"On the Riverbank: Abstract Swirls"

Original Oil Painting on Stretched Cotton Canvas
(Sides painted so no need for frame)
30" (height) x 40" (width)
$ 245 U.S.

"City Lights: Times Square"

Original Oil Painting on Stretched Cotton Canvas
(Sides painted so no need for frame)
30" (height) x 40" (width)
$ 485 U.S.

"City Rain Abstract"

Original Oil Painting on Stretched Cotton Canvas
(Sides painted so no need for frame)
20" (width) x 24" (height)
$ 375 U.S.

"Stepping Through"

Original Oil Painting on Stretched Cotton Canvas
(Sides painted so no need for frame)
18" (width) x 24" (height)
$ 245 U.S.

"Preservation Hall Jazz- New Orleans"

Original Oil Painting on Stretched Cotton Canvas
(Sides painted so no need for frame)
16" (width) x 20" (height)
$ 345 U.S.

"Out on a Snowy Night"

Original Oil Painting on Stretched Cotton Canvas
(Sides painted so no need for frame)
18" (width) x 24" (height)
$ 275 U.S.

"Parked Cars at Night"

Original Oil Painting on Stretched Cotton Canvas
(Sides painted so no need for frame)
18" (height) x 24" (width)
$ 349 U.S.

"A Gloomy Night Walk"

Original Oil Painting on Stretched Cotton Canvas
(Sides painted so no need for frame)
36" (height) x 24" (width)
$ 295 U.S.

"A Rainy City Night"

Original Oil Painting on Stretched Cotton Canvas
(Sides painted so no need for frame)
24" (height) x 26" (width)
$ 349 U.S.

A Gust of Auburn - Windblown Woman

"A Gust of Auburn

- Windblown Woman"

Original Oil Painting on Stretched Cotton Canvas
(Sides painted so no need for frame)
20" (height) x 24" (width)
$ 380 U.S.

"Ring Around the Roses"

Original Oil Painting on Stretched Cotton Canvas
(Very large size - sides painted so no need for frame)
36" (height) x 48" (width)
$ 1200 U.S.

Dirty Olive Martini Party

Original Oil Painting on Stretched Cotton Canvas
(Very large size - sides painted so no need for frame)
36" (height) x 36" (width)
$ 700 U.S.

A Floral Work in Progress

I'm not sure if it is obvious from the photo, but this one is a big boy - 3 foot height by 4 foot length, so it is taking me a good deal of time. I had originally started a painting of three goldfish on this canvas but eventually gave up and scrapped it (the design I was envisioning needed the blendability and fast-working nature of watercolors rather than oils). The blue background of what was the goldfish' water is now the sky behind the flowers. And some of the goldfish remnants have been blended into orange and red petals on the flowers or painted over entirely. As I mentioned in a previous post, I find it really nice to start on a canvas that already has some paint on it. Not only is does it prevent that ever-intimidating first stroke on that white tabula rosa, it also creates some really nice shadowing and layering effects. On the other hand, you need to make sure you don't have a lot of left over texture from a previous painting (you can carefully scrape a lot of it off with a palette knife) or that will create problems in your new painting. I am having fun with the flowers as a counterbalance to working on the two portraits. You don't have to be quite as precise with flowers - if you are slightly off on the angle or size of a petal or leaf, no one is the wiser. If you give Aunt Betsy an oversized, skewed nose however, well, I assure you she will certainly notice!

How to paint people, portraits, and faces

Here is the update of my "dirty olive martini party" picture. Based on whether you like what you see or not, you can either take my thoughts on how to paint people or, well, you can not take them! Painting faces can be really challenging because to do so realistically (this doesn't really apply if you are going for abstract or some other styles), you need to paint what you SEE and not what you THINK you SHOULD see when you look at a face. That is, if you conjure up in your brain the idea of what an eye should look like, it is probably a football shaped object with a ball of color for the iris and another ball of black in the middle of that. Now, look in the mirror or at a picture and look at someone's eye. Really look at it and see the shapes and angles and shadows and how your eye blends into the surrounding skin (not like the solid black outline of the football you pictured or that you commonly see in children's drawings of faces). The same is true for the nose and all the other facial features. You don't paint lines to make a nose, you paint shadows and highlights and this creates the impression of a nose. Also note that the nose isn't necessarily where you think it should be - that is in the middle of the face. Unless the person you are painting is looking dead-forward, the nose is likely to be off to one side a bit. Again, the same holds true for the positioning of the other features. Another tip - most of us (myself included) - tend to underestimate the size of the forehead. Look at yourself in the mirror and observe objectively how much real estate on your face is being devoted to the forehead - a LOT, right? My personal opinion is that we underestimate or "don't see" how big the forehead is because foreheads are just plain boring - instead, we spend a lot more time looking at people's eyes, noses, and mouths, the humble forehead just gets subconsciously "cropped" out by our brains.
I am struggling to follow these rules as I continue on with this painting. A really good book on this subject is called "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards. In fact, I might go grab it off the bookshelf and refresh my memory - so I can give you all the lowdown in another post.

