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Ira's Truck or Pearl Street Alley
by Victoria Morris Ekelund on 8/6/2010 11:22:52 AM
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I think this painting is now ready for critique. I know Kevin will give me the feedback I need to take it that much further. I have discovered working on these alley's that I can only get so far and then I am "done" with them for awhile. I thought it was the size of them, but I have done two 18x24 alley's now, and I am running into the same problem on them. I must need time to let them grow on me so I can take them further. I am usually very excited at the block in stage, then the drudgery sets in and I get bored. I had to "sit" on this one for almost a month before I figured out what was bugging me, and that was with the help of one of my friends. She suggested I lighten the roof on the right; that led me to the trees in the middle behind all the garages, which I also lightened. I darkened the house at the very end of the alley to let the brightness of the bush in front of it be in the light and to continue the eye flow. I know Kevin will tell me I have too much detail, although I did try to reign myself in. I will do a follow up post after class tomorrow if we get a chance to critique.
I had taken this painting back to alley where I took this photo reference to try and figure some of this out "on-site." I had intended to paint there, but this is a surprisingly busy alley and a narrow one as well. There was no way I could set up and do any painting and keep the same angle. I was up against the wall of a carriage house when I took this photo. This is morning light, and the painting is 20"x 30."
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Work in Progress-Platte Park Alley
by Victoria Morris Ekelund on 6/3/2010 10:56:16 AM
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Here is my latest alley painting which I blocked in this past weekend (work in progress). I am very happy with the block in and I sure hope I can get back to it this next weekend. I was able to do this in one day, which means I am getting faster and more confident. Worrying less about the details and going for the overall affect I am trying to achieve. This painting is 20x30. This is a new approach for me as I don't usually have most of the painting in the shadow, where the light is a very small but strong focus of a painting. You can't see it yet, but the between the second dumpster and the recycle bin is a bouquet of ballons. Just a bit of delight for the viewer to discover after entering the alley.
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Last Friday-Marie's Studio
by Victoria Morris Ekelund on 4/23/2010 9:52:22 AM
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Friday I drove up to Fraser to spend the day with Marie. I didn't get there until 11, and by the time we got around to painting it was almost 2! Marie showed me what she had been working on, including a nice little study of a new place she had found the day before. Our original plan was to go back there, but it was not to be. The clouds were playing with the light something fierce. I had brought up a few paintings I wanted to work on just in case, so I set up at one end of her studio and went to work. I started with this painting from last spring at the Iris Garden, a local business that is friendly to artists setting up and painting. I did not post my painting from this day, too embarrassed, but here is my blog post and the original painting, which is 9x12:
Wednesday night I had this painting critiqued and Drew suggested I warm up the shadow under the tree, which I did. I also made a pattern of light and darks through the iris, and pulled out some details in the iris's up front. I am not pleased with the ivy on the back fence, and I prefer the original painting of the top of the tree foliage. I think I will take it back to that.
Next, I pulled out this painting,Copper Penny Iris (and no, that is not the official name of these plants) also from a year ago, from my back yard. I love these coppery iris. Again, I did not post the original plein air study, which is below and is 10x16, as I wasn't quite happy with it. Looking at it now, I don't think is was as bad as I thought at the time. We are our own worst critics, after all. And I do like the original light green of the neighbors grass in this one better than what I did to it later in the studio.
There is a mid-rework of this painting that I did not photograph, as I can see when posting these together, that the brownish background worked fine, but I darkened it at some point. I did not touch the background on Friday. I worked on unifying (there is that word again!) the dark values in the iris plants and trying to weave the ground and ground cover in and around the flagstones (which are on the right hand side, as they sure don't "read" as flagstones). Those have not worked out too well YET. I reworked the chain link fence too. And since I am so unhappy with how the flagstone is working, I decided to see what happened if I cropped it to an 8x16 instead of a 10x 16 and I think that solved my problem area which is not to say I don't need to address what is left of it.
These iris are in my back yard and I am going to try this scene again. I do like the composition and the juxtaposition of elements.
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The Alley Critique
by Victoria Morris Ekelund on 4/5/2010 8:35:32 AM
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The last Saturday of March, I brought in Harvard Gulch alley for critique. I have been working on it since. Kevin voiced much of what I had been thinking. It is interesting to note, that the one area he really liked he said I should repeat in the one area where it was weakest. That was all I needed to hear, as I knew what the weak link was – I just didn’t realize what the strong area was. He said he particularly liked the upper left hand corner; the trees and the light. Funny thing is, that was one of my major areas of trouble, so I finally got tired of trying to replicate the photo and went right into orchestration. Ie what did I want from it, and then I just went for it. Getting a rhythm going with movement and color which I then carried into the whole mass of trees that create the backdrop. So Now I had to Do That with the snow and melting snow on and around the alley…Snow is not my forte, but I have been studying it more intently while the past two storms went into melt mode. Not with paint, unfortunately, but going out and watching the play of light and shadow and seeing what the pavement looks like with wet snow in light and shadow which had gotten me stuck. Looking at the alley now, I may have overdone it, as is my wont. But at least I have it reading better and simplifying is becoming easier for me to do, once I have gone overboard first. I do love oil paint and its forgiving nature.
