So Apple-lish

 

 

'So Apple-lish'     5x7 in      oil on canvas panel

 

Can't stop painting apples. For a moment I thought I might need a vaccine to cure it. But I just decided to follow this flow and see what happens. I found these Galas at my local grocery store and they immediately grabbed my attention.They are so shiny and small apples - and very very cute!  I bought a bag of these and soon after I was painting them at my studio. I guess I need a powerful vaccine if I want to be cured. Oh, my !

Goodies

'Goodies'     5x7 in     oil on canvas panel

 

 

I painted this last week and forgot to upload. I am still working on apples and planning to do more apple paintings this week - interestingly I never get bored of painting them.

 

By the way, I found a nice way to stay cool in my apartment. I fill up the bathtub with cold water and submerge my feet in and read a book or think or do whatever I can do while sitting on the edge of my bathtub. After a while, I get okay :D

My Coffee

'My Coffee'      5x7 in     oil on canvas panel

 

 

This is my first summer spending in my new apartment. It is a three story H- shape building and my suite is on the top floor at inside corner. And there is no trees around that are taller than our building. Which means..... it gets really hot in summer. I mean REALLY hot. Sometimes I am sweating just by sitting still. It reminds me of Korean summer except humidity which is kind of nice.  But now it's only June but already worrying how I can spend July and August. I get to remember how I beared Korean summer without an air conditioner. 

 

my new easel set up - happy with it :)

 

I used an french easel as my studio easel for a while and wanted have a smaller and lighter one that I can easily move around in my studio. I did some research in internet and this is what I decided to stay with - Alla Prima Pochade Box. I am using it as my studio easel but it's originally designed for outdoor use so someday I will use it as it's true intension. 

My Apples

 

'My Apples'       5x7 in       oil on canvas panel

 

 

I wanted to add some more colors to my apples today. I have seen really nice apple paintings done by other artists while searching internet. They were painted with very unusual colors for apples - like purple, blue and pink to give abstrac feel, interesting high lights or charming textures. That's what I had in my mind. But..... I didn't have a gut to do it. Instead, I added two different colors of napkins XD.  Well......next time :)

Apples with Cup

'Apples with Cup'       6x6 in        oil on canvas

 

 

I had frustration with painting a cup last week so I paid extra attention to the cup when I was working on it and I am quite happy with the result. I have been painting apples for 5 days now and interestingly never get bored of them. The variation you can get with apples is almost endless.

Applesolute !

'Applesolute !'       6x6 in       oil on canvas panel

 

 

Still playing with apples and having fun. I used Lemon Yellow (transparent) for mixing green yesterday. And I used Cadmium Yellow (opaque) to make greens today - just to see how transparent colors and opaque colors act differently. Now I can see difference between them.

 

My conclusion? In my opinion, transparent yellow makes very thin paints which is hard to deal with (it's slimy) but leaves interesting marks/effects when used right. Opaque yellow makes thicker paints which is easier to apply on canvas and leaves smoother marks. I don't think this is a perfect conclusion about these paints. It's just what I felt today.

 



Magic Napkin Ride

'Magic Napkin Ride'     6x6 in     oil on canvas panel

 

 

I used Lemon Yellow + Prussian Blue to make the light green for these apples. Because Lemon Yellow is transparent, it is hard to handle - it feels like my brush is sliding on the canvas rather than applying paint. But when I use it properly, it makes nice brush marks which opaque colors can't. I like the marks on the left bottom apple. :D

 

 

Two in Sunny Spot

'Two in Sunny Spot'        6x6 in       oil on canvas panel

 

 

I put up two boxes that are same in length. And then placed plywood board on top of them to block light on my apples. It's a simple addition to still life set-ups but I think the effect is dramatic. Like it !

Sunbathing

'Sunbathing'        6x6 in       oil on canvas panel

 

 

After struggling with a mug last time, I  decided to take a break from painting cups for a while. Now I am playing with green apples. Apples are always pleasure to paint.

Study

'Study'   6x6 in   oil on canvas panel

By painting daily, I believe that I am improving everyday - little bit at a time. But sometimes there is a moment (often) that I don't know anything about how to paint. Today I had that moment when I was painting this **sigh**  After struggling with the mug and apples for about an hour, I decided to leave it alone. I hope today's frustration will lead me to do better painting in the future. Tomorrow will be a better day :D

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Updated - It hurts to watch this painting ( just brings me out all the frustration back everytime I see it) so I decided to make this photo smaller than I normally post. Once I thought about removing it but oh, well......  I will just leave it here. Will I post another painting that I am not proud of ? Well...... maybe not again. :)

All Together

'All Together'      6x6 in       oil on canvas panel

 

 



Since I started to paint wrapped gifts for my paintings, I get a habbit of collecting small boxes. Probably I have a dozen so far and am feeling that my box collection will get bigger.