On the benefits and drawbacks of working with oil...

Another work in progress... this is one I started out thinking would be much more "pop art"y but somehow the style is morphing into... well, I'm not sure. I'm struggling a bit with parts and need to let it dry a few days to go back in. And this brings me to my topic of the benefits and drawbacks of working with oil paints. In short, the qualities of oils that make it so wonderful to use are the same qualities that make it a real pain in any artist's neck. The slow-drying nature of oil makes it ideal for blending, smudging, smushing, and mooshing. On the other hand, if you get overzealous in any of those activities, you inevitably end up with a muddy puddle of sludge brown. I am a "mess-around" type of painter and I frequently overwork and keep fiddling with the paints when what I really need to do is just let it go for a few days while the oil has time to set up. Then, after a few days, you can go back in and add more details on top of what you already did. This ability to apply more paint on top is another beauty of oil. You can go back over any screw-ups again and again and again until you are finally mollified (or until you give up in despair). I have poured paint thinner on many a painting I wasn't happy with and smudged over the entire thing with an old rag so that I could start a new painting on the canvas. This technique can not only be really cleansing and satisfying, but it can also lead to some great paintings because you are starting with a cool smudged-color background rather than a plain white canvas, which let's admit, can be really daunting. Now try that with watercolors, I dare you!!

How to start and paint a masterpiece...

...or if not a "masterpiece," at least a painting that you won't want to throw in the garbage. Now, for those people who know me well, you realize I haven't had formal art training for at least a solid decade. So my advice is purely that, advice. And actually, my first piece of advice for creating a work of art you are proud of is to find out what works for you and you alone. Look to other artists for inspiration and hints, but ultimately, I believe the best artwork is produced by people who trust their own instincts and are not afraid to take a risk and be different...in some cases really different! The main reason I am writing this post is that I recently needed to take this own advice in a painting I started (pictured here - not yet titled - big hug to anyone who comes up with something clever for a title!). I started with a photograph as one source of inspiration for the actual subject of the painting and another local artist as inspiration for the general style of painting (she too uses photos as references). The result was awful. Disappointed, I decided to begin again with a different stylist approach. Having recently rediscovered the painting "The Kiss" by one of my favority artists, Gustav Klimt, I tried to incorporate Klimt's seductive swirls and smudges into my subject matter. The outcome? Another mess. Finally, I looked to some of my own work from the past - pieces of which I had been proud - and I tried to regain confidence in my own styles and techniques. Here is the new "in-progress" work, and so far, it is a keeper.

"Balancing Act: Woman with Baskets"

Original Oil Painting on Canvas Board
16" (height) x 12" (width)
$ 370

Aloha Tropical Flowers Series - Original Oil Paintings

"Aloha Tropical Flower Series"

Three Original Oil Paintings on Stretched Cotton Canvas
(sides painted so no need for frames)
Each painting measures 12" (height) x 12" (width)
$ 280 U.S. for set of 3

Green Tea Series - Original Oil Paintings

"Green Tea Series"

Three Original Oil Paintings on Stretched Cotton Canvas
(sides painted so no need for frames)
Each painting measures 12" (height) x 12" (width)
$ 450 U.S. for set of 3

Fading Out: Field of Poppies - Original Oil Painting

"Fading Out: Field of Poppies"

Original Oil Painting on Stretched Cotton Canvas
(Very large size - sides painted so no need for frame)
36" (height) x 48" (width)
$ 1280 U.S.

Jillian Bradley

"Generous Curves" Abstract Original Oil Painting

"Generous Curves"

Original Oil Painting on Stretched Cotton Canvas
(Sides painted so no need for frame)
20" (height) x 24" (width)
$450 U.S.

Jillian Bradley Studios

Featuring Original and Commissioned Fine Art

Artist Jillian Bradley specializes in oil painting and watercolor floral and portraits. An avid “people-watcher,” Jillian integrates her visual world with her training as a doctor of psychology to create emotionally rich images. To inquire about commissioned art by Jillian or about any of her works displayed here, please contact the artist directly by email or phone.

Jillian Bradley Studios

jillianbradleystudios@yahoo.com

(559) 978-8957