Studio Update
Welcome to my first studio update of 2023. I want to say that I’m not sure where January went, but I know exactly where the time went. I spent most of January working on putting together this website, figuring out things such as:
What platform I wanted to use…Squarespace
Picking an email marketing system…Convertkit
Finding my original paintings that I’m proud of from the last couple years to photograph
Writing all the text
Doing things wrong and then figuring out how to fix them
You get the idea. And February is already half over!
So. Many. Things.
Winter is a perfect time for me to get my website and blog up and running. My husband likes to say that I’m solar powered, so winters in Colorado can be hard for me. In 2023, I’m trying to embrace it and lean into the desire to be cozy at home with a cup of tea. I’m using it as a time to catch up on my podcasts, paint, and figure out a sustainable schedule before the craziness of spring and summer arrives.
In January, I completed four paintings! Let’s take a look.
Elk Meadow
Elk Meadow January 2023
Photo Reference Elk Meadow
The reference for Elk Meadow is a photograph taken by my parents on their recent trip to Colorado last fall. This meadow is located in Elk Meadow Park, which is at the base of Bergen Peak in Evergreen, Colorado. What I loved about this photograph was the pop of the aspens changing on the hillside and how there were traces of reds and oranges in the meadow. I decided to take the colors to the extreme and crank up the oranges and pinks. Favorite part: The hill on the right that fades into the trees.
Genesee Mountain Park
Genesee Mountain Park, January 2023
Photograph Reference, Genesee Mountain Park
A hike in the snow inspired Genesee Mountain Park. While winter isn’t exactly my favorite season, there is something tranquil about snow hikes. Even somewhere relatively close to Denver, you can hike on a usually popular trail and see hardly any people. The forest is calm and quiet and moody. You might think the dominant color is grey, but it isn’t. There are the bright yellows of the grasses when the sun pokes through the trees, the purple shadows of the snow, and even pops of reds and oranges from berries that never quite let go of summer. You just have to slow down a bit to see it.
The challenge I had with this painting was how to create depth and dimension when the dominant color of the painting is white. Honestly, I struggled. I struggled with how to layer the trees in front of each other and how to get the aspens to pop against a gray sky and white snow. I really like the dark green and purple I used to highlight the base of the trees, but I think I lost the trees against the sky. Favorite part: the way the yellow grass pops against the white snow.
Mushroom, Glacier National Park
Mushroom, Glacier, January 2023
Reference Photo for Mushroom, Glacier
This is by far my favorite painting in the group. Since the days are short and cold at the moment, I pulled some photos from our summer trip to Glacier National Park in Montana for ideas. My husband Vasya took this photo. For this painting, I wanted the mushroom to be the dominant subject matter, so I cropped the photo to eliminate a lot of the surrounding forest. Least favorite part: the background. I wanted to give the sense of the trees and leaves, but it came out a bit darker than I wanted. Favorite parts: the shadow under the mushroom and the green moss growing on the fallen tree.
I turned the outline I used for my mushroom into a free download. Sign up for my newsletter using the form below and get it delivered to your inbox. Use it as a coloring page, outline for your own painting, or surprise me. If you use it, tag me on Facebook or Instagram at @jgagnondesigns. If you are already a subscriber, you can still use the form below, or it will come out in my next newsletter.
Avalanche Lake, Glacier National Park
If you ever get a chance to go Glacier National Park, it is amazing. I’m not sure I could call Avalanche Lake my favorite spot, because honestly everything is just beautiful there. Avalanche Lake is about a five mile hike round trip. The day that we hiked was a bit gloomy and wet, but it meant that the lake was this beautiful green/ blue color and that the green of the trees really popped against the dark rocks. I remember just sitting on the beach and listening to the lapping of the water against the rocks and the faint waterfalls in the distance. I wanted the painting to be a bit brighter than the actual photograph, but I might try to capture that moodiness in a different version at some point later on. Favorite part: the waterfalls. I used bleed proof white to add them at the end.
Which is your favorite and why?