Fall Trees - Acrylic

Fall Trees - 9x13 - Acrylic - October 2012
This painting was done in Art with a Twist at Red Cockerill Gallery.    Dark under painting and leaves and texture done with paper towels.     Certainly gets you in the mood for cool fall days and brightly colored leaves.

Italian Hay Field - Acrylic - August 2012

Italian Hay Field - 11x14 - Acrylic - August 2012
Today I painted acrylic in the Art with a Twist class at Red Cockerill Gallery.   Every time I go back to acrylic, I think I need to just take several months and only do acrylic.  Great fun.

Sierra shares her art!!!

"Faces" - Sierra - July 2012

"Snow City" - Sierra - July 2012

Visual Arts Camp at Douglasville First United Methodist Church - Every artist should consider the importance of sharing their passion for art with children.    This week we had 9 children at art camp.   Each child was able to express their own creativity through painting, sketching and art activities.  Thanks to Sierra and her mom for allowing me to post some of her work on the blog.    A big thanks to fellow artist Michelle and Carole and for art lovers Lee and Darlene who helped the children explore art this week!

Share Your Passion for ART!!!

Visual Arts Camp - Douglasville First United Methodist Church
This week I had an opportunity to work with several other artist and art volunteers to share our love of art with children.     The children had a fun two days painting, drawing, and doing art activities.   It was wonderful to see the joy on each child's face as they found their own way to express themselves through art.   I'd like to encourage my fellow artist and art lovers to share their love of art with a child.

The Figure in Pastel - Margaret Dyer Workshop - July 2012

"Lady Sitting" - Pastel

Margaret Dyer Workshop on The Figure in Pastel - July 16-17, 2012  - This was a fun 2 days.   I did not finish any of the paintings but felt that I really learned a lot.   The steps Margaret teaches are:

Step 1 - Draw- sketch

Step 2 - Outline shadows

Step 3 - Insert the blackest area

Step 4 - Add and build darks

Step 5 - Add and build lights.

Step 6 - Add and build middle-tones

Step 7 - Add the the punctuation - edges, soften some, harden others.

I'll be looking for volunteers to sit for me.    Our models sat for 20 minutes at a time.   We took about 1 hour and 45 minutes breaking every 20 minutes.   Very different from portrait painting.   Margaret teaches at Spruill in Dunwoody, if you'd like to catch one of her classes.    Look up her work online.   She does some beautiful things.

"Dreaming" - 9x13 - Pastel - July 2012

"Relaxing" - 9x13 - Pastel - July 2012

"Lady with a Hat" - 9x13 - Pastel - July 2012

"Lady Resting" - Pastel - July 2012

A Figure in Pastel - Magaret Dyer -July 2012

Margaret Dyer Workshop - The Figure in Pastel - July 2012
This is a start on my first pastel figure.    First time I've ever worked with a model.   The technique we used was squint and sketch the figure shapes.   Then we filled in darks, lights, mid-tones and kept repeating the process in different colors but within the same value of dark, light or mid-tones.   One thing that was very helpful was when you are "feeling out of control" ....go back to refine the sketch, do darkest darks, lights, mid-tones, etc.     I'm anxious to finish this.    We tried another one in the afternoon where the shadows were not as apparent....much more difficult.    Great studio in Villa Rica, GA and a small class.  

Celebrating my 150th painting - Thanks to all my instructors and family and friends for encouragement!!

July 2012 - Learning something new is one of the most exciting things about life.     Painting has been a challenging and satisfying experience.    Something that has given me opportunities to meet new people and see the world through new eyes.   To date I've completed over 150 paintings.   157 to be exact.    Every time I paint I always make a photo of the painting.    I've saved these over the last 2 years.   I started painting in March of 2010 at a pastel workshop with Karen Margulis.    She began the challenge by charging each student to paint 50 paintings.    Over the past years I've logged 134 hours of instruction with artist Karen Margulis, Barbara Jaenicke, Ann Cockerill, Jack Shields, Catherine Hills, Pat Fiorello and Dr. Majid Ejlali.    In addition, I have attended weekly open studio painting classes with Ann Cockerill for part of that time.    I've entered one National Juried show.    Mark of the Potter was entered in an exhibit at the Red Cockerill Gallery.    I've just entered a portrait of my granddaughter in an exhibit at the Red Cockerill Gallery that will show July 28 - August 4, 2012.   Over the years I've given to family and friends 17 paintings.   I've sold one painting.   Thanks to them for their encouragement.   Inspired by my teachers, I've recently started a Plein Air Painting group.   Hopefully over the next year this group will grow.   Another adventure was starting this blog.   To date there are post on painting and also Galleries for 2010, 2011, 2012 and the Plein Air Painting.   

