Roussillon Maison - Day 7

"Roussillon Maison"

#7 of 30

8"x6" oil on canvas pad

$75.00

Back in May 2003, I was most fortunate to travel to Provence with artist Connie Winters who was giving an oil painting workshop based in Noves.  I was new to oil painting but I learned a lot from Connie and her demos and her teaching at our easels.  She arranged to provide transportation on our non-painting days and we ventured out to Avignon, St. Remy, Roussillon, Eygalieres, Gordes, Lourmarin, Cassis, Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and Marseilles.  

In Roussillon, which is famously known for the rock formations of red ochre, we roamed the hilly alleys and narrow streets of this most picturesque town.  We walked through and shopped among  the quaint shops lining the hills.  Some in our group bought some powdered pigment gathered from the cliffside which I assume they later used to fashion oil paints.  

This house that I painted above was just one image that I thought was very quaint and colorful.  Turquoise shutters are everywhere in  France!  Everywhere you turned in Roussillon was another beautiful sight! 

I thoroughly enjoyed my travels through Provence. 

Shadows on White - Day 6

"Shadows on White"

#6 of 30

6"x8" oil on panel

$75.00

Here is another one of the "or not" paintings.  I went plein air painting earlier this week with my friend Dottie Leatherwood to a place I have never been before.  I have driven down this road a million times and did not realize a 10-acre farm was tucked away behind this busy main street in downtown Matthews.  

This large white shed caught my eye because of the strong shadows under the eaves.  The foreground was a fenced in large area planted with flowers of every hue but I've only placed a few of them here.  

It was such a calming oasis in a busy world just a few yards away.

Tomorrow we are bound for France!

Lamar River Valley - Day 5

"Lamar River Valley"

#5 of 30

6"x8" oil on canvas pad

$75.00

One thing that has occurred to me during this challenge is how enjoyable it is for me to look through my photos and have my eye notice photos that never seemed to catch my eye before.  It could be the values, the composition, the subject matter,  the colors or any number of things.  However, another thing that has occurred is how many ways the same image can be interpreted. By the way, this was painted from one of our hundreds of photos taken in Yellowstone National Park.  It is an expansive area in the Lamar Valley where buffalo by the hundreds roam and graze.  We have been so fortunate to see them both from a distance and up close (carefully and quickly of course).

This painting "Lamar River Valley" is an example of the latter example.  I have painted several versions of this image and each one has been so different.,  Just look at these two paintings (both of which have sold) shown below:

"River Stream"

24"x30"

"Lamar Valley"

18"x36"

In today's small painting, I have chosen the upper left area as my focal point but made the trees surrounding it more prominent.  It was in the original photo but I never made it be a feature.  I have also used different paint colors in today's painting and added features that were not in the other paintings.  

I know I have put a lot of information in this post that most of you could not possibly be interested in, but  this challenge is becoming for me an exploration and I am really enjoying the journey!

Red Canoe - Day 4

"Red Canoe"

#4 of 30

6"x8" oil on canvas pad

$75.00

We are still in the Canadian Rockies but now we are on beautiful Lake Louise.  Looking out of our room we had the most beautiful, postcard perfect view of all of Lake Louise with the mountains and glaciers off in the distance.

One morning Steve and I and our friends of more than 40 years treated ourselves to canoeing in this 60-year old, recently restored wooden red canoe.  I cannot tell you how much fun we had with our guide skimming across this beautiful turquoise water.  Here is a photo taken by our guide from another canoe of the four of us trying to look like we do this all the time!

See what I mean about the turquoise water?  It really is this color!  Wonderful memories!

A Ray of Sunshine-Day 3

"A Ray of Sunshine"

#3 of 30

8"x6" oil on Raymar panel
$75.00

If you remember, my theme for this 30 day challenge is "Vacation Memories, or Not".  Well this is one of those "or not" paintings but technically it applies because I had to drive about ten miles to get there.  Doesn't that count as a trip???

The Plein Air Buds went to Squirrel Lake Park over in Matthews (the next town over).  It was a very hot morning but I found a shady spot so it really was not that unbearable.  I saw this massive tree trunk that had dappled light on the trunk but the ground below had long bands of sunshine.  There's my title, I said!  

Tomorrow we should be back travelling!

Looking Down the Tracks

"Looking Down The Tracks"

#2 of 30

8"x6" oil on canvas pad

$75.00

We have now travelled to the Canadian Rockies!  I have made a decision to jump around in my travel photos and paint what strikes me on a particular day so you will see photos of Jackson Hole and the Canadian Rockies again later during the month.

