Day 43, Project 125 Yamhill, Oregon Red Barn oil landscape painting BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy   Nightfall       oil    6 inches x 6 inches      $125.

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Today I played with color after finishing my large barn painting, Yamhill Barn, 30"x40" oil. I felt like a nocturne. I had had this one in my mind for a couple of weeks. It was one that I was going to paint larger, but I thought I would try it first in a small size. I'm not sure if I will go larger with it or move on. I need to get some sunsets going in larger sizes. That may be next on the agenda.

In this painting I used a small range of colors keeping them grayed with subtle differences between them. It is always tricky to get enough light in the painting, but dark enough to tell the viewer it is nighttime. Without enough light it is just a dark painting. I like to have some definite light hitting an object to create more interest in a nocturne. In this one the moon is outside the field of vision.

A few openings in my workshops:

Hood River, OR Sept 4

Carmel, IN Sept 27 - 29

Superstitions, AZ Oct 3 - 5

E-Book: How to Create Better Paintings Using Foundational Concepts

Preview the book, click here.

I'll talk to you all tomorrow.

Becky Joy

Day 35, Abandoned Turn-of-the-Century Home oil Painting BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy    Abandoned House    oil     6 inches x 6 inches     $125.

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Today was a day of errands. I woke up late, finally got on the treadmill after an hour and a half or so on the computer. While I was on the treadmill, I remembered that I was meeting a bunch of artists today at 11:30. After a quick shower, it was on the road. It was a great lunch-meeting with some good networking. I learned all kinds of things that were going on locally here. Anyway, ideas are forming now. I then stopped at my daughter's house, talked a while with her and the grandkids, went to the store with her and borrowed her camera.

I came home a took some photos of a bunch of paintings. (Her camera is a better one than mine. I use it for special photos here and there.)  After that, I finally got down to some painting this afternoon. I intended to work on a large one today, but it didn't happen. This was it! This painting is similar to a plein air that I painted in Oregon. This time, I played with the edges a little more and tried to loosen up with all but the white of the house. The field is looser with a pathway of a couple of strong strokes.

Tomorrow, there's always tomorrow for the big painting and to get that one more little painting caught up. I am behind one now. This weekend I spent most of my time rebuilding my webite, Easel Notes. I opened a website on the computer while I had my webpage open. It attacked my website before I knew it. I had to go into the html to remove it and while I was at it, I was putting in a new header, then a new menu......... Well, it was a big job. I'm not quite done, but it's looking a lot better. Some little changes and additions and it will be in pretty good shape. Then, I'll try to start posting on it more.

Talk to you all later.

Becky Joy

Workshopshttp://paintingworkshopsonline.com

Day 31, Oregon Country Road oil landscape painting | BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy    Oregon Country Road     oil     6 inches x 6 inches      $125.

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Back in the studio today blocking in a couple of large paintings. This small one is one that I painted in the studio starting with a photo from Oregon. I blocked-in the 24"x30" using this small painting as a way to work out the colors and composition. It is always a challenge to go from small to large and still have that fresh look. It also takes a big brush.

Today we finally had some rain in Phoenix. It's about time. Not only do we need the moisture, but it does give a reprieve from the incessant heat, even if it is for just a short time. Tomorrow I will be back in the studio continuing on a larger painting and working out another. I've always found the small paintings a good way to experiment.

Talk to you all later.

Becky Joy

Day 28, Prickly Pear Cactus with Blossoms Painting BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy     Prickly Pear Blossoms   oil    6 inches x 6 inches   $125. 

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Today I spent some time with my daughter and grandkids with a little painting in the morning. This was one of the paintings that I worked on. It was actually a complicated scene with a lot going on in the background. I started painting much more of what I saw then realized I needed to simplify. So, I started by keeping the values close together in all but the shadows on the cactus and what was cast on the ground. I kept the background behind the cactus in different colors and a little cooler and grayer than the foreground creating some distance in the painting.

