602 Will or Cramer?

For a full 24 hours, we could not find the family of Great Horned Owls in the neighborhood, and sadly assumed they left the area, but we joyfully discovered they had moved only a block south from the willow tree.  The babies are more mobile now, but still, at least one parent is usually nearby.  They are not visible to us during the daytime, but at dusk they are busy.  Since they are now a block closer to our house, I am hoping they will get "carry out" from our yard.  I have chased squirrels and chipmunks from our bird feeders, thanks to Oliver's guard.

A giant thank you to Steve Gardiner for taking such beautiful pictures of the owls, including the reference photo for this painting,  for sharing them with friends and neighbors, and for granting permission for me to paint them. 

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/602-will-or-cramer/371974

596 Retired

A long-time Garden Club member is a landscape architect and she has the most beautiful property overlooking Lake Michigan.  It is all simply magnificent.  In the Fall, she so graciously gave us a tour of the gardens and pathways.   On our way up the beautiful lannon stone steps from the Lake was this little vignette.  I knew I would paint it someday.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/596-retired/370253

592 Forsythia and a Polka Dot Bowl

I know the bowl looks a little off kilter, but it is a hand made bowl and it IS off kilter.
The color yellow is my least favorite color to paint, especially in flowers.  It is very difficult to get it right, despite my "special" paint colors.  The forsythias in my studio are a joy to behold.

591 Spring Has Sprung

I have missed painting blue bowls, but have looked forward to this day when the forsythias are in bloom and can add them to the still life.

502 Garlic and Lemon

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/502-garlic-and-lemon/290672

This Artist's Tools

This is my 500th Daily Painting.  I am so proud and happy.  I obsessed over this painting for days, even more than for my first painting.  So many possibilities for subjects were considered, each evoking a surprising emotion .  I wanted to reflect gratitude for the past as well as demonstrate hope and promise for the future.  This has been such a rewarding experience--I can't even begin to tell you how much I have learned from this experience.  Along the way I have met so many nice people, strangers who take the time to complement each other's work because they know how important it is to an artist.  I have been asked many times, "Will you stop at 500?'  Heck, no.
Thank you to all of you for your kindness and encouragement.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/this-artists-tools/290158

495 Autumn Cluster

I was away on vacation without paints for a week.  I felt a little rusty today, but am eager to get back to the routine.  The reference photo for this paintings was taken a little more than a week ago.  Many more leaves have fallen since then.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/495-autumn-cluster/289025

494 Path to Palisades

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/494-path-to-palisades/286994

490 Big Bay Landscape

One of my favorite places to get away is Big Bay Park which overlooks Lake Michigan in my community.  At this time of year, the maples are so vibrant along the way leading to the path that takes you to the lake.  This Fall I've stopped my car many times to take pictures of the trees in all their glory and brilliance,  and couldn't resist the impulse to paint them.  I squirted out the Indian Yellow and Nickel Azo Yellow for this one. 

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/490-big-bay-landscape/276130

436 Lounging

Carrots from the farm box in (on) a favorite bowl.  I love the complimentary palette of orange and blue.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/436-lounging/250525

427 For Caprese

I hope you are not bored with extent of this series.  I still feel like I have more to learn so expect to see these bowls and more fresh produce.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/427-for-caprese/248664

413 Lemons and Pearls

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/413-lemons-and-pearls/244443

412 Outcast

Once again, yellow is not my friend.  It doesn't scan or photograph well.  The lemon on the right is not as orange as it appears on my monitor.  I enjoyed setting up the still life and painting it.  The bowl is a favorite, hand made by a local artist,  Jean Smaglik Wells.  I have several of her beautiful pieces.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/412-outcast/244315

411 Pearl Onions in the Spotlight

I really enjoyed painting the mandarin oranges from a copyright-free photograph, and was curious to try to recreate the conditions that produced the reflections of the oranges.  I experimented with set ups to try to accomplish the same effect.  I was happy to see these pearl onions in my farm box this week and spent a lot of time arranging different items to achieve the desired effect.

People often ask me how long it takes to paint a daily painting.  A gallery owner advised me to say
"61 years" (my age) because it took me this long to get to this place.  But truth be told, there is so much research that goes into a painting, and no one ever sees that.  First comes the idea, the research, then experimenting with the set up, the sketching and developing the color palette. Analyzing whether what you want to paint will translate into a painting takes time, as well as a gazillion other factors.  Then, of course, the actual painting, the photographing, the title, the posting to blog, etc.

I am very lucky to be able to do what I love at this time in my life.  I am a happy person when I can devote the necessary time to become a better painter.

This is a longer post than usual.  I apologize if it is more than desired.  I am exploding with creative ideas and possibilities.  Thank you for your patience, support and encouragement.  It is very much appreciated.
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