Wheat - Attention to Detail

Wheat

This painting was quite a challenge for me.  Well, I was trying to challenge myself not to rush through it and think it through a bit more than I usually do.  But, I did get stuck at moments.

It began with the sky.  Whenever I am unsure of myself, I can always start with the sky, it is a motivator for me and one part of my paintings that I have a bit of confidence in.

As I was working on the sky, it helped me to decide what I'd like to do next.  I wanted a silo, wheat field and a barn too. So I began researching silos, wheat and barns.  When I decided on what I liked and where I would put them on the canvas, instead of just starting to paint them in, I actually, quickly sketched the barn and silo with pencil, which is not something I normally do.  I was on to painting shortly after the research finished, because with acrylic paint, the sky and horizon were already dry.  Acrylic dries fast.

I went ahead and painted in the base color of my land where the wheat would be and played with the sky some more.  I knew I needed to make everything on the left side of the barn darker and place my shadows just so because the sun was actually coming from the right side.  I worked on this through out each step of the painting.

To make the wheat in the foreground stand out more I had to darken the shadows and field even more.  Knowing I wanted the sun to be hitting my most forward wheat, I began placing it in here and there with white paint.

I got stuck for awhile on my wheat.  I kept going lighter and lighter and it continued to blend in with my sky until I was pretty frustrated.  It wasn't until I bit the bullet and went darker on the wheat did I fix the problem.  Then I was able to highlight the wheat to make it look as if the sun was hitting it.

But, oh that barn, I couldn't figure out what was wrong.  It looked too perfect and that's when I began working on the roof, giving it some age.  

I gave it a road, added more wheat and still wasn't happy.  It was the barn, I knew it was, but just couldn't think of what exactly it was about the barn.

Though adding those elements helped, it wasn't until I actually aged the wood that it came to life.  Put some holes and places where the wood had chipped away and was finally was able to move on.

A bit of light coming from the hole in the roof down into the inside of the barn, darken up the sky a bit more on the left.  Bring a few clouds on the horizon on the right.  Fix the silo shading.  And I think I've got a finished painting.

Growing up, scenes like this weren't something I noticed everyday, in fact not very often at all.  But there is something so inviting and breathtaking about the countryside, I would be happy living in a barn with this as my yard.  Wish I would have paid more attention to details like this while growing up.

I hope you enjoy my wheat field, barn and silo.  I really loved painting this scene and learned quite a bit from the experience.

This is an acrylic painting on stretched canvas.   If you would like a print of this particular work, please visit my store by clicking below to view the posters.

Southern Sky Posters
by Teresa owner: Southern Sky Studio

Recreating Autumn’s Glory

 

 

Even when you hear it said that the artist just paints for him or herself, they still have to be pleased with the piece before it is finished.  The vision must be represented to their satisfaction or either it is not finished, it goes in the closet or they work on it again at a later date to try to reach the goal with that particular work.

As an artist I take my work very seriously, there is such passion and determination in each piece I paint or draw.  There is a strong desire to represent God’s Creation in a beautiful way.  I’m sure most every one that has that creative drive strives to represent their vision, cause, or whatever they are working on or for at the moment in a pleasing way. 

With so much negative in the world, bringing out the beauty and positive energy in each piece seems to be the goal I strive for.  Seeing a smile come across a face when someone looks at the paintings, drawings or collage’ I have poured myself into is one of the greatest payoffs.

My desire is that the art I make speaks of God and represents Him well.  Like those who want to spread His Word vocally, I attempt to spread His Word through painting and sharing the wondrous creation He made for us.  God made us in His likeness, He is the Creator, so we should be attempting to create too.  Creating is actually something from nothing and there is only One that could, can and ever will be able to do that.  So, actually, I am attempting to recreate as best I can with the tools and talent He has given me. That is my mission, my goal.

Even evil has to be given tools to work with.  Many times the same tools used to make evil are tools that can also be used for good. It’s not the absence of evil, but the overwhelming quantity of good that can make the difference in our lives and in the world.

