Demo at High Country on Saturday 4th September

Be sure to join us on Labor Day Weekend, on Saturday, Sept. 4th, for me to demonstrate my painting techniques and talk to you about art!

I have so much fun when I demo at the gallery -- High Country Art and Antique Gallery -- in Blue Ridge, GA. They are located on East Main Stree in downtown and are the best gallery in town! Many different styles of artwork and great stuff to buy. Prices can fit any budget too! Cheryl and Mark Engledow are wonderful to work with and like making friends and new customers.

Here is one photo of a wall with my paintings on it. Sorry for the glare on the oil painting! Remember that when taking photos inside, the lighting will have an effect on how the photos of paintings look. This was a nighttime event held at the gallery and loads of fun was had that night also. When you visit the gallery, be sure to sign their guest book with an e-mail so they can let you know about important events at the gallery ---- like me demonstrating!!! But, seriously, do it so you can be informed about gallery walks, shows, etc.

Last time I demonstrated -- only about two weeks ago -- I sold two paintings while I was there, and talked to many people and demonstrated my pastel painting techniques. I even had a visit from a schoolmate that I had not seen in many, many years! So . . . come visit Blue Ridge and High Country Art Gallery on Saturday, Sept. 4! And, let us know you saw it here on my blog.

New style of classes coming soon!

Here is the plan in its enfancy!

This is a shot from one of my Smyrna Classes last year or so.

I decided last fall that December of 2009 would be the end of my weekly classes in pastel -- even though I had backed them down to every other week. I needed a break and wanted to think about my own art for more time than I was getting! I did plan some mini-workshops here in Woodstock -- on a Saturday so more people could have an opportunity to come. We studied composition, value and temperature. I have missed my teaching and have been thinking of something I want to do a little different than I have in the past.

Now . . . we are moving back to Smyrna -- this is where my husband and I grew up -- and where parents, siblings, children and grandchildren are living and it will be so much easier to see them.

I did enjoy the mentoring mini-workshops. Many students told me they were learning more than they had in other classes. That my way of teaching these was exactly what they had been looking for! So . . . here is a little of what I am thinking and planning. It is not set in stone yet -- just ideas that are still in the formative stages.

I plan to put out a calendar by e-mail to my previous students, and potential students that have asked to be on my mailing list. It will cover several weeks and most likely a couple of months. You must e-mail me or call and let me know you are interested in these sessions. That is the only way you will receive my address. This is more of a security type of thing for me. If you don't know me, then you need to establish some type of contact with me so I can get to know something about you and where you are in your art.



The calendar will tell you what days I plan to be in the studio and that I will have it open to students wishing to come paint with me! There will be a small charge for the amount of time you are there. I am thinking maybe 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM and most weeks, I will be available on two different days of each week. I am calling this an "open mentoring session class". At this time I am thinking the charge will be $20. And, you can paint in the medium of your choice. My thinking is this is not a session for beginners. You must have some experience in your medium, as this is more about advancing to the next level of your art.

You don't have to give me a plan as to what days you are coming. You can call me, e-mail, or just show up. Of course, letting me know would be good, but I will be there and if you can come at the last minute, you can do so. If I must change for some reason, there will be a posting on my blog. Students can check the blog before leaving to come and will know something has happened for me to cancel that day. I don't foresee that happening, but there must be a way to notify those students that haven't called or e-mailed. You just never know when there is an emergency that I can't foresee!

The sessions might be just painting on something of your choice, or on something specific. It might be divided between discussions on some aspect of painting that is needed, like the mini-workshops I had earlier this year. It could be critique of work, or looking at past artists and discussion about their life, inspirations, etc. Weather permitting we might plein air! You can let me know what you need!

So, if you are interested, please e-mail me or call and let me know your thoughts. Again, it won't happen until at least after I return from my six-week trip out West (November 15 I'll be home), and most likely not until after Jan. 1, 2011.

Here is a shot from a workshop I gave in Blue Ridge, GA.

And one more from my Smyrna classes.

Hope to hear from you!

The Great Chattahoochee Paint Out

This will be a long blog post. There is so much to show you and also to tell!

Last Thursday and Friday, I was involved in a paint out sponsored by the City of Roswell, GA and the Chattahoochee National Park Service. We applied about a month or more ago, and were then sent instructions about where we could paint officially. There were five different places in and around Roswell GA along the Chattahoochee River and its feeder creeks, the Chattahoochee National Park and Roswell City Parks.

