Autumn Trees and Abstract Strokes

I have always enjoyed the abstract quality of working with watercolor. Putting down the colors  and letting them mix randomly on paper is what I love best.

However, working in oil presents a bigger challenge because you have to apply the paint more directly than with a watercolor medium. 

I had some luck with this small oil painting of an autumn tree. Lots of paint, mixing on the canvas and random brushstrokes gave me more of an abstract quality with just enough impressionism to satisfy me.

Below is the finished 10" x 8" oil painting of one of my favorite autumn trees.

"Finally Fall"

Krys Pettit

Oil on canvas panel, 10"H x 8"W

Visit my website for a sampling of my work and custom house portraiture:

https://www.kryspettit.com

Wild Oats and Billy Goats is a great, eclectic fine art and craft gallery in Decatur, GA and I am thrilled be a part of their tribe:

https://wildoatsandbillygoats.com/collections/krys-pettit

Etsy is a great marketplace for fine art and craft and I have had my store there for a number of years.  You'll find prints and my medium-sized oils, acrylic and watercolors.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/KrysPettitArtwork

Looking for art to fill your home and within budget?  I regularly put out studies, smaller works, and older pieces for auction at my eBay store.  It's fun to bid and win and I keep the work varied and fresh:

https://www.ebay.com/str/kryspettitartist

Oil Painting - Who Needs a Reference Image?

"Driving Into Autumn"

Krys Pettit

Oil on Canvas

 8" x 10"

I have worked from my own images for decades. I have stacks of reference photos.  Files of digital images.  Books with painting ideas.  Sometimes is a just too much for my creative brain and I want to just paint. 

Artists rely on memory more than we care to admit. All those years of sitting in the car observing while my husband drove gave me a memory palace better than any photo file. "Driving Into Autumn" took about 90 minutes to do. Loose, impressionistic and fresh. It's that scene in the mountains in October I am looking forward to seeing which exists only in my mind.

Below some images of the progression of the piece:

Ready to paint after putting in some basic shapes and colors. Cotton candy colored sky not my fav.

Adding some darker colors in the middle and lots of orange and green for trees

Loving how the orange, green and red hint at fall leaves turning in the distance

Starting the finesse the mountains in the distance with cool lavender, blues and greens. Add more color to the sky for a mood -- sunrise or sunset?

Suggested more variation in the mountains in the distance, pumped up the sky a bit and added some colors in the foreground. 

And that's a good day in the studio.

Visit my website for a sampling of my work and custom house portraiture:

https://www.kryspettit.com

Wild Oats and Billy Goats is a great, eclectic fine art and craft gallery in Decatur, GA and I am thrilled be a part of their tribe:

https://wildoatsandbillygoats.com/collections/krys-pettit

Etsy is a great marketplace for fine art and craft and I have had my store there for a number of years.  You'll find prints and my medium-sized oils, acrylic and watercolors.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/KrysPettitArtwork

Looking for art to fill your home and within budget?  I regularly put out studies, smaller works, and older pieces for auction at my eBay store.  It's fun to bid and win and I keep the work varied and fresh:

https://www.ebay.com/str/kryspettitartist

Krys Pettit Artist - Studio Notes Fall 2018

"Three Together" © Krys Pettit-watercolor on paper, 12"Hx9"W

"Autumn At Home" © Krys Pettit-acrylic on canvas, 16"H x 12"W

My Color Palette and Seasonal Changes

I count the days when the sultry months end. Summer has its  perks - flowers, the beach, travel, glorious sunsets. All make for great paintings but I need change.   Most of my work is based on time passing with the seasons and nature's adjustments and I anxiously await the months to come.  Autumn has always provided boundless inspiration. I look forward to the cooler temperatures, the onset of the holiday season, but most of all the intense and glorious Fall colors. Gold, bronze, burgundy, russet against blue skies- seeing these colors always moves me.

Recent Commissioned Work 

I had the exceptional pleasure of creating this custom commission of a family home in Jacksonville, Florida. I couldn't ask for nicer clients and we worked together long distance as a team via email, text & phone to bring to life a portrait of their beautiful family home. Click here to see more commissioned home portraits I have had the pleasure of creating: https://www.kryspettit.com/commissioned-work-1.html

MY LATEST EXHIBITS

"Early Morning Meeting" was chosen to be part of the "Top Choice" juried exhibit at the SoBoGallery in Winter Garden, Florida. 

"Early Morning Meeting"
© Krys Pettit
 watercolor
14"H x 20"W

 "Market Day" was part of the "Figuratively Speaking" exhibit this summer at the Art League of Daytona.

"Market Day"
© Krys Pettit,
watercolor
16"H x 12"W

Website Updates

I have been making adjustments and additions to my website.  I've added some photos of me traveling and at work, stories about my art and why I paint, links to my blog and the various ways to reach out to me on social media on my "Contact" page. Come visit me soon! 

https://www.kryspettit.com/contact.html