Aretha, Step 5

(portrait in progress, 4" x 4")

For this session I've been refining some details of Aretha's face and her clothing, and solidifying some of the background figures behind her.  More on Aretha tomorrow, and also on the gilding of my panel for the mother/daughter portrait.

Aretha, Step 3, plus a word about brushes & framing your miniature

Now working up the image over all a bit more, I've added the black velvet bands to the hat, so that I can start adding all those sparkling Swarovski crystals onto the black trim.  

Here is a line-up of my palette knives and brushes used for my miniature paintings.  Left-to-right:  palette knives for scraping paint off my palette, and for mixing pigments in jars, #20/0 Silver Ultra Mini Pointed round, #5/0 Escoda Kolinsky, 1/2" flat Cotman Windsor & Newton, #3/0 Umbria round Princeton synthetic, #0 and #1 Cotman blue-handled synthetics, #2 Princeton filbert, 2/0 Princeton shader, 3/0 Princeton round, 20/0 Princeton spotter, 15/0 Micron detailer, #000 & #00 (and up to #1 is also good) Series 7 miniature sable Windsor & Newtons, #000, #00, (#0 missing here), #1 regular Series 7 Windsor and Newton (I use these if I can't get the miniature Series 7, or in combo with them), Utrecht's (comparable to W & N series 7 for a lower price) Vermeer kolinsky sables series 221 in #000, #00, & #1.  The three brushes I use most often are:  3/0 Princeton Round, #000 series 7 miniature W & N sable, and the 15/0 Micron Detailer.

To frame your miniature, if you can't find a suitable photo frame, I recommend a framer who specializes in scaled down delicate frames, such as MiniArt Supply.  Proprieter Nancy Still is a talented miniature painter & MASF member.  She carries a wide assortment of tasteful ready-made frames, but also will make and ship a frame to fit your specifications for a reasonable price.

Aretha, Step 2

A little more progress on Aretha, starting here to establish a background and suggest people sitting behind her.  I'm working on the form and shadows of the hat, and will be adding detail to it.  I had hoped to get further, but it's late, so I'll do another post on this tomorrow and I'll add the brush information then too. 

"Angel Be Mine"

"Angel Be Mine," 1" x 13/16", egg tempera on vellum, $30 + free shipping (see 3/21/09 sale)

Here are the other two hearts I painted.  "Love You" and "Angel Be Mine" are each painted "in the spirit of miniature," which is a rule applied when something, such as a candy heart, is too small to begin with to portray at 1/6th scale.

Note:  I'm working on my portrait of Aretha and will be posting my progress late tonight, along with a photo and some information in answer to someone's question about the brushes I use for miniature painting.  Meanwhile, take a look at my latest drawing recently posted on my other blog, Grander Joy of Spirit in Portraiture.  

"Love You"

"Love You," 5/8" x 5/8", egg tempera on vellum

SOLD

Happy Valentine's Day!  Two more Valentine candy hearts coming tomorrow......

Two Bluebirds of Happiness, Version 1 and 2

"The Bluebird of Happiness II," 1" x 1", egg tempera on vellum, 

with hand-painted matt, for the Hipp family

my first "Bluebird of Happiness," 1" x 1", egg tempera on vellum with hand-painted vellum matt, Venetian glass mosaic frame

My friends, the Hipp family, moved out of my building a few weeks ago, and I was sad to lose them as neighbors, even though they will still be in Brooklyn.  The Hipp daughters loved my "Bluebird of Happiness" and the miniature painting I did of it, so I decided to surprise them with a housewarming gift for their new apartment by painting another one inch square painting of the bluebird of happiness, version 2.  I tried to make it as close to the first version as possible, but gave the second bluebird a different framing treatment.  I like both framing treatments for different reasons.  What do you think?

Just received an Art Blog Award from great artist & fellow art blogger, Akiko Watanabe.  Thanks Akiko!  Please check out her amazing animal paintings.  The recipient of this award is supposed to name 7 things he/she loves, so here are 7 of mine:

1.  I love God, and I feel a connection to God whenever I paint, and this is #1 for me. 

2.  photography - some I do for painting reference, but more recently I have 'gone pro' and included my photography in my professional galleries on my website.  Some of my photography combines with my love for travel.

3.  Icon-writing - I've taken lessons in Russian Byzantine icon painting  (called 'icon-writing'), and this is something I very much enjoy and look forward to doing more of.

