I was amazed to view this nostalgic scene one block from my home and felt I had traveled back in time one hundred years. This bearded farmer had hitched his handsome Belgian pair to a horse-drawn hay mower. I hope you enjoy this original oil painting as much as I enjoyed creating it.
Today’s Artist Interview Is With Ruth Soller From Broomfield, Colorado.
Whopple: How long have you been an artist?
Ruth: I’ve been a professional artist since 1989.
Whopple: Tell us about your first attempts to be creative.
Ruth: At age five I made my own paper dolls using crayons on shirt card-boards. At age eleven I took art lessons which exposed me to outdoor sketching, pen and ink, oil painting on canvas, pastel pencils, tempera, watercolor. I won many ribbons at the Washington County Fair.
Whopple: Do you make a living with your art?
Ruth: No
Whopple: How many hours a day do you create?
Ruth: Four to six hours
Whopple: How did you pick your creative medium?
Ruth: I worked exclusively in watercolor for ten years, creating and selling home portraits. A portraits exhibition in Montgomery, Alabama (where I lived from 1993-2003), rekindled my passion for portraiture. Daniel E. Greene came to Montgomery, where I attended his oil portrait demonstration. I decided that I must study with him and took his workshop in his studio in North Salem, New York in June 2000. Since then I have painted primarily in oils because I love the intensity of colors, the freedom to make corrections and to build the painting up in layers. I think oils are the ideal medium for portraiture and have learned to paint architecture in oils, also. There is still a great deal for me to learn especially in landscape painting, including atmospheric perspective, more impressionistic brushstrokes, and greater use of texture.
Whopple: What are your inspirations?
Ruth: I am inspired by nature in my daily walks with my dog, Mindy. The nearby Rocky Mountains inspire me. Often I am inspired by the light on a person’s face or by the colors, shapes and shadow patterns on architecture. Of course my travels serve as deep reservoirs of inspiration for many paintings.
Whopple: How do you recharge when your creativity hits the wall?
Ruth: I often refer to my library of art and art history books, read and skim through art magazines, visit galleries and museums, go for a drive or hike in the mountains.
Whopple: What was your first job?
Ruth: Department Manager for Dillard’s Department Stores.
Whopple: What are your favorite snacks when you are creating?
Ruth: Black coffee and dark chocolate.
Whopple: What gives you hope in the world?
Ruth: My faith in God and relationship with Jesus Christ. I believe that my creative ability is a gift from God and that I am called to practice and share my art in ways that honor God and touch others’ lives.
Whopple: What do you wish you could do?
Ruth: I would like to build a house on a mountain with great views and include a large studio with north light.
Whopple: What are your artistic goals?
Ruth: My goals are to have my work in museum collections and to be represented by excellent galleries. I hope to write a book about my art which would include all of my best paintings.
Whopple: What has been your most exciting moment as an artist?
Ruth: My oil painting Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO was selected for the 2010 Salmagundi Club New York Non-Members Painting and Sculpture Exhibition. At the reception for the event I was invited to become an exhibiting artist member of the Salmagundi Club. My experience of representing The USA by exhibiting at the 2009 Florence Biennial Contemporary Art Exhibition in Italy was most exciting. My husband and I traveled in Florence, Rome, Siena, and San Gimignano. I met artists from around the USA and the world and attended a lecture on Art and Symmetries. I returned home with over 600 photos which are serving as inspiration for my new series of Italy paintings. Also exciting was when the General President of the International Association of Fire Fighters purchased my painting of a New York City fire fighter for his office in Washington, D.C.
To See More Of Ruth Soller’s Artwork Please Visit The Following:
Have you noticed that summer is a season of rapid growth? Have you awakened to discover your lush green grass, flower beds, and shrubs have become a jungle overnight? Do you find the summer clothes and shoes you just bought for your children suddenly too tight and short for back-to-school? Summer is a perfect time for personal or career growth as well. Last summer my project was a return to water aerobics to get fit for my winter travels in Italy. Results included better muscle tone, balance, endurance and stamina as well as warm, supportive new friends. This summer I am going outside (literally) my comfort zone to try plein aire painting.
Boy, did I have plenty of excuses why this would never work! Weather, wind, rain, sunburn, bugs, snakes, mountain lions, coyotes, inquisitive bystanders … It all boiled down to fear—of failure or appearing foolish. My summer reading helped me overcome fear and excuses. Starving to Successful by J. Jason Horejs showed me that if I want to be in more galleries, I must increase my productivity and confidence in painting. Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O’Reilly helped me focus on one dream I had yet to pursue and find courage to just do it. Even a video Encounters with John Wesley strengthened my resolve to begin painting in the field. Wesley spoke of the prayer meeting where he “felt his heart strangely warmed” and knew that Jesus Christ was his Savior and that Wesley was called to go outside the church and begin preaching in the field. Wesley ultimately traveled 200,000 miles on horseback to spread the Gospel of Christ to the masses.