Red, White, & Blue Competion - July 28, 2012 - August 4, 2012

Gallery Exhibit -  For all my blog friends I have entered the portrait of my granddaughter in the Red Cockerill Gallery's Red, White and Blue Competition. The theme is things you love.....well what is more special than a granddaughter. Hope you can make it to the show.   See the portrait on the my blog under 2012 Gallery.    Reception is Saturday, July 28, 2012 from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. at the Red Cockerill Gallery in Austell, GA. The show runs until August 4, 2012. Drop by and take a look at the exhibit.    Thanks to Ann Cockerill for doing this for her students.

"Water Lily" - Acrylic - 11x14 - July 2012

Water Lily - Acrylic - 11x14 - July 2012
Today at Art with a Twist at the Red Cockerill Gallery we painted waterlilies and talked about Monet. I've tried this water lily in watercolor and posted previously.      I've recently downloaded a picture from a friend of lily pads that I want to paint.   That photo is below.    I like the impressionistic feel of the photo.     

Plein Air - Sweetwater Creek Park - July 2012

Sweetwater Creek Park - Pastel - 5x7 - July 2012

Sweetwater Creek Park - Version 2 - Pastel - 9x13 - July 2012

Plein Air Painting today at Sweetwater Creek Park.    The temperature was around 85 and there was a slight breeze.   Beautiful on the water.   Just me and a few ducks!

Plein Air Painting - Invitation - Tuesday- July 10, 2012 - Sweetwater Creek State Park

Plein Air Painting - Tuesday, July 10, 2012 at 8:45 a.m. at Sweetwater Creek State Park.   
I'm always looking for ways to refresh my painting experience.    There are so many beautiful spots around Douglasville, GA.    I want to start a group that will paint plein air once a month at a local spot.    I volunteer at Sweetwater Creek State Park each month as part of my Master Naturalist volunteer hours.    I've always admired the over 2500 acre conservation park and it's 250 acre lake.   It's beautiful!    If you have not been there you should plan a trip for a hike or picnic or.....join us to paint.   I'll bring a cooler of water.    Email me on facebook if you'd like to attend and I will give you the location.   

Canadian Lighthouse - 11x14 - Acrylic - July 2012

Canadian Lighthouse - 11x14 - Acrylic - July 2012
This is from the same reference photo as the watercolor.   A little easier to get the shapes and colors with acrylic.   I used acrylic and water and as I added layers I used more pigment and less water.  

Canadian Lighthouse - Watercolor - 9x12 - July 2012

Canadian Lighthouse - Watercolor - 9x12 - July 2012
I'm one of those folk that when something is hard....it motivates me even more to keep trying.    Watercolor has been a hard medium for me personally to tackle.   I have a problem with overworking the piece.    I'm working on another painting today and will change the colors.    Ann Cockerill worked with me on getting the lighthouse proportions correct but the colors didn't work.   I'm going to try a technique I learned from my teach at the Jekyll Island Watercolor class and see if that improves the effort.    Fun to paint however.   This was from a photo a Canadian friend posted.

Plein Air Painting in Backyard - Patio Garden - Pastel

Patio Garden - 5x7 - Pastel - July 2012
Decided to plein air paint on my patio today.   I just took the box of pastel I had out for another painting.   I like doing small studies.   It allows you to try a lot of different things.   If you land on a composition you like you can do a large one.  

Flowers in Watercolot - June 2012

Flowers in Watercolor - Watercolor - 5x7 - June 2012
This painting was done quickly and with a minimal light under painting.   I wanted to practice using minimal color and limited palette.  

Waterlily - Watercolor & Pastel - June 2012



"Waterlily" - Watercolor & Pastel - 5x7 - June 2012



"Waterlily - ver.2" Watercolor - 5x7 - June 2012


These studies were painted in the open painting class at Red Cockerill Gallery last week.   There is a scheduled "Art with a Twist" painting class and the painting is of waterlilies.    I decided to get a head start and do some small studies.   I started with watercolor.   It was hard to manipulate to get the detail.   I added pastel but pastel on watercolor paper is not great.   I'll try this again in pastels only prior to the July class. 

