Tag Archives: art

Plein air painting, old buildings

Posted on July 10, 2016 | Comments Off

Hoosier Desk Building, Final. Watercolor / pen and ink, 11 x 14, Kit Miracle

Today I decided to paint this old factory building. It has undergone so many renovations and additions over the years. Very interesting from many aspects. I selected this broad scene (and it really could have been a panorama if I had brought larger paper with me). I may end up doing some close-ups of the interesting architecture over the coming months.

Today’s challenge was to work with some speed in order to beat the changing position of the sun and the shadows. This is why so many artists like to paint on cloudy days. I don’t so I just have to paint quickly or remember where I want to keep the sun and shadows even as they move.

Plein air painting, Hoosier Desk Building. Beginning

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Posted in pen and ink, plein air, plein air painting

Tagged art, kit miracle, painting, pen and ink, watercolor

Painting the Ordinary

Posted on July 4, 2016 | 3 comments

Old Oak on College Avenue, watercolor, pen and ink, 11 x 14

I have a lovely long drive to work every day, about 20 miles through fields, woods, and small villages. This is a great time for taking stock of my thoughts, listening to recorded books, and looking for future painting subjects. One place that I pass every day is this field with the giant old oak tree. The past week the field in front of it has been showcasing an abundance of Black-eyed Susans. I couldn’t resist heading to town on Saturday to paint this scene. It was so serene. Cooler weather, mocking bird singing, a doe and her fawn stopped to peer at me across the field. The occasional jogger and walker.

The point here is that sometimes when you’re searching for a subject to paint, you don’t have to go very far. Look around you. Beauty is everywhere.

Preparing to paint the old oak tree and field of Black-eyed Susans

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Posted in pen and ink, plein air

Tagged art, kit miracle, pen and ink, plein air, watercolor

Sometimes you’ve just got to paint

Posted on June 26, 2016 | Comments Off

When pigs fly. Watercolor / pen and ink, 12 x 16. Kit Miracle

We’ve all heard the admonishment that you need to create art every day. But…life gets in the way. Jobs, family, gardening, etc. Sometimes I find all my have-t0′s overwhelming my urge to create. This weekend I just had to paint.

Yesterday, before I could get overly involved in the rest of the home tasks, I trucked my painting gear out to the front yard and painted this flowerbed which has been calling me for weeks. It seems to be a symphony of purples, mauves, and yellows this time of year. The heat was oppressive. The humidity was drenching. But I had a great time.

For you gardeners out there, you’re looking at purple cone flower, bee balm, weigela, daylilies, lambs ear, and a giant yucca. The flying pig is a bit difficult to make out but he’s one of my favorite yard statues, as he bounces on his spring in a strong breeze. Symbol of not-quite-lost causes.

Giant Moth Mullen Watercolor/ pen and ink, 16 x 12 Kit Miracle

Then, this morning I decided to capture this weed, Giant Moth Mullen. It is already 5 feet tall and will probably top 6 or 7 feet. It has fuzzy leaves, similar to lambs ear and the most interesting curly-type leaves and stalk. It will eventually have a tall spike of yellow flowers which in turn, will produce seeds that the goldfinches love. Probably how it came to be growing near my cellar door. Majestic!

BTW, I was inspired by a blog challenge by James Gurney, who held a recent competition of people who paint weeds. This painting is not entered as it is past date, but I thought it was a perfect subject.

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Posted in art, country living, pen and ink, plein air painting, Uncategorized

Tagged art, country living, gardening, kit miracle, painting, pen and ink, plein air

Plein air painting

Posted on May 21, 2016 | 2 comments

Irises by the Woodshed

May is a very busy time here in the country. Cleaning up winter debris and preparing and planting summer crops. However, I have managed to find some time for some plein air painting, mostly sketching really.

The first three paintings are just around the yard. I try to catch the spring flowers before they’re gone. I particularly like watercolor with pen and ink overlay. These were all painted in a Pentalic Aqua Journal, 5 x 8, landscape format. The double pages really are challenging but, as you know, artists always like trying new things. The watercolor is actually a small travel set that I’ve had for years (decades?). And the pens are Micron in various sizes .01 to .05, mostly black but I am experimenting with red and burgundy.

Azaleas and Hostas by the Woodshed

On the Patio, watercolor / pen and ink, Kit Miracle

At the Riverwalk, Jasper IN, watercolor / pen and ink, Kit Miracle

Riverwalk, brown ink, Kit Miracle

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Posted in plein air, Uncategorized

Tagged art, country living, kit miracle, painting instruction, pen and ink, plein air, watercolor

Self-Portrait with Still Life

Posted on May 6, 2016 | Comments Off

Self-Portrait with Still Life, 24 x 30, oil on canvas, Kit Miracle

Most artists create a self-portrait every few years so I painted this one last month. I had recently purchased this old mirror and thought it would be interesting to set it up as a still life. My portrait isn’t really the first thing the viewer notices (I hope). The challenges with this painting is that there are two light sources: one on the still life in the foreground and one me as I paint. An additional challenge was to prevent other light sources so I had to black out the windows. This meant I was literally painting in the dark. Check out the step-by-step view of the painting process at this link. Self-portrait with Still Life – step by step

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Posted in art, oil painting, painting instruction, still life, Uncategorized

Tagged art, contemporary impressionist, kit miracle, painting instruction, still life

Gardening with Scottie

Posted on February 10, 2016 | Comments Off

Gardening with Scottie, 20 x 20, oil on canvas, Kit Miracle

I recently completed this winter still life painting. That is, when it’s cold outside, I usually paint inside. The theme for this painting is planning my spring garden. There were many challenges, especially all the circles and ellipticals as well as that dang ceramic dog. I’m not sure I’m done with this yet as I keep tweaking it every time I walk past it in my studio. Check out the demo for Gardening with Scottie.

