Last Day at the Beach ( Garden City Beach, SC )

"Last Day at the Beach"

8"x 10" Oil on linen panel

$157.50

available on Ebay

On our last walk on the beach last week I caught a shot of these two girls playing in the sand. None of us knew that the next day our SC beaches would be closed to all until the quarantine is over. Because of that this scene had to be painted!! I'm in the mood to paint the beach, maybe more to come!!

Morning at Garden City Beach - Sold

"Morning at Garden City Beach"

8"x 10" Oil on "canvas" paper

sold

Glad to say this was my view for several hours one morning before it turned so hot!! Beach life is great, I highly recommend! lol

Young Girl Making Water Ripples - SOLD

"Summer Ripples"

7"x 5" Oil on linen panel.

Today's painting was inspired by a photo taken by WetCanvas member "valleysk" named "Water Ripples". I removed one girl and rearranged the ripples around this figure. With the day being overcast and the colors muted, I was able to experiment with a new color scheme.
$80. + $8 s&h - sold

Girl in Sand - SOLD

"Porcelain Doll"

click on images to enlarge

7"x 5" Oil on linen panel.
sold

Lately I've had a hard time finding things to paint. I have a lot of still life photos in my computer files that I have been shooting over the last few years, but changing my style and changing up subject matter, I have gone looking for other sources. WetCanvas has a good library of copyright free images shared by its members and I've found some good reference there.

This latest painting is from a member know as "Lexiashea" and the title of her photo is "Child at Beach". I was drawn to this delicate and fair child, just loving the porcelain like quality of her pink skin in the cool light. I hope that is what I have captured in my painting today. I'm having so much fun painting figures after the couple of years of fruits and vegetables. I'll be painting those also but hopefully in a new way.

Birthday Party

"Birthday Cake"

click on image to enlarge
7"x 5" Oil on linen panel

After many distractions, like having the plumbing replaced under my house!, I'm back at the easel again. I don't know about you but when I have a lot of stressful things going on and workmen going in and out through my work space, I find it a bit difficult to paint! This last week was a week like that. How rewarding it was to paint this little party piece today with no one to bother me. My husband took a photo of this scene a few years ago at one of our friend's party and I just love how the light illuminated this girl's face. I'm happy in that I think I captured the moment.

$80.+ $8.s&h.

Boy at the Beach - sold

"Sand Bucket"
sold

7.5"x 5.5 Oil on gessoed linen

Another image from my recent beach trip inspired this study. I just love to see children of all ages playing with such excitement and delight at our beautiful beaches. Again my goal was to see and paint shapes taking care to record accurate values. I also played around with the color wheel in choosing colors other than the actual local colors. I'm quite happy with the result this time and I needed that!

Some of the success of this piece is in part due to painting on wonderful linen. I had forgotten the joy of doing so. While doing these "exercises" I have been using Frederix canvas pads to not waste good board or linen. Forget that! Linen made a big difference in how I put the paint down- so much easier.

I used no medium on this painting but I did use the new solvent I talked about in my last post (Turpenoid Natural). I liked it and I didn't. It takes a little getting used to. For one, the paint doesn't sink to the bottom of the can, just staying suspended in the liquid. The liquid is a little thicker than regular Turpenoid, very much like it has a few drops of clear liquid hand cleaner in it. When you clean your brush it almost feels like there is a little soap left in it but it doesn't seem to affect the paint. And two, I found that I had to swish my brush, squeeze with paper towel and repeat more times than with regular solvents. After several hours of exposure I still got a headache but time will tell if it was the Turpenoid Natural or just a coincidence. I'd love to hear of anyone's experience with Turpenoid Natural.

Windy Beach Scene with Figure

"Red Towel"

7.5 "x 4.5" oil on unmounted gessoed canvas. Alla Prima.
Painted from my photo from Surfside Beach, SC.

I've begun working on some exercises from artist Peggi Kroll- Robert's videos. I thought I would study these to help me see the simpler shapes and loosen up my approach to image making. I bought all six of her 30 minute lessons and am learning several things that are so important––things that I seem to have missed along the way. One mystery that was cleared up for me was what the heck to do with a value study? If I made one, I hardly ever referred to it.

