Brande Arno Art

The finished "Hay Maze"  Piglet Art I truly love how this piece came out.  I've been amazed at the pure color and beautiful brushwork of Angela Moulton's paintings. Every time I see her latest collection on YouTube, I am awestruck at how pure the background color is.  So I wanted to try my hand at upping background color value in my work.   Below is how I started: Hay Maze Start Here, I establish the main layout and gesture of this piglet's face.  I'm striving for something that looks painterly, yet would bring a smile to the face of the viewer, so this stage is important.  Also, color values on the pig are being set.   Hay Maze about halfway This is where I put that rich background color in.  Notice some neutral colors in with the bright.  I wouldn't want all bright green here as it would be like all caps when texting.  I'll re-post the final Hay Maze below: Lots of changes from the halfway point, ...

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Gessoboard I've painted this many times and every time I drive by the actual shack, I have to stop and look/take more pictures to work from.  It's hard to admit that one smaller shack could inspire me so much.

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Gessoboard  Sold, Thank you I'm brushing up on my plein air skills to get ready for the annual Seneca Lake Plein Air Festival.  The artists arrive at headquarters, which is The Smith Center for the Arts, on Wednesday, September 30.  We paint outdoors on Thursday and Friday.  On Saturday evening is a gala show and sale.   I'm a charter artist and I love this event.  A link for complete details is  Smith Arts In the western part of NY, the weather has been heavenly.  The sun is casting wonderful shadows and the sky is a beautiful shade of blue with clouds that tempt me to just paint them.  In spite of the perfect painting environment, I still had trouble finding a subject to paint.  Mostly due to dangerous parking on the side of busy roads. Below is were I finally decided to paint: Not the best picture, but you get the idea.  Next is how I started: And like always, I didn't snap photos...

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Gessoboard $ 75. Website Purchase When the weather gets cold, I set up bird feeders and watch how the chickadees do their day's work.   They seem to know that the other birdies of the neighborhood also need to get to the feeder because they take a seed and then fly to a branch to eat it.  Sometimes, they have to wait longer than they should for another turn because the finches like to park at the perch to make piggies of themselves.

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Gessoboard - $ 75. Click to Buy I'm building a website and have been a little behind with my paintings. It has given me time to re-think what I'm doing as an artist.  I'm leaning towards painting larger studio pieces and plein air one day a week.  Nature and I are a good match because plein air painting really soothes me, even though the challenges are much different than studio painting. I'm also thinking of keeping a pen and wash journal sketchbook and draw random things around the house, to include Cooper & Cookie...my special doggies.  So, there should be more variety in my postings. 

5 x 7 inches, Oil on Panel I'm a You Tube addict.  Mostly because TV isn't what it used to be.  Recently, I found Bella the Hummingbird Live Cam.  Earlier in the week, I did a screen shot save to create this painting of her.  I just took another peek at the web cam, and she now has two little hummer-buggers sleeping in the nest.   Bella Cam here  

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Gessoboard  $ 75.  Purchase There was something about the original  "Eating My Greens" painting, that didn't set right with me.  Some paintings can do that...they kind of sing this song to you.  The words go something like "Na-Na, Na-Na-Na" Which translate to:  Something's wrong and you can't fix it!   There's another oldie but goodie song "Time is on my side"  Yes it is!  I simplified the composition, added a little calligraphy brushwork and adjusted those greens.  I'm more than happy with the outcome.  Below is the painting before I gave it more attention.

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Panel I'm in the throes of an online course tailored to artists taking control of their careers.  Right now, I feel like I can't digest another anything.  I feel overwhelmed because until I started this course, I was blissfully ignorant of  web technology.  It's not a leap of faith...it's do I have the faith to leap. Unless I'm painting, gardening, or keeping house, I'm at a disadvantage.  And I paid money to prove that to myself again.

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Panel-  Click to Bid I was driving home, when I came upon some sort of major road problem and I had to take an alternate route.  It was a wonderfully sunny day, in fact, the best that Spring can offer.  Sometimes, even the littlest change causes one to look a little closer when driving and that's how I spotted this little guy.  Actually, he was comfortably grazing with his mate and a small herd of long-haired steer.  I am so thankful for my I-phone, because it takes great pictures and is always with me. It zooms and edits. What more can one ask for?  

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Panel- $ 55.-  To etsy The word is out that bird seed abounds where I live.  I saw this young male with a female at the feeder.  When I first consulted my NY birder manual, I thought it must be a house finch.  I didn't think I'd be so blessed to have a purple finch at the feeder.  But I took a closer look knowing the House Finch and Purple Finch look very similar but the later is very rare.  So I really studied my birdies and I can confidently exclaim I had a visit from a male Purple Finch, got pictures to prove it and now, this painting.

5 x 5 inches, $ 55. Oil on Panel - etsy link Today, I struggled with a strong desire to go clothes shopping instead of studio time.  You see, I was overcome with fear today, fear that I'd paint a dud.  If it was a bright sunny day, I probably would have went shopping, but it was instead a day with overcast skies and threat of rain. Glad I faced my fear today and completed this bird.  The photo source is unusual where poses are concerned, but I wanted the challenge and I'm pleased with the result.  Now on to cleaning the studio.   