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Posted in art, garden, oil painting, painting instruction, still life

Tagged art, books, country living, gardening, kit miracle, oil painting, painting, painting instruction, still life

Challenge Painting

Posted on January 5, 2016 | Comments Off

Hiking in Crawford County, 30 x 30, oil on canvas, Kit Miracle

Last year I decided to participate in a challenge art competition. This was a local county exhibit with the county plus the eight surrounding counties. The requirements were: a box, fabric, a living or formerly living thing, a map and something representing my county.

This is the painting I finally came up with. The box is the L.L.Bean shoe box. Fabric background and tablecloth. A deer skull and some bittersweet. A map of a local park. And some postcards of local scenes. It sounds simple but it actually took me an entire day to set up the still life.

Many of the entrants created collage or 3-D sculptures. Only two of us did paintings. I was shooting for something that met the conditions of the challenge and also created a good painting. Adding the lamp to the still life created its own special challenges as I had to paint much of the painting in a nearly dark studio. I repainted that lamp four times and I’m still not totally happy with it but the judge really liked the way it seemed to glow on the canvas. I won second place so I guess it was a success. What do you think?

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Posted in art, oil painting, still life

Tagged art, crawford county, indiana, kit miracle, oil painting, painting, still life

Plein Air Painting In the Neighborhood

Posted on June 15, 2015 | 1 comment

Mentor Road, Birdseye, Indiana, oil on canvas, 18 x 24, Kit Miracle

Writers are often advised to paint what you know. I believe that this advice holds true for artists, too. You know your own neighborhood best, the most attractive features, the back roads, and the best seasons to view the scenery.

My neighborhood, as the title of my blog implies, is a rural one. This time of year the farmers are baling hay. Those big round bales often remind me of the wonderful haystacks of Monet, and their rotund forms litter the fields until they’re tidied away in neat rows.

A couple of days ago, I rode around the neighborhood looking for likely painting spots, especially with an eye to catching some hay bales still lying in the field. Other criteria for me are where can I park and will I need permission to go onto someone’s property. Most people are very gracious about allowing artists to venture on their land but it’s always best to ask if you can.

Today I returned to a likely spot. Actually, I had intended to climb into the field but found that I liked the view from the road better, especially with the roof of a house showing which added an interesting focal point. The painting went well and I came away with a pretty complete piece. Some challenges were the wind so I had to improvise a weight for my portable easel. Also, the flies were ferociously biting me. Glad to have brought bug spray which is always in my travel bag. And finally, I am positive that the manure spreader which passed my position three times, intentionally spilled a bit on the curve on which I was painting. Really!

Anyway, here is the final product and a few preliminaries. It was painted on a toned canvas, 18 x 24, and took about two hours. Feedback is always appreciated.

Hay bales, one potential view

Final view chosen. Loved the overhanging tree, the shadows and the contrasts.

First laying in on toned canvas

Final painting with scene behind. About two hours.

Improvised weight to hold my portable easel in the breeze.

Car studio. Easier than packing everything and a lot roomier.

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Posted in art, oil painting, painting instruction, plein air, plein air painting

Tagged art, Birdseye, country living, hay bales, indiana, kit miracle, Mentor Road, oil painting, painting instruction, plein air

Using red gel to determine values in your paintings

Posted on May 18, 2015 | Comments Off

Sometimes using a piece of red gel (acetate)- as in lighting gel – will help you see the values of your subject and painting better. This seems to work best with landscapes as the red gel counteracts the greens, just leaving the values.

I’m not quite sure where I came across this idea but I always carry a piece of red gel with me. You can acquire leftover pieces from most theaters in your area, even some universities. They use the gels to color the lights for the stage. Or you can buy it new on Amazon.com or at a theatrical supply store. If you use a viewfinder, there is even a really neat gismo which you can buy at www.pictureperfectviewfinder.com which has the red gel built in, along with some value markers and different size openings for standard painting sizes. Try it. You’ll like it.

Piece of red gel, about 4 x 6

Folded over Picture Perfect View Finder showing the red gel and composition grids.

The Picture Perfect View Finder

Back side of the viewfinder

Landscape without the gel

Landscape with red gel showing values

Using the red gel to look at computer photo

A landscape painting with the red gel

A landscape final version showing the values in the photo on the computer

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Posted in oil painting, painting instruction, plein air, plein air painting

Tagged art, determine values, kit miracle, oil painting, painting instruction, plein air, red acetate, red gel

The value of temporary art

Posted on May 10, 2015 | Comments Off

I spent today, Mother’s Day, gardening. Last weekend I planted our considerable vegetable garden with the help of my granddaughter. Today, I concentrated on flowerbeds, planters and hanging baskets. The humidity was equal to the temperature so it was a hot, sticky day here in southern Indiana.

As I was dividing some ferns for the hanging baskets, it suddenly struck me how fugitive all my efforts were. Why am I doing this? I asked myself. Just because I love the results. I felt as if I were channeling my mother and both grandmothers, who were all great gardeners. A nice sentiment on Mother’s Day.

This led along a winding path of thinking about temporary art. Many artists have made their reputations with creating artwork which isn’t meant to last. Being the practical person that I am, I have always been a little skeptical. But just as Christo’s art events to swathe bridges and canyons in fabric, and Gonzales-Torez’s piles of candy in museums are temporary art, so is planting flowers. We do it for the sheer enjoyment and beauty.

My flowers will bring me great joy this summer until they are gone with the frosty fall. That’s enough. Isn’t it?