Whewww... these last few months have been super busy! I'd been preparing for a workshop in Chicago, which went well. I've traveled out of town, done a commission and several more paintings. But I haven't been posting here. :( But, I am now!
This one is just
shipped out - Sunflower Trio - oil on panel. It's framed version (which
always finishes a painting off beautifully) is shown below... same
painting, but the lighting is a bit different in the framing.
I love them!
I've been preparing for an upcoming watercolor workshop I'll be teaching in Chicago.
These are the 2 painting that participants will receive materials and instruction to complete.
Preparing has been intensive, but I think it will be a fun day.
Lilacs in a Watering Can - 5x7" watercolor on paper
and
Bluebells in the Woods - 5x7" watercolor on paper
Sunflowers! They do seem to dance and sway in the summer sunlight! They are the icon of summertime! I love the deep golden color and the way they follow the light! This watercolor painting is matted in white, and it has an option for framing.
Please visit my website for pricing, purchase link, and frame options.
(Domestic shipping is included, IL residents please add 8% sales tax.)
Swedish Birches, matted in white to fit a 11x14" frame
oil pastel painting on illustration board
©Helen Read
Unframed option - comes matted and ready to frame
Domestic shipping is included, IL residents please add 8% sales tax.
Please visit this link for all the details, pricing, and framing option.
Oil pastel is a beautiful medium for painting! It's blendable, yet it shows expressive stroke marks.
This pastoral scene captures a Swedish countryside with a stand of young birches and wispy grasses in the foreground. Softly muted colors and a sense of minimalism that so is often expressed in Scandinavian design is exactly what this painting speaks to the viewer!
It is shipped either ready to frame in a standard 11x14" frame, or framed in a simply beautiful wooden frame (1" deep x 3/4" across the face).
Summer Cathedral
20x16" oil on canvas
(ready to frame - or - with a frame option)
©Helen Read
Please visit here for more details about this painting!
Color.... I seem to always be chasing more interesting color combinations and how they relate to one another. I'm working with oil pastels to try some new combinations... to see the atmosphere they create. In this experiment - I was working with warm and cool combinations - juxtaposed next to one another... I like the sense mystery that has resulted.
If you look closely, there are subtle juxtapositions - warm colors that have a leaning toward cool. Cool colors that learn toward warm. And also, value shifts that are intriguing.
Experimenting and working with known variables in a new way is an important part of discovery.
What's next for this?? Possibly a full sized oil painting will come from
these color combinations.
Magical, don't you think? Sunlight filters through leaves of golden green, floating on a sea of blue.
To me, there is magic in the woods! And bluebells add their glory!
What a gift given to the one who will stop and see!
Ready to frame
(domestic shipping included - IL residents please add 8% sales tax)
Peonies and Lavender, 5x7" watercolor on paper
matted in white and ready to put into a 8x10" frame
©2021 Helen Read
(Domestic Shipping is included,
IL residents please add 8% sales tax)
Please visit my website for details, pricing, and framing option for this painting.
Floral in Blue Jar,
7x5" watercolor on paper
matted in white and ready for a 8x10" frame
©2021 Helen Read
(domestic shipping included,
IL residents please add 8% sales tax)
Floral in a Blue Jar was
done with a combination of watercolor and ink. The ink and soft colors create the sense
of a charming bygone era. The summery colors are offset by the
transparent blue jar, with some shadow notes of lavender. This lovely still life is ready to slip into a frame and hang!
