Finished Florida mural

 Today I finished the large Florida mural.  It feels so great to complete a project of this scale.
Here are some detail shots...

...makes me want to go to Florida!

If you would like to see more of my work please visit my website www.julieriker.com

Florida mural

I've been working on this large mural in a client's home for the past two weeks.  The wall is about 15' high and 30' long.  The room has a glass conservatory ceiling and the client has brought in real potted palm trees.  I designed the wall to be an extension of the scene.

 It is almost completed...just a few finishing touches.

If you would like to see more of my work please visit my website www.julieriker.com

Shipoke Sidewalk

8x10 oil

I painted on Saturday afternoon in Shipoke, a historic area of Harrisburg, with some friends from the Susquehanna Valley Plein Air Painters.

Purple House

I painted last week in historic Lewisburg with some friends.  This purple house caught my eye.

I am in print!

During the Gettysburg Plein Air Festival a photographer from the Evening Sun caught me painting the train station.  Check it out HERE

Sherfy House

This is another painting from Gettysburg of the Sherfy House.  The Sherfys were the owners of the Peach Orchard which was the site of a bloody battle.  

The house has been restored and is maintained in pristine condition...so pristine that it looks a bit surreal, like a dollhouse plopped in the middle of the battlefield.

Sherfy House

9x12 oil

Gettysburg Festival Plein Air Paint Out

I am participating in the Gettysburg Festival Plein Air event all this week.

This is a painting I did yesterday of the historic train station in town.  The station is the location for the art exhibit where all the artists will be hanging their paintings fresh off the easel.  The exhibit grows daily and there is a reception to meet the artists on Friday the 14th from 4-6 pm.

 

Lincoln Station

12x9 oil

www.julieriker.com

Glass Jar Study

8x10

Thursday was the final night of my oil painting challenge class.  One of the students had requested that we practice painting glass, so I set up a few jars for the students to paint from.

This is the painting I did along with the class.  It was an interesting study in how the background color changes as it is viewed through the lightly tinted jar.  It was also good practice in reserving white - resisting that urge to add too much -  to make the highlights glisten.

This has been a fun class to teach.  Every week we did a "challenge" and each challenge was designed to teach the students about value, color, light, etc.  I think it was good for everyone to work on a fresh small painting each week rather than spending several weeks on one large intimidating canvas.  It got them painting - and painting a lot -- from life -- which is the only way to really learn.  I enjoyed being able to paint along and think they learned from watching me.  I will miss it.

Adams County Orchard

9x12 oil

I had a few rainy days in between decorative painting jobs that were perfect for finishing up some paintings that had been sitting on the sidelines.  This was started early April in a peach orchard in Adams County - a gorgeous spot.  It really just needed a few touches to complete it.

www.julieriker.com

Camp Hill Quick Draw

     This is the painting I did for the 2 hour Quick Draw Competition in Camp Hill.  As I was working on this I was really trying to concentrate on my values and color saturation in the shadow areas.  It was a challenge for me, but I have never taken the easy route - even for a competition.  When the 2 hours were over I immediately saw what I thought was a flaw in this painting, or at least a change I could make that would improve it.  That is the problem I have with these plein air events is that everything is hurried and there is no time to evaluate the painting.  I was totally surprised that the judge felt it still deserved Fourth Place, but even with the award I was happy that I could later make the adjustments I felt it needed.

     Below is the finish painting with the changes.  As you can see I just made the shrubs a bit larger - especially the one on the right.  I felt that in the earlier version the right side leaned off the canvas too much. 

9x12

I titled this "New Paint Job" because up until a year ago this house on Market Street was a dingy battleship gray.  There is a young couple that is now restoring it.  At least, that is what everyone told me as I was painting it.

Working on Greens

This 8x10 study of a Bok Choy was painted in my Thursday evening class.  We were working on mixing and painting various hues of green which is so important in landscape painting.

client says "Do something botanical"

before

after

"Building" Blocks

     As I was painting at the Spangler Farm  I kept thinking about how the buildings in sunlight were like blocks - simple shapes - with a clearly defined light and dark sides.  So for my Thursday evening oil painting class I set up an arrangement of wooden blocks and challenged the students to see how the colors and values changed in shadow.  It is a great exercise and good practice for painting any structures in the landscape.

Gettysburg Farm

6x12 oil

I spent most of Tuesday in Gettysburg painting with a friend.

This was painted at a historic farm inside the park.

I liked the arrangement of outbuildings and the pattern of shadows as graphic shapes.

If you would like to see more of my work please visit my website  

www.julieriker.com

 

 

Gabriella Italian Restaurant

Gabriella's is opening on April 17th after being closed for over half a year due to a devastating fire.
I had painted the original murals 8-10 years ago using old photos from the owner's hometown in Italy.
Some of the original murals survived the fire and just needed a cleaning and touch ups - others, large sections had to be repainted or redesigned to accommodate changes in the layout.

