Gibraltar

This is a 6x6 painting, oil on canvas, of a Betta fish named Gibraltar. These fish are so gorgeous, so I took some photos of this one and did a little painting. :)   For the background, I wanted to do something more abstract with water type movement. I started at the top and got something I really liked with a couple circles and swirls.... but then.... I wiped most of the background off at least six times. Hah. BUT! I finally got out onto canvas what was in my head :D  I had to darken around the edges, and I finally succeeded in getting some depth....it was so much fun. It was one of those nights when I stayed up late painting after work, because that's when it came to me.
I really really like this painting and I was so pleased with myself for actually doing something more abstract like. I want to do more backgrounds like this, and now I have proved to myself that I can do it. Now I need to make a series......

Sunny Petals final

Here it is finished,  a week after it was supposed to be done :p Life gets in the way.
Ugh, I'm still having troubles with backgrounds. I feel like this painting is a little boring, but I guess it's just supposed to be simple. (Also, the color is not quite right in this photo but oh well).
Maybe I'm just wanting to paint something truly artistic?
Anyway, I'm setting up a still life for my next painting, I'm going to take my time and not rush. I want it to be great. We'll see.

I don't know if I like this painting. Artist friends, what do you think???

Sunny Petals stage 1

I got ahold of a sunflower a few months ago and had taken pictures outside, so I am working on a painting from those pictures right now. I wish I could be working from life... but it's ok. This one is a little bit larger, 11x14, here is where I am at right now. (click on the picture to see it better!)

  I was having a lot of trouble getting the shadow colors. I started with the center, which was easy to get looking nice, and then I went up to the top right which had a lot of shadow, but everything was looking too brown. The sunflower is really a dark dark yellow, or light orange color, and what I finally figured out by the time I got to the bottom of the flower is that the shadows in the petals are really a cool orange. At first I was using some transparent red oxide and terra rosa and mixing that with cad orange or cad yellow deep. Some of my problem was that I was working off of a picture and I couldn't figure out what colors I was seeing. Some of the problem was me not really thinking through it....  The picture was in bright sunlight so the shadows should be cool, but they still had the orange of the petal showing through, especially in certain parts of the shadows. So what I figured out by the time I was finishing was to mix yellow ochre, which is a super cool yellow) with a tiny bit of ultramarine blue and some cad orange. It worked much better. Don't ask me why I was using brown before...I thought I was seeing brown I guess, but I wasn't. I've tried to go back towards the top and fix some of the shadows, but I may have to do some more. Gonna paint the green backing leaves and background today. Probably could have used a larger canvas, but oh well.
I'll post the finished piece tonight or tomorrow :)

Roses painted from life

So I finally got the book Alla Prima by Richard Schmid and read it over the past few weeks. I have really loved learning more about painting this year, and I can see myself growing and becoming more confident. I still have so much to learn and master, but at least I'm not afraid to try :)  If you are serious about painting, READ THIS BOOK! He paints completely from life, almost always in one sitting, which is the best way to paint. I don't think I will always be able to paint from life, but I definitely need much more experience from painting from life. Sooo.... Yesterday, I picked some knockout roses from our garden and set up a little box and a light in my studio and started painting on an 8x10 canvas. I had actually picked some other smaller roses to compliment, but they have so many petals etc that when I got to them I said phooey and got a couple more knockouts and painted them solely instead. It was a good decision. They are really pretty easy to paint I think ;) The harder part for me was today when I had to paint the leaves and the background. I'm still not amazing at that.. but I think it turned out ok. The roses themselves are still my favorite part :)
So here it is!

I did notice that I painted differently this time, partly because of my studying and partly because I painted from life with a smaller amount of time (5 hours yesterday and 3 1/2 today). I am becoming more lose and confident..... that I am learning and progressing....and I'm quite enjoying it :) 

In other news, I'm getting stuff ready to start going to art festivals! Purty exciting stuff right there, lots to do to get ready.... Got a tent, got most of the wall/hanging stuff, starting the process of getting prints made etc. All lots of money up front, but I so hope that I can sell paintings! I'll post an update about that soon. I'm going to be doing as many paintings as I can pop out, and I want to do some things other than flowers also, something interesting...still haven't come up with a good idea yet, but look for it! haha. 

"Cherry Blossom Puff" For Sale!

"Cherry Blossom Puff"

 Oil on canvas 8x10

FOR SALE $250 FRAMED $185 UNFRAMED

I will post pictures of it framed soon, it will be a super nice frame. 

Don't forget to click on the picture for better viewing!

Rhododendrons Final

Here it is! "Rhododendrons" is finished and is For Sale!
14x14 oil on canvas

For inquiries email juliawichmanartist@gmail.com
Click on the picture to see it better.

Rhododendron painting update

I had painted the majority of the flower earlier, I think before Christmas even...  And now, a couple of paintings later, I'm getting back to it to get it done for an art contest that I'm entering soon! I've painted more than half of the leaves and background now and really love how it is all looking with the colors and the contrast. I am more pleased with it than I thought I would be. The colors  are so vibrant, it makes me happy! Gotta love COLOR! I have had a very productive week working on this painting and launching my Etsy shop, Jule's Fleurs. Check it out etsy.julesfleurs.com 

Exciting times!