Hope Cunningham Studio Musings

Rule O' the Roost

2011-12-10T12:57:00.001-07:00

Rule O' the Roost 9"X12" Oil on Canvas

Happy Holidays, Art Lovers! As 2011 draws to a close, I am one very grateful Artgirl. This has probably been the busiest year of my life, surpassing even finals in graduate school. It's been an eventful year with lots of painting, travel, workshops, plein aire events, significant family milestones, shows, learning how to run a business and big changes at my art studio.

When I decided to take a look at my blog today, I realized that I had been posting frequently on Facebook and neglecting my blog. So now, I will be catching folks up to some of the work I completed over the past six months. Meanwhile, I will be working on a new batch of paintings from my recent trip to Italy. I have never been more excited to be an artist.

This painting was completed during a plein-aire event for Greenfields Country Day School here in Tucson. It was so cold that the artists were given some leeway to include studio work completed within the event time frame. It was 16 degrees Farenheit when I checked out the checked out the chicken coop at 7:30 am. Even with wind resistant gloves and liners, my fingers were frozen faster than I could set up, so yes, this painting was done from photo reference in my studio that day. I also did one with a group of chickens called "Pecking Order" that sold at the show.

Pecking Order 12" X 10" Oil on Canvas

Lest you fear that I painted nothing from life for that event, let me share with you that I did take home Best in Show for my painting of the Administration building. This one was painted just before sunset from the cab of my truck with the heater running. Maybe a little carbon monoxide has a positive effect on creativity. It certainly resulted in a few errant brushstrokes on the interior ceiling. This piece also sold at the show.

Welcome to Greenfield's 8"X10" Oil on Canvas

Here is what my fountain looked like during the event. Brrrrrrr!

Summer Buzz

2011-08-14T18:21:00.000-07:00

Summer Buzz Oil on Canvas Panel

This week, Russ brought back an old favorite to model for open studio. This is Jose Rios, who is a fine artist in his own right. It's always fun to paint a painter because they are so interested in what you are doing. It was winter the last time Jose sat for us, and he had a very luxuriant thick glossy mane. It was quite a surprise to see him with his summer buzz cut. Tucson gets pretty hot, so lots of young men shave their heads to keep cool. Of course, this gave us an excellent opportunity to study form and structure. As you can see, there was no dodging the challenge of rendering stubble; it was just more prevalent on top of his head than around his mouth!

Charles,Too

2011-08-07T16:05:00.000-07:00

Charles, Too 12"X10" Oil on Canvas Panel

With any luck you will recognize this young man, especially since he has such a fondness for red shirts. That's right, this is Russ' son Charles again. Mercifully, his mouth is in the right place this time and I find absolutely nothing wrong with it. This is another pose where the head is in very direct light. I did my best to turn the form with temperature changes. I do think I could have pushed the cool green cast in the lower portion of the face. It was pretty tricky to indicate the dark stubble without losing the muzzle form.

This study was a real lesson for me on the psychology of evaluating one's own work. Before I even started, I couldn't help thinking that my last few paintings were successful so it was time for a flop. I recognized the thought and tried to keep it at bay while I worked. Still, the entire time I was working, I couldn't help feeling that it just wasn't coming together as well as the last study. At one point, I fought the urge to wipe it out. At the end of the session, I found so many things that I might have handled differently. I left Russ' studio energized by the evening, albeit with a lingering bit of disappointment.

When I got home, I set this study next to last week's work. Reality check! This piece is much more successful. Moral of the story, put some distance between yourself and your inner critic!

On the Cusp

2011-07-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

On the Cusp 12"X10"
Oil on Canvas Panel

For most of the week I have been shackled to my computer trying to get a handle on QuickBooks. The business side of art, I could do without. my procrastination and avoidance caught up with me but I am taking the books in hand and showing them who's boss.

The only time I got to paint this week was last night at my friend, Russell Recchion's studio. This delightful young man is 15 years old. Look closely and you will surely catch glimpse of the man he will soon become. He was an enthusiastic and responsive model. It was a treat to make his acquaintance.

I took on a bit of a new challenge with this one. Most of the head is in the light with very little shadow.

My goal was to create volume and turn the form with temperature. I am happy with the result and definitely will try this again. As usual, I ended up with "a painting of a person where something there is something wrong with the mouth". A Sargent reference for those of you who may not have heard it before. I find it comforting.

Now I need a quote about leaving fingerprints in wet paint. Does that mean I don't need to bother signing it?

