Still Sick

I had a relapse and am on the second round of a different antibiotic.  Hope to be up and painting soon.

Bill Jameson Workshop, Saluta, NC

I just returned from a Bill Jameson painting workshop.  Bill lives in Saluta, NC, and I fell in love with the town,  so charming and so much to do.  Below, in no particular order, are some photos I took at the workshop.  If you are a landscape painter, I highly recommend the workshop. 

I've tried for 2 days to write this post and add photos of the workshop.  Something is not working with the pics so I'll try again later.

Got sick coming home from the workshop, but couldn't see the doctor until Monday.  I'm on an antibiotic, but still feeling pretty crummy.  Will be up and painting soon, I hope.

3/19
I'm doing great.  Nothing like cipro!  So here goes another attempt to upload the photos.  Next posts will be paintings.

This is Bill's studio, also his wife's, Ann, who is also a painter.  Quite spacious with skylights-a dream for any studio artist.  The commute's not bad either.  Their house is just across the driveway,

Here is Bill's set up for painting.  A large glass for mixing colors and a large assortment of brushes.  You can see his paint along the sides.   Bill uses a medium of half stand oil and half liquin. 

This painting was on his easel when I first arrived,  Beautiful, isn't it?

Here's Bill during a teaching moment.  He's a wonderful artist and teacher, also enthusiastic, funny, and congenial.

This photo shows how he begins a painting (after making a sketch on paper and a small painting study).  He uses cobalt blue to draw just the  main shapes on a tinted canvas.
For some reason, blogger does not allow a longer post, so I shall work on this some more later.

Silos at Dusk

8x10, oil on canvas panel

This is absolutely my favorite time to paint outdoors.  In this case the light was to the back which creates that wonderful rim light that you see on the edges of the silos.  The silos themself are almost flat, although I did add a bit of warmth to the rim light side...artist priviledge, right?  The sky has slightly more blue than the photo does.  Just couldn't get it all the work together, so I sacrificed the sky.

An Apple a Day

8x8,  oil on canvas panel

You'll be happy to know that I ate the apple after painting it and am feeling quite healthy!

Union County Arts Gala

The art work was arranged on tables.  Boxes were at each work for guests to put in bought tickets.  The winner for each work would be drawn.  Last year there was just a sheet for people to write down their bid.  I think they made more money this way.

I saw these guests looking at my painting, so I quickly snapped a photo!  You can see their tickets in hand.

I would estimate there were over 100 people there.  At 100 dollars a person, quite a bit of money was made for the Union County Arts.  I don't know if the country club donated the space and of course, dinner had to be paid for, but there were also corporate sponsors.  All in all I think they must have made 10 thousand dollars.  Yea art!!!!

Sprouting Garlic (sold)

5x7, oil on canvas panel

As you can see, I keep my garlic way too long, but it does make for a better painting with

a few green sprouts.  I'm sure a really good blogger would include a recipe for garlic in this post.  So here's my recipe, put garlic in anything that's not sweet.



Linseed Oil

5x7

Some oil painters use a medium and some use the paint as it is out of the tube.  I am

a medium user.  A medium, depending on the kind, will thin the paint and

make it flow better and often add a bit of gloss. 

When I painted in college (the whole 1 semester I had!)  we used copal.  I really liked it, but

I doubt it was very healthy for our young lungs.  However, we did not

worry about those things then.  I don't think anyone realized the importance

of handling the materials with caution.  To make a point, almost everyone paints

wearing gloves, something I did not see years ago.

About a year ago, I only used linseed oil mixed with a little gamsol (orderless turps), hence the

half empty bottle.  Then someone introduced me to liquin which I had always

resisted because of the way it looks.  I'm such a princess!

Liquin thins the paint, provides a soft gloss, and hastens drying--so I am

now a convert.

Someday I'll probably dig out the linseed oil again...we painters are like that. We go

back and forth with out supplies.



