Montana Artworking by Cindy Betka

Currently on my easel is a painting of wild Oregon Grape. They do not grow much higher than 1 foot around here. Right now they are in bloom. Their blooms are a bright cluster of yellow. These blooms will later turn into a frosted berry or grape. But they look like a small blueberry, not very many on the small plants. Field sketches and notes; Oil Painting in progress on the easel

One of my projects was just featured on  http://network.artcenter.edu/ The Behance Network's   Art Center Gallery .  The Art Center Gallery Curation Team  features a small number of projects every week.  

My maternal grandmother was from Sweden. In 1925 she took my mother (born in the US), back to her homeland by ship for a visit. Wish I could have asked more about that trip in detail when they were both living. Bless them both dearly. My mother kept a couple of the menus from the ship's voyage. These were illustrated with Swedish paintings. The one menu had a painting by Anders Zorn on the cover. Below is the scan of the menu; not printed in color in those days. A bit interesting to see these and makes me wonder about the voyage. How fascinating that must have been for my mother and grandmother. Anders Zorn (February 18, 1860 – August 22, 1920) was a Swedish painter and printmaker. Some of his paintings remind me of John Singer Sargent's paintings and I wonder if they ever met. I must do some research on that for curiosity. I did find a photo of the original painting on the menu; 'After the Bath' Here are more paintings by Anders Zorn ...

Lately I have concentrated on making sure my paintings have proper edge control. There are a few questions to ask before completing a painting. Those about edges are as follows. Is there a variety of edges; soft, hard, lost, transitional and others? Do the harder edges lead you in and around the painting? Are the sharpest and most prominent in or next to the center of interest? How is the light hitting your subject to make the edges soft or hard? How does the atmosphere affect edges? More questions can be asked, at least these can help. The impressionists bent the rules a bit when it comes to edges. On the other extreme there are the realists. Take a look at a few impressionist's paintings. Degas Pissarro Sisley

This morning was just incredibly beautiful with the heavy fresh fallen snow. There was about 6 inches at our elevation. What a time to run out and take some photos. Some of my good photos happens when I am at the right place at the right time. The really nice shots is planning on the lighting to be what you want. Timing and patience is the key. Enjoy this morning's results. Same shot; waiting for the sun to shine just right.

Water color takes a lot of patience. I find that I can handle quick sketches for reference later in studio paintings. My little kit for outdoor sketching consists of 3-4 brushes, water colors in an enclosed palette, water jar, paper towel, and felt pen and pencil. Before going out the door I put on a wide brim hat and good hiking shoes/boots. My 2 faithful traveling companions usually, if not always, accompany me on the journey. The dogs are a good deal more than company, they help to alarm and warn off bears. We are in bear country and one must take precautions. Interesting enough, I just heard that the bears are moving down off the front range into the prairies in north central Montana. One place you will not find them is in my paintings. This sketch book I have been using is nice heavy rough water color paper bound in a stiff book binding. Once I finish this book I will look for one with a spiral binding. The spiral binding is easier to work with, to fold flat, thus staying open....