The Independent

2011-07-24T21:05:00.000-07:00

The Independent 14"X11" Oil on Canvas Panel

So I am back from Colorado and before I can unpack I get an email from one of my painting buddies letting me know that he has a model at his studio Thursday. My "to do" list is a mile long after being gone for three weeks, but I decided the paperwork could keep one more night.

I was so glad that I went.

It was great to catch up with friends I hadn't seen for months. The model, Bradford, is a regular chameleon who changes personae with his hats. Whatever the character, he is always fun to paint. I couldn't resist political reference to the blue and red background.

Maureen and Elizabeth

2011-07-18T21:57:00.003-07:00

Maureen 12"X 9" oil on canvas panel

Every once in a while someone comes in to my studio that I connect with immediately. Maureen and her husband Dave are two people that I enjoyed from the moment I met them. Back in February they happened upon my studio while taking a weekend escape from the Denver winter. They filled my space with a wonderful energy and made me feel appreciated as an artist. They left with two small paintings and invited me to come to Denver to paint their daughter when I came to Colorado.

Well, I have been hanging out with them for the past two days in their beautiful Denver home. I had the pleasure of painting both Maureen and her daughter, Elizabeth. It was a great adventure to step into their lives for a brief moment and experience what creative and vibrant people they are.

I gotta do this more often!

Elizabeth 12"X9" oil on canvas panel

Silverthorne Sunset

2011-07-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

Silverthorne Sunset

16" X 8"

oil on canvas panel

In case you hadn't noticed, my blog has been very quiet for months. This has truly been one of the busiest years of my life; packed with painting and travel. Things don't look like they are going to slow down anytime soon, so I have decided that there is no time like the present to start blogging again.

Right now, I am taking a break from the Tucson heat in beautiful Silverthorne, Colorado. I came to the area at the suggestion of my friend and fellow artist, Joanne Hanson. Joanne works very hard every year to organize the Continental Divide Land Trust's Wildflower Festival Plein Air event and I had the good fortune to be invited to participate. It was great fun with wonderful people in a very inspiring landscape.

I will be posting some of my plein air pieces from the event later this week.

Meanwhile, this is my favorite painting so far. We have had rain every afternoon. Last Thursday the skies cleared around 8:00 and I took some reference photos of the glorious sunset. it was over fast, but I got what I needed for the painting. Mount Baldy was lit up with a fantastic orange glow that knocked my socks off. I definitely think I will be coming back!

Come Out and Play

2010-08-19T18:33:00.000-07:00

Come Out and Play 9"X12" Oil Painting on Canvas Panel

My painting buddy, Brenda Semanick, came to my studio yesterday to paint a still life with me. The early part of the day was a real comedy of errors which would gave been hilarious if I had been watching it happen to someone else. Everything I tried to do, use, or set up kept falling apart. I wanted to set this still life up on a board mounted on my tripod with a sheet of glass on the surface so we would get some nice reflections. Well, the connector came out of the board and the whole thing collapsed. Naturally, the glass broke, so no table top reflections in this still life. Once I cleared another space to set it up and decided on lighting, I proceeded to trip over the tripod supporting the light and knocked that over. Yes it broke, not just the bulb either. The entire light fixture is enjoying a new life in the dumpster. Eventually we got everything worked out and settled down to paint. So much for conducting myself as a confident and competent hostess!

Cottage Garden

2010-08-17T15:19:00.001-07:00

Cottage Garden Original 12"X12" Oil Painting

Here is another field study from my trip to Newport, Rhode Island. These folks love their gardens, you can find hydrangeas, altheas, lilies and black eyed susans everywhere. This lovely cottage was right down the street from where I stayed. My friend, Genii, and I generated a little neighborhood excitement when we set up to paint. The owner of the house very graciously showed us around her garden and then gave us a tour of her home. The afternoon sun was on the street side, though, so that's where we painted!

April's Orchids

2010-08-15T17:42:00.001-07:00

Original 24" X 18" Oil Painting on Canvas

I know, I know...you've seen this one before. Well I spent a lot of time and effort reworking this painting and I wanted to share it with you. I sanded down the face and flowers, then painted over them with opaque paint so the old drawing wouldn't trip me up. I scraped the face out a couple of times before I finally got the likeness I was after. Its funny how some paintings seem to paint themselves and others require a lot of labor. iI was happy I stuck with this one.

