The other day a friend visited me to have a talk and some demonstrations for painting. My friend loves art and wants to give it a try for herself. She has seen a lot and has a taste for art. But she has nearly no experience with using a brush. One of her questions was: How do you start a new panting? Actually a good question and a difficult answer.
How to jump on a white canvas?
Starting a new painting is always somehow exiting – at least for me. I never know where this journey will lead me to – and seldom I make plans which I then will not follow. In the end my start is always fed by the impulse of the moment. The most I have in mind is a color direction. Maybe there is even a theme deep back in my more unconscious brain.
Dear Art Lover
I am real excited! I bought a beautiful artwork made by my fellow artist Annabel Keatley. You can see it a bit further below!
I have had the wish and plan to install in our apartment a gallery wall of small paintings by my artist friends for quite a while. But THIS was the final push to act:
The Artist Support Pledge
The Artist Support Pledge is an initiative started by Matthew Burrows, a painter based in London. It gives artists the opportunity to support other artists, and at the same time make some income in a time when we need alternative ways of showing our work. The idea is that the artist offers for sale works under € 200, by posting them on their social media platforms (Instagram) and tagging them with hashtag #artistsupportpledge. When the artists have made € 1,000 due to sales, she or he pledges to buy another artists work for the total of 200 Euro.
Based on trust, generosity and community spirit this initiative is bringing artists together and is also a great way for art lovers to find new artists and buy affordable art.
I couldn’t wait for selling enough because this was an opportunity!!! I have been in love with Annabels paintings for so long. The watercolor captures a view of Cabo de Gata by Annabel Keatley. See more of her work on her website and Instagram account. In the following I am presenting my first available works, so as to give you first option before my posts go live.
I sent out a newsletter two days ago and today I started to post my available works on my social media accounts. Already three are waiting to be shipped to their new home! You find me on Instagram here: oppellandhampelart and here on my Facebook account. If you don’t have one of these accounts you can follow my Post News on my website www.artgoppellandhampel.com by subscribing at the bottom of this page.
All paintings are offered unframed. Due to the post office being closed here in Spain, I will ship as soon as its possible. Shipping is not included in the price.
If you would like to buy a painting please get in touch and I will mark that painting sold when l put it up on my Social Media feed.
This is my first choice for the Artist Support Pledge Initiative
I choose works on paper. Most of them have been created during the lockdown.
“So much in my head” 170 €
“Flowers for Saint Patricks day” 170 €
“Keep up your good spirit” 170 €
“Where there is darkness there is light” – 170 €
Each of these paintings is ca. 41 x 30 cm , mixed media on paper and sells for 170 Euro.
SOLD “Spring outbursting” 200 €
“Red energy” 200 €
“Still pink times” 200 €
SOLD “From my window at a blue day”
Each painting is ca. 50×32 cm, acrylic or mixed media on paper and sells for 200 Euro. If you wish so I send the painting with a white mat (passpartout) that can fit a standard frame. They will be signed in the front.
Last not least: Two paintings on stretched canvas!
SOLD “Lost in time” 200 €
“Find your way!” 200 €
More interesting art news here:
I have been writing in my Blog News about my private initiative to reward with one of my “Desert Trip Prints” those who donate more than 100 Euro to a welfare organisation in their community! I already had the pleasure to be rewarded with an artwork of my artist friend Anne Bedrick of whom I copied this idea. Read all details about the rules here: Do something for your community and be rewarded with art!
Here is something to spend your time joyfully (hopefully not stressed!) with art: Why you might be failing some paintings ……because they are puzzles! This is a link to two digital puzzles ( a simple one and a complicated one) that will reward you in the end with the completion of one of my art works! Have fun!!
You find more puzzles of my art work on this puzzle page if you look for my name. This is my latest puzzle and painting: From my window: Plants are blooming again!
A happy and peaceful Easter and best health for all of you! Take care!
Click onto the painting or caption to reach the puzzle!
See this email in the browser. Double click on the blue sentence.
How about enhancing your skills while being at home?
Its a while since my last post, so I just wanted to reach out to you and say HELLO! Hopefully I can add some ideas for your stay at home.
We are all in a never expected extreme situation since my last post. Most of you experience the situation of having very or completely restricted access to social contacts and manage life under very different circumstances.
In Spain we are in complete house arrest which was just extended to 12th of April and it is not very unlikely that the lock down may be extended even longer. We can only leave our house for buying food or medicine, going to the doctor or working (when permitted) Even the communal gardens are off limits. It’s the first time I wish I had a dog! Then I could go for a short walk with the dog – though just for the absolutely necessary!
View from my window
May be I can help a bit to make the best of your time?
If you aren’t busy in entertaining children staying at home ( which will keep you very busy) but with grown up family or all alone, wouldn’t it be a chance to have all that time at hand to try something new?
If you are with younger children, maybe this will be fun?
Probably you have by now found a lot of ideas in the internet how to entertain your children during long days at home. What I want to share this with you a real pieces of art, designed by my fellow artist Lieuwke Loth! I will make available kids colourings. During the Art Walk Cómpeta which was organized by Lieuwke Loth, these colourings were given to the school children of the village of Cómpeta. Maybe you would like to colour one too? I tell you, it is meditative! If you are interested, I will make them available through my next newsletter so that you can print them out and maybe the whole family has fun!
Don’t receive my newsletter yet? Join the list at the end of this post!
