House Portrait with TOO MANY LEAVES!

This post starts with a review. In the Spring, I was painting outdoors in Houston and was commissioned to paint a home a few blocks from where I was working. Here is an earlier post about that day in March  and the painting I worked on then , helped by both Ian and Amelia, plein air artists in training.

Step by step, this is the house portrait in progress as I worked on it this Spring in my studio. The owners had asked me to include some particular details and some fall decor from a photo they showed me.

Partway through I needed more information on the structure of the house, my photos were taken in early March when the leaves were starting to fill in, she photographed in April and this is one of her photos, taken as I instructed. Oh my.

Obviously I didn't get much info about the roof or dormer as the trees had fully filled in, so I worked with the various photos I had taken in March. Notice there is stained glass upstairs, a cat in the window as well as USA and Texas flags. 

Spring Into Fall, 12x12 oil on wood, c. 2107

4 paintings move to a new address

The 4 smaller plein air paintings shown had been in Austin, Texas, displayed at an even height around a sitting room on two walls in a ranch home. They looked great there.

Then, the four paintings were moved and hung at new address, still in Texas and beautifully reframed to bookend the large painting already on this wall.  I like them even better here. I didn't realize how well they would work together. The central painting is a family heirloom, my smaller ones probably are going to be heirlooms as well. Two are 16x20, the others are 11x14.

Coming Home in Cypress, Texas

'Coming Home' c. K. Schifano 2014 18x24

The third house portrait painting in a series for a Houston area client, this is off the easel and on my mantle until the final bits of flowers and details are dry enough to send.

Yesterday I was asked if it is hard to give up a painting. The answer is yes, but if I live with it for a while it becomes easier. I want to have each picture for a while, to study and evaluate, appreciate and accept. Occasionally, I want to change a shape or a shadow, this observation period allows me to find the spot that needs something. I had this up for a few days, took it down to brighten some of the flowers and place their kittys in the driveway. Working with oils, I cannot send it until dry so there is an advantage. I can live with the painting until it is safe to package and I am ready to let it go. It is always nice to know where they live and the wall or room a painting graces. I don't have to see it, I just need to know that I can if I want to.

With lovely architectural details, a variety of textures, rooflines and surfaces, this home offered many angles to choose from for the final composition. Although a peak and part of the stone facade is nearly invisible on the far left, this is the view most familiar angle of view, the daily entrance, the "Coming Home' of the title. 

Here is a quick step-by-step progression of the canvas in the studio.

World Church, Houston painting

Kathy Schifano, Houston church

Over the past few years Route 6 in Houston has taken me to some of my favorite places, a playground/animal park, the Half Price Bookstore, Jerry's retail store, and Hobby Lobby for the solvents I do not dare take on a plane with my paint tubes.

I've admired the light and shadows on this unusually small (for Houston) church, so, as my new year painting #1, I'll have to go back and read the sign before I decide on a title. It's on Arches Huile paper. And next time, I will bring plenty of water to drink, though it was not particularly hot I nearly passed out when the shade tree I relied on became a full sun location.

edited....World Church, 15x11, oil on Arches Huile 2014

Painting a House Portrait

For a long day, morning to night, I worked on this house portrait, indoors but with dreams of plein air. I had sketched it the night before and knew I would need a lot of time for all the nooks and crannies and landscaping. I left it outdoors to hasten drying while I grabbed my lunch. I was leaving Texas on a plane the following day and needed to complete the painting which was commissioned the day before. It is always interesting to see how a project like this progresses, not every home starts with the sky, and unless it is plein air they are never finished in less than a week.

The title is from the homeowner's beautiful red bushes, clusters of Texas flowers that can be planted like hedges.

The final picture had a bit more texture on both the roof and brick as well as stronger shadows in the eaves. I didn't get the final photo because...it was dark out and I needed southern daylight to shoot the picture. I am surprised the wet paint did not glare more than this.

Rocket Roses, oil on canvas panel 10x14, 2013

Texas architecture paintings

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My March 19 post contained a plein air painting I did in Houston. That outdoor excursion resulted in two new commissions, two similar homes in the Cypress area, both had many roof peaks and mature landscaping obscuring the beautiful architecture.

I often wonder why photos do not have layers; if only I could peel trees off the front to see what is underneath. Even with a handful of clear photos I had a hard time painting the whole shape of the structure. My habit is to paint the building and place the trees afterwards so some structure shows through.

An interesting detail by the architect was to include color variety with the brick, around the basket handle windows were outline layers of a different brick, orange, giving definition to the repeating triple windows. When I return to Houston I will look for more examples of two brick combinations. I have seen stone and brick as well as frame and brick homes here, but I had not noted the detail before, it breaks up the long facade and adds visual variety to it.

Park Island Spring, oil on panel 10x14, c. 2013

Schifano-Simons paint adventure

 I am not the only artist here. As I captured the majestic towering palm in a neighbor's yard on my little canvas panel, Amelia joined me to enjoy the shade on the deck and paint the afternoon away. Her watercolors were full of life and expression, the composition was beautifully and naturally arranged and we sure did have a good time, alone with our art, together with our experiences.