 Steve and I rode the Rocky Mountaineer Railroad for two days about four years ago with our dear old friends and travel buddies.  The train has a glass-domed ceiling so you have gorgeous views looking in every direction!  We rode from Vancouver, British Columbia way, way up to the interior in Jasper and stopped at our halfway point to spend the night in a hotel in Kamloops.  Steve took this photo from the caboose of the train as the tracks disappeared around the corner.

After staying in Jasper for a couple nights and hiking and exploring that area, we took our rental car and spent the rest of the week driving from Jasper to Lake Louise and Banff and seeing all the glaciers, alpine lakes and waterfalls.  

Stick around because you'll see paintings from there too!

Museum Garden Aspens

"Museum Garden Aspens"

#1 of 30

8"x6" oil on canvas pad

$75.00

For the first time, I am participating in Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days challenge.  This is probably the fourth time Leslie has sponsored this challenge and it is a way for artists to get motivated and get in the studio and PAINT every day.  As of today, there are over 850 artists from all over the world!  Leslie suggests each artist pick a theme for their challenge and paint a small painting each day based on that theme.  I have chosen "Vacation Memories, or Not".  The "or not" paintings may be plein air paintings because I will be participating in a plein air workshop and event in Georgia during part of this time.   It is my hope to chronicle the vacations and trips we have taken over the years and this will be a selfish way for me to relive and remember those trips and the memories that were created.

About five minutes north of Jackson Hole, Wyoming is the National Museum of Wildlife Art.  It is a gorgeous 51,000 sq. ft. building housing some permanent exhibitions of 19th and 20th century American Art.
Last year at this time I spent a week in Jackson Hole plein air painting with two art friends.  While inside the Museum we also saw the 2013 Western Vision show with works by many of todays notable contemporary artists.  The Museum overlooks the National Elk Refuge and these aspens painted above were in the beautifully landscaped gardens surrounding the Museum.  Just one of the sights to see while in Jackson Hole!

Shades of Red

"Shades of Red"

24"x36" oil on gallery wrap canvas

$995.00

"Shades of Red" is my most recent painting that I just finished up yesterday.  There is a lot of juicy color all over the canvas.  The barn alone has so many reds, violets, deep purples and pinks.  The wooded hillside of trees has so many deep rich colors which really sets it apart from the fields surrounding the old sturdy barn.  One aspect that I really worked on is edges and I had a lot of fun putting in many small details that I am sure you cannot see in this photo.  

Next week I will begin painting in the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge started by Leslie Saeta.  Last time I checked, there were just over 700 artists from all around the world participating.  My theme will be "Vacation Photos, or Not".  I hope to paint (and blog) every day  from photos we have taken on various trips but there will also be the occasional plein air piece thrown in.  I plan for most of my pieces to be 6"x8", 8"x8" and maybe a few 8"x10".  Wish me luck!!

Beach View

Beach View

16"x20" oil on canvas

$595.00 with gold frame

          "Beach View" was painted a couple of days ago in my attempt to concentrate more on clouds.  Painting clouds is way out of my comfort zone but branching out and stretching is how I grow as an artist.  I took a one-day plein air workshop last November in Charleston SC with the fabulous Bill Davidson and he showed us how many colors are up there in those beautiful skies above us.  I am learning that they can be fun and I think I will do some more!

The White Barn

The White Barn

18"x24" oil on gallery wrap canvas

$695.00

Here is another painting that I completed during my recent residency.  The photo is from a horse farm not far from where I live.  This photo had a lot of strong shadow shapes along with some bright sunlit areas and those two things drew me to paint this scene.  I felt I captured a lot of depth in this one and am really pleased with the way this one turned out.  I hope you like it too.

Let There Be Light

Let There Be Light

24"x24" oil on gallery wrap canvas

$795.00

This is a painting that I completed during my recent artist-in-residency program.  The photo was taken at Bass Lake in the mountains near Blowing Rock NC, about 2 1/2 hours from Charlotte.

Bass Lake has a very walkable pathway running along the banks.  The sun rays were hitting the tree trunks just beautifully and we were lucky enough to catch this photo.

