Daffodils on a Cloudy Day

Same daffodils on my windowsill as before, although I did make the trumpets on these a little more orange. It was a cloudy day this time, instead of foggy, so there are the basic shapes of trees in the background. I just wanted to play with color and shapes on this one, so it's not very detailed. I like it though!

Daffodils on a Cloudy Day © Dorothy Jenson 2015

6x6 inch oil on gessobord

Mt Hood Morning

Another sunrise? Sorry, I can't resist. I see these beautiful mornings that make such an impression on me and I just have to try my hand at painting them. What's interesting about this painting is that it is the very same morning that I painted yesterday! The initial color blast faded and became the serene golden and pink tones around Mt Hood. Too pretty.

Mt Hood Morning, © Dorothy Jenson 2015

6x6 inch oil on gessobord

January's Promise

I witnessed this wonderful sunrise today as I was out walking with a friend. During our early morning rambles through the years we have seen countless amazing cloudscapes, and each time I think I should paint it. That would be a LOT of sunrise pictures! Well, I couldn't pass this one up. My cell phone was helpful to take a quick reference photo, then I let memory take over to create my impression of the new day.

January's Promise © Dorothy Jenson 2015

6x6 oil on gessobord

Foggy Day Daffodils

I bought some little daffodils (or are they narcissi?) at the grocery store and set them in the windowsill in my bedroom next to my green rocking chair. You can see them in my painting, Sweet January. Today I let them be the star of the show and tried to keep my handling loose. The background outside is still quite foggy, so they get to be called the "foggy day" daffodils. :)

This is actually my second attempt. Yesterday I tried painting them in acrylic and it was a total disaster. I scrubbed the canvas completely in the sink! Today, I'm using oil and lots happier with the result.

Foggy Day Daffodils © Dorothy Jenson 2015

6x6 inch oil on wood panel

Sweet January

 

The Daily Paintworks challenge this week is to paint our "relaxation station". Well, this is it! I actually bought a small pot of yellow narcissi's to add a spot of extra color on the window ledge just for this painting! It's a soft, foggy January day (at least it was when I took the reference photo) so the lighting is somewhat subdued and blurry out the window. The scarf on the chair was knitted for me by my friend Paulene, and it's always there, ready when I need it. This is my chair to think a while, relax a little, read, and maybe even nod off. I also have a great view of the backyard and the woods beyond. I love my relaxation station! 

 

Sweet January, © Dorothy Jenson 2015

6x6 inch acrylic on wrapped canvas

Siesta

Carrying a little camera with me provides lots of fodder for future paintings. One day I spied this gentleman taking a nap in the late afternoon on a bluff that looks over onto our downtown and river below. Of course I'm going to take a photo! All dressed in white, with a wide brimmed hat, laying so peacefully in the grasses on the hillside, he makes a lovely subject for my painting.

Siesta © Dorothy Jenson 2015

6x6 inches, oil on wood panel, $50

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Pacific Dawn

Palette knife painting interests me somewhat, and I gave it a try for fun. I think most artists use oils for thick, creamy texture, but I used acrylic with a little medium added to slow the drying a bit. Didn't get much texture, but the process was fun. My reference photo was taken at the coast in January as we went for a very early morning walk on the beach. Sunrises may be somewhat cliché, but they are so beautiful!

Pacific Dawn © Dorothy Jenson 2015

6x6 acrylic on wood panel, varnished $30

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Retired Maytag

After painting my classic Bernina yesterday, I remembered a photo I took on a morning walk not too long ago of an antique Maytag wringer washer that was left out in a neglected part of someone's side yard. The washer intrigued me then, and today it was time to try painting it. My husband has a rather painful memory of a washer similar to this one. Those wringers caught one of his little 3 year old hands when he was trying to "help" and carries the scar on his palm to this day of the damage done. I wonder about the stories this washer could tell. How excited was the first owner to receive it brand new? How many loads of diapers did it handle? How long did it serve? Lots of memories here for someone.

