Day 28 30 in 30 Challenge

Leslie's  30 in 30 Challenge

 25 x 17.5 cm

Oils on gessoed cardboard

The reference photo that I chose was a group of plastic beach chairs near the water, Dead Sea, near a shading station... rather like the composition between the sea, distant hills... colorful chairs lit by the sun... after sketching it in started to sketch in the chairs and just didn't work in this small format... so it ended up just one chair......Oils on toned, orange, gessoed cardboard. Done with palette knife with limited palette of red, yellow, blue and white.

Day 27 30 in 30

Leslie's 30 in 30 Challenge

25 x 17.5 cm

Oils on gessoed cardboard

Wow... here we are on the 27th day.... can't believe it!!! Feel exhausted and brainwashed but otherwise OK!!!  A few years ago we took Amir, our grandson, with us to Ein Gedi Hotel and spa... boys love to climb!!!!

Oils on gessoed toned, yellow ochre, cardboard done with a palette knife... I used a limited palette.. Cadmium red, Cadmium yellow pale, Ultramarine blue and mixing white.   No blacks!!!!

A little about my setup... my painting area doubles with my computer table....I move the keyboard and mouse out of the way and roll out a picnic table cloth to protect the table.... when I am done roll it back covering the small section where the glass palette is... till the next time.   Here is how the set up looks in "painting mode"  You can see the reference image on the monitor!!!!

Day 26 30 in 30 Challenge

Leslie's 30 in 30 Challenge

15 x 20

Oils on wrapped Canvas

Another of Tristram's Starling or Tristram's Grackle.... he is not too afraid of humans and waits patiently for some tid-bits.... he loves grapes....Photo reference was taken at the spa Ein Gedi.... short video

Oils on a wrapped canvas.... what a difference from the cardboard....  

Day 23 30 in 30 Challenge

Leslie's 30 in 30 Challenge

20 x 20 cm

Oils on cloth covered corrugated cardboard

Tristram's Starling or Tristram's Grackle is very popular in the Dead Sea area... took some nice shots on several occasions so I will do a few more of these beautiful birds....  they have a very distinct whistle call....
Short 1.16 minute video

Oil on cloth covered corrugated cardboard using a palette knife.  20 x 20 cm.   

Day 15 30 in 30 Challenge

Leslie's  30 in 30 Challenge

20 x 25

Oil on gessoed cardboard

20 x 25 

oils on gessoed cardboard

Another view of the beach at Ein Gedi ... photo taken on a winter day's... actually it rained a bit which is very rare in this region... calling this a WIP because it really needs some more work on it.. maybe I'll have time before date or not... I doubt it cause its the day I have "baby-sitting duty"  .  Well I did ake advantage of an hour + and am proud of myself for rolling out the table cloth and taking out the paints... fixed horizon and shore lines... and front sand... Too wet to  work but needs tweaking... should I blend more???

Day 14 30 in 30 Challenge

Leslie's 30 in 30 Challenge

20 x 25 

Oils on gessoed cardboard

Another view of the Dead Sea... Life Guard station on Ein Gedi beach.  This was taken in 2003. Each year the beach recedes a meter or more... so this piece of beach is now flat hard sand and salt...

A tractor pulls a train along the hardened flats from the main spa to the beach ... this was also taken in 2003.. the tractors today are air conditioning cabins...

Tractor train 2003

H

Heading toward the beach 

2009

Air-Conditioned Tractor

Oils with palette knife on 20 x 25 gessoed cardboard... 

Day 13 30 in 30 Challenge

Leslie's 30 in 30 Challenge

20 x 25

Oils of gessoed cardboard

Feeling a bit stressed... the work not flowing like it should... interruptions in the daily chores... feel on edge..shows up in my work.... and to top it off blogger is acting up!!!!

This is a view of the the Dead Sea on the Ein Gedi beach.  One of my favorite spots. have not done justice to the variations of the water and the vast hard sand beds with layers of salt... the Jordan hills in the distance...   20 x 25 oils with palette knife on gessoed cardboard.