A Work In Progress

Untitled
By C. Miner

This painting is one I am currently working on. I used oil paints on canvas board. I had started this painting a long time ago.....probably like 2002 or '03. I don't have a picture of what it looked like before this post here, but trust me it was much more harsh, more dark, more rough and a little angry. I guess I was in a darker place in my life then......so it didn't seem fitting to leave it like that (besides, I always intended to rework it into something better). And now is the time for that.

For me, painting can be a kind of "therapy", or a release. Something that can get me out of my head. Something that I can do to escape the busy-ness of this crazy world. Something that is just fun.

I think this painting has taken on a new feeling now that I've re-worked it. Still working on it so we'll see where it ends up soon I hope.

Viburnum

Viburnum

By C. Miner, 2008

Viburnum is a type of flowering shrub. I had one at my first home, and took some pictures of the blooms. They are such a pretty flower, very delicate and soft. This painting was inspired by those photos.

I decided I liked the contrast with black and white, and again trying out that "paint-by-number" style. Maybe later I'll try variations on this same photo.

Autumn Sky

Autumn Sky
By C. Miner, 2008


This is another painting that was inspired by my visit to the Japanese Gardens last Fall. It is done in acrylics on canvas board. Here's the original photo I took while there (and thanks Lura for tagging me along with you).



As a child I always loved paint-by-number sets (and still do). But as I got older, these same kits that I would see in craft stores or wherever, seemed more and more "cheesy" to me. Not that that is bad, but I longed for something other than kittens with balls of yarn, still lifes with fruit, or cheap copies of Van Gogh, Monet, and other Masters.

So, I guess this painting, in a way, is my take on that "paint-by-number" feel. I like the way that each color in this is indiviual, but together, they make something more than they could by themselves.

October Haze

October Haze

By C. Miner, 2008

This is an original painting done in acrylics on stretched canvas. I had visited the Japanese Gardens in Portland, Oregon back on Halloween in 2007. I took many photos and this one stood out to me.

After some cropping and playing with it it in Photoshop, I decided I needed to paint it. So I did.