Snow Birds

"Flight" 6x6 Paper collage
$125 

Passages is this month's Girls Just Wanna Paint topic. 
Since it is only a week before we "snowbirds" will be departing for Naples, Florida, a birds in flight theme seems like a good metaphor.
I used some craft paper for the background and then drew and cut out birds shapes from tissue paper to create a little paper collage on watercolor paper. It takes quite a long time for me to figure out the balance in the cutting and pasting, but I like the feeling of this one.

Workshops and Tutorials

"After Carol Marine"- Painted from an ArtByte tutorial NFS

I've taken two workshops with the amazing Carol Marine who's a seriously good painter and teacher, as well as a funny, down to earth, young woman. Yes, I have a bit of a soft spot for her too ;)
Anyway, I haven't been painting regularly, having been busy with all kinds of summer activities, like beaching and visiting, so being a bit rusty, I went into my DPW ArtByte Library and chose one of her step by step paint along demos, figuring I could use the refresher course. 
This took hours, just so you know, and I had to back the video up and pause it many times, but I got there!
Besides Carol's demos there are ArtBytes by Patti Mollica, Taryn Day, Jelaine Faunce, Cathleen Rehfeld, David Morris and Mary Maxam to name but a few. 
I continue to take workshops, classes and tutorials because it keeps me fresh, is great practice and helps me give more to my students. Try it, you'll like it.

Thayer Academy

Thayer Academy

6x6 oil on panel

This painting is a late entry into this month's Girls Just Wanna Paint challenge. I know. I'm bad. Check out their paintings and stay tuned for news about our GJWP Fall show at Thayer Academy. We'll be showing our challenge paintings and since the gallery can accommodate larger works we'll have a few of those too.

50 Shades of Grey

"Grey Garlic" 6x6 

oil on panel
SOLD

Well, not really, but values are incremental and we can only create about 3 to 5 discernible values to depict light in our paintings. I mixed up a large amount of dark 'grey' with Cad Red, Ultramarine Blue and Cad Yellow. It leaned a bit toward brown but when I added white it was a blue gray. I blocked in the garlic using burnt umber and then using three values of my grey I painted in the values. After I got my pattern down I went over it with some color. By the way, I must be the only one in the world who hasn't read that book. I did order it from the library but this is one you have to buy, the wait list is that long!!

my palette

Boston Gas Tank 6x6 oil on board

This is a copy of my previous painting of this Boston Landmark, which I redid for the Girls Just Wanna Paint show which is coming up in May at the Helen Bumpus Library in Duxbury.  Check the GJWP blog for details. 

I drove my Mama to the airport late this afternoon for her flight home to Providence, thus officially concluding the family Wedding festivities. It was a fabulous time!

Chrissie (and her new truck) and Nana 

On Pins and Needles

Having a great finished painting is not the point of a workshop and anyone who goes away from one disappointed at not having a piece they can sell, is missing the point. I kept two of my value studies to prop in my studio and look at, so I can remember the particular points I made in my last post. Like, the elements that you tend to forget in the excitement of trying to capture your vision. The work. If you map it out, you have a better chance at getting it. If you plunge into it without a plan, it probably won't work.

Carol Marine's Workshop Wrap

Here's a glimpse of one of my block in's from Carol's workshop, before I wrecked it ;) (well, lost the charm in some areas anyway) I forgot to photograph today's effort which was the only painting I completed. Not stellar but decent. I'll post it tomorrow. Carol is a lovely young woman, poised and gracious, and she thoroughly knows her stuff! The lessons and exercises she covers are the ones you need to learn over and over again. The most important ones. Composition, Value pattern, ratio of values and color harmony. This was a very challenging workshop and I actually wish it were 5 instead of 3 days. Like, I'm just warmed up! It was great fun and we all enjoyed each other immensely!

Carol working on this incredible apple demo! She was on fire!