Another thing he told me was to unite the light by using a mother color, and do the same in the shadows. I thought I had done that in the shadows but I apparently went to far there as well. I do think the light is popping more now. I still have a few things to touch up, but I am just about there.
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The Alley Progress Pt 3
by Victoria Morris Ekelund on 3/7/2010 8:32:07 AM
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Last weekend saw more progress made on this ambitious (for me) painting. I went back in and simplified the big shadow shape on the alley road. I had gotten a bit carried away last weekend. While I was at it I darkened the whole road a bit. The snow was simplifed and given shape. The chain link fences were completed and I put the dead Virginia Creeper in on the fence by the red shed. While I was working on the dead creeper, I then united all the dead vegetation along the alley. I didn't like the tree branch going towards the upper left hand corner of the main tree so I simplified that but I am not sure it is where I want it yet. Last weekend I had also finished up the RV. I have to give Leslie Allen credit for this painting. We had painted at Harvard Gulch together a few years ago and I remember her saying that this looked like a painting waiting to happen. I have kept that thought all this time.
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The Alley Progresses
by Victoria M. Ekelund on 2/26/2010 12:43:46 PM
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 This weekend saw some work on the road which included putting the winter refuse from the tress in and working on the big shadow (snow and melting snow) in the middle of the alley. I did not get a lot of time in on this painting this weekend but not because I have lost interest, which was my fear. The above update was done on Saturday. I also dabbled on a few of the WIPs (works in progress) that I have all over my studio. (to see one that I think is just about done: Deadheading: before and after)
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Antiquerra, Spain revisited
by Victoria Morris Ekelund on 12/31/2009 8:06:15 AM
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Here is an interesting progression I have been working on when not feeling like painting on the works in progress lined up in my studio. I went through some of my older paintings and found the painting below in the stack. I have always had a warm spot for this particular piece even though I have never been satisfied with it. The original plein air piece is at the bottom of this post. I added the dumpster back in - and using the photo reference, changed the shadows. I also added the vehicles and lamppost for more visual interest. Feels more complete.  The version above I did in 2007 trying to salvage the scene, but I think I did more harm than good, and taking out the dumpster and the driveway just left a very bare and boring foreground.
 I was in Spain painting a few years ago and the bus stopped atop a knoll over looking Antiquerra. We were literally parked next to the city dump, but there was a wonderful view of the town. That view was a bit overwhelming to me at the time, and there were 60+ people lined up to paint it, so I went back to the bus to find some shade. The door to the "hold" was open and provided a great seat with shade, but the only view was of the end of this little street with a trash can. So that is what I attempted to capture. My relative relationships were not very good, to say the least. I had run out of film (hadn't gone digital yet) so I borrowed someone's polaroid (now this is seeming very dated) and took a not very good photo of the scene.
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It has been awhile...
by Victoria Morris Ekelund on 12/30/2009 6:57:58 PM
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This holiday season saw a few things happening that have kept me from doing much computer work. First, we signed a contract to remodel our kitchen, with work to start on Dec7. The next week, on Thanksgiving Day, my laptop died. I just could not focus on replacing my laptop with having to move everything out of the kitchen and keep some of it handy for use during the two week remodeling. The second week into the project, my husbands car died. I have not had the inclination to do much in the studio, with having to make so many other decisions. That is not to say my mind and brush have been idle. Just quieter than usual. I did go out and paint on Christmas Eve Day, at my favorite little park. I am not overly thrilled with the piece but I was blinded by the light reflecting off the freshly fallen snow. I am not making excuses, just observations. I will post it for everyone to make their own assessment. Now that I have a new laptop up and running and am using the trial version of photoshop CS4 for a month, I will get some photos taken.
I also have been reworking some older pieces, all of which are in varying states of "work in progress." On that note, I would like to post from an article I just read written by Ron Riddick.
"As a great teacher once expressed to me "no great masterpiece ever just hastily happened." There was great searching, questioning, working, reworking, caressing, redefining and patience."
Through my reworking of older pieces, I don't expect a great masterpiece, but I do learn so much and I can't help but believe, I have improved both myself and the painting. In sharing both my triumphs and my not so successful works, I hope to strike a chord within each of you. We are all "works in progess" after all.
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Critique Update
by Victoria Morris Ekelund on 10/30/2009 10:12:17 PM
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 Lockkeeper Along the Yonne River
Here is where I am at after working on this painting yesterday. I darkened the jeans so that they tie into the bike more. I now can't decide if I should lighten the gravel road and the middle field or darken the shadow of the white jacket. I am going to think on that some more.
 High, Wide and Lonesome
I pretty much repainted this one since the critique last Saturday. I did everything Kevin suggested and more. From darkening the sky, simplifying the road, the middle ground and the mountains; making the wedge of hillside read as one value; reworked the car and Donna sitting in it. I think the only thing I didn't touch are the dry grasses along the road.
I am having a hard time photographing this painting due to its size. I just don't have the setup for it. It took me hours today just to get one that was acceptable.
 On the Beach
On this one, I lightened the top edges of all the boats to be the save value as the overturned boat, redid the walkway to the building and also put in the ropes. Didn't take too long to get this one fixed up.
And that is as far as I have gotten. It sure helped to have a snow day yesterday from work.
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