Wildflower Field - Fun and Loose - June 2012

Wildflower Field -  Pastel - 5 x 9 - June 2012  Last week I attended a class with Karen Margulis.   She did a quick small study on a wildflower field.    Today I decided to just play for a while and try it from memory.  It's good to loosen up and just have fun.  Don't get me wrong, painting is fun but sometimes the focus is on turning out the best painting and not on just letting the subject speak to you.   Even when the small studies don't come out great, I have fun and always feel like I learned something.   I definitely need a balance between structure and spontaneous painting.    

Pastel with Dust - June 2012

 "Wildflowers" - Pastel with Dust - 5x7 - June 2012
Last night I attended a class with Karen Margulis.   We created our pastel painting and then added pastel shavings(dust) to sections of the painting for texture and highlights.      We shaved harder pastels with a knife over the areas of the painting we wanted to highlight.   We then covered with paper (parchment, wax paper) and used a roller to press the paint into the painting.   We also experimented with adding fixative after each dusting to create more layers and texture.   Once the paint builds up you can scratch the surface to expose the colors underneath.  Not something for every painting but definitely a technique to have in your tool bag.

"Birch Trees Mini" - Pastel with Dust - 5x7 - June 2012
I have done this painting several times so the composition was a familiar one.    The dusting added some interest to a rather simple painting.   Fun technique.   Thanks to Karen who also comes up with things in class to inspire us.

"Fall Day - Watercolor - June 2012

"Fall Day" - Watercolor - 7.5x11 - June 2012 - Another Fall scene.   I'm trying to do small studies each day until I can get the "hang" of watercolor.    I love the medium but it is not my friend yet!

Morning at the Beach - Two Studies in Pastel and Watercolor

"Morning at the Beach" - Watercolor - 5x7 - June 2012 
This painting was inspired by a photo that a friend took of the beach early one morning in Jamaica.   This pastel does not do the colors justice.   I want to try again in watercolor.   A beautiful scene!!

"Morning at the Beach"  Pastel - 8x11 - June 2012
The colors of the photo are truer on the watercolor.   Always fun to paint however a great composition and this scene is a great inspiration.

Sample of paintings over last 2 years. Just a little trip down memory lane.

 "Sunflowers"    9x13  Pastel

 "Country Barn"    9x13  Pastel

 "Poppy Field"    9x13  Pastel

" Italian Landscape"   10x13    Acrylic

I've been busy trying new things with pastels and working on watercolor techniques.    Every once in a while I like to go back and look at some things I've done in past.   When you try new things it's sometimes easy to get discouraged......it helps to remember what made you enjoy painting in the first place.    " Painting is an escape....a relaxing release...where in a few hours you loose yourself in another place and paint your way into the painting."    They are like old friends you feel you know them well.   These four were gifts to family and friends and have made their way into a new home.  

Telliquah Covered Bridge - Revised - Watercolor & Pastel - 9x13 - May 2012

Telliquah Covered Bridge - Revised - Watercolor & Pastel - Not sure it helped this painting but I did some over painting with pastels over watercolor.   

Telliquah Covered Bridge - Tennessee - 8x12 - Watercolor - May 2012

Telliquah Covered Bridge - Tennessee - 8x12  Watercolor - May 2012
Watercolor is by far the most challenging medium I've tried.   It truly has a life of it's own.   I haven't quite figured out how to work with it and not against it.   I finally stopped on this one because I notoriously overwork watercolor.   I will be trying this one again to clean up the color.  

Telliquah , however is a great covered bridge.    Telliquah was a haven for the Cherokee.   This bridge was privately built.  It is believed to be the largest privately owned covered bridge in Tennessee and possibly the USA.   Visit this bridge if you are in Tennessee or in the Georgia Blue Ridge area.   It is a short drive from Blue Ridge, GA.    It sits just off the road.   If you walk across the street there is a covered pavilionwith a great view of the bridge.  

Fall Day - Watercolor - 9x12 - May 2012

"Fall Day" - Watercolor - 9x12 - May 2012
Started this watercolor in class on Friday.    The hardest thing about watercolor to me is "overworking" it.    I need to use the same approach that I do with pastels......"start a painting everyday".  

Venice - Pastel - 8x6 - May 2012

Venice - Pastel - May 2012    This is is quick pastel on a 8x6.   I did a thumbnail but decided to do a quick small one before I tackle a larger painting of the same scene.   Karen Margulis offered a tip of painting mini paintings.   I use to do this a lot and I do think you learn a lot.   Even though each small painting is not great it always teaches you something about your composition.   

First Portrait - May 2012 - Laila

Laila - Portrait - Pastel - 9x13 - May 2012

This is my first stab at doing a portrait.  I've done charcoal sketches before but never a pastel.   I love this picture of my granddaughter Laila.    I've got some corrections to make.   Got a new set of Terry Ludwig Portrait Pastels.   They worked great....smooth and easy to blend. 



