Must...paint....more

Tuolomne Meadows, Yosemite National Park

9" x 12", Oil on Board, 2015

Yesterday I finished a painting of Tuolomne Meadows for a photo that was taken by my husband in 2005.  In the photo you can see small ripples in the water that make the reflection of the mountains look slightly wavy.  I was working on another painting previously that dealt with ripples in water. People seemed to be interested in the ripples so I made a point of concentrating on the ripples in this painting too.  I don't feel that I've mastered ripples but I'm working in it.

Now that I've finished my latest painting I can see it looked better than some of my other recent work that I haven't spent as much time on. However, I can also see that my skill level has dropped considerably from six years ago.  For the last five years I made very few oil paintings. I can see that I will need to practice a lot to get back to that skill level or advance from that level.

And so, I must paint more.

My goal right now is to get my work into a show in February. My work has to pass a jury to get in. Based on the type of work that is in the gallery I want to show in I'm guessing my work will be able to pass the jury and get in.  However, what I would really like to do is not just have art that will pass the jury but knock their socks off! I don't think I'll be that good but I want to strive to be as good as I can be by that time.

Signed up for an Art Association - that must mean I'm serious

So, I became a member of an art association today.  That must mean I'm serious about being an artist. Here's my serious face.  Just kidding.  This photo of me was taken a few months ago as a joke.

I already consider myself serious about making art but this is a next step for me.   I joined because they give members opportunities to put their work into art shows.  However, before being able to enter my work in a show it has to pass a jury.  I admire that because if I get in it means it's not just me thinking my work is good enough to show there - somebody else would have to think it's good enough too.  I've had my art work in several art shows before but I've never joined an art association. I've also never had a jury decide whether my art was good enough to show in their gallery.  (I was turned down by several galleries when I was a freshman in college but that's another story.)

The association owns a gallery and the next upcoming show that I would have a chance to enter my work in is in February.  That gives me some time to create work, choose something I would want to show and have it framed.

Switching to less toxic oil painting products

Cambria, California

Oil on canvas      5 x 7     2015

This is a painting done based on a photograph that my husband took while in Cambria.  The ocean there has a lot of jutting rocks that look beautiful.  Much of the rocks and landscape look grayish but there are also some areas of bright green growth on the ground.  There are also some interestingly shaped trees.  The wind from the ocean has blown them into interesting shapes.

I just recently began painting with oil paints again.  I had not painted with oils in over three years until I started back up about two weeks ago.   If you paint with oils you are likely to have used turpentine, mineral spirits or something similar that gives off harmful vapors.  I usually use these types of products to clean my paint brushes and and to thin the paints while painting.  These products have warnings on them about harmful vapors.  After about one week of being back into oil painting and using turpenoid (the product I was using) I noticed a lot of acne on my face and neck.  I have very sensitive skin.
I decided to see if there are any alternatives to thin paint and/or clean brushes that don't involve products that are bad for my health.  One product I found that doesn't say "harmful vapors" on the label is Medium W by Schmincke.  It can be used both for thinning the oil paints and to aid in cleaning the brushes.
The painting above is my first attempt at creating an oil painting without using any turpentine or mineral spirit type of product.  The Medium W handles in an oily way more similar to thinning with linseed oil than turpentine, however, with not quite as oily a brush feel as linseed oil.  Overall, I find it to be an excellent substitute for the more harmful products.  I'm not sure if it contains anything that would be harmful to handle over time but it does not contain any warnings on the label.
In the future I may try other products if I find others that do not contain harmful vapors or other ingredients that would be harmful to health.