The Yellow Door (sold)

8x10, oil on canvas panel

A Lazy Afternoon at Home



8x10, oil on canvas panel

I picture this family sleeping in on a Saturday morning, then having a big breakfast before starting their day.  Sounds like a good idea to me!

Small Spruce

8x8, oil on canvas panel

The reference material for this painting was a photo I shot while driving (slowly!) on Fairview Road with my window rolled down.  Sometimes it's fun to see the reference and then the painting, so below is the photo.

A Day on the River



8x10, oil on canvas panel

This painting will be auctioned at the Union County Arts Gala at the end of this month.  I decided on a silver frame to pull out the different blues.

Valentine Rose

6x8, oil  on canvas panel

Happy Valentine's Day.  This rose, not a usual subject for me, is a painting using the Daily Paintworks Painting Challenge.  I am also working on the gridded 10 minutes painting.

Here's a link to the challenge.   http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Challenges

Work in Progress

It's been a long, crazy week, and I haven't gotten much painting done.  Next week I'll be on my tos!

Earlier Riser

    8x10, oil on canvas panel

Big Yellow

10x10, oil on canvas panel

It has been raining, raining, raining here and I couldn't take any photos.  Today is cloudy and gray, but the light was beautiful and even. 

Cars and trucks are not a subject I paint or draw often.  Of course, drawing is drawing, and one should be able to draw a truck as well as a house, person, etc., but it still helps to have a little experience.  I had a little trouble drawing the truck meaning it took at lot of wiping off and starting over.  Anyway it was fun, and I shall look for more such subjects.

Stapleton Kearns is writing a series of post on 100 paintings every artist should know.  Stape is a delightful writer and the information is quite fascinating.  Hope you will take a look.

http://www.stapletonkearns.blogspot.com/

Small Farm Buildings

7x5, oil on canvas panel

I liked the interesting shadow cast by the 2 buildings in the front.  Shadows

make an object look like it's sitting on the ground, table, or whatever.  It's truly

amazing what a difference a shadow makes!

Shadows, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

10x10. oil on canvas panel

Haybale

8x10, oil on canvas panel

A Calm Afternoon

8x10, oil on canvas panel

When I was raising my children and working, I always multi-tasked.  If I was helping with

homework, I was folding clothes.  If I was talking on the phone, I was unloading

the dishwasher.  We all know the drill and we all have done it. 

I was always thinking of what I needed to do next before I had

even finished one chore.

But painting is different.  I'm always in the present when I paint, and it's the closest

I come to meditation.  Just like the title above, I am always

calmed by painting.

Night at the Farm

8x10. oil on canvas panel

Two Barns, Stars Over North Carolina

5x7, oil on canvas panel

5x7, oil on canvas panel

Pampas Grass

9x12. oil on canvas panel.

I intended for the pampas grass to be the center of interest in this painting, but it's too far to the right.  Generally, the center of interest should fall about 2/3 of the way from the top, bottom, or sides, following roughly the rule of the golden mean.

So I am saying the center of interest is the old garage and the secondary area of interest is the

light on the fence.

One of the fire barrels also has a nice light on the side, but it doesn't show well

on this photo.

Night Falls on the Farm

5x7, oil on canvas panel

This is my first time to paint a night scene, and I loved doing it. Expect more.

The Wedding Dress

10x10, oil on canvas panel

Over the years I have collected boxes of photos and slides for painting references When sifting through my arsenal I always pause at the wedding dress, consider it, then put it back and choose another. I finally decided it. was. time. to "get 'er done"...so here she is.

I saw True Grit this weekend. The Coen brothers have triumphed once again. I loved the language, the acting, and the story-- a stellar movie.

Farmhouse among the Brambles

24x20, oil on stretched canvas

Finished today! And at last the snow has melted enough that I can photograph in my usual place--the driveway.

This one has been making the rounds so you may have seen it, but in honor of our new year and for a great laugh, here it is.

Dear God,

All I ask for in 2011 is a fat

bank account and a

slim body...please

don't mix these up like you

did last year.

Amen