Cantaloupe

"Cantaloupe" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas -- 12x24" -- Margie Guyot

This was painted entirely outside last Sunday afternoon.  So -- although it's a still life, done "in the plain air", yet not a landscape --  can I still call it a "field study"?  Good question.  I've just been in a "fruity mood" lately and wanted to paint cantaloupe, doggone it!  That's a very shiny purple cloth the cantaloupe halves were set on.  I did this out on my patio table on one of our rare sunny days.  Well, it was more like "sunny for a couple hours" type day.  Didn't know if I could pull it off, but hey -- nothing ventured, nothing gained.

My chickens got to eat it when I was finished.  I used to love cantaloupe, but developed an allergy to it.  Boo-hoo!

If you could look very closely at this painting, you'll see it was painted "very gooshey".  About the only detail was the seeds; other than that, I used a #8 flat brush and shmooshed the paint around thickly, thanks to Liquin.  Well, I had to rush -- rain was moving in fast!

Farmall Tractor

"Farmall Tractor" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas board -- 8x10" -- Margie Guyot

Last week I had to drive way down to Mancelona, MI, for a band rehearsal.  And right west of town I saw this wonderful, old tractor, sitting in a big field of goldenrod!  Wow!  Way cool!

And it rained and was terribly windy all week.  Impossible to go out plein air painting.  Yesterday the wind departed and the clouds left -- and I loaded the Flex and took off down M-88 for Mancelona.  Nothing was going to stop me!

But -- oy vey!  I'd pitched my Soltek about 10 feet from the little highway to paint this -- and was surprised at the volume of traffic!  M-88 is a "major through-way" out there, with semis and cars, zooming along at 55+ mph!  I didn't enjoy that, painting so close to those tons of speeding metal, whizzing past at 10 feet away.  But I was determined to paint this thing!

The goldenrod was on its way out.  Good thing I got there when I did.  Today it's supposed to rain again.  

The Farmall looked ancient.  The red paint was very faded.  But I bet it'll run! 

Frog Tea Party

"Frog Tea Party" -- oil on canvas -- 36x36" -- Margie Guyot

"Congratulations!  Your work has been juried into the American Women Artists 2010 National Juried Competition in Dallas, Texas.

The jurors...had a very difficult task to select the pieces that make up this exceptional exhibition. 

Of over 1547 entries ... the jury selected 65 works to be displayed from October 9 – November 9, 2010 at Southwest Gallery.  Since your work was accepted into the exhibition, we hope that you will plan to attend and participate in the activities October 8 in Dallas which include an Awards Brunch at 9am and Artist Reception from 1-5pm on October 9^th." 

 

I painted this last year and entered it into this competition a couple months ago.  Was happy to learn the results!  Will be shipping it out to Dallas this next week.  Thank goodness I haven't gotten rid of all my large shipping boxes!  

The frog teapot and creamer came from a garage sale in my old neighborhood in Farmington Hills.  Then I about fell over when I saw the matching water pitcher up for bid on eBay!  Alas, that really cool "woogedy" glass vase (in the center) is no more.  One of the kitties knocked it over and broke it.  Boo-hoo!  

That's one of my favorite vintage tablecloths.  Really difficult to draw!  But my general rule is: don't panic!  Just slug away and figure it out!  

 

Although I hate leaving Paradise, I'm considering flying to Dallas for this show.  Maybe I can schmooze and get into a high-scale gallery.  

Looking South -- Lightfoot and State Roads"

 "Looking South -- Lightfood and State Roads" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas panel -- 8x10" -- Margie Guyot

We'd had days and days of high winds and rain here, making me itching to get out and do some plein air painting!  This morning I had to schlep 2 paintings up to Crooked Tree Arts Council in Petoskey, then take several others up to Three Pines Gallery in Cross Village.  Quite a haul.  But I had my thinking cap on and had all my painting gear with me.

Every time I'd come back from Three Pines Gallery, I'd see this road.  Finally I was able to stop and paint it!  The wind was bearable.  The clouds were quite interesting.  It wasn't too hot or too cold.  In other words, it was a perfect day to be out painting!

Seems like every painting I've done with a road has sold.  Wow -- a light bulb finally came on: I need to paint more road paintings!

Woke up at 4 this morning, got up at 4:30 and am about to get my bike ride in.  Then I'll load up the car and drive south, towards Bellaire.  Last week I saw an old tractor in a field of goldenrod.  Let's hope it's still there!

Corn

"Corn" -- plein-air field study -- oil on canvas -- 18x24" -- Margie Guyot

I'd been wanting to paint a pile of sweet corn for a while, so I finally bought a bunch the other day at a farm market.  This was one of the more pleasant plein airs to do, as I was able to paint it on my little patio.  A rare treat, being close to all the creature comforts!  

Again, I used one of my favorite vintage tablecloths.  In reality, it's got stains and a couple holes in it, but I prettied it up for the painting.  

I did this one day last week, right before we had several days of heavy rains and wind.  Knowing the bad weather was fast approaching, I painted as quickly as possible, using my trusty #8 flat brush.  I do probably 85% of most paintings using that #8 flat.  Generally I only use 2 brushes to do a painting, switching to a smaller one (sometimes a #4) only when absolutely necessary.  I've found a brand of brushes I really like: Silver Ruby Satins.  They're a blend of natural and synthetic, and what's so great about them is they hold their shape very well.  I can do a fine line with even a #8 brush.  It's usually easier to use that brush than a skinny brush for fine lines.  The fine silk hairs in this painting were done using the #4.

The corn ended up being pretty dried up, having laid there in the blazing sun all afternoon.  I gave all of it to my chickens.   Lots of happy clucking that afternoon!