Shells

I'm between classes right now.  I need to practice painting & solving problems on my own - think I've become too dependent on having an instructor "hold my hand".  Over the past couple of weeks I've worked on this little piece, painting an hour here & there.  There are a few problems with it that I haven't figured out how to solve, but that's the process.  What I don't solve in this painting I'll hopefully solve in the next painting.

Shells

Hope Valley Meadow

This is my latest attempt.  Several years ago I shot this scene in Hope Valley on one of my Fall excursions to that area.  I've always loved this meadow with the red willow.  Terry Miura helped me accomplish this little painting.

Red Willow

Yellow Roses

I finished my yellow roses painting this past Monday.  I'm very happy with this little painting.  I wanted a challenge, & this was definitely a challenge! Here are the images, from Step #1 through Finish.

Step #1

Step #2

Step #3

Finished

Advanced Techniques Workshop, Days 3 & 4

I am EXHAUSTED!!  Yesterday was the hardest day of all.  I'd had 2 nights of very little sleep & really felt pretty miserable.  Last night I took a Valerian tablet & slept really well until about 4:00 AM.  I practiced a relaxation technique from my yoga class & it seemed to work. I felt much better today.  One of the more accomplished artists in the workshop - & also my weekly classes - said she understood the true meaning of "tortured artist".  This was a tough workshop.


On Day #3 Susan did a demo using 2 photos as reference material.  She stressed that a photo never takes the place of life.  You can't get your colors from a photo & you have to understand color concepts & atmosphere of the real landscape before you attempt painting from a photograph. Susan started out the painting with a transparent series of washes pushed cooler or warmer with a transparent blue or a transparent red added to the basic transparent red oxide.  After establishing temperature of the washes, she wipes them back, except for the darkest dark. This is the first stage of the painting & the 2 reference photos.  The base support has a very pale wash of transparent red oxide all over.

The next series of photos are the landscape with local color being added. Susan "spots" the colors first rather than paint the entire area & then discover the color/value doesn't work.

This is the finished landscape.

I'm still doing very simple still lifes because I'm trying to learn brush techniques & having enough trouble with that without trying to learn other new concepts as well.  So I started a simple vase with a poppy yesterday. I thought I would be done with it today, but no.  I was so tired yesterday that I had trouble thinking straight & we had the demo most of the morning.  I'm a little reluctant to even post this - understand that I've barely begun on the flowers & the stems aren't there yet.

To give you an example of a couple of the great artists in the workshop with me, I'll post the "tortured artist's" yellow roses & a landscape by one of the artists from Washington.

There were many other beautiful paintings done in the workshop - wish I could post them all for you.

Advanced Techniques Workshop, Day 2

I'm actually a day behind with my posting.  Today is Day #3, but I'm lagging considerably in energy & will have to catch up at the end.  So Day #2 was another great day.  The first part of the morning was spent watching Susan bring her demo of the previous day to completion using brush techniques.  This is a photo of the completed demo.  It is only a "color study" & not a "painting".  (And this is why she's the instructor & I'm the student)!

For Day #2 I decided to paint a peach.  I'm being a little tentative, but just not feeling ready to advance to a flower quite yet.  Below is a photo of the finished peach.  I split the support in half & painted yesterday's pear on one half & today's peach on the other half.

I did a little more "mooshing" on the peach - didn't get quite the distinct brush strokes I was going for.

Advanced Techniques Workshop, Day 1

I'm taking Susan Sarback's Advanced Techniques Workshop.  The participants had been asked to come to class with ideas of what we want to learn.  I had decided I need to learn finishing techniques & if there was time, I would like to learn brush techniques.  It seems many of the class participants wanted to learn brush techniques.  Susan began our workshop with a demo of starting a painting using the knife - but beginning with Step 2 & skipping Step 1.  Then she did a demo of starting a painting using a brush, which also begins at Step 2.
  

The 2nd image is with the brush, but carried a little beyond Step 2.  

I was so excited after watching Susan work with the brush that I decided I would begin my class project learning brush technique & could learn finishing techniques at the same time.  So at lunchtime I rushed home to pick up my brushes & solvent.  This is the result of my Day 1 efforts.

It's not perfect, buy not bad for a first effort & I had a lot of fun doing it. Still could use some refinement, but Susan said to move on.  So I won't revisit this on Day 2.

Sunflowers

I've finally finished my sunflower painting for Mother.  Hope she likes it. Once it's dry I'll find a nice frame for it & present it to her.  This painting has been awhile in the process.  It definitely posed more problems than previous paintings.  Color is a bit off in the final photo.  The shadow definitely isn't so turquoise - it's much more subtle.  Below are steps 1 through finish.

