Kristy Hall ~ Paintings

More & more trees

2010-02-24T14:09:00.000-08:00

Think that I am getting closer on the "Grove" and am working on "Country Road". Soon will be painting out at the Desert Botanical Gardens--every Saturday in March with an April 2, 3, & 4 final show!

Still Fixing!

2010-02-18T15:56:00.000-08:00

I have a painting that has been a problem from the beginning--don't know if it is getting better or not! If it gives me any more trouble, it is going onto the sanding pile and there are already 95 plus paintings on the pile! I am prolific! I have to admit that I do love opaque oil paint!

Trees Again!

2010-02-08T09:41:00.000-08:00

The online class is finished! I learned a lot. I am posting some trees that I am working on--started them before the class and now I am using what I learned to hopefully improve them!

More Underpaintings!

2010-01-24T09:40:00.000-08:00

Still doing work for my online class and the current assignment is to take one thumbnail and paint 5 underpaintings with the same basic composition! Have 4 done and will post 2 of them.

Colors gone bad!

2010-01-21T09:52:00.000-08:00

I took the photo from the last blog under the dining area light and got some nasty yellow tones in the process! The sun hasn't been out in Arizona for a couple of days--oh, poor us!! Anyway, I have been trying other light sources and will attach photos of my current class work! Color is much better, right!?

Class is still a challenge!

2010-01-18T15:24:00.000-08:00

I am still getting the hang of glazing but am starting to get a handle on my colors!

More Underpainting!!

2010-01-09T11:10:00.000-08:00

Still not sure if I am on the right track but am learning a lot and am starting to see the potential of glazing!

Learning!!

2010-01-03T09:42:00.000-08:00

I am taking an online painting workshop from Deborah Paris! It is great fun but I have made a lot of mistakes! Luckily, I usually learn from them. I posted a photo of my underpaintings--I have done 13 but am not sure if I am doing them correctly!!

Holiday Fun

2009-12-16T15:39:00.000-08:00

It has been a busy 2 weeks but full of fun! We made and decorated gingerbread houses, went to see a model train display, and played with the local grandbaby! Even with all the holiday joy, I have made time to paint. Hope to post photos soon!

Isis

2009-12-08T10:33:00.000-08:00

I have a bit of an obsession with Isis Temple in the Grand Canyon! The view from Yavapai Point is wonderful and I try to paint it once or twice each Canyon trip. This painting was painted the morning that we were leaving--couldn't resist one last attempt!

Fun Online Class

2009-11-29T10:50:00.000-08:00

I am taking an online class from Deborah Paris that starts in January and doing some of the suggested prep work by painting some preliminary sketches on canvas in transparent oils. For the color, I mixed aliz. crimson, ultramarine blue, and sap green. We just returned home from spending Thanksgiving with Tina, Tycho & Hoa in upper state New York--near where the Hudson River artists lived & painted. The trees had no leaves but were beautiful & dramatic. I did several thumbnail sketches and picked my favorite to put on canvas. The class sounds like a lot of fun!

Yavapai Point at the Grand Canyon

2009-11-14T15:08:00.000-08:00

David & I have a nearly 40 year obsession with the Grand Canyon! We try to visit 2 or 3 times per year and every visit is like the first time--awesome!! David hikes and I try to capture the beauty on small canvases. My original intention was to do a small "color study" plein air, take photos and come home and do a large studio painting. But, I seem to find the magic of the Canyon in the small, spontaneous, color filled 5x7's. This painting of Yavapai Point was done after I dropped my husband off at the shuttle for Yaki Pt. in Nov. of 2008. He was hiking to Phantom Ranch and I was painting. Because of all of that, I was late to start painting and the light was a deep golden hue. The first rule of "plein air painting" is to paint what you see! From moment to moment in the Canyon, the light changes. The time of year, time of day and the painting location all combine to produce the colors of the Canyon. This year, there was a controlled burn and the smoke produced a mist that produced more purples & roses.

View from Bright Angel Cabins

2009-11-14T15:02:00.000-08:00

Our view from our cabin was so fabulous that I couldn't resist painting it! The cliffs line up to greet the sun and have gold & rose tones on their front edges. On a 5x7 inch canvas, it is unrealistic to think that I can capture the whole Canyon but hopefully I can paint a small slice of the magic.

Moran Point

2009-11-14T14:57:00.000-08:00

This painting was painted showing an area different than most paintings done at this point. The sun was sparkling down over the bush studded cliff with the blues & rusts of the Canyon in the distance. My favorite time of day to paint is the morning but this is a lunch time creation.

Lipan Point at Grand Canyon

2009-11-14T14:50:00.000-08:00

We did not discover this area until last year. Friends of ours, David & Sam Presley, told us about this beautiful overlook. You can see the river and the sunrise view is my favorite in the Canyon! It does take about an hour to get there from the Bright Angel Cabins which means leaving the room at about 5 am. This painting was painted looking West as the sun peeked up over the horizon.

November at the Canyon

2009-11-09T09:39:00.000-08:00

My husband and several friends hiked the Canyon and I painted! I was horribly envious of their being able to hike it BUT, I did get 8 little paintings painted. The weather was fabulous at 60 plus degrees and made for a very comfortable painting experience. The morning that we left, we stopped at Yavapai Pt. and I took photos and got a little painting started. Will add the photo so that you can see my inspiration!

Mesa Verde and Beyond

2009-09-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a trip to Colorado that included visiting Mesa Verde and visiting my sister and brother-in-law. It was a fun week and I have photos of ruins, trees, bushes, cattle and ravines for inspiration for future paintings.

Oops!

2009-08-31T08:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I must really like one of my paintings because I managed to attach it twice in the following blog!??

Fun

2009-08-31T08:16:00.000-07:00

It has been a fun & busy Spring & Summer! We have visited New Mexico, Kansas, New York and spent a month at Geronimo. I had a lot of wonderful painting & photography opportunities!

Excited!

2009-05-02T11:31:00.000-07:00

I just received my "Compact Pochade" made by Edmund Sullivan! And, it will hold 5"x7" canvas panels--my favorite plein air painting size. Wow, Wow, & Wow!! The painting is of a land formation at Canyon Lake--a photo of the same land formation is shown lower in my blog!!

Green

2009-03-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

Arizona has received a fair amount of Spring rain and our foothills are very green! As an artist, it messes with my desert colors. I am used to using a lot of sand colors for the areas between bushes! But, the color of our rock formations do really pop with the green shades!

Not Sanded

2009-01-31T10:41:00.000-08:00

A few paintings were not sanded but put in a pile to fix! I have been working on some of last Summer's cottonwood paintings. We will see!!

New Year's resolution!

2009-01-31T10:33:00.000-08:00

Well, I ended up sanding a total of 48 canvas panels! I have discovered that not being surrounded by my failures makes me happier!! Guess that there should be no surprise in that!

Cold!

2009-01-31T08:35:00.000-08:00

I went with a group of artists and plein air painted out at Canyon Lake last Wednesday. It was in the low 40's when we set up to paint and that is a little cold!! The view was fabulous and I want to go back when it is 10 degrees warmer!

New Year

2009-01-07T07:35:00.000-08:00

Haven't painted yet this year but have been sorting my old paintings. Some were tossed and 23 will be sanded! Does make for a smooth wonderful painting surface when they are sanded. Our holidays were great fun and we had a lot of play time with both grandbabies. Hope you all have a great year with a minimum of sanding!