Pear - An Original 10 x 8 Still Life Oil Painting and Workshop information by George De Chiara

Pear ©

10x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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 I think I've talked about this before in other posts, but sometimes the challenge of a still life is in taking a simple object and making the while painting about it. In this case, it's the pear taking center stage sitting atop an old wooden box. I acquired this box a few years ago at an estate sale. I love the construction of the box with its box joints joining the sides together and showing off its craftsmanship. They don't make them like this anymore! I thought it showed off my pear rather nicely.

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Highland Field - An Original 8 x 10 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Highland Fields ©

8x10 inches   Oil

George De Chiara

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 I spotted this field last week when I was out painting sunflowers, but didn't stop to paint it then. The day was already rather hot by that point and I knew I could always come back to it. Well, I finally got back to it and it turns out it was just in time because as I was painting someone came by and started mowing the field! Luckily, it's a large field and I was able to finish my painting before the lawn mower got to the area I was painting. I'm glad I went when I did and didn't wait another day because this scene looked a lot different with short grass around all the trees. Timing is everything! 

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Into The Night - An Original 10 x 8 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Into The Night ©

10x8 inches   Oil

George De Chiara

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One of the greatest challenges in painting from life? The sunset! This one was just beautiful to watch and paint. There were thunderstorms coming in from the east and made it to with a mile of where I was painting. If I walked out the end of the dock, I was standing on and looked to the other side of the lake I see the rain falling into the water. For a while there it was pretty touch and go as to whether I'd stay dry, but after about 40 minutes the storms cleared out and we were treated to this wonderful sunset. I'm so happy I was there to capture it on canvas!

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Wild Sunflowers - An Original 8 x 10 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Wild Sunflowers ©

8x10 inches   Oil

George De Chiara

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 Last year, after most of the wild flowers started to die off, I noticed this field of wild sunflowers in a field by a local strip mall. It was so very hot last year when I noticed the field that I didn't do any paintings on location. I made a note of it for a possible painting site this year and waited for the flowers to come back. I started to notice similar sunflowers popping up last week while driving around town and thought it might be time to revisit this field. After waiting out two mornings of rain and cloudy skies, things finally cleared up today and I was off to paint. I was so happy when I spotted the field at the end of the road and saw all the bright yellow blooms! I quickly found a place to paint and got to work. 

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Striptease - An Original 10 x 8 Still Life Oil Painting and Workshop information by George De Chiara

 

Striptease © 

10x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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 We had another cloudy, overcast morning today. It's a nice change from the high heat we've had, but it makes it almost impossible to go outdoors and paint. Instead, I worked in the studio on my still life painting. I've had this idea in my head for a few days. I kept having this vision of a long orange peel hanging down. I thought it would be interesting to paint both the inside and outside of the peel as it curled around like a cork screw. The only problem is I don't know how to peel an orange like that. Most of my experience has been mostly to just remove the peel so I could eat the fruit. Artfully peeling the orange, as my wife put it, is a whole other skill set that I'm going to have to practice in order to do the painting in my head. For now, this is the best peeling job I can muster. 

 I'm teaching a still life painting workshop in just a few days at the Dutch Gallery in Dallas. The dates are June 21st and 22nd. There's still time to register and join in on the fun. Go here for more information and to sing up: http://dutchartgallery.net/event/george-de-chiara-still-life-2-day-workshop/ 

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Red Pepper - An Original 8 x 8 Still Life Oil Painting and Workshop information by George De Chiara

Red Pepper © 

8x8 inches   Oil

George De Chiara

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Simple...bold...colorful...accurate. These are a few of the thoughts going through my mind while I painted this in the studio. Sometimes I need to remind myself to just paint what I'm actually seeing and not what I think I should be seeing or want to see. I've noticed with shiny objects, like this pepper, I struggle with what seems like self-delusion the most. But, that also one of the reason I pick objects like this paint. They force me to face the things that give me the biggest challenges. By taking the time to study them like this, the next time I go to paint something similar it becomes easier since I can recall my past experiences.