Here is a nice article about the opening.

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painting a floor

This is a project I am currently working on.

Laying out the square grid was challenging, but so worth it when I pulled up the tape to reveal the results.

If you would like to see more of my work please visit my website www.julieriker.com

Morning on the Farm

8x16 oil

     This is one of two paintings that I did last August during a day long painting outing to the Olson farm.  This one was the first of the two, painted in the morning as the mist was beginning to lift.  It was such a great day, and I hope we are invited back again this year.

     This is one of 5 paintings that sold during my reception last Friday night kicking off the sale of a greeting card to benefit the YWCA which featured my Red Tulip painting.  Thanks to everyone who came out to support me and the YWCA.  The Y raised over $1,200 in card sales and the Red Tulip painting went for $1,000 to an anonymous bidder.

     The cards are also available for purchase online at http://www.ywcahbg.org/cardswithheart#.UUmsPlfxfGs

Painting Along the Creek

11x14 oil

This painting was started on a sunny day last summer on an outing with my plein air group.  I had the majority of this blocked in on site and left it alone for awhile, always liking the fresh feel and not wanting to mess with it too much.  Just last week I added the figure, fellow painter Deb Kreiger, using my photo reference from the day.

    I will be showing this painting along with 19 other pieces during a one night only exhibit this Friday the 15th, 6-8 pm at City House Bed and Breakfast on Front St. Harrisburg.  It is a special reception to kick off the sale of a greeting card benefiting the YWCA which features my Red Tulip painting.  The cards will be available for purchase that evening.  Each card costs $10 and will provide a night's shelter to a woman and her child.  It will be a lovely night and all are welcome to attend.  http://www.ywcahbg.org/events/ywca-cards-heart-kick

All About Blue

This week's oil painting class was all about painting blue.  

This journey through the color wheel has been a fun learning experience for everyone.  

Painting from life is always good practice.

Registration has begun for the spring session of my Thursday evening class.  If you are interested in joining please contact the Art Center School and Galleries in Mechanicsburg.

YWCA Greeting Card and special event

Red Tulips

18x24

      I am so happy to share that my painting has been selected as the featured artwork on this greeting card to benefit the YWCA. 

     Please join me for a kick-off reception on March 15 from 6-8 p.m. at City House Bed & Breakfast, 915 N. Front St., Harrisburg, during 3rd in the Burg. Cards will be available for purchase as well as the original painting. All of the proceeds will support the Y's mission of housing and empowering women. 

     I will also be displaying my newest oil paintings during this one night only event. Don't miss it! http://www.ywcahbg.org/events/ywca-cards-heart-campaign#.UTOfLFcseDY

Mellow Yellow

     This week's oil painting class was brought to you by the color yellow. Yellow is a challenging color for me so I know my students were finding it tough.  Everyone hung in there and did a great job.

     I am really liking these monochromatic/analogous color paintings.  As color studies, they have a nice feel.

Mellow Yellow

5x7

Highmark Blue Shield Exhibit

     I have 32 oil paintings on exhibit at the Highmark Blue Shield building in Camp Hill.  It is a great space for art - in a corridor between 2 buildings.  The wall opposite my artwork is a water feature that sounds wonderful.  Just on the other side of the water wall is a lounge area and huge windows.  The light filtering through the water and hitting the artwork is beautiful.

     The show is mostly scenes local to Central PA with a few seashore paintings scattered in.  It will hang until the end of April.

     Unfortunately this exhibit is not open to the public but will be viewed by over 3,000 Highmark employees every day.  If you are one of them please check it out.

It's not easy painting green...

I teach an oil painting class at the Mechanicsburg Art Center.  The class has sort of evolved into whatever the students feel they need help with.  A few of them mentioned they had trouble seeing and mixing greens, so last night I set up two still lifes....one of cool green objects and one of warm green objects.  The idea was to force students to see subtle color variations within one color family.  They used no premixed green paint but were free to use any other colors they chose.

warm greens

cool greens

 It's Not Easy Painting Green

8x10 oil

My painting which I did along with the class.

This is the second time we have done a color themed class (last week we did all red for Valentine's Day). I was worried that it might result in a boring painting, but instead I like how it harmonizes everything.  There is still a lot of color variation even within one family.

www.julieriker.com

Just one wall...

I finished this wall yesterday for a client in Philadelphia.

Sometimes treating just one wall to a special finish can make a big impact on a room.

www.julieriker.com 

New Postcards

The new postcards I ordered just arrived today!

I am really happy with them.

