The Foot of Notre Dame de la Garde

Last year I visited Marseille and Provence.  They have these little tourist trains (as they do just about everywhere in Europe) that will take you around town so that you can look at stuff.  At first, I was embarrassed to do this, but my friend Sheila and I realized it was the best way to get to see Notre-Dame de la Garde in Marseille at the top of the hill.  I snapped a random picture of a tree at the bottom of the hill, because I liked the intense shadows.  This tree could've been anywhere, but I know it was in Marseille at the foot of Notre Dame de la Garde! That is one of the reasons I prefer painting from my own pictures.

6x6
Oil on Board

"Tree on Right"

I have to do something about these titles.  Semi-abstract tree.  This is just a study of a portion of a future large painting I intend to paint ... eventually.

I am a fan of this French artist Alexandre Monestier.  You can see his work here: http://www.atelier-monestier.sitew.com/.  His father, Pascal Etchenic, is also a painter, and some of his work can be seen here:  http://www.galeriedecannes.com/gallery/artist_detail.php?artisteID=3.

When I first started painting (and not knowing anything about working with oil paints), I made some attempts to mimic their style.  It didn't work out very well.  Trust me.  However, I like this little semi-abstract tree.  I intend to paint a large landscape or seascape with flattened out colors as Monestier paints.

I think I had to learn to "construct" before I learned how to "deconstruct".

"Sunny Forest Floor"

I've never painted a scene anything remotely like this.  Initially I was intimidated, but it wasn't that difficult, actually.  Partially painted with a palette knife and partially with a brush.  Partially painted yesterday and partially painted today.  I'm partial to this painting.  :-)
6x6
Oil on Board

Tiajuana Estuary - SOLD

There is an estuary near the California/Mexico border. I made some changes to the shapes that appear to be trees in the distance. They actually are rows of houses, but I didn't want to get too fussy with it since the assignment is to limit the painting time to 30-45 minutes.

Posted with Blogsy

ACEO - Capri Grotto Passage (acrylic) - SOLD

I returned to the acrylics for this one and was quite happy with the results.
I absolutely LOVE the colors!

CAPRI GROTTO PASSAGE - Acrylic on Hot-Pressed Watercolor Paper

ACEO - Amsterdam Roses (oil)

I tried to paint a still life with the acrylic, but it didn't work out too well.  I ended up painting over it.
Since I've painted so many still lifes in oil, I thought I would tackle it on an ACEO.  From a photo I took in the Amsterdam Flower Market this past summer.  I kind of like this one!

AMSTERDAM ROSES - Oil on Fabriano Oil Paper

ACEO - Capri Grotto Cliff (acrylic)

I really had fun with these last two from my vacation photos in Italy.
I take the photo and bump up the saturation in Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, blur it out a bit.

Another good thing about ACEOs is that they provide a good study for a future big painting.
This one, for instance is a definite possibility.

ACEO - Return to Oils - Antelope Valley Tree -- SOLD

I was having so much fun with the acrylics that I decided I could do the same with oils using the Fabriano Tela Oil Paper.  The scanner still picks up the texture of the Tela paper, but not quite as much as the canvas paper on some of the earlier ACEOs.

LONE TREE, ANTELOPE VALLEY, CA - Oil on Fabriano Tela Oil Paper

ACEO Bush Lupine - SOLD

I really enjoyed painting this one.  
I reintroduced Phthalo Green to my palette, and am quite glad I did!
Phthalo Green with Quinacridone Red and a bit of Phthalo Blue with a titch of white make a gorgeous gray which is used sporadically in the bush.

BUSH LUPINE, ANTELOPE VALLEY, CA - Acrylic on Canvas Paper

ACEO Sardinia / Sardegna - SOLD

I switched to Arches Hot-Pressed watercolor paper for this one, and was much happier with the scan.
Believe it or not, the photo reference came form Google Street View!

This one sold already, too.

 

ACEO - Ojai Path -- SOLD

Here was my 2nd ACEO acrylic landscape which has already been sold on eBay.

In 2011, I attended a workshop with Elio Camacho and painted this scene.  

This was my second round with the same scene.

ACEOs

I've been doing something a lot different lately to change things up, and to basically keep painting.  I've discovered the world of ACEOs or Artist Trading Cards.  These are miniature works of art that are about the same size as baseball cards or the like.  They fit into plastic sleeves, and even have little frames that you can buy for them. 

From Wikipedia, "the ATC movement … has its origins in Switzerland. Cards are produced in various media, including dry media (pencils, pens, markers, etc.), wet media (watercolor, acrylic paints, etc.), paper media (in the form of collage, papercuts, found objects, etc.) or even metals or cloth. The cards are usually traded or exchanged. When sold, they are usually referred to as art card editions and originals (ACEOs)."

I have been having a lot of fun with these as I can whip out little paintings in absolutely no time.

I even broke out the old dusty acrylic paints and have been having a lot of fun with them.  Following this post will be a few examples.  I've already sold quite a few of them on eBay!

Unfortunately, the scanner tends to pick up the texture of the support on anything except hot-pressed watercolor paper, so I believe I will stick to that from now on.

SOLD - TEMESCAL CANYON SLOPE - Acrylic

Mosaic Hippo

Oil on Fabriano Tela Oil Paper
7 x 9 1/2
This is the first post on my daily painting blog.  The reason I named the blog "Mosaic Hippo" is, well, because this hippo painting is the first painting to kick off this blog.  But I do have to give credit to my friend Cindy who suggested it.  My son Brendan concurred that it was a catchy blog name as opposed to "Donna Weathers' Paint Blog" or "Donna's Daily Paintings".  Yawn ... 

I work full-time, so my painting time is limited.  I try to paint every morning when I get up, and sometimes after I get home from work.  However, it is still not enough time, but it is what I have outside of the weekend, so I decided my lunch hour can be another slot of time to paint!

So, this is my first "lunch hour" painting.  I took on a Daily Challenge from Daily Paintworks. The challenge was posted by blogger artist Mary Douglas.  Basically, you choose your subject (in my case, a photo of a hippo), and limit your strokes to only painting rectangles.  Additionally, you adjust the color of each subsequent rectangle stroke.


I LOVED this challenge, and the results of the Mosaic Hippo.  I told my son how much I enjoyed it, and he educated me with a quote by T.S. Elliot that makes a lot of sense: “When forced to work within a strict framework the imagination is taxed to its utmost – and will produce its richest ideas. Given total freedom the work is likely to sprawl." — T.S. Eliot

I will be doing this challenge again!