Cottage painting

 

Painting #2 from my Acrylic University class homework.  This was a practice painting from a black & white photo adding your own color renditions.  It was an exercise seeing values and translating them to color.  Super good exercise.  Notice it's the same subject matter in my Cottage drawing I posted below.  Photo reference from pixabay.com.  I'm deliberating on lighting the sky. ?

Deborah Ann Kirkeeide ©

New Drawing Class

 

My fall virtual drawing class through Rumriver Art Center starts September 25th.  I have some fun things planned including a toned paper drawing with two colored pencils.  Toned paper is one of my favorite drawing techniques and it's also an eye opener for beginning students.  While planning the class all these ideas started keeping me awake at night on ways to incorporate the orange colored pencil in other drawings, finally I had to say stop.  Well it is fall and it's all about the beautiful fall colors right.  

You Betcha!

Oh and thank you pixabay.com for the photo reference!

Deborah Ann Kirkeeide ©

Nature's Paintbox

 

Click Here To Buy It Now - $125, 6x6 inches, Acrylic on Ampersand Gessobord

Today we have a foot of snow on the ground and the leaves are gone.  Funny how fast the beauty of Autumn comes and goes.  A few weeks ago at the height of color I took a walk finding and collecting many beautiful leaves but the most spectacular one for me was the green one in the painting.  It had these amazing large purple veins that were so unique I had to try and capture it.  Of course the painting doesn't do the leaf justice, even a photograph doesn't completely capture the beauty.  I pressed the leaf along with a bunch of others hoping the colors will last for awhile to enjoy.  Nature's paintbox is amazing!

 My acrylic paintings are protected by an acrylic satin varnish and I use professional acrylic paints: Winsor Newton, Liquitex and Utrecht.  The Ampersand gessobord's are a museum series panel which are acid free, archival.  All my paintings are signed, dated with the paintings information on the back.

Thanks for visiting, stay safe.

Deborah Ann Kirkeeide copyright 

Fall Pairing

 

Click Here To Buy It Now -  $125, 6x8 inches, Acrylic on Ampersand gessobord

Fall is pumpkin time and I always paint a few pumpkins every year.  I needed something to pull me back into painting again.  This years bounty of tiny crabapples was plentiful, the branches on my tree are heavy with them, the blooms this spring were beautiful.  I've wanted to paint the crabapples for a long time and pairing them with a pumpkin was a winning combo.  Do the birds eat crabapples during the winter I wonder?  It would be nice if they weren't wasted.  If the branch survives maybe there will be another crabapple painting, the leaves are going fast.  

My acrylic paintings are protected by an acrylic satin varnish and I use professional acrylic paints: Winsor Newton, Liquitex and Utrecht.  The Ampersand gessobord's are a museum series panel which are acid free, archival.  All my paintings are signed, dated with the paintings information on the back.

Please Note, the Click Here To Buy It Now link will take you to Daily Paintworks where you can purchase the painting if you want otherwise you are not committed.

Deborah Ann Kirkeeide copyright

Window In The Woods

Click Here To Buy It Now - $300, oil on gessobord, 9x12 inches

While taking a walk at a nature center near our home last fall, I paused when seeing this little opening through the trees that allowed a view of the meadow beyond.  It was just a little glimpse of the beauty beyond but thats the way nature is, always calling me to come see what might be around the next bend or break in the woods.  

Due to the limitations and inconsistencies of various display monitors, the colors you see on your screen may not be a totally accurate reproduction of the actual painting but I work to get the best likeness possible.

(c) Deborah A. Kirkeeide

Autumn Trio

Click Here To Buy It Now - $100, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

I finally did a pumpkin painting for the fall!  I really wanted to paint this trio again but ran out of time.  These blue green pumpkins still intrigue me with their color and lovely bumpy irregular form.  It took me awhile to post, so this painting is already dry and ready to ship if interested.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Due to the limitations and inconsistencies of various display monitors, the colors you see on your screen may not be a totally accurate reproduction of the actual painting but I work to get the best likeness possible.

