The Stones of September
I have to say, that painting rocks is a first for me. I have always admired painters who could paint them, but I have never tried….until today. Daily Paintworks’ challenge for the week is…yes, painting rocks. So, I made myself try it. For the challenge, we could use either a photo reference of our own, a still life set up, or the reference photo they provided.
Here was the reference photo
I had a 6 x 6 inch Ampersand gessobord that was in my art room, that has transformed into lots of paintings I wasn’t happy with…from landscape, to floral, to abstract. Today, it became a rock painting.
Three Stones – a rock painting with layers and layers of texture underneath.
It was not too easy to paint this relatively monochromatic still life. I did eventually back away, and stopped messing with it. I don’t love it…but then again, it was an experiment, and I did learn a lot.
The second painting on the easel, was another rock painting. This one had more color to it, and I have to say, I did have more fun with this one.
River Stones – 6 x 6 inch Ampersand gessobord
I do love the “motion” of this painting…the circles, the swirls, the dark outlines too. I loved splattering paint to get the “dents” in my rocks…always messy, and always fun. There is a lot I love about this one. My quandary with this painting is…
should I leave it at the angle that I painted it
OR
turn it and change the angle before signing it?
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Do you have a preference? If so, feel free to leave me a comment. I would love to know what you think!
Anytime I can paint outside my comfort zone, is a good painting day for me! I learn and grow as an artist and it also gives me the confidence to try new challenges.
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There are so many daily painters out there, trying to get their 30 paintings in 30 days completed. Looking at their work every day, makes me happy. One such artist, Karin, of Simply Painting, was kind enough to tell me that my little Sweden paintings that I posted this week for The Virtual Paintout Blog, really inspired her. It brought back memories of staying in her grandparents house in the country, outside of Stockholm. She painted their house…a sweet memory for her. I love how artists inspire other artists. Check out her “red house” painting on her blog. It’s a wonderful thing to paint memories!
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Good job on the rocks…I think I like position #3 best. This is just from my viewpoint, but I noticed looking at each one that the large triangle shape stuck out at me, but in #3 it seemed that the rocks stuck out, almost as if the triangle shape became the background, but in the others it was the foreground. Does that make sense? But that might have been just the way my eyes work. 😉
Karin, thanks for the feedback! I love hearing how the eyes and mind of an artist work! What you said, makes sense to me. That is the angle my husband likes best too, so he was happy to hear you agreed with him 🙂
This is beautiful!
Martine, thanks for your comment! This was such a new experience for me…but I have to say, I did enjoy it!