Almost Time to Go

A new Daily Paintworks Challenge! This week we were to paint the sunset without painting the sky or sun. The shadows and colors alone help to show the time of day. I dug through my photo files to find this boy standing at the surf's edge at the end of day and loved the golden light on everything. It was definitely a challenge to represent the watery scene with loose brushwork, but I gave it a try and like the result!

 

Almost Time to Go, © Dorothy Jenson 2014

6 x 6" acrylic on wrapped canvas $40

Orange Blossom

 

Today we went to see the Wildlife Arts Show in Portland, Oregon. So many artists doing so many wonderful things! I am in awe! Ken paid me a compliment when he said that he felt my works would "fit right in" with the rest of the show. I was pleased to see that many visual artists are working with the 6x6 inch size to create tiny works of art. Many are painted on simple wooden panels that are hung with wire on the back side, and others are elegantly displayed in "floater frames".  I like that look a lot, too. We saw paintings, sculpture, ceramics, photography, and exquisite jewelry. Ken loved the lamps built with river rocks, plus the artwork done with fused glass. I enjoy the sculptures of birds and animals, plus the beautiful ceramics. It was all so much fun to look at.

 

My painting today is following a little trend of designing with food.

Ken likes eating the leftover still life. :)

 

 

Orange Blossom  © Dorothy Jenson 2014

6 x 6" wrapped canvas

Apple Blossom

I've had some new ideas for little paintings bumping around in my head lately, and here is one of the first of a series of fruits and vegetables. What do you think? (I think I'm going to have fun with it!)

Apple Blossom,  © Dorothy Jenson 2014

6 x 6 " on wrapped canvas

Skip To My Lou

Well, some days I just want to paint something "cute" and this little Puffin is just the thing. While painting, the old song, "Skip to my Lou" drifted in and out of my head, and so the title was born. Doesn't it look like this little one might be humming and trying to dance?

Skip to My Lou  © Dorothy Jenson 2014

6 x 6 inch acrylic on wrapped canvas

Golden Wilderness

Yesterday's detailed industrial painting took a little time to do, but I loved how it turned out. Today, however, I was in the mood to "play" with art, and a recent hike at Eagle Creek provided reference for a fun little painting. I've never hiked that trail in autumn before, and was simply amazed at how brilliantly golden the leaves shone through the evergreen tree trunks. Simply amazing. I just had fun splashing color around in this one!

Golden Wilderness © Dorothy Jenson 2014

6 x 6 inch acrylic on wrapped canvas

Blue Heron at Willamette Falls

This week the Daily Paintworks challenge is to "find the art in an industrial scene" and paint it. Well, I just happened to walk along the path this morning that overlooks the Blue Heron paper mill on the Willamette River. The sun was coming up behind me and glowed golden on the river, while the factory was still in cool shadows. That is Willamette Falls behind the mill, which is misting up into the hills that are being touched with morning color. For once I looked at the industrial scene as a potential art project instead of a blight on the river. Nice challenge!

Blue Heron at Willamette Falls © Dorothy Jenson 2014

6 x 6 inch acrylic on wrapped canvas

Hilltop Daisies

 It was a late afternoon when my husband and I hiked a trail in the Portland area and near the summit we happened upon an amazing field of daisies. I took a couple reference photos (but wished I had taken more!) and continued on the trail. I have painted the scene a couple other times, but in pastel. Here we are two years later and I'm still thinking about the magic of that hilltop meadow! Today I let the happy acrylic colors fall off my paintbrush to come up with this version of my memory.

Hilltop Daisies, © Dorothy Jenson 2014

6x6 inch acrylic on canvas

Morning Glory

I love watching the sky. I live in the northwest, so the sky I see daily is surrounded by trees and mountains, and I don't get the stunning wide open vistas that are found in the plains and desert areas, but there is enough to see and bring a thrill. Lucky for me, I get to go for a morning walk with a friend most days of the week, and I see a lot of sunrises. Every one of them stops me in my tracks to watch and appreciate.

Today's painting reflects a sunrise that we witnessed a few weeks ago. Sometimes I stand there open mouthed and wonder if it is real! The colors and contrasts are so amazing. My little pocket camera captured this morning glory, and I have tried to paint the excitement that was in the air that day.