"Riverbend" at Fredrickson

I am so happy to see that my painting "Riverbend" is finally hanging at the Fredrickson Library.
This painting won the Purchase Award for 2012 Plein Air Camp Hill and the purchaser has donated it to the library to be part of their permanent collection.  They even had this neat plaque made!

Chocolate Lab

9x12 oil

I just finished another dog portrait.  This was commissioned by the recipient of the dog portrait I did just prior to Christmas.  I seem to be in a nice circle of dog lovers who like to give special gifts to each other.  It is nice work...though I am really more of a cat person :)

Peaches on a Pedestal

12x16 oil

I just delivered this painting to Brath and Hughes Gallery, Mechanicsburg,  where it will be part of a fruit themed show for the month of February.

Opening reception is Friday the 1st from 6-9 pm.

Purple Cabbage and Pears

This is a quick 8x10 demo I did for my Thursday evening oil painting class using a limited palette of ultramarine blue, cad red medium, cad yellow, and white.  I would have liked an alizarin or something more "purply" for the cabbage, but that is why the palette is called "limited".  It is good practice in working with what you have.  By warming and muting the surrounding colors I was able to make the dull purple my palette allowed appear more vibrant.

If you would like to see more of my work please visit my website www.julieriker.com

Fancy Chicken

6x6 oil

...just a little painting I did from a photo I took at the Pennsylvania State Farm Show.

You can see more of my work on my website
www.julieriker.com

Joyful Elation

6x8 oil

This is from another photo I took in Henlopen.  I witnessed this young girl and her two dogs run down the beach to the water and all 3 of them started jumping and splashing around.  It is the same feeling of joyful elation that I feel when I finally reach the ocean.

I am happy that I have been able to post 3 times in 3 days this week.  Soon my client work will pick up again, so I am taking advantage of the time.

Tonight begins my oil painting class at the Mechanicsburg Art Center.  I have designed the class as a series of painting "challenges" much like the ones on the painting blogs.  Every week we will be doing a different challenge and each one is designed to instruct as well as push the student in (hopefully) a fun way.  I am looking forward to it and know I will be learning from my students as well.

Surf Fishing

8x10 oil

I think I have found a little groove that I can have fun with now...going through vacation photos for ideas.  This image was from the same camping trip to Henlopen late October.  I love to walk on the beach in the early morning when the sand is freshly groomed and the fishermen are out.  The low morning sun creates strong shadows and nice contrast to the light sand and surf.

If you would like to see more of my work please visit my website

www.julieriker.com

Beach Grass

9x12

oil on panel

I probably should not admit this, but I have been having a hard time getting myself to paint lately.  I seem to be in a post holiday slump.  I blame it partly on the cold weather which is making it too easy for me to postpone painting outside where everything is brown and uninspiring.  So in an effort to at least do something I am starting to look over some photographs as potential painting subject matter.  I don't really like working from photos, but then it is nice to be inside  and warm.  And at least it gets me painting.

I worked on this one yesterday - from a photo taken on a camping trip to Henlopen, DE in late October -- in fact, the weekend before Sandy hit this coast.  I remember it being too windy to think about painting, so I was taking pictures of some things that inspired me.  In this case it was the pattern of shadows the grasses cast on the dunes that caught my eye.  Now several months later, it is hard to find that same inspiration, but I am trying.  And dreaming of warmer days at the beach....

First project of 2013...

Happy New Year!  

I hope everyone had a nice holiday season.

I am looking forward to some fun projects in 2013,

starting with this one which I just completed.

www.julieriker.com

Statue Restoration

This life size corpus statue was delivered to my studio in need of some restoration work.  The entire surface was chipped and flaking so it  had to be scraped and sanded, some minor plaster repairs had to be addressed, and the statue needed a more natural paint job.

Oh, and it had to be completed and installed in the church in time for Christmas Eve service.

I have worked on a few of these statues before and have learned that it is not easy to hand paint convincing blood drips.  So I have rigged up a way to attach the statue to my easel.  I just mix up a runny red paint and let gravity do the work.  It looks very realistic.

Here is the completed restoration.  I met the deadline!

 

Give the gift of art lessons!

 I will be teaching 2 classes at the Mechanicsburg Art Center this winter...

#1 Saturday morning will be Drawing 101. Designed to help you to draw an accurate representation of what you see, we will learn the basic fundamentals of measuring,

line, shading, and perspective. This class is for the beginner as well as the intermediate painter who would like to improve their drawing skills.

#2 Thursday evenings will be Oil Painting Challenge, a fun structured class for intermediate oil painters (beginners are also welcome). In each class we will explore a different "challenge" such as working with a limited palette or exploring a new technique. Each challenge will be designed to push you out of your comfort zone while learning in the process.

More information on both classes, as well as other classes offered by the Art Center, is at http://mechanicsburgartcenter.com/