Rainbow Woodland

Rainbow Woodland

24"x36" oil on gallery wrap canvas

$995.00

This is a recent painting using a photo taken by my husband while we were in Yellowstone.  Granted, I took great liberties with this one regarding the colors but that is what artists do!  I experimented with a couple relatively new colors (for me) by Charvin called Coral and Intense Pink and I really like how it turned out.  Not sure you can see the true colors on  your monitor but take my word for it, it is colorful!

Out To Pasture

Out To Pasture

20"x30" oil on canvas

$895.00

Since March 1 of this year I have been immersed in a four month Artist-in-Residency program at Butler Studios.  I was fortunate to be one of four artists in this inaugural program and we were given the opportunity  by Curt Butler to paint 24/7 in the studio.  My focus was to create paintings that allowed me to feature dramatic light and shadow and oftentimes bold color in my landscapes.  This residency forced me to learn to create and/or solve problems on my own without Curt being there to rescue me or give me a pat on the back.  It was a wonderful learning experience and I am very grateful for this opportunity.

At the reception which was held June 27, I had 13 pieces which I felt made the cut.  I worked unsuccessfully for a couple of weeks on one particular 30"x40" which I never could seem to bring to life so it is still turned backwards "in the corner" and will remain there until I can make it behave!

I will be posting now on a more regular basis and will continue to post more of my paintings that were featured in the reception.  

Figure Studies

Grace & Lindsey

14"x11" Oil

I am very blessed to have four beautiful and healthy grandchildren.  In the past few weeks I have attempted the difficult task (for me) of trying to capture them in paint!  It has been a great learning process by helping me to see the subtle value shifts.

Ben

12"x9" Oil

Lindsey

rough sketch

Here are three studies featuring my three younger grandchildren who are now 11, 8 and 4.  These are from photos taken a couple years ago.  My oldest grandchild, Cameron, has not yet been captured.  I am looking for the perfect pose.  It is hard to catch him sitting still because he plays so many sports!    I will keep looking and he will be my next target!

String Lake

String Lake

8"x10" Oil on Canvas

$295.00

Last September I spent a glorious week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming with two artist friends.  We spent the week plein air painting, driving all over Grand Teton National Park, eating (a favorite pastime) and trying to do as much gallery hopping as we could to soak up all the gorgeous artwork displayed in the galleries in downtown Jackson.  We also timed our visit to be able to see the Western Visions Show at the National Museum of Wildlife Art, and what a fantastic show that was!

One morning we walked around String Lake snapping photos at every turn and this composition caught my eye.  I recently painted this small 8"x10" for the Guild of Charlotte Artists winter show.  The reception was last night and I was honored to receive an Honorable Mention for it.  I almost fell off my chair when they called my name!  My plan is to use this study for a larger canvas, so stay tuned!

By the way, we just installed photoshop elements 12 and one of the options it gave was to have this frame around my painting so I went for it this time.  Something a little different.

A little bit of organization

ORGANIZING MY TOYS

The month of January usually propels most people to organize, de-clutter and rearrange.  I am no exception and decided to tackle a portion of my studio where many of my "toys" are.  My paint tube supply has grown and grown and I felt the need to group them by color so I can easily reach for a color that I need.

The fabulous Dreama Tolle Perry has a category on her website with a listing for her "Favorite Things" and I have been eyeing this ArtBin IDS box and felt this was my solution to group all my paints so they can be easily seen.

I ordered two ArtBins from Amazon for my smaller tubes of paints and then discovered some very similar plastic containers in our garage that were not being used that would be perfect for my larger tubes.  I have positioned this small bookcase to the left of my easel so all my colors are readily available.  Of course, artists who use a limited palette of colors do not have this problem but my collection of paints was getting out of control and this solves my dilemma.

Dreama uses this box to stand her tubes up so she can easily squeeze out more paint on her palette while she is painting her demos at her workshops and if it is good enough for Dreama, then it is good enough for me!

Set Apart

Set Apart

8"x10" oil on wood panel

$295.00 

There is nothing like doing a still-life painting when you have to dust off your paint brushes after taking a little painting hiatus.

It is the new year and I have so many ideas turning in my head.  I have been looking at a lot of photo references and have several projects in mind, so please stay tuned!

Beatrix Potter Cross Stitch

Grace's Cross Stitch

16"x23" approx

Do NOT adjust your screens!  This is NOT an oil painting!  This is a very detailed Beatrix Potter counted cross stitch that I recently completed for my youngest grandchild - 4 year old Grace.

