Monday, February 29, 2016

Tree Painting


aspen tree painting
©1990-2016 Tree Art by Jill Saur, all rights reserved
"If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees." 
- Khalil Gibran

My 8"10".5" oil palette knife and brush painting, "Relinquished", has richly textured trees, revealing their "bone structure" against the value tones of winter. The title suggests the place in life where we relinquish ourselves and open up our hearts and minds to fresh inspiration and new possibilities.

I love aspens in winter. Their beautiful white trunks and dark branches mingle with the dark shadows cast upon the white snow, creating a profound beauty that is best experienced in silence. - Jill Saur
My EMAIL:  CLICK HERE

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Friday, February 26, 2016

Aspens in Summer Painting

buy summer aspen painting
©1990-2016 Summer Aspen Painting by Jill Saur, all rights reserved
Longing for summer? I thought I'd share my 36"x36" acrylic aspen tree painting, "Summer Path".  It was inspired by a beautiful day in Taos, New Mexico.  This painting hangs in the home of a collector.  However, it's available to purchase as a limited edition hand-embellished giclee.

Want your own original?  I paint commissions in all sizes from small to oversized!  Please read about how to commission a painting and what my happy patrons have to say about my work. CLICK HERE
To see more of my current available paintings, please visit my website.  www.JillSaur.com

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Thursday, February 25, 2016

Original Art Atlanta, GA

aspen tree paintings for sale
©1990-2016 Aspen Painting by Jill Saur, all rights reserved
Walk into any aspen forest and you'll find yourself amidst a dreamland of shimmering white trees with branches reaching heavenward.  My 18"x24" acrylic aspen tree painting is titled, "Serene Summer" and was inspired by an aspen forest near Crested Butte.

This painting is available to purchase.  Also, I happily paint commissions to serve my clients needs for a particular size or requested colors (I specialize in oversized paintings).  Please visit my website to see more of my paintings.  Read what my happy patrons have to say about owning my artwork. - Jill Saur

My website:  www.JillSaurFineArt.com

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

African Poison Dart Frog By Jill Saur


©1990-2016 Frog Painting by Jill Saur, all rights reserved
The African poison dart frog is mesmerizing,  and beautiful.  In its native habitat, one frog carries enough poison to kill up to thirty or more people!  I saw an exhibit of these frogs at The Atlanta Botanical Gardens, where I took photos to use as subject matter to paint.  Interestingly, these frogs don't produce poison on their own.  They become poisonous after eating mites and ants that have dined on poisonous plants.  Take away the frogs toxic food source, and you take away the poison.  These little creatures are only two inches long!

This 12"x9" acrylic painting, "Little Blue Frog" is sold, but it is available in a hand-embellished limited edition giclee.  It makes a beautiful reproduction!  To email me  CLICK HERE

To visit my website  CLICK HERE

Monday, February 22, 2016

Van Gogh's Use of Complimentary Colors

Van Gogh Vase Flowers
Van Gogh Vase With Flowers Painting
   Van Gogh"s Use Of Complimentary Colors by Jill Saur

Title:  "Vase With Daisies And Anemones"
Painted In Paris In The Summer Of 1887

This oil on canvas by Van Gogh is rendered with stunning complementary colors (colors that are opposites on the color wheel).  In this case, the opposites are blue and orange, purple and yellow, and red and green.  In color theory, this combination of colors is known as a six tone chord (hexagon).

Van Gogh was a master of color, drawing, and composition.  He knew how to use just the right amount of a colors compliment to enhance the original hue.  

I've always been intrigued by color and have experimented with it, but it wasn't until about fifteen years ago, that the secrets of those hues began opening up to me.  I spent many long hours and months studying and making color charts and complex color wheels.  Learning the difference between warm blues and cool blues, warm reds and cool reds, warm yellows and cool yellows, made all the difference in the world! 