James 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

This piece “Autumn Glory” was inspired by the beauty of God’s Creation. It is an attempt to capture that glorious light of our Father and the beauty with the autumn colors.  Realizing that any attempt to recreate the Creator’s beauty is feeble and a goal that cannot be attained shouldn’t keep us from trying.  He wants us to be like Him in all areas of our lives, so we try.  We try using whatever talents and gifts He has given us as individuals.

What is your voice?  Mine is visual, painting and drawing to share the beauty of this world He gave us.

I hope you enjoy this piece, hope it brings a smile to your face and most of all, that it resembles the beauty God has given us enough that you think of Him.  And thank Him.

Beyond Slavery

As an artist, there is one thing that stands out in everything we see, that is the beauty.  Even though there are things all around us trying to take away from the beauty, the beauty we see is always there and then comes all the thoughts as we are painting.  Well, at least that's what happens to me.  As this painting was beginning to take shape and the thoughts begin to whirl around in my head, especially with the events of late here at the end of 2014, I saw this as a look into the past and future of our ever changing culture.

I entitled this piece "Beyond Slavery"  particularly because, I was under the impression we had moved past that.  Apparently though, some are still stuck there, dragging the bitterness around on a daily basis and trying to infect us all with hatred.  My heart goes out to those who are determined not only to drag themselves down but are also trying to take all of us down with them.  These are the ones that walk around with a ball and chain, dragging their feet from the heaviness of bitterness, seeking revenge and destruction of anyone that might get in their way.

Take a close look at this painting;  The field is empty, because we have moved on.  Yes, most of us have moved on, most of us are living in the now and striving for a better future. We have moved from the field to the promise of a lovelier day, a wonderful day, a gorgeous sky full of beauty, promise and possibilities.

As in all of our lives, there have been failures and there have been mistakes.  Just as we are thankful for the flowers, we have to be thankful for the mud.  Just as we are thankful for the accomplishments, we have to be thankful for the failures and what each failure taught us.  If you are afraid to try, you will never go anywhere, you will never taste the life that God has given you, you will never reach your full potential. We all must experience some failures and some mistakes to get there.

But, once you have made it past a certain point, then leave it there.  Remember the failure, only for the lesson it taught you.  The heartaches, the disappointments, the mistakes have brought us all to the point we are at today, right now, at this very moment.  Rise above it and look past the point where we once were (the cotton field) and into the bright, beautiful sky of the now and the future.  If we dwell in the past, we dishonor our ancestors and forefathers who fought the battles and made the mistakes for us to learn from.  If you act like a criminal, you either want to be one or think it’s your destiny for some reason.  Why?  "Gird up you loins" as God put it and be who you are meant to be, use the mistakes of others as your teacher. The hard work and burdens carried by generations before us were not intended to create bitterness, they were intended to create Freedom!

We can remain enslaved by our bitterness or we can grow a pair of wings and fly far away from it.

I'm not stuck in the cotton field.  Are you?

Art: Rows of Beans

 

 

This picture was taken from memory only.  It is quite amazing the wonderful things our minds can recall when we try.

I get so inspired by nature and the scenes I see as I ride.  This particular scene, we have all been blessed with so many times in our lives as we ride down the road or walk down a road in a rural area.  The idea began with my grandchildren’s garden.  We were looking at the leaves of their bean plants.  The plants had pretty much stopped yielding beans and before the plants were leveled the caterpillars and other insects were having a fiesta with them.  The leaves looked like lace they had been munched on so much.  At first I wanted to do something with those leaves, but when I got home and started working on an idea, all that came to mind was that scene of rows and rows of beans.  The next thing that I pulled from my visual memory was the lone tree standing in the middle of a field.

I always wondered as a little girl, why that one tree was left.  Later I found out that the tree was a resting place for those tending the crop.  I have seen this particular view so many times in my life, I didn’t even need a photo to paint it by.  I thought that was quite amazing considering I think I have to have a photo to paint just about everything I paint or draw.

