oil reflection study by BECKY JOY

Hi everyone, I'm not posting a painting on this blog today. I guess this blog has been an experiment that is just taking too much of my time lately. I've been having a lot of good things happening lately keeping me very busy. Which is a good thing.

Yesterday I had an interview with a writer for Phoenix Home and Gardens Magazine. They will have a feature article on me in the April issue. Monday I will meet with the photographer. I also found out that I have been accepted to the Salon International 2010 show at Greenhouse Gallery. I've been on cloud nine, except that I have a cold now. Anyway, I've been submitting to national shows the last six months and have been accepted into several of them. It seems like I always have a frame to make, a painting to mail or need to paint more. So I decided I couldn't do it all and needed to discontinue this blog to make life simpler.

I will post everything on my study blog: http://beckyjoyartist.blogspot.com. Today I did post a new study on it. I have been working on a new still life and should have it done tomorrow. As you know, I have been working hard at loosening up and becoming more painterly in my work. I'm very pleased with what I'm doing, its feeling comfortable to me now. It also has been well recieved by others.

I will still have my drawing for a free study for February. I'm a little behind this month and haven't drawn for January's yet. I'll do so by this weekend and get my newsletter out. Anyway, go to my blog http://beckyjoyartist.blogspot.com to see all my new work and postings.

Hope to see you there.
Becky
www.beckyjoy.com
http://beckyjoyartist.
beckyjoy@beckyjoy.com

Trees and water at dawn atmosphere oil study by BECKY JOY

This is a 6x6 oil study. To purchase this painting, go to my website at beckyjoy.com. I had some photos from my trip to Glacier Park last summer. This was from one of those photos. I simplified the background mountain making it very light in color. The colors are almost all grays with most of the vibrant color in the light of the trees. The sky has some yellows in it which doesn't show up well in the photo. I like the simplicity of the composition in this one. I'm thinking about painting this larger.

I worked at the gallery today and got quite a bit of painting done. I finished a still life of yellow tulips and pears, worked on another larger piece of a cotton field and painted two small studies, this being one of them. Go to http://beckyjoyartist.com/ to see the tulip painting.

The end of the month is almost here. If you want to get in on the drawing for a free painting, sign up as a follower, make a comment or sign up for my newsletter.

Winter Sunset with trees and mts by BECKY JOY

This 5x6 oil study is available exclusively on my website for $100.

While my sister was driving me to the airport in Eugene, OR, I saw a scene reminisent of this. It was the sunniest day of the week. The mountians were BLUE with the golden sky, absolutely beautiful. I love the farm fields and the trees and brush that line the creeks edges of the fields, so I put it all in this study. I've started a larger piece from this. I love the colors in this painting.

Well, the rain hit hard here in AZ last night. You would think there would be nothing left after it dumped in CA, but no, there was plenty left over. And the wind, OMG! Lost a tree in the yard, but that is all here.

I was going to go to Prescott for an opening at the Mountain Artist Guild, but I called and emailed that I wouldn't be coming. My little car just doesn't handle the snow. No one answered, they closed for the day. My friend, Marla, called from their ranch up there and told me not to come up, it was a mess. They had been without electric for 2 days. She let the gallery know I wasn't coming. Anyway, the show has been rescheduled for next Friday. Hopefully, word gets out about it. Well, safe here at home on the computer tonight.

If you haven't checked out the online art sale do so, some great bargains at beckyjoy.com

Also, get in on the drawing for a free painting on this blog by signing up as a "Blog Follower", commenting, or signing up for the newsletter.

I've just made a fan page on facebook. You can sign up as a FAN on my facebook page.

I'll post later.

BECKY

www.beckyjoy.com

http://beckyjoyartist.blogspot.com

Tree and moonlight oil painting study by BECKY JOY

This 6x6 oil on board is reminisent of the full moon I saw at the end of December. I was driving at nightfall when I saw the moon on the horizon. It was glowing and HUGE. You know the kind I'm talking about. It just seems incredibly big. I painted this scene from a photo that I had, but it was in full daylight. It just gave me a tree shape and the bank next to the water. I painted my darks in first with alizarine and sap green and ultramarine on the side away from the moon where I wanted a cooler color. I've been working on a larger painting of this one. I'm not sure if I need to do more work or not. I don't want to overdo it, which is a common theme in my work. I'm leaving it for a couple of days then I will revisit it.

The painting is available for $100. on my website at beckyjoy.com

I still have the online studio sale going. Go to beckyjoy.com to see the awesome deals.

