More Aspen Studies

Autumn Quakie Study

Summer Quakies

Abstract Quakie

I realized after I posted last, that my web site was not going away, but just has a different name.
I have let my domain name go, but I am still on at bobbiejohnsonart.blogspot.com.

Anyway, painting is happening sporadically, and lately I have been playing with different styles and seasons of Quakies, (or Aspen as you may know them by).

"Quakies in Spring"
This is my latest painting.  I am planning to discontinue my web site and will hopefully develop a Facebook page for my art instead.  

Combatting Cabin Fever

Rag Quilt I made for Caleb
(Me, Caleb, Kelli)
We arrived home from winter travels on the first of April.  That is almost a month early for us.  The weather was great at first, but then the spring rains/snows started and we were stuck indoors for much of the time.  To combat Cabin Fever I made a couple of quilts and painted a little.

Starting of the Bedfordshire Quilt I made for my great nephew, Alex
Lots of cutting and piecing.

One square done, many more to go

Four squares make one block

16 Blocks make up the center 

Add 4 different borders, each one a little larger than the one before, to make a whole, then bind it.
I purchased this quilt kit from Craftsy, which included the pattern and fabric. I added the batting and backing.
I love the colors and quality of the fabric in this kit.

I painted as well.  2 small, 8x8" landscapes to remind me of the beautiful Sonoran Desert

And the colors of Capitol Reef

Starting the Rag Quilt for my stepson, Caleb

Each square is a sandwich of backing fabric, batting, and top fabric

It is called a rag quilt because all the seams show

One strip made of 7 blocks

All 9 strips sewn together

Each seam is clipped about every 1/4" to make it ragged.
There is no border on this quilt.  I stitched around the whole thing a 1/2 "
in, then clipped the same as for all the other seams.  Once the quilt is washed and dried on low heat in the dryer, it takes on the ragged look.

Happy Birthday, Caleb!

Winter Aspen Studies

"Winter Aspen Study 1"

"Winter Aspen Study 2"

"Winter Aspen Study 3"

I failed to take any photos as I was painting these 3 aspen studies.  But, as you can see, in the first study the sky is somewhat flat with no direct sun.  The 2 evergreens in the foreground are dark which makes them feel close up.  The two in the back are smaller and faded out which gives them the appearance of being in the distance.

In the second study, there is light coming from the right as indicated by the warm glow in the sky and on the snow.  The focal point of the painting is the large aspen in the foreground so you see more definition.  Distance is indicated by each of the other trees being less defined and smaller than the focal point tree.

In the third study, there are more indications of distance.  The line or path in the snow takes the eye back into the depths of the scene.  As you travel you notice the trees becoming less defined and smaller and finally the mountains are faded  and vaguely depicted.  The shadows indicate the direction of the light and the variations in the terrain.

Snow Scene Trilogy

A snowy day, the perfect day for painting snow scenes.
I have been home in Ouray for almost a month.  As soon as we returned from 2 months of great hiking in Utah, I got out my paints and printed some reference photos of some of the radiant red rock canyons we had explored.  I put paint on paper trying to recreate the magic and feel of those hidden canyons and sandstone monoliths.  Phooey, it just would not come out as I saw it in my head.  Into the trash.  I tried again...it just wasn't working.  Then yesterday with all the fun and activity of Christmas behind us and also with the completion of a unique sewing project (quilt), I got my paints out once again.
This time I scanned thru some photos from last winter's snow shoeing excursions.  After all it is winter and it is snowing.
There is a fire glowing in the fireplace and there is football on the TV, a great time to paint. 

This is a sketch of my first scene with the sky painted.  I used a wet in wet technique with cerulean blue at the horizon and adding cobalt and ultramarine as I went up.  When it was still damp, I used kleenex to make the white streaks in the sky

Here, I am just starting to add color and shadow to an area of snow.  Since my sky was still damp and I did not want to chance other colors seeping into the blues, I moved down to an area that I could wet without disturbing the sky.  After wetting this area I dropped in some yellow, permanent rose, and a mixture of permanent rose and cobalt blue.

While that area was drying, I wet the mountain and added some exposed rocky areas with an ultramarine - burnt sienna mixture.  Then I took a small flat brush and mixed sap green with june bug and ultramarine to create the trees and their shadows.

Each area of snow was done wet in wet.  The different colors and shadows give contour to the landscape

"Climbing Higher"

Second scene:  I wanted to give the affect of a glowing low winter sun and so I used a light wash of yellow in the sky on the left, then added my blues and permanent rose as I moved to the right.  While the sky was drying I wet the lower area of snow and used the same colors as in the sky.

Here the same colors are used to create the contours in the snowscape, and the same green mixture I used in the first scene for the trees.

More trees, more shading and shadows to indicate the direction of the light 

"All Is Calm"

The same techniques and colors were used in this third painting.  I wanted the three of them to compliment each other.  Each one is 8x8 and will be matted to 12x12 or in one matt all together.
"Making Tracks, on Red Mountain"

Back Again

Crystal Lake reflects the Red Mountains

After making a rough sketch, I started painting the sky by using the wet in wet technique.
I used cobalt blue and some June bug blue,  after letting it run and dry just a little, I dabbed kleenex to pick up paint where I wanted clouds.

After the sky was dry I washed in some orange at the top of the mountains

Then I got so absorbed in painting that I forgot to take any more photos :-)
But, you can probably see that I washed in blues and greens as I came down the mountains.
I decided that I did not want a lot of water, so I cut the painting off at the bottom.  I added the tree detail with a square stiff brush and various shades of green and blue

Matted painting.  Now I need a title

This is "Sweet Violet"  
I made her for my great niece, Emma, who turned 2 in August

I found the pattern on the internet, and she was quite easy to put together.
Do you remember the song: "Sweet Violet,  Sweeter than the roses, covered all over from head to toe,
Covered all over with Sweet Violets…"

Experimenting With New Styles And Color Combinations

Recently I have been experimenting with different styles of painting, using DVDs, art magazines and books.
This very quickly painted landscape is from a lesson by Stephen Quiller on his DVD, Atmosphere & Light.
Stephen Quiller is a well known artist from Creede, Colorado.  He is known for bold colors and textures.

In this unfinished work, I followed a lesson by Naomi Tydeman on depicting a landscape at sunset

Today is my great niece, Mia's 5th birthday.  For the occasion I made her this cupcake apron

I found a towel with a similar cupcake theme, cut it down and buttoned it to the apron
I hope it fits her, my pattern was for an adult, so I had to guess at how much to cut it down.