Daily Artwork by Bleu Turrell

Landscape painting: windy cove

2012-01-17T20:27:00.000-08:00

This is a recent oil on canvas painting that is roughly 12" x 18"

This is a close-up shot of the texture of the canvas and the character of my paint strokes.

shot of the "cowboy" torso and a few of my chisels

2012-01-16T14:43:00.000-08:00

This log is about 4' tall and about 24" in diameter. You can see how he is "emerging" from the large amounts of wood I have to remove. My sculpture chisels are pictured above. I have to keep them razor sharp for them to be effective.

Just started: Cowboy carving

2012-01-12T19:23:00.000-08:00

I'm just starting this four foot carving. I haul it in and out of my studio, depending on the weather, to work on it. Worse case scenario...it becomes fire wood!

Experiment - log carving

2012-01-12T18:02:00.000-08:00

I decided I wanted to "create" in a more physical way. I'm still painting, but using chainsaws, sanders, and chisels is fun too!

I went out and cut sixteen 4' pine logs and hauled them to my house to try out my carving idea. This steelhead (44" tall) is my first one. I stained it with high quality oil stain, and finished it off with a coat of my oil painting medium (sun thickened linseed oil, venice turpentine, and damar varnish).

Dog - graphite on paper

2010-09-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

This is a quick sketch...lots of loose pencil movement (for me). This dog has a nice personality. Click on the image to see the whole thing.

Close up shots help you see the texture and movement of my hand.

Pencil Drawing/Sketch of a Girl in the Forest

2010-09-18T18:37:00.000-07:00

6B pencil on drawing paper: If you click the image, you can view it in its entirety. This little drawing is for sale if someone would like to take her home.

Graphite Drawing 1

2010-02-15T18:09:00.000-08:00

"Intense Consideration"

Pencil on Paper

5"x 5"

This groovy little man is considering the deeper things in life. I used a 5B pencil on acid free drawing paper. In drawing this, I had no reference. I used my imagination to form his gentle face and stylish hair :)

"Fairy of the Stream"

2010-02-06T14:51:00.000-08:00

"Fairy of the Stream"

Oil on Board

8" x 8"

Sold

Painting 7: "Conch Shell"

2010-01-24T15:39:00.001-08:00

"Conch Shell"
Acrylic on Board
9.5" x 8"

I broke from my pattern by showing an acrylic piece here. I painted from the subject and finished the piece in one sitting.

Painting 6: "Oregon-grape"

2010-01-18T17:07:00.000-08:00

Today when deciding what to paint, I went out in my yard looking for something that was alive despite the winter weather. The Oregon-grape is doing just fine, and I was amazed by it's red, green and brown coloration.

Size of Painting: 4"x 6"
Medium: Oil on Masonite
Approach: alla prima (wet on wet in one sitting), no drawing, no underpainting, direct observation (no photos), self-imposed time limit.

Here is an extreme close-up of my brush strokes and palette knife work on this painting.

I hold the little painting here above my palette.

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Paint On!

Painting 5: "International"

2010-01-16T16:05:00.000-08:00

4"x 6" inches
Oil on masonite

Painting 4: "Five Things"

2010-01-12T19:53:00.001-08:00

Here is the fourth addition, "Five Things". The five things are: a pair of dice (adding up to five), a skeleton key, a little vice or clamp, and an antique square spike or nail.

Size: 4"x 6"
Medium: Oil on Masonite

I arranged the items against a board that was propped at a 45' angle. I painted directly from the rusty arrangement.

Feel free to comment on the paintings I have posted. I just rebuilt my website...it has a new look. Check it out at www.TurrellArt.com

Thanks for Looking!

Painting 3 - Pear & Cranberries

2010-01-10T09:39:00.000-08:00

"Pear & Cranberries"
Oil on board
4"x 6"

Painting 2 - Lemon

2010-01-06T17:02:00.000-08:00

Title -Peeled Lemon
Size- 4"x 6"
Medium - Oil on Masonite
Work Time - 3 hrs.

Today's painting is of a lemon I bought and partially peeled. I prepared it and set it up next to my painting palette. It was finished in one sitting using wet on wet technique (about 3 hrs.).

Remember the photos here are just bad snapshots of the wet paintings.

I plan on creating one more fruit related painting before I choose some other subject matter.

First Painting: "Clementine"

2010-01-04T20:30:00.000-08:00

Title - "Clementine"
Size- 4" x 6"
Medium- Oil on sealed masonite

Here is my first painting for my "Painting a Day" project.

These shots are low resolution, unfiltered snapshots of the artwork right off the easel. The white "spots" on the work are little reflections from the shiny wet paint strokes and texture.

The second photo is a close-up shot to show the brush strokes in the "wet on wet" technique. This work was completed in one sitting.

Copyright Bleu Turrell 2010

The Purpose

2010-01-04T17:48:00.000-08:00

The reason for my blog is to record my "daily" pieces of artwork. My hope is that my work will be fresh, small expressions of what I see around me and the craziness that comes from within.

The Plan
Art - small oil paintings and drawings
Method - direct observation (on site or subject is in front of me) and works from my imagination
Time - as little or as much as I feel necessary

Most of this work will be for sale.
All works are Copyright Bleu Turrell 2010