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I recently learned (with lots of help from YouTube) to sew.

That’s right–I bought an old Singer sewing machine and have began sewing some small items. But first, I had to take the sewing machine apart and replace all 5 of the gears and reset the timing. All of this effort has led me to explore the art of textile and fabric design.

I’ve got a Design Shop at Spoonflower, where you can see my first ventures in this field.

None of the designs are available for purchase yet, but that will come soon enough.

Here’s an example of one of my designs along with a link to the Spoonflower shop…

I currently have some spectacular Welo Opals in stock, waiting to be made into a beautiful ring for a lucky lady…

Check them out on Instagram, but hurry–they’ll be gone soon.

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While my easel has a freshly primed linen canvas on it right now, I’ve also been working on another separate area of creativity for the last two years or so…

Jewelry making has always been on my bucket list of skills to explore and above you can see a few of my ring creations. I like to use sterling, fine silver and 18kt gold, along with various stones and cabochons. Each piece is entirely designed and hand crafted at my work bench from scratch, from crucible to jewelers bench. Here is a short video showing the elegant, long oval, Sleeping Beauty turquoise ring in the photo on the right, above.

And here are examples of my work in thumbnail format…

If you have interest in creating a special, custom gift for you or a loved one, let me know. I have some exceptional opals (and other stones) right now that are just screaming to be made into incredible, one-of-a-kind rings. You can email me at rlo@ronaldleeoliver.com

For now…just go to the menu bar at the top of this page and click on “Store,” to see the links to my paintings and my jewelry creations.

#pleinair #art #painting #oilpainting

The Winter rains have brought the Ramona Grasslands back to life.

The last time I visited the Preserve, the scene was dire–the parched grass and oaks were severely stressed. Many of the trees were beyond recovery, as evidenced by the piles of firewood left by the Forestry Service. But… the recent rainy Winter has turned the situation around. Currently, this Spring, there are live streams of flowing water crossing the grasslands.

I recommend you visit the grasslands soon, before the arid months dry up the profundity.  I took my camera along today on my plein air painting outing and captured some images.  Here they are in a short video for your enjoyment…

 

The coup de grace…

The finishing flourish for any oil painting is the artist’s signature.

I use two signatures to finish my pieces.

I sign my paintings with my last name, “Oliver,” or with my initials, “RLO.” I use the latter when it fits better than the larger, “Oliver” signature.

The signatures above are a montage from various studio and plein air works. The simple lines of my signature indicate and compliment the style of painting conveyed in the works. The brush strokes remain as applied, informing the viewer by impression, rather than tightly rendered or controlled imagery.

Sometimes, posting a small digital image of a #pleinair oil painting won’t convey the sense of texture and detail.  So, to help you get an idea,  here are some detail images from  my recent San Diego Plein air paintings…

Blue Hawaii and white coral sands form a backdrop for the close-up of this fragrant sprig of plumeria blossoms. The plumeria flower is one of the most recognizable flowers of the Hawaiian Islands. They come in a variety of colors from creamy white to vibrant yellow and a deep, luscious red.  If you ever visit Hawaii, bring some freshly cut plumeria or a fresh plumeria lei to your room for the most amazing and relaxing room freshener that will last for days to calm you and make you breath deeply of the intoxicating scent.