Portrait of Native American - in progress

I'm working on my first large portrait -- a 20x16 portrait of a Native American.

I still have some work to do on this painting but it's coming together nicely.  Considering that it's my first large portrait, i'm happy with what's happening on the canvas, so far.  Now i need to be careful not to overwork the painting.  Sometimes less is more.

SOLD - Jenny Lake and the Tetons, 12x16 oil on canvas panel, studio work

Jenny Lake and the Tetons, 12.x16 on canvas panel, oil, studio work

Sold this painting and it is on its way to a collector in the upper midwest!  Thanks for buying original art work.

 jana van wyk     

 @JanaDVanWyk  #janavanwyk #makebigart #nationalpark #grandtetons   #studioart

--------
about this painting:

"Jenny Lake and the Tetons" was painted from a photograph I took in Grand Tetons National Park near Jackson, Wyoming, while on vacation with my family....we crossed the lake to begin our hike up the canyon across the lake.

This is an original Expressive oil painting 12x16 inches - one of a kind. The brush strokes are juicy, thick, and colorful. The painting is on a canvas board that is 1/8 inch thick.
To read about my painting adventures visit: www.janavanwyk.blogspot.com and www.highdesertpainters.blogspot.com

Wide Open Spaces

Wide Open Spaces   20x24   oil

Painted for my Solo show "Wide Open Spaces" at Duke Raleigh Hospital, Raleigh, NC  - January 15 - March 15, 2012

based on a photograph taken in Colorado

Sky paintings

Golden field and clouds  12x16    oil

I love these simple subjects that pack such a punch of delicious color and joy.   I'm doing a series of sky paintings and enjoying this new subject very much.

Joy in the sky  16x20    oil

This larger painting is based on the first painting in this post.  For this second larger painting I enjoyed making the clouds more geometric and also allowed a red underpainting to show through.   These points of red make the painting more active and interesting.

This painting is for my show "Wide Open Spaces" at Duke Raleigh Hospital, Raleigh, NC, January 2012

"Cottonwood and Pine"

Cottonwood  14x11  oil

Pine  14x11   oil

I tried a new technique with these two paintings.  First, I painted the subject in greys only - to make a value study.  Then I painted high key, opaque paint over the greys.  The result is more muted color than I usually use.

New Painting - Golden Hills of California

Golden Hills  20x16  oil

Some Labor Day weekend painting results. Painted from a series of photos I snapped from the car while driving through central California. Love those golden hills.

Discipline

 "Vermilion Cliffs"  16x20 in     oil

For a long time I've painted landscapes that were over 90% land. Painting the mountains and trees was so much work and demanded so much detail that I pretty much ran out of energy, not to mention room on the canvas, before even getting to the sky. Plus clouds move so quickly that I didn't even try to capture them on canvas.

So, since skies were missing from my body of work, I've been working on them lately. I am enjoying learning about the sky, clouds, and atmosphere. I mention Discipline in this blog post title because I am also working on simplifying my paintings with big shapes. I need more discipline on this. For example, the painting above has several clouds; in the future I want to try to simplify this to one large cloud or at least one cloud that demands more attention than the others.

a departure

untitled 16x20 oil

I've been studying and thinking far more than I usually do... before I begin to paint. I'm trying to simplify and make big shapes. So, somehow, I ended up with this - my most recent painting. It's quite a departure for me! I really have no idea where this painting came from. I'll probably touch up the area at the base of the hill a bit.

So this painting is different... but... somehow I still like it, even though it doesn't look like my usual technique.

I think I am working my way from thick paint, lots of color, and lots of brushstrokes to ... something a bit more "mannered" or deliberate. I don' t know what will happen but I'm enjoying the journey.