30 in 30

This stands for 30 paintings in 30 days. 
This involves: 

Choosing (a subject)
Painting
Uploading
Blogging

Everyday for a month....yay! 
Wish me luck!

Follow by inserting your email...I will also be posting to facebook.
I am in the process of creating a page just for art.  Stay tuned!

Fell in Love with Roses Again

I am enjoying working with oil paints again.  I like to keep it simple, not too many colors.  I seem to have better results with that approach.  I love all the shades of red in this one.  This is a detail of the original.

A drawing, a pastel, an oil painting...oh my

I have to share this painting because it actually belongs to you.
I had this bouquet of orange lilies and have been painting them for over a week!
This oil painting is big, for me.  It's 24 by 36.   On facebook I had a call
for comments and they really helped me along.  It is so true that multiple sets
of eyes are better than one.  Making it better with the help of my fb friends
was enlightening and quite frankly fun.   I hope you enjoy it!  Trish Lyons Ansert

Daisy Chorus

Daisy Chorus, 18 x 24, 100% Pastel

nfs

You can probably tell, this is where my weblog banner came from.  I love this painting because it is beautiful!

I did a pastel underpainting and added water, let it dry, and added more dry soft and hard pastels on top.

I posted this to my facebook page a while back and am just getting around to blogging about it because it is being entered into the Kentucky State Fair which starts today.  Wish my pastel luck!  Trish

Grey Pastels for Value Work

If you look for gray pastels, you will come across beautiful sets of muted tones and blends that will complement the brighter ones.  But what if you literally want gray?  As in a blend of white and black of
different values.  I found a set!  My purpose is to do value thumbnail sketches with these pastels and then
make them into larger paintings.  I will report more on this later as to the pros and cons.  Trish

Flowers Make Everything Better

I love being asked to do art work for compassionate people involved in good work.  Kristen Dukat, a friend I met in a workshop is having a gathering for her dear friend Scott Lightfoot that involves a silent auction.  
I hope the night is magical and fun.  These paintings will be a part of that auction.

Geranium 6x6 Acrylic, nfs

Pink Roses, 6x6, Acrylic, nfs

Tomatoes Bright

I love painting anything red and these juicy tomotoes were fun!

 

Tomatoes, Oil 12x12

Copper (a most endearing cat)

Copper has had a challenging 6 months.  Getting locked in garages, fights, but
such a sweetie, have you known a cat such as this? 
The first one is Survivor. 
Next is Safe and Sound.  And finally Feline Portrait.  The first and last are in oil. 
I used a palette knife on the first one, I love that thing! It's 12x12.
The second one is a drawing done on brown paper in charcoal and a few pastels.
The last one is an 8x8 Oil.

Survivor

Safe and Sound

Feline Portrait

Geranium

I love flowers and my mom always got geraniums every Spring.  I continue that tradition.

I love them.  This one was just begging me to paint it.  Tried to pay attention to value,

and paint it in a simple, almost abstract way.  Hope you enjoy!  Trish

My Self Portrait and Alice Neel

I resist self portraits because of the stereotypical "artists are so into themselves".
But, the truth is we always have ourselves for exploring, and practicing. 
All I need is a mirror and a medium.  Plus - it is kind of fun to do self portraits.

I extended this to a portrait of Alice Neel, one my favs as far as portrait artists go. 
What did I learn?
I learned that (reminded actually) pastels are so versatile. I am in love.
Also, that I do better with a limited palette for painting, and to use as few
strokes as possible, or I muddy up my paintings pretty fast.  Trish

Moi (pastel on Arches watercolor paper) detail and full

Alice Neel (Oil ) full and detail

 

Knockout 3 in Acrylic

Same bush in acrylic, 24 x 24.  I learned a lot from the studies I did outside.
This one was done indoors. 

Follow a Hedge

I got some advice from artist Jenny Saville to "follow a hedge".  My "hedge" of choice has been a knockout rose bush.  This is my 2nd go this time in a rectangular format 6x12 and in pastel. 
I decided to include all three bushes.

