A Daily Demo

We started each morning of the workshop with a demo painting by Carol. Most days I sat mesmerized, glued to my seat watching her paint. My camera of no use to me. Finally, on the last day I took some photos. We had the pleasure of watching Carol paint eggs the last day of our workshop.

The still life set-up

Egg painting by Carol Marine

Palette aftermath

I finally have my studio area unpacked and I'm ready to get busy. Maybe I'll have some of my own art to show you in a few days.

Thanks for stopping by!

Workshop With Carol Marine

Last week I had the honor of taking a painting workshop at the Sedona Arts Center with one of my favorite artists, Carol Marine. I have been wanting to do this for a long time, but her classes fill up really fast and they are never in my area. So, on a lark I just started putting myself on the waiting list of some of her workshops. To my surprise, I got a call April 20th from the art center and they had a spot to fill and was wondering if I was still interested in attending. My answer was YES!!!

So, I found myself last Saturday on and 18 hour drive on my way to Sedona, AZ.

Here is my painting area for the week.

Here is a view of the class room. We are all gathering to watch Carol do her magic! :)

I better get back to my unpacking, so I can get painting again.

AND I'm back over at blogger again. A part of the workshop we had a discussion about blogging and Blogger seems to be the blogging tool of choice and the best way to connect with other painters. So, I'm back here. I'll talk a little more about the workshop tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Look What Just Arrived!

WOW! I'm way too excited about this.
It's Fashion Sketchbook by Bina Abling. Just look at how thick it is!


Can't wait to get started!

a class project

Today I worked on a painting for a class I am taking that I hope to be teaching in the future. In this beginning class students will learn about the primary colors and how to lighten and darken them; eye level; shines on different surfaces; reflected light; reflected color and much more!

Tomorrow it's back to still lifes! I'm not sure what I will be painting...hmmm...better take a look around the house...

color

I'm getting set up for still life painting tomorrow. It's been a while since I've painted one, so I'm a little nervous.

I have been working on a series that I call "Long Neck Beauties". These are painting from my imagination and hope I will finish one soon, so I can show you.

Today, along with working on the long neck beauties, I have been enjoying studying about color. To actually achieve correct secondary colors you need two different sets of primary colors. THE OIL PAINTING COURSE YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED suggests using a warm primaries of cadmium yellow medium, cadmium red hue and thalo blue and cool primaries of lemon yellow hue, permanent rose and French ultramarine blue. This is the proper way to mix your secondary colors. I'll show you my results in the near future!

I've also been enjoying Vicki McMurry's book, Mastering Color: The Essentials of Color Illustrated with Oils.

There's so much to learn about color!

Teacup Study

I purchased this pattern packet a few years ago and finally decided to work on it. I don't know why I was so intimidated by it. It's not perfect, but I really learned A LOT by completing it.

What was really emphasized in this DVD is how light travels in a straight line. You can see this in my study. The light is coming from the right, slightly in front of the object.

Back at IT...

I found this great book last week.

AND just as the title says it IS the painting course I’ve always wanted. How did the author know? So, I’ll be sharing the exercises over the next few weeks.

I’m also taking a class on line with Kingslan & Gibilisco Decorative Arts Studio. The class is a design course that covers:

• How to be a Creative Thinker
• Color Theory and Schemes
• Perspective
• Design Principles
• Design Elements
• How to Work with Reference Material
• How to Work from a Set-up
• History of Composition

I have really enjoyed it so far and LOVE the section about color!

I had a great few days off. Our family took a quick trip to Des Moins, Iowa. We toured their lovely state capitol. I'll have to post pictures later.

last week...

i was expereincing techincal difficulties. these silly computers!

anyway...i got into the buckeyes and painted them...

rendered them in colored pencil...

and sketched them...

yes, i have had it with the buckeyes!

Purse & Shoe Still Life Painting

Well, it turned out better than I thought. There were times when I had my doubts, but I just decided to keep plugging away at it today and I'm satisfied. I had quite a struggle getting the red colors correct.

Purse & Shoes Still Life

This is the still life that I’m currently working on. I’m just at the drawing stage.

Last week I made my shadow box. It’s just a box. I painted the inside black and cut a large hole out of the top. I’ll try to get photos of my set up tomorrow. The idea of placing your still life in a shadow box is so you get more dramatic shadows. And your light source doesn’t change on you.

Third Time is a Charm

Here is the final painting for this still life. I'm ready to move on to something else! Maybe a pair of shoes...we'll see.

Here is my critique:

I think the drawing is finally working. I get a greater sense of depth. Colors might be muddy.

I'm so happy to move on to a different subject tomorrow.

Today's Still Life

This was my 2nd painting today. The first attempt just wasn't working out. Here is the critique I wrote on the back:

I fixed the drawing. I think I'm getting closer. Making the shadow a different color was a bad idea. I used layering techniques from "Expressive Painting" by Anne-Marie Esson. Didn't mix my color correctly from the start. My white reflection spots look silly.

I am going to attempt this same drawing tomorrow using the Expressive painting technique from the beginning.

I actually tweaked my drawing again tonight. I think I've finally got it!!

My First Still Life

OK...first I have to tell you I have never painted anything from "life". I have drawn many still lifes, but I have NEVER painted any.

I feel very humbled by the process, but I also know that with practice I will get better.

I am using Golden Acrylics on Canson paper. I really need to use some mediums with my acrylic paints. The get so thick and dry so quick.

So, I'm just doing a lot of experimenting. Trying not to get too discouraged. There is definitely room for improvement! A LOT of IMPROVEMENT! :)