Today I set up a fan page on Facebook. I need to do some additional work to that. I also wrote a couple of articles on squidoo.com about composition. Tomorrow I will be working in the gallery in Cave Creek. Its a small gallery, so I'm able to do some painting while I'm there. Yay!

Talk to all of you tomorrow.

BECKY

www.beckyjoy.com

http://beckyjoyartist.blogspot.com

beckyjoy@cox.net

Studio art sale on my website by BECKY JOY

This is one of the paintings that I am offering in my online studio sale. It is 18x24 and priced at just $400. I painted a small one like this one location a few years ago in Colorado. As I was painting a deer came into the meadow. Anyway, there are some great deals in my studio sale, all on my website at beckyjoy.com

On my studio blog I posted some helpful info about the yin and yang of painting, more information to help strengthen your compositions. I should be getting some small studies done in the next few days. I'll post them when I do. In the meantime, don't forget the drawing for the free painting this month, sign up for my newsletter, sign up as a "Blog Follower", or make a comment on this blog.

See ya later.

BECKY

www.beckyjoy.com
http://beckyjoydaytoday.blogspot.com

beckyjoy@cox.net

Mountain Light oil study by BECKY JOY

Dawn oil study available exclusively on my website.

This is a 5x7 oil study with the sunlight illuminating the mountain top in the background. The majority of the painting is in shadow creating a lot of grays. These grays help to support the most vibrant color in the painting, the light on the mountain, making it seem even brighter. This bright color becomes more intense and lighter in value as it moves into the area behind the branches. As with the mountain light, the grays of the tree also become warmer and lighter around the focal point. As you move away from the point of interest, the colors become cooler and slighter darker around the edges to keep you in there and to help create that sense of glowing light. The value contrast and color intensity are the most important elements in creating the focal point in this painting. To help lead the view through the painting, I have used the pathway in the field as a strong directional line. The small background trees give the painting some depth and atmosphere, creating more visual interest.

This scene is reminiscent of a trip I took to Colorado. I was driving through a valley at dawn when the sunlight was just starting to descend onto the farms. The light was moving so quickly that all I could do was pull over, take a photo and jot down some notes. I took some liberties with the scene, simplifying and changing the shape of some objects. As with a lot of painters, my favorite time of day is very fleeting. I have often gone out with just a strip of canvas and recorded notes of color and the progression of the color as the sky and mountains change. This has helped to give me an understanding of sunsets and the effects of light on the surroundings. Often if you look behind you instead of just at a sunset you will discover a scene just as amazing.

I'm back in town from a trip visiting family in OR. Now back to work. I have a lot I need to get done in the next couple of weeks. So I should have some work to post on both of my blogs, studies and studio work.

I have an online studio sale going on now for the next month on my website. This study, as with all my studies is available exclusively on my website for $100.

BECKY

www.beckyjoy.com

http://beckyjoyartist.blogspot.com

beckyjoy@cox.net

oil study of desert saguaro cactus by BECKY JOY

6x6 oil study available exclusively on my website.

http://www.beckyjoy.com/

I painted this image from a photo. I took the photo in an area of Scottsdale by Pinnacle Peak. The area is now filled with homes. It used to be an area that I painted around a lot. I broke a major rule in painting this one, the focal point is in the middle of the picture. I tried moving it around when I drew it, but this felt comfortable. So I tried to make it work. The painting is asymmetrical and the rock is heavier on the right side. I feel that the focal point doesn't feel as though it is in the middle.

This painting is mostly about edges, then value. The edges, for the most part, are soft with the hard edge in the shadow, making that shadow very important. The values in the shadow are the darkest with the light in the rock being the lightest in the painting. The lines in the composition lead in a zigzag to the center of interest. There is one strong diagonal line going from the right foreground to the center. The angle of the rock opposes that angle. The color also moves toward more intensity and purity as it moves toward the focal point. I placed a little blue in the foreground to help unify the color. The sky at the horizon also has a little of the ground color in it to unify the sky with the ground.

I put the shadow in quickly and tried to leave it alone. I feel that it is important to leave some of the brushwork and thin paint in the beginning. It gives the painting more depth and interest. I can be very difficult to leave that alone and keep out of it. That has probably been one of the most difficult things for me, not to overwork the painting.

I'm in OR right now visiting family. No painting, but a lot of photos. I do have some news to share. I put in for membership to Plein Air Colorado and have recieved signature status in the organization.

On Line STUDIO SALE on my website. Many, many paintings marked down from 50 to 90%

I'll be posting again soon, so I will talk to you later.
BECKY
http://www.beckyjoy.com/
http://beckyjoyartist.blogspot.com/