30 in 30 challenge day 21

Softly Into Spring - oil on wood - 8 x 8 inch

There's no obvious sunshine in this oil sketch, but the arrangement of organic shapes attracted me to give it a whirl. The Sunny Ways theme is carried in the feeling of hope and promise that thinking about spring always makes me feel. Selected from my resource photos that I took at the Ottawa Tulip Festival.  As I was working on only a small 8x8 it wasn't possible to focus on the flowers themselves, but rather an the overall design and atmosphere. 
Keeping up with the 30 in 30 challenge has proved difficult for me with time away from home this month. However, even if I cant do the lot, I'm feeling good that at least I've cracked on and pushed myself to paint small and often at the times when I can.  This painting is for day 21 of the challenge, but for me it is actually only my 16th little painting in the group. 

Sunkissed Kitchen

Sunkissed Kitchen - oil on panel - 6x8 inch

I paid close attention to which neutrals were warm or cool in this study. I began with a fairly limited palette of zingy colours(mostly opaques) and painted over a bright cadmium yellow ground.  The straight lines always give me a little grief, so I used the upside down observation method to paint perspective and get it reasonably accurate. After I had done over half of the tones in the painting upside down, I turned it all right side up again and carried on.  
The photo reference for this was taken last spring, accounting for the warm quality to the light.  

It's quite unlike that today in my kitchen;  that warmth would be very welcome right about now, it was -18 'C outside this morning! Winter has definately arrived!

Sunny Ways

November Morning - oil on panel - 5 x 7 inch

'Sunny Ways' (inspired by our new liberal government here in Canada) is also the theme I've chosen for my 30 in 30 challenge which I'm starting this month.  I like the theme because, well, I love the positivity behind it and somehow translating sunny things into paintings just really rocks my boat.

There's always something hopeful about a bright winter morning, this landscape is from Gananoque in November, where I stopped to admire the view of the morning sun on the river from the parking lot behind the Playhouse.