work in progress

Work in Progress 22X28  Oil and CWM on Wood Panel

Day 30 of 30 day challenge.

I have many plans for today and don't know if I will get my little painting finished so I decided to post this on on our final day of the challenge.

Its been quite a learning experience.

Thanks for being a part of it.

Blessings for a great day

Bente

Red Sky Oil Painting

Red Sky Oil Painting 8X20  On panel $150.

This panel was floating around so I thought it would be fun to do a wide landscape.  When I put the third coat of gesso on I used Holbein's red oxide gesso.  I then started painting the scene and really liked the red gesso.  Of course I couldn't just leave the gesso as it was.  Even if I did like it I had to duplicate the color in oils.    So here you have it.  I rather like the mood of this.

Blessings for a great day.

Bente

Ocean View

Ocean View Oil Painting 9X12  on Arches Oil Painting Paper $100

Day 28 of the 30 Day painting challenge.

Today my challenge was to do a painting without yellow or orange in it.  Didn't quite make it but almost.  I had to put a touch of transparent orange along the shore.

The painting was done on Arches Paper made specifically for oil paint.  No gesso required.  This is my first time using this paper.  It is awesome.  It has a unique smooth surface to paint on.  When the painting is dry it can be framed as you would any other painting.  You would just need a backing for it.  Standard size so no problem finding a frame for it.

The paint is THICK.  The whole thing was painted with a palette knife.

Blessings for a great day.

Bente

Light

Light  10X10 Oil and CWM on Gallery Cradle Board  $100

Day 27 of the 30 Day painting Challenge

I started this one with molding paste, gel with tiny beads and charcoal.  At one point I was ready to toss it and start on another when I thought line might just make the difference.  It tells the story.

Blessings for a great day..

Bente

Morning

 Morning 8X8 Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas $75

Painted on the sides so that no frame is necessary.

Day 26 of the 30 Day painting challenge.

One of my big challenges for this is photographing the art work.  I tried to photograph this one yesterday but it was sunny and because I used gel medium it is very shiny meaning there were white spots all over.  I even tried inside the garage where the light was reflecting off the garage door but to no avail.  White spots everywhere. So this morning, (very appropriate I thought given the title), in my pajamas I am out on our deck before the sun is hitting the deck trying again. Its fairly close.

Its sunny again today but I am painting with cold wax today.  That gives a matt finish so its better to photograph.  So much to learn.

Blessings for a great day.

Bente

Full Circle

Full Circle  10X10 Oil and Cold Wax Medium on Wood Cradle  $100

Day 25 of 30 Day Painting Challenge

Sometime I come full circle and so does my Art.  Seemed like an appropriate title for this one.

Playing with my Cold Wax.  Waiting for more to arrive so I go between that and my oils.

Blessings for a great day.

Bente

Contemporary Abstract

Contemporary Abstract  22X28  Mixed Media on Wood Panel

Day 24 of 30 Day painting Challenge

I am not sure that this painting is finished yet.  I may try putting a coat of cold wax on it to see if that makes it finished.  I love the strength and subtleties all together.  Most of the painting is acrylic and then I have added coats of oil in cold wax medium.

I painted all day yesterday on a large canvas which today is going in the garbage.  Sometimes that is the best.  Start fresh on something else.  This painting is one that I had put aside because I hadn't decided if it was finished.

Blessings for a great day.

Bente

Warmth of the Day

Warmth of the Day 8X10 Oil on Canvas  $75

Day 23 of 30 Day Painting challenge.

I like the simplicity of this.  Our skies may be grey but they give such warmth. We need to have warmth.  At least I do.

On the subject of the 30 day challenge.  It really is a challenge.  I am working on half a dozen large pieces and I am doing these small ones as well. It would be nice if the 20 stroke painting challenge worked on a regular basis.  The object of that is you plan your painting so that the whole thing is done in 20 strokes.  No more.  So one stroke may be a large streak across the canvas with one pure color.  No stopping in between to fill up your brush.  So the strokes need to be thought out ahead of time.  But all in all the exercise should not take more than half an hour.

Good luck with that.



Blessings

Bente

Wilderness

Wilderness 15X30 Oil on Canvas  $450

Progression

Progression 8X10 Oil on gallery wrapped canvas $75

Continuing on my theme to Abstraction I have simplified the colors and the composition.  I rather like it.

Blessings for a great day.

Bente

Fall Approaching

Fall Approaching 8X10 Oil on Canvas $75

Day 20 of the 30 day Challenge

I have been working on some pretty strong paintings, color wise that is.  The photo you see above is the atmosphere on our beach these days so I thought it would be a good idea to calm it down and see if I could get the feel of what's happening outside.  I don't want to paint a grey painting.  That doesn't seem to be in my character.

Below

The first image you will see below is the start of the painting day.  Note the coffee within arms reach!

Very important.  Palette all set out.  At the end of the day the palette is a total mess. 

Below that is the larger painting that I am working on.  At this stage it is not working. Seems to be chopped in half diagonally.  This is proven by the bottom image.

