
A Painting A Day by Laura Wambsgans
Small daily oil paintings, painted in a plein air impressionistic style on stretched canvas or canvas board created and posted regularly.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
"Onxy Afternoon" ©

Sunday, January 29, 2012
"Rolling In" © studio

"Rolling In" on the easel, shows a good example of taking a small oil "sketch" and creating a large painting from the idea captured in the sketch.

My small painting is on the little easel to the right of the larger canvas. I knew I wanted the same proportions for the canvas but didn't have a fresh canvas on hand in that size, so I pulled an old canvas with an idea for a commission (long since finished and delivered) turned the painting upside down to lessen the confusion of waves vs. ducks and starting laying out the seascape.

At this stage the ducks are completely covered and I have laid in the general shapes and color patches, here and there. This is the fun part for me, feeling my way around the painting, making decisions and adjustments.

Here is a close up of the palette. I know it looks like a mess and I am constantly scraping down the glass starting over with a big clean space. The palette is custom. Sounds fancy but in honesty a quick inexpensive solution to needing more palette space. My husband cut a piece of wood and I had the fellow at Newhall Glass Co. cut a piece of glass to fit. I painted the back of glass gray and with not too much trouble I had a terrific palette. I have to give a little shout out for the Gamblin Radiants on the lower right side. Love them!

Thursday, January 26, 2012
"Santa Clara Riverbed" ©

Wednesday, January 25, 2012
"Kitty" ©

Tuesday, January 24, 2012
"Lazy River" ©
Sunday, January 22, 2012
"Stormy Sunday" ©

Saturday, January 21, 2012
"Montreuil Bellay River" ©

Monday, January 16, 2012
"Frontenay Gate" ©

Friday, January 13, 2012
"Arroyo Trees" ©

Tuesday, January 10, 2012
"Deep in the Arroyo" ©

Saturday, January 07, 2012
"Wild Rocks" ©

Thursday, January 05, 2012
"Cooking" ©
Friday, December 30, 2011
"Sunlight on the Riverbank" ©
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
"Softly Setting" ©
Sunday, December 25, 2011
"Mailbu Lagoon" ©
Thursday, December 22, 2011
"Aspen Road" ©
Saturday, December 17, 2011
"Deep in the Forest" ©

Last night was the big show at Cope Studios in Glendale. The people flocked in , had a blast and seemed to really appreciate all the art. I was glad to be included in the show with my paintings. Today, after a day of Christmas shopping, painting "Deep in the Forest" was a welcome break.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
"Paramount Ranch" ©
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
"Winter Puddle" ©
Sunday, December 11, 2011
"Streaks of Sun"
Thursday, December 08, 2011
"Winter Light"
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
"Kern River, Morning"

Winter mid-week on the Kern River, completely quiet and void of human activity. A nice place to sit and think for a while.
Oil on panel, 8" X 10"
Friday, December 02, 2011
"Half Dome" ©

Thursday, December 01, 2011
"Desert Dusk" ©

Sunday, November 27, 2011
"Whitney Canyon Colors"

Friday, November 25, 2011
"Nice Place to Be" ©

Monday, November 21, 2011
"Simone" ©

Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Winter Day ©

The idea of this little painting was the light streaming though the Oaks with the last bit of warmth striking the very dry sand in the bottom of the creek.
My time was limited as the light slipped away from me. I do like the idea of the painting and it might be worth exploring on a larger canvas in the studio.
Oil on canvas, 6" X 8"
Monday, November 14, 2011
"Waiting for Sunrise" ©
Clouds announcing the appearance of the sun for the day, in shades of pink. This was the scene just before sunrise, in the heart of France as we headed out to the bakery for the morning baguettes. Oil on canvas, 14" X 18"
available for purchase $850.
Friday, November 11, 2011
"Golden Glow" ©

Wednesday, November 09, 2011
"Golden Moment" ©

Monday, November 07, 2011
"Morning on the Kern River" ©

Thursday, November 03, 2011
"Desert Flowers" ©

Tuesday, November 01, 2011
"Radiant Rabbitbush" ©

The tiny town of Onyx, California is known for the 80 or so, Turkey Vultures that come to roost at night in the park pine trees. In the morning they spread their wings to warm up with the day, then fly off into the desert until the next night.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
"Kern River" ©

Friday, October 28, 2011
"Riverkern Beach" ©

Saturday, October 22, 2011
"Sun Dusted Creek"

Thursday, October 20, 2011
"King Gillette Ranch, Morning"

Monday, October 17, 2011
"Morning Stream"

Tuesday, October 11, 2011
"Alpine Summer" ©

Working large (for me) my first goal was to get paint all over the canvas, to see how the patterns and values would work out. I have the mountain and sky pretty well figured out at this point. 
Here is a little close up of the clouds, that you really can't see in the big photo. After I took this I did soften all the edges and did a little blending with my fingers. Just don't tell anyone, I don't want any lectures on safety.

This is the initial line drawing, in cadmium red light. It's a pretty rough road map for the painting but it allows easy movement of elements.
