Yesterday afternoon, I decided to jump in and give oil painting a try. I printed out several photos from my photo library – landscapes I thought might work – set up my little studio on the kitchen table, and jumped in.
It ain’t easy and I have much to learn.
But I’m fairly pleased with the result, considering that I have never painted in this form. Furniture for the dollhouse? Yes. Furniture for my real house? Yes. But that’s it.
I’m forcing myself share this process as I explore this entirely new world. I posted this on IG as well.
This is a scene in the English countryside, from a photo taken when Don and I were on the train heading to Edinburgh.
Don, who is my biggest supporter, was raving about it. I think he had no idea what I might or might not come up with! He thinks I can do anything, God bless him.
I didn’t know it, but he was sneaking around taking photos of me while I was painting.
I am aware that my palette is messy. Other painters seem to be much more organized than I was this first time out! I changed some elements of the photo, and not necessarily on purpose. I was simply allowing myself to be and discover.
The studio annex – in the kitchen. The kitchen gets the best light in the house. Our studio upstairs doesn’t really get any good light until late in the afternoon. Luckily, Don loves seeing creative works-in-progress in the kitchen. I don’t know if you remember, but my very first dollhouse rehab took place entirely in this kitchen.
I stashed some of my supplies in the old soda crate. If this new endeavor sticks, I’ll buy a tabletop easel, but for now, this little box/easel seems to work fine.
And, at the end of the day as we were doing the dinner dishes, who should appear but Alan, our UPS driver, with a big box containing my dad’s paintbox! It’s musty smelling and one of the compartments has a bottle of linseed oil that leaked decades ago and is now a permanent part of the box. I’m thrilled it’s here. I’ll take some photos of it today. It was too dark last night.
Okay. I have to add some top soil, sow some seeds, water the indoor plants, and do some weeding. That involves going to the shed, which is right next to the robin’s nest, and the protective dad keeps yelling at us and chases us all the way back to the house.
Stay safe.
Happy Wednesday.
Wow! You captured the rolling hills beautifully. And you said you were nervous about this endeavor — Ha! You obviously have real talent. Love the piece. ♥
Thank you, Brooke!
Stay safe.
This is beautiful! Well done Claudia! Great pics Don! I always wanted to do watercolor, but kept getting in my own head. One day my lovely husband gave me a small collection of supplies he and a young lady at the art store picked out for me, and a certificate to attend a class at the art center. It was a life changer for me. A woman sat next to me . She was 82. Her first try at watercolor as well. It was the best gift I have ever received from him. I pushed him in return to do his guitar purchase and learning. We aren’t the best at our chosen arts, but I would agree we are very happy indeed. Your dad is a wonderful inspiration and I can’t wait for you to discover a new part of yourself in this art form.
Verna
Thank you Verna. Don did the same sort of thing when I expressed a desire (years ago) to quilt. He bought basic supplies and registered me for a class. I love that you and your husband are supporting each other as you continue to learn and grow.
Stay safe, Verna!
Beautiful!! To look at this, I would not have thought this was your first attempt. You are very
talented. Look forward to seeing your progress.
Marion
Oh, thank you so much, Marion!
Stay safe.
I think the painting is very good, especially for a first attempt. I was shocked at how small it is. I expected it to be a much bigger.
I hope you are pleased with it. You certainly have some talent.
I hope you will continue to share. I look forward to seeing your progress.
Stay safe
Starting out small is a good idea. Taking on a large canvas is (in my opinion) a recipe for disaster! At least, until I feel more confident.
Stay safe, Marilyn!
Oh, Brava!!! I knew you could do it! Beautiful!!💐💐💐
That means a lot coming from you, Shanna.
Thank you.
Stay safe.
Wow! I can’t believe that this is your first attempt! It is a great beginning! I like the patchwork of fields across the hills. You will have to add more walls to your home as Don will want to frame them all! :)
Because as it is, we have no available wall space!
Thanks, Ellen.
Stay safe.
I forgot to add – your Dad would be so pleased!
xoxo
claudia, that is a wonderful painting!!! it is obvious that your father shared with you his talent for painting … there’s no way i would guess that to be a first attempt at painting. carry on and have fun!
i am pleased for you to now have your father’s paint box. a treasure and source of inspiration, i am sure!