And for you ? How about learning something new?
From friends I hear they cleared out their wardrobe, painted the apartment, cleaned the kitchen in depth, took perfect care for their garden and more. They are creating a splendid home to stay in.
I choose to focus on the pleasant things of life and boost my immun system.
I decided to experiment with painting – do things, I normally don’t do. I work on paper, I try new styles, I copy other artists, I experiment – aim to have great fun and no achievements.
I sleep long
Read and play
try some new recipes
and use intensely internet and social media to connect with like minded people
I am learning lots of things….
What really excited me in the last years are fantastic internet workshops. I would love to share my experiences with you!
I discovered the huge and fascinating world of knowledge for artists in the internet. Its literary at your finger tips and at home! There are so many inspirational classes – inspiration is key for artists! Of course it needs some effort to find the right ones that are worth your money or time! I visited art workshops in person and I enjoyed the direct contact with teacher and other students. But as we are travelling a lot, it was always difficult to find the right workshop at the right time. Do you know this problem? The internet offers the solution! So now I am hooked on internet courses.
Maybe I can help you with your choice?
There are offered many workshops for free just now ( and of course a lot you have to pay for). You will find ongoing programs that focus on the art, the art business or on one aspect of the art making. I have participated in real inspiring workshops that lasted three weeks or three months. I am really touched and excited about the community of artist I met in this kind of forum and about the immense support I have received from the teachers and the other students. Its real huge.
In my next newsletter I will tell you more about a series of free art workshops of a very experienced fellow artist of mine who is a painter and a printer. She will teach about oil and cold wax in her next presentation, but there is more to come. Stay tuned!
Take your time to evaluate what to do next with the help of a friend
You will as well find information about an art marketing class which I am attending. I really cherish this course and it has taught me a lot. They are just about to release a new 10 weeks program that will help artists reaching the online market. I will send out the newsletter this coming week – looking forward to meeting you there!
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Lost in Time
If you are interested in one of the art works just email me!
If you want to see some about my daily art, follow me on Facebook and Instagram !
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I had to reorganize my studio – space was needed, a disturbing problem with many artist studios. So this was my opportunity to undertake a serious inspection of my collection of paintings. Some made me smile, they are still dear old friends and it was a very warm reconnection. Some clearly didn’t pass the check. I build a nice staple of “ready to be re-worked again”.
Reworking a painting is a tricky task. In the end it asks for a lot of boldness, courage and “letting go”. But paintings on this staple are not all boring but have some very nice parts. So I am tempted to “save” these parts – against all experience that for me and my style of painting it is nearly impossible to create an authentic, lively and balanced abstract work while trying to save some parts. Working on an older painting of course keeps also some risk: You never know if you will manage to make it a better painting despite all your work…..so the question, did I succeed?
As an abstract painter I work with many layers to create depth in a painting without constructing something like a perspective. So working on an older work is interesting as it always has in store already quite some layers and if I don’t whiten the whole painting the previous painting will speak through the new layers. Here I show you some of my re-worked paintings of the last months. Do you see the connection?
Tapp to enlarge.
Metamorphosis (50x50cm)
Wonderflowers blooming always (50x50cm)
“Metamorphosis” had already gone through some changes, but I was not too pleased with the result. So after some months I said “Good bye” to the Metamorphosis and it developed into a “Wonder Flower”. This one I did without trying to “save” parts, but elder parts very nicely fit with the newer parts.
Tapp to enlarge.
Vancouver service stree – before
Dreaming under water 120×80 cm
The “Vancouver service street” holds nice memories but it lost in the “survival of the best”. It has undergone a very bold change. You see the influence of the under laying layers? How do they influence the new composition?
Tapp to enlarge.
Crete – Landscape
Waterfall 120x90x2 cm
This one gave me a hard time as I liked so many featured in it but never could sort out how to make it a complete painting. So I loved it and I hated it. I started this work in Tuscany, where I spend several summer painting. Definitely I was in love with the upper part. I fought to keep the red one, but it turned out to look like a big whale…so it had to go, so sorry dear red! Here you see, which parts survived and which not.
Tapp to enlarge.
Spring exploding (old)
Spring exploding (140×100 cm)
These is also a painting from my “Fluid Periode” which I looked at and I liked it but never felt it was finished. But as I liked the flow and the style and the colours , I didn’t want to destroy it, so I did only little changes, like deepening some darker parts, darken with a pink the very light part at the left and interrupt the light horizontal part by taking down a little bit the green. Very small differences that made a notable difference to me. Now it has become a harmonic painting for my taste. What do you think?
If you want to see more changes – look at these paintings in a room!
Tapp to enlarge!
If you want to see more paintings in a room , tapp here!
The Waterfall in a room 1
Dreaming under Water in a room 1
The Waterfall in a room 2
The Waterfall in a room 3
Dreaming under Water in a room 2
Dreaming under Water in a room 3
Wonder flowers in a Room 1
Wonder flowers in a room 2
Spring explosion over red sofa
Spring explosion over bed
Spring explosion over blue sofa
If you want to see more paintings in a room, tapp here!
Newsletter
Time by time I am sending out a newsletter. I inform about new artworks, I have made, I give some insights into my studio work and information about exhibitions and artists friends, that I like. I would be happy to include you. So please leave your address, if you are interested. You can cancle the it any moment you want!
