Manarola, a Goal

On the easel:

Manarola, Cinque Terre, 8X10 acrylic

An Italian friend gave me some pictures of this area. The other day I was doing my "Gallery sit" and they asked us to bring something to paint while we were there, so it seemed the time was right to start on this one. It's in acrylic, and recently I've been working in oils. Forgot how fast they dry! The Masterson sta-wet palette is wonderful for this, but I forgot and just plopped some "Gray Matters" paper palettes in the case and headed off. I should have used the sta-wet feature!! Fortunately I had a little spray bottle and kept moistening the paints.

This was odd because I started at the bottom of the picture. Perhaps I got entranced by the road system hanging off the cliffs and the reflections in the water.
Putting a lot of water and a little paint worked well to wash in some of the colors intended for certain areas. To keep them straight.

Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts

Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts
Wow, Look what I found on the web! I was looking for examples of Or Nue embroidery and heard there was a fairly recent (2010) discovery of a piece at Durham Cathedral. There was also this link to the British Library's Digitized Manuscripts files. These include the Gospel of St Cuthbert, the oldest extant European book! It was buried with him. We know how long something like that lasts, but anyway. It is still nearly pristine, unlike other manuscripts that have been "disassembled" or butchered, usually through greedy collectors and art thieves. The British Library bought it from Durham Cathedral, so it has a good chance of surviving.
The above is (I think) a picture of it. It was attached to the article, but not identified, so I am assuming it's the same book.

Landscapes, etc

One of the City Galleries is going to have a show soon focusing on landscapes and variety, mostly in style, I think. So my juices got to going, and I lost track of time the other day, but the result was this:

Hot City acrylic 8X10

 It's only 8X10 but I am excessively pleased with myself. Lets say it's an "impressionist/abstract." Don't know what else to call it. It's an image that sort of popped into my head and I thought I'd try it. The next thing I knew it was about four hours later. I'd missed a few things I was supposed to do. Gotta watch that. Yesterday I did a little additional highlighting and added a little more color. I just signed it (before I took the picture) and in looking for a dark mahagony frame I thought would look good, found this one. I'm not sure where I got this frame, it isn't my type at all, but I must have been directed to it, because it fits the picture in size and style.

Then there is this one, now an orphan:

Winter of The Seasons - acrylic 12X16

This goes with Autumn (Yosemite) and Spring (Weed Cabin) and they are all framed alike. The problem is that Autumn and Spring have disappeared. It looks like they were taken from my car. They were framed in the same Barnwood frames (Cheap Joe's) and would have looked pretty good together.

This is an old friend:

Square bottle - watercolor 12X16

 This is finally framed. But to my chagrin, I broke the glass! I'm hoping Michael's or someone carries the right size in stock. Otherwise I'll have to get it cut to fit.

These two are much older, they've been sort of on semi-permanent lend to a friend who loves fuschia:

Fuschia I 5X7 watercolor

Fuschia II 5X7 watercolor

Sorry about the plastic covers, they've been on the wall a while. They are both matted in ivory and a narrow band of gold. Most of that got cropped out.

More excuses:

Cousin Red - oil 6X8

It's actually "Cousin Red had too much," but I shortened it. Then I ate the pears. MMMM.

Somehow I picked up some sparkles in the photo, In painting it I probably missed the medium and used turpentine to thin the paint. Not thinking, bad.

This last is too fuzzy. I must have gotten too close with the camera and not used the little "Flower" icon for close up.

Inferno Beneath - 5X7?

Well, there was this documentary on TV about the volcanoes on the Big Island.

How do you make ripples in black. Something to think about.

Love to all, and don't let your paint dry out, unless it's watercolor!