Tuesday, November 25, 2008

"The Pond at Hick's Orchard" oil on canvas, 9 x 12


I painted this location earlier this year in the rich greens of summer. I recently visited this local orchard and the area was cloaked in the colors of fall. It was a joy to paint this same area with a different palette. Maybe when the snows arrive, I will make another trip over to the orchard to see what the pond has in store for me then. No matter the season, I am always thankful that I get to do everyday, what I love.
www.andreworr.com
artsteph1@aol.com
"The Pond at Hick's Orchard"
oil on canvas, 9 x 12
595.00 unframed, plus shipping





Friday, November 21, 2008

"Autumn Reflections" oil on canvas, 16 x 20


I guess after having returned from teaching a workshop I was still pretty excited about painting sunflowers, so I decided to put together another still life this time with a more autumnal theme. The copper pot has become one of my favorite still life objects and I am sure it will appear in more paintings in the coming years. I received word the other evening that my painting, "Road Home" had been accepted into the 125th Annual Member's Exhibition of the Salmagundi Club in New York. In addition,the painting received the Arthur T. Hill Memorial Award for a landscape by an artist under 45 years of age. It was a wonderful surprise and I am still walking a few inches off the ground.
"Autumn Reflections"
oil on canvas, 16 x 20
for purchase inquiry, please contact me directly
artsteph1@aol.com
www.andreworr.com

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

"Abunance of Autumn" oil on canvas, 20 x 24


In previous posts I shared studies completed in class during a recent teaching trip. I wanted to share our larger project in this posting. We had great fun setting up the still life, as a class. As a group we came up with a set up that seemed to have great painting opportunities from all angles. In fact, walking around the room it was fun to see the different angles of the set up as portrayed in each of the student's paintings. I think my painting is just about finished, I may tweak it a bit here or there when I get it home. The whole class was a great experience and I am grateful to the students and to my host for giving me a wonderful opportunity. Good to be home though; from the looks of the weather outside, I might be painting snow very soon!
"Abundance of Autumn"
oil on canvas, 20 x 24
please contact me directly for purchase inquiry
artsteph1@aol.com
www.andreworr.com

Sunday, November 16, 2008

"Study in Complementary Colors" oil on canvas, 8 x 7


As mentioned in a previous post, I have been in Iowa teaching a series of paintings workshops. This is another example of one of the exercises we completed before working with the larger class project. We had been working in black and white with a small still life, with a focus on matching values of objects with tones of pigment. The next step in this process was to use two complementary colors, in this case yellow and violet, to create a small study. In addition to pure color we mixed semi neutral tones and some lighter and darker values with the addition of white and black. It was amazing to see the variation of colors that could be mixed. The concept of this exercise was to try to gain an understanding that value and the combination of values help to create form. In addition, I wanted to help the students experiment with the concept that color in its pure form has a value (light and dark.) They quickly realized that maintaining good contrast was the key to making a successful study using two colors. I encouraged the students to note that the semi neutral mixes had a warm and a cool side which when placed in the painting helped to establish a feeling of depth as the warmer tones advanced in the painting and cooler tones helped areas to recede in the piece. The process was a challenge but it helped to reinforce the idea that color can be anything as long as its reasonable and that a painting can be successful and interesting using a very limited palette.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.
artsteph1@aol.com
www.andreworr.com

Thursday, November 13, 2008

"Sunflower Study" oil on canvas, 10 x 8


I have just finished a painting workshop in Iowa and I thought I might share some of our class projects. We spent two days working on smaller studies and excercizes before tackling our larger still life set up. In one of our studies we worked up a small painting using only black and white. It was a great opportunity to study values and and how the combination of values help to create form; it is also a great chance to spend some time focusing on contrast. On another study we worked up a still life set up using only two complimentary colors, semi neutral mixes, black and white. The painting included in this post was simply a warm-up exercise to demonstrate how I would approach a floral subject. I was pretty happy with the end result especially since the study was completed in 15 minutes. My next few postings will include some of the other studies from this class.
artsteph1@aol.com

Thursday, November 6, 2008

"Late Fall Afternoon at Ruth's Pond" oil on board, 8 x 10


This piece is another of plein air studies from earlier this fall. I loved the trunk and branches of this old maple located at the edge of a pond on the property of a friend of mine. The leaves were falling as I was painting, only a few really remained. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was quickly setting on that area of the pond with just a few lights hitting the tree here and there. As with all of my outdoor studies, I think there might be some information contained in the piece which might find its way into a larger piece. Above all, now that the days are cooler, I can think of no better way to experience the wonder of the fall season than working outdoors.
"Late Fall Afternoon at Ruth's Pond"
oil on board
350.00 unframed, plus shipping
please contact me directly for payment details
artsteph1@aol.com
www.andreworr.com

Saturday, November 1, 2008

"Empire Apple At Rest," 5 x 7, oil on canvas on board


I went apple picking a couple of weeks ago; the day could not have been better. It was a beautiful fall day with a light crisp breeze and bright sunshine. I have thoroughly enjoyed painting several apple studies this fall this one included. I am not sure why I am so drawn to this subject; they are always a challenge to paint...who knows, maybe that is the draw. I always tell my students that painting fruit is like painting a portrait. Each piece of fruit has slight variations which are unique, they have a character and a life all their own. I always try to have a few leaves in my apple studies as well;they have a character and sense of humor in the way they twist and curl. It may sound strange, but I don't want to paint just a piece of fruit, I want to paint the bright clear day, the crisp air, the fun of picking apples with a loved one. This is a lofty goal in a piece of canvas 5 x 7 inches.
"Empire Apple at Rest"
oil on canvas on board, 5 x 7
100.00 unframed, plus shipping
please contact me directly for payment details
artsteph1@aol.com
www.andreworr.com