Retired Maytag © Dorothy Jenson 2015

6x6 inches, acrylic on wood panel $50

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Bernina 830

The Daily Paintworks challenge for the week is to paint what's by our easels. I took a look around my studio and knew immediately that I was going to paint my hardworking 1977 Bernina 830. Yes, my sewing room is also my art studio. It's a little crowded, but it works!

This old Bernina still works perfectly. At a maintenance service a couple years ago, the shop owner's eyes lit up when he saw what I had brought in. He called his employees around to show them the classic machine, which was, he said, the year that Bernina got EVERYTHING right. Then he offered to buy her for a very generous price. Of course, I turned him down. Bernina and I are best friends after all these years, and we understand one another well.

Bernina 830 © Dorothy Jenson 2015

acrylic on wood panel, $50

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The Prettiest of Views

I love visiting Yosemite National Park!! It would be so awesome to spend a season or two, or three, being an artist in residence there. For today, though, I have to resort to a photo reference to create a painting of Half Dome. This reference was taken by a photographer named Gregg Boydston, and I spotted it on Instagram. I asked if I could use it as reference for a small painting,  and he said "Sure!" Awesome!

Remember Pitch Perfect and the song, "You're gonna miss me"? A line in the song says, "The one with the prettiest of views" and that kept going through my head this afternoon, so it was a no brainer for a title.

The Prettiest of Views, © Dorothy Jenson 2015

6x6" oil on wood panel, $50

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Mt Rushmore

Yesterday's "Liberty" painting was so much fun (and sold so quickly!) that I decided to try another national monument. How about four guys on a rock? Wow, talk about a challenge, and this isn't even an assignment. My goal was to keep it loose and painterly, and I think I succeeded. Phew!

Mt Rushmore © Dorothy Jenson 2015

6x6" oil on wood panel, $50

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Liberty's Flame

Seriously, I don't know where some of my ideas come from. Last night the "Statue of Liberty" popped into my mind, and it seemed as if I ought to try and paint her. In oils, too! Well, it was easy to find a good image to use in the morgue files online, and today I made the attempt. At first I kept thinking, "whatever possessed me to paint something so hard??", but little by little the painting was coming together, and I even liked it! Working in oil takes a whole different approach than acrylic, and it was quite fun doing something a little different. (Once I got past questioning my sanity!)

Liberty's Flame © Dorothy Jenson 2015

6x6" oil on wood panel, $50

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Green Light and Starlight Waltz

Last week was not a painting week....in fact I was barely home! It was a week spent with local family and the role of Grandma took precedence over art. What a sweet (and exhausting!) week it was getting to know my littles even better. Love them so much!

I didn't have a chance to post the last painting I did before leaving the studio. It was another Daily Paintworks Challenge to paint a cityscape "loosely" from a given reference photo. My completed painting turned out better than I thought it would (it nearly drove me nuts during the process!) and it has already sold. Hooray!

Green Light © Dorothy Jenson 2015

6x6 " on wood   SOLD

Before tackling the challenge for this week, I wanted to loosen up from my absence by painting a happy evening sky scape again, this time featuring our lovely Mt. Hood. Another starry, swirly sky!

Starlight Waltz © Dorothy Jenson 2015

6x6" on wood panel $50

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Twin Rock Sunset

We witnessed a rare event in Rockaway on the Oregon coast this weekend! At this time of year, the sun goes down so that it is visible through the tunnel in Twin Rocks, just off the beach. One of the locals says she has lived there 9 years and only seen it twice because of rain and cloud cover that is common for this time of year. How amazing that we happened to be there on a sunny weekend!! It was a longer hike down the beach than anticipated, and we had to wade/jump/splash through two creeks to get to a decent viewing area, but we made it in time!

I took a few photos with my cell phone camera, and enjoyed the beautiful view, then used my photo reference to create this little acrylic painting of the event while relaxing in our motel the next day.

Twin Rock Sunset © Dorothy Jenson 2015

6x6 inch acrylic on wood panel, varnished

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