Barely There

Barely There,  10 x 8" Oil on canvas 

©2009, Helen Read 

 

Good bye November ... and here is December!   This fall has been great ~ so much warmer than usual right into the late fall.  Now, though, the cold weather is upon us. 
Most of the trees look just as this one - only a couple leaves still clinging to the tree branches. 

 

Candy!

There's a theme here.... it is soon becoming the time of year that my high school drawing students will do a still life and I usually choose the subject matter of  -  candy!   There aren't many protests to why they have to draw that... although there are plenty of challenges!   Here are a few of the examples I show them.  These are all done in colored pencil on black paper.  They get to work with ideas of composition, they learn how to portray the candies and mix colors as if they were doing a painting.  They also learn the value of shadows in a composition.   All in all, its a lot of fun - and I enjoy the challenge as well - teaching them to see what's really there!

November Tree

November Tree, 8 x 6" Oil pastel on paper 

©2010, Helen Read 

 

I love pastel.  The layering and the colors are always so intriguing! Here I've given a "feel" for the season.  Can you hear the rattling of the dried leavesin the wind?  Maybe you can hear the swish of the tall and dried grass as well. As things dry out and the weather turns cool, this is what we see in November!

Abstract ~ untitled

untitled abstract, 30 x 22" Acrylic on Paper 

©2010, Helen Read 

The work is finally finished on this abstract.  I made my last dots and circles tonight! 

 Because of its size, I wondered if I would ever finish the multiple layers of color and circles. 

My thoughts on this go back to the book of Genesis. 

One of the first verses speaks of the Spirit of God hovering over the earth which was dark, unformed, and void. I wonder, what would that beautiful, dancing Spirit look like, if in fact it could be depicted? 

It seems to me it would be full of light and color.  Full of energy and dynamic movement. 

Perhaps quite playful and whimsical.  Certainly full of beauty, dispelling the darkness ~
filling the void with breath, life, and even joy. 

What you cannot see readily from my photo is that I've used metallics and perlescent and interference paints along with the other colors.  I wanted to achieve a luminescence in what I painted. 

I wanted to give a sense of lyricism and poetry to this work.  Even in trying to portray these abstract thoughts, I'm quite sure I haven't come close!  Nevertheless - these are my thoughts behind the painting.

Fruits of the Spirit Note Cards

Set of 8 (4 designs) note cards with envelopes

©Helen Read 
___________________ 
A Great Gift Idea!

These cards measure 5.5 x 4.25" and feature the
Fruits of the Spirit from Scripture with the
message: A Tree is Known by its Fruit.
The fruit paintings are Helen's original art work.

 

 

  

The work continues......

My work has continued on this abstract.   It is nearing it finish, but not yet quite there.  This is a larger painting - approximately 32 x 22 -  so taking a photo of it to see it a little more clearly is a help.  As you can see, it is painted entirely with small dots in Golden acrylics.   The effect is interesting, I think.    Stay posted for more to come!  

Happy November!

November Gathering,  8x8" Oil on canvas

©2007, Helen Read 

Happy November!  Its hard to believe we are at this point in autumn! 

 

Work in progress - abstract

After a week or so of a lot of internet problems - I'm finally able to get online and stay there for awhile (I think).  So - I'm posting the beginning of a larger abstract on which I'm working.  This is the bare beginning - it is acrylic on paper - and is composed of many many dots.    I will keep updating this as it progresses!   Its intriguing - and a times - it feels like it may never get finished!  

Free Gift with purchase of Kitchen Art - Oct & Nov

A selection of available small kitchen art paintings

For the months of October and November, with each purchase of a small kitchen art painting, receive a Free Gift!   That's right!  The free gift is a print (see below) of a bird's nest with 3 blue eggs.  It is matted and ready to frame, measuring 8x10" (outside dimension of the mat).  

Nest Eggs, 5x7" print, matted in 8x10" mat, 

ready to frame.

Something New!! Silent Auction now through Oct 30, 2010

Hollyhock Stalks,  8x8" Oil on canvas
©2008, Helen Read 

Framing is optional - deep canvas is painted around the sides

SOLD

Now is a great opportunity to own an original oil painting ~ a beautiful rendition of

an old fashioned flower - the hollyhock. 

Place your bid today!  Check back soon!

Small Watercolor Paintings - all under $20.00!

Here is a great opportunity to own an original watercolor/mixed media painting 
 

Each of these is hand painted, dated and signed.
Each is ready to mat and frame and hang in your home! 
What a great gift idea ... for yourself or

for someone you know! 

 

email Helen

Unfolding ....

Unfolding,  8x8" graphite on clayboard

©2010, Helen Read 

 

This is one of the things I've been working on in the last few weeks.  There is something so interesting in the way a rose is arranged ... and as it unfolds revealing more and more of itself, it is almost like a metaphor for life!      I enjoy working with graphite ~ in its time consuming way.  And I especially enjoy working with graphite on clayboard.  

Old Favorites - Yellow Halo

Yellow Halo, 7.5 x 11" watercolor on paper
©2008, Helen C Read

Another busy, busy weekend has arrived ... so, since I have several things in progress, but new finished, I'm posting an old favorite!  

 

Summer 2010 in the Studio - a retrospect

       Fall is here.  I can feel it in the air - its much cooler now, and the humidity is gone.  So, it seems a good time to look back and see what I accomplished this summer.   It might have been a lot more work, but balancing this with weeks out of town in various places of the country, and taking a graduate class, and spending important time with my family - this seems like a reasonable amount of work to have accomplished.    

     Now that fall is here, I hope to be able to work consistently - though it will be balanced with a full time job as a high school teacher, and staying busy with various things at my church, and friendships that have an important place in my life, and the daily-ness of life!