2024 Watercolor and Oil Paintings
In 2024 I took my first cruise, started in Bergen, Norway, and sailed for 14 days around the British Isles, finishing with an extra four days in Oxford, England. I got so many impressions from this trip, it will provide painting references for a long time.
In the fall of 2023 I purchased materials for oil painting, a medium I had never used before. After some experimenting by myself, I signed up for an atelier course and learned the basics. Now it was a just a questions of practice.
It was also the year of my soft opening of this website. I was so successful that I almost depleted my inventory of original art. Then I participated in two exhibits and sold another two paintings. This was a successful year.
The order of the paintings is now in numerical order of their individual Identification Numbers.
Two examples of my work of 20 paintings from a atelier painting course I took in January 2024. This is oil on canvas, 9"x12".
To learn values, we were only allowed to paint with black and three shades of gray.
24-03 Kingfisher
Watercolor on 140lb Fabriano, 5"x7"
This little guy got my attention because of the colors and his wet feathers. Looks like he had an exciting day.
24-04 Rote Rehe II (Red Deer II) after Franz Marc
Oil on canvas, 12"x18"
My master copy of Franz Marc's Rote Rehe II from 1912. This painting has always fascinated me; I made a copy of it as a teenager, using a student gouache paintbox by Pelikan. Now I repeated the exercise with oil paints.
24-05 Sean Connery
Watercolor on 140lb Arches, 15"x15"
This painting is the result of a challenge: can I paint portraits when I normally play it safe and do animals and plants?
I think the answer is "YES" - what do you think?
24-06 Pretty as a Button
Watercolor, 6"x8"
Trying to keep it simple and loose. A little play on words as this little guy is sitting on a blue corn flower, also known as Bachelor's Button .
24-08 Morgan Freeman
Watercolor on 140lb Fabriano, 11"x14"
A looser approach than I normally do, and I am pleased with the outcome. The bolder strokes support the detailed work in face and hair.
24-09 Camel Guide
Watercolor on 140lb Fabriano, 11"x14"
A fun painting project. I was especially fascinated by the play of light and shadow, as seen on the figure and on the animal.
24-12 Going Home
Watercolor on 140lb Fabriano, 12"x16"
I recently returned from a trip in the British Isles where I saw many beautiful stained glass windows. One window in particular, located in the Canterbury Cathedral in England, caught my interest, and this painting is my interpretation of it.
I refrained from adding to many glass seams as to not distract from the message.
24-14 Tiger Lily
Oil on canvas board, 8"x10"
Here, I love the contrast of the smooth crystal vase and the textured background.
24-15 Fox in the Snow I (top left)
24-16 Fox in the Snow II (top right)
24-18 Fox in the Snow III (bottom left)
Oil on canvas board, 6"x12"
Fox in the Snow IV (bottom right)
Watercolor on Fabriano, 6"x12"
The Foxes in oil were painted on white, cyan and yellow ocher toned canvases, respectively. For me, this shows that painting is an emotional state and that I would never succeed as a forger.
24-20 The Night Watch
Watercolor on 140lb Fabriano, 8"x10"
This still life was done in my studio, using my own props. After about 60 photos I finally had found the right combination of background, folds, light and posing that appealed to me.
24-21 Fresh Snow
Watercolor on 140lb Fabriano, 8"x10"
This was a sepia sketch for our Mid-Columbia Watercolor Society exhibit at the Richland Public Library in December. It was one of 20 paintings in the exhibit and voted Public's Choice.
Don't forget to visit the other years in my portfolio and the blog Wolf's Howl.
See you soon.
Kirsten Meier