Theme Decided for 30 Paintings in 30 Days -

Joining Leslie Saeta's  group of 600+ other painters signed up for creating 30 paintings in 30 days beginning September 1st.

My Theme?... Small black and white and monochrome painted studies to reinforce my ability to see values, improve compositions and cheer up my drawing skills which have been sorely neglected and suffering these last 3 or 4 months.

All paintings will be posted on Leslie's blog - of course will put mine up here too...

Stay tuned and paint pretty -

JoanneHopper.com

Back to it....and so much going on!

Family matters have kept me from posting for a while - nothing too serious.  Everyone is healthy and happy. Sometimes kids (aka our pineapples as we affectionately call them), just need extra time.

We also just got back from a wonderful trip to Chicago. We met with family and friends and got to see some phenomenal art - both at the Art Institute of Chicago and in some classy galleries in Scottsdale AR on our way back through to Maui. What an inspirational thrill!

So - my time waiting and traveling has not been wasted!  I've actually been painting quite a bit and have about a dozen new paintings that will be forthcoming in the next few months.

Reading has been hugely important these last few months as well.  Everything from Henri to Hensche to Hawthorn, Mary White (love her and her work), Ruskin and a wonderful book by Ryan Holiday called "The Obstacle is the Way".  Been reacquainted too with Hans Hoffmann's amazing vibrant paintings and Hockney's work - and many others...

Procreate - a fantastic iPad app - has also been a surprising inspiration.  I'm not crazy about computer art and have tried several other drawing/painting programs and hated them.  Procreate is entirely different. Easy to use and customize. It's been a lot of fun to learn and experiment with.  ...more to come on Procreate. 

Leslie Saeta's "Artists Helping Artists" podcast has also been a great companion on long drives and times of waiting.  I've signed up for her 30 in 30 event for September and will post more about that soon. I have a theme and a goal and will be posting those pictures every day. 

Metal point drawings and tool production are still, and always, in the works.

The pic above? - Bill had an easel sent from a Dick Blick art store in Chicago for me - what a wonderful man!!!  Amazingly it arrived home before we did.  So I've rearranged my studio space a bit and can now work on much bigger pieces - Yay!

Great to be back to work!

Paint Pretty -

JoanneHopper.com

Heading to Chicago...

We are headed to the Chicago area to visit family and friends etc.   All point orders will be filled when I return, beginning again on August 20th.  Sorry for any inconvenience - please do contact me if you have questions.  Will be online and checking my mail as usual - 

Hope you're all drawing and painting lots!  And to all who have ordered points from me - again - a most Heart Felt Mahalo! (Thank You!)

Platinum Drawing Point

16 Gauge Platinum

I'm now producing 16 gauge, dead soft platinum drawing points.  The point styles are the same, conical, slanted or chisel.  The above photo gives you an idea of the size difference between my chunky 4 gauge points and the size 16 wire.

These points are 2 inches long.  My own experience with the line quality is that it is approximately equivalent to a 2H pencil.  The line will also stay a soft gray as platinum does not tarnish.  I really like it for beginning a drawing as it is so light and soft that I can search out forms without committing to a heavier dark line with silver or copper.  I'm also loving it for luminous lighter shadow areas.

Please don't hesitate to email me if you are interested.  Unless you are a die-hard metal point artist, the price is prohibitive for such a soft light line.  Turn-around time will be between one and two weeks on these points; as always I'll keep you posted on the details of your order as it progresses.

Happy drawing -

Painting at Hui Again

Another great Wednesday with the Maui Plein Air Painters.  A budding group of thespians from Seabury Hall were practicing Shakespeare nearby  - soo much fun!  They were really good too.  Will be heading back to the Hui to finish this one asap.

My Own Metal Points...

These are the points I use on a regular basis.  The DS stands for dead soft.  Pretty Platinum is a new addition to the family.  Loving the soft gray it makes  - that one will stay gray as the rest oxidize.

Layering the different metals, adding another layer of ground and then layering the metals again produces wonderful subtle color differences - pretty amazing really.

There's another post coming on platinum...  will be adding it to my inventory soon.

Several paintings in studio waiting to be finished - as soon as we're over the flu - which feels like the plague about now.  Ugh... on the mend!

Catching Up...

It's been a while - so here's what I've been up to...

This post is coming from my studio.  We've had literally weeks of rain - all over Maui.  Usually we can drive to the west side and get out of the weather, but not lately.  

The painting on my easel above was painted in the Iao valley in the Pouring rain!  It was absolutely glorious!  There was an overhang on an old building that afforded plenty of space to stay dry.  Lots of visitors stopped in for a brief respite from the constant deluge.  As usual - I met so many wonderful people from all over the world.  Will be heading back up to the valley to finish this pic soon.

Also in the studio - a 20 x 28 Jacaranda blossom watercolor in the works. The drawing took two days.  Can't wait to get to the painting...

When I have a few minutes between things at home I continue my metal point series of drawings. I recently added a beautiful piece of platinum to my metal point tool set.  It's a bit cooler color than the gold point and adds a gorgeous soft grey that will stay that way as the other metals oxidize.

With the end of the school year imminent here as well, much time has also been spent recently with our pineapples (aka kids) - school events, projects, summer plans, class parties, swimming and hiking.....

Next Wednesday the Maui plein air painters will be painting at the Hui No'eau on Baldwin in Makawao. Come paint with us!

Paint pretty-