Growing up Irish Catholic in Brooklyn, Bill O’Reilly learned values of self-reliance, getting educated, developing a skill, and forcing yourself to work hard. He built a support system of lifelong friends who are honest with him. O’Reilly encourages us to: Design your own life. Never give up trying to make it on your own. O’Reilly states that “true courage is not about being fearless; it’s about overcoming fear, going ahead with something worthwhile even though you’re terrified. Overcoming fear is an essential key to living a useful and honorable life.”
Planning ahead, I simplified my set-up to a bare minimum necessary to paint outdoors. In my small wooden paint box I carried a wooden palette covered in aluminum foil, a palette knife for mixing colors, small roll of paper towels, small bottle of odorless mineral spirits for cleaning brushes, hog-bristle filbert brushes #2, #4, liner or rigger brush for details, small plastic bag for trash, 8x10 canvasboard attached with poster putty to 9x12 canvasboard (because this is the size of my box/easel.) Paints included Permalba White, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red Light, Alizaron Crimson, Transparent Red Oxide, Dioxazine Purple, Pthalo Blue, Sap Green. A limited palette of white, yellow, red, and blue would be sufficient to achieve all color mixtures needed. I put on sunscreen and wore a hat and brought drinking water and my digital camera for reference photos. A useful addition would be a small sketchbook and pencil for thumbnails or value sketches. I added a shoulder strap for hands-free carrying of my paint box; or you could carry all in a backpack. Notice I did not invest in a French easel, by was able to sit on a flat rock or bench, holding my paint box/easel in my lap to paint. After the painting session I gently rolled up the aluminum foil covering my palette to save remaining paint.
I found a 2-hour outdoor session long enough to cover my canvas with wet paint. I chose to bring these works home to finish after the initial coat of paint was dry. This allowed me to view my work in studio light and to realize that the colors I had mixed in the field were somewhat dull compared to my usual intensified colors. Above you may see Eldorado Springs Trail Study after some adjustments and highlights. If you have ever avoided outdoor painting as I had, I hope these suggestions will give you confidence to give it a try. Happy Painting!
English Tea Rooms, Rome, Italy, oil on linen, 14x11, $600
This is a view of the English Tea Rooms in Rome, Italy as seen from the Spanish Steps. At the base of the Spanish Steps is a fountain by Bernini which is shaped like a boat. The English Tea Rooms building is a beautiful terra cotta which was glowing in the morning sun. Ferns, palms, olive and persimmon trees grew on balconies and and courtyards surrounding the Tea Rooms.
Villa de Medici, Rome, Italy, oil on linen, 16x20, $1200
On our last morning in Rome we walked along the Pincio above Piazza del Popolo where we came across Villa de Medici, a summer retreat for members of the Medici family of Florence. The beautiful building had also served as Academie Nationale de France and was stunningly framed with cascading fushia bouganvilia.
FedEx came highly recommended to me by well known artists and art magazines as the best vendor for shipping artwork. My experience with FedEx began with great expectations and reasonable results in 2002 when I began shipping artwork to New York City, Washington, DC, and less populated locales in the U.S. My work arrived safely and was returned safely from exhibitions in which it did not sell. My husband built me two wooden crates of different sizes and we packed the works ourselves with foam rubber or bubble wrap, as no galleries or museums appreciate or accept pesky packing peanuts.
After the first few years FedEx decided that I needed to have a business account in order to have them prepare in advance a return shipping label to be included with the shipment for the return of my work after the shows. I willingly complied as I was promised discounts on all services by using my FedEx business account number which was attached to my credit card. I was careful to drive about 25 miles from my home to the FedEx Distribution Center, because I was told that I would receive better rates. This arrangement worked OK except that I could not be sure of the exact charges until after the services were actually performed and I received my credit card bill. There was some confusion as the statement listed only numbers rather than any written itemization for the charges by FedEx.
This year, however, FedEx is undergoing exponential problems. From my point of view as a “business client” I am not aware of the internal turmoil which most certainly manifests itself in horrendous customer service. My and my husband’s attempts to find information and answers online at www.FedEx.com were futile. The website is completely unintelligible. In my effort to sign in to the website I was led through steps to open another business account. My next step of a phone call to the toll free number led to a friendly female robot asking me irrelevant questions and not understanding my responses. After some time of this I was passed on to a friendly female human who kindly assured me that my local FedEx store could package my large painting and ship it.
My husband took off on his lunch hour to help me heft the unwieldy box to our local store, only to be refused adamantly by the “service” employee who claimed that:
FedEx does not handle original artwork, unless it is something that can be readily replaced by purchasing another at Wal-Mart. (His words, not mine.)
