Carrizon National Monument Poppies by Christine Apostolina Beirne
I was inspired by a workshop I took to start a 90 day painting challenge. A painting a day for 90 days. Eeek! Getting ready for it has been a challenge: I’m painting everything on cradled board and decided to make them all. (Okay…my husband is helping, but the table saw is mine! LOL)
I wanted to blog about it daily…wanted the blog to be on my website — not somewhere else. So…redid my website, added the blog.
I’ve made a variety of sizes to paint on…some are 6×8 and 8×10, but some are even smaller: 6×4 and 4×4. I figured days where I don’t have a lot of time I can choose a smaller board.
I received my new en Plein Air Pro easel today and used it in the studio — love it so far! I can’t wait to get it out en Plein Air!
One of the things I didn’t think of was how to put something that small on an easel? Especially cradled board? I researched and read somewhere someone using putty (like they use in back of pictures). It worked perfect! I attached my cradled board to an 8×10 board and had no problems. I paint with a palette knife, so I was concerned that it would slip – but it didn’t!
Anyway, here’s the set-up:
So…next I toned the board and mixed my paint:
Since I paint with a palette knife and alla prima – I’ve discovered it makes things go better if I mix a lot of my colors before I actually start painting. I can adjust them later on (and I do!) but it seems to work well for me.
And…here’s my finished painting! It’s 6″ x 4″ and is of Carrizo National Monument. I went there last year with a couple of good friends and painted when the wildflowers were out.
