Tulip Fever

Tulip Fever, 18x13 oil by Bridget Bossart van Otterloo

It's the time of year when we all have spring fever, and I have tulip fever. Tulips are one of my favorite flowers to paint. I began this painting about a month ago from tulips growing from their bulbs in a beautiful glass vase, purchased at our local Wegmans. I've been posting the progress of this painting on my Instagram and Facebook pages, and now I thought I'd share the step by step process here in on my blog. I've heard back from many of you that you enjoy my process posts.

The visual idea behind Tulip Fever was to create an oil painting that looked like a classical botanical watercolor painting on vellum. I'll explain more in the process section below.

Tulip Fever will be framed and ready for a new home in time for the Arts in Bloom, Open Studio Weekend, an annual Arts Trail event in Steuben County. You can learn more about the trail here: artsinbloom.net

I hope to see you in person during this fun weekend. I'll have new paintings for sale, unframed watercolors, cards, and more moon paintings for you to take home!

Tulip Fever Process

Beginning Drawing

I love drawing. I usually begin a detailed botanical painting with a graphite drawing. Drawing allows me to work out the composition with gestural lines and erase mistakes easily. This painting was done on Multimedia Artboard—it's an absorbent surface made from paper soaked in resin. My late mentor, Tom Buechner, introduced me to it 15 years ago and it's still one of my favorite materials to work with.

When I'm happy with the drawing, I spray it with fixative, wait a day or so for it to dry, then begin the first layers of color in oil.

First layers of paint.

The first layers of paint on the multimedia board are mixed with a lot of Liquin. Liquin is a great painting medium. It thins down the paint without dissolving it like turpentine can do. These first layers are similar to the look of watercolor paint, with thin transparent colors. 

Tulips get color!

Brighter colors are layered on with a smaller brush. The initial light yellow layer shows through on the petals. After the flowers were painted, I started in on the greens of the leaves.

Leaves come to life.

Life got busy around the middle of the month, my tulips faded away, and I had to put my painting on hold. So, I scraped up the colors mixed on my palette, wrapped them in plastic and put them in my freezer. Oil paints will keep in the freezer for about a week or two. After that they begin to dry out. I don't know about you, but I hate wasting paint

Colors go on ice.

For the background of this painting I wanted to see if I could get the oil paint to look like vellum. Vellum is a semi-transparent parchment that was originally made from animal skins. I really like the look of this surface in traditional botanical and scientific illustrations. My animal loving-heart hates the idea of painting on animal skin, but my Artist heart loves the look of it.

I created this look with several thin layers of liquin and paint. The first layer was a mix of yellow ochre and lots of liquin. The second layer was titanium white and naples yellow with a touch of ultramarine blue. Lastly, I glazed the edges with more yellow ochre and liquin. I'm happy with the final look of the background. What do you think?

Dried bulbs for reference.

I finished the rest of the painting using the bulbs that I had saved and dried out. I'm going to try to plant them in my garden and see if they bloom again. I also used photo references to finish the final details in the overall painting.

Finishing touches

Tulip Fever, 18x13 oil by Bridget Bossart van Otterloo

Tulip Fever will be varnished, framed, and available for sale in time for the Arts in Bloom Open Studio Weekend. You're invited to see it in person and visit me in my studio on Saturday, April 28, 10am–7pm, and Sunday, April 29, 12– 5pm. For more information click here: Arts in Bloom

I referred to many different art materials in this post. If you have any questions about them, feel free to message me. If you're in the area, take one of my painting classes at 171 Cedar Arts Center, or one of my Studio Workshops.

Happy painting!
Bridget

Connect with me:

website: bridgetbossartvanotterloo.com

facebook: Bridget-Bossart-van-Otterloo-Painter

instagram: instagram.com/bbvo_studio

Postcards from the Past

"Postcards from the Past" work in progress.