This painting was painted with acrylic paint.  The canvas is barn wood with a thin coat of white gesso applied.  The barn wood was planed, so no sanding of the surface was required.

I am so thankful for the beautiful scenery God has given us.  He places certain things in our minds and in our hearts that we can recall at will. I’m also glad that among the things we would like to forget or ignore, there are also these wonderful bits of nature that we know and are familiar with even when we don’t realize it.  He is working in our lives even when we don’t realize it.

Art: Painting Peace

 

Even when your mind is in turmoil and you can’t seem to find a peaceful moment, you can change that by painting the peace you desire.  Little did I know that as I began painting this peaceful scene that it would actually change my mood and ease my mind.

We all have certain things that we enjoy and look forward to.  Things we find comfort in, sometimes when we don’t have the time to do them, just thinking about them can bring about that peaceful feeling.

I use to be able to roam the country side, through the pastures and areas where hardly anyone ever walked.  Scenes like these were a daily part of my life.  Now all I get is a brief glimpse every now and then as I travel to work and back.  I don’t know anyone any more that has this kind of land where I would feel free and welcome to roam.

I long for those days.  At least though, I have the memories I can flash back to that helps to put my mind at ease after four, 12 hour work days at the factory.

The painting was almost finished at this point…………….

………….but I really wanted something else in it.  So I added the round hay bales, which gave it that more complete, finished look.  And the hay didn’t take away from the peacefulness that the landscape and sky created, it added to it.

This view; the sky, the land, the trees, are all gifts that God has given us to help ease our troubled minds. If we will just be looking for it, beauty like this is everywhere.  I thank Him for that.

About the painting:

The paint I used for the entire painting is Apple Barrel Colors by Plaid

Before beginning your painting apply two coats of ProArt Gesso Canvas Primer.

To create the sky, I used Tropical Blue, Dark Gray, White, Yellow Flame, Apricot and very small touches of Cardinal Crimson and Nutmeg Brown.

The line of trees in the back ground were made with English Ivy Green and Nutmeg Brown.

The green pasture was created with English Ivy Green and Lime Tree.

The lone tree was painted with Nutmeg Brown, Dark Gray, English Ivy Green and Lime Tree.

The hay bales were created with Nutmeg Brown, Yellow Flame, White.

The painting was rendered on an old piece of barn wood.

I hope you enjoyed viewing this painting.

Art: Something new with Wildlife and Colored Pencil

 

 

This has been a learning experience for me for two reasons.  First I was wanting to challenge myself to do something other than flowers, butterflies, trees and skies. Even though I love those things and it’s what makes me happiest, I still need to branch out.  I have to force myself to do this.  So I chose wildlife, still got some trees, but I tried not to let them take away from the deer.

Another very interesting thing I learned was with the colored pencils.  I had purchased a blending pen for the colored pencils some time ago and was anxious to try it, but when I tried to use it, I found out it just wasn’t for me.  After a few minutes of researching on colored pencil techniques, I found I could just use rubbing alcohol with a Q-tip.  I worked with that awhile and then experimented with a paint brush and the alcohol.

I’m not totally satisfied with the outcome, but for a first attempt, it will do.  I’m excited, knowing that there is a great deal more I can learn about colored pencils and impatient to try them all.

Being self-taught has given me the ability to just dive into different mediums while swallowing back my fear of failure.  Because I know it’s completely up to me whether or not I try, push to learn and accomplish anything.

When you have a love for something and a desire to succeed, it makes a difference in the outcome and your attitude.  If I stop because of failures or fear of failure, I would have stopped along time ago.  And that can be said of me concerning more things than just art.  I would have given up on life.

I am thankful that my heavenly Father has given me a passion for painting and creating through art and to have that same passion for helping others and offering compassion.

Hopefully someone will look at this picture and smile.  Someone might look at this deer and know there is a great and magnificent Creator, the Master Artist, God Himself.

