Stacy Weitz Minch

Quick sketch of our family pet. If ever a model moves, this one does, ha! My  mom pointed out that he's too thin, and she's right, but I feel like I might have a good excuse ;)

5x7" This is just a quick 45-minute sketch of a ranunculus I picked up at the grocery store this morning (keep me away from that floral section! ;). When I bought it, it was all curled up, but magically opened up in the warm car on the drive home. I preferred the shape partially-closed, but I'm hoping it might close back up overnight... if not, there's another tiny bud that I assume will eventually bloom. The colors are so vibrant and beautiful, though! I've started using more of a reductive drawing process for starting floral sketches. I like some tone in the background, but I don't like it where the petals will be--it muddies the color. And drawing with a thinned brown or gray paint does the same thing. So I draw with my paper towel, and it's just kind of fun and fast. Anyway, I've got my eyes set on a few more master copies that will guide me in the direction of pulling it into a tighter finish when that's what I want. 

5x7", oil on linen panel I woke up at 5AM this morning, laid around a little while trying to get back to sleep, then decided to get up and paint for a bit before everyone else woke up. Pomegranates always get me. They're just the prettiest. I think I might fiddle with that cast shadow more a little later. I haven't painted much lately and I kind of forgot about that panic state of every painting, where it feels like it will never ever come together (I think that's about where I ended with my awful painting yesterday). But it's still a surprise every time, ha. And why was I up at 5AM? I don't know. I wish I could figure out a way to predict and prevent my discouragement and anxiousness regarding all this stuff, but it comes in waves (and for no apparent reason).

5x7", oil on linen panel Another sketch of some little pumpkins we picked up at the pumpkin patch the other day. I left the white one out this time. I don't know why it's so much easier for me to see value and temperature on brightly colored objects, but it is. I guess the variation of color/value on white is probably just a lot more subtle, so your perception needs to be much more fine-tuned. In any case, I'll keep working on that white stuff. With the pumpkins, I'm finding I have to make sure all the darks are connected, and all the lights are connected, or it looks really wonky. I don't know if that makes sense, but it does in my head. And here's a quick sketch of a cat, done from a photograph. I'm feeling the fall vibes, if you can't tell ;) 

Another quick little painting. I find these two-toned fruits pretty tricky as far as color and value matching goes, especially the transition where the two tones meet. But I sure do like having that little box full of paint ready to go all the time--it seems like half the battle of painting is getting set up (and of course cleaning those brushes after-the-fact. But I don't really use too many most the time :)

5x7", water mixable oil on linen board Strawberries have such great individual character. Whenever I arrange them to paint, it feels like they're huddled in some kind of social gathering. This particular situation is something quite relate-able to human experience--at least my human experience. And I'd be willing to bet I'm not the only one :) This was a pretty quick little sketch--maybe 30ish minutes. Here are a couple behind the scene photos.

5x7", water mixable oil on linen panel I took a little bit of French in Jr. High and High School, and the names of a few different fruits (along with how to ask if I could use the restroom, and say a few very important phrases, such as "I like to dance") are the only things I remember from those hours of my life. So I figure I might as well pull that very useful information out of the recesses of my brain once in a while, if only to come up with something a little more interesting than "peaches" for a title to this post ;) I had fully intended to paint in Montana. I lugged my backpack full of paints and easel there and back, and didn't pull them out once--not once! I used to bring homework on trips, and it never got done, either (hey, I get car sick if I read!). I don't like to think of painting as homework--it's much more fun. In fact, it was killing me not to paint in Montana. Everywhere I looked, there was a painting just screaming to ...

5x7", oil on linen panel It was calm and sunny when I headed out to paint, but within a few minutes of setting up, the wind had started blowing across the lake, pushing that ominous-looking cloud directly my direction (and whipping my hair in every other direction--next time, ponytail!!). I painted as quickly as I could, and I'm pretty happy with how the clouds/mountains/water turned out. The foreground is a bit of a segmented mess, but I was in a major hurry, so I'll forgive myself (this time). After that plein air workshop in April, I was all fired up to get outside and paint, but finding the time in my real life is another story altogether--I'll count it a success that I got outside to paint at all! It's always a fun adventure, if nothing else :)