Kyle Marting Workshop - Lima Ohio. Ruth Ann Sturgill, Host.

Although I did not often paint plein air before I went to this workshop, I
was always curious about it, and it seemed that those who did paint outdoors
were usually passionate about it, so I thought I'd give it a try.

I loved the workshop and learned so much.  The main idea is how the light
changes the colors as the day goes on.  There were quite a few discussions on
value and temperature as well.  It turns out, that since artists are quite (usually)
fascinated with color, plein air is like a haaaaaaaaaa moment especially early or late,
meaning the sun is not directly above, although that can also generate some
interest.  Plein air in a word, exciting.  I am guilty now as well of singing
its praises.  Below is a 6x6 in oil of a knockout rose bush.  It is a study, and it was done outdoors.

Where have I been?

I have a new name and a lovely new husband Scott.  That is what I have been up to.
The wedding ceremony was beautiful, with an organ and a cantor that sung a rich tenor. 
I always thought I wanted a female cantor with a lilting voice but I could not find one. 
I am so happy I was open minded enough to go with Chris Camp.  He was amazing and
it added so much to the ceremony. 

But what about my art?  It has been there the whole time, but not documented on my blog
in a couple of months.  I am back to updating my blog more often...yay! 

There have been paintings mostly of flowers.  One I sold to a friend who admires my art.
One was given to my cake baker because she admired it and I couldn't say no.
She promises to hang it in her office where she meets clients and to give a shameless plug
if anyone inquires about the "artist who painted that". 

There have also been sewing projects that I have given a whirl.  Birds and hearts quilted and stuffed.
This has been fun, but a bit fustrating as all things are when you are just learning how to do them.

I have also come to the realization that I don't think I am a "daily painter".  There is something about it that pressures me and not in a good way. I am a painter who likes to paint often, in a larger format.  That is where I am on this journey.

Trisha Lyons Ansert

Alice Neel

Charcoal of Alice Neel by Trisha Lyons, 9 x 12 Paper $25

Buy Now

She painted this....

which I have admired many times at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville.

She also painted many other portraits of all walks of life.

She was an original through and through. 

I dig her style and independence.

(note: I am on tree 4/10 and portrait 1/10 in the Series of 10)

March Snow

March Snow, 6 x 6, Pastel and Graphite,

Wallis paper mounted on Foamcore

Late season snow in Louisville, early March.

Only here a day, but beautiful while it lasted.

Forest Gaze

Forest Gaze,  9 x 12 Pastel with Medium; Sketched with charcoal.

Jefferson Memorial Forest.

Sneaky Sunshine

Pastel and Charcoal, Pastelbord 9 x 12.

Jefferson Memorial Forest, Fairdale, KY

Paul Yost Trail

Berthe Morisot Drawing - allow me...

I just love artists that have the discipline to stop a drawing without working out every little detail. To me this has everything.  Real, sketchy, charcoal markings mixed with rough and smooth pastel.  A drawing or a painting?  I saw an amazing Berthe Morisot at the Speed Art museum in Louisville and I looked her up and saw this.  The hair is soft and muted, and contoured and that perfect nose.  It seems almost monochromatic, using just a few colors.   

3 Roses and a donation

3 Roses,  Oil,  24 x 24

This is a painting I am donating to the Wrapped in Red Gala event

taking place on March 10, 2012 to benefit the American Red Cross - Louisville Area Chapter. 

It is one of my favorites :) 

Ok. Here are some drawings from my morning art class.
We had a model and the focus was on shadows.
Our instructor told us to draw the shadows only.
He didn't want it to be a "drawing" per se. but to simply
put all the medium to dark pieces down to see what we
get.  It was a good exercise I think, and it made me think
of the value exercise we did with burnt umber in Carol's
workshop.  (Sorry I haven't written in a while.)

