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mauve woods

mauve woods, 9
mauve woods, 9″ x 12″ oil on board, © Anita C. Miller

The solvent ran in the background creating ghosts of trees… a happy accident.

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fall woods

fall woods abstract, 9
fall woods abstract, 9″ x 12″ , oil on board, © Anita C. Miller

palette : titanium zinc white, cad yel light, cad red med, quin mag, ultramarine blue, burnt umber.  panel tinted a rose color before starting.  Browns made by combining (yel + red) + (ultra bl + quin mag).  Burnt umber + ultra bl combo just for darkest.

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walking the dogs

The reference photo and some stages are included.

walking the dogs, 9
walking the dogs, 9″ x 12″, oil on board, © Anita C. Miller
reference photo -- as you can see, I decided to leave out the second figure
reference photo — as you can see, I decided to leave out the second figure
the gessobord had a slight wash that was dry before I began
the gessobord had a slight wash that was dry before I began
initial stage
initial stage – quick sketch in
started at the top and moved down - here I realize the shoulders are too wide
started at the top and moved down
walking the dogs, 9
walking the dogs, 9″ x 12″, oil on board, © Anita C. Miller

Colors used:  Italian yellow ochre, ultramarine blue, cadmium red medium and burnt umber.

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minimal landscape

I painted this one yesterday in one shot.  I never intended it to be this minimal, but something is telling me to stop.  This photo was taken under studio lights, unfortunately.  It’s been a dark and rainy week here.  Colors used:  Italian yellow ochre, ultramarine blue, burnt umber and titanium zinc oxide.  All Williamsburg brand paints.

click on image to see large

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untitled, 48″ x 36″, oil, © Anita C. Miller

 

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oil study on paper

I tried a new product today… a paper made by Arches that is for oil painting.  I enjoyed it and look forward to trying more with it.  My only slight problem with it is that you can’t wipe paint off completely like you can with gessobords.  The paint soaks into the paper.

oil study

reference photo
reference photo

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10 Alaska sketches

caribou
caribou
same caribou -- antlers are a challenge to draw!
caribou — antlers are a challenge to draw!
abstract spruce forest
abstract spruce forest
ridge line in fog and rain - looks a bit like watercolor but is really water soluble graphite
ridge line in fog and rain -water soluble graphite which looks like watercolor a bit.
the top of a glacier
the top of a glacier
a glacier
another glacier
a small glacier
a small vertical glacier — these glaciers are receding fast as I’m sure you already know.
a lone tree -- there were lots of puffins flying around here, too!
a lone tree on a cliff–  lots of puffins flying around here, too, but I couldn’t draw them!
sled dog in training
sled dog in training
moose -- a weird animal to draw -- trying NOT to make it look like a horse!
moose
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Alaska Wilderness Lodge 9″ x 12″

My husband and I had a wonderful trip to Alaska.  I’ve been doing a lot of new paintings based on photos I took there.

wilderness lodge

Initial block in

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A few stages of the painting.

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The whole study was done in about an hour.  The usual palette was used and the gessobord was coated with a dilute mixture of cadmium vermillion and sevres blue (which was dry before I began the painting).  This gives a nice warm undertone that shows through.

wilderness lodge

Kenai Riverside Lodge
Kenai Riverside Lodge
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walk in the park 9″ x 12″

walk in the parkYesterday’s painting with photo used, my set up in the studio, and stages of the painting.

Palette: the usual (cad. yel. lt., cad. red verm., quin. mag., ultra blue, sevres blue, burnt umber, tit. zn. white)

Total time: about 1 1/4 hr.

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walk in the park

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prairie and tree at dusk 6″ x 6″

old oak

Based on a photo of a single tree (not sure what kind) in the middle of the prairie (see photo below).  The sky is from my imagination.    The same palette as yesterday was used.  We had a glorious afternoon hiking in this preserve last weekend : )

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by the huge oaks 6″ x 6″

big oaks

palette: cadmium yellow light, quinacridone magenta, cadmium red vermillion, ultramarine blue,  sevres blue and white.  Initial warm tone of vermillion plus some sevres blue (applied as a wash).  This one was not quick like yesterday’s.  I had to scrape a lot off at one point because I was painting too many details.

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prairie ~ 5″ x 5″

prairie

oil on archival panel (Gessobord)  5″ x 5″ x 1/8″, unframed

© Anita C. Miller

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I liked putting in the texture for the grasses and scraped through the paint (sgraffito) for added texture.  The sky, on the other hand, is quite smooth.