Judith Freeman Clark, paintings

I usually have a few paintings and sketches going simultaneously, partly to allow damp paintings to dry thoroughly, and partly because I am easily bored if I have only one painting in progress at a time...  Right now, I'm working on two very different paintings • A floral that I'm approaching with a question: "Can this painting be saved?" The tentative title is "Mardi Gras Iris." It measures 11" x 15." • The vertical work below, "Lochside Croft," 11" x 20" is actually the left-hand side of a large, square-format painting. Because it was not working out, I cut it in half. After I did, I sold the right-hand side! I'm hoping this one can be salvaged...  time will tell.

Cardinal, adult male Keeping our bird-feeder filled is a task -- even in summer when berries, seeds, etc., are readily available. The pay-off is that we have a wide variety of feathered visitors stopping by for a snack. Photographing birds is an exercise in patience, but I've been surprised at how many stay within range of my lens long enough for me to capture a few images. The male cardinal in the photo at right was a regular visitor a few summers ago, and although somewhat shy, seemed almost proud of remaining within focus for a few minutes. In my watercolor sketch, I took a few liberties with the setting -- adding some blue sky for contrast -- but tried to capture his leafy hide-away. "Male Cardinal" 6" x 6"  SOLD Goldfinch, adult male (right) with female Tufted Titmouse (left) Goldfinches are smaller and more skittish than cardinals. To capture them in a photo means waiting for just the right moment, with the camera aimed at the bird-feeder. ...

Here's a step-by-step description of how I painted these peony blossoms. I used a quarter-sheet (11" x 15") of #300 Kilimanjaro cold press paper, and tried to keep my palette somewhat limited. I used Winsor & Newton professional grade pigments throughout, with the exception of Shadow Green, which is a Holbein professional grade pigment.  After creating a detailed sketch, I lightly erased the darkest lines so the graphite wouldn't smudge or show through in the finished painting. Then I began to add color, beginning with the center of the blossoms, using New Gamboge, Transparent Orange, and Burnt Sienna. I put down a light wash of Green Gold on the stems and the leaves. I gradually shaded the base of the inner and outer petals, using thin washes of New Gamboge, Permanent Rose, and Cobalt Blue.  The background was glazed with Winsor Green (BS), Green Gold, and Viridian. I used a loaded brush, with just enough water to allow the colors to mingle freely on...

Two summers ago, when I vacationed in western North Carolina, I spent some time exploring Moses H. Cone National Park, which is located near Blowing Rock. In addition to some historic buildings, there are acres of trails winding through woodlands and some beautiful scenery around the lake there. I did some sketching en plein air , and took a lot of photos of waterbirds, flowers, trees, etc.  Today I started a small painting of some water lilies, using my vacation photos as a reference (although the lilies at Moses Cone were white, not pink). I'm interested in trying to capture the reflections cast by the lily pads and the flowers -- definitely not an easy task. I sketched the basic outlines, and began by using a mix of mostly Green Gold and Sap Green to fill in the lily pads -- I did use a touch of Winsor Green (BS) in a few places to ensure that the lily pads didn't look too "flat." I then added a line of Yellow Ochre to indicate the upward curl of the edge on ea...

During the past week, I've tried to loosen up (again) by painting outdoors. Not my favorite setting for doing watercolors, but it is a great way to become better at sketching quickly and learning the best way to capture a scene's contrast re sunlight and shadow. On Saturday, July 16, I joined a painting workshop at Tower Hill Botanical Garden in Boylston, MA. It was facilitated by Charlotte Wharton, also of Worcester, MA. (You can visit Charlotte's website  here  ). The weather was beautiful -- sunny, hot, with a slight breeze -- and the group of twelve or so was very congenial. I met (and exchanged contract info) with several other painters -- always a plus!! We were seated in the morning near a large memorial urn that overlooked a grassy area near some woodlands. The sunlight cast interesting shadows, and the foliage in the far background was in deep, deep green contrast to the somewhat dry grass. I spent about 45 minutes doing a sketch, trying to render the ...

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...