“i was simply allowing myself to be and discover” … what a great attitude about a new endeavor or philosophy for living. i’m going to borrow your wise words; thank you!
thanks, too, for sharing the photos and thanks to don for taking them. glad you two have each other.
my sister has the double-easel that our parents gave her, our brother and me when we were in early grade school. love it and especially them. sadly, i have no room for an easel right now so i paint things flat on my desk … either way, i love it. art (looking at it and especially making it) is a huge doorway for me and brings freedom. may it be so for you.
hope you are having a good day.
kathy in iowa
ps ..
meant to add that i’m sure your father is pleased and proud of you and your first “attempt”.
also that I always like seeing the combination of your chalkboard and don’s puppets on that pretty aqua peg rail. and that ‘orange/apple tree” bowl of goodness. add in seeing someone’s artistic works in progress and it’s all good, inspiring! thanks again.
kathy in iowa
Thank you, Kathy!
xo
You can buy a desktop easel, Kathy. They work well!
Thanks so much!
Stay safe.
You have really captured a feel of the rolling hills and shades of greens – congratulations. As a very very amateur watercolorist, I find skies very challenging – thinking of doing a series of just sky to see if I can get more comfortable with it! Oils are so different. Congratulations on striking out.
ceci
Thank you, Ceci.
I am pre-amateur! Not even amateur yet!
Stay safe.
That’s so good, Claudia. Honestly, as soon as I looked at it before I scrolled down to read your words as I am viewing on a Kindle Fire tablet, I thought that looks like English fields and hedgerows!
Happy Wednesday
Oh good! So nice to know it looked like the English countryside!
Thank you, Dee Dee.
Stay safe!
Wow Claudia, that is a beautiful little painting! Your very talented. Hard to believe this is your first time painting. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you, April!
Much appreciated.
Stay safe.
Claudia, what a great first time painting. Glad you discovered another wonderful talent you have found in yourself. Wish Don had a “real studio” to hang your paintings in. We all are expecting you to show more of your painting.
Thanks so much, Deb!
I appreciate your thoughts. Stay safe!
First painting? Claudia, that is wonderful! When the weather is good, you will also have your beautiful yard for studio/subject matter. I’ve just begun drawing and find it so absorbing; time just disappears.
It is absorbing, isn’t it? Thank goodness for things that capture our imaginations and creativity!
Thanks, Polly.
Stay safe.
Wow! Just – Wow. New adventuring. Wonderful beginning. So glad Don captured these moments so we could all witness this beginning. Oils – Wow!
They’re definitely something to get used to! Watching my dad and actually doing it are two entirely different things!
Thanks, Martha.
Stay safe.
I’m really impressed Claudia. Your first attempt is quite good. You obviously got your dad’s talent…lucky you. I was surprised at the size of the canvass…from that first pic I had imagined a larger painting.
I’ll be working outside today as well. It’s still going to be cooler than I like for tonight, so planting will have to wait until tomorrow. Enjoy your day! ;)
It’s cool here tonight, but since I was just sowing seeds, all should be well. It’s also not going down to freezing, so there’s that.
Stay safe, Donna.
Really lovely. I’m glad Don took those photos—I had no idea of scale. I agree that larger might have been intimidating just by sheer size but the smaller canvas brings its own challenges. You have a good eye which is probably the most important—technique can be learned. Thanks for sharing the final painting. Hope this is as inspiring to you as it is to us. Brava.
Oh, thank you, Becky! It’s a first step. I didn’t look on it as anything but an afternoon project. I’m looking forward to doing more in the coming days.
xoxo
Stay safe.
i agree with Don, you can do anything! Its quite good for a first attempt. I am so happy you enjoyed the process. I know my watercolors are not great but they bring me joy. Hugs!
As long as this makes me happy, I’ll do it. I’m not out to be a great painter. Just to explore something new!
Stay safe, Linda.
Wow, this is good, but can I give you a bit of advice? Squint your eyes at your photos to really see the depth of the light opposed to the shadows. Let me know if this helps. Lovzies- dezi in Arizona
Probably too early for any suggestions, to be honest. I’m just playing.
Stay safe.
