Linda Hunt

This little painting is the DPW pick of the day!!  The painting is 6"x 6" on a stretched canvas.  I tried some new things in this painting.  I quieted the background brushwork and added warmth to the foreground.  I wanted to capture the glow of the fruit and amplified the color.

I received these Japanese floats at Christmas. I remember as a child combing the Oregon beach for floats. Back then you could occasionally find them as the tide would wash them in. I never found one but I was always hopeful!! I love to paint glass....anything glass.

About 2 years ago I promised a young woman from church that I would paint her children.  It has taken me this long to get up courage enough to tackle the image.  I am pleased with it and stand by it.  A slogan taken from my friend Jo MacKenzie!!   HA

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/linda-hunt/brunch/298099 In Savannah Georgia close to the river right in the heart of the city are small cafe's where patrons enjoy their meals. This particular morning was bright with sun. This couple were sharing an intimate brunch. They were oblivious to any of the hustle and bustle going on around them! Luckily we were able to capture this moment in time. My husband is the willing photographer and I am along pointing out potential subjects.

 I am trying very hard to slow way down and concentrate on what I am painting.  I am reading Carol Marine's fabulous book and she simplifies things in such a succinct way that it all makes perfect sense.  If you haven't picked up a copy DO IT!  I am pleased with this attempt and feel that I am finally learning some valuable information.

I began collecting vintage ornaments many years ago which culminated in a huge buying spree of several boxes of Shiney Brite Christmas Ornaments in the original boxes.  Feeling the spirit of the season with this painting!    If you have viewed this page before you will note that I reworked the painting.  I am learning more and more that it is a good practice to let things rest and have another evaluation before posting.

The rose is painting on a stretched canvas with oil colors.  It I s 8"x8".What can I say?  Hard!!  Ha Ha, yeah it was really tough but I loved every minute of painting this painting.  The neighbor across the road grew this single pinkish rose and I couldn't help but to photograph its loveliness.  I wiped out the first try and settled in on this one.  There are things that I think I could improve upon but they will need to be done in another painting.  Sometimes you just have to let go so that you don't lose the freshness of the paint.  I find that when looking at a complex problem it is easier for me to think of the whole rather than individual parts.  There is editing for sure, but what is important is the believability when rendered.  In my first try I looked to the individual parts and the whole thing just didn't hold together.  I am happy with the outcome but feel that I have learned things that will be included in the next r...

This is an 8"x 6" oil painting on Gessoboard.  What am I learning?  Work hard and then harder....squint...squint....squint and then use the red plastic viewfinder.  Another thing that is quite apparent is that the painting becomes the reality and color adjustments must be made.

An autumn leaf that I found on my walk today.  With this painting I tried to stay very connected with where I was laying my brush stokes and the value and color I was using.  For some reason I am beginning to feel very connected with my own style and painting procedure.  I know that this sounds rather crazy since  have been painting for some time now.  The one thing that I was aware of today was value relationships.  I worked very hard to lay the correct tones in without too much editing.  I did end up wiping out whole areas and starting over several times.  I keep thinking about the avoidance of petting the paint.  Gosh that makes so much sense.

I am on a mission to tackle as many subjects that I think will be difficult as possible.  This is an image that I photographed a couple of years ago in a still life.  I tried to keep things as simple as possible by not 'petting' the paint too much.  A term that was coined by Peggi Kroll Roberts.  When she said this all of a sudden it really made sense to me!!  Thank you Peggi.

While I was looking through my reference photos this morning these pretty red tulips caught my eye.  What I learned from my abstract work is still with me.  I have to admit that I love painting images as well.  I feel that working abstractly forces you to work quickly and with energy.  I began to tighten up and wiped off a couple of times.  Then I used my red viewfinder to correct values and my mirror to really size up the composition.  Then drawing a deep breath I dove in.......

I have hung on to this pink gumball machine for a long long time.  This is another one of those items that have been in the back of my mind just gestating for the appropriate time  to paint.  I used my alizarin orange paint stick in this and love that color.  I bought 3 paint sticks and plan on using them when I can.  I think the brand is RL.  They are particularly creamy and smooth to use.

This is a quick little study that I did yesterday.  It is 6x8 inches on a Raymar canvas panel.  I was reading something wonderful yesterday in my Cloth, Paper Scissors Magazine and I will share it with you because I think that it affects all of us in  way.  This woman, Carolyn Dube, who creates wonderful mixed media art spoke about the defeating chatter that lingers in our mind.  I seem to struggle with this a lot and that was one of the things that I wanted to tackle the most with this last e-course.  Sometimes I want to paint so badly and the only thing I can do is to sit and look at my paints and then the indecision sets in.  Well, I am working on that in a big way!   I have decided to just tackle painting things and challenge myself to paint things that I never would have tried to paint before.  I am working at staying loose and not prejudging my efforts.  I am not even going to look back because I am on a forward track! ...

This will be the last of the do-overs for a while.....Oh boy....my Etsy shoppe is almost bare.  I really have enjoyed the makeovers though. Have you ever thought about failure?  Will I fail at this painting?  What if I fail?  Does it hold you back from liking or loving what you paint?  Evaluating this can really be motivational....