With everything that is happening in the world right now, it can seem overwhelming and all-important to pay attention to. I'm having trouble carrying on with my usual studio routine. I feel like there is so much outside my usual flower painting that needs my attention. Last week, after participating in the Women's March in Seneca Falls, NY, I started this Postcards from the Past project. Seneca Falls is considered the birthplace of the American women's rights movement.

We got to the march early and had a great spot for hearing the speakers in the Women's Rights National Historic Park, site of the first women’s rights convention in 1848. Two of the inspiring speakers—Diane Shenandoah, Oneida Nation Faith Keeper - Wolf Clan and Louise McDonald Herne, Bear Clan Mother—spoke on how the early Suffragettes in Western New York were inspired witnessing Hausenosaunee (Iroquois) gender equality. I don't remember learning this in history class, do you?

We stopped in the Women's Hall of Fame where I picked up these postcards: (Hear Our Voice postcards were picked up yesterday. I thought they made a nice picture together.)

Postcards past and present.

I brought them home to my studio where they've been sitting on my desk speaking to me. I'm not sure where this project is going, but I'm taking it step by step. It's a good place for me to me right now—exploring how to communicate ideas visually.

Here is what my little series looks like so far (still a work in progress):

All the portraits will be sepia toned with the Iroquois Confederacy Wampum belt symbols connecting them.

I'm connecting these portraits with the symbols of the five Seneca Tribes—the Iroquois Confederacy Wampum belt, sketched in my notebook above. The tree of peace is in the middle. The middle portrait is of a Seneca artist, Caroline Parker (Seneca) in 1849.

The past has a lot to teach us. Let's not forget her lessons. I'll be sure to post photos of the finished paintings. Here's something you can do this week: write a postcard to your senators and representatives about what matters most to you. You can print out postcards and find more action steps at www.womensmarch.com/100.

Find your voice by using it.

My best,
Bridget

Creative Process - Apple Couple

This post is inspired by a recent interview with Edward Dougherty, poet, writer and professor at Corning Community College. For his sabbatical project on creativity, Edward is interviewing artists from different disciplines about the creative process. What goes on in their minds while creating? (You can check out Edward's work here: edwarddougherty.wordpress.com.)

Edward visited me in my studio to observe and ask questions about how I start a painting. I am comfortable working and talking simultaneously. I do a lot of it while teaching, but I still sometimes find it hard to put what goes on in my brain into words. Painting is a visual medium, and I sometimes struggle to translate those visual ideas into words. I'd rather let the painting do the communicating. Edward did an excellent job of asking me questions as we worked. This blog post is mostly about the technical part of my creative process. I'll leave the creative writing up to Edward and will let you know the end results of his sabbatical project.

While thinking and talking about how I work, I realized that I like routines. I have my set studio hours and they are sacred to me. I usually paint for about 5 hours in the afternoon when the light in my studio is best. I often have a few paintings in various stages of completion, which allows me some flexibility about what I "feel" like working on that day. I'm also a seasonal painter. I prefer to start painting from life, which means that I paint what's in season. The apples in the painting featured here were picked at a local orchard back in September. It's amazing how long fruit will keep if you pick it fresh.

I usually start a still life painting from life with the subject there in front of me. I paint from life for a long as possible, but also have photographs handy for finishing touches. My favorite part of this process is setting up a new still life. This is when the possibilities are endless and I haven't ruined anything yet.

My first steps are to visualize the composition and begin with a rough sketch in the basic colors. I use oil paint mixed with Liquin™ to thin out the paint so that it flows more easily.

Sketching with the brush

The main purpose at this stage is to get rid of the glaring white of this multimedia board. I'm establishing the larger shapes and thinking about the negative spaces in between the objects. Even though it's a representational painting, the abstract shapes in the composition must be interesting.

I began this still life thinking that if I placed the apples up high in the space of the board it would give them more importance—more personality. But, as I started to fill in the first layers of paint for the background, I realized it wasn't working. There's a major problem with the composition—I've left too much space at the bottom. I either need to make the wooden crate very interesting or add something else to the still life setup.