I pulled out some of paintings from the trip and found that some needed a little more work. Below are a couple of those paintings. I also still need to do some photography for a couple of the paintings from project 125 that I haven't posted. Hopefully, I catch up on all this tomorrow and get paintings ready to ship too.

© 2013 Becky Joy    Idaho Farm    oil on linen     11 inches x 14 inches    $1000.

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I painted this in Southwest Idaho in the late afternoon before going to my friend Shanna Kunz' house. I love the farms in that area and just had to pull off the interstate to paint. I hadn't eaten lunch by the time I started painting. I was painting away in the heat and felt a little sick toward the end, so I had to pack it up and finish a little bit of the painting in the studio. The clouds needed a little more work and I had to deepen the values of the farm buildings a little. So, that was my job this morning.

© 2013 Becky Joy      Oregon Farm Tree     oil      11 inches x 14 inches     $1000.

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I painted this one at the old farm in Oregon with my friend Romona Youngquist. I thought I had finished it at the time, but I decided there were two things wrong with it. First, I had a solid line along the field in the light orange color dividing the distant hills and field. I broke that up by adding the small group of trees along that line. It helps to connect the field and the background hills. Secondly, that line was going downhill too much to the right. I raised that line a little on the right. I felt by doing so that it balanced the painting more.

I still have openings in my workshop in Hood River, OR on Sept 4 for a 1 day plein air class. All my students in the workshops will receive a copy of the e-book, How to Create Beautiful Paintings Using Foundational Concepts, that I just published.

Talk to you all tomorrow when I post some more paintings.

Becky Joy

Day 25, Project 125 Baker City Oregon plein air oil landscape painting BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy     Baker City Oregon Clouds   oil on panel     6 inches x 6 inches   $125.

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It is been a challenge with the computer the last couple of days. I left my family in Oregon 2 days ago and have been on the road. I stayed the night in Baker City, Oregon which is in Eastern Oregon. The internet access that I had was verrrrry slow, but I did manage to get some work done. And, that was the problem, some but not all the work. I uploaded my new e-book, but was not able to finish the job. So, those that paid were not getting the e-book. Once I got to my friend, Shanna Kunz' house in Utah I finally got a good connection. This morning I was able to finish everything with the e-book and now trying to catch up with the blogging, emails, etc, etc.

I've got some more photography to take to catch up. But for now, I'm painting with my friend Shanna!

Talk to you all tomorrow.

Becky Joy

Day 24, Leaving Willamette Valley Oregon BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy   Willamette Valley Farm   oil on panel  6 inches x 6 inches   $125.

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OK, I'm falling down on the blogging job, not the painting job. The blogging is much harder!

I'm on the road again. I was busy yesterday working on and finishing my ebook. I now have a pdf ebook, How to Create Beautiful Paintings Using Foundational Concepts. I went through the formatting for Amazon and have wasted some time there uploading it 3 times. I've read the directions, but I'm still having trouble with images....later.

I had an eventful day yesterday or maybe it was Friday. I found out that my painting, Strength and Serenity was accepted to the American Impressionist Society Show. I painted this painting while I was in Yosemite. Nothing like working on a deadline, 2 days to spare! I knew when I left that I didn't have anything to enter and was kind of sweating it. Made it, Yay! Below is the painting Strength and Serenity.

I painted another painting here in Eastern Oregon where I am now, but it was too dark to photograph. So, it will probably be two images tomorrow.

© 2013 Becky Joy  Strength and Serenity   oil   11 inches x 14 inches

Time to log off and get to bed. Talk to you all tomorrow.

Becky Joy

Day 22, Project 125 Rural Road Sunset oil landscape painting by BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy   Sunset Road Painting   oil on panel   6 inches x 6 inches   $125.

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Fourth of July today and I'm off to a family pot luck. I decided today was a good day to paint one of my paintings where I translate an image into a mood painting using my own inventive colors. This was a road that I pass from Portland to Newburg. My plein air painting helps me to translate colors into my own thing. Both in plein air and in fantasy colors there are relationships between the colors. If it was a light bright green in daylight, it will be brighter and greener than some of the other colors. It is all about relationships.