I was working to make the picture show the light and breeze of the afternoon and the camera recorded a better view of this palm than my painting did! My painting is a bit less bright and sunny than the picture in the next post, but the day and the memory are perfect.

Painting Houston in the Spring

Azaleas are bright and beautiful in Houston in March, this lovely home caught my eye as we drove by. Fortunately there is a shade tree across the street so I was able to plein air paint there. When I went close to the azaleas the pink blooms were as large as roses and glowing in the southern sun. The pines were giants, scattered on the property providing shade and majesty to the pretty corner home that welcomes you to a lovely established neighborhood.

I did a little more work on this after the photo was taken, some shadows and lights on the lawn and trees, straightened a few lines and details on the building. This painting was too wet to travel as I really piled paint onto the azalea hedges and my white is a very pokey dryer. Since I will return to work through my "must paint around Houston" list in the fall I left the wet canvas on Robin's mantel, and it looks pretty nice up there! I will have several dry paintings ready to varnish then.

There are no giant towering hardwood shade trees in Houston like we have up north, but the various palms and fruit trees are delightful to see and do create shade. This palm was way above the house across the street, just waving in the breeze and capturing the light. I painted this little panel from a comfy deck chair with 3 year old Amelia painting with watercolors beside me. We had a lovely afternoon together until she decided her bubble lawnmower should go down the slide and painting was interrupted. 

March Azaleas, 8x10 oil 2013

Afternoon Shade, 5x7 oil 2013

Houston Painting Op

Kath Schifano

A warm sunny Fall week in Houston, while it turns chilly and rains at home. Could I ask for more? The big-happy-knee-grabbing-hug I got from little Amelia made the hours flying in a metal tube across the country worth it, but meeting the Katie Prairie being restored in Northwest Houston was a close second.

Watching suburban sprawl gobble up farms and old buildings, traveling on 12 lane highways and seeing endless stores and malls jaded me about this area. There was little to paint that looked different from anywhere else, Target, Walmart and Appleby's all look the same everywhere.

At Lone Star College, the extensive landscaping is totally a prairie restoration in progress and I had a wonderful experience making my own paths as well as following the suggested walkways. Standing under a live oak for shade while I painted, the water here was slightly misty in the morning. It dried quickly as the sun rose and the colors brightened.

I plan to go back here in different seasons and time of day to continue to enjoy an oasis of nature and paint the prairie as it expands and grows, hopefully inspiring similar natural restorations.

Katie Prairie Mirror 14x11, oil 2011

Artist update!

This Fall has been spectacular for me, returning from a week in Houston I woke the next morning, repacked and drove straight to Letchworth to join NFPAP painters for an overnight paint out. The colors gently changed as I painted. It wasn't too cold and the sun was brilliant so I completed three plein air paintings surrounded by nature. Where there were green trees with golden flashes on my entry, overnight the reds and oranges appeared on the mountainsides. The frost overnight made a big difference. My favorite finished painting Of the three is just 4" by 8" & 1" thick, a dimensional canvas with two waterfalls in the distance, minus the railroad bridge.

There is something about placing manmade structures in great expanses of nature. It is always a dilemma to include or exclude items in paintings, so often I choose to omit built structures. I will post them all as soon as the conditions are right to shoot the dry oil paintings. That means morning light, not too sunny, no wind and I am not otherwise busy. Fat chance of that happening soon! Life is good, but hectic.

A Tourist in Houston

Packed my paints, brushes & canvases for an extended visit to Houston TX & found that I couldn't paint plein air due to high heat & humidity---not me, the paint was entirely too tacky! I did a fair amount of sketching, read several books, spent too much time on FaceBook and just loved being with baby Amelia.

On a single day as tourist, I managed to visit the famous Beer Can House, Japanese Gardens downtown, & The Car Museum. By far, the best visit was to Museum of Fine Arts in Houston & the John Singer Sargeant exhibit of marine art painted when he was 18-24 years old.

Simply astounding.

Simply intimidating that so much planning went into a single final composition-full size individual figure drawings & paintings for a group composition on the beach as well as a maquette of the painting-and he was still a kid!

Sargeant, always loved his work, now I appreciate & respect it even more!

Houston Texas, noon & dogs

Finally-A finished and almost dry picture! Now I should plan a visit to varnish it in place.

This is a commissioned house portrait for Stephanie & Brian Smith of Houston. Working on it, I realized that the dogs are the real subject here. They are as sweet as can be & have no pretensions about the fact that they are very special dogs & live in a lovely home.

Bevo & Bonzo's Texas Ranch oil 14x18 2009

Not quite Mutt & Jeff

The dogs have landed. Now whose tongue hangs out on which side, & what kind of ears belong on the left?  My photo has a glare-from the white van reflection on the glass. Do I need to go back there & check or what? (I know they will still be in this position) I think shorty is done. Picture is almost finished but still very wet.

I'm fishing for comments!

