Variation on a theme: Live Oak II

My recent work is for our good friend and superstar real estate agent, Christy Harris. She is in the processing of decorating her new home. As a native South Carolinian, she had always loved the famed Angel Oak on Johns Island. She has commissioned me to create a painting of the oak that would serve as the focal point on her office wall which also showcases a collection of antique maps. The only constraints she gave me on this project was the size (20 x 20) -how I choose to portray the oak was up to me!

Her home is a mix of the contemporary and antique pieces. In order to bridge the gap, I choose to create this piece in a traditional watercolor style but crop the view so from afar the interplay of positive and negative space take on a life of its own.   

Here are a few snapshots i took as the tree came to life….

This view still captures the sprawling tentacle like anatomy of the tree and the solid core from which the branches emanate... without just painting the entire tree as is.

The negative space speaks as loudly as the tree itself especially in dim lighting. It also mimics the maps that will surround it in much more organic spider like aggressive form. It gives it a bit of edge.

Thank you Christy!!!

Live Oak Panel

This is my first large format painting on a wood panel!  It was commissioned by Michael Moore for his back patio. He added a grilling area complete with a stone fireplace and circular patio. However, the large bare garage wall was rather soul sucking so he decided he would like a large panel to break up the space and give that view a bit of interest. This panel will be mounted on his garage wall. It needed to be at least  is 7 ft long and 3.5 ft wide and would need to be able to weather the elements.  It also needed to be subtle too in order to blend with the house, fireplace and  trees surrounding the  the patio.  This was a fun challenge for me to undertake!

 Here is my rough layout -

Off to Home Depot we went… I decided to construct the frame from a solid birch panel and 2 x 2's!  Just getting strapped on top of the car was comical enough. Michael and my husband Jay got it into my studio for me.  I then set about sealing it which took several applications and then primed it with Klinz. I used diluted house paint for the actual tree. Of course, Arthur's curiosity got the best of him and he had some extra white spots for a while…..

I based the picture itself from many pictures I took while exploring Cumberland island back in August 2011.  Jay and I spent the morning taking pictures of the wild horses and wild blown live oaks. Later that afternoon, he proposed to me on the beach. I have always wanted to use these pictures in a piece. This project seemed to fit the bill just perfectly! 

Dog Portraits!

I recently finished what will be my seventh commission for my good friend, Carol Hargrett Weitz! Two of these have been gifts to her husband featuring their chocolate Lab, Murphy. 

Murphy as a puppy. This is one of my favorite portraits!

Dog portraits are fantastic gifts. They make good last minute gift too since most of the time the owner will need to supply a photograph of the pet. Simply wrap up a gift certificate!  I have done nearly 50 pet portraits as gifts! Here are just a few  ---

You get the idea…... to learn more about the process check it out at http://meredithgillespie.com/petseries

Happy Fourth of July!

This week we are at the farm! My three latest commissions feature natural subject matter; two featuring  live oaks and one pasture scene.  Arthur and I have been going on early-morning runs to beat the heat and taking a lot of pictures -and quick sketches! This is the best homework I've ever had. 

We hope everybody has a great Fourth and we will be back in the studio this Monday with lots of great fodder for these new works!

Baby Animals

Our first child, William was born this past March and I spent the good part of last year browsing decorating sites for nursery ideas. I found that African mammals seem to have cornered the market….they dominate the nursery scene. However, I doubt very seriously that William will come in contact with too many monkeys and giraffes any time soon. I thought why not showcase a collection of southeastern baby animals that he will actually see in real life.

My searches provided further inspiration when I found a featured nursery that had photographs of baby animals arranged in what I like to call "yearbook" style. I thought that this style would work well in our quirky nursery space.

Here is a progression of the little Owl .. I started with a pencil sketch from a picture of a baby owl and then built up his ruffled feathers in watercolor…Those yellow eyes really pop due to the contrast!

I admit that this project of mine was not an original idea but I liked it for your nursery and I enjoyed painting them.  I chose to include our own native friends; coyote, barn owl, lamb, duck, fox  and bobcat. I also threw in a hedgehog for fun. I have done many others. A wren, chicken, goat, horse, pig and the list goes on... If you have a particular animal you would like or a group - just let me know. I would love to add to the collection.

Individual Prints are available at my shop: http://meredithgillespie.com/shop/

Here is a photo of the finished nursery.

Ofelia's Flowers!

This past week I have wrapped up a painting that has proved to be a bit of a challenge for me. I had a client who wanted a painting of peonies that would be a focal point over the fireplace in her living room. Her only requests were that the piece be colorful and exude a positive energy. She also liked a particular swirling style.

As an illustrator,  I have been programmed to really "see" the object I am drawing, fully understand it and replicate it on the page. This is much different.  I still must "see" and fully understand the object but then move to the next level of translating it in a separate visual language.

I rushed in ..paint flying!  However, I felt that the painting was missing something … so I nixed the first, second and third attempts and after just wasting a bunch of paint I went back to the drawing board literally.

Arthur likes this one the best … He wanted to pose with it…:)

"Moore Coke, Please"

This has been one of the best projects yet! My good friend, Michael Moore is quite the art enthusiast. He particularly loves folk art. Everything in his home is an original and he loves to tell the story behind each piece of art. He had an old picnic table top and he asked me to brain storm with him on how turn this old piece of wood in it a fun piece for his entry way. He works for Coke so he wanted to feature the logo in some way.  Here is the blank "canvas" - 

Blank Canvas - all ready to go!!

View fullsize

Here is the finished piece!

Mason Jar

This project was commissioned by one of my favorite clients, Hil Harper. He is quite the aficionado of Southern style and is also the author of Gentleman South, a blog that was formed to spread the word on quality, unique Southern finds.  He has asked me to create a simple painting of this Mason jar that will invoke nostalgia of culture it has come to represent. This piece is to be the centerpiece in his new kitchen. What fun! I will really have a great time 
painting this one.

First off, I created a textured background that creates the feeling of filtered light– perhaps the dappled sunlight under the trees during a picnic or the afternoon light through the kitchen window waiting for canning season to begin…I used ultramarine blue and yellow ochre acrylic paint. I mix all my colors from primary colors so I have only a total of 8 tubes of paint- (3 warm primary colors, 3 cool primary colors and then neutral tint for my black and then white. While it is more challenging to recreate colors exactly (color matching also gets easier the more you do it too!) the colors have a much more organic feel. Here is the background and the jar layout in chalk. I almost like this as much as the finished piece.. I will call it  “Ghost of the Mason Jar”.

And now for the finished piece - Acrylic painting on 30 x 36” canvas.

Welcome to Meredith Gillespie Fine Art

It is amazing what you can accomplish when you do it all day long. In our world of constant distractions, it is a rarity that we are able to focus on a project that we truly love for hours at a time. We fill our days working to pay the bills, racing to and fro just to try and maintain the status quo. These things make up life and there is nothing wrong with them but it is just truly glorious when you are able to really focus on creative work you love. I am thrilled that I have the opportunity to do what I love. The process and finished product are both equally as satisfying to me.

My grandfather, Papa Boo used to ask everyone around the dinner table at night, “What did you do that was productive today? 

Well, this blog will contain the ongoing answer to that question. I will give a peek into my work in progress, sources of inspiration, random thoughts and of course the finished work!

I hope you will enjoy the process as much as I do.