Margy's Lilies

2010-08-10T12:22:00.001-07:00

Margy's Lilies 10" X 12" Original Oil Painting on Canvas Board

While I was in Rhode Island, I had an opportunity to hang out with the owner of one of the fabulous old mansions that Newport is so famous for. The house was amazing but I preferred the beautiful grounds. Dodging the sun and the poison ivy, I found a quiet shady spot to set up and paint these beautiful lilies. Thanks, Margy, for a delightful morning well spent.

Newport Rose Hips

2010-08-05T13:46:00.002-07:00

Newport Rose Hips Original 8" X 8" Oil Painting on Gessoboard

The headlands of Aquidneck Island are covered with wild rose bushes, There aren't many blooms this time of year but the shrubs are laden with rose hips. They are very interesting persimmon shaped fruits with funny little green tails. The red ripe ones are actually tasty and loaded with Vitamin C. I only had an hour to paint one morning, so I decided to give them a shot. While I was cleaning up my brushes, two French speaking gentlemen came up to discuss my painting with me. I may not speak French very well, but it seems they liked the painting. One of the fun things about plien aire painting is how excited people are to come across a painter. I've made some wonderful new friends this way.

Morning Light, The Breakers

2010-07-31T09:16:00.000-07:00

Morning Light, The Breakers Original 9"X12" Oil on Canvas Panel

Since last Monday, I have been painting in Newport, Rhode Island with one of my good friends from Tucson. Her husband's family is from here, so she knows lots of wonderful people and just where the best spots to paint are. Newport is famous for it's elegant mansions, many of them perched right on the headlands. My friend's Mother-in-law lives right next door to this beautiful estate, which belonged to her own in-laws once upon a time. Most of these houses have interesting names and long histories; its a very colorful place. I tried painting this house in the afternoon from the beach. We were doing pretty well until the incoming tide chased us away. All of our gear got very sandy, wet and covered with seaweed, but we came away with a great plien-aire story of our own.

Elegant Blossom

2010-07-23T19:15:00.006-07:00

Original 24" X 18" Oil Painting on Canvas

Put your on your Art Critic hats folks, I need your opinion. The image above is how this painting looks after working on it today, the photo below was taken yesterday. As you can see, I darkened the background and warmed the color up a bit. Now that I look at the photos, I'm on the fence about whether that was a wise move. I'm thinking that perhaps the cooler, lighter background is more effective. What do you think? By the way, you might be surprised to know that there is no "blue" pigment in this painting. I used ivory black. It tends to dry pretty flat, but I will varnish it to refresh the darks.

Bough and Bowl

2010-07-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

Original 9" X 12" Oil Painting on Canvas Panel

Well, here it is as promised, the second attempt at painting the apple bough. I have to say that I have a newfound respect for apple painters like Carol Marine. These apples were a very intense red. I found it difficult to make them look "lit up" against the blue background without sacrificing the intensity of the local color. I was hoping that by adding the white bowl to the mix I might have an easier time judging my value relationships, but only succeeded in adding the additional challenge of painting ellipses. Perhaps I need to try a different ground next time. It was one of those days where the greatest reward was knowing I showed up and put in my time. Sometimes it seems like the successful paintings tend to be sandwiched between a few frustrating ones.

Apple Bough on Blue

2010-07-16T12:07:00.000-07:00

Original 9" X 12" Oil Painting

Yesterday my painting buddy, Brenda Semanick, came to my studio and we set up this little still life. We have both been very busy, so it was great to have time to spend together painting. I was frustrated by the blue background, I never seemed to hit on the right value. We both found the set up challenging, so we decided to try it again next week.

Colonel Sanger

2010-07-12T17:58:00.000-07:00

Original Oil Painting

22" X 28"

Okay, so this is not a small painting, but I wanted to share it anyway. These days I am finding that I am getting the most enjoyment out of painting portraits. This gentleman was not so keen on the idea of sitting for a portrait. His wife convinced him it wasn't so bad after I painted her portrait a couple of months ago. We spent the day together and had a great time. He was full of wonderful stories and good advice about travel destinations. Sitting for a portrait is a treat for the sitter and the painter. How often does someone give you their undivided attention for hours at a time? It is a treat for me because I get this intimate peek into another person's life and my own is that much richer for it.

Que Bella

2010-07-06T18:10:00.000-07:00

original oil painting
16" X 14"

Remember the alla prima sketch "Roses in Her Hair" that I posted a couple of weeks ago? Well I took a profile photograph of the model that day. I have been working on this one for a couple of days and thought I would post it so that you could compare the difference between a quick study and a more deliberate painting. I don't think this one is done yet; I'm going to set it aside for a while and think about what it needs. Meanwhile, I didn't want you guys to think I had disappeared into a black hole, just going back and forth between the quick studies and longer paintings. I think both approaches have merit, but I am a Gemini and pretty hard to pin down!

