Monday, May 23, 2016

What Questions Do You Have About Using Color in the Painting Process?

In my post on mixing color, I found out that color is a topic of confusion and struggle for many artists.

If you are stuck in black and white and shades in between and want to break out in full color, what is stopping you? You are invited to take this quick survey to share your challenges and struggles on using color in your painting process. I'll report back the cumulative results of the survey.



Until Next Week

• Create art
• Appreciate art
• Buy art

Braylee Rush


About the author: Braylee Rush (Mary Gravelle) is an artist and writer who resides in Sedona, Arizona with her beloved assistant, Sir Kitty. Her art can be seen on her website.


Sir Kitty



Monday, May 16, 2016

New Painting: Cherry Tree Promise

Cherry Tree Promise, 24 x 36 inches,
Acrylic on Canvas Floor Cloth.
Copyright 2016 Mary Gravelle aka Braylee Rush.
The Cherry tree blossomed just feet from my front door. The delicate pink flowers against the rich red leaves was something to behold. It grabbed an excitement from within promising new life coming soon.

En Plein Air beginning of this painting. As you can see,
I took huge artistic license in the composition
and color scheme.






















Plein Air Painting

I gathered my paints and canvas and went outside to capture its essence and beauty. I finished it up in the studio.


Painting from Life

While I was painting the leaves and the cherry blossoms, I had walked underneath the tree where some of those rich red leaves were laying. I picked one up. I made a stencil of it to paint the leaves on the painting. I couldn't quite figure out the color and shape of the cherry blossom, so I plucked one from the tree since I couldn't find a suitable one laying on the ground. What joy those specimens brought me during my painting process. They have dried as beautiful as they were when live on the tree.

Until Next Week

• Create art
• Appreciate art
• Buy art

Braylee Rush


About the author: Braylee Rush (Mary Gravelle) is an artist and writer who resides in Sedona, Arizona with her beloved assistant, Sir Kitty. Her art can be seen on her website.


Sir Kitty





Monday, May 9, 2016

May the Vortex Be With You

May the Vortex Be With You, Acrylic on 140 lb. Watercolor Paper,
11 x 14 inches, copyright 2016 Braylee Rush.
"May the vortex be with you", these are the words that came to me after this painting was completed, playing on the famous, "May the Force Be With You".


Sedona and the Vortex

Living in Sedona, it's all about the vortex and the beautiful energy that emanates from them. A vortex energy is a force of its own.

End of day results of painting at Bell Rock.
All of Sedona is a vortex. But there are four main vortexes (or sites where the vortex energy can be strongly felt) according to the website, A Guide to Sedona. Bell Rock is one of them, which is where I began this painting while on one of my Sedona Art Hikes locations. It's a place where Cathedral Rock, one of the other four vortexes, can be viewed as well as Courthouse Butte and Baby Bell, and many other Sedona sites. Cathedral Rock is painted in partial site on the upper left of this painting.


En Plein Air Painting

To the right you can see my set up and the final stage of the painting after my en plein air painting session for the day. Can you tell that the view is spectacular from this site?

It was windy that day and my easel fell over a few times. It's all part of the plein air painting process. A little Sedona dirt dust does a painting good. lol

A rough sketch begins the painting process by
mapping out the shapes and the part of
the scene I want to paint.

Sketching the Scene

I like to begin my plein air paintings and most of my other acrylic or mixed media paintings with a sketch on the painting surface. As you can see, it's a rough sketch! Especially in nature, I find this an important part of the painting process. Mother Nature is immense. This makes it important to narrow down the scene and focus on one area to paint.

The blank canvas, or paper in this case.

The Blank Canvas

And, of course, it all begins with a blank canvas. Many artists from time to time dread the blank canvas. But, this is where all the potential lies.

Possibilities await the paint, brush, and the artist's ability to listen. I feel more and more that the painting is already painted before I begin. All I need to do is show up, listen, and paint as best as I can to honor it.

The last plein air painting I did, Walking in Paradise, was on watercolor paper. I wasn't sure if I liked that super dry and absorbent surface. So, for this one, I gave the paper a heavy brushing of gel gloss medium before I began. In the end, the texture added another dimension to the final painting.


The Painting Has a Life of Its Own

At the end of the day, there was a beautiful light shining through the trees over the mountain. The wildflowers glistened its glow.

I sat my painting, for reasons unbeknownst by me, facing the light. I was taking photos of the glistening wildflowers. When I saw this photograph, it amused me because it looked like the painting was enjoying the end of the day light as well.

Your Turn

What are your thoughts on anything I have said or shown you today? Have any memories arisen? Please share in the comments below. I would love to hear from you!

And, if you would like to own this painting, let me know. Email me at Mary@MaryFineArt.com.

Until Next Week

• Buy art
• Appreciate art
• Create art

Mary Gravelle (Mary Rae Rush)


About the author: Mary Rae Rush (Mary Gravelle) is an artist and writer who resides in Sedona, Arizona with her beloved assistant, Sir Kitty. Her art can be seen on her website. Book a Sedona Art Hikes tour to have your own experience of painting in the vortex energy of Sedona.


Sir Kitty