This image is from an app I use on my IPad called Value Viewer.  I take a photo of what I am working on and then I can check the value.  This one was checked as a Notan. There are 3 options.  You can see what I mean about it being cut in half diagonally.  I have worked on it quite a bit since this was taken and we will see if I made it better or worse.  And so it continues.

Blessings

Bente

Contemporary Landscape Painting

Outreach III 8X8 Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas $75  Painted on the sides so that no frame is needed.

Day 19 of 30 Day Challenge

I am still working on the same composition and natural colors.  This time I thought I would use a square format.  I really like squares.  With this one being small it was a challenge to paint the story around the edges without getting paint all over me.

For the texture I tried something different.  It actually found me.  When I put the palette knife down and then lift straight up I got an interesting texture.  Again one I will use again.

This painting a day challenge is just that.  It forces me to be out there painting no matter what my other schedules are and low and behold I learn a lot along the way.

This one is signed at the back.

Blessings

Bente

Contemporary Painting Outreach II

Outreach II Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas 8X10 $75

Day 18 of 30 Day Challenge

I am working on the same basic composition.  In this one I am using colors more close to nature.  I have angled the horizon and it  works for me.  All along I have tried to be accurate with the horizon line and here it seems to work great.

I am using my palette knives only and some of the interesting effects are from adding medium to it so that the paint isn't so thick.  Then I lightly touch the surface at an angle with the effect showing on top.  I will be using this again.

Blessings

Bente

Outreach

Outreach 8X10 Oil on gallery wrapped canvas, $75

Painted on the sides so that no frame is necessary

Day 17 of the 30 Day painting challenge

This is one of a number of paintings where I am working on a variety of ways of painting the same subject Abstractly.  It is a palette knife painting with a lot of texture and flow.

Blessings

Bente

Sunrise

Sunrise 11X14 Oil on Ampersand Gesso Board  $150

Day 16 of the 30 day challenge

Here we are with the color red.  I swear I need to take a photography course just so I can learn how to photograph red and turquoise.  I have yet to do that successfully.

I am playing with the combinations of mediums and oil and layering them.  On this one I wanted to have the initial image show through yet have the glow of the light.  I felt that a lot of medium would give me this result.  I also actually used Cadmium Orange.  I have had this one tube of Cad Orange for years and rarely use it.  Mixing red and yellow together usually gets me what I want.  I used both Nuptial Red and Quin Red.

Its pretty strong.  I agree.  So is the Sun.

Blessings Bente

Day 15

Day 15

Oil and CWM on Wood Panel

I think this is an example of too much texture.  It is done on a wood board that I prepared prior to my trip to the valley.  They tell me you can salvage these but I am thinking not.

Oh what to do.  I think I will follow my Mothers advise.  NEXT.

Summer

Summer  Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas  14X11 $300

Day 14 of 30 day Challenge

In keeping with the 30 day challenge I am on the road today so I am posting this painting.  It is in keeping with the spirit of what I have been doing and rather than have nothing for this day I am posting this one.  The theme is simple yet the composition is strong along with the colors.

Blessisngs for a beautiful day

Bente

Contemporary Oil and Cold Wax Painting

Crevice  10X12 oil and CWM on board $100

Day 13 of 30 day challenge

This painting is many layers of paint with the streaks of color radiating from the top being an example of scratching back into the board to bring out some of the layers underneath.  This is a learning process that will likely take years but one I am enjoying.

Contemporary Night Light Scene

Contemporary Night Light Scene 22X28 Oil and CWM on Wood Panel, Framed $650

Day 12 of the 30 Day Challenge

This painting was also juried in to the Federation Show that will be  held at Place des Arts in Coquitlam.

Coastline

Coastline 30X36 Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

Day 11 of the 30 day challenge

The top image is Coastline that has been accepted into the Juried Fraser Valley Chapter of The Federation of Canadian Artists.  The Show is going to be held at Place des Arts in Coquitlam.

The bottom image is the same painting when I was about to give up.  I knew the bottom portion needed a darker value and I was to the point of "what have I got to lose?"  I turned the painting upside down.  Added some earth red and some transparent thalo turquoise and I went at it.  Then I turned it the right way up and mixed up some white and medium and went at that.  I knew the top portion was way too busy.

After that the waiting game started. It was quite fascinating to watch.  I knew the turquoise was transparent but when I put it on initially it looked black.  As the days went by the colors underneath started showing through and by day 10 Eric and I looked at each other and were amazed. The color turquoise like the color red is very difficult to photograph so all the nuances of color are not apparent in the photo here.  There are many delightful variations to look at.

The moral of the story is don't give up.

This was a large painting for sure but I was ready to put a knife through it and say "Next?"And look what happened instead.

Blessings everyone

Bente

Contemporary Painting, Water Speak III

Water Speak III oil on Cradle Board 8X10  $75

Day 10 of the 30 day challenge.

This is the third in the Triptych posted on the 8th.

The paintings can be displayed together or individually.

