Jolie Guillebeau

Four more.

I can’t believe we’re on the final week of this project. It’s gone so quickly! I’ve taken my easel to all over Portland, to the Waterfront, up to Canada and back, and I can’t end this series in good conscience without a few paintings of the Oregon Coast.

I’ve wanted to paint it for awhile, but I only had small panels. Then last week, when I painted four paintings and turned them in to one, I realized I could do the same thing with these paintings. So I dug out those sketches this weekend and got to work.

This is part one of two. You’ll see the other half tomorrow, and you can make an offer on one or both, if you want. Because Pay-what-you-will continues, of course.

4×4 Wax on Birch Panel. $?. You decide. Email me here.

Did you see Saturday’s Tutorial? It’s a video!

Huge Disclaimer: This is my first video post. It’s rough. But I still think there’s good stuff here, so I’m still going to put it out there.

In today’s tutorial, I review some basics. I’m showing you how to clean your brushes. It seems pretty easy to clean brushes– I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking you don’t need to watch a video on cleaning brushes. BUT! There are a couple of handy tricks. You might be surprised.

This first video explains a bit about different types of brushes, and shows you the best way to take care of them when you’re at your easel.

This next video is at the sink, showing the easiest and best way to wash each kind of brush. The challenge was finding an angle that allowed you to see everything without getting the camera wet. So the angle is a bit awkward.

I know, it’s a lot to take in. Who knew there was so much to learn about brush cleaning? Trust me, I’ll get better with the video posts, I promise.

“Play-what-you-will” Part 2!

Today’s Friday, and that means I’m playing with a different medium, but a couple of things stay the same. Of course, we’re still doing the pay-what-you-will option. And I’m still painting purple flowers.

I think this is the last of them, though. Next week–our final week of this project– I promise I’ll paint something other than purple flowers. Meanwhile, here’s today’s painting.

Funny enough, this painting seems to be more about the sky than about the flowers, though. What do you think?

4×4 Wax on Birch Panel. $?. You decide. Email me here.

Only one week left! Can you believe it?

Ideas.

I’ve never done this before, but I based today’s painting on yesterday’s. I liked the idea of trying the same image in a different medium. It fits with my grand plan, too. Stay tuned– on Monday all will be revealed!

And here’s the sideways view.

6×8 Wax on Birch panel. $65.

Home (and a grand plan).

After 7 hours of driving, I topped a hill in Southern Washington and saw Mt. Hood welcoming me in the distance. I still had more than 100 miles to go, but I felt like I was home.

6×6 Oil on Masonite block. $65.

Returning, part three.

This was another stop along highway 97 on my way home from Canada. But this one was a bit unplanned. Near Wenatchee, Washington (It’s the Apple Capital of the World), I encountered fires and a quick detour. And of course that led to a short traffic tie-up. So I pulled over and decided to make the best of it.

I stretched, took some photos and sketched for about 10 minutes from the safe side of the river. It was a small adventure, since I’d never seen a fire of that magnitude. I expected big sweeping flames, but it was really just a small red line creeping across the hills.

5×7 Oil on Masonite block. $65.

Returning, part two.

I love my state. Oregon has to be the prettiest place I’ve ever lived. Really. This is based on a photo I took as I was driving along I-84. I balanced the camera on the top of the steering wheel. I couldn’t help it– it was so pretty.

I loved the photo, but I hadn’t really planned to paint it, because I don’t like to paint from photos in general. I’m happiest with paintings I’ve completed directly from life. If that’s not possible (say because I’m driving along a freeway), then I like to take a photo, do a quick sketch and write a few notes about what I’m seeing. But in this case, that wasn’t even possible.

So I was a little sad, because I loved the shapes of this landscape. But then a discussion on another painting blog yesterday inspired me. If you’re interested, you can read it here, but the summary is that there are advantages and disadvantages to both and used wisely photography is a useful tool for painters. So while I’ll still continue to paint from life, there are exceptions to every rule.

5×7 Oil on Masonite block. $65

Returning.

Driving back from Canada, I was eager to get home, so I resolved to do it all in one day.

So I made my way down Highway 97 with very few stops. I planned this one (and a couple others you’ll see later in the week), because I remembered the view from the drive up. This is in Goldendale, Washington about 40 miles north of the Oregon border. I pulled over, did a few yoga stretches, took some photos, and sat on the trunk of the car and sketched. The light was perfect, Mt. Adams was lovely, and it was well worth the stop.

5×7 Oil on Masonite block. $85.