4.  The view out my studio window - I look out on Brooklyn rooftops and the Williamsburg Bank building.  I've heard there is a falcon's nest on the top of it's tower.

5.  The food in my neighborhood -  great restaurants.  Akiko, come visit!  There is the local Food Co-op and Brooklyn Bread bakery, with the pastries of your dreams, cannolis, cream puffs, fruit tarts and delicacies.  I'll have to paint some of these.

6.  Park Slope -  the neighborhood where I live in Brooklyn, is a hopping place I've called home for 31 years.

7.  Water - I love the seashore and water environments, so my studio is LoveWater Studio.

I'm passing this Art Blog Award to five artists in the miniature painting and wildlife arenas:

Rachelle and Wes Siegrist - award-winning husband-wife team of miniaturists specializing in wildlife art.  Rachelle has also won awards for her miniature portraits

Bill Mundy - from Oxfordshire, U.K. one of the greatest portrait miniaturists, who shares wonderful travel stories

Dana Lee Thompson - check out Dana's website including miniature paintings of her specialties:  hounds and horses

Johnny Mullane - just recently discovered this wonderful wildlife painter's blog

"Pink Lady Pair"

(two views of one painting, enlarged, and approx. same-size)

"Pink Lady Pair" 1 3/16 inches x 15/16 inches, SOLD

egg tempera on vellum

I love the subtle pinks, oranges and pale yellows in Pink Lady apples.  They are fun to paint!

"Pink Star-Gazer Lily"

"Pink Star-Gazer Lily"  SOLD

(click on image for a larger view)

1 1/4 inches x  1 1/2 inches, egg tempera on vellum

Happy New Year!

"Basket of Red Flowers," 3" x 3", egg tempera, framed, (for purchase info., please inquire via the contact page of my website)

Happy New Year! I have several plans for the new year in progress. I am planning a trip to Florida for the MASF show opening in two weeks, I am working on rolling out a second blog, and I am developing a series of large paintings for a gallery show. Look for updates on these plans in future posts. While I am working on these things, here is an older miniature I am posting for sale.

"Avalon Madonna With Yellow Flowers"

1 7/8" x 2 5/8", egg tempera miniature on vellum, Available

I have softened and fine-tuned "Avalon Madonna With Yellow Flowers."  Here it is in it's frame, the last of five miniatures I sent to Weatherburn Gallery  for "It's a Small World---World Class Art in Miniature."  This very special miniature show in Naples, Florida runs from Nov. 29 through December 22, 2008. 

"The Bluebird of Happiness," All Decked Out

1" x 1  5/8", egg tempera miniature on vellum with artist hand-painted matt, Available

Remember the "The Bluebird of Happiness?" 

Here it is, revised and all decked out with a vellum matt I hand-painted,

in a small Venetian glass mosaic frame.  "Bluebird" will appear at the 

Weatherburn Gallery in Naples, Florida, along with the other miniature paintings I prepared for "It's a Small World----World Class Art in Miniature."  It's a very elegant venue, and I am thrilled to be part of this show.

Painting all those tiny dots on the vellum matt surrounding the bird, took practice to match them for size and shape at this tiny scale.  If you remember, the bluebird in this painting measures 3/8 of an inch.  The bluebird I painted it from was a small blown glass bluebird my mother gave me inscribed with 'Bluebird of Happiness' on it's bottom. 

Tomorrow I will post the last of the five paintings I sent to Weatherburn Gallery.

"Ship Flag, Star of India"

"Ship's U.S. Flag, Star of India," 7" x 9" egg tempera on panel, Available

Although a small work is not an authentic miniature, this small work painting is the first of two flag paintings I've been working on for "Almost Miniatures" at Francesca Anderson Fine Art in Lexington, MA., a show of both miniatures and small works.  I am doing one of each for this show.

Just an announcement also that in mid-Nov. I will be able to return to posting miniatures daily. Some of these will be selling via eBay auction, and others will be sold directly from this blog via 'buy it' buttons.   I'm grateful for your patience in the meantime while I complete my preparations for the two remaining shows I am submitting work for.  Over the next two weeks I will continue to post updates on my show progress.