As I have done for each of my other three grandchildren, I have lovingly created a cross-stitch sampler for them to always treasure.  Before this, I usually completed the sampler within a few months of their birth and the sampler hung in their bedroom near their crib.  The only difference this time is that Grace is old enough that she can now READ what I have made!

These samplers hopefully will be treasured by them and will hang in their homes as they grow up, marry and eventually become parents.  Each of my grandchildren know that I love them very much and it is my hope that they will treasure this gift to them and treat it as an heirloom.  

Providence Gallery Holiday Show

River Stream

24"x30" Oil on Canvas

$995.00

This coming Saturday evening, December 7, 2013, will be the annual Providence Gallery Holiday Show.  Each of the artists in the Gallery will have two pieces hanging for the opening night and the art will be displayed  through the month of January 2014.  Early December is a very busy time for galleries and for those of us who enjoy seeing all the beautiful pieces displayed as we hop from gallery to gallery.  

Winters Gold

24"x30" Oil on Gallery Wrap

$995.00

This is another of my pieces that will hanging in this show.  With all the cold weather we have been having, this is a very appropriate  and inviting scene with all the snow drifts clustered around the buildings and up into the woods behind the barns.  

I would love to see you if you are in the area on Saturday night.  Providence Gallery is located at 601-A Providence Road in Charlotte NC 28207.  Hope to see you there!

SASI Art for Christmas Show

Some of my paintings displayed at SASI

     This is a collage I created  of several of my paintings that are a part of the 2013 Art for Christmas Gift Show at Southern Arts Society in Kings Mountain NC.  The Open House was this past Sunday, November 24, 2013, and the sale will be open daily (except Mondays) until December 28, 2013.

     When I was there last week, the busy volunteers at SASI were at their creative best in turning The Depot into a winter wonderland and decorating the tables and walls with all the fabulous pottery, handmade items and beautiful artwork created by over 75 regional artists.

     The Kings Mountain Art Center (The Depot) is located at 302 N.Piedmont Avenue, Kings Mountain NC 28086.  The phone number is 704-739-5585 and their beautiful website is www.southernartssociety.org  Get started on your Christmas shopping and mark some items off your list!!  Admission is free!

PAP-SE Workshop in Charleston SC - Part 2

 photo of the Shem Creek marsh I completed on Thursday afternoon

     For Day 3 we returned to Shem Creek to watch the very entertaining Larry Moore create one of his famous boat scenes from the dock.  He is a master of drawing lines that follow the rules of perspective to create believable weather-beaten fishing boats.

Larry Moore explaining hard/soft edges and the warm/cool vibrations of color temps.

     Each of these three masters imparted so many wonderful techniques to use.  It is now our duty to study and paint, paint and paint some more!

     It was exciting to meet so many PAP-SE members at the Wet Paint Show on Friday night which showcased all their efforts that they created all week long.  Their beautiful paintings were in three different galleries along Broad Street.  Again it was so exciting to see their beautiful creations in person.    

      This workshop was a great excuse to reunite with four friends.  We had taken a workshop in Atlanta back in 2012 and this was a good way to reconnect with them and spend some good ART time with them. We ate our way through Charleston and sampled the delights at Magnolias, Slightly North of Broad, Vickery's, Water's Edge and Eli's Table.  We even made a late-night run to River Street Sweets near the market for some pralines!

     It was an incredible week and I am so blessed to have had this experience.  It was exhausting but SO MUCH FUN.

PAP-SE Workshop in Charleston SC - Part 1

     This past Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I was one of 15 lucky students able to participate in a three-day PAP-SE workshop in Charleston sponsored by PAP-SE and Galerie on Broad.  Each day we had a different instructor painting in a different location.  Jim Richards, Bill Davidson and Larry Moore were the fabulous instructors this year.  They each did a demo in the morning, followed by lunch and then we fanned out and it was our turn to try to create something based on what they taught that morning.

     Day one started with a demo across the street from the gallery.  Jim Richards painted his light-filled street scene emphasizing sunlight and shadow in a value sketch of three values.  He then added color slowly to create an inviting Broad Street scene.

Jim Richards using a piece of cardboard to blur, soften and lose the edges.

     Day two took us out to Shem Creek Park where Bill Davidson showed us how to construct a marsh scene where composition and design are paramount and showed how shape and value are critical to a good painting.

Bill Davidson showing how to create depth in his marsh scene.

Tomorrow I will finish my recap with Part 2.