Claudia, You are better than you think. Really, your dad’s talent has manifested in you. If this really is your first oil painting, you have real talent gf! It’s also possible your dad’s presence is giving you inspiration. Like the movie, “Always”. I believe it’s possible. ❤️🖌🎨
Thank you!
You are so brave!! What a wonderful inaugural attempt! I am so impressed. I would be too afraid to even try.
We also worked out in the yard most of the day today. So much to do! Finally no frost warning for tonite. Yay! Hope you had a good day. Take care.
I worked outside today and I’m tired! But I got the seeds in the ground. Next up will be mulching and then I should be finished for a while with garden duties, except for watering, of course.
Thanks so much, Chris.
Stay safe.
I loved seeing it on Instagram and was so impressed. What a first!
You have the perfect attitude of exploration and discovery on your art journey. It frees you to enjoy the journey rather than be obsessed with the destination. I think that leads to real growth and skill-building.
Bless Don for his candid photography–I think we all enjoyed that peek into your maiden voyage into oil painting!
Don’t you love the birdsong and nestmaking this time of year? We have a pair of Stellar’s Jays that are hanging out in our yard–absolutely fearless and friendly–so very fun!
I love hearing birdsong every day and yes to nest making.
We fell in love with Stellar’s Jays when we were camping one year near Lake Arrowhead. In fact we bought a tile with a hand painted jay on it when we were in Flagstaff. It sits on our bookshelves.
Thanks so much, Roxie.
Stay safe!
Claudia, congratulations! For a first attempt, what a fantastic job; I immediately noticed the hedgerows before I even started to read your post. Oil painting is obviously going to be another successful endeavor for you and I hope you get WADS of enjoyment out of it. Show us a photo of your dad’s paint box sometime! (Perhaps after the box has set out and been open for a time, it’ll lose the musty smell; it’s a thing to be used again, no longer shut away! Can’t you just feel your father’s smile, Claudia?)
Just want to say, too, that I love Don’s enthusiasm for new things you try; having his love and encouragement must just be a tremendous thing for you. (And I know it’s mutual; you two have such a good, healthy marriage.) As a reader here, it’s not hard to sense his pride of you, never jealousy. There’s no competition between you; only support.
As for another loving couple, may I share this? When my husband’s old friend came to visit on Monday, the two of them had a few somewhat-intense discussions (intense as in honest, trusting, like ‘naked’ and heartfelt exchanges that seem to be easier when we get older [are we more brave?]) in between all the lighter talk. The friend (age 69) candidly revealed that after he got back from Vietnam in his early 20s, even though he was spared the fighting over there and was just doing ‘war cleanup’ (a long explanation of blowing up American planes and tanks which had been damaged on the battlefields; I guess the military didn’t want to leave anything like that behind), he descended into significant alcoholism once he got back to the U.S. and was honorably discharged from the army.
One time he blacked out on the street ‘back home’, only to lay there all night long in front of a bar, stumbling the next morning into a small cafe next door. The young waitress said, “I’ve been watching you for awhile. You seem like such a fun and nice guy, but you need to get help for yourself. Here’s an aspirin; you’re going to need it.” And then she served him a cup of hot, strong, black coffee.
She was smitten as was he, but her reluctance to further things and marry him was because of his drinking problem. He had to choose: Her, and a life they could enjoy together. Or alcohol. From the day they got married 45 years ago (and five kids later with a wealth of grandkids), he never drank another drop. (And he admitted to us that he was a fall-down drunk; it was that bad for him, back in the day.) He still goes to AA meetings which he finds very interesting and helpful (and necessary), with soulful testimonies of a lot of incredible people.
But he said the love of a good woman who was invested in him, and who had faith in him, who believed in him when he couldn’t believe in himself, who knew he could have purpose when he couldn’t find his purpose, has been everything for his life, despite a highly-successful career and other really-good opportunities which have come his way. He had nothing but praise for his wife, his partner; speaking of her various roles and detailing her varied interests (not effusively but in just this matter-of-fact, shining way I can’t describe). It wasn’t like weepy gratitude from him (although she certainly helped ‘save’ him, no?); it was deepest admiration for this person he gets the privilege of sharing his life with, the two of them continuing to always grow individually and as a couple, from their young adulthood to now, as retirees.
