Tractor puddle reflections

The tractor had been through the paddock the previous day and then it rained. Blue sky the following day reflected in the tracks. Lovely.

Oil on gessoed MDF
15x15cm

Sun worshipping

Life is great when you can sit in your plastic chair in the sea, baking yourself to a shade of lobster red and not give a damn!

20x25cm
Oil on gessoed hardboard

Landscapes of my area

It has been a rather wet and windy 24 hours. I love painting when the weather is crazy as it makes for amazing energy.
I did a small study and then a larger painting from that study. The mountain is called Pirongia. It is an extinct volcano. Very cool indeed.The extinct part, that is.

25x35 cm finished painting
15x20 cm study
Both oil on canvas panel

Raglan wharf fisherman part 2

I enjoyed painting this subject again but felt it was not as loose as the first one. I think , however, that issue is negated by the dramatic reflection of the sun.

30x30 cm oil on stretched canvas

A wiper day

Today was a wiper day. That means I wiped most if my canvasses clean after painting because they did not work!

The only one to survive the cull was this little still life.....lemons in a piece of GORGEOUS Tony Sly pottery . The painting does not do his fabulous bowl justice. Tony lives in Raglan and has a shop at the new wharf. The old wharf burned down a while ago and it is being rebuilt. It is a great place to gather inspiration, fish and collect amazing pottery.
www.tonyslypottery.com


20 x20cm oil on propanel.

Lake Ngahinapouri

It is often thought of as a rather trite response to the question asked of artists, " what inspires you to paint" , but I have to say the answer " scenes from everyday life" still does it for me.

Case in point: the school carpark , flooded from an enormous quantity of we have had recently( fondly named " Lake Ngahinapouri ) has been a fixture at morning drop off for a week or so.Never to miss an opportunity, teachers have been taking classes out to experiment and learn at the same time! Water displacement theory ( eureka!) , measurement and all sorts of lessons have seen practical application with the arrival of the pond. I, in turn, have painted it!!! The stillness of it has made for wonderful , long reflections.I

But do not drive through it at speed,. It fries the electrics. And you can guess how I know this!!!! I only learn from experience.....

Fishing off the wharf

I really enjoy interesting perspective and this fisherman, fishing off the Raglan wharf, was a perfect opportunity to paint such a perspective.

My other favorite vantage point is above the Foodcourt, looking down on all the unsuspecting diners.

I am getting used to feeling slightly weirded out by taking photos of strangers!

Oil on stretched canvas
30x30cm

Waiting for the train on a windy day

Hamilton train station is looking particularly forlorn these days. I am not sure how often it sees passengers but these two were wandering up and down the platform, backpacks near the palms, hair whipping their faces as the wind blew at a steady pace.
It felt very desolate .
Then, all of a sudden, a few taxis arrived, more people, the ticket office opened and it bustled for 45 minutes. The train came, just three carriages of passenger compartments, people all got on , none got off and it was gone again.
Then is was just me and the wind again. If this were a movie, a tumbleweed would roll by just about now.

Oil on gessoed hardboard
20x25 cm

One fish , two fish, red fish, blue fish

Ok, I lied. It's blue fish , blue fish, blue fish,blue fish.

Clearly I need to change to odorless turpentine.

I have had a wonderfull day painting and although I made a classic mistake in one painting( which resulted in a compositional error that renders the painting a complete dud. Duh!), I have two completed paintings am happy . The dud one will serve to remind me to fix compositional errors early on in the piece!

21x23cm
Oil on gessoed hardboard

Summer landscape

I took the reference photo for this painting last summer. Summer feels an age away. Anyway,I had read an article about an artist who takes photos as he is driving( I trust he is the passenger)and uses them to create his paintings. He never gets bored of the scenery as it is not his daily stomping ground, so to speak. His paintings are very atmospheric, so the blurriness of the resultant photos actually suited his style. I am always keen to try new things, so what better time than when being driven by my husband through gorgeous scenery!
I took some photos and very few were usefull, but this one was and with a bit of tweaking( editing my thumb!) it is lovely. Now , I wish I knew where this was........no idea!? Coromandel peninsula east coast, I think.

Barracuda!

Ok, if you are singing that in your head right now, then you can drink with me anytime. If not, please just scroll on down, admire the painting and forget I ever mentioned it.
Ok,ok. If you really want to know, it was a song sung by the band HEART in the flipped hair ,knickerbocker wearing, girl band ,late 70's. Very catch if you are 9 years old!!!!

These, however, are fish.

23x24 cm
Oil on gessoed hardboard

Flowers from Rachel

I was a big unwell and my lovely friend Rachel brought me this wonderful bunch of flowers.
They lasted for ages and so, when I felt better, I challenged myself to paint them. This is the second attempt. I burnt the first sad effort!

May I say how uncomfortable I felt in this arena? Flowers..... So pretty, so damned hard to render .
Thanks for the inspiration, Rachel!

A walk round lake Ngaroto

What a lovely walk! 7 km of trail around a peat lake on a beautifully morning, crisp but clear. The winter's weak sunlight held no heat but the sky was a fabulous clear blue. It was incredibly still. The pondweed( the scientific name!) ranging from vivid green to dull rust was pretty but smelly.
Walk ended up with two wet boys( what were the chances!?!) and a lot of inspiration for future painting expeditions.

Swimming past the lemons

Still with the fish, but this time I have included obstacles in their path off the plate. Such are my whims.

24x21cm
Oil on gessoed hardboard

The joy of painting fish.

I am loving painting fish right now. Weird , I know, but I have learned to just paint what I like as THAT'S when I am my most honest and when I am happy with the end result.

I am listening to Artists Helping Artists podcasts as I paint . I find that listening to the discussion allows me to loosen up and not get too tight and detail focused . Yeah, they distract me! The irony is not lost on me!!!! I download them off ITunes and they are about 1 hour long, almost the exact time it takes me to paint a 6 x 8 inch painting. Serendipitous, methinks.


20x17cm
Oil on gesso'd hardboard

Fish on red plate

I am painting with my new Silver Bristlon paintbrushes and really enjoying the crispness and control they allow me.

What is it about dead fish that appeals to me so much? Do I need therapy? Is it a subliminal message ( sleep with the fish is the only one I can think of!) from my ever intrusive sub-concious? I think it is the color and the form. I like
Linear forms . I loved the juxtaposition of them on this red plate! Now, how to cook them......

Oil on gesso'd hardboard
16x20cm

Jennie De Groot Facebook page

I have added a Facebook page to my portfolio of " things I need to remember to keep updated"!! I post the same photos as here, but with little or no chatter.
So, come on over and have a look. The silence is Wonderful!

I am in the PAGES section as Jennie De Groot . To see what I post without effort, just LIKE my page and it will let you know when I update.

It is school holidays at the moment, so my painting time is limited, but then again, they are only little once, so I am enjoying the time with them while they still want to hang around me!