Quickie with Jessica

2010-06-19T16:57:00.000-07:00

Original Oil Sketch on Canvas Pane;
16" X 12"

Today I drove up to the Phoenix area to a three hour class hosted by the Portrait Artists of Arizona. I am a new member and this is the first painting event that I participated in. Portrait artist and teacher, Linda Tracey Brandon, talked to us about how to set up a model for portrait sketches. She then demonstrated s a variety of lighting options and discussed reasons for choosing one over another. It was a pleasure to watch her paint for about an hour as she discussed her transparent approach to the block in.

This sketch was completed in about two hours. While it doesn't have the finish of a portrait, this kind of quick sketch from life is one of my favorite things to do. There is no better way to improve your drawing and seeing skills than working from life with the clock ticking away the minutes; you just don't have time for anything more than a very direct and simple statement. I really enjoyed painting Jessica, so I feel certain you will be seeing her again!

Red Roof Over Copper Cactus Inn

2010-06-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

11"X14" Original Oil on Canvas Panel

Here is another piece that I painted during the Tucson Gateway Business Alliance "Paint the Strip" plien-aire event. The subject is another of the old motor hotels along Tucson's own version of Route 66, which we now call the "Miracle Mile". This is the back of the hotel, but I found it much more interesting than the parking lot side. (Besides, you already know how I feel about painting cars!) It's about to go out the door to the same exhibition as "A Room at La Siesta" so I thought I'd post it. I am curious to know whether you can guess what time of day it was painted.

A Room at La Siesta

2010-06-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

Original Oil Painting on Canvas Panel
12" X 10"

Back in late April, I participated in the Tucson Gateway "Paint the Strip" plein-aire event. The idea was to paint the historic Miracle Mile motor hotels. It was unseasonably cold and windy. The light changed constantly. I started this painting and then proceeded to drop it face down in my palette! Today I decided to see if I could resurrect it for an exhibition with the same theme. All I can say is that rendering the perspective of an automobile was a unique challenge for me. Of course, those were not the words I was using in the studio!

Kurt's Peonies

2010-06-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

Original oil painting on canvas panel
8" X 8"

Third post this week. Yay! I may have said it before and I know I'll say it again, flowers are the hardest thing on the planet to paint. I don't know anyone who paints peonies as well as Kurt Anderson. He had these set up on a table in the corner of his studio the last time I visited. I couldn't resist snapping a photo to give them a try. It was fun and frustrating. My first attempt got brushed together. I came back the next day and worked into my blurry start. Worked out pretty well, I think.

Portrait of Mrs. Sanger

2010-06-11T14:16:00.000-07:00

Original Oil Painting
14" X 18"

This lovely lady is Carol Sanger. She came in to my studio about four months ago and admired my portraits. Carol decided that she would like to have her portrait painted and sat for me a few weeks ago. We had a delightful time getting to know each other. She is one hard working woman, so it was a treat for her to just sit still and not have to do anything. We got a great start that day, but I had to leave town the next day to attend to a family emergency. It was a challenge to finish. I painted one complete canvas and then realized that I had elongated her face and idealized her mouth to suit my own personal tastes. So I started again. I like this canvas much better.

Roses in Her Hair, again

2010-06-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

Roses in Her Hair
Original Oil Painting
12"X16"

Okay. I caught a ration of....shall we say, criticism, from my friend Brenda over the photographic quality (or lack thereof) of my last painting post. So, in the interest of professional development, I tried everything she suggested. I set the white balance for indirect natural light, hauled everything outside, used a tripod and bracketed my exposure. This one's for you Brenda; I hope its an improvement!

Roses in Her Hair

2010-06-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

Flowers in Her Hair
12" X 16" Oil on Canvas Panel

So. It's been a while since I've posted. Truly, it's not because I haven't been painting. I have lots and lots of starts but not so many finishes because I have been doing a lot of alla prima figurative and plein air painting and no small still lifes. Now that the summer heat is upon us, I will be spending much more time in the studio finishing those starts and developing new paintings. I am officially renewing my commitment to blogging regularly, but adjusting my goal to a more realistic (for me) three times per week. If I can get up at 4:30am three times a week to run and left weights, I certainly ought to be able to post a new painting three times a week!
I would also like to invite input from everyone on how they use Facebook to promote their artwork and stay connected to other artists. All my art buddies are big fans of Facebook so I guess its time to get in the game! Let me know what you think.