I just wrote a new post for Easel Notes if you want to check it out. "Paints: Hooray for the Red, White and Blue."

Talk to you all tomorrow and enjoy the Fourth of July

Becky Joy

Day 21, Project 125 Stoller Winery Willamette Valley Oregon plein air painting BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy      Stoller Winery Vineyards     oil on panel     6 inches x 6 inches     $125.

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Hi everyone and Happy Fourth tomorrow!

This morning I met up with four artist friends at Stoller Winery in Dundee (the heart of wine country in Oregon) to paint at these vineyards. I was first to arrive, then came Brenda Boylan, a fabulous pastel artist who is making a name for herself and Michael Orwick, who is a funny guy and wonderful painter of atmosphere and sunsets. Later Romona Youngquist and Don Bishop. All of them I have painted with before in various places. The four of them will soon be having a show together at Elements Gallery in Newburg.

We laughed, talked, gave art therapy and of course, were served some wine. And, oh yes, we painted too. I started the day with my little painting. I was starting get too caught up in it with all those lines, taking too much time. Then, toward the end, I finally grabbed a larger brush and went for it with a few larger strokes.

Below are some photos of the day. The first is a cute one of Brenda on the hillside painting. Next, Don and Mike talking art, maybe.

               

Then there is the photo of Romona and us girls laughing under the tree about a typo using spell check on the phone. That can get you into trouble.

                    

Before the laughing scene I painted my second painting of an oak tree.

© 2013 Becky Joy   Willamette Valley Oak Tree   oil on linen panel   10 inches x 8 inches

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Now, a little lesson in pronunciation here. For those that have never been to Oregon or Willamette Valley. They are pronounced Or-ee-gone and Will-aa (like bat) met. Now put it all together, Willamette Valley, Oregon. That's right, you got it right now! That's something all Oregonians talk about, everyone else pronounces it wrong!

Well, tomorrow is Fourth of July, have fun.

Becky Joy

Day 19, Project 125 Gaston, Oregon Farm House plein air oil painting BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy   Day 19, Gaston, Oregon Farm House    oil on panel     6 inches x 6 inches     $125.

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Hi everyone, Another great day here in Oregon. I didn't post yesterday, although I did paint in the morning. It was a busy day! This painting was painted along a small quiet gravel country road near Gaston, Oregon in the Willamette Valley. Another place not too far from my parents and sister.

This house was abandoned and it was obvious that no one had lived there for quite some time. In fact, a neighbor who watches the property, came out to check on me, what was I doing there in front of the house. It turned out just fine and she went back into her house up the hill. I love some of the big old farm trees. This one was a maple tree. It towered over the house and such bulk to it.

After painting, I came back home and my sister picked me up just before noon with her 3 Chinese daughters. The oldest was celebrating her 18th birthday. She picked the activities and off we went to Portland. We spent the day there going through a few meager shops in Chinatown in Portland, which is pretty small. A lot of restaurants, but not many shops. After that we went to Voodoo Donuts, interesting shop and a waiting line, but overkill on the sugar. Below is the lineup for the shop. We also went down to Portland State, where she will be going to school in the fall and met my older niece who works there. After starbucks and time to kill before dinner, we walked up to Powell Books. Powell's has always been a stop of mine when I come up. It is the largest bookstore in the US. It's at least 5 stories high and takes up a city block. Over the years different stores were added to it, so it is a maze and each subject has it's own room. Guess where I went! Yes, the art room. I didn't have enough time to really look at a lot and sadly, left with nothing but memories.

At dinner time we met up with my older niece again and went to a Chinese Hot Pot Restaurant. It was a small little restaurant, but the interesting part of this is that the place looked really familiar. The longer I sat there the more I realized I've been here. I asked the owner how old the building was. It was built in the late 60's. That was when the waterfront area was starting to be developed and rebuilt. I realized that this was the same building and space that I worked at for my first job out of beauty school (I was a hairdresser for 19 years). When I walked outside to the parking lot and surveyed the scene, yep, it was the same place. A few changes in 40 years, including apartment buildings in the back of the commercial space, but it was all there. Strange coincidence. Now that brought back memories.

