Chicken dancer

When I was young I lived in France. They put roosters on many of their kitchen things and on china. It is usually in this pose, or something very similar. I liked that she has one foot up in a chicken dance. This will be a companion piece to the chicken painting I have already started.

Why do a charcoal drawing? To see how it looks and what I want to change! I think I will lift her leg a little more to emphasize it. And maybe make her tail feathers a little larger.

But today I worked on Ms. Fluff - the other chicken too. I have decided to make her tail feathers yellows and greens to make them the focus of the painting. Look for the progress on her soon!

Are cougars allowed to have crooked noses?

I have finished my gorgeous cougar painting! His golden fur glows. He face is at an angle, which emphasizes his slightly crooked nose. I thought about "fixing" it but decided to leave it as is. What was the story? Did he get into a fight over a girl cougar? Fall from a tree when he was a kit? And he had one little freckle on his pink nose, which I thought gave him a little vulnerability - so I painted it too. To see the whole painting - go to my website: www.MyBrightArt.com. There are other cats there too!

chicken dance drawing

I think I will do two chicken paintings. One is this one - the Chicken Dance. I love the French chicken pose. (What I mean by that is that the French often has a painting of a chicken in this pose on their china and kitchen things.) I like the fan of feathers at her tail.

The second chicken painting is one step further along. I did the charcoal drawing on the prepared canvas today. This shows her fluff of a tail from another angle. THe feathers are really beautiful so I want to play with their form and texture.

Hen's bottom

Now one would not think that a hen's bottom would make a good painting. However, I was struck by how fancy and beautiful the feathers were in her tail. I took many photos and decided that I liked this "pose" the best. Her head would be slightly out of focus. I can't wait for my prepared canvases to dry so I can paint her.

Now you might ask why you should do the work of pencil drawings before you being a painting. For many reasons:

1. To determine your composition

2. To better understand the lines of your subject, so you make your mistakes here! And it lets you determine what you want to use your artist's license to change to emphasize one part or another

3. To study the feel you wish to portray

4. To enjoy your subject and get excited about it!

I love drawing anyway and have decided to return to doing one a day if possible. It is really great fun!

warm cougar fir

The rootbeer shades of the cougar's fir blend from golds to umbers. I love the shades one atop another to make it so you can almost feel the fir's softness.

You can see the underpainting under the eye, as I haven't painted that far down yet. Then look back up and you can see those shades coming through the finishing color layer to tie the painting all together.

This cougar is intelligent, you can see it in his eyes. He is alert and strong - a predator. I am excited to be working on it and can't wait until I see how he comes out. It sometimes feels like a really good movie - I enjoy it as it goes along and am eager to see the finale.
Hope you are too!

blog survey!

Who knew I could do a survey for my blog! I will do more in the future - these will be fun. So please fill them out and let me know what you think! Do you have a survey question you think I should ask? LEt me know that too! Meanwhile, let me know what area you would like to see emphasized on my blog.

the Om in art

Art is not totally a technical operation. Each day, before I paint, I spend some time meditating to get myself centered. I want to be in a zen state of emotion and mindset to allow myself to stretch and see things in new ways.

If and artist is focusing on their day to day lives - does the laundry need doing, and what to buy at the grocery later, they aren't touching the art muse within themselves. They are slogging off to work. So, don't forget this important step when you step into your studio - clear your mind of mundane matters and open it to the magic of the world of art.

artist finding subjects

My friend's Siamese cats are really beautiful. I love cats - large and small, so wanted to do a painting of one. We took many photos and I loved this one of her sleeping with her back paws up by her face. But when I went to do some preliminary drawings today I found that there is just not as much detail as you think. Her face is really hard to draw as you can't distinguish where her eyes are and the shape of the eyelids. So, I may go back to the photo and try to lighten the face to get the details or try another photo. Isn't she cute though? But it shows where doing pencil drawings first help you define the subject.

lupine flower and cougar

I added some leaf clusters for my Alaskan lupine and it is finished! It makes a wonderful companion piece to the first lupin painting. (Go to http://www.mybrightart.com/ to see the other one!) They are similar but I wanted them to be more different than another lupine. So, I did these leaves in a stylized manner with distinct color stripes instead of blending in the Bright Art style. I think you will find the difference charming.

I finished the underpainting of my cougar too! His fir is varied and soft, but his eyes are a predators. I can't wait for him to dry so I can work on the overpainting! Keep in touch to watch him develop!

Finally, I will be able to go back and finish my baby elephant, bright art painting while I am waiting for my cougar to dry. It is fun to work in different styles!

eye of the cougar

I have begun the underpainting of my cougar. I decided to do the underpainting in a warm golden brown, which will come through the finished painting. I already love her layers of fir and intelligence which shows in her eyes.

It feels good to be painting again. I love the challenge of capturing the likeness while still leaving some to the imagination of the viewer.

To see my other cats, go to www.MyBrightArt.com and check it out!

art demonstrations - good marketing?