"Hydrangeas" - Watercolor - 10x13 - May 2012

"Hydrangeas" - Watercolor - 10x13 - May 2012 - Just completed this painting at Ann Cockerill's Art with a Twist  workshop.     We painted with acrylic and water then I came back with watercolor to finish.    I want to try this one again to get a lighter and looser feel.   Hydrangeas are beautiful.   I have lacecaps and mop heads blooming in my garden.   You should put the Douglasville Hydrangea Festival on your calendar.   There is a flower show and tour of gardens scheduled for June 2-3, 2012. 

Country House - Pastel - 5x7 - May 2012

Country House - Pastel - 5x7 - May 2012 - We did a 100 stroke exercise in class several weeks ago.   I took one of those painting exercises and added some color and redefined some shapes.   

Birch Trees Revised - May 2012

Birch Trees Revised - May 2012
Decided to go back to this painting to add some color and shapes.   Finally had to just step away from the painting.  Loved working with these colors and composition. 

Birch Trees - Pastel on Uart paper with dark pastel and alcohol underpainting.

Birch Trees - Pastel from today's pastel class with Barbara Jaenicke.    For this painting we did a alcohol wash.   The shapes were sketch and values were shaded.   The alcohol wash was painted on  and then dried.   The pastels were applied to the underpainting.    This one needs some more work.   It was an interesting composition and one I will want to repaint.

 Apple - 20 Stroke Exercise - We did this exercise in Barbara Jaenicke's Class today.   I've also seen Karen Margulis do this.    It's harder than you think but a very beneficial exercise.   You sketch a simple apple shape.   Then choose several colors and paint in fewer than 20 strokes.   

Landscape - 100 Stroke Exercise -  This exercise was one of the most difficult.   We had a simple reference photo.   After sketching in the major shapes you paint in 100 or fewer strokes.    The point is to make the most effective use of each stroke placement and to not "over work" the painting.   Overworking the painting creates "mud".   I'm pretty good at making mud.   My goal is to daily paint several small paintings limiting my strokes until I feel more comfortable with lighter and fewer strokes.    You do begin to see the color layers better.  

"Bowl & Apples" - Pastel - Still Life

"Bowl & Apples" - Pastel - April 2012
This week the pastel class did a still life of bowl and apples.   I quickly made the mistake of making the focus to large. I ended up with lots of blank paper.   I cropped the initial sketch to zoom in on the focal point.  I had to use the sketch values to get the lights and darks.   I definitely want to set up another one under lights and give myself time to work completly from the still life.    This class was from Barbara Jaenicke's weekly pastel class.  

Euharlee Covered Bridge - This is a pastel.   I sketched the bridge and did a study in watercolor but decided it would look better in pastel.    I visited this bridge this month with some friends.   It just above Cartersville, GA in Euharlee, GA.     It was built in 1886 by Washington King.   There is a small museum by the bridge.  There is a place to picnic just over the bridge by the river.  You can walk over this bridge.   A good day trip.  Stop by the Booth Western Museum while you are there.   There are historic covered bridges all over the USA.   My goal is to visit fourteen of the covered bridges in GA this year and paint each one.  

Marsh Version #2 - This is another version of the marsh from a black and white reference photo.   It is done in pastels.   My goal before next class is to organize my pastel box by values.  It one of those things you are asked to do from the beginning and I've put it off.  

Marsh - Pastel - April 2012
This was a good exercise in class this week.    We had a black and white reference photo of a marsh.   We did a thumb nail sketch to get the values.   Then we painted from any colors.   Obviously I had a hard time getting away from the black and white feel.  I'm going to try it again.   Love the scene.   Barbara Jaenicke was the instructor.  Check out her website and blog.  She did this same scene.  Beautiful!.  

Jekyll Island Club Hotel - This is a beginning reference sketch with pencil for a watercolor painting.   What a beautiful hotel.   I worked a lot today on trying to get the perspective right.   I pulled staight lines from several angles on the structure to one vanishing point.   Takes some time but my hope is I've worked out at least some of the perspective issues before I start the actual watercolor.

 Paintings from Road Scholor trip to Jekyll Island - Dr. Majid Ejlali was the instructor.   Dr. Ejlali has exhibited work throughout the Southeast and received numerous awards.    There were approximately 25 people in the class.   It was held at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel.   We observed painting demonstrations and painted 3 times a day in 2 hour blocks.  Painted around a dozen paintings.   Several versions of some paintings.