In this particular painting I was working with a three-value study. It is difficult to understand the process from looking at this finished study, but the idea is to keep the local colors within those three values that you choose from the outset. With the aid of a gray value scale placed on my board, I matched the local colors to these three values (using the value scale on my board), painting in the dark colors first, middle values next and then the lights. At the end I just added a light or dark here and there just where I thought it was needed.

Another part of this exercise was to combine the dark shapes or connect them as you simplify them––the same done with the other two values. The purpose of working this way is to establish in the beginning the value plan that reads across the room as well as it does up close. Then when you add color you purpose to keep your colors in that same value plan. The end result should be a painting that is organized by value and reads well from any distance. Establishing that value plan in the beginning is essential.

This last weekend I watched all the videos, one after another. After all that input, my mind was swimming! It really helped that I took some notes as I watched or I would have been so lost about how to start. I have combined several of the exercises together in this painting being the impatient artist that I am. I wanted instant, end-of-workshop, super painting! Now I need to go back and slow down and do the exercises step by step... or do I?

Young girl at the Beach

"The Green Pail"

Click on images to enlarge.

Approx. 6"x 6" Oil on gessoed canvas.

Oh yeah.... (said slowly) Now that painting was fun! I've been conflicted lately on how to paint. Do I paint more realistically or do I continue to move toward a looser, more impressionistic style? I've always been drawn to impressionism and loose brushwork but my efforts to move in that direction have been slow and sometimes discouraging. Today I felt like I achieved success in painting what I could see in my mind. It was so satisfying that I know that I want to continue in this direction for a while.

This piece was painted from a recent photo from Surfside Beach in SC. It is the same little girl that I painted earlier, "Alley Sees a Crab".

If you are interested in purchasing this painting, email me at marilynmking@yahoo.com.

Portrait of Man in a Hat

"Kenn"

8"x 6" Oil on linen

I have been painting! I wiped this portrait of my husband twice and then started over on new linen this afternoon. So I've been painting on this over three days.

The reference for this portrait is a photo I took about five years ago. Kenn doesn't have the mustache anymore, but he has worn one about thirty out of the almost 40 years we have been married. He's such a hunk......

The Shell Seeker - SOLD

"The Shell Seeker"

7"x 5" Oil on oil primed linen panel.

This "study" turned into a labor of love. I wiped and repainted many parts but stuck with it and in the end I'm quite pleased with it. This image is from another pic I took on my recent beach vacation. The kid shots are my favorite with their joy and playful movements.

Click images to enlarge.
View Ebay listings here.

Ally at Surfside Beach - SOLD

"Ally Sees a Crab"

5"x 7" Oil on oil primed linen panel.
Click on images to enlarge.

sold

My husband and I met Alley on the beach and she was delighted to see her first blue crab. Her excited expression was priceless as Kenn held the live crab up for her to see.

What a difference I've found painting on oil primed linen! The seagull painting that I did earlier and this one are my first experiences with this surface. The paint just guides on similar to the Ampersand Gessoboard that I love. I dislike painting small paintings on gessoed linen or canvas due to the texture and absorbency. As I struggled with my previous beach scene on gessoed canvas and then painted this on the new panels, I experienced all the difference in the world!!!!

I found these new linen panels online at Jerry's Artarama made by Centurion. ( Centurion OP DLX ) Now on sale until June 15th. If you are looking for 6x8 sizes the canvas pads are available in this hard to find size.
I know that I'm a bit slow - I've heard that it is a wonderful thing, painting on oil primed linen, but it's a bit pricey. These panels are quite reasonable in all sizes and I also bought some canvas pads of the same canvas and finish. I may become addicted.

DSFDF 2009 Portrait Swap

8"x 10" Oil on linen panel.

This painting has been submitted to the 2009 portrait swap challenge on Karin Jurick's blog. After a year of biweekly challenges Karin gives each participating artist a "mystery" artist to paint for the month of December. That artist is painting our own portrait and at the end of the month we swap our portraits. It is something we all look forward to and I can't wait to see who this lovely artist is. Check out Karin's blog, "Different Strokes for Different Strokes" to see the different portraits posted all month.

I worked on this painting over two days, keeping the painting wet in the freezer overnight to continue to work wet into wet. The total time was about 12 hours. I hope she loves it and it is somewhat of a likeness. The funny thing is that I see myself in this portrait. That scares me a bit. hehe.