I drove over to find the headquarters which was in the beautiful Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area at Island Ford. I'm glad I did, because I would have been in trouble trying to find a place to paint if I waited until the morning I was to paint. The gave us three days, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to paint from 8:00 AM until 8:00 PM each day. On Saturday morning from 9:00  - 10:30 AM we could turn in two of our pieces to be judged for the competition and the reception to be held that evening.

Here are some photos of locations we could paint.

View from Chattahoochee River National
Recreation Area at Island Ford

Vickery Creek Falls at the Roswell Mill

Covered Bridge at Roswell Mill / Vickery Creek

Willeo Park

Now what did I do?

So the first morning I was able to attend was Thursday and I went to the Willeo Road Park. It was 8:00 AM when I arrived and there was only one place left to park -- everyone got there before I did! Darn! But, guess what the place I wanted to paint was in the sun and no one wanted it. Here is a shot of my easel with the first painting of the day and competition. The mist was still there when I started but was leaving fast.

I painted one, then a second painting and then a third one before I decided the water dripping off my face was driving me crazy. I packed it up and headed for the bridge on Riverside Drive underneath I-400. I did not see anything I wanted to paint, so I headed to Island Ford so the sun would be behind me and I would be shaded along the river bank. But, when I got there and trekked down the hill with all my supplies, I decided I did not want to paint there. I carried it all back up, put in car and headed over to the Roswell Mill. Now, I had it in a backpack, and so it was heavy, but not really too bad . . . just dang hot!

Here are the three paintings I did that morning - they are all pastels. The painting I did in the afternoon did not get finished before the long shadows got me and the hot day too! I thought I would return the next day to finish it.

Painting No. 1:  "Willeo Park Misty", 16" x 20"

Painting No. 2:  "River Entrance", 14" x 11"

Painting No. 3:  "River Sentinels", 12" x 9"

I did go back on Friday to Willeo Park and painted the same scene I did the first day, but in oil. It is not as successful, but worth keeping for reference for a larger work!

Day 2:  Vickery Creek Falls, 12" x 9"

Now I did go back to the Roswell Mill Park and hope to finish the painting I started the afternoon of the first day . . . but there had been rain somewhere upstream and Vickery Creek was much higher and muddy. It covered the rock I had been standing on to paint! So . . . I scouted out another location and decided to paint the falls.

Here is the painting from the Vickery Creek Falls. Oh, I forgot to show you I had a visitor and he watched me for about an hour -- a vulture (and then a friend of his also flew in to watch). I was a little nervous, but they kept their distance. Here is a photo:

Now, I submitted two of these paintings to the competition: Willeo Park Misty and River Entrance. I decided these were the two best of the four pastel paintings. I did not consider entering the oil since I really didn't feel like it was a finished painting worthy of framing. You know, they don't all turn out, not even half of them normally. So, I had to have them there on Saturday morning and then we went to the reception that evening at 7:30.

When we arrived, I was greeted by a friend who said "Congratulations"! I was surprised, but thought I had won an award. She immediately pointed in the direction of the painting across the room and you could see it above the heads of people . . . and it had this big bright blue ribbon! I had won Best in Show / First Place! Yahoo!!

The painting is shown here with me standing by it, but there is a reflection from the lights in it. But you can see it above -- Willeo Park Misty! I felt I had done a good job, and also that I left the painting before I did way too much to it. I left some of the scene for the viewer to fill in -- let the viewer's brain have an active part in looking at the painting, filling in some of the detail I left out.

So, though I was dreadfully hot and dripping, I managed to produce four paintings worthy of framing and one of them won Best in Show. And, my birthday was the next day -- what better way to start celebrating that. And there was prize money to boot! What more could I ask for -- beautiful places to paint, friends to paint with, four worthy pieces, and a ribbon!

Pastel Painting in Progress

Yesterday, I posted my wish to start the day with a tree painting. And, I wanted to create something in oil and then one in pastel. In my previous post, you saw the progression of the oil painting. Here is the painting I did in the afternoon / evening in pastel. The scene is from a photo I took in Sudden Valley, Washington -- which is just outside of Bellingham. My friend, Carly Hardy, and I were visiting a friend, Denise Champion, last year in August. She has the most beautiful location to live! They are both wonderful artists, so here are links to their web sites: Denise -- http://www.denisechampion.com/ ; and Carly -- http://www.carlyhardy.com/ .