Rethinking the composition

Here I am explaining my dilemma to Edward. I'm thinking about what I can do to make that space more interesting, trying to visualize additions to the setup.

Still thinking

I decided to add another branch hanging down around the apple couple. Here's the new composition:

Then I got back to work filling in the rest of the browns around the apples. These are just the first coats of paint, so I'm basically getting rid of the white and setting up for future layers of paint.

Continuing to "block in" the colors

Many painting hours later, I have a composition that I'm happy with, so I start the more detailed work on each apple and all those leaves.

Flash forward to almost done:

Making progress, but there's still a lot to work on.

Here's the finished painting and still life set up in the background:

Finished painting with still life

"Apple Couple" 14x11" oil on board by Bridget Bossart van Otterloo

Thank you for your interest in my work and the creative process.

Happy painting,
Bridget

See more of my work on my website: www.bridgetbossartvanotterloo.com
Follow me on Facebook (@BossartvanOtterloo) and Instagram (@bbvo_studio).

"Nature's Light" - new paintings at West End Gallery

"Nature's Light" at West End Gallery through October 14, 2016.

My studio is empty, and the West End Gallery is full of paintings! There are 29 new paintings and 1 sketchbook (from my California trip) on view at the West End Gallery from now through October 14, 2016. If you're in Corning tonight— Friday September 9, stop in the West End Gallery to say hi. My favorite part of an opening reception is chatting with all of you face-to-face. I love to hear your feedback and reactions to my paintings. Feel free to ask me lots of questions. There's a little story behind each painting. If you can't make it to the gallery, you can always view all my paintings on my website: www.bridgetbossartvanotterloo.com

"Goldfinch on Thistle" by B. Bossart van Otterloo

 

Please join me for an

Opening Reception

Friday, September 9th 

5:00–7:30 pm

Music by Harpist, 
Meredith Kohn Bocek

West End Gallery
12 West Market Street
Corning, NY 14830

Preview my new work on my website: 

 www.bridgetbossartvanotterloo.com

Save the Date!
I will be doing a watercolor demo at West End Gallery during Urban Arts Crawl in Corning on September 30, 5:00 – 8:00pm.

Iris Symphony, a peek into my process.

 

Iris Symphony, work in progress currently on my easel.

This time of year, I can't paint fast enough. So many gorgeous subjects are in bloom and crying out, "Paint me!" Last week the Siberian Irises in my garden were at their peek, so I started this painting. As fellow flower lovers know, iris blooms only last one day. This is where my tablet comes in handy. In the photo above, you can see it set up alongside my painting. One big advantage of digital images over printed photos is that I can zoom in on the details of each blossom. I'm finishing the painting from digital images, with many more hours left to go.

Detailed drawing on canvas. 

I usually start a large painting like this (it's 24x36 inches) with a detailed drawing. The start of the painting is my time to capture the gesture and movement of the plants on my canvas, and to lay out the composition.

 The inspiration for this painting came from sheet music. I'm thinking of the irises as notes going up and down, signifying more that just a two-dimensional image. Working in pencil, I can erase and change the composition much easier than I can in oil paint. When I'm satisfied with the drawing, I spray the canvas with fixative. 

The next step is the metal leaf base coat. I've experimented with different colors of straight paint for this coat, but I've found that sticking to the gilding base coat works the best. It has a nice red earth color to it. You can see it peeking out in the silhouette of the plants in this photo:

Gilding with 12kt white gold leaf.

After the base coat, I apply the gilding glue around my subject. Wherever I apply the glue, the metal leaf will stick. This is a slow and tedious process. I usually turn on my audio book at this stage to keep my brain engaged. Here's an short and sweet video of the process:

Well, back to my studio to finish Iris Symphony! Save the date to see this finished painting in my show at the West End Gallery. The opening reception is Friday, September 9th, 5:00-7:30pm. The exhibit is on view September 3 - October 14, 2016.