Grandpa Elliot - New Orleans Street Musician-SOLD

"Grandpa Elliot"

6.5"x 11" Oil on gessoed board.

New Orleans is known for it’s many street artists and musicians. My husband was born there, has family there and we have spent many vacations in the French Quarter, the enchanting old section of the city. Recently on a fellow artist’s blog ( Vern Schwarz ), Vern posted a painting of a street musician, Roger Ridley from Santa Monica, California. The painting was inspired by a video of some fabulous street artists from all over the world performing “Stand by Me”. What a joy and inspiration it is watching these musicians perform one of my all time favorites! I’ve painted performer Grandpa Elliot in New Orleans who you’ll find in the video mix. Vern and I have immortalized two of these musicians and maybe you’d like to join us. Link, enjoy and rock out!

"A Companion of Diana" - WIP Corner

4" Oil on unstr14 1/2"x 8 1/etched gessoed canvas.

Click on images to enlarge.

Stage 1 and 2.

To see close up details go to my other blog -
"Marilyn M King Studio".











The latest in Karin Jurick's DSFDF challenge was a photo's of the marble sculpture of a nymph and her dog titled "The Companion of Diana".

I spent a lot of time visualizing what I wanted the end result to be before I even prepared the canvas. That is not what I usually do, but I wanted to create a background that added movement and free brush strokes that worked with the image in a supportive way. It was similar to an athlete going through the process of visualizing the next pitch or jump and getting his body to follow through with the internal image.
I had painted these background strokes in my head over and over for about three days before painting. This exercise proved to be very helpful. The initial stage seemed to to paint itself. Quite a surprise! As I continued on with the sculpture, I drew with brush and paint with the attitude of a calligrapher, creating stokes with gesture and different pressures. I wanted the painting to have a feeling of spontaneity but worked very slowly. I thought out each stroke before it was place and checked distances constantly, while paying close attention to edges and values. I think I achieved the look of a quick "sketch" but it really took about seven hours to complete. This was done in one day in order to work wet into wet.

I've been working so small for so long that this "larger" size really freed me up to do some bold painting for me. I wasn't too excited about the challenge, but it has turned out to be my favorite so far. I really learned some valuable lessons, some of which will change how I paint from now on. Thanks to Karin for continuing to STRETCH our skills and artistic vision through her challenges. To visit "Different Strokes from Different Strokes" click here.

Girl and her dog at the beach - SOLD

"Come!!"

Click on images to enlarge.

8"x 6" Oil on Raymar canvas

board.

sold

This is the latest DSDF challenge from Karin Jurick's blog. This was a fun challenge in that I rarely paint figures anymore. Karin sure gives us a variety of subjects and keeps us on our toes! Meeting these challenges encourages me to paint subjects that I would not usually be drawn to or not have the opportunity to try. Thanks, Karin for sharing your photos with us!

Red Heads - SOLD

Click on image to enlarge.

6"x 6" Oil on canvas.

Sold

This is my first participation in Karin Jurick's "Different Strokes from Different Folk's" challenge. I blew it! ( I thought) I had major computer problems and failed to send my image by Wednesday evening. By midnight I gave up and went to bed. Since then, I sent another email to Karin and she graciously posted my painting.

The frustration of not posting on Wednesday cause me to evaluate my motive in participating and if I would try again. Karin had mentioned that she may be interviewed by a magazine in January about the site and encouraged participation as an "opportunity". I didn't have many details but had wanted to submit something to see if it would be fun or advantageous. After creating this painting I found that I really don't get too excited or inspired by other's photos. I'm currently beginning to focus on "emotional responses" to subjects and that is difficult if you weren't there! LOL I think the site is a great idea and a good learning tool, but I'm not sure if it is a good way for me to spend my limited painting time. I'll just have to see how my other painting is coming along and if I'm able to fit in this weekly challenge. Maybe I'll just choose on the basis of the interest I have in the given photo. Come join the challenge!

Just so you know what the challenge was, the image was given upside down and was to be painted that way. After the painting was "completed" you could make some changes after turning right side up. As always you could use any painting or drawing medium and could crop, add or delete elements. This exercise was to get one to see shapes and not be limited to our preconceived ideas about the subject. I cropped the image to a square format, added the dog and made some other minor changes.