I was too tired and hot to post when I got home, so a day late on that end.

Talk to you later,

Becky

Day 20, Project 125 Yamhill Oregon Farm plein air oil painting

© 2013 Becky Joy   Yamhill Oregon Farm Field      oil on panel    6 inches x 6 inches      $125.

This morning I went out in the Yamhill area and painted two paintings. First was a 10"x8" on linen, which is posted below. I liked, of course, the group of trees and the road, but also the lay of the land. It was quite sunny and nice this morning. The only real shadow was the group of trees. The dirt road and the field were in sunlight. It was a nice quiet road again, a pattern here on those quiet roads.

After driving around and taking some photos of more farms, hills and trees, I found a spot to pull over and paint my 6"x6" today, the Yamhill Oregon Farm Field. There was a variety of colors in the field with the flowers and different grasses and weeds. It made an interesting pattern.

© 2013 Becky Joy    Gaston Oregon Drive     oil on linen    10 inches x 8 inches  $800.

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Still spaces available in the one day plein air workshop in Hood River, OR  Sept 4

Check out my other workshops including Italy and Croatia.

Talk to you all tomorrow. Who will I be painting with tomorrow?

Becky Joy

Day 18, Project 125 Meadow Lake Rd, Oregon plein air painting by BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy     Meadow Lake Rd, Oregon      oil on panel    6 inches x 6 inches      $125.

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Day 18 now. I went out early this morning to beat the heat, but instead I spent most of the day out painting, not too surprising! I started the morning driving out in the country. I just turned on a road that looked interesting. I drove down several roads, finding one that had several old farm homes and barns. I spent an hour or more photographing, some while driving. Thank goodness they weren't busy roads. The problem with country roads is that there aren't many places to pull off and park. I then turned down a road with a familiar name, Panther Creek. I knew it was by my sister's old farm.

As I drove I got deeper into forest and I could tell I was heading toward the coast. I stopped when I saw an old abandoned farm house with some big trees and the remnants of an orchard and the plus, there was a place to park. (The painting is below) I almost finished the painting when a man and his high school age daughter stopped to see what I was painting. We talked and he gave me some history on the house. It was his grandmother's house and had been vacant for about 20 years. He lived across the street on part of the family farm. The farm had been in the family for generations and was the old stagecoach stop on Panther Creek from McMinville to the coast.

We also got to talking when I told him that I stopped on Panther Creek, because it was near my sister's old farm. I told them she was a teacher in Carlton and said her name. The daughter asked if she was the one with 3 Chinese daughters in high school. Yep, that's her and with two older kids that are grown. The girl had been a student of her's and she now was in high school with the younger girls. The father then said, "You know there are some Henry's around here." I said both he and his brother lived here, so there are others in the family. I said I knew I was close to there place.

When I left and went out to the next cross street I could see the name of the road, Meadow Lake, the road my sister lived on. I drove about a mile down the road and there was their house up on the hill with the field and oak trees. It has been a good 15 to 20 years since she moved. Strange, I was driving all these roads I didn't know and landed up right there. Anyway, I had to stop along Meadow Lake and paint on the road. The result is the top painting. It was HOT by then!

© 2013 Becky Joy    Panther Creek Stagecoach Stop    oil    14 inches x 11 inches

Talk to you tomorrow,

Becky Joy

Day 17, Project 125 Oregon, Home Grown by BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy    Oregon, Home Grown     oil 6 inches x 6 inches     $125.

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Today, I spent a lot of time at home, cleaning my car (that was a job), on the computer, and doing nothing. I went out painting late in the day. I had seen this little overgrown place along the highway. I always like those unkept places with more character. I was drawn to the variety of color in the foliage and the house peeking out from the bushes. It had an old rusted tin roof which certainly adds to the character. In the foreground their were some  ferns and all kinds of weeds growing. Some of the colors in the foreground were picked up in piles with the brush and layed on like a palette knife.

