"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/

Fireplace Fix

This week's project was to add some character to this plain outdated fireplace.

before

after

 Painting the mantle black gave it more of a Victorian feel instead of the staunch Regency look.
It also creates a wonderful contrast for the TILES...

 ...which are not really tiles at all, but are hand painted on the concrete surround.  I tried to mimick the designs of old Victorian tiles, even adding a subtle crackle finish which does not really show up in the photos.  The client requested monkeys, and each one if different.

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

Faux burl fireplace unit

This week I painted this fireplace unit in a faux burl finish.

 

 

When I do a woodgrain finish I always start with an orange base color - trying to match the vibrant undercolor of the wood.  I am always happy when my clients trust me at this stage. 

 

 I apologize for the glare in this photo.  Unfortunately there were no working lights in the house when I completed this work and I had to shine my harsh halogen work light on the piece.

Below is a detail of the burl grain...

Copper Leaf Table Top

I just finished creating this hammered copper finish on a table top for an interior designer. 

I used individual sheets of real copper leaf and then manipulated glazes on top to create a "hammered" effect.

The designer suggested I add pewter tacks around the rim.  It was not my first choice of color to go with the copper, but it came out really cool.   That is why I like working with a designer ...  they often think of things I would not.

The tacks also serve a purpose in protecting the edges of the copper table.

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

Black Friday Paint Out

9x12 oil

I avoided the mall on this Black Friday and painted with some friends along the creek instead. I did this study in 2 hours...not sure if I will do anything more to it or just leave it as it is.

Maine Marsh

11x14
oil

This painting is one of 3 that I just delivered to Art & Soul Gallery in Lemoyne.

The gallery carries a great assortment of art, mostly from local Central PA artists.

They are opened Friday and Saturday in the shops above the West Shore Farmer's Market.

You may want to check it out when selecting your holiday gifts.  Purchasing items from area artisans helps your local economy.

www.julieriker.com 

Salon makover...

Here I am on a project at Kenneth & Co Salon in Camp Hill.  

For these walls I created a textured background using a crinkled tissue paper finish. Then I handpainted the company's new logo on the wall, highlighting with silver and pearl metallic.  Lastly everything was toned down with a glaze which collected in the crevices of the crinkled paper and accentuated the texture.  It's a really nice look.

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

Happy Halloween!

I dug this one out of the archives.  This was painted many years ago in a class with Earl Blust.  I believe it was a dreary day similar to this Halloween and the plein air class was confined to the Art Barn.  Earl set up this still life of seasonal objects.  That was a real human skull in the arrangement and told us the story of how he acquired it.   I can't remember the exact details, but it was spooky!

BOO!

 

 

 

Tie Dye wall

This was a fun project that I did today.

What 10 year old girl wouldn't love to have a tie dye wall in her room - created with neon paints for the full black light effect.

Peace!

 www.julieriker.com

Installation day

 

Today I installed the mural.

This beautifully carved oak paneling is original to the 1908 home and is the perfect frame for this painting.

The client was thrilled.

 

 

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

www.julieriker.com