I painted cards to experiment with gold leaf. It was fun, but am not sure whether I’d use it in a regular landscape painting as I found it unpredictable (tiny stars, fire sparks… maybe?). Depending on the viewer’s angle of available light, the gold is dark or light, altering the composition.
#’s 130-141. Acrylic and metal gold leaf sketches.
#125. An avenue of southern live oaks, Quercus virginiana, in oil. (Apologies for the glare from the oil-gloss in this photo.)
#117. 4 Way Lunch Cafe, Cartersville,Georgia, plein air in oil.
#116, Lower Falls, Yosemite, oil on canvas.
A few days ago, I stood in front of perfect rows of sunflowers. They were glorious and impervious to the humid 90oF temperature. I wilted. Not pleased with my work, even after a later attempt to resolve the jarring yellows and greens, I merged my palette puddles and painted over the offending field. I don’t do this often, but it’s usually liberating. This time however I found particular delight in the paint-over process and the design that emerged, so – my first “Abstract”!
Here’s the before and after…
#108. Ty’s Sunflowers, plein air
#109. Abstract Landscape I
#107. American Women Artists Virtual Paint Along, Yosemite, in acrylic.
#106. Vitex in Bloom, plein air, in oil, 9″ x 12″
#105. The Frozen Cow Creamery, Kennesaw, GA, plein ar in oil, 8″ x 10″.
#103. Hightower Falls in July, plein air in oil.
#92. Afternoon Coffee, plein air in oil, 8″ x 16′.
Susan D. Waters: Artist 