Last night I did an art demonstration at a local gallery/store. I drug all the stuff there and worked on my second lupin painting. Of course, the lighting was poor and people came to talk with me, so I didn't get much accomplished. Still that wasn't the purpose.

The purpose was to meet nice people who would buy my art then or at a later date, or even just remember my name as an artist. The ads were in the local and city papers, so people will see my name as an artist. Many took my cards so will have the website, www.MyBrightArt.com to view later too.

Marketing art is a bit of politics - people need to know that you are a serious artist who will be well known someday, so they should invest in your art now. And they need to like you, at least a little.

So, I relaxed and enjoyed the evening. I painted a little and talked a lot. No paintings sold last night but I am hoping some will over the next week or two. So, it was a success!

My advise is to always be happy to get your name out in the public, whether it is an art demonstration or a show.

flowers and margaritas

FLOWERS AND
MARGARITAS!
Come meet the artist
Stephanie Gillette
and watch her work.
August 1st
5-9pm
www.MyBrightArt.com

Margaritas
and chips at
Pilates with Fe
702 Main St.
Oregon City
(Call 503.515.7585 for info.)

lupin or lupine

I like the spelling lupin as my totem is a wolf. But I think the normal spelling for this lovely flower is lupine. I have finished my first of two lupin paintings! It should be on my website www.MyBrightArt.com this weekend. (Take a peek to see other flower paintings I have done this spring.)

I am working hard on my Bright Art style baby elephant. She will be colorful and happy.

colorful elephant's ear!

There she is - the beginning of My Bright Art elephant ear! I have't done a bright art painting with blocks of colors for awhile. It is exciting to begin one again. I love the color combinations, although I am thinking of making the blue a blue/green. I love the elephant's huge ears. Usually the animal's eyes are the focus point in the painting; however, the elephant's eyes are small compared to their body size, even on a baby elephant! So, we will see.

I love elephant's as they seem intellegent yet gentle. Gentle giants - now who couldn't like that. And then with Dumbo in our memories, we humanize them even more. Watch this one develop!

Beginnings in our lives

Ah, every flower needs a base. For my lupins, their base is leaves. They have their own grace with soft curves and white edging.

Our base is our family. They form the beginnings of our live and affect how we grow. Wonderful people can grow from tough beginnings, but the beginnings are always with them. All of use have our beginnings within us, affecting how we see the world and creating a framework for the world. What was your framework?

lupine colors

My lupine or lupin is coming along. I love the raspberry pinks against the blue. The stem curves gracefully as the blossoms stretch towards the sun. The lupin dance in the Alaskan breezes. They grow in fields against the pines with the white mountains in the distance.

I have three paintings in the works and another few ready to go. It is exciting to think of all the beautiful work I am creating. Someday people will fight to buy one. Now they show in little galleries and shops, wherever they will allow me to hang them. Part of me doesn't care if they sell as I sit before my canvas and begin. Of course, another part of me appreciates when someone else sees their beauty enough to take them home. They glow with my happiness of creativity. Wouldn't you want this for your home or office?

To see more of my paintings, check out Yessy.com or www.MyBrightArt.com.

lupin flower or wolf?

I have always been attracted to the lupin flower. I never thought that it might be that lupin has the base word meaning wolf, which is my totem. It is a strange connection.

For whatever reason, this flower attracts me. Its gorgeous blend of raspberry to ultramarine blues make it striking. I began at the top with the tight cone of possible future blossoms and have just begun the true flower parts. It really pops against the green background field. This will be a delightful pair of paintings when they are completed. To see some of my other flowers, check out my www.MyBrightArt.com website!

sweet face

Baby elephants have sweet faces. I think they are large enough that they are calm around most other animals and see the world as a kind and wonderful place. Humans should feel the same.

We are lucky that we also are strong and smart enough that we should feel safe and calm. We should see the world as a kind and wonderful place. May your world be full of peace and joy on this beautiful summer day.

I am doing an underpainting on my Baby Elephant painting as I will do her in bright colors. This is the first Bright Art style painting I have done for awhile and I am excited about her. The monotone will show me where the blocks of color are and which shade. She will be browns, reds, and yellows I think. I'll see as I get started!

elfunket

When my son was little, he couldn't pronouce elephant. He always said it as "elfunket". So, I decided to go back to my really bright colors and do a happy baby elephant. I did the drawing and some of the background today and hope to do the underpainting in blue tomorrow so it can dry for a day or two while I work on the lupins.

Oil paints are wonderful for blending colors and having the time to fuse parts. It takes patience to let the paint really dry before adding another layer. Having a few happening at the same time helps me be patient. I touched my background for the lupins today and they are still too WET to paint! Maybe tomorrow.

bright parrot

My parrot painting is coming along. You can see by the photo that I will need to go back and add in the pine branch he upon which he is sitting. I will need to wait until his feathers have dried first. I love all the various textures of his feathers as well as the bright colors! Wow! He really is quite amazing.

I love the way there is pink/red in almost all his feathers, even the blue ones. It will be a cheerful and happy painting.