Thursday, August 27, 2009

A Touch of Autumn



A Touch of Autumn, © Barbara A. Freeman
Acrylic on Polymin, 2 1/8" x 3 1/4"

This new miniature titled, A Touch of Autumn, was painted in acrylic on *polymin. There seem to be a lot of old barns in the countryside around western Washington. Many seem to be used for storage and become overgrown and mossy from all the rain. One of my favorite things to do when I have time is explore the countryside.

I love the color changes up here and Autumn is one of my favorite times of year. I think this painting was inspired from an area around the small town of Arlington.

*polymin - Synthetic ivory painting surface for oils, watercolors, and acrylics. It can be found at miniartsupply.biz

13 comments:

Tatiana said...

Great painting, Barbara! Are you going to show this one?

Barbara A. Freeman said...

Hi Tatiana, thanks for stopping by.

Yes, I have entered it into a local show. It's a small show and lasts only a week. I will find out if it's in the show sometime after the 6th of Sept. The other three I entered are not new ones. I'll be blogging about it when I get news. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! : )

Debra Keirce said...

I've been experimenting with ivorine for miniatures too...I just painted on drafting film today, and I think I like it even better. Beautiful painting. I'm sure it will do well in the show!

Barbara A. Freeman said...

Thanks Deb. I'll look for your work on ivorine. I've done several acrylic paintings on polymin, but never on the ivorine. The polymin takes some getting used to, so smooth, but I like the results. I have a piece of ivorine I got from Nancy, miniart supply, but haven't used it yet. Saving to get my nerve up! Glad you like the film. I love it, but had a problem happen today that I'll be blogging about sometime later on.

Autumn Leaves said...

Found your work through Deb's blog and I am so awed. Beautiful, all of it! I must say, knowing you are in Snohomish County just had me missing WA so much. I lived in Pierce County (Lakewood and north Tacoma) for 12 years. Moved back to IL in 2000, which is where I am originally from, but have been homesick ever since. Used to know a Snohomish County cop (we went to the academy together in Burien), and even went on a date in Issaquah once. So beautiful up there! Love those falls in Snoqualmie too! Sigh...so homesick...

Barbara A. Freeman said...

Thanks for the visit, Autumn Leaves. It sure IS beautiful country around here. I bet you miss the mountains too! I would ask if you missed the rains, but my husband grew up in northern IN, so I've heard how cold the winters can be in that area. I'm still not used to the dark wet winters here.
Hope you check back from time to time. I will be doing more local landscapes.

Unknown said...

Simply beautiful Barbara - amazing detail, harmonious colours, I absolutely love it!!! I have some polymin, but have never used it, now you have motivated me to try it. Have only used the ivorine once, and with oils, but I still like the drafting film better.

I have problems with purple bleeding Barbara, with fixative, and so now avoid any purple colours. But, I have usually managed to scrape away the bled areas with a sharp knife and touch it up and still salvaged the artwork. (A couple of times I had applied the fixative after the artwork already had bids on ebay, and went into a mad panic when it bled!!!)

Autumn Leaves said...

Actually, I DO miss the rains! LOL I am one of those people who is not a sun worshiper. It bothers my eyes, the heat can make me ill if it gets too hot, and I burn. I've always loved the rain, even when it goes daily for months on end as it tends to do there! I did miss the booming, crashing thunderstorms with lightening that we have here as that is kind of rare up there. I think I do prefer winters here to the summers here though. But WA is the best for weather all around, in my opinion. I'm one who never felt blue with the rain. I will be back to see again!

Barbara A. Freeman said...

Thanks for your lovely comments, Karen. I'm going to be doing that colored pencil work that bled as an acrylic painting. I'll be posting both later.

Autumn leaves, that's interesting. I too have problems with the heat and sun. I'm going to be sure my daughter reads your comments! She lives in Austin and I've mentioned it would be nice to have her out here. There is NO WAY I would move to Austin! But she said she doesn't think she could take all the rain!

Unknown said...

Hi Barbara--the new piece is wonderful! You really capture the feeling of the northwest----makes me think about all the barns I grew up by (and spent many hours sketching them as a kid) around here that are gone-see you Thursday Janie

Barbara A. Freeman said...

Thanks Janie. That means a lot coming from you, a native. See you Thursday!

Anonymous said...

This is very pretty. You can imagine the cool, crisp air. The barn is great too with all that old wood. This place looks like a nice place for a picnic.

When it rains or is overcast here, I can take about 3 days to a week of that and then I'm ready for the sun to come back. And forget it if it gets too far below 70/65 degrees because I'll just freeze and shiver like a Chihuahua. Haha.

Barbara A. Freeman said...

Thanks Gina. You can't see it but just to the left is a newer barn and it had a yard with several cows in it and they stood there and watched me taking photos. I took some of them too for later consideration.

Well, the rain does take some getting used to, but it's not hot and humid here!