Girls in dirndls, and an idea is born
This week I had a thought process that led to some fun ideas for paintings. It started with this monthly painting challenge announcement on Artists Helping Artists, which got me thinking about subjects that could represent September. Here in Munich there’s a big obvious answer: Oktoberfest (which takes place the second half of September). I [...]
This week in muse flogging 28 Aug 2010
In my studio this week: I worked on a couple portraits, including this one of Jen and a quick live session with my friend Em serving as model. My small daily paintings focused on scenes from Munich. Other exciting stuff: All the posts from my old art blog were imported to this blog, so now [...]
Portrait in progress: Jen
Even when I’m not posting them here, I often take photographs of my works in progress as part of my process. Seeing a photo of a piece helps me evaluate it with different eyes and make decisions about where I need to go next. In person, I was getting frustrated with this piece because it [...]
Daily painting: everyday Munich
SOLD Munich is such a picturesque city, from the monumental churches and town halls to the calm, peaceful English Garden. So many scenes to paint! This week I’ve been doing some daily paintings that focus on parts of the city that aren’t necessarily famous or iconic, but interesting all the same. SOLD I find myself [...]
This week in muse flogging, 21 Aug 2010
Red onions #1, oil on canvas, 15 x 15 cm. ©2010 Julie Galante. [SOLD] In my studio this week: I’m working on a couple portraits, such as this one; the other one is a commission so you won’t see it for a while, until after it’s delivered to the client. Daily paintings galore! I’ve been [...]
New portrait: Uwe
I’ve reached a stopping point on this one and I’m almost ready to declare it done. It’s painted on a canvas covered in roughly-applied, unsanded gesso, and at this point the image seems to fit the support. I’m happy with the texture. Feedback welcome! There are a couple spots I think need tweaking, but it [...]
Daily paintings: Raiding the kitchen
Nectarines [SOLD] This week I have been finding inspiration in the produce I bring home from the market. I love the vibrant colors of fruits and veggies, which make me want to paint with colors straight out of the tube. Tomatoes on the vine [SOLD] These are all 15 x 15 cm (about 6 x [...]
This week in muse flogging, 14 Aug 2010
In my studio this week: Another portrait is close to finished, and two more are in progress. I did a lot of experimenting with daily paintings, trying out different color palettes and subjects. I’ll post some of those soon. Other exciting stuff: Got inspired to learn about encaustic. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any upcoming courses [...]
Face blindness and portrait painting
On a recent Radiolab podcast, Oliver Sacks and Chuck Close discussed what it’s like to be face blind. When the subject and guests were presented, I was so excited I almost started jumping up and down. I love Oliver Sacks, but he wasn’t even the exciting part. Personally I’ve always wondered why I am good [...]
Portrait in progress: Kim
I’m starting to like where this one is going, although I need to figure out the background. Usually I leave the background rather abstract in my portraits. It’s the rendering of the face that interests me, but I need to care about the entire composition. The canvas is 50 x 60 cm. Any suggestions?
This week in muse flogging, 7 Aug 2010
In my studio this week: My daily paintings focused on medieval European cities. Finished a quick portrait of my husband Scott and started on a couple others (to be posted next week). Played around with mixing my own oil paints from pigments and boiled linseed oil. Love the smell. Other exciting stuff: I spontaneously treated [...]
Medieval cities in paint
I love medieval cities, especially the parts where the buildings are chaotic mixes of construction and decay from various centuries. I am constantly in awe of how beautiful they manage to be. I mean, how is it that people 600 years ago could create buildings that could age into something this charming, while my culture’s [...]
Quick portrait: Scott at work
I usually paint portraits from photographs. This one, my first one in oils for a long time, was from life. My husband was working at the computer while I painted. He moved around more than I would have liked, so the resulting image is a little inconsistent. That’s why I like photos – they make [...]