Step 1

Step 2

Finished Painting

Assemblage - Cow in 'Puter Hills

This past Saturday I took a side trip off the super highway - one of those interesting little roads called "assemblage".  It was a great workshop. There were seven of us.  First order of the day was to visit the local thrift shop & look for interesting "stuff" for our assemblage.  Karen (our instructor) had several bins of additional "stuff" back at her studio that we could use for our creations.  Below are a few photos of my finished masterpiece!

Cow in 'Puter Hills

Color Intensive Workshop, Days 3 Through 5

Tonight I have that pleasant, contented kind of fatigue. I'm glad my Color Intensive Workshop is over because I am soooo tired - but I'm sorry it's over because it was such a wonderful experience.  Susan Sarback did a stellar job of teaching, my co-students were a great group, & I feel I made some forward strides in my painting goals.


Day 3 -  I "hit the wall".  For 2 days I was riding on such a high & I dreamed of working out painting problems both nights.  Come the 3rd day & I was exhausted.  By mid-afternoon I couldn't think straight.  When I got home (around 5:30) I just wanted to crawl into bed!  I forced myself to stay up until 10:00 just so I wouldn't be up at 2:00 AM.


Day 3 Susan did a 2 1/2 hour demo.  She explained everything she was doing through each step & why she was doing it.  It's one of the best demos I've seen & I feel I learned so much from it.

Spotting for value & Temperature

Still Life

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Finished Painting

I got a really good night's sleep at the end of day 3 & on day 4 I felt so much better!  I needed that rest, too, because day 4 we painted ALL DAY.  Then today (day 5) we painted from 9:00-11:30, broke everything down & went to lunch.  From 1:00-3:00 Susan did a critique.  I finished my 2nd study by about 10:45, so I just kicked back & "vegged" until 11:30.  This is Study #2:

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Finished Study

I really pushed myself on this 2nd study because I'm drawn to the warm color range of yellow, orange, & red.  In this study I forced myself to attempt rose, magenta, & blue. 

The critique was very good.  Susan asked all of us to participate. The point was to evaluate value range, temperature range, & chroma range.  Whether or not we liked the color or the painting wasn't relevant.  Then she wanted us to give our opinion of the overall feeling conveyed by the individual's paintings.  This indicates an artist's true style & Susan said we shouldn't fight our style because it's with us forever.  The group felt my paintings were "strong" & "interesting".  One person said they had an "other worldly" feel.  So I guess I've got a "style" & didn't even know it, although I'm not quite sure I know what "interesting" means!  Now it's back to a "normal" life & I'm soooo glad I don't have to get up early tomorrow!!

New Blog Introduction

I decided to start a new blog to share my art ventures.  My other blog - "The Comet's Path" - will continue, but my art sharing will be very limited on that blog & will mostly show up on my new blog "Inner Galaxies".


I currently just completed day 2 of a 5-day Color Intensive Workshop that I'm taking at The School of Light & Color in Fair Oaks.  Instead of a 2 1/2 hour, once-a-week class, this is 5 1/2 hours daily for 5 days of lecture, demo, & painting, painting, painting.  I've expected to come home completely exhausted but instead I'm finding I come home really exhilarated. Of course, around 8:30 PM I collapse.  The photos below are my first color study in the workshop.  I forgot to take a photo of step 1, so you're seeing step 2, step 3, & step 4. There are only very subtle differences between step 3 & 4.  And as usual, the photographs are deceptive.  The orange in the background shows up much brighter & more orange than it actually is in the painting.  I really wish I had remembered to photograph step 1 for you because it's always a shocker!

Step 2

Step 3

Finished Study

This has turned out to be a very interesting workshop, in as much as the participants are concerned, too.  There are 12 of us & we come from all over.  One woman has come all the way from Pennsylvania, one man has come from Hawaii, & one woman from Taos, New Mexico.  Another woman has come from Los Angeles, one from Chico, & one from East Bay.  Two of us come from Sacramento & one man from Granite Bay.  I should mention that the other woman from Sacramento convinced her husband to buy a condo here (they have a home in Oregon) so that she could study full-time at The School of Light & Color.  I don't remember where the remaining 3 women are from & will need to find that out.

The other Sacramento woman, the woman from Taos, & myself have been studying with Susan previous to this workshop, so we're working on actual still life settings for our color studies. Everyone else is learning Susan Sarback's color philosophy for the first time, so they are starting their studies with the blocks just as we did in the beginning.  It's very interesting to listen to their comments, questions, & confusion.  I can so relate, because I've been there & am still there - just a little further along in my knowledge!!