7x5", oil on linen panel This was about a one-hour study at a park near our house (what a beautiful day!!!). Okay, I was trying to figure out why this was feeling a little bit weird to me, and I think it's because those pines in the distance are darker than the shadow on the grass in the foreground. Even though I think they were darker, this might have been a good place to force some atmospheric perspective.  Anyway, I have this new goal to try to be a little bit nicer to myself in terms of my art, so maybe I'll start playing a little twist on the Polyanna glad game in my posts and list a couple things I like about what I've done (because you know I can't resist picking it apart--maybe this will balance things out a bit ;).  I think I did a much better job of simplifying the mountain down to a manageable color mass than I have in the past--and it's a pretty color :) I kinda like that I incorporated the goal net for a little added interest--thoug...

5x7", oil on linen panel, 3/19/16 Alright, so I didn't make good on the few days' break. But this was a quick little painting--nothing too intense. Radishes have such great shapes and colors.

5x7, water mixable oil on linen panel, 3/5/16 This is me trying to not completely neglect painting while focusing more intently on my drawing skills. Quick sketch (1.5-2 hours--or however long Disney's Aladdin runs ;) from this afternoon. Part of me wants to go back over this after it dries and see if I can bring it to a more refined finish. But the other part of me says "don't do it!" I guess I'll see what wins later on. It seems like whenever I try to go for a more finished look, I end up destroying whatever was good about the first go, so I dunno... it scares me a little (not that I have a ton to lose with this... a couple hours and a tiny panel, so maybe I should just go ahead and try?). Which reminds me of Keats again: "I was never afraid of failure. For I would sooner fail than not be among the greatest." I certainly have a long road to travel before being among the greatest, but he inspires me nonetheless :)

5x7, water mixable oil on linen panel, 2/10/16 Just a quick 40-minute study of some potted tulips I picked up the other day. They smell sooo nice and are making me anxious for spring :)

5x7", water mixable oil on linen panel, 11/20/15 I bought a few of these cute little indian corns (not sure that's a proper pluralization, but oh well) in all different colors at the grocery store a few weeks ago, and just got around to painting one of them last night. It's almost Thanksgiving!!! (I have some family coming into town next week, so I'm getting excited :)

Some quick plein air studies from yesterday afternoon.

7x5", water mixable oil on linen board, 10/24/15 I found this beautiful rose growing in our front yard and brought it inside to paint, but I had a really hard time matching the color I was seeing in person. If I made the lighter values as light as they appeared, the saturation of color was completely gone. If I made the saturation as intense as in person, the value was too dark. Then I ended up adding too much in the petals, breaking up the masses too much, and it definitely weakens the rendering of the rose. So I'm not sure how people do this whole flower painting thing. Flowers are tricky little things. Anyway, I do still have this rose sitting in my little painting corner, and maybe I will try again later today. There definitely are things I like about this little painting, and I learn something new each time I paint, so it was not a waste of time. I just think I could do better :)

5x7, water mixable oil on linen panel, 10/23/15 The clouds have been unbelievable lately here in Utah--so big and billowy. Whenever I go outside, I have this urge to paint! But I'm not a landscape painter (yet)... not that I wouldn't like to be. I'd like to be able to paint whatever I want :) However, I used to have this idea that I just couldn't paint landscapes (after a couple of miserable failed attempts).  But now I'm thinking, "Why not?" I'm sure I can learn how with some practice, and I do want to. I'm finding lately (especially since starting this blog and recording some of my thoughts as I go along), that I have this constant inner dialogue regarding my art. There's always a voice saying "you're not any good and you might as well not bother." I don't like that voice. And since I'm more aware of it, I'm becoming more effective and pushing it away. Who really cares if I'm not any good anyway? No on...

5x7, water mixable oil on linen panel, 10/22/15 Same one, actually :) I decided to take Richard Schmid's advice (I read Alla Prima II earlier this year), and try out painting on a surface primed with an oil ground instead of acrylic gesso. Still getting used to it, but the oil ground seems nice--the paint doesn't get absorbed as much as the acrylic stuff (so I find myself painting a bit thicker than is probably necessary). As usual, all I had time for was about 30-45 minutes on this. I think I might get started on another one of those Sargent drawings tomorrow :)