Georgia Man

"Georgia Man" 

6x8 oil on canvas

Carol Horzempa

In Karin Jurick’s latest DSFDF challenge, she posted a reference photo of a man at the Perry, Georgia State Fair. I chose to crop the photo to what interested me the most and also decided to set a limit on my painting time. Testing myself to see how fast I could paint this challenge, I surprised myself by finishing this portrait in 2 1/2 hours. I have a habit of measuring distance between shapes with the handle of my paintbrush and thumb which really speeds the process and something Karin suggested on this challenge.

I painted over a bright orange acrylic undertone, which can be seen poking through throughout the painting. I used a touch of my favorite Rembrandt Transparent Oxide Red in the skin tones along with a mixture of Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow Medium, and Cobalt Blue plus Titanium White.

There are several things I could have changed to get it “just right” but this time I decided to leave it and shoot for speed and fresh brushstrokes. I think this was the most fun I had of all Karin's challenges!

UPDATE: I just reread Karin's instructions and realize the focus of this challenge was suppose to be on the whole figure...oops!

Day Watch

"Day Watch" 
 6.5 x 9 oil on canvas
Carol Horzempa

This is my submission for the DSFDF challenge. Karin Jurick posted a reference photo of what seems to be a lifeguard on duty in a rowboat on a Lake Michigan beach.

This was by far the hardest challenge for me so far. I enjoyed painting the figure and boat but the water, which I thought would be the easiest part turned out to be my biggest challenge. I learned a lot though and would like to try painting a boat scene again.

Gatekeeper

"Gatekeeper"
oil on canvas
5.5X6.75
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I planted these peonies next to my gate years ago for the main purpose of painting them someday. They don’t get much sun so they are very tall reaching every which way for the sun and practically blocking entrance to the gate. I am sure glad I took photos of them before a hailstorm. Now with the sweltering heat the poor things are faded and drooping over.

I made one attempt years ago to paint these flowers and so this is my second try. I think painting flowers has got to be the biggest challenge for me so far but I did enjoy painting the pickets on the gate.

After spending way to much time on this one, I kept wondering if it pays to work on a painting that seems doomed for the reject pile. This morning I decided to give it one more try with a fresh eye. I realized it only need a little tweaking and then called it finished. I’m hoping that I can apply what I learned and paint more someday.

Vegetable Medley

"Vegetable Medley" 
6x8 oil on canvas
NFS

This painting is my interpretation of Karin Jurick’s reference photo for the DSFDF challenge. I haven’t been working in oils for several months since I got sidetracked with pastels. It was hard getting back to oil painting and after several tries I decided to try again on canvas instead of a gessoed panel. I also was surprised to find that I didn’t forget how to paint and actually enjoyed this challenge!

Pennsylvania Landscape

"Pennsylvania Landscape"

pastel on sabretooth sandpaper
9x5
NFS

I can’t believe I’m still doing pastels! For days I kept seeing Karin Jurick’s black and white photo of a Pennsylvania landscape in colorful pastels. I found an old sheet of sandpaper for pastels that was laying in a drawer for at least 15 years so I decided to put it to good use. I also took liberty in cropping the photo drastically so I could concentrate on the trees and fields.

For Karin's DSFDF Challenge I understand we were to “invent colors” and “pay attention to how those colors marry with each other.” After poring over my favorite Kevin Macpherson’s book on Landscape Painting – Inside & Out, I found myself using colors I never would have considered. After I had the values down I put the book and photo away.


I really had fun inventing colors and drawing on my memory of Wisconsin landscapes I see so often while driving through the countryside. Even though my colors are not characteristic of Pennsylvania farmland and look more like the southwest I feel I learned a lot from this challenge.

Morning Rush Hour

"Morning Rush Hour"
pastel on paper
7.5x10.5

I decided to do Karin Jurick's latest DSFDF challenge in soft pastel on Canson MI-Teintes pastel paper. Cityscapes are a real stretch for me, especially doing tall buildings in soft pastel. I almost gave up until I started working on the traffic and taxis...my first attempt at drawing cars. I tried to get the feeling of depth with my values. I had a little fun with the people mixed in with traffic and all the spots of color and shapes fading off into the distant.


I used pastel pencils for some of the detail and Rembrandt and Schmincke soft pastels for every thing else. I will definitely be looking forward to getting back to oils in my next challenge!

Diana's Love for Her Hound

"Diana's Love for Her Hound"
     pastel drawing on paper
                  NFS

This is my submission for Karin Jurick’s DSFDF Challenge. We were asked to draw or paint an entire marble sculpture of goddess Diana and her hound. I decided to put away my paints for a while and work on my drawing skills. Karin suggested taking our time working on the three dimensional qualities, details, weight and elegance of the sculpture. My focus was also to capture Diana's loving gaze at her hound as he licked her thigh.

