So recently I had the privilege to join the local Artist Gallery here in Juneau,AK. And I have lots of these little minis. So I’ve decided I’d better keep on painting them. There is no shortage of great, inspirational scenery here to paint. I almost never go out without my camera to keep lots of great photos on hand to choose from for painting. So the next several posts will be of more minis of local Juneau scenes. 
In this 8×10 painting, I really wanted to push the warmth in the bushes to contrast all the cold in this scene. That part went pretty well, but I really struggled with the reflections in the ice. This is how it looks after 3 attempts at getting it right. At this point I have decided to let it dry before I do it again. It kind of amazes me sometimes, the things I struggle with. It certainly isn’t predictable. I am hoping that I can get it right on the fourth go round. we shall see. Anyone with helpful tips here is welcome to chime in ( =
More of my series of Juneau, AK in miniature. I decided these photograph better when I put them in groups of 4 and do not have to get so close to them. Each one of these is just an every day scene in Juneau. It is a small community and the mountains are in your face no matter where you go. It is such a gorgeous place! And I really love the low winter light. It is wonderful for filming or painting.
These are all the same mountains that surround the Mendenhall glacier, but each from a different part of town. It is almost like you cannot get away from it. These views are everywhere!
These are a couple more of my miniature landscapes of Juneau, AK. The one on the left is of a portion of the Mendenhall River. There is a trail to hike by here. Very pretty hike. And the painting on the right is of buoy called George’s Rock and the beautiful Chilkat Mt. Range in the background.
I’m finding that it is not only fun to paint in miniature but it is still a good way to learn and practice. I still have to work on what details to leave out and consider all the same composition rules. But I can play with color without much investment if it turns out to be a failure. There is very little investment at all whether it is financial or time. I am even finding that I would like to reproduce some of them in a larger scale. All around good practice. (These are each 2.5×3.5 inch)
I am continuing my miniature landscape series of Juneau, AK. I’ve taken so many wonderful photos of the beautiful scenery here and now I am getting to use it. It would be nice to have a set of 4 of them displayed together, maybe 4 seasons or just 4 different areas of Juneau. The pic on the left is a view from Harris Harbor. I just loved the light vs. shadow on this. The other picture is Point Retreat Lighthouse. I particularly liked the lighting on the mountain in the distance here. These are both 2.5xx3.5 inch stretched canvas and painted on the sides as well. (I actually sold the lighthouse this seek, the other is for sale)
I was really drawn to do this particular painting because of the nice color contrast I had in mind for his fur. I also wanted the challenge of doing a large close up shot. It was great fun to do and I look forward to doing some more similar close up pictures of animals and perhaps even people. This was painted on 8×8 gesso board, which can be challenging because of the slippery nature of its surface. But I find that it is good for forcing me to stay loose with my brushwork.
These are each 2.5×3.5 inches. They are so much fun to paint! I guess I have always liked detail. The fun thing is, they look very detailed (they are for the size) but in fact I do have to minimize how much detail there is.
I have decided to try selling some mini paintings. These are very difficult to photograph clearly but I did my best at this point. Each of these are 2×4 inches. I do not plan to frame them because they are stretched canvas and I painted around the edges. I do plan to add some sort of ribbon or hanger to show how they c
ould be used as ornaments. They also look really cute on the mini easels that are available.
This is the second time that I painted this little cutie. My goal here was to focus on getting the subtle light changes and shape right. I love the little spot of light on her back that allows the nose to come forward. These types of lighting really capture my attention. It can be a challenge to get the value just right so that it will do what you want but it is worth the effort of practicing. I love the softness and variety of color in this too. I was interested in creating roundness with the contrast of cool and warm colors. It was good practice.
Art with my Coffee 