All are 16″ x 16″, oil colors on wood panels.

Sunflower Heart V

Sunflower Heart VI

Sunflower Heart VII

Sunflower Heart VIII

Sunflower Heart IX

Sunflower Heart X

Sunflower Heart XI

The sides of each panel are 1.5″ deep, with the painting continuing onto the sides.

They can be displayed alone or grouped.  My favorite arrangement is in a grid of 9, like so:

Post away!

In the past week where I live near Baltimore, MD, we have had 2 major snowstorms for a total of somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-5 feet of snowfall!  (That’s on level ground, not even accounting for snowdrifts and the mountains made by the snowplows.)  It seems unlikely that I’ll ever again encounter a spectacle like this, barring a trip to Siberia, in my lifetime.

I feel privileged to experience such an extreme weather event–the fury of Mother Nature is a magnificent thing!  I’ve also never longed for springtime with more fervor.

Click here to see more pictures!

Being trapped in our house, we’ve taken the opportunity to finish the renovations to my studio.  I’m pleased to report all the painting, as well as installation of new light fixtures, outlets and switches is done, and I am ready to officially move in to my new studio!  I’ll have pictures up as soon as I get moved in!

And my latest artwork will be photographed as soon as the weather allows (read: oh, sometime in mid-April.)

This is just to give you an idea of what was there once upon a time–dark, fake-wood wall paneling, light beige carpet–somewhat dungeon-like, despite being a finished basement.

I immediately deemed it suitable for my husband’s lair.  He proceeded to turn the space into a mess of computer equipment and wires, disorganized papers, compact disks and what looked to me like piles of junk.  There was no semblance of decorating of any kind, aside from a few maps, car posters, and some paintings I’d given him.

The style of the computer monitors here dates this photo, which was taken before most of the accumulation of junk and wires.  (I tease, but to be fair, my husband is an amazing techie whiz and knows lots of stuff about computers.)

We were both happy with this arrangement until last year, when my needs outgrew my previous studio, a small spare bedroom upstairs, and I began taking over the entire house with paintings, tools, drying racks, art supplies, lumber, packing supplies, etc.  My business was growing rapidly.  Meanwhile, my husband’s many ancient monitors had been replaced by one large, more modern one, he sorted through and shredded a lot of papers, and he was streamlining his home office setup in general.

I loved my little upstairs studio–it was wonderful, with great natural light.  Just too small.  And he loved his basement lair, but it was too big for his needs.  Ultimately it just became obvious that a trade was in order.  So my husband moved his office upstairs, and I began the process of turning what I saw as a dungeon-like space into my new studio.  I started to get excited about the potential I now saw in the large, open space.

By February of 09 (nearly a year ago now!) I had made renovation plans and set up one corner of the basement as a makeshift workspace, and I was happy with the progress.  Click here to read a blog post from that time.

Enter pregnancy.  Enter debilitating fatigue and morning sickness.  My last memory of working on this renovation involved applying a little paint to the wall, crawling dizzily over to the steps to hang my head between my knees, eventually applying a little more paint, running to the bathroom to dry-heave over the toilet, crawling back for one more attempt, then finally falling into a nauseated sleep in a fetal position on the floor, surrounded by paint rollers and screwdrivers.  At that time I decided it was best to put the project on hold for awhile.

My baby is now almost 4 months old, and I’ve finally gotten back to my renovations.  It looks like this time it’ll actually get finished!

Here are a few progress pics for you.  The fake-wood paneling requires painting with a brush in the cracks between each panel.  You can see here I had done that step with primer over the original paneling in the far side of the basement.  My makeshift studio, which I’ve been using since I moved into the space, is over on the left side of this photo, continuing outside the frame.

(It’s a very large space.  I plan to put together a rotating gif for you to show all the angles of the room once it’s done.)

Last week I painted the far wall a gold color called “Allspice.”  I honestly don’t know what I was thinking when I bought that paint.  Oh, it’s a lovely color–energizing.  But it’s way overwhelming on a gigantic wall, and it reminds me too much of baby poop.

So I replaced “Allspice” with “Bronco Brown,” a more subdued and neutral, but still warm and energizing color.  You can’t really tell from these photos, but it’s a nice, suede-like caramel tone.  My husband helped me paint the ceiling (thank you!!) and we put in new light fixtures.  It’s a little less dungeon-like already!

I painted the weight-bearing pole in the middle of the room “Brick Dust” red, to match the color on the near wall.

Here’s a photo from the other side of the studio (you can see the red wall back there.)  Next on the list is new outlets, switches, and vent covers.

It doesn’t look like much yet, but it’s going to be fantastic when it’s finished.  I’ll have an office area, a painting area,  a sitting area, a baby area, a workshop/carpentry/packing area, and tons of space for drying paintings, storing inventory and supplies, and stretching out to work on projects in the middle of the floor.  More on this later…Wish me luck!

This got me thinking about the rules of the palette, and how rules can vary greatly from artist to artist.  I think that when it comes to color mixing, there is no absolute right and wrong.  What is right is a personal decision highly dependent on the individual painter’s vision, technique and process.

I asked some of my painter friends the following: Do you think there are rules for mixing colors? Do you limit your palette, and if so, what colors do you use?

Here are some of the responses I got:

“Today on my palette I have two yellows, orange, light red and alizarin crimson, sap green, cobalt, ultramarine and cerulean blues, dioxazine purple, black, lots of white. Basically the color spectrum.  From there I paint everything.  I got here mainly through doing plein-air and wishing to travel light.” ~David Nakabayashi

“I limit my color palette to 9 colors – I never mix them – for consistency reasons across my paintings.  I like the challenge of my limited palette in using to create depth in my work.”  ~Shai Steiner

“Unlimited palette here.  I visualize the color I want and go for the coolness or warmth I need and if it’s not quite right, I glaze layers over it until it’s what I want.”  ~Nancy Dunn

“I’m a slob.  I push paint around until I get what I like.”  ~Marc Pitman

I have several new Sunflower Heart paintings on a drying rack in my studio, waiting to be photographed.  Here’s a sneak peek!