Spring Studio nights

Late & quiet nights find me listening to music & working on this house portrait-some of the earlier parts are starting to dry, so I can layer details-window sashes, shading, brickwork. Robin went over & took two more photos for me, one of the soffit, another of the peaks. Most everything will be covered by the majestic pine & leaves, but, as in life, the building will stand strong behind & between the branches. Mostly I want the door to dry a little so I can put in the dogs!!

New Texas portrait in progress

Although I have my own daily progress records [such an ed. term!] for many studio paintings, I rarely post them. You can click on the subject 'artist process' or 'rose' on the right side to see one. There is a round painting of a rose, published last year here, but since this is such a 'long distance' portrait I have decided to publish it as it evolves. These represent two sittings, the light seems different because  there is daylight on the second photo. No matter how true spectrum my bulbs are, the camera is not fooled & warms the images. Yes, it is a peachy sort of background. Love that Texas sunlight.

Still working the title-Return to Green Castle?, Robin's view? Two Patient Buddies?[no!] The Smith castle/residence/home? Titles write themselves, this one is to be determined.

Return to Texas

Fascinated by the Bottlebrush tree, I had to go back to Texas to see it in full bloom this year.

Well, no, actually we went to visit Robin, Jeremy & the Houston Museum of Art [great Afghanistan treasures show], and I used their front door sidelights as a frame & tried the annual Bottlebrush painting from a chair indoors. I was only a few feet away, but it was seen through the glass.

Next, I sat out on the back deck bench & caught shadows of light on the path & fence. I was in full shade myself & just relished the heat as the day warmed up. Little lizards watched from the ferns nearby. Unfortunately, I had to place my palette on the left side & reach over myself. Every time I do that I say 'never again!'-it is a workout for my right shoulder so I tend to paint the bristles dry.

Spring Geranium 11x14 oil 2009

Bottlebrush 2009 7x5

Impact Artist's Gallery Fall National

A juried exhibition involves submitting artworks by slide or CD to a judge, who chooses the artwork for the walls, declining some & keeping others, depending on the space. After the selected art is delivered, the judge looks over the exhibit to see that the work reflects what was submitted initially. At this time, prizes are awarded, often 1, 2 & 3 & Best of Show. Sometimes additional prizes are given for different categories as well.

In the case of this show, Holly Hughes, curator at Albright Knox in Buffalo judged it. This painting was selected as well as two of Carl's digital collages. It has been a pleasure to go to art openings where both of us are selected to exhibit work. The art opening is a public party - and very social - & the prize winners are announced at  that event.

Impact Art Gallery is in TriMain Center, 2495 Main Street, Buffalo, suite 545. The opening reception for the Fall National Show is from 1-4 on Saturday November 8. Join us!

My painting is a 'southern January night' plein air, seen from Robin & Jeremy Simon's 3rd floor porch, using the living room light to keep colors straight. The view is down the road & outside the complex, before they moved to their house.

Houston Night Lights [From the Porch]pastel 11x14 2007

Painting at Night

Painting at night seemed like  a serious challenge, and the coolest gift of 2006 was a hat with headlights, so I could see the colors on the palette or pastels. However, my first night painting was in Houston, from a 3rd floor porch at Jeremy & Robin's apartment. No hat & headlight in sight, so the indoor lights illuminated my page and I perched on the edge of a chair to see the commercial building out the complex & across the road. Night painting? I am hooked.

From the Porch in Houston, pastel, 9x12 2007

8959 Green Castle Way

This house portrait started as an abstract design concept. Because I was working indoors, I decided to use acrylics instead of oil paint, and I was thoroughly flummoxed by the paints instantly drying in the heated studio air. I got caught up in architectural accuracy (I couldn't blend the quick dry paint) and needed a straight edge for the long horizontal and vertical effects. It got more & more realistic, so I played with a hard edge style-then I needed more detail to express the depth. Alas, I realized that the original house painting plan got in the way of a good result. I wanted something loose and expressionistic of 8959, then when it became realistic, my beginnings were tripping me. I should have handled the brick quite different if I had known where I was going. I especially like the entry window & the Bottlebrush tree.

Nice house, Robin & Jeremy.

'Green Door on Green Castle', 30"x15" acrylic on panel 2008

Grand Island Artist paints Houston

I did not actually paint Houston; I might have, but the carefully prepared traveling box of art supplies remained in Grand Island as I flew South. Borrowed paints allowed me to paint this January blooming 'Bottlebrush' plant. It is nearly two stories tall and lives right at Robin & Jeremy's front door. This is also a return to acrylics; I am astounded that the paint dried so quickly, especially since I had recently used drying extenders with my oils. The difference? I could just put my wet brush down to go eat dinner while painting with oils, and pick it up the next day to continue blending. The acrylics would dry on the bristle while I thought about where I should place the brush! This was painted plein air from their porch, but the next painting will be created & completed in my studio. I am back and it is 15˚ here.

On one of our walks I met a gentleman painting plein air. He used the biggest palette I have ever seen-a potential sail on our windy days. It would have made a great coffee table. Talking with the painter about context & composition, I asked 'what are you looking for here?' His answer - 'Paying customers with cash.' I guess he has been painting outdoors a lot-I left him to his wishes.

'Bottlebrush flowers' 9x12, acrylic 2008