Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Autumn Sunshine

Autumn Sunshine  18x24  oil on linen

Workshops, business stuff, and working on completing some unfinished work has kept me busy the last several weeks.  Today I just did a new piece and it felt so good!  
These mums are the most beautiful mums.  They may not be as stunning as some but they are so hardy, they smell great, they multiply easily, and this time of year with all the cloudy days they truly do feel like sunshine!
So here's wishing you a "little sunshine" in your day!


Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Copper and Brass Pot

Copper and Brass Pot  12x16 oil on linen

I had the privilege to take a 3 day workshop with Elizabeth Robbins a couple of weekends ago.  I have had so much "business" work to do that I haven't had time to post about it.  So finally today I am sharing some things about the workshop and about the paintings I did!
"Copper and Brass Pot" was the set up I chose on the first afternoon of the workshop.  Elizabeth had done a beautiful demo in the morning and then gave us free rein to paint what we wanted.  
The focus on this study was getting strong values.  Although Elizabeth and I have quite different approaches to painting the still life it is always fun and informative to watch someone with Elizabeth's experience explain how she addresses a canvas.  While I did find that some things about our styles and/or preferred materials are very different, I also found that many things were pretty similar.  To me a strong instructor is able to illustrate their technique without hindering each individual from applying it to their own style.  Elizabeth does that so well.  I was surprised (not having worked with her before this) to discover that she is also very versatile in her own techniques and was able and willing to demonstrate more than one approach to a painting!
In the 3 day workshop I mostly completed 3 paintings.  I say mostly because I feel all 3 still needed some adjustments but, I was pretty satisfied with what I accomplished in a workshop setting.  I will try to post the other paintings as they get tweaked and are ready for "unveiling" lol..