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Hydrangea - An Original 8 x 8 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Hydrangea ©

8x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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 While trying to decide what to paint at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens, I ran across these colorful hydrangeas in full bloom. I passed them by at first since I wanted to see what else there was that might tempt my brushes, but everything I looked at seemed to pale in comparison to these dramatic blooms. Eventually I worked my way back to the spot I found these at and settled into the shade from a nearby tree to paint for a few hours. I hadn't painted hydrangeas before this. At first, they are a bit overwhelming, but if I kept squinting at them the shapes got be rather simple and abstract making them a lot easier to translate to canvas. 

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Green Onion - An Original 8 x 10 Still Life Oil Painting and workshop by George De Chiara

Green Onions ©

8x10 inches   Oil

George De Chiara

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 Sometimes when I'm looking for inspiration for a still life painting, I don't have to look any further than the vegetable drawer in the refrigerator. It's especially tempting after it's been restocked for the week with a trip through the produce aisle. Today, these green onions caught my eye. The challenge with these was to make an interesting painting and composition with what is essentially, as my wife put it, green pencils. After a little playing around with different arrangements I found this one the most interesting to paint. The onions are balancing on  a piece of wood, with a few falling over the edge and their shadows draping down. I also kept the background fresh with lots of bold brush strokes and a lot of color and edge variation. 

There's still time to register for my upcoming workshop at the Dutch Art Gallery in Dallas on June 21st and 22nd. This 2 day workshop will focus on painting the still life in oils, but any medium is welcome. For more info click here.

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Going...Going...Gone - An Original 8 x 10 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Going...Going...Gone ©

8x10 inches   Oil

George De Chiara

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 Few challenges are harder than trying to capture the setting sun en plein air. When the sun is this low in the sky, it changes very quickly. In fact, every time I looked up at the view in front of me it had changed, sometimes dramatically. For instance, in a matter of minutes the bright sun light that was shooting across the field had all but vanished. This was the very reason I picked this view to paint, and, in no time at all, I had to try to paint it from memory and the bit of light that was still shining on it. If you try this, get the light parts first since they change the quickest during this time of the day. This is the opposite of what you would do if your painting during the day light ours when the shadows change the quickest.  

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Garden Wall - An Original 8 x 8 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Garden Wall © 

8x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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 This is one of many views that one can see while walking around the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens this time of year. It seems like just about every flower, tree and plant is in full bloom. Lately, it's almost overwhelming trying to pick out what to paint, but at the same time the draw to this place is hard to resist. During this visit, after walking around for about 30 minutes, I spotted these vivid blossoms, which  contrasted against the softer, darker background. They were also a nice contrast to the hard, rigid form of the retaining wall and stone path that ran through this part of the garden.

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Last Of The Wild Flowers - An Original 8 x 10 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Last Of The Wild Flowers © 

8x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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We are just about at the end of our wildflower season now. As the Texas summer heats up and our rainfall dwindles, so too will the wildflowers. They are a Spring treat for sure and don't do well in the hotter weather. I did find this small patch of flowers along the edge of a wooded area not far from our home. I was very surprised to find them since the other spots I checked had no signs of flowers at all. Just tall, dry grass. Of course, on the way home I spotted a small field of wild sunflowers so there may be a few more floral paintings to come!

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Cat Tails - An Original 8 x 10 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Cat Tails ©

8x10 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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Green, green, green. Everywhere I look, I see green. It must be summer here in Texas... it's hot, the mosquitoes will carry you away and there's not a drop of rain the forecast. Hopefully, everything will stay green all summer. These cat tails presented a wonderful challenge to paint when I spotted them along the edge of a little pond not far from our home. They have so many subtle color shifts and variations.  Mixing a good variety of greens will certainly be one of this summer's challenges.

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A Stranger Among Us - An Original 8 x 10 Still Life Oil Painting by George De Chiara

A Stranger Among Us ©

8x10 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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Every once in a while I get a composition idea or theme stuck in my head. Sometimes I'm able to work out the idea in a painting quickly, other times it takes several attempts to get the idea out of my head and onto a canvas. This painting is one of my attempts to work out this idea I have thought about for about 2 weeks now. This is actually the second variation at this theme, the  last one was a landscape painting. I still haven't gotten the idea out of my head yet, but it's been fun exploring it. 