Jane's Hydrangeas

Jane's Hydrangeas

11"x14"

Oil on Panel

          Before my summer hydrangeas lost all their color, I wanted to capture them one more time in paint.

          This painting will be given to two very dear friends of more than 40 years when we fly to visit them later this week in Birmingham, Alabama.  Long-term and true friends are rare and golden and we are very fortunate to have Jane and Gene in our lives.  We have shared so many wonderful adventures and memories with them over the years and have travelled to so many wonderful locales with them.  Can't wait to see them and create new memories with them.  We are truly blessed!

Haywood County Barn

Haywood County Barn

11"x14" Oil on Canvas

     This is a perfect example of what five years growth in art will do!

     We recently had the interior of our home painted and I have been slowly putting things back where they were and in many cases doing a bit of rearranging to change things up a bit.

     This old barn is in western North Carolina and is across the highway from a cemetery where generations of my family (including both of my parents) are buried.  It is a place I have visited hundreds of times since I was a very little girl.  I did not want to rehang this older painting which I painted several years ago so I decided to paint a new one today and the older, original version is below.  Notice that I went outside the lines a bit on this newer one.  My teacher would be proud!

The Blue Door

The Blue Door

9"x12" Oil On Panel

$325.00

     This is a plein-air piece done in downtown Matthews along the side of Matthews Elementary School.  The more I painted, the more it began to resemble an adobe hut in Santa Fe!  The school really had a bright blue side door but the colors for the brick that I chose made it look more and more adobe-like.  Go figure! It is whatever you want it to be!

Summertime Arrangement

Summertime Arrangement

24"x24" Oil on Canvas

$695.00 framed

     This past Wednesday I attended a one-day still-life workshop.  We spent the morning doing quick value studies from a multitude of set ups ranging from a pair of scissors hung on a wall to red plastic chillies.  For the afternoon session I decided to paint some luscious pink hydrangeas brought in by one of the other workshop attendees.  

     Granted these flowers may not resemble pink hydrangeas but I was pleased that I was successful in using a variety of brushstrokes and palette knife swipes to render the suggestion of flowers.

The Bag

The Bag

6"x8" Oil on Raymar Panel

$125.00 framed

     In my attempt to teach my eyes to "see", I have been trying to focus a little more on still life setups. 

     This is a bag from Tiffany's from my trip to New York City last November with my daughter Kim.  She bought a ring for herself and I kept the bag as a prop! 

Happy

Happy

10"x8" Oil on Panel

$295.00 framed

     I'm back!!!!  I have been off the radar for about a month with this blog.  I think I just allowed myself to get out of the routine of blogging.  I've been in a artistic slump like all artists go through occasionally but I think I am about to the end.  Thank goodness!!  

     During the month of May I have been participating in Leslie Saeta's 30 days of marketing and I have learned SO MUCH.  The amount of information and  knowledge that is out there is totally amazing and it is slowly filtering into my brain.  Thank you Leslie for sharing with all of us artists out here...we have all learned so much this past month.

     This "Happy" painting is my rendition of a handful of posies just waiting to be given to someone.  The energetic brushstrokes just made me "happy" when I look at it so I decided to call it just that! This painting is one of two entries that I have entered into the Guild of Charlotte Artists judged show at Christ Episcopal Church here in Charlotte at 1412 Providence Road.  There are over 80 pieces of artwork hanging so stop by and walk the halls to view some beautiful and colorful paintings.

Collage

Collage

      The month of May is stretching me to expand my technology horizons!!!!!  Leslie Saeta has invited artists to participate in her 30 Days of Marketing Challenge.  Today's challenge is to create a collage of some of our paintings and this is what I created in about 10 minutes!  One of Leslie's favorite phrases is: "It's easy!"  Sometimes she is right and sometimes she is wrong, but this really was easy.  Leslie, I need to trust you more often!  Thank you for making me stretch and accomplish things that I have never done before.

Twilight

Twilight

24"x12" Oil on Linen

Gallery Wrap

$425.00

     I am participating in Leslie Saeta's 30-day marketing challenge.  Our mission today (day 2) is to select a painting that we really like that still has not found a new home.  

     "Twilight" is my interpretation of a grouping of trees in Yellowstone National Park.  The color on my monitor does not show the true colors of this painting but take my word for it, it is unusual and colorful!  Granted, this clump of trees did not have turquoise or lavender foliage but this painting certainly does!