A gift for Pete

Pete wanted me to paint something for him that he could use, not just set on a shelf, so I made him this cutting board.  He knows the rules: only use the unpainted side, place a towel under the board so you don't scratch the paint, and don't use it for fish or meat.  The last rule shouldn't be too hard for vegetarian Pete.

A finished plate

Here is my finished plate.  I think the bright flowers look quite dramatic on the black background.

Class project

This is the plate I worked on during my recent four-day class.  I will be painting a few more small flowers nearer the rim of the plate and then doing something decorative on the rim.  The red rose, the orange eight-petal flower and the leaves were all new to me.  The class was very energizing.

Learning from the master

I just finished a wonderful four-day class with a master rosemaler.  What a pleasure!  There were twelve of us in the class and you can see how intent we are to learn from this talented teacher.  As I work on things I've learned from her, I will will show them on future posts.

Eleven little birds

I finished painting eleven bird Christmas ornaments--one for me and ten for my rosemaling club.  I think they're sweet.

No, No, Yes

I will be painting ten bird-shaped Christmas ornaments for my rosemaling club.  I always agonize over the design because the painting reflects the club as well as me.  I started out with the bird on the left with the yellow flower and green leaves.  That design wasn't going anywhere, so I didn't finish it.  Then I tried the cabbage rose but the flower seemed to disappear on the white background and the dark blue leaves were too harsh.

Then I tried one of my Os flowers because of the bright, happy colors.  I first painted the bird in the middle, but thought it looked a little empty.  Then I painted the bottom one, but I think the top one fits the bill.  Now I just have to paint them.

Decorative Rim

I decided the rim was too empty so I came up with this design.  I don't think it's kosher rosemaling but I like it.  With the bright flowers on the white background, the lacy edge adds to the lightness.

Back at it.

I took a break from painting, but got back to it today.  I need to put this plate away for a time, then look at it later and decide whether or not it's finished.

My next project will be painting Christmas ornaments for the rosemalers' club.

A little greenery

A few green branches have been added.  I like the delicate ones that remind me of ferns.  They fill the space nicely and add lightness to the design. 

Making it up

This plate started with a plan, but it seems to have gone awry.  Now I'm just making it up as I go along.

Let's see how it turns out.

A little progress

One more flower and two leaves.  Progress on this plate is slow because I'm not quite sure where it's going.  We'll see.

Another new beginning

I meant to take a picture of the plate before I did any painting, because before any painting is done, the plate is full of possibilities.  As I paint, the possibilities become less and less until finally the plate is done.

A simple border

I decided to try a simple twisted rope border instead of clusters of flowers, which was my first thought.  I like the way this turned out, and now I have time to let the plate dry before heading back to Illinois.  I plan to enter this and the other plates I painted in Arizona in the Rosemaling show in June.

How my garden grows

First the flowers, then the leaves and then the stems.  In nature it goes the other way, but I'm the creator here, so I get to decide.

Now for a few more do-dads to finish off the center design and then the rim.  I never know what it's going to look like until I'm finished.

Practice, practice, practice

After painting the cabbage rose and the yellow rose, I attempted the challenging parrot tulip.  I painted it twice and wiped it off twice.  Each time it looked like a mish-mash.

 The next time I got my paints out I decided I better practice the tulip a few times.  After painting it twice on the practice board I attempted it again on the plate.  Again I wiped it off, practiced it one more time and finally on the plate again.  Whew!

Completed and begun

I finished the red plate, adding some froo-froo to the design in the middle.  (I tried a row of blue flowers in the trough, as suggested my one of my fans, but then the edge looked too busy and the center still looked empty.)  I hope you like the result.

Now I'm working on a large dark green plate, which I will paint in the Valdres style.  I planned the design on paper and then transferred it to the plate.  Now the fun part.  I get to paint.

Circle of flowers

 

Now that I have completed the border of the plate, I'll have to decide if the center design needs more work.  It seems a little plain to me but I don't want to clutter it up.  I'll have to give this some thought.

What now?

This is where I stop and look.  Are the colors balanced?  Are there "empty" spots in the design that need more embellishment?  What about the border?  Clusters of bold flowers or a delicate row of little ones?

Any suggestions?

Fancy and Fanciful

It's easy to see why these flowers are fun to paint.  The colors are brighter and more varied than in other styles of rosemaling and you can add all kinds of embellishments.

Another new beginning

This time I'm painting a red plate, and while I'm doing the backgrounding, I'll practice some flowers and leaves on my practice board.  I decided to do some "Os" flowers, which are very fancy and fanciful.  They're fun to paint.

C'est finit.

Here is my latest finished piece.  In a few weeks, when it's completely dry, I will varnish it and then put it in my new display case.

Making progress

 Yesterday I was able to work for two uninterrupted hours, painting flowers and listening to classical music on the satellite TV--no announcers and no commercials.

I still have to work on the flowers in the center of the plate and paint some small flowers in the rim.

It's getting there.

Getting started

It's been  awhile since I've painted, so I spent a little time practicing first, and then chose a flower (the cabbage rose) that I've painted many times.  It took a little time to get started.  I had to take the linseed oil back to Michael's because I couldn't get the top off.  But it all worked out.  It's great to have a paint brush back in my hand.

Back at it!

Now that the excitement of moving, Thanksgiving and Christmas are behind me, I'm determined to get back to painting.  I am using the laundry room for the background painting, but I'll use the breakfast area, with its windows and beautiful views of the mountains, for the creative work.