FedEx does not handle insurance. You must buy that from another vendor.
FedEx will not do the packaging. You must do all the packaging yourself.
FedEx will not reimburse for loss over $500 for artwork, no matter what your declared value.
Anything valued over $500 must be shipped FedEx Express.
My package is too large for FedEx Express, so it must be shipped FedEx Freight.
FedEx Freight will not reimburse for damage or loss over $100, no matter what your declared value. (FedEx will gladly charge you more for a higher declared value.)
This office does not handle FedEx Freight. (FedEx Freight is a separate company.)
At this point I developed a sudden and keen understanding and affinity for “going postal”! Lucky for me, my husband quickly herded me out, into my vehicle, and back home where he perused the internet and found another FedEx shipper even closer to our home. By phone this friendly local store assured us that they would do the packaging and ship by FedEx using my business account. We went directly to this store and the managers were so very helpful and courteous. As far as I can tell they have done an exemplary job of communicating with various and vastly divergent FedEx offices and personnel who have given them numerous rules, roadblocks, and hurdles. After two days I am still receiving calls from this vendor as he attempts to coordinate and compromise with FedEx in order to make my shipment happen. He is optimistic that he has worked out all the bugs.
I am glad that I am a woman of faith, because I believe that it will take all the power of prayer to see this experience through to a glorious conclusion. I am extremely grateful for the honor of being accepted into such a prestigious exhibition; because it is quite possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, thanks to FedEx. In the meantime I am open to any leads for an affordable and reliable company which will package and transport original artwork. By the way, have you heard that, “Shipping is a hassle!”?
Denver Botanic Garden Path, oil on linen, 11x14, $600
This is a scene in the southwest desert habitat plants at the Denver Botanic Gardens. I enjoy the patterns of light and shadow, warm and cool colors, and the vibrancy of complementary colors such as red and green or yellow and purple placed next to one another. What do you think or feel as you view this painting?
Beside Still Waters, oil on canvas, 30x24, by Ruth Soller
My newest project is a challenge for me as I am conceptualizing a composition made up of many separate components. Before putting any marks on paper or canvas I have done much research including a photography weekend to Taos and Taos Pueblo. I have already completed two well received Taos Pueblo oil paintings and several Santa Fe scenes. My challenge is to include a Native American with her paint horse in the real setting of Taos Pueblo. I studied Pueblo Indians and their costumes online and in an encyclopedia. I next studied my collection of horse photos and paintings. My goal was to find a horse similar to the handsome Arabian Pinto whom I used to rent for riding lessons. Next, I searched my sketchbooks for figure drawings which would present a natural and believable pose. I selected the figure sketch shown above for the woman’s pose. After collecting these resources I began sketching rough ideas for a pleasing composition.
Since my goal was a finished oil painting 30x24 inches in dimensions, I wanted to increase my odds of success. I completed the 10x8 inch oil study shown above to help me decide on color harmony and to be certain that I could create consistent lighting throughout the composition. I prepared my canvas by toning it with a thin wash of Transparent Red Oxide, allowing it to dry and gridding it into thirds and fifths. These grids establish the most visually pleasing points for placement of the focal points. The Native American woman’s face is my primary focal point with the horse’s face a secondary focal point. I like the way the woman’s right leg runs on a diagonal leading the eye into the scene and her head is tilted towards the horse’s head, drawing the eye in a spiral motion within the painting. Notice that the stream leads the eye from the lower left corner up to the faces of the woman and the horse. Pleased with the study, I began sketching the composition onto my toned canvas with watercolor pencils.
My usual process is working from background to foreground and from dark to light. I painted the blues of the water while I had the sky and mountain blues mixed. After painting the sky, mountains, pueblo, and middle ground it was necessary to revise my drawing of both the woman’s face and the horse’s face. I continued working on the horse, grasses and water. Next, I painted the woman’s skin, dress, and moccasins, saving the detail of the beaded rose designs on her belt and moccasins for last. Although this one of my most challenging works, I am happy with the composition and the action of the woman’s pose. This work has a symbolic meaning to me of the scripture Psalm 23: 1-3a “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.”
This oil painting depicts a patriotic doorway at Taos Pueblo, New Mexico. I was intrigued by the way the Native Americans had used the red earth mud to dip their hands into and decorate their entry way into their adobe abode with their handprints. Then they displayed the American flag in the window of the door. I enjoyed finishing this painting on Memorial Day.
This painting illustrates my vision of a scene described in the book Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson.
Jabez is pictured standing before a massive gate which begins to open slowly revealing fields of blessings stretching to the horizon. This is how my field of blessing might look. What would your field of blessing look like?