Erlise is a Winner

"Erlise's Laugh"  3" x 3 13/16", egg tempera on panel, NFS

I was truly delighted to find out tonight that "Erlise's Laugh" won Second Prize in the category of 'Human Figure' in the Miniature Art Society of Florida 2009 Annual Show

It's my first win for this category.

"The Bluebird of Happiness"

"The Blue Bird of Happiness", 3/4" x 3/4"

egg tempera on vellum, (revised in a later post, 11/17)

Shown with a penny for scale, here is the tiniest Bluebird of Happiness I have ever painted.  

It's my smallest miniature ever.  The bird itself measures 3/8 of an inch in height.  

"Erlise's Laugh"

3" x 3  13/16", egg tempera on panel

NFS

Household member, Erlise, is much beloved by my sister's family.  I did this miniature as a tribute to Erlise for all that she has done for my sister and her family over the years.  Thank you Erlise! 

Erlise has the most delightful, musical laugh I have ever heard---hence the title, "Erlise's Laugh."  This portrait has been sent to the MASF competition, and will eventually go to my sister's family to either keep or give to Erlise.

"L'madone et l'Enfant de Remy de Saint" (Madonna & Child of Saint Remy)

4  3/16" x 5  13/16", egg tempera on Kelmscott vellum, 

(at Dunedin Fine Arts Center in Dunedin, Florida

for the MASF 2009 Annual International Miniature Art Show)

Here is the final version of "Madonna and Child of Saint Remy."  I titled this in French because I found my inspiration for this painting during my trip to France, when our guide gave us some time to explore Saint Remy by ourselves.  I took a walk on my own and discovered a small cathedral called St. Martin's, with many beautiful devotional statues.  It was very dark inside, and I couldn't believe I was alone in such a beautiful place.  I felt so blessed to find this life-sized Madonna and Child dressed in gold, and knew then that I would want to paint my own version.

This got sent out for the MASF show in a lovely gold frame.  Framing is part of the jurying process in this particular miniature competition.  Certain specifications and guidelines must be followed, and I'll discuss more about framing for competition in a future post.

Refining "Just Peachy"

"Just Peachy", 1  3/4" x 1  1/4", 

egg tempera on Kelmscott vellum

An earlier dailywork, "Just Peachy" has been refined and developed 

into a masterwork so that I can submit it as a still-life painting for the MASF show competition.  I have the perfect frame for it, and if time permits I hope to scan it framed to show you how it looks before I send it out.

"Two September Berries"

1" x 1", egg tempera on Kelmscott vellum

dailywork miniature - Happy Birthday Hilda!

My sister's mother-in-law, Hilda, and I have the same birthday on Sept. 7.  This year Hilda is visiting from Barcelona, and we were both treated to a wonderful birthday dinner at Sequoia on Pier 17 in Manhattan, which overlooks Brooklyn's skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge.  Today's miniature is Hilda's birthday present.

"Avalon Madonna of the Yellow Flowers"

1 3/4" x 2 5/8", egg tempera on Kelmscott vellum*

(see my note below on this English vellum painting surface)

(see my update on this painting in a later post on 11/18/08)

Every summer I spend some time at the seashore in Avalon, N.J.  Summer vacation in Avalon was a family tradition for my family and for my father's family, and it is a quiet place where I can truly restore my soul.  Last year while there, my mother and I discovered this wonderful Madonna statue which stands in front of Maris Stella Catholic Church.  

I feel pleased with the mood this painting evokes, and feel satisfied with it as a dailywork, but haven't decided yet if I'll keep going with this one for a competition, or sell it as a daily.  Will post more on it when I know for sure.  I plan at least two more miniatures of this Madonna because I enjoy her so much.

* More about Kelmscott vellum:  Because I teach about what I do when asked to give a lecture or workshop, one of my goals with this blog is to share information with others interested in learning more about miniature painting and egg tempera as a medium.  For painting smaller miniatures my surface of choice is a special variety of vellum obtainable in small sheets only from England.  (If you know of any U.S.A. resource, please email me.)  Kelmscott vellum is genuine calf skin vellum that is coated with some type of thin gesso coating that has a little dusty feel on top.  If you get the surface too wet when you paint, this gesso picks up a little bit, but overall, there is no finer or smoother surface that I know of for luminous miniature paintings, whether in egg tempera, or watercolor, or a combination of both.  Here is a link to my resource for Kelmscott vellum: Polymers Plus also features exquisite miniature frames for framing the miniatures in your collection.