(c) Deborah A. Kirkeeide

Heirloom Sunflowers

Click Here To Buy It Now - $100, oil on gessobord, 6x8 inches

I attended an art festival last fall and they were giving away all these wonderful annual seed packets, these are heirloom sunflowers named Autumn Beauty .  I love the ring of yellow around the dark center!  I wasn't sure about planting them as they were outside the comfortable standard yellow sunflowers normally planted but I'm sure glad I tried because they are beauties.  And well it's summer after all so I have to paint some flowers.

Due to the limitations and inconsistencies of various display monitors, the colors you see on your screen may not be a totally accurate reproduction of the actual painting but I work to get the best likeness possible.

(C) Deborah A. Kirkeeide

Best Of Show!

I was honored recently by receiving a Best Of Show award for my painting "Autumn Walk", oil on canvas.  I joined an Artist's group last fall, Artist del Norte and they were advertising their spring show for 2016 with the theme Into The Woods.  They were telling everyone to get out there and take photos since the color was so beautiful at the time.  So I grabbed my camera and ended up at a nature center snapping endless photos.  It was a bit overcast that day which worked better for color and out of those endless photos I managed to get a couple that inspired me, this was one.  I don't consider myself a landscape painter and I hadn't painted a piece over 9x12 inches in years (this painting is 18x24 inches) so this was super challenging for me.  After I completed the painting which took 3 days, I went through a period of ups and downs thinking yes this is good to what were you thinking.  Anyway this award was very encouraging, the judge had many good things to say about the piece and I am feeling so honored.  Challenges are good but not always successful in terms of a finished piece, I was fortunate this time.

Jack And The Pink Umbrella

Click Here To Buy It Now - $100, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

We were adventuring through little towns in Door County Wisconsin last fall and came across a shop with all this pink, pink chairs, cushions, umbrella and shutters all surrounded by gardens.  I love the contrast between the summer lawn furniture and the jack o'lanterns, to me it was a statement saying we are just not ready to be through with summer yet.  I feel the same way even though I love fall and try to embrace it.

Pumpkin Celebration

Click Here To Buy It Now - $75, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

#5 in my pumpkin challenge series with the new heirloom pumpkin, the big blue gray guy.  I love all the heirloom pumpkins available now, so many colors and shapes.  Of course the object of my challenge was to paint using the color orange but this still qualifies as I added all the other pumpkins along with the new one and that re-energized me.  Will there be more?  Maybe, I have one other idea I'd like to pursue.

Pumpkin Pretense

Click Here To Buy It Now - $50, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

#4 in my pumpkin challenge series.  The little one is actually a gourd but it was so darn cute I had to include it in my series so thus the title, it's pretending to be a pumpkin.  I have accomplished my objective to paint all four of the pumpkins in my challenge but the other day I went for a Fall drive and found some beautiful heirloom pumpkins.  I particularly fell in love with a blueish one so yesterday I painted it with my original group of pumpkins.  I will post it soon.  The weather is not cooperating at the moment, too windy for a wet painting outside which is where I photo my paintings.  Stay tuned for #5.

Fall Harvest

Sold - oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

#2 in my pumpkin challenge series.  I thought I would try some raffia in my composition and it made all the difference; really gave a nice break from all the orange.  I also handled this one with looser brush work.  I'm much happier with the oranges on this painting and learning to have some confidence working with the color.  Tomorrow I will post #3 and so far my favorite.

Pumpkin Challenge 2014

As October arrived I decided to give myself the challenge of painting a series of pumpkins, not just because of the seasonal beauty but also, for me, orange is challenging to capture.  I've been so frustrated trying to figure out how to mix a nice bright orange that I picked up a tube of strictly orange paint but even that only solved part of the problem (I use a limited palette and usually mix most of my color from the primary colors).  Anyhow, I went to my color charts and discovered that using a color called permanent rose makes a really nice orange when mixed with cadmium yellow.  So I picked up the pumpkins above, the littlest is really a gourd pretending to be a pumpkin, and began a series of pumpkin paintings which I will be posting over the next four days.  Who knows, I've been having so much fun with the challenge I may continue with a few more paintings as the ideas keep flowing.  Please check back to follow this little series of paintings and see how they go.