Both are 18 x 24 Charcoal

Hopefully I will add
this to my list of exercises to see what I
come up with.  I think you could do this with any media.
The only requirement is a strong light source, he had
a light positioned to produce shadows on her face.

Self Portrait

Me, 18" x 24",  Pencil and Carcoal  (#9)

I am taking a drawing class and this is our first assignment
that I am sharing with you. 

It was very interesting and it was good to take a break

from painting and just having a pencil and an eraser.
I think overall it turned out pretty well. This was
my second try and this looks much more like me
than the first one.  I like the way the hair is, I am holding
up my medium long locks in the back.  I like the angle of the face,
and while I blended a lot, I think I did pretty well creating
a 3-dimensional portrait but room for improvement.
I also like the mouth and nose, I had a challenge lining them up.

My biggest challenge was representing the subtle value
 gradations.  On the cheek part, there were these light portions
but three different lights.A pink light, a grey light, a yellowish
light.  How to represent with just pencil?

Things I want to improve: The variety of my line work,
especially around the edges.  Also to losen up a bit. 

When drawing a portrait, I tend to get really tight and that is not

my intuitive style, so I am fighting the whole time between my style
and accuracy.  Finally, the quality of my hash marks. 

 I am a blender, and the artist that I tried to model

for this Ingres is not.  He creates and builds up dark values
with layering hatch marks.

It did not seem that he blended a lot.  It seemed that he took care
of the subtle variations by extending the hash marks and paid
attention to where the second layer should go etc. 

If you google Ingres >Drawings, you can see for yourself his style.
I also liked the way he would build up one part,
usually the face and keep other parts

usually the body and background just line work. 
He is pretty awesome and I believe you can tell he is a
master draftsman in his paintings.

I am going to give myself a challenge and believe me it will
be a challenge.  I am going to try to do another self portrait
without blending. 
You can join me if you want.  I will post the results
if it comes out halfway decent.

Thanks for reading.  Trish

Where's the Stack?

Here are three pictures in reverse order from my process of painting
Where's the Stack? 6 x 6 Oil on gessobord. (#8)
1)  Finished Oil painting.

2)  Acrylic underpainting.

3)  Ink sketch.



This was challenging for me because I like to paint curvy things

and there were many straight lines on this little binder clip. 

This is one of my mementos from Carol's workshop.   It helps hold

in the little 6 x 6 canvas panels in place. 

Sweet Muse

Copper , 6 x 6,  Oil on Gessobord (#7)

Again, values and shades.  I had fun with this one.

I think it really captures his sweet and sometimes naughty soul.


(I didn't mean to post until Wednesday, Oh well...)

Vase Sketch

Sketchy Vase 8 x 8, Watercolor Paper, Oil Wash and Charcoal (#6)

I love this round little vase. 

 I got this when I went to Gatlinburg, TN thinking I

would like drawing it and I do.

This was a quick sketch with paint and charcoal.

All I have time for today ;)

For my friends who keep saying my paintings look like

watercolors, this is for you!

Copper Too

Copper Too, 6 x 6, Gessobord, Oil  (#5)

This is a close up of my cat Copper as he sits in

the kitchen on the cushioned seat.  Since we found

him, he has liked this location to relax. 

Curtain 2

Curtain2

11 x 14

3/4" canvas

Oil

Ok, another curtain.  This is a muslin off-white section of my curtains. 

I bought these from Country Curtains online and just love the long ruffles.

I was interested in the changes in value and shade. 

I tried to be patient when mixing my colors and just apply

what I saw.  I had an elated feeling about halfway through

that this technique was actually producing the curtain!

Keeping at it,  (#4)

Trish

(see detail below)

Moo...

This is a cow from my photograph!  We (Scott and I) stopped on the side of the road in

Union Star Kentucky to take this photo.

It is a bit monochromatic and was done in the spirit of a "study".  

The one below is full color.

I am a little surprised how it turned out. 

Both are 6 x 6, gessobord, oil.

That is 2 so far for January....yes I am keeping track.  I need a goal!!

later, Trish