Log Cabin in Winter

This is a plein air painting that I did from my bathroom window, looking out over the right of way to the log cabin home next door. It had just snowed that morning, so the snow was still fresh and bright. The sun was out and the birds were looking for food and enjoying the fair weather. It was chilly and a fire was going in the chimney. The far hills still had a frosting of snow near the skyline.

Oil on Canvas, 24" x 30", $900.
To purchase, go to my Website, www.pattymegliostudio.com

Lucy's Portrait

This is Lucy, the sweet golden retriever, owned by friends from the Dive Shop. She is still very active, though she is getting old. I had fun with the fur on this one, and those eyes were so expressive.
Oil on canvas over panel, 6" x 8", sold.

Lucy's Turn

My latest series of paintings focuses on animals. I’ve added a new page to my Website just for animal paintings. Most of my inspiration comes from pets of mine and some of my friends.
Lucy is a friend’s golden retriever. She is an older dog, but still quite energetic and loves to sit out on the porch of their beach house and check out the comings and goings of the neighborhood.

Seven Components in Painting

You should be mindful of the Seven Components when you undertake a painting. The drawing and composition, in my opinion, are the most important elements. Within each component is a checklist of things to watch for and to be aware of.

Drawing
It is so important to have a strong drawing, and a well thought out layout. If the drawing is weak, you will struggle with the paint in an effort to make it work.

1. Upside down - Check the painting upside down for errors in the drawing
2. Negative space
3. Proportion midpoint, relative, foreshortening
4. Anatomy
5. Perspective sighting, people, buildings, interiors, aerial
6. Gesture
7. Seeing vs. knowing

Tone Values
1. Shape of dark and light
2. Five tone values
3. Non-reflective light
4. Reflective light
5. Value dominance
6. Local value/home value

Found/lost Line
1. Contour drawing basic/one-line
2. Hard/soft edges

Rhythm of Application
1. Strokes
2. Paint quality
3. Sliced-bread theory
4. Slow strokes
5. Fast strokes
6. Long strokes
7. Short strokes

Composition
1. Imitate/emulate: studying old/new master paintings
2. Golden mean
3. Focal area
4. Twelve-shape design
5. Tie shapes together

Design of light
1. Color/ value dominance
2. Tangents
3. Balancing extremes
4. Cropping format
5. Working from photos
6. Setting up still life
7. One scene, four versions

Color
1. Tone value in color
2. Colorist vs. tonalist
3. Limited palette: one color, two colors, three colors, four colors
4. Bracketing your colors
5. Color and complement
6. Color dominance
7. Color temperature

Motivation or Concept: Why are you doing this piece?
1. Relaxation
2. Stress management
3. Nurturing your creativity
4. For a gift
5. Learn or improve certain skills
6. Impress friends
7. Rite of passage
8. Fun

Ollie

Ollie 6x8 Oil on Canvas over Panel

This is my boxer, Ollie. He is so regal looking in this painting. This is one in a series of dog paintings that I will be doing in the next few months.

Practicing Art, Repetition Works!

Albert Handell said it over and over, and Richard agreed that you have to stop trying to think in terms of making money from art and just practice your art. Keep working on something (one thing) until you get good at it. For example, in my critique, he noticed that I like to do red brick buildings, so he told me to paint twenty paintings of red brick buildings. That’s quite a task, but maybe it’s a good idea. I haven’t done it yet, but I do like to paint street scenes so I may concentrate on that. There are lots of old brick buildings in my area that would make good subjects.

I also think that drawing more would be a good idea. I just don’t do this enough and I need to get back into doing it on a daily basis. I do keep a Moleskin notebook in my purse at all times, but I've got to use it more. I have lots of sketch pads too, so there’s no excuse. I did do some sketching at a recent state women's club conference. I drew head poses of several women there. It was fun and I was able to pass the time while the speakers took their turns at the podium.

Small Paintings and Value Study

I’ve noticed that a lot of artists do small paintings and sell them either on eBay or their blogs. I’ve sold a few small paintings at the store in Milford, CT. I’m going to work on more of those and see what happens.

The small paintings are a lot of fun to do, and since they are small, I don’t labor over them as much. They are a great way to practice value studies too. I’ve found that my weakness is getting the values in my paintings just right. It’s really hard to wrap my mind around this concept. It’s in all of the art books and every teacher I’ve ever had emphasizes it, but it’s not easy to translate it on the canvas. Watching Richard Schmid, I noticed that he starts at his center of interest and works outward, but he doesn’t rework a stroke. He puts one down, leaves it, and works on one next to it. This is how he compares his values. It seems that if you go from one stroke to the next one over, you can tell better if your values are off. I can see how that might be true. Richard works with such certainty. It’s a confidence that is born from years of experience, I figure. I am trying to do this, but it’s really difficult. That’s way starting with something small works best for me.