If you want to try this technique, all I can say is just dive in.

1.  Cover a wood panel with white gesso, two or three coats.  Allow each coat to thoroughly dry and lightly sand.  I wish I had of sanded a bit more, the finished product would have been a lot smoother looking.

2. Begin lightly sketching with the colored pencils, using the base colors of each subject.  A gum erasure will erase the colored pencil if you have lightly sketched.

3.  Once you have your picture laid out, begin adding more color.  I always start with the hardest part first or else I will talk myself out of doing it altogether.  So, I started with the deer.

Tips:

The Q-tip dipped in alcohol can be used for larger areas for blending.  I didn’t use the Q-tip at all on the deer.  It is also good for picking the color up off of the painting, leaving a hint of the base color underneath showing.

Use a very small tip brush dipped in alcohol for the smaller areas.

A larger brush dipped in alcohol was great for base coat coloring.

I wouldn’t think this would work on paper of any kind, although I could be wrong I haven’t tried.  If you attempt it let me know how it goes.

Happy, happy painting!

Art: A Struggle

I was hoping that I could come up with some excellent pieces and have a display at the Renaissance Center here in Tennessee.  But I am not sure this will make the cut.

I was in hopes that I could live my life in such a way that would be pleasing to God.  But I am pretty sure I have not and as hard as I have tried, pretty sure I will not be able to accomplish that.

I wanted to be serious about this painting, well, as serious as I could be and plan it every step of the way, hoping for a better performance and outcome in the end.  I can see a lot of areas that just didn’t come out the way I intended.

I have wanted to please God, to do something to glorify Him.  Whether it be my actions, thoughts or my treatment of others.  And I think pretty deeply about things before I say them, trying to be in control of my mind instead of letting my emotions guide me.  Still there are so many areas in my life and my character that are just not quite there.

I chose particular colors in this piece wanting to get it as realistic as I possibly could and end up with a bright and beautiful, happy, thought provoking piece.  Something that would pull the viewer in and help to create those wonderful thoughts.  Don’t think I accomplished that either.

I have desired to be someone who might through the observance from another person might make them wonder why I am the way I am.  But, really, I don’t seem to be different than anyone else.  Just struggling along like everyone else, sad one day, worried another, happy for a moment, content for an instant.  No matter how hard I try, negativity still creeps in and takes hold of me sometimes.

This might seem like it would get a person down.  But it just makes me wonder, how can I do things differently so that the outcome would have a chance at being better.  I know there are many things that only God has the answers to and that is just something that has to be accepted.  And in accepting that, if you are in tune with Him, you know He is guiding your steps and you will arrive when and where He knows is best for you.

As for me, I’ll just keep on trying.  Trying to paint better, trying to live a life as pleasing to God as I can, knowing that He loves me, no matter how disappointed I am in myself and He is in control of it all.

Keep trying!  Maybe we should look at it not so much as a struggle, but as an adventure.

Art: You Just Can’t Duplicate Perfection

Paintings that mimic nature are pretty, but no matter how hard I try, I just can’t get certain aspects of the natural scene like it really is.  I believe that also says a lot about us as human beings trying our hardest to live a sinless life, we can never do that.

But does that mean I’m just not suppose to try to keep painting better?  I don’t think so.  Does that mean that I’m just suppose to stop trying to get my life lined up more with God expects of me?  I don’t think so.

I’ve seen a lot of paintings that come pretty close to being perfect and they are amazing.  Don’t know for sure if I can ever attain that skill, but I’m going to keep on trying because God has put that desire in me and really, it’s all I know how to do that gives me a sense of accomplishment.  I would like to honor and glorify Him through my art.

There will never be another perfect human.  And knowing that can sometimes knock the wind out of your sail.  You might think, what’s the use in trying?  Well for me, His Spirit lives within me.  That means He is my Mentor, my Guide, my Heavenly Father.  So He has put it in me to keep on trying to do what I think is pleasing to Him, to try to do what He would do in situations, to love, to share, to show compassion, to care.

