Judith Freeman Clark, paintings

Sometimes things don't turn out as you hoped they would... In completing my painting, "Kitchen Sunshine," I ran into several problems -- one of which just about derailed the whole project. But having spent a lot of hours on the details, I was determined to offer it as a finished work, albeit with a few changes I hadn't planned on.  In my previous post, Kitchen Sunshine I, the tea-towel started out with a white ground. But as I progressed, I decided to give it a pale yellow wash. Big mistake!!     This diminished the punchier impact of the warm-toned fruit. It also downplayed a strong contrast between the stripes and the white ground of the towel.  At this point, I can't say what caused me to use a pale yellow wash... I just know I wouldn't do it again. As I began to deepen the shadows and emphasize the folds in the tea-towel, I worked too quickly. Not allowing the glazes to dry in between layers meant I was heading in the direction of mud (rather than a cl...

At this time of year we usually have plenty of clementines on the kitchen counter, along with a few lemons and limes.  I wasn't sure I wanted to use a striped tea-towel under the glass plate, but I do like the colorful statement it makes -- plus, it's a nice challenge. ( I first used this tea-towel in my painting "Considering the Primaries." )   Although I erased the pencil lines of the original sketch, before I took the photo below, you can see the direction I'm going in.  My paper is a 9" x 12" block of Arches cold press 140#. My palette  includes the following colors : Winsor & Newton: New Gamboge Yellow Ochre Transparent Orange Green Gold Hooker's Green Permanent Sap Green Dioxizine Violet Winsor Blue (GS) Daniel Smith: Quinacridone Burnt Scarlet I'll continue posting photos as I move forward...

I've been a fan of historical novels for decades, and the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon is among my current favorites. I've vacationed in Scotland three times and, having taken walking tours in the Orkneys and in the western Highlands, I feel (marginally) qualified to paint some of these areas from memory.  Fans of "Downton Abbey" may remember Inveraray Castle, in Argyll, which was featured as cousin Rose's home. Inveraray is situated along Loch Fyne, and is about as picturesque as it gets for subjects like this. However, a close second is Eilean Donan -- a 13th century pile also located in the western reaches of Scotland, somewhat north of Inveraray Castle. My painting, "Highland Fortress," is based loosely on images of Eilean Donan, although I've taken artistic license with location and some of the details. My goal was to capture the romantic ambiance of this beautiful, but rugged, area of Scotland, and to indulge my love for this region. ...