Saturday 21st February 2009

I went to the usual Saturday group but I am not happy with the painting I did and don't want to share it! I felt very tired as I was painting and decided that I probably had already painted enough this week. Time to relax and do other things and come back to my painting fresh next week.

Thanks for all the interest in my clearance page. I am happy to report that I have made some sales but there are still some really great paintings left on the page so hurry if you want to take advantage of these ridiculously low prices. Here are a few of the paintings....

www.elizabethjose.com

Friday 20th February 2009 - still life again

In the background of one of the Richard Scmidt still lifes that Ray showed me were a couple of paintings and drawings and I got the idea of putting one of my own paintings in the composition.

I was back on duty at the gallery on Friday so i set up the still life as before (without the rose - it was pretty wilted) and took a painting off my display wall. I chose the one that looked the most like Taos to continue the theme of art and Taos. I like that my signature is on the painting in the painting rather than in the corner.

Thanks Ray, I think it is a better painting - tell me what you think!

Still Life with Champagne - oil on canvas - 20 x 20" - not for sale until after the competition.

Thursday 19th February 2009 - Ray's Class

I brought in my still life with the champagne bottle to see what Ray would say about it and he said although it was well painted, the composition was just terrible. I said "don't sugar coat it Ray, tell me what you really think!" He showed me some still lifes by Richard Scmidt where the composition is much fuller and that got me thinking about changes I could make.



Then I settled down to painting this one from a photo I took on Monday on a walk with Jane out to the Morada. The snow is melting now and we're getting warm spring like days, which around here means MUD. It was a claggy, hard going trudge to reach the cross at the end of the walk but the views were worth it.

The Morada itself has been taken back by the church as it was falling into disrepair, the adobe turning back into mud. While it is picturesque (for a while) to see it crumbling, I am delighted to see it restored and protected from the elements.

It was Ray that suggested the Native American in a blanket, leaning against the wall. In my first attempt, my fellow classmates were laughing that it looked like a hobo peeing against the wall! so I implied his face to show him facing away from the wall.

Melting Snow at the Morada - 10 x 20" - oil on canvas - $795

Wednesday 18th February 2009 - Marisol

What a shock to walk into the studio on Wednesday and see Marisol, who used to have dread-locked hair almost to her waist with a short crop. I partly chose this angle for the novelty of seeing the back of her neck!

Marisol - 16 x 12" - oil on canvas - $750

Tuesday 17th February 2009 - wine still life

Later in the year we have an event called "The Toast of Taos" which promotes local wine growers and local artists. Every year they run a painting competition for the image they use on the publicity. I decided to enter this year for the first time.

I was on duty in the gallery on Tuesday and set up this still life to work from. I chose a romantic theme, a New mexico "champagne" called Gruet (yum!) and flutes and a red rose that was still lovely left over from Valentine's Day.

Clearance!

My project for today is to create a clearance web page. If you follow my blog you will know that i am a prolific artist and I have a house full of paintings. I've picked a flat price of $49 (bargain!) or $69 for anything 20 x 20" and above, you can buy the unframed paintings on this page and I'll include include shipping to mainland USA. For outside the USA please e-mail me for a quote. And if you buy 4 I'll throw in a 5th for free!

www.elizabethjose.com

Take a look!

Saturday 14th February 2009 - Kaitlyn

The lovely kaitlyn was our model at this week's Saturday Portrait group. I decided to do a fuller composition rather than the usual head and shoulders portrait to capture the whole gesture of her playing the guitar.

Ukelele Girl - 16 x 12" - oil on canvas panel - sold

Thursday 12th February 2009 - Ray's

I did most of this painting when I was on duty at the gallery last Tuesday and brought it in to Ray to see if he could help me make it a better painting. He suggested making the buildings on the right a little brighter - they were very washed out in the photo I was working from. It made a big difference. It was easier to sharpen the definition in the big tree with the paint nearly dry than it was on Tuesday.



Another sunset of the mountain, the light was just delicious and completely irresistible to me. This one is not finished.

Kit Carson Road Shade - 12 x 12" - oil on canvas panel - $575
Late Afternoon Light on Taos Mountain - 12 x 12" - oil on canvas panel - $575

Wednesday 11th February 2009 - Paul

Paul was posing this week at Melissa's group in a laying down pose which made perspective and foreshortening a challenge. I started this one 4 times before I was happy with my angle and the composition.

Paul - 20 X 16" - oil on canvas - sold

Saturday 7th February 2009 - Portrait Group - Cat

Cat is a friend of Sarkis, a fellow portrait group regular and I had no idea what she looked like before I turned up at the group - I quite often have an idea or an approach in mind. We set her up next to the window for natural light and hung a bright turquoise mexican blanket behind her as a backdrop.



There is something a little different about this one, it's a little cartoon-like, I enjoyed painting the big hair and the earrings and scarf. I felt the warm glow of the kin works against the strong background colour.

Gipsy - 16 x 12" - oil on canvas panel - $750

Thursday 5th February 2009 - Ray Vinella, superstar!

Another Wednesday class with Ray Vinella. I've told him that I write a blog about my painting but it took a mutual friend, Jan Mellor, to tell him that I write about my Thursday lessons on the blog for him to ask me about it! Here is a photo of Ray and I at this morning's group along with a portrait I painted of him a year and a half ago.



In this week's class i finished off this evening painting of the Plaza with the pretty twinkle lights in the trees in front of Ogelvie's and painted this scene of the main road through Taos with fresh snow and Taos Mountain behind. The red sign on the building on the right is Jan Mellor's gallery - the Taos Gallery.



Late Night Shopping on the Plaza - 12 x 12" - oil on canvas panel - $575
Beautiful Downtown Taos - 12 x 12" - oil on canvas panel - $575

Wednesday 4th February 2009 - Nina

A beautiful day here in Taos, sunny and not so cold. We had the lovely Nina modelling for us at Melissa's regular group and I thought this one came out well, which was a bit of a relief because I've seen plenty of improvement and movement in my landscape painting but my portraiture has felt a little stuck recently. This one felt like a shift in the right direction.



Nina - oil on canvas panel - 12 x 12" - $575

Saturday 31st January 2009 - Angelica

A change in pace from my usual prolific 4 - 6 paintings a week. I've been in a bit of a funk, low energy, migraines and dealing with my elderly cat getting very sick and making a miraculous recovery. Winter blues? maybe. I missed Ray's group this week due to a pounding migraine, not fun. There's another painting I did while working the gallery on Friday which I'll post when it's finished.

I painted Angelica at the Saturday portrait group.

Portrait of Angelica - oil on canvas panel - 16 x 12" - $750