I thank Him for giving us the beauty of nature.  I can challenge myself to try to paint a picture as beautiful as His Creation.  I thank Him for filling me with His Holy Spirit to guide me in the way I should go.

I hope you enjoyed looking at my painting on barn wood.  If you’d like to see more of my work go to my facebook page or my website.

If you’d like to follow my blog, occasionally I give away my art work, if you are signed up then you will receive an email each time I post.  Then you will be informed when I am giving something away.

Have a great day!

Art: Challenges

 

 

I began to think I had bit off more than I could chew,  I don’t know if I’m just tired of working on this or if I’m done.  At this moment, I would say, done!

This was a challenge for me from the start.  I had to practice patience.  Most of the time I like to work on things that produce results quickly or I lose interest.  But I thought this was worth it, so I continued on, struggling though, in fact, I almost put it aside.

This is my precious barn wood I have been wanting to get to try painting on for quite a long time now.  But I couldn’t just sit down and start painting on it, I found that out on the first day I tried.  If I wanted to use the rough side I had to prepare the surface first.  I had to make a special trip to get clear gesso.  After coat one, which is suppose to dry completely before coat two, I waited.  That night I put coat two on.  The next morning I sanded and put coat three on.  I waited till I couldn’t wait any longer and began painting.  It’s quite remarkable what a little patience will get you.  The surface was just like I needed it.  Still a bit rough, but still smooth enough for me to try it out.  The clear gesso didn’t affect the barn wood look to much, you can still feel and see the wood design behind my painting, which is what I wanted.

Being self taught, I struggle somewhat with just how to go about everything, so I thought since I put so much in preparing my canvas that I should probably give each step some extra thought.  Even though I can see things I’d like to change, I was pleased with the whole experience, except that it took me 2 and 1/2 days to complete the entire process.

Which made me think, can you imagine the patience that God has to have with each one of us.  But He loves us enough to keep on working with us.  Some of us (me in particular) take so many wrong turns before we ever get it!  One after the other, after the other.  I can imagine God rolling His eyes and shaking His head, but He doesn’t do that, He just loves us and continues spinning His potter’s wheel until we get it.

Thank you Lord for helping me with my lack of patience so I could complete this painting.  I was hoping that in someway  you might be glorified through this effort.  That would be the best thing ever.

See the steps this painting went through:

 

                         

 

                         

 

                                            

 

Hope you like my painting on barn wood and thanks for visiting my page!

It’s the Simple Things

 

 

Now I know this might not excite you, but it excites me quite a bit.  I love to paint pictures, but I am just not to excited about painting on canvas.  So I thought maybe I would try wood.   I picked up some wood prepared for painting at the store and figured out that wood was definitely the thing I wanted to paint on.  But still, there was something that just didn’t satisfy me.  So I looked further. 

After putting out the word at work that I was looking for some weathered wood, a month or two  went by, several said they had some and would bring it to me, finally I had someone come through.  Now, I actually have real barn wood in hand and it’s like Christmas all over again for me.

Honestly, it felt like a gift from God.  And it is literally!  When painting on this wood that actually came from an old building of some sort, I think about all the years it’s been around, all the folks that have possibly handled it and now it’s mine to pass on to someone else.

Using this old wood as a canvas for my art is perfect.  God created this wood, He grew the tree, He formed the lines within the grain and it just puts me in the right frame of mind to start painting a scene of something He created, a beautiful landscape, a skyscape or seascape or flower.

It’s the simple things that God has given us all that seem to go on without notice that intrigues me.  Each small line in a grain of wood, all the different butterflies, the clouds in the sky, a puddle of water with little pebbles scrattered here and there, a gentle gust of wind out of nowhere on a windless day, a single flower standing up just a bit taller than the others.

Such simple, beautiful and miraculous wonders that speak of God’s Love for us.  Thank you Lord for showing me You love even me!  If we would just take the time to notice, He whispers to our hearts every moment of every day about how much He loves us.