Oh boy am I ever having a wonderful time .... just whaling away on my paintings that weren't making it.  I have trusted my intuition rather than trying to fit a mold that I just didn't fit.  All started in 2008 when I took a class from a great painter and tried to be like her....well...I never could and I got tighter and tighter and hated painting in a way.  Or...I was disappointed that what I did was so different from the way that I thought I should be painting.  Breaking those boundaries that I did indeed set for myself!  You have heard me mention Brooke Wandall the gal that I took the recent e-course with...I attribute much of my change to her thoughtful guidance.  It wasn't what she said it was what she didn't say!!!  For me that made all the difference.  Thank you, Brooke...forever grateful.....

I really enjoyed going back into this painting and working it up a bit.   These are old paintings that I liked in some ways, but I knew that they just weren't going anywhere.  You are always told "Don't go back into a painting once it is done".  Well, I say "Why not? I  If its just sitting around and you know something is wrong with it....and it is over looked all the time".  So, because I learned not to be afraid of messing things up from my abstract class I just am doing a free fall and enjoying the ride!

This exercise was one that I heard about from another artist and thought that it sounded like it would be very informative.  Here is the way that it works.  The top painting is an 8"x10" oil on stretched canvas where I used well over 300 strokes of color to create the image.  The middle painting is the same size but I used about 150 strokes of color to create the image.  The bottom painting is once again the same size and I used about 100 strokes of color.  I worked progressively faster and more deliberately.  My favorite is the bottom painting.  It is in the direction that I wish to go.  Leaner and more spontaneously.  I tend to work loose...but this is much looser. The middle painting is stiff and it looks too deliberate.   There are problems with the bottom painting because I wanted a darker palette of colors and did not achieve that. ( I will refer back to Peggi Kroll Roberts and her suggestion to divide the ...

  I began the morning with a palette knife abstract painting in oil on a 6"x 6" stretched canvas.  It felt good just to warm up and feel loose. Yesterday, I painted an 8"x 10" image of some cooks in a restaurant.  I allowed myself to use as many strokes of color as I wanted.  I lost count but I am sure that it exceeded 300.  This was painting one in a series of paintings.  The second painting that I completed today was painted with half the number of strokes and I think that was around 150.  The final painting which I will tackle tomorrow will be the same scene painted with half again making the total strokes under 75.  This is a very interesting and somewhat challenging exercise.  I can see in todays painting that I deliberated more with each stroke capturing shapes of color and value.  The shapes are larger and more purposeful.  There is however something in the first painting that I like and that is atmosphere.  If ...

Among The Rushes I am posting this painting again because I am at a turning point in my work.  Have you ever faced the day and wondered what on earth you wanted to paint that day?  For me it happens most every day!  "Can I be my most authentic self today or am I going to worry about painting what I believe will sell?"  What a dilemma.  When I paint abstractly I just concern myself with reaching deep enough within myself and to draw upon my intuition and my inner voice.                      As you know, I recently took an e-course from Brooke Wandall.  I am including one of her paintings here for your viewing. I loved the course that I took from her and feel that it has been a major turning point in my work.  What she did was give me the courage to jump the fence and work more abstractly.  I have been wanting to do that for years and never did fi...

On our recent trip to Augusta Georgia my husband and I ate at a small restaurant that we like. My husband caught these shots of the workers cooking meals. This is to be the first painting out of 3 of the same image. I will try and reduce the number of paint strokes by have in each of the 2 remaining. I painted over a canvas that I had erroneously applied white to as a cover and so everything looks washed out. Lesson learned. The painting is 8"x10" on a stretched canvas.

This is a 20"x 20" oil on stretched canvas.  I call it Refections...although I like the title ...Among the Rushes....which one do you prefer?

This is an 10"x 8" painting on stretched canvas done in oils of a street café in Augusta Georgia.  This painting will be for sale in my Etsy shop when dry.  http://www.lindahunt.etsy.com

Painting up a storm today!!  This painting will be for sale in my Etsy shop when dry.

Small 6"x 6" study of grapes done in my studio from life.  This painting will be for sale in my Etsy shop when dry.

20x20 abstract....Done!!!  This was fun!

My e-class is over and I wanted to just do a quick floral which I have missed.

My husband took photos of a local lotus pond which I liked and that is the impetus for this painting.  I am trying to keep it abstract and create an impression....comments?

Yesterday I worked on these abstracts again and feel that I made some progress.  I also reworked some of the paintings in my studio.  For those of you who might be interested I am taking this e-course from Brooke Wandall Schiavi who can be found on Pinterest and BlogSpot.  Do check out her work it is truly wonderful... great class.

A do over influenced by my abstract work.

  Three works today which may or may not be finished.  Searching for my voice.

I decided that I wanted to work with pattern on pattern since I feel that is a real weak area for me.  What I read today was that when work with color it is a good idea to use tone and undertone to create great harmony.  My thinking was that would be a good way to approach pattern against pattern. 

This was difficult to come to, but I learned a lot believe it or not.  I was trying for something authentic in my mark making and it took pushing to the edge to get there.  Now I want to paint something realistic and see what I can bring to it with this kind of paint application and intensity.

Warming up with paper cuts this morning.  I decided to work with some color exercises to stretch my self a little.  The top was red with pattern.  I need to work more with pattern because it is a real challenge.  The bottom was red violet, blue green and orange.