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Chipped Paint - An Original 8 x 8 Still Life Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Chipped Paint ©

8x8 inches   Oil

George De Chiara

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 I've really been enjoying these simple still life paintings lately. I don't know if simple is the right word to use though. In many cases, they are just as taxing to paint as a still life full of objects and are almost as hard to arrange. When arranging so few objects, I must be very careful with its placement. I don't want it centered and I want it to still be interesting in the way it sits on the canvas. Plus, with just the one object, I need to make sure my work on it is strong enough to carry the painting. It's been a lot of fun trying to solve these issues. When I showed this one to my wife, she gave me a sort of shoulder shrug "It's okay" response. When I asked her what she didn't like she said it was the background color. Originally, the background was a light tan color. I though about her response for a while and then put the painting back up on the easel and changed the background to the blue-grey color you see now. I'm glad I made the change since it helps the lure stand-off better. If you look close you can still see some of the original color coming through.

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Spring Blooms - An Original 8 x 10 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Spring Blooms © 

8x10 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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 I started this painting last week at the "Paint Historic Waxahachie Plein Air Event", but wasn't totally happy with it. It just seemed to lack some of the detail I remembered from the day. Thinking back,  it makes sense. It was a very windy afternoon when I started, so much so that the flowers were never in the same place for more than a second or two, then the wind would come through and rearrange them. I was trying so hard just get the shapes correct, I didn't have any time to get any kind of detail or completion into the painting. Today, I was able to get the painting back on my easel and spend a few hours reworking the areas I didn't like and finishing off the areas I did. I'm glad I was able to do this since I think it made the painting stronger. 

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Morning Delight - An Original 8 x 8 Still Life Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Morning Delight ©

8x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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 My favorite part of summer has to be the abundance of fresh fruit that is available at the supermarket. It seems lately that every trip through the produce section brings more seasonal fruit. The cantaloupes our store has now are unbelievable. From the outside they don't look like anything special; in fact, I almost passed them up because I didn't think they would be good yet. Once I cut it open, though, I quickly changed my mind. The color on the inside of these melons is outstanding! Bright, intense and lot of variety. I knew the moment I cut the first slice of that I was going to want to paint it before we ate it all up. As soon as I was done with this painting, I ate this slice. Couldn't resist after staring at it all morning.

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Upper Falls - An Original 10 x 8 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Upper Falls © 

10x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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I've painted at this location a lot over the last two years. It's a view I never get tired of and one I still haven't completely captured. There's something that always seems to elude me when I'm standing in front of these waterfalls trying to capture them in paint.  Not that I haven't been happy with my efforts over the last two years since each attempt has taught me something about trying to capture this scene and given me clues about what I should try next time. In a way, I hope I never capture it the way I see it in my mind because it's the hunt that keeps me going back. Keeps me packing up my gear and heading out into the elements. It's the hunt that keeps me growing.

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Late Afternoon - An Original 8 x 8 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Late Afternoon © 

8x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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 I painted this during the time of day called golden hour. This is usually the hour or so right before the sun starts to set. It's a wonderful time to be out painting since everything is glowing with color and the shadows tend to be nicely defined. I picked this view of a gentle hillside littered with small trees and shrubs because of the strong play of light and shadow. I had to work quickly since this light doesn't last long. When I was finished, I was treated to a beautiful sun set. Not a bad way to spend an evening. 

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Watching The Clouds - An Original 10 x 8 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Watching The Clouds ©

10x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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 This is my painting from the quick draw at the Paint Historic Waxahachie Plein Air Event. We had 90 minutes to paint anything within eye sight while staying within a two block strip in downtown Waxahachie. I spent a long time before the event started looking for an inspiring scene within the allowed area, but never found one I really liked. Finally, a few minutes before we where suppose to start painting, I picked a scene out of desperation. I started to block it in, but just wasn't happy with it. That's when I looked up at the sky and noticed the wonderful clouds passing by. I scraped off my block in and quickly started over with the clouds. These where very fast-moving clouds. After about 5 minutes, these no longer existed and I had to paint them by observing the other clouds passing by. Fun times!

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Getzendaner Garden - An Original 10 x 8 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Getzendaner Garden ©

10x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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 I spent all last week painting in the "Paint Historic Waxahachie Plein Air Event". This little garden sits at the entry way to Getzendaner Park. I was attracted to this scene because of those thin, bright red flowers. I loved the way they burst through the garden greens and seemed to grow in any direction they wanted. This was the first painting I completed during the week and felt it was a good one to start my week off with. I'll be posting more from this event during the next few days, so be sure to check back often!

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