Fields of Gold

Fields of Gold, 8 x 12" Oil pastel on paper ©2010, Helen Read  

 

This painting is perhaps a vision of longing ... for home in the southwest - when for just a short while in the spring time, there is a wash of bright color! Wild flowers blooming profusely, unabashedly - as if in a joyful celebration of the warmth of spring! Here I've shown the beautiful yellow of spring time wild flowers blooming in a field with mesquite trees. To really get the feeling right, there needs to be a smell of sage wafting through the air too - but, I haven't figured out how to include that in a blog!

Snowing again!

Icy River Bank, 11 x 14" Oil on canvas
©2009, Helen Read
Ready to frame
 SOLD

Please email me for more information on purchasing this painting:

studio_upstairs@hotmail.com

Snowscape, 8x8" Oil on canvas
©2008, Helen Read
Sold

 

The weather forecast calls for 8 - 10" of snow again this evening. I heard one forecast that called for 12". In recognition of all the snow we've gotten this year, I'm posting 2 snowscape paintings that I completed in the past year or so. I'm looking forward to spring!

Orchid in Green

Orchid in Green, 7 x 10" watercolor on paper ©2010, Helen Read 

 

This little green orchid caught my eye because it was so green, except (of course) for the pinkish and burgundy interior. What became more evident to me, though, was that as it got a little older - it took me awhile to get the painting completed - the edges of the green petals began to take on a little tinge of pink. Water color is always an interesting medium in which to work. The colors are not as intense ... but it is a good exercise for me as an artist to work in a medium that isn't my most common one! It requires me to think and observe on a different level.... which is good for artistic discipline!

Sunlit Leaf

Sunlit Leaf, 8x8" Oil on canvas
©2010, Helen Read
$120.00

My work on this canvas seems to be complete. It is painted around the sides and so framing is not necessary. However, it may not be in its final form. I'm interested in mounting it to a panel behind it and continuing the painting of the leaves all pushed back into shadow... leaving this one protruding both physically and visually. That, of course, will require a little more work and some construction as well!

For now, here it is .... I really like the back lit effect, even though it really was just how the sun penetrated this leaf. It wasn't really back lit!

Abstract shadows - the work continues

My progress is continuing here. I've defined the shadowed areas a bit more and also the areas where the light shines through the leaf almost transparently! The background, as you can see is still almost untouched. Its coming along ... perhaps slowly due to extra work at work all week, and those long hours producing a state of exhaustion throughout the week!! I have some ideas that I still hope to pursue with this, to make it something a little out of the ordinary. We'll see if those ideas take shape as I've imagined them.

Valentines Day is Coming!!

Strawberry/Valentine Note cards
Set of 10 cards (2 designs) with envelopes - blank inside
 

Strawberry Bowl, 6x6" Oil on canvas
©2008, Helen Read
 SOLD

Just in time for Valentine's Day - note cards, which make a great gift as a set, or to send a special note! Or - as a year round reminder a small painting of luscious red strawberries in a heart shaped bowl! A memorable reminder of a happy day!

Just a start on the next thing!

Well, this is barely a start - but its been a slow start and thus awhile since I've posted anything. I'm not sitting idle, just so you know! This comes from a reference picture I took in the late fall of a bed of Hosta leaves. The thing that caught my attention was the amazing (and very abstract) shapes of the shadows on the leaf! I am hoping I can capture that and transmit how it captivated my attention to you!

Here's the start of it! It was such a beautiful display ..... even though the subject matter is completely familiar, it actually becomes a very abstract work!