I teach my students how to make their own color wheel.  I love to see when the light goes on and they understand what it's all about.  Realizing how to mix color without having it turn to mud, knowing how to tone down a color without using black, and knowing how to choose the right colors for a painting, is a game changer!  - Jill Saur - Jill Saur Fine Art

If you're interested in my painting classes, please send me an email.  CLICK HERE



To see my work and my students work, please visit my website.  WEBSITE

Van Gogh's Trees

Vincent Van Gogh Pollard Birches
Vincent Van Gogh Trees "Pollard Birches" 1884

"I can think of no other European painter whose work expresses such a stripped respect for everyday things without elevating them." - John Berger on Vincent Van Gogh

It's no secret that Vincent Van Gogh is number one on my list of favorite artists.  He was passionate, disciplined, incredibly smart, innovative, and someone who loved deeply.  Can you just get lost in his trees?  I can.  In the above drawing, the trees take center stage, but it's not long before you notice the image of people working in the fields.  I love this piece.  Please enjoy another quote below by John Berger.  He writes of Van Gogh's act of drawing in beautifully descriptive terms.

"What do we see? Thyme, other shrubs, limestone rocks, olive trees on a hillside, in the distance a plain, in the sky birds. He dips the pen into brown ink, watches, and marks the paper. The gestures come from his hand, his wrist, arm, shoulder, perhaps even the muscles in his neck, yet the strokes he makes on the paper are following currents of energy which are not physically his and which only become visible when he draws them. Currents of energy? The energy of a tree’s growth, of a plant’s search for light, of a branch’s need for accommodation with its neighboring branches, of the roots of thistles and shrubs, of the weight of rocks lodged on a slope, of the sunlight, of the attraction of the shade for whatever is alive and suffers from the heat, of the mistral from the north which has fashioned the rock strata. My list is arbitrary; what is not arbitrary is the pattern his strokes make on the paper. The pattern is like a fingerprint. Whose?" - John Berger on Vincent Van Gogh

This past summer I had the opportunity to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art on three different days.  I spent quite a bit of time at the Van Gogh exhibit.  I was mesmerized by his brushstrokes and use of color.  If you have any opportunity to visit any museum that houses works by Van Gogh, please don't miss the opportunity! - Jill Saur   www.JillSaurFineArt.com

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Buy Aspens In Snow Painting

winter birch tree paintings
1990-2016 Aspen Art By Jill Saur, all rights reserved
My 18"x24" acrylic painting, "Winter Solstice", represents the transition between the seasons in our natural world and in our lives. The path challenges the viewer to see life as an exciting journey with new discoveries to be made every day. 

Both the original and a limited edition hand-embellished giclee are available on my website.



CLICK HERE.  I invite you to become a collector and experience the joy of owning artwork that uplifts and inspires your soul! - Jill Saur

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Find Aspen Tree Paintings For Sale

birch tree art
©1990-2014 Aspen Tree Painting by Jill Saur, all rights reserved
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”  - John Muir

It's no secret how I feel about trees and forests.  You'll usually find some sort of path in my aspen tree paintings.  To me, our life is all about the journey we take and the choices we make.  

My new 10"x10" acrylic aspen tree palette knife painting, "Blue Essence" is available to purchase by contacting me.  CLICK HERE   To view more of my paintings, please visit my website.  I have three aspen art galleries filled with aspen tree paintings on my website.  CLICK HERE

Thank you for viewing! - Jill Saur

Monday, February 15, 2016

Chattahoochee River Painting By Jill Saur

sope creek painting
©1990-2016 Chattahoochee River By Jill Saur, all rights reserved

Atlanta is a big city and people here don't realize there are thousands of acres along the Chattahoochee River that have been preserved as part of the National Park Service.  When you get out in these areas, you realize you could be anywhere! The scenery is breathtaking, there are no sounds of cars, the air is fresh, and it's quiet!

My 48"x36" acrylic painting of Sope Creek, is titled, "Autumn Promise".  I'm thankful to live in such a beautiful area where I can get lost in nature and have my artistic senses refreshed.


Are you interested in this painting?  Or, would you like to commission your own painting?  Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed!  Visit my website and see what my happy patrons have to say!  CLICK HERE