Blessings

Bente

Contemporary Painting Water Speak II

Water Speak II  8X10 Oil on Wood Cradle $75

Day 9 of the 30 day challenge

If you look back to Sept 8 you will see the Triptych.  This is the center painting.

The title comes from looking at the water and the many swirls of color and reflections that are there swirling and glinting back at you.  I do love the water.  It speaks to me.

Blessings

Bente

Contemporary Triptych Water Speak

Contemporary Triptych, Water Speak 1 of 3,

 8X10 oil on cradle board $75. each

Day 8 of the 30 day challenge

This image shows the three paintings together sideways

This shows the three images stacked vertically.

The turquoise is difficult to photograph so the color is not accurate.  The colors are rich and vibrant.  I will post the other two individual paintings on day 9 and 10.  If you are interested in all three let me know right away then I will post them as sold.

This 30 day challenge is truly my stepping out and trying many things that I have not done before.  I picked up on Leslie Saeta's triptych idea and thought that since I had never tried doing that before it should be part of the challenge.  The waves in the paintings are consistent in all three so that the paintings can be shuffled around, moved apart or hung individually.

Bleassings

Bente

Boughs

Boughs  12X9 Oil and CWM on Wood Panel  $100

Day 7 of the 30 day challenge

They say that with cold wax you can do layer upon layer.  With this particular painting it has many many layers and transformations.  It is so thick and textured that when I went to put new color on it the color barely touched the board and immediately I saw the boughs of trees everywhere.  Then it was a matter of creating a new composition with that particular idea in mind. This truly has been a learning experience for me.  One that I think can go on for many years as well as layers. I am looking forward to going larger, simpler and more abstract.

Blessings for a long weekend.

Bente

Contemporary Abstract 16X20 Oil and CWM on wood cradle board $320.

Day 6 of the 30 day challenge.

And today is definitely a challenge.  We had a severe rain storm and then discovered that water entered my studio under the carpet so half of the space had to be emptied to dry out the space so mold wouldn't develop and put a new slant on the cement floor so the water wouldn't run in.  At the same time we have an air pump for the septic tank squealing and guess whose dog needs to go for a walk.

Gotta laugh really.  Life has a way of creeping in once in a while.  I decided to stay with my cheerful colors.

In the midst of all that I sit down and to try to imagine a creative painting for the day.  This one was painted the day before so we are OK.

I haven't signed this one.  It will be signed on the back.  It can be hang either way so I decided to leave it.

Blessings

Bente

Windows

Windows  10X12 oi and CWM on board

Day 5 of 30 day challenge

I am playing with the cold wax medium and here I am layering over what I thought was a non descript landscape painting.  Putting in Windows of different areas.  Very much like the view you may get as you are driving down a road looking at a landscape.  I like the direction this is going.  These shapes could be twisted in many directions for a truly abstract painting.

Blessings

Bente

Myrtle Light

Myrtle Light 9x12 oil and CWM on wood panel $100

Day 4 of our challenge

This small painting is done on a wood panel coated with three coats of gesso.

Here I am playing with composition.  Working with getting the edges to connect.I like the results.  It has the feel of a pastel painting.

Blessings

Flow

Flow 9X12 Oil on board that is treated with 3 coats of gesso $100

Day 3 of the 30 day challenge.

This is my first Abstract in this challenge.  To me it has a definite landscape undertone.  It is done using oil and cold wax.  There are MANY layers of paint  and texture and that part of this process is the exciting part for me.  When one attempt doesn't work I start to lay on another thick layer of paint that has been mixed with cold wax.  Then some of the color, texture and scribblings come through from the previous layer.  It takes the wax a few days to dry and the colors do become more translucent with some layers showing through and others not. Its like a mystery and I like the unknown.  An adventure to see what's around the corner.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.  Would love some dialogue.

Blessings

Bente

On Paper

On Paper  Oil on Paper Painted image 8X8  $75

Outside perimeter 12X12

Day two of the 30 day challenge.

I was reading about an Artist that does one SMALL oil painting on paper every day.  I have quite a few good quality WC papers that had been gessoed in preparation for a quick acrylic painting.  So I took a bunch and gave them all another coat of gesso and decided to try painting some oil on paper.  This particular paper had a light coat of acrylic on it so I treated it with clear gesso.  I believe that the proper archival process would be to leave out the acrylic part even though some books say that to do it this way is OK.

I will shortly be trying stone paper but it has not arrived yet.  I will tell you about it when it arrives.  I am quite excited about it.

Blessings

Bente

Flight

Flight  8X10 Oil and Cold Wax on Wood Cradle, Painted on the sides  $75

I am starting a 30 day painting challenge where hopefully I will post a new painting every day.
My intention is to try new techniques, new colors, papers, grounds, mediums, compositions.  You get the picture.  This is day one and I think you may agree that this painting fits all of the above. I have been studying other artists approach to art and this month I am committing to keep trying something new even though in the end I am still me and the me you have seen for years still surfaces.  As hard as I try to go totally abstract the landscape still sneaks in.

My environment and feelings will show through.

Do join me on this journey and make comments and share with others.  That is always appreciated.

Blessings

Bente