My personal approach to color is to limit my palette for each painting, but I don’t use the same colors every time.  Before beginning a new painting, I think about what colors I’d like and lay them out.  I’m not “allowed” to use any colors except those for that painting (and if I’ve chosen well, I don’t want to.)

My friend Matt (not a painter, but a writer) expressed his doubt: “The way I look at it, if a painter limits his palette to a certain amount, it’s like a writer only being able to use certain words.”

You’d think that to be the case, but in my experience, limiting your palette forces you to get good at mixing colors.  If you are forced to make your own green from yellow, blue, red & white, you’ll end up with an infinite variety of interesting greens and in the process, learn a lot about green.  A literary analogy would be poetry: when writing a sonnet, you’re limited by the structure of the sonnet and are forced to find good words that fit into that structure, sound beautiful, and have meaning. You may end up being more creative as a result.

When I first started painting, I was a little kid.  I didn’t start my learning process with anything fancy–I was given only a few basic colors to start with.  Mixing colors to achieve a desired result is now second nature to me, and I only have to think about it subconsciously if at all.  I learned this skill mostly by practicing with the primary colors, red, yellow and blue, plus white.  It’s amazing what you can do with only those 4 pigments.

Celestial Flirtation

24 x 30″, Oil on Canvas

The sun and the moon are performing a flirtatious dance as they pass each other in the sky, the “arms” of their light playfully reaching.

The light from the sky kisses the horizon with a touch of white.

Stars glow throughout the sky.  In this corner of the painting, the stars are created by a fun splattering of thick paint which reminds me of a meteor shower.

This painting would add color to any room!

I’ll be making more Cosmic Dance paintings like this one in the coming months.  And right now I’m working on continuing the Sunflower Heart series–so stay tuned for more new work!

When I painted them, I thought they were brilliant–my very best work!  Now, they seem so crudely done.  I clearly had little understanding of the proportions of the human figure (note the glaring lack of torso in “Summer”–yeesh!) but even so, I think they were successful on some level.  I conveyed the emotions that I attach to each of the 4 seasons.  Am I a cold-weather girl or a hot-weather girl?  Bet you can guess!

In doing this project, I also taught myself some important lessons about color palettes and how to choose colors that embody the mood I’m going for.

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Whenever I look back at my crude older work, I’m thankful at how far I have come in improving my skills, and I’m also reminded of how far I still have to go.  So I get a dose of self-confidence alongside a dose of humility, and I firmly believe both are necessary to the development of any artistic pursuit.

It got me thinking about the colors I’m excited about using in my paintings this year.  I hadn’t realized it, but in the part of my brain designated for filing away visual-delights-to-put-into-future-art, I’ve been dreaming about painting in rich, warm, gold tones.  Sunny yellowy orangy colors–more along the lines of the “Hope for Tomorrow” color that’s currently in first place for color of the year in this public poll.

I’m currently working on finishing a group of Sunflower Heart paintings, which is a perfect opportunity to play with those colors.

Happy New Year!

This poor blog has been abandoned for the past 2 months as I’ve focused on the major life change of new parenthood, and I’ve missed posting here.  I’m looking forward to reinstating my regular blog-writing schedule in the new year.

My baby son will be going to work with me in the studio every day starting next month.   Historically, my cat and my two black labs have been my only studio companions.  Now this little guy will be hanging out in the studio as well:

As a result I predict my work habits will be changed–instead of long dawdling hours at the easel,  I will work in short, intense spurts of productivity.  I’m interested to see how these forced time constraints will affect my art, and I think as a matter of course my new work will be infused with spontaneity and decisive energy.  I intend to jump right in and accomplish whatever I can in whatever way that works.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the coming year, becoming inspired and motivated.  I know from experience the power I can harness just by focusing my energies, however meager those energies may be.  So I’ve got goals and I’m making them official!

My list of New Year’s Resolutions includes the completion of renovations to my new studio space, the completion of a certain number of paintings in each series, regular upkeep and improvement to my website, and other professional goals involving exhibiting my work and cultivating my relationships with art galleries.

The blank canvases are waiting to be filled–I can’t wait!

Happy Holidays to you all–see you in 2010!

Z was born on October 4th at 2 pm, weighing 7 pounds 13 ounces.  He has a lusty cry and a voracious appetite, and he was given a clean bill of health by the pediatrician.

Today Z is one week old, and we’ve finally gotten around to taking our first family photo.

Z is 3 or 4 days old here:

I’m dreaming of the new art I will make when I go back to work, but for now I’m off to enjoy my babymoon!

I’ve just spent many hours re-designing the gallery page of my website to more clearly represent my current focus.

Check it out!  ArtByCedar.com/gallery

I’ve got more updates to my site in mind, but it’s currently after 4 am, so I’m calling it a night.

Two of my favorite paintings have just sold, Fiery Sky and Awakening.  I am actually quite sad about this because I had priced them too low and I’ll never see them again.  Fiery Sky was my absolute favorite painting.  A few days after sending it to the gallery, and it’s gone.  But I know in my heart of hearts that I’d rather all my work be out in the world being seen and enjoyed by others.  Sending them out there makes room for the new work to come in.

Fiery Sky

Awakening

I’ll have a lot to do when I get back to painting full time.

Alright–maternity leaves officially starts………..NOW!