Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I am headed out for the rest of the week but I'll be back and posting next week again. Have a great holiday!

I've been reading about Monet lately and have learned a great deal about the artist that I didn't know before. One of the things that fascinated me the most was the last 20 years of Monet's life. After he purchased his home at Giverny, he created an elaborate garden filled with flowers, ponds, and water lilies. He spent the next 20 years of his life painting daily from this garden he had created. These water lily paintings have defined a great portion of Monet's most recognized art.

How one subject can occupy your attention for so long, I'm not sure I'll ever understand. Perhaps the constant study of the same garden forced Monet continuously find new beauty and interest in the garden. I am simply fascinated at the idea of Monet sitting in his beautiful garden day after day, for twenty years, painting the same subjects again and again. Of course no two paintings are the same, but I can't help but think that he must have had some sort of unrequited and passionate love for this garden that occupied so much of his life.

Sneak Peak at My Newest Painting

Here is a little sneak peak at the newest painting that I am working on. A couple of months ago, my husband was kind enough to take me on an autumn drive through the farmlands around Madison. There was this extraordinary red barn out in a field of corn and I absolutely loved the colors and the contrast. I knew I wanted to paint this scene, but I had to mentally mull it over first. Once all my mulling was finished, I had two different images in my mind and so I decided to create two small watercolor studies of the scene.

This was my first attempt. I put in a cool sky and played with texture and brushstrokes in the foreground. While I liked this one, I found a few compositional and color scheme problems with it and so I moved on to my second attempt.

This attempt was much more successful. I kept the entire piece on the warm side of the palette, using the white of the paper to achieve the brightness of the barn roof. The composition is much stronger in this painting, as the barn is not so close to the middle of the paper. I left the foreground simple, allowing the wet-on-wet paint to spread itself. Also, I made the sky warm this time, more of a yellow instead of the bright blue that seemed to throw everything off balance. The actual finished painting is going to be done in oil on canvas. But creating these little watercolor sketches really helped me to visualize the finished painting and work out some of the problems beforehand.

Uplifting Others With My Artwork

"Study for Expectations" - 9 x 12
Charcoal on Chipboard
SOLD
Copyright of Dena McMurdie 2009

The other day I was contacted by a woman asking my permission to use my "Study for Expectations" on the cover of the weekly newsletter for her church. I was grateful that she took the time to ask my permission, and of course, I allowed her to use the image.

I create my artwork with the intention of selling it. I wouldn't be able to continue creating more artwork if I didn't sell what I had already made. However, one of the many perks of being an artist is the gratification I get from people falling in love with my work because of the way it makes them feel. Artwork uplifts the soul, and as an artist, I have a responsibility to put enough thought and effort into each piece I create so as to lift the spirits of my viewers and collectors. I am so grateful for my Father in Heaven who blesses me with the initiative to create. I am grateful for parents and teachers who encouraged me to pursue my artistic passion and make a career out of my talent. And I am extremely grateful for each opportunity that comes along to share my artwork with others and hopefully make a difference in their lives.

You Have a Gift

As my husband and I were running errands the other day, we began to talk about Christmas and how the commercial aspect of the holiday seems to be taking over the reason for the season. We started thinking that we should initiate a tradition in our family to create more thoughtful gifts for each other. Whether it is simply by putting sincere thought into a purchased gift, or by going through the work of making our own gifts. I asked him what he thought of my artwork as a gift. Would family members and/or friends really appreciate a piece of original artwork as a gift? I would be thrilled to receive such a gift, but I wasn't sure about most of our relatives and friends. Would they appreciate the value of it? Would they understand the significance and the sacrifice that went into it? I wasn't sure.

Then my husband said something to me that really struck a chord. He said, "Dena, you have a gift that pulls on people's heartstrings. You need to use it!"

As usual, my husband is absolutely right. As an artist, I have been blessed with talents and gifts that not many people in the world possess. I have the power and ability to create paintings and images that will be significant and meaningful to others for the rest of their lives (and possibly for the rest of their children's lives as well). It would be a shame to waste my gift. I have something to offer the world and I have a responsibility to share it.

Paul Hunter: Precious Metal Paintings

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I was able to spend some time with family and friends and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

This week, the featured artist on Empty Easel was Paul Hunter, an artist that uses pure gold, aluminum, white gold, and other precious metals in his canvases. I found his paintings to be very simple, elegant and unique. Take a look at his beautiful pieces and see if you don't come to the same conclusion!

CLICK HERE to read the article.