'Pick One'

 

'Pick one '      6x6 in     oil on canvas panel

 

Gift

/gift/

 

noun , plural : gifts

 

1. the act of giving !

 



Creative Fuel

'Creative Fuel'       6x6 in        oil on canvas panel

 

I can't remember where I read it - probably it was an online article. It said that since coffee was introduced in the world, people have stayed up late. And that has led people to use their 'coffee-nated energy' to create new ideas like composing a song, writing a book, creating an art piece and a lot more. Probably coffee is not the only one that inspire people but I can see why some think so.

 



New Start

'New Start'        6x6 in        oil on canvas panel

 

 

Hello everyone !  It had been almost three weeks since the last upload and I am excited to post a new painting today. I was not painting for the last three weeks but my fingers itched to paint. Finally, I rummaged in my kitchen cabinets for the still life set up last night and painted it. And I named it 'New Start' and I think it's perfect tile for posting a new painting and also for a metaphor for coffee. 

Eggs

'Eggs'          6x6 in          oil on canvas panel

 

 





Eggs in Bowl

'Eggs in Bowl'     6x6 in     oil on canvas panel

 

I really had fun painting broken eggs this week. It was pleasure looking at them while painting. Egg yolks and broken shells catch highlights nicely under a lamp. I especially love looking at tiny highlights on inside of shells. They are delicate shine that makes ordinary cracked shells extraordinary ( I think ).  By the way, is this only me who sees Mickey Mouse in this painting?

C' mon Up!

'C' mon Up !'    5x7    oil on canvas board

USD $100     Click here to purchase

 

 

I recently had 'a ha' moment about painting white objects.  Painting white was very challenging for me. Whenever I painted white cups or plates, they turned muddy. I triple rinsed my brushes before mixing fresh grey(white) to avoid muddy colors but it didn't work. They still looked  mucky. 

 

Now I figured out why - It wasn't my brush. It was paint remained on the surface. I use brown paint (burnt umber) for drawing and then slightly wipe it out before putting colors. Then it leaves misty image that guides me to paint. And usually there is quite a bit of  paint left on a canvas.  Now I am thinking ' the slightly wiping' underdrawing wasn't enough! It needs to be rubbed roughly! So that there should be ultra, super, tiny amount of paint left. - just tiny bit of paint to see your drawing.  White can be mixed very easily with what is underneath. So that was the brown paint that made the overall looking of painting look muddy and cloudy.

Broken Egg

'Broken Egg'        6x6       oil on canvas panel

 USD $100    Click here to purchase

 

Another broken egg painting. I tried to make the shadow little brighter than I normally do to get a soft and muted mood for this painting. And I am happy with the result. The photos below are the scenes after finishing it in my studio.

 

 

 

Painting eggs are eggcellently fun!!!!



Bowing Stalk

 

'Bowing Stalk'       6x6       oil on canvas panel
 

 

 

I usually finish my small paintings at one seat and this technique is called "alla prima". So, once I start painting, I stay at my easel until the painting is done ( with one or two break times ). But this painting was done by two seatings. And there was a 7 hour gap between those two attempts.  Does it still consider as alla prima? ( I just wondered)

Why I didn't finish it at one seat? ---- Well, I spent too much time setting up the composition. (sometimes it takes more hours than painting time)  By the time this painting was half done, it was time to pick up my son. And then there was a Taekwondo class, trip to a library, playdate, dinner time and bed time - you know how the life goes with kids. **smile**
 



 

Come Together

'Come Together'       6x6 in      oil on canvas panel

USD $100    Click here to purchase

 

This was done last night. I was having so fun painting this. I didn't realize I stayed up till 1:30 a.m. but I like how it turned out so it was worth it.  

 

If you like to hear a weather report for Vancouver area - It is raining here.  And I went out for a walk with an umbrella after dinner. I know many people who loves rainy days. And I was one of them when I was living in Korea - not so much now because it rains almost everyday in Winter ( Autumn and Spring too) . I would like one wet day out of ten days but not through the whole winter ! ( Okay, stop complaining and get to the point, Jiyoung!)  ** clearing my throat**  Anyways, what I was trying to say is that I enjoyed walking through rain this evening even though you might hear me complaining about rainy days sometimes. The sound and rhythm of the rain that hit my umbrella........., the atmosphere it created with slight fog in distance........, and the cooler temperature in the air. Oh! and the water puddles too. I hope the sky is clear tomorrow so that I can see reflections on water puddles.