After reams of practice drawings with vine charcoal, one even upside down and backwards, I finally felt confident enough for the final drawing without having to use a grid. The drawing was sketchy so I could correct as I went along, while continuing to work on values, form, and edges at the same time.

I decided to do my drawing on Canson Mi-Teintes pastel paper using the smooth side. I used Stabilo CarbOthello Pastel Pencils that are soft enough for glazing and firm enough to sharpen in an electric pencil sharpener to keep their points sharp for detail.

My experience of working in hard and soft pastel years ago while studying under the guidance of the late James C. Prohl, classical realist painter and teacher has been a big help in this challenge. I never thought I could go back to doing such detailed work again or even have the patience. Thanks to Karin Jurick, she has again come up with a great challenge that stretches my skill further than I thought I could go. Be sure too check the Different Strokes from Different Folks blog for the many wonderful versions of Diana and her hound.

Drawing of Cole

Graphite on Strathmore paper 

4x5

Last night I decided to see how long it would take to draw this darling boy named Cole. I used the photo from James Parker's "Window to the Words" blog. Check his blog here, he posted this one on the first of the month and artists have the whole month to submit a painting or drawing. I'm not sure yet if I will work this up into a painting and submit it to his blog...I just wanted to test myself to see how long it would take me to draw it.

I am realizing now why it takes me so long to paint. Not only is it a challenge for me to mix the right colors as I start a painting but getting a good drawing down with correct proportions is important too. The only way I can achieve this is to draw daily even if it's only a 5 minute sketch. It took me over an hour to do this...I hope I can speed up and improve more on my proportions as I keep drawing daily.

Back to Drawing

I decided to take the advice Karen Jurick gave on her Different Strokes from Different Folks blog. She said, “For anyone out there who wants to to be a better painter - it has to start with being a good drawer.” So that is what I have been doing...struggling with my drawing of a marble sculpture and sketching whenever I can.

These sketches were done in my Strathmore 6.25 x 8.5 sketchpad. I used PITT Graphite Pure pencils by Faber-Castell. I really love these pencils because they are solid graphite, no wood but they can break if you drop them on a hard surface. You can get some nice darks with the 2 and 3 B but I used mostly the HB on these two sketches. This is a good time of the year to draw trees here in Wisconsin, they are just starting to bud.The 2nd sketch is Dick, my better half who is always a willing subject while watching cable news in the evening.

A Passion for Painting Award

Now that I’m back from Florida’s sun and sandy beaches, I’m ready to start painting again. First though I want to thank Ann Marie Propts who passed this “Passion for Painting Award” on to me while I was gone. Ann Marie has some wonderful paintings of pets, people and cityscapes that are fresh and alive with color so be sure to check them out on her blog and also her latest submission to DSFDF.

Rules are as follows:

List seven things that you love
Put a link to the artist who tagged you for this honor
Pass the honor on to seven artists you feel should receive the recognition
Let them know they received this award

Seven things I LOVE (in no particular order)

- Four legged pals; Kiki, Dorie, & Shawna
- Two legged ones; spouse, kids, grandkids & my sibs of course
- Wisconsin Swiss Cheese (okay, so I’m a cheese head)
- My pochade box (skillfully crafted by spouse)
- Painting and thinking about painting
- Swimming in Lake Superior on hot summer days
- Omanhene Hot Cocoa on cold winter nights

Here is my list of artists I follow that have been a real source of inspiration to me in their work habits, level of skill and passion they show in their paintings.

Frank A. Edwards
Holly Zemak
Becky Joy
Cathleen Rehfeld
Dana Cooper
Todd Smith
Charlene Brown

Sandpiper Watching

"Sandpiper Watching"

6x8 oil on wood panel

I'm in the middle of packing for a vacation down south to Florida. I decided to take time out and see if I could do a seascape from Karin Juirick's photo in the DSFDF Challenge. This is a bit of a stretch for me since I rarely paint figures in my oil paintings or the seashore. Now I can’t wait to do some plain air painting down in the Florida Keys.

This the most fun I had in Karin’s challenge because I loved painting with a beautiful tube of Winsor & Newton Manganese Blue Hue oil paint which hadn't been opened in years. I also realized that the little girl who I made to look younger started looking more and more like my daughter Carrie when she was a child.

Now back to packing for a couple weeks of lying on the beach in the sun and a littler sandpiper watching after a long cold winter. Maybe I will even get a chance to paint some seascapes!

Tracy's Tipi

"Tracy's Tipi"

oil  on Canvas

6x8

Last week I went plein air painting again at Kettle Moraine State Forest. While walking along the fence I was surprised to see a huge tipi in a clearing on the other side of the fence. I decided right then to sit down with my pochade box and paint what I saw. I didn’t have a clear view since there were so many bushes and I also had to look through the fence but could see good enough to capture the scene.

