Daily painting: Austria’s Oetz Valley

Ötz Valley, 18 x 24 cm, oil on canvas, €120, ©2012 Julie Galante. Original oil painting available on Etsy.

The pop-up gallery on Saturday was a huge success! (More details on that in an upcoming post.) This was one of the new paintings I had on display there, barely dry enough to leave the studio. It garnered some very good feedback (and a couple potential collectors), so I guess the treacherous journey across town was worth it.

I think this is my very first painting featuring Austria (although it has appeared in a lino print of mine). It’s about time Austria got a little of my studio time, especially since it’s a country I visit many times a year – most recently a couple weeks ago on a ski trip. I do love those Alps so.

Tags: Alps, Austria, daily painting, Europe, landscape, oils, painting

Dreaming of beer garden weather

Afternoon in the beer garden #1, 40 x 60 cm, oil on canvas, €620, ©2012 Julie Galante.

Brrr! It has been extremely cold in Munich this week (-18c/1f most mornings). Maybe that’s why I was inspired to paint some beer garden scenes: I’m missing the days when you could hang out in the sun for an afternoon and still be able to feel your nose at the end of it. Munich is famous for its welcoming beer gardens (Biergärten): wooden tables, shade from tall chestnut trees, big mugs of fresh local brew. I’m looking forward to spending an afternoon in one sometime in the not-too-distant future.

My new beer garden paintings will be on display this Saturday at Munich Creative Group’s pop-up gallery. I’ll also be showing some paintings that better reflect the reality in the city this month, like this one:

Munich – snowy Odeonsplatz, 30 x 40 cm, oil on canvas, €325, ©2011 Julie Galante.

Hope to see you there!

Tags: cityscape, exhibition, Germany, Munich, oils, painting

In progress: more dirndl portraits

Bea in her dirndl (work in progress), 80 x 60 cm, oil on canvas, ©2012 Julie Galante.

I have nine large dirndl paintings that are in progress or finished so far, all of them hanging out around my studio. I think they’re going to make for an interesting body of work – so many beautiful women in colorful dresses all grouped together. I can’t wait to exhibit them somewhere. But first, I need to finish them!

I last shared this painting of Bea in this post back in October. I’m trying to remember to take more photos of my work at different stages, because I really enjoy looking back at them and seeing the progress I’ve made. I think this one is almost done. What do you think?

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Will you be in Munich on February 11th? Come see some of my paintings at Munich Creative Group’s Pop-Up Gallery!

Tags: dirndls, oils, painting, portrait, portraiture, work in progress

Painting in Progress: Sarah in a dirndl

Sarah in a dirndl (work in progress), 80 x 60 cm, oil on canvas, ©2012 Julie Galante.

Happy New Year! I’m back in my studio in Munich and painting up a storm. My first goal of 2012 is to complete the first 10 paintings in my Women in Dirndls series. I have about seven of them in progress already. For the painting you see here, I’m happy in general with how it’s progressing, but I still haven’t figured out what the background color(s) will be. Any suggestions?

Tags: dirndls, Munich, oils, painting, portrait, work in progress

Wrapping up 2011

Radishes, 20 x 20 cm, oil on canvas, ©2011 Julie Galante. [SOLD]

2011 has been a wonderful year for me and my art career. I’ve painted more than ever. My paintings have found their way onto the walls of so many new collectors. I’m ending the year full of ideas for future projects. Things are good!

For 2012, I’m looking forward to keeping up my momentum in the studio. They say that an artist should have three exhibits’ worth of work on hand at any given time, and next year I’d like to actually do that. I’m also planning to explore new avenues for exhibiting and selling my paintings both in person and online. I’m excited to see where my art takes me next.

I am so grateful to all of you who have visited this blog and followed my progress during this past year. Thank you! And I’ll be back with more paintings and posts after the holidays.

Tags: daily painting, oils, painting, still life, thoughts, vegetables

Day 29: sunny Odeonsplatz

A sunny winter morning in Munich’s Odeonsplatz, 30 x 40 cm, oil on canvas, €325, ©2011 Julie Galante. Available for sale on Etsy.

More Munich for you today. This painting is kind of a companion piece to day 15′s Snowy Day in Odeonsplatz. It also depicts a winter day, but without snow (I know it’s winter by how low the sun is in the southern sky, leaving much of the square in shadow).

November is Art Every Day Month. I’ll be posting a new small painting here each and every day. After they have had time to dry (a couple weeks), most of the original paintings will also appear in my Etsy shop. Paintings from the beginning of the month are already there! Christmas cards, too.

Tags: Art Every Day Month, cityscape, Germany, Munich, oils, painting

Day 28: Munich Wittelsbacherbrücke

Munich Wittelsbacherbrücke, 18 x 24 cm, oil on canvas, ©2011 Julie Galante. [SOLD]

This is a bridge in central Munich called Wittelsbacherbrücke (don’t you just love German?). The church looming in the background is St. Maximilian.

I’m on a Munich streak here, which is quite serendipitous since little Munich paintings tend to be quite popular at events like my upcoming Open Studio. Less than a week to go!

November is Art Every Day Month. I’ll be posting a new small painting here each and every day. After they have had time to dry (a couple weeks), most of the original paintings will also appear in my Etsy shop. Paintings from the beginning of the month are already there! Christmas cards, too.

Tags: Art Every Day Month, cityscape, daily painting, Germany, Munich, oils, painting

Day 27: Miniature Munich

Alter Peter in Miniature, 15 x 15 cm, oil on canvas, ©2011 Julie Galante. [SOLD]

I don’t usually do cityscapes on these tiny (6 x 6 inch) canvases. I don’t have the world’s steadiest hand, so putting in such small details isn’t easy (that’s why this painting is pretty loose). I think the result is kind of cute, central Munich in miniature.

More Open Studio prep going on around here today (it’s only a week away!). Nails are going in for a second display wall for little daily paintings, since I have so many on hand thanks to Art Every Day Month. I just hope that will all this shuffling around we don’t forget that a lot of them are still wet.

November is Art Every Day Month. I’ll be posting a new small painting here each and every day. After they have had time to dry (a couple weeks), most of the original paintings will also appear in my Etsy shop. Paintings from the beginning of the month are already there! Christmas cards, too.

Tags: Art Every Day Month, cityscape, daily painting, Germany, Munich, oils, painting

Day 25: more Munich

Alter Peter Study, 18 x 24 cm, oil on canvas, €120, ©2011 Julie Galante. Original painting available on Etsy.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. In honor of Black Friday, I’ve added a new batch of paintings to my Etsy store, including my pomegranate painting and the last of the leaf paintings. Way more comfortable than sleeping outside Best Buy in the rain! Which reminds me, over at Studio Mailbox, TJ has several other ideas for your gift shopping today, including handmade items from around the internet.

This weekend I am going to be crazy busy getting ready for my Open Studio. Lots of nails will be going in the walls as I decide where to hang everything. Also, I need to figure out what we’ll be serving. Probably Christmas cookies of some sort, in addition to other stuff. I’d love to serve glühwein (hot mulled wine), but I don’t think that’d be feasible unless I rented some equipment, and I’m probably too lazy to do that. Could be an idea for next year, though.

November is Art Every Day Month. I’ll be posting a new small painting here each and every day. After they have had time to dry (a couple weeks), most of the original paintings will also appear in my Etsy shop. Paintings from the beginning of the month are already there! Christmas cards, too.

Tags: Art Every Day Month, cityscape, daily painting, Germany, Munich, oils, painting

Day 24: Thanksgiving dumpling squash

Dumpling squash, 13 x 18 cm, oil on canvas, €70, ©2011 Julie Galante. Original painting available for sale on Etsy.

If there were any wall space whatsoever in my kitchen, I might like to hang this painting in there. It reminds me how tasty these squash are. Can’t wait to roast up the models for lunch!

This Thanksgiving, I am especially thankful for all of you who take the time to look at my art, comment on posts, and in general offer support to me as an artist. I couldn’t do it without you!

November is Art Every Day Month. I’ll be posting a new small painting here each and every day. After they have had time to dry (a couple weeks), most of the original paintings will also appear in my Etsy shop. Paintings from the beginning of the month are already there! Christmas cards, too.

Tags: Art Every Day Month, daily painting, oils, painting, still life, vegetables