Studio. Or join me on Thursday's for 10 weeks of Speed Studies! Learn more on my website - www.vancannonart.com/classes/



Monday, February 23, 2015

Speed Studies Day

It was an energetic day in the studio - speed studies underway... I regularly set aside days to focus on speed studies. It allows me to be creative with my subjects, practice from life, stay loose and fresh.

My grandma planted daffodils along the sidewalk of her house. When I was in junior high we moved back into my dad's childhood home and I was greeted everyday in the spring with smiling daffodils. One of the first things I planted last year after AJ and I bought our first home was daffodils lining the sidewalk leading up to our front door. I love to cut bouquets and bring them inside. They make the room light up and brighten my day.


Today I used my cut bouquet and lemons as my Speed Studies prop. It was fun to paint them, especially with the variety of yellow hues. 



Playing with a variety of yellows in light and shadow is as challenging as painting white objects. It took me a few tries to play with the shadow colors before I was happy with the results. The challenge was painting the warms and cools that I was seeing in the shadows. I used a mixture of burnt sienna, lemon yellow, and sap green to create the subtle variations. I used the push and pull technique to create the flowers. I wanted some to come forward and others fall back into space. By painting the positive and negative space in intervals, it allowed me to capture the correct shapes and desired edges. This painting is 11x14 and took about 90 minutes to complete.



My second painting of the day was focussed on lemons. This painting had its own set of challenges as I tried to capture the translucency of the lemon fruit in contrast to the rind. My process always starts with a quick sketch that serves as a map on the canvas. For this piece I used burnt sienna for the drawing. I like how bits of it came through giving the fruit a bit of a glow. After blocking in the shadows I barely touched them again. I spend most of my time building up the texture in the light. This piece is 8x10 and took about 70 minutes to complete.


Want to try your hand at Speed Studies? Join me for a class or workshop. Visit my website to see what classes are offered. www.vancannonart.com/classes


Wednesday, February 11, 2015

What do Valentines Day, Art, and the 1950s have in common?

I am excited to participate in a 2 person show at Gallery 2110 this month. It be the first show at their new spacious location and feature my Americana work created over the past few years.  Preserving The Spirit and Ideals of The 1950s will showcase about 20 of my oil paintings along with work from Sacramento artist Bob Miller. Our show creates an experience of the past and explores the reminiscent quality of the golden age.

Join me for the opening reception - Thursday February 12, 2015 - 6-8pm (I'll be there!)

ALSO

A great date night on Valentines Day - Check out the Art scene during Sacramento's 2nd Sat. Art Walk - Saturday February 14, 2015 - 6-9pm (I'll be around, but not the whole time)




Gallery 2110 is now located at 1023 Del Paso Blvd. Sacramento, CA. Come see their new spacious space!