Tomorrow I think I will get out early. It is hot for this area in the afternoons.

I would like to find out from some of you what you would want me to teach you if you were taking a workshop from me.

Talk to you all tomorrow.

Becky Joy

Day 16, Project 125 Oregon Barn Painting by BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy    Oregon Barn 1908     oil     6 inches x 6 inches   $125.

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This morning I met with Ramona Youngquist, an Oregon painter just living down the road from my family, to go painting. I followed her to an old abandoned farm that she has been painting at since last spring. There were so many paintings there. The views were fantastic and the old house was great. I told her it looked like a "Romona" house. This painting is about texture and shapes. The composition, obviously is simple. I loved the bright yellow-green moss and the peeling paint.

Below are a couple more painting from today. The view, a lot of wineries around this area. In fact, this piece of property was bought by one of the wineries.

© 2013 Becky Joy   Turn of the Century House    oil 8 inches x 10 inches

© 2013 Becky Joy     Farm Tree      oil     11 inches x 14 inches

Workshops:

Hood River, OR 1 day plein air  Sept 4 I just had a cancellation for my Mississippi workshop Nov 3 - 5

Tuscany, Italy   June 7 - 14, 2014

Talk to you tomorrow.

Becky Joy

Easel Notes Blog
Project 125

Day 15, Project 125 Oregon Trees, A Green State by Becky joy

© 2013  Becky Joy      Oregon Trees, Greens    oil    6 inches x 6 inches  $125.

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If you have never been to Oregon to see the variety of greens, I'm sure you've heard about them. Oregon is a very green state, in more ways than just the color. This is from the back deck of my parents place. I ran around doing errands today and visiting some friends, so there wasn't a lot of painting time. (I'll have to make more tomorrow.) I came home and started painting at about 5 pm.

 This painting was really about the greens and showing the subtle differences and varieties. The foreground tree was really the only one in light. The trees are in a ravine with the weeds going down the hillside. The grasses are starting to dry out and turn a warm color. Besides just using color to indicate distance, I used brushstrokes, larger brushstrokes in the foreground and the large diagonal stroke on the left grass to indicate the direction of the land.

The photo of the tree.

Tomorrow I plan on meeting a painting friend and get out in the area. So talk to you all tomorrow.

Becky Joy

Day 14, Project 125 McMinville, OR Church Plein Air Painting BECKY JOY

© 2013 Becky Joy     McMinville, OR Church     oil   6 inches x 6 inches    $125.

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McMinville, OR is a nice friendly old town south of Portland. My parents live her and my sister a few miles away in a neighboring small town. I was drawn to church by the shapes and the darker tower against the light of the cloudy sky. There were very few shadows from the sun, at least really noticable ones. So, it was more about shapes and subtle color differences in the painting. I also added a little more intense color in the tower to bring your attention to it.

I went to the post office today and while there drove around taking photos of the old houses. I used to do a lot of pen and ink drawings of the old homes in Oregon City years ago. When I would take my kids to some art classes there when they were little, I wondered about drawing while waiting for them to finish the classes. I wasn't painting a lot at that time, but occasionally I would paint one in watercolor which is what I was working with at the period in time.

Upcoming Workshops:

Phoenix, AZ  Oct 3 - 5

Hood River, OR  Sept 4

Tuscany, Italy June 7 - 17, 2014

Korcula Island, Croatia Sept 14 - 24, 2014

Talk to you all tomorrow with #15,

Becky Joy

Between Portland and Eugene-Janet Bludau

Oregon is such a beautiful state.  I took several photos on one of my drives back to the airport after visiting my daughter at school.  This 6x6" oil was juried into the Higbee 6" Squared show a month ago and is a combination of brushwork and pallete knife.  I am showing it both unframed and then framed in a floater from Art and Frame.

Email me at:  janethod@aol.com
Personal Blog:  http://janetbludaufineart.blogspot.com