Cindy's Flowers

Cindy's Flowers, 12 x 12, painted in North Carolina, "refined" a bit at home

Set up of Cindy's Flowers (in Cashiers, NC)

Well, above is my take on the set-up as photographed below.  These flowers were some of the ones on hand at my friend's North Carolina home, which I visited two weeks ago.  I included the photo to illustrate how I tried to simplify the subject and also how I warmed the colors, partly because of my very limited palette, and also because I am interested in relationships of value and color, not exact color matching.  Also, I didn't even try to create peonies, per se, just color fields and a bit of life on the canvas. Overall, I'm pretty happy with this small painting because it has some feeling and truth; it has a painterly feel, and for me - paint is the point - rather than rendering a copy of the subject matter.

Saturday Farmer's Market

Lemon Icee, 12 x 9

Beet It, 9 x 12

Yesterday morning, I went to the Saturday Market in Sandy Springs, and was thoroughly enjoying the sun and the music, all the vendors, umbrellas and people who were there. I took many photos, and then came home to quickly do a life study of some young beets (before we cooked them), and a study from one of my photos of a little girl. Of course, I painted into the little girl today (not a good plan) and lost a bit of the freshness I had captured yesterday, in my attempt to "improve things!"  It's a good idea to hide one's paintings for a while after completion, making it easier to avoid the "refine, refine, refine" temptation!  Oh well, tomorrow is a new day...

Back to Basics

Bird's the Word, 6 x 6

I have been wanting to step it up in my painting, so DUH!  I actually AM doing daily small paintings, i.e. "warm ups" each and every day.  Recently, I was reading the blog of a fellow painter and friend, Kathy Cousart, who described a terrific workshop recently held here in Atlanta with an artist I admire, Carol Marine.  Carol did one demo wherein she was counting the brushstrokes, trying to capture the subject in as few as possible (I think she did it in 47).  The little study above is a result of my challenge to me to do just that: this one was about 60 strokes; it was fun and energizing - YAY!

Early tomorrow I'm joining a plein air group up in north Georgia to paint on a farm, continuing on the quest to get out of the studio and keep it fresh and loose!  

Also, as of today, we scheduled another one-day workshop at Huff Harrington Fine Art. It will be on Sunday, November 6, 2011, at the gallery in Buckhead.  Huff Harrington is quite a lovely place to paint, and one can sign up at info@huffharrington.com, or call (404) 257-0511.  

Breath of Fresh Air

Cindy's Mountain Getaway, replete with rhododendron

Well, since it is already 90 degrees and muggy here in Atlanta, it was nice to visit my friend up in the mountains, where it was cool and sunny!  Of course, I was wanting to get out of town to switch up my subject matter, but when I got there, Cindy had so many beautiful FLOWERS all around, that we ended up painting those!  We just did some studies and practiced seeing and color mixing.  As you can see, she had great little vignettes everywhere:

Even some peeking into the kitchen window, near a gift painting of mine in the corner...

First afternoon, Cindy did a nice study of the sunflowers in bold strokes, which was a great start to her getting back into painting after a lengthy break.

The next day, we set up a simple pot and apple to work on massing and turning the form:

 My block-in above, and

Cindy's finished painting...

Another set-up that afternoon...more complicated!

The set-up and the two easels (my EasyL on the right).

We were using Golden Open Acrylics ( I am practicing for a trip this fall ), and of course, as you can see above, a very limited palette...titanium white, cadmium yellow light (called cadmium primrose in this line), cad red medium, and ultramarine blue. That's the palette I almost always use; for me, it makes things simpler and often leads to subtle mixtures, which I can never exactly duplicate.  That in turn, creates variety, which is a good thing!  Now I AM going to paint something different...

Gotta Change It Up!

Huffington Roses, 40 x 30

Well, I keep meaning to get out of the studio and paint something different...and then I continue to paint the flowers I have around the house in a jar or vase.  Time for a change! Luckily, I am going up to visit and paint with my friend Cindy in the North Carolina mountains next week; I plan on setting up outside and inside too with subjects designed by Cindy -- she has wonderful taste.

On the workshop front, I have scheduled one in Chattanooga (contact Lisa at lseagoart@aol.com) next March, and am in the process of booking one in the Texas Hill Country (contact Dena@wenmohsranch.com) next April, 2012.  I will also be scheduling a fall "tune-up" at Huff Harrington Fine Art here in Atlanta in early November, 2011.  So things are busy and ever-changing... I'm inspired to mix it up in all areas -- hope to stay fresh and keep having fun!