Home Bound I was so excited about this painting, mainly because it was for my cousin's wedding and I knew it had to be something special. Little did I know that it would take me several reworks to get it to this final stage. Not to mention the part where Evelyn took charge and made her marks all over the sky. I used purple, which she so kindly got out for me to cover up her additions. That choice led to the sky you see know, which was no where near where it started. I really did attempt to make it look like the sun was peeking out of the clouds and basking it's glow on the corn field and road. All these decisions came from my childhood. These memories were how I put together this painting for my cousin who is relocated to Houston. I wanted to give her a little piece of home. I absolutely love how it came together.
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Sunflower Sunset Title says it all, a very easy and carefree painting. I put this painting together knowing it was going to be a wedding gift for our friends from college. Even though the wedding was at the beginning of November, I chose a summer painting. I guess sunflowers really just say Kansas. With them being the main focus, I knew I needed a contrasting sky to really make them pop. In hindsight I probably could have worked it out a little differently but it still came together rather smoothly. I attempted new techniques to make the sunflowers come to the foreground, really it's not new to me I just rarely use it, and I almost wish I would have added more.
Willard's Walkway This painting like so many of my paintings came from a photograph I had taken. This particular photograph was actually one of Evelyn around the time of her first birthday. One of these days I will paint her, but I don't think I could have the heart to sell it, so that would be the reason she has been omitted from this scene. This trail was near our house when we lived in Willard just outside of Topeka. Like you may have realized I have a thing for adding in my own sky and water, which is what I have done here. I also added in the lilies as well because they were not in bloom at the time this picture was taken. I'm glad they had been there at one point because this painting needed something to fill up it's left side since I took out the main subject. It wasn't until after I worked with the sky that I wanted to add water. I had the idea of an after rainfall scene where the sun is breaking through. There obviously was not water or rocks on the trail so I added that all in from my own preference. It takes me back to a time when I spent almost every waking moment with Evelyn and took her pictures weekly.
Cleo's Journey Home Not going to lie I was a little intimidated with this one. I was commissioned by a former colleague of mine to paint a picture of her dog that had recently passed away. I knew my biggest issue would be getting the painting to actually look like her dog. She gave me a photograph to work from and I used it as my template. I can't tell you how many times I referenced that photograph making sure it was as close to exact as could be. I worked the hardest on layout. Once you put the photo next to the painting you know if something isn't right. With my OCD eyes I can spot differences a mile away. The color with light and shadow was just about the second hardest obstacle.
The fun part was creating the background. As you may guess the background is a photograph. I had taken this particular photograph for friends of mine. They were standing inthe mid ground on the steps. So proportion wise, Cleo would be quite large for this real-life scene. That does not matter to me because she is the focal point and in the foreground, she should be large scale (trust me, had I not told you that you would never have know). I did in fact play around quite a bit with detail and color. Just as with the sky, I create how I feel. I wanted this painting to have warm glow feeling at just around sunset. I am really big on creating moments with meaning, so for me this was all sentimental. Think of the passing of time as we move on through our journeys in life. Not to mention I imagine Cleo turning and walking away up the steps as she goes on her own journey. Evening with Thistles This painting is actually the view to the West of the Other Place Barn. There is the remainder of my grandfather's childhood home behind those trees. The only remainders of the rock house are two walls. I would like to put the house in some how to make it apart of this scene but you really don't see it from this spot so I will have to fib. The way I pieced this painting together with these three sections is to really show you all you would see if you'd look closely. This whole area is overgrown so there are thistles all over. I wanted them to be the focal point so I put as much detail into them as I could. They may be a weed but I think they are beautiful. They also may not appear proportional, but if you sit on the ground right in front of one this is what you would see.
I would say this painting is unfinished, but that would mean I would have to come back to it and I just don't know what to do. The windmill in the background was not laid out proportionally to the size of the canvas and so it will not fit. It was there but I covered it up with the sky because it did not look right. Turns out it would actually be going off the top of the canvas if I did it correctly. This is a lesson in why you plan and sketch ahead of time instead of eye-balling things. For now I will leave it this way until something comes to me. Kansas Twilight Stream For this painting I was stumped. I realized I had one landscape, two barn paintings, and three with water. Looking over them I felt as if my landscape was missing something, and that's when I knew I wanted another waterway painting. I found a photograph from a Kansas photographer that was overlooking a lake. It was a dark sunset and so I realized I just wanted to use the composition. The sky I took from a painting with a similar layout. I took a lot of details from my first lake painting
Other Place Barn For this painting I again used a photo I had taken while at my grandparents old farmstead. I am so glad I was able to take the photos I did because who knows the next time I'll have the chance. I would love to paint one time on location, but being so far away from places I grew up using photos is the best alternative. My grandpa actually grew up here where there still stands most of all the original buildings and part of the rock house. From where I took the photo I'm standing down a hill looking up at the barn. If you are familar with the location you understand that it's the best viewpoint of the barn. Standing below your focal point also makes it appear larger. The lighting of the photo was not the best, I had to really look close for detail of the trees and the area that used to be the cow pen. Of course my favorite addition is the sky. I always try to bring to life my paintings this way. It's a great way to add color and emotion. I loved coming here with my grandparents. There are so many memories for me here and this just takes me back.
Lake Perry Sunrise I had in mind that I wanted to do a painting of a lake scene. The problem I had was deciding which one. Luckily I had taken sunrise photos while on a camping trip at Lake Perry three years ago. This painting I definitely struggled with. I found I love painting sky's and water but rocks not so much. This is one where I played around a bit with the arrangement. After several layers and zooming into the photograph I was able to settle on the correct shadows. Adding water lines I feel added a nice touch. This has personal meaning to me. It may not be this exact spot, but this lake has held so many memories of fishing and camping. Not to mention I met my husband here, it's where we first started dating, and were he proposed.
I'm so excited to announce this painting is my first sale. An amazing friend purchased it after my Art Walk debut. I'm so glad it found a deserving home. Flint Hills Skyline When I was searching for photo inspiration I knew I wanted local landscapes. When I think of Kansas landscapes I automatically think of the Flint Hills. I was raised having so many amazing experiences viewing the the beauty of God's country. This painting was a merge of multiple photographs and a blend of my own personality.
Newly updated as of early August. If you had seen this painting before you would notice the changes to the sky, as well as the additions of the stream in the background and the rocks and flowers in the foreground. I never really liked the way I had it before, it always looked unfinished. After several drives to Topeka through the Flint Hills I new what needed to be done. I really love the way it all came together. Pond at Dusk As I was aware of the downtown Art Walk I knew I was going to have to crank out some paintings if I was going to participate. I hadn't painted anything since I was in college and I had honestly never painting anything of my own creation. My first attempt at painting to find my own style was this. I searched for inspiration of paintings and finally settled on one that made me feel as I could actually be apart of it. As a photographer I knew that I would be important to me to believe I could actually take a picture to match my creations. This painting had a man in a boat fishing which I knew was right up my alley, the fact there was water was my biggest seller. One thing you may notice from my paintings is a overlying theme of yellow. I really have been brought back to my faith and the incorporation of sunlight in each of my paintings has been a part of my healing.
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Andrea Stitt
A behind the scenes look at the creation of each painting as well as adventures in being an artist. Archives
December 2017
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