Morning Glory, © Dorothy Jenson 2014

6x6 inch acrylic on canvas

Copper Vase

The Daily Paintworks Challenge this week is to paint something "copper". One of the reasons I love doing the challenge is because it gives me a good reason to paint something that would never have crossed my mind otherwise. Copper? I don't have anything copper, so why would I think of it? Well, it's not too hard to find an image from various photo sharing websites, so I did just that, because I have never painted copper and I knew there was something to be learned from it.

I loved this beautiful simple image of a slender copper vase with it's single balloon flower and distinctive shadow. Very classy looking. And I found out that painting copper is hard!

Copper Vase © Dorothy Jenson 2014

6 x 6 " acrylic on canvas

Keeping Busy!

 

The days are getting so much cooler with rain, then cold and wind. I really don't mind at all, since it gives me lots of reasons to just stay inside and paint! There are also crochet projects to be working on, and a good book or two lying around. No, I really don't mind that autumn is settling in!

 

Here's another painting in the moonrise series. There will probably be another one....my husband really likes it when I paint Mt Hood! The reference photo for this moonrise was taken by my daughter-in-law, Grace and she gladly shared it with me. It was quite the sight: the moon rising in the East behind Mt Hood, and the sun setting in the West casting golden orange lights upon the mountain! 

 

 

October Moonrise © Dorothy Jenson 2014

6 x 6" acrylic   SOLD

My hometown is Oregon City, OR, which is built in layers along a portion of the Willamette River. This little painting depicts a walkway (called the "Promenade") on the bluff overlooking the lowest, original part of town. I had a great time painting the bright light behind the autumn trees. Those stone pillars beside the walk are very historical!

Autumn Promenade © Dorothy Jenson 2014

6 x 6" acrylic on wrapped canvas

While the temperatures dropped to almost freezing, and the wind was howling, I had the urge to paint a warm sunny afternoon at the beach! It was a fun, quick little painting and it is being offered in a GIVEAWAY I am hosting on my Facebook Page. If you are on Facebook, look up Dorothy Jenson Art to sign up to win this painting!

Beach Daydream  © Dorothy Jenson 2014

6 x 6 " acrylic on wrapped canvas

7th Street Watchers

This stone statue featuring two faceless figures, stands beside one of the main streets in my hometown of Oregon City, Or. I walk past them often on a morning walk and I have always wanted to paint them. This week I noticed they were surrounded by gorgeous fall color, so I took some reference photos and proceeded to paint. I love how it turned out! Painting the suggestion of all the little street details was great fun.

Turns out the statue has a name, which I only learned by looking it up a few minutes ago. They were created by artist Carole Turner, and she called it "Ancient Voices". I call them the "7th Street Watchers".

7th Street Watchers, © Dorothy Jenson 2014

6 x 6" acrylic on wrapped canvas

Polaris Snowflake

My grandma used to make thread crochet snowflakes. I thought they looked really pretty on the Christmas tree, but it wasn't until I was a grandma myself that I decided to try making them. My first attempt at crocheting with thread was not successful, and the idea was scrapped, but not forgotten. Later I tried again, with the same frustrations. Finally, months after the first and second attempts, I mastered the techniques of working with tiny hook and thread. Fast forward a couple years, and I have made hundreds of these snowflakes, and have three different books with patterns, because I rarely make the same one twice!

I thought it might be fun to PAINT one today, and this one was actually called "Polaris" in the book with the instructions to make it. It was a lot easier to paint than it was learning to make!

Polaris Snowflake  © Dorothy Jenson 2014

6x6" acrylic on wrapped canvas

Autumn Joy at Multnomah Falls

We went hiking on Saturday to Multnomah Falls with my daughter and her family. The scenery was amazingly brilliant with all the glowing golds of autumn. For sure a painting would have to be created using one of the many reference photos I shot that morning as we hiked up the one mile trail to the very top of the falls! Well, it turns out the photo I liked best was the one I shot from the parking lot just before we left. Those dark firs and brilliant yellows just had to be painted.

Autumn Joy at Multnomah Falls  © Dorothy Jenson 2014

6 x 6" acrylic on wrapped canvas