Painting Lizards And Yellowstone Park Signing Dates

We interrupt this scheduled blog for an important announcement…

***JODY BERGSMA SIGNING AT YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK***

Please visit Jody on July 15th at the Canyon General Store from 12:00p-4:00p

and July 16th at the Fishing Bridge on Yellowstone Lake from 12:00p – 4:00pm

Jody In Yellowstone! Click here for park information.

***SEE YOU THERE***

Now…back to you Jody…in the studio

Dear Blog Friends,

What a great summer we are having in the N.W.!  Besides the fantastic

weather, I was able to experience a life long dream of creating my first

abstract oil painting.  This week we had our last class and put our

work, from the 9 classes, up on the wall for everyone to critique.

This was the moment of truth. I felt like I was five.

These paintings are a takeoff from my earlier watercolor abstracts, but now in oil.

One of Jody Bergsma's watercolor abstracts, "Island Sunset"

I will be jointly showing my early watercolor abstracts and oil abstracts at our fall show.  The weekend of October 3rd and 4th and the weekend of October 9th and 10th at the gallery..

Stay tuned for updates!

My daughter, Jessi Bergsma,  was also put on the hot seat!

Oil Paintings By Jessi Bergsma

This was our last photo...Painting on each other. Teacher: Barbara Sternburger, on the left.

Barbara Sternburger, is a very famous artist.  She shows her work once a year in Portland, OR and sells out everytime. We were privileged to have her as our teacher.

***

This week, I decided to tackle my painting of the lizard at Delicate Arch.

You can see that the reference material I was using was very small.

This is Delicate Arch in Moab and is my reference photo for the rock formation.

I worked the two photos into my composition and picked a color palette of browns and turquoise blue.

Repetition And Variation strike again. Remember, I'm only using a brown and blue palette.

Note the blue in the shadows of the rock match the blue used in the rest of the painting.

The lizard is also brown and blue.

I've introduced orange into the composition to create the needed contrasting opposite color.

At this stage, it's time to add shadows...

See the subtle, but important difference the thin shadow washes create?

Finally, I mix the white opaque watercolor for the details.

I used a very fine tipped brush for the last of piece of this painting puzzle.

Cleaning up the rough edges and adding highlights is very rewarding. It just makes the piece feel finished.

My art teacher said, "...You know when a painting is finished when it no longer needs you..." That is what these lines say to me.

The title, “It’s A Delicate World”

I close this week with warm wishes to time spent out experiencing the beauty of this world, but also time well spent amongst friends…

My Daughters' Mid-Wife Winnie MacNammara and friend Bobbi Vollendorf.

My dear friends: Sheila Goodwin, Francesca Tolchin and Douglas Tolchin from New York...my second favorite city next to Bellingham.

Next week, I’ll be sharing photos with you from Yellowstone National Park. If you are interested in more information about my signings there, please email Heather at wholesale@bergsma.com.

Have a gorgeous weekend,

Jody

~ by jodybergsma on July 10, 2009.