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Panel - Sold I've been busy with keeping records and trying to be very aware of my creative process.  Today's painting comes after a couple of hours loosening up with a failed painting.  So I changed subjects and tried again.  The song I painted to was a broken record that went something like this: Oh what the hell, you're running out of time, just get something done...how many days are you going to go without posting a painting?  You have to get something done...Just do it!  Now this can go one of two ways.   First and best way is, you throw caution to the wind and really loosen up, every brush stroke magically works and you don't have time to overwork a painting.   Second and worst way is, things get bad fast, you can't concentrate, draw, mix colors...squeeze paint out of the tube because you failed the first time. What about the middle, why does it have to be about extremes?  I answer that by offering...

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Gessoboard Sold Decided today to paint a bunny.  How cute is this little face...you'd never know I had a little trouble capturing just the right look and for me that involves strong brushwork and clear color mixtures.  I also love the rich emerald greens of the background.

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Gessoboard-  Click to Bid The painting above is my second attempt at painting a hummingbird for the Daily Paintworks weekly challenge.  The first is below.  There is so much that is different between the two paintings, even though they were both painted by me today and from the same photo source . So what happened to make them so different?  The top hummingbird is painted with colors I premixed all at once, before I began painting.  The hummingbird below was painted with the mix as you go method.   5 x 5 inches, Oil on Gessoboard  Click to Bid I like the second hummingbird painting better because it has more power in the brushwork and bold, fresh color.   I'm finding I like premixing colors before starting to paint because I can compare values right there and then.  But this does change my style as you can see. Which hummingbird do you like better?

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Gessoboard $ 45. Etsy Shop This is my first Eastern Bluebird sighting and painting...all in the same day!  Four of these beautiful birds were at the birdbath and shrubs that live just under my living room window.  So I grabed the cell phone out of my smock and walked very slowly to the window. As soon as I could focus the lens, I started snapping.  Got three somewhat grainy photos, but that's ok.  I'm really excited about their visit and getting any photos.  According to my "Birds of New York field guide", the usual winter pattern with Eastern Bluebird is they migrate to the western third of the state and fly in groups.  That explains why this group stayed close to each other while perching on the shrubs and taking turns sipping from the birdbath. I sure hope they make my birdbath a daily must do.

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Gessoboard - $ 75. Click to Buy This groundhog enjoyed corn on the cob, a photo-op and lots of fanfare the day before Groundhog Day 2014.  On that day, a $ 40000. grant from the Investor's Bank was given to the zoo that cared for him and his family  But... On Groundhog Day 2014, during the photo opportunity with Mayor Bill deBlasio, the poor little creature wriggled out of the mayor's grip and fell about six feet.  But even though the groundhog hit head first, it righted itself, saw it's shadow, then scurried off to the safety of it's shelter.  But... One week later, that groundhog died of internal injuries.  This information was kept from the public and the mayor by the Zoo, until January 2015.  Also revealed was the fact that Staten Island Chuck was really a Charlotte.   Sometimes, things like this have to happen so that they don't happen again.

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Gessoboard, $ 75. Click to Buy Let me introduce you to Gen. Beauregard Lee, who has the distinction of being the 2015 groundhog for Georgia. On Groundhog day, he did NOT see his shadow while strolling around their Yellow River Game Ranch in Lilburn, GA.  Looks like Georgia will be getting another early Spring.  Excuse me while I say: "just peachy, Georgia"   I hope to paint Staten Island Chuck next.  

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Gessoboard Click to Bid There are so many birds at my feeder today and all kinds...from chickadees to mourning doves.  It's cold and snowing and I'm so happy that years ago, we planted shrubs under the feeder pole because to them, it's a pavilion.   Close by, is the heated bird bath.  If I could house them, I would.  However, they're content to use all the nooks and cranny's in the woods to hunker down at night.   

5 x 5 inches Oil on Gessoboard -$ 75. Sold - Thank you   Very glad to be at the easel today.  So had to pick an otter pose that would say just that...happy artist, happy otter.  And why is painting a happy otter so important today?  Because I've been very sick since January 6.   Started out with just a tickle cough and usually, a couple of large doses of Vitamin C does it.  But...Not last week.    You could say I had the typical cold, but that quickly fell into a full blown bronchial infection. Antibiotics are still miracle drugs.   

River Otter Mug Shot No. 7, Oil on Gessoboard 5 x 5 inches, $ 60.00 Click to buy OK,  so now I'm having problems with my blogger account.  I can thank a certain teenage member of the family who was visiting her grandma, kidnapped my computer and signed me off google. I've been trying to fix the blogger problem, but now find I have a computer problem.  See, I don't know what I'm doing, but that doesn't stop me from pressing buttons.   Even though my screen doesn't have the same layout, I'm good because I can post today's painting.