This June, I went back to visit Denise and take an abstract workshop from Diane Townsend -- the maker of wonderful pastels. The workshop was at Dakota Pastels in La Connor, Washington. I was quite out of my element, but think I might have learned many things. Much of the learning was about art history and abstract art in the past. I believe that after you learn to manipulate the medium, then the next step is to learn what came before you and try to get inside the head of our past master painters!

So here is the progression of the pastel painting.

The painting went through several changes and will sit in the studio for several more days for me to keep it in view for thoughts about what might need changing -- or nothing! And, as always, I appreciate any comments you might have -- or questions.

Oil Painting In Progress

Today, I posted on Facebook that I felt like painting trees. I challenged others to post what they were doing or paint trees today with me. Several have responded they were either painting something with trees, or would. And I had one friend say she was making steel leaves and did that count. Why not, I said. And,  I told them I would post on the blog and it will post to Facebook.

I wanted to start with an oil painting since I have some paint on my palette. Then I wanted to do a pastel. Well, I did not get started until about 11:30 a.m. and have just now quit on the oil painting. Like most artists, I need someone to tell me to stop. After this post, I will go start a pastel painting. We shall see how far I get!

Here are the photos I have taken at various stages of the painting. The painting is a 9x12 on an Ampersand Gesso Board -- quite a slick surface, but this is what I use when I am plein air painting. I have decided I am not real fond of the "laid" look of canvas. I think I will be trying some linen that is a little finer weave to see how I like that. Okay, to the photos!

So there are seven shots of the painting in progress . . .

 now you tell me what you think! I look forward to hearing some comments.

Working in the Studio

So . . . since the last post, I have been trying to work in the studio as many days as possible. This week has been a good one and the end of last week. I have been working on oil paintings: a 3'x4' gallery wrap canvas, an 8"x24" gallery wrap canvas, a 12"x12" gesso cradled panel, and a 12"x16" diamondback cradled birch panel that I gessoed.

The large canvas (3'x4') has been giving me fits. I am trying to simplify subject matter, but in a larger format, I tend to revert to "decorating" my trees. So, I went to the art supply store (Binders in Atlanta) and bought two #18 large filbert brushes. These were only one size larger than what I had, but it does make a difference. Still after using one of these brushes, I am giving the painting a rest while working on the other sizes. I need to study and figure out what it is I don't really like about the composition of this painting. I also think the group of trees on the right are very stiff -- almost like something you would see in an animated film. They are not quite real to me.

Tonight I loaded a photo of it into Photoshop Elements and created a larger shadow area which would connect the trees on the right with the lone tree on the left. I like that better, so tomorrow, I will create more shadow linking the two shapes. Here it is before doing that -- and also a gray-scale image of the painting as it is now.

I'll be sure to show you in another post whatever I do to this painting. Just because I am spending time on it, does not mean it will ever be allowed to leave my studio as a finished piece. I have no qualms about sanding it off and starting another painting! There is a lot to be learned just by doing it. I like some of my brushwork -- mostly on the left and in the middle ground and sky areas.

Sometimes when I am working in oil, I get this feeling that I am a fraud -- calling myself an artist. I actually talked to a very good friend today and told him what I was feeling and of the troubles I felt today. Terry Ludwig is such a wonderful friend and always gives me good advice. He said he had made some pastels in a square and printed on it "artist's block" -- since writers can have it, why can't artists? He also asked me what size brush I was using -- and when I told him #18, he said to extend it with some duct tape so I could stand further away while painting! Good idea.

Now, here are the other three paintings and the gray scale of each one. You can let me know what you think. I always care!

Saturday Demo at High Country Art in Blue Ridge, GA

Saturday, July 10, I will be painting live -- doing a demonstration -- at the gallery that represents me in Blue Ridge, GA. The gallery is High Country Art & Antiques Gallery. It would be a great day trip to the cooler mountains of North Georgia. I will be painting with pastels this demonstrations, so come watch me start new paintings -- and hopefully finish at least one or two. I will be creating paintings in the 9x12 or 11x14 or smaller sizes.

Here a couple of samples of some of my recent work:

The first painting is a scene I created from two different photographs. One had the little farm drive and trees, and the other photo has the barely seen barn and truck. I thought they could be a good combination. This painting is a 16x20 pastel and is framed and hanging in High Country Art at this time.

The next painting is a demonstration I started at the Oglethorpe University when I was sitting for the Southeastern Pastel Society's International Show. I think this painting is finished, but it is unframed and sitting in my studio for daily evaluation when I walk by. This was a photo I took a few years ago at a sunflower farm near Rutledge, GA. I was intrigued by the sun hitting that one side of the little potting shed and what you can see through the