When I was halfway through my painting a very friendly woman named Tracy who owns the property came over to see what I was doing. She invited me to see her tipi closeup and walk inside to see the fire ring. She also said I could come back and paint on her property. I am really looking forward to painting when her apple orchard starts blooming.

I finished this painting in my studio from a photo and probably spent way too much time on it. My next challenge is to look for a simple scene that I can finish on location. I hope to do that while on a camping trip in Florida during the first two weeks of April.

That Darn Cat!

"That Darn Cat"

oil on canvas

This is my contribution to Karin Jurick’s DSFDF Challenge. Sometimes I like to tell a story with my paintings. Karin strongly suggested that we follow our intuitions on this challenge so I allowed my illustration background to come though on this project.

This is what I imagine would happen if I put a dish of sushi with crabmeat and soy sauce on my kitchen counter. My "counter kitty" Dorie loves anything with fish and I recently found out she likes soy sauce too.

The hardest thing to paint was her tongue licking up soy sauce and getting the right color. I found an old tube of Rose Madder made just the right pink I was looking for. Now I think it would be fun to paint Dorie licking up milk.

Ottawa Dog Trail

"Ottawa Dog Trail"

oil on canvas

6x8

The weather was nice enough to do some Plein Air Painting yesterday. Being a novice at this I forgot to take off my sunglasses and didn’t notice it until I was almost done. I decided to keep painting that way and see what it will look like later. At least it was easier on the eyes this way. I was surprised the colors looked alright when I got back to my studio. I was also surprised I was able to paint a landscape in an hour with just a bit of touch up from my photo. What a difference to paint from real life rather than just a photo!
Oil on canvas 6x8


Ottawa Dog Trail is a huge dog training area for hunters in Kettle Moraine State Forest. Yesterday there were several horseback riders and hunters training their dogs. With the receding snow and warm temperature, it was a great day to be outdoors here in Wisconsin.

Main Street Wigs

"Main Street Wigs"
6x7.5 oil on canvas

This is my contribution to this weeks Different Strokes from Different Folks challenge. Karin Jurick submitted a photo for artist to paint their interpretation of an array of mannequins wearing wigs. I was really intimidated by so many mannequins at first and almost decided to skip this challenge. Then I was inspired by a little shop with a colorful awning on Main St. in Waukesha Wisconsin and decided to incorporate the mannequins in the shop window. As I got further along I was wishing I had planned a larger format so I could paint more details of the mannequins. This ended up being a really fun project to work on. Thanks again to Karin Jurick for all her hard work and dedication even during a frustrating eight days of being without the Internet.

I had a problem getting the colors in the photo of my painting close to the original painting but thanks to my daughter Carrie Griesmer she did a nice job of color correcting. It is very close to a perfect likeness of my painting. Check her blog, she has "how to" instructions on correcting photos in Adobe Photoshop.

Blue Day

"Blue Day" 
oil on canvas 6x9
© 2009 Carol Horzempa
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Shawna broke her dewclaw after running through some brush last week. After a trip to the vet she had to spend the rest of the day laid up with a bandage on her leg. She looked so cute with her blue bandage and so sad I had to take a photo of her and tried to capture the moment in my painting.

Winter Run

"Winter Run"
oil on canvas 
6x8

I never painted a dog so small before. I had to paint Shawna’s face with a small palette knife to keep from doing too much detail. I always wanted to paint her running through the woods in the snow, something she does everyday. That is her favorite thing to do especially in the winter. I’m looking forward to painting a larger image of Shawna in the future.

painting in progress

It's still too cold to paint outdoors so I used a photo of my dog Shawna running in the snow. This was taken last week at Kettle Moraine State Forest, not far from where I live. I hope to finish this tomorrow if I get the chance. I will be back out in the forest tomorrow taking more pictures of Shawna. Maybe it will be warm enough to paint out there too!

Winter, Garden Shed

"Winter Garden Shed"

oil on canvas 
6x8

Signs of spring are here! The snow started melting the next day so I had to finish my snow scene in the studio from a photo. I had trouble photographing the painting because of so much white in it. This was the best I could do. I will try posting a better photo when I figure out my new camera.

Plein Air Painting

Adebanji Alade has inspired me to try Plein Air painting in the winter. The temperature was up to 41 degrees and sunny today. I was surprised I didn’t need gloves.

I’m a very slow painter and with the sun moving it was a real challenge for me. I could have picked an easier subject but decided to be comfortable and sit in the swing in my backyard and paint what ever looked interesting.

I forgot to squint my eyes to block out detail through three fourths of the way. I left my small brushes in the studio and found using large and medium forced me to focus on the masses. After a little over an hour the shadows changed too much to continue and my feet needed warming so I called it a day. I took a photo before I started so I can finish it in the studio or paint on location tomorrow if the weather cooperates.



I saw flocks of geese flying north so maybe this is a good sign that spring is coming! I think I could become addicted to Plein Air painting even if my results aren’t that great yet.