Landscape “Out of my comfort zone”

 

 

I really have to thank God for helping me through this particular painting.  This is what I love to do more than anything, but it’s been so long since I’ve tried.  I’ve been dancing all around it for quite awhile now.

And there were quite a few obstacles to overcome.

First, I sawed and put together the wood slats myself, so it’s not perfectly square.  And the slats don’t fit together smoothly.

 

Then there were some places in the wood that, even though I love the grain showing through, were a bit unsightly and distracting.

                        

I just kept asking God to help me know what to do, help me stay relaxed and help me to know that it doesn’t have to be perfect.  Besides, I wondered how I could go wrong painting a picture with the beautiful colors and the creation He had made Himself.

I use photographs of actual places I found in magazines.  About five to be exact, and put them together to make the scene.  So I put a lot of studying into it before I even started painting.

I knew it wouldn’t be perfect and it isn’t.  I struggled down to the very last detail with that intense, anxious fear that someone would snarl their nose at it, because it wouldn’t be, “ perfect”.  Even with all of that, it began to come together, slowly.

From the hills in the back ground under the sky,

and the tree line at the bottom of the rolling hills with the red barn,

and the sweet country mountain road,

to the bright orange tree in the foreground, I struggled.

I wanted to add an element of surprise to it, something that made it mine, and I struggled with that too!  I thought someone would look at it and say, why, why would you do that?  But I did it anyway, I put glitter in spots, it made me so happy, I knew I had to do something else.

So I did, I put copper tacks across the top and across the bottom.  And that really made me happy. 

And so my painting is done. I learned a lot and I have to say, God held my hand the whole way.  I thank Him for that, it made me feel that it was just as important to Him as it was to me.  He gave me the ideas and created the trees, hills and beautiful sky that inspired me.  He helped me through  all the fears I faced even including this very post where I am actually showing it and sharing about my lack of confidence.

Thank you God for giving me the courage and the freedom to try, even down to the copper tacks.

Art: God is Always There

As I worked on this painting, putting little dots of fall colors in the trees, I thought of moments in our lives that God has blessed us.  Each dot that is suppose to represent the leaves also represented to me, memorial moments God has given to me.  For times in our lives where memories are all we have of some of the people we love, we do at least have our memories.

While placing each little leaf on each tree, the bright leaves made me think of the wonderful times with each of my children.  As I put the darker colored leaves on the trees,  I thought of sad or stressful times in my life I wish sometimes I could forget.  I tend to dwell on the darker times, but as I painted each leaf, I realized that there are just as many great and wonderful memories as there were, not so wonderful memories.

So I asked myself why would I dwell on the negative?  The negative makes the positive all the more better and all the more brighter and all the more wonderful.  Even though, as I looked at the outcome with quite a bit of dark, it is overcome with a beautiful veil of the sky.  This bright sky makes me think of how God is there all the time.  We are so busy looking at all the moments and letting the negative take us over that we forget, He is always there, hovering over all those moments and loving us.  We forget to look up and remember that He is in control.  All the bright and dark leaves are necessary in our lives.  Mixed together they make a beautiful landscape, a beautiful life that God gives to all of us.  The striking contrast in the sky against the land still all blend together to make one wonderful life with God in it and in control of it all.

So don’t forget to look up, thank God, look at the bright side.  No matter how many dark leaves there have been in your life, there are still the bright ones to dwell on and be thankful for.  There is still that bright and wonderful sky, God is still there, always there, blending it all together for good.

Back to the Art

So here’s the dilemma with my painting.  Maybe you can help me.  It seems I am always doing something, out of the ordinary,  not the standard, traditional way others have always done it.  Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t.  And so I have this…………………

I have a pretty picture that probably should have been on canvas, but I wanted to put it on wood (paint sticks) and in a frame I would paint myself (stretcher strips).

Here is the finished product.

 

Have a lovely day.

If you are interested in just purchasing a print of this painting, just go to the Purchase Prints link on the left of this page.