Category: Acrylic painting

Acrylic painting, Uncategorized

“Cy” Tree

jillrholland

red orange tree

16×20 Acrylic and Impasto on Canvas.

I did this painting because of a previous posting I did a painting called red tree. I had the red tree in my office and a colleague thought I needed one next to it. Both paintings have a black frame for canvas. I bought mine from Amazon and they work great for canvas. They are attached to the canvas by velcro.

I am calling it “cy tree” because I used some gold and red in the tree and I am an Iowa State alumni and that is our school colors. Of course I do know that when those two colors are mixed together they create an orange color but there are some gold highlights. I did add a little bit of white, black and two shades of red.

The impasto was used only on the background. I used a pallet knife and mixed it with the black and white paint and “scraped” the paint from the edges inward. I also mixed it with the brush for the middle. Anyone who has worked with impasto knows it takes a little longer to dry. I set this aside for a couple of days and I added the trunk and branches. Then did the layers of the trees. I started with the dark colors, then the mixture of red and finishing with the highlights.

I don’t know how this looks with the original red tree but I am okay with it for now. I may decide to separate them. The red tree is centered in the space, where as this goes outside the “box”. Sometimes I like to think outside the box.

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Acrylic painting, Mixed Media, Uncategorized, Wood painting

Be Our Guest sign

jillrholland

IMG_07968.5×27 Inch acrylic and stain on wood.

I made this home decor by cutting the wood to fit the lettering I wanted to apply. I used a “8 inch” board, but they are never a true 8 inches. I used a 1.5×1 inch board for the boarder.

I stained all of the wood and all sides of the border but only the top on the largest board. I let the stain dry over night then applied some white acrylic paint. I did paint it thicker in some areas and after it was dry I lightly sanded it, applying more pressure on the edges.

I picked the quote, “be our guest”, only because it is a different way of saying welcome. I did not do it after the Beauty and the Beast movie, however I did have the song, Be Our Guest, in my head. Okay, I am thinking of that song right now. Then I hand painted the letters on with black acrylic paint. Once the top was dry, I glued the border on and used finishing nails for extra support. I also applied a light layer of clear varnish on the top.

Time to find a spot to place it.

Acrylic painting, Tree Painting, Uncategorized

Red Tree Painting

jillrholland

tree in red

16×20 Acrylic paint, impasto, pallet knife and brush on canvas

The background has impasto mixed with the black and white paint. I spread it on with a pallet knife and a little bit with a paint brush. I wanted the edges to be darker and show the lines of the knifes edge. Because I used impasto it becomes thicker, therefore, it takes longer to dry.

The tree- I chose to use two shades of reds along with black and white. I chose red because it would stand out to the background. I do have a little bit of red in the truck of the tree as well. My favorite Fall color is the red maple tree. I could use this just for Fall but I would use this all year long.

Acrylic painting, Flowering Tree, Uncategorized

Flowering Tree

jillrholland

flower-tree painting

8×16 Acrylic and impasto painting on canvas.

This small painting was an experiment I wanted to do to explore more with impasto. I never did get the look I was hoping for but I think I need to try it in a larger scale. Over all, I am pleased with the colors. I have four different colors in the background, 4-5 in the tree and three in the purple flowers. I do try to have depth when I paint and using multiple colors does help that.

I will continue to do more exploring until I get the technique with the impasto, brush and pallet knife.

Acrylic painting, horse Painting, Uncategorized

Horse Jumping

jillrholland
horse jumping painting
20×26 acrylic painting

I have painted a few horses now but I decided to tackle the front view of a horse jumping. Back in my showing days, I did not do jumping but in the last few years I have been around because my two nieces love it.

Horses are great athletes. Capturing, even the front view, has shown part of that. I did do some sketches prior of painting this. I needed to develop the technique of the horse. I have “clipped up” many horses legs, faces, ears and cleaned out hooves. I use this memory while painting or drawing.  I tell people to paint what you know and what you enjoy. Yes, this is mine.

Acrylic painting, horse Painting, Uncategorized

Palomino Painting

jillrholland

palomino-painting

20×20 Acrylic on Canvas

I picked a dark background to contrast the light colored horse. It has black, brown, white and blue, that looks like a periwinkle to me.

If you look at my previous posts, you will notice that I like horses. Like most people, I paint what I know and like. Of all of the horses that I have had, my family and I had one palomino. She didn’t look just like this one mainly because she had a longer head. She was a registered quarter horse and maybe her larger head came from her thoroughbred background.

Acrylic painting, girl with umbrella, Uncategorized

Umbrella Painting

jillrholland

umbrella

This is a 14×18 acrylic painting also has a little bit of impasto with a pallet knife. This is a little more abstract because of the technique I used. I am still experimenting but I am finding I like the effect and texture it gives.

I have always chosen to use acrylic paint over oils because of the oder. I am not used to the long length of time of drying by using impasto. Acrylic paint dries quickly.

The Purpose of Impasto: The effect of impasto in a painting serves several purposes.

  • It adds a surface topography that is capable of reflecting light, which imparts a sculptural quality to a painting and is useful for accenting surface form.
  • It can indicate the gestural force of the painter adding more expression to a painting.
  • It can be used to create areas of visual fascination due to its variance from surface consistency.

Impasto has been used from some of our famous painters, such as, Van Gogh. He used it to convey feelings and emotion. It also give dimension to paintings and was used by many Impressionism and Expressionism painters.

Acrylic painting, boat painting, Uncategorized

Rugged Boat

jillrholland
rugged-boat
Acrylic and impasto on canvas-Rugged Boat

“Rugged Boat”

This is a 14×18 acrylic painting with some impasto and a pallet knife. I did this just for fun and doing some experimenting with the impasto. If or when I do this again I will skip the impasto for this particular painting. I don’t think it needed it.

I called it a rugged boat because it it looks like it has had many years of being in the water and is now beached, worn and tired.

Acrylic painting, Bird painting, Uncategorized

Bird Painting

jillrholland

fullsizerender

This is an acrylic painting on a 18×24 canvas

I am posting this painting because it reminds me of Spring and Summer. Things are coming alive again. This isn’t a complex painting but the fade of yellow to brown has its own flair. Of course the small red flowers add a pop in the foreground. You eye travels to the bird and flower right away. This is in the rules of thirds on a horizontal bases. This also has some abstract in it as well from the grass to the splattered red and yellow paint.