Anyway, as he spoke to us, I did have a flash of you and Don, Claudia; because you two also have that incredible bond and regard for each other. That profound human respect. I’ve read you enough here, for enough years, to be able to say that with ‘proof’!
I enjoyed hearing this man’s story and meeting him. I felt like I was included in an important conversation. That I learned stuff. It’s nice to meet somebody new once in awhile. He’s a good person who has, as my husband said (and that he was this way even when he was age 14), a very good heart. Someone good to know. I’m so glad my husband reconnected with him after all these years!
A wonderful story, Vicki. I loved it.
Don has been sober for over 40 years and he was a blackout drunk. He was also very young. When he finally called someone at AA, and walked in the door of a meeting in Omaha (where he was living at the time) his life was changed forever. He has been going to meetings for over 40 years, sponsors people, and he swears by AA. Frankly, it was a sort of relief for me when I heard he was sober. As the child of an alcoholic who doesn’t drink, though I did when I was younger, I realized that booze on his breath – or mine – was not going to be an issue. I’ll tell you, I admire him more than I can say. He really helps people. I’m proud of his commitment to sobriety. As he says, without it, he wouldn’t have had a career and he wouldn’t have had me.
Bravo to that wonderful couple!
xo
You just made chills on my arm when reading your response. It takes uncommon courage to overcome addiction. “Commitment to sobriety” as you say; the inner strength for that is … amazing. But we know Don is another man with heart and soul. A thinker. Wow.
An aside: My husband’s friend is from Nebraska. He still lives on the family farm where his ancestors tilled the soil for 150 years (sugar beets in 2021). Years have been spent renovating/restoring (preserving) his grandmother’s 3500sqft farmhouse (pretty-big house in its current ‘version’ from 1914 [Craftsman elements] although it was originally built in the late 1800s [so, it’s a blend as many old houses can be {when they were added onto over the decades/century}]), with a dedication to keeping it era-appropriate. (I’ve seen photos; he’s got some ‘to-die-for’ family antiques in that home!) This man appears to do things in his life so purposefully and with a thoughtfulness (and sort of humble wholesomeness [I imagine he doesn’t have one arrogant bone in his body; he’s very ‘earnest’ and seems generous {the kind of person who would definitely give you the shirt off his back}]), indeed reminiscent of your husband, Claudia. There was nothing ‘corny’ about this guy’s personality or demeanor. He could be really serious yet he was also light-hearted/fun.
(Well, enough of me and our friend. Anyway, small world.)
xoxo
I took some photos of it today and I’ll share it with you tomorrow.
I sure hope he’s smiling!
Thanks so much, Vicki.
Stay safe!
Gifted girl…love it…
Thank you, Brenda!
Stay safe.
I love your painting! Soon you will be taking commissions. Do you think you might so little painting for your dollhouses? And your feisty, little robin made me smile!
I might do that when I get a little more comfortable with painting, Tana.
Thank you!
Stay safe.
Of course a palette is messy! Why shouldn’t it be? Part of the magic of painting is mixing the colors and they don’t stay in neat blobs. Pretty soon you are mixing from your mixes. (Honestly, the day you start worrying about your palette being neat is the day you will take away from the creative energy in painting — and the many opportunities to discover the magic of color mixing!) I think it looks terrific. You got the light/shading which I find incredibly difficult. I can’t remember if you said if you had ever painted before, but whether you have or haven’t, I’m quite impressed!
Oh good! Validation of my unorganized palette from an artist! Thank you, Jeanie.
I’ve never painted before.
Thank you so much.
Stay safe.
Well, all I can say to that admission is — Wow. You either subconsciously absorbed a great deal or it’s just “in” you. Either way — bravo. I know you had the sense of art and design from the houses, but sometimes translating that to a different medium isn’t successful. If this is your very first attempt, I cannot wait to see what you do next.
Oh, thank you, Jeanie. That means a lot coming from a painter.
Stay safe.
Well done!! Both in your choice of the image, your interpretation and your color sense. I think your first painting, shows a level of skill of someone who has been painting for months and months, or more. Really looking forward to following your artistic journey. No doubt, your father is looking down with love and pride.
Thank you so much, Jay!
Stay safe.