Open studio event

The painting I was working on previously is now finished and framed. As the subject was seen in the warmth of the late afternoon sun, I've called it "Evening Glow". It is now representing me in the group exhibition for all the artists participating in the annual open studio event "Konstrundan" here in southern Sweden. The exhibition in the Landskrona Art Hall opens Good Friday along with all the artists studios. We are 148 artists here working with many different techniques so the event is usually quite popular. I have been taking part in this event since 1997 and the number of visitors has increased every year. Normally over 2000 in my living room during the 10 days so I won't be painting for the next couple of weeks and tomorrow I'll go to bed early.

Painting magpies in the snow - or not...

I photographed these two magpies from the kitchen window earlier this year when there was a lot of snow. At first I rendered them as they were, surrounded by white snow. Afterwards I felt the the background was rather boring and nondescript. So I started letting a blade of grass or two peep through the snow in places. Then I went on and on painting grass, blade after blade, day after day. Different shades of green, yellow and blue were added. On and on I went, almost like the sorcerers apprentice. Painting shadows between grass straws, lightening up, toning down, overlapping in places and finally adding the taller grass and twigs in the foreground.
 In the meantime the snow has slowly vanished from the garden, the days are longer and spring is almost here. The magpies have moved up into the pear tree where they're building a nest. I'd like to paint that too but it's way out of reach, they know what they're doing so I'll leave them alone now.

Magpies   acrylics on canvas 35 x 110 cm                                                                                               © Elizabeth Tyler 2013

Garlic

Garlic           acrylics on canvas    90 x 120 cm                                                                     ©Elizabeth Tyler 2002

Sometimes inspiration comes from an unexpected source.  Making dinner one evening, while I had my reading glasses on to look at a recipe, I took a closer look at the garlic I was holding in my hand. I had just broken some cloves off and what was left was some thin transparent flakes of skin, the root and the rest of the cloves. The garlic wasn't just white but many different colours ranging from yellow ochre, pale purple, blue and brown. I've never been much good at cooking so the dinner was no success, my mind was elsewhere as it usually is. I couldn't wait to start painting the garlic. The painting was much larger than life so I could render the garlic in every detail. I chose complimentary colours for the background in order to bring out the pale shades of the subject itself.
The painting was sold a few years ago but the other day I was glad to have the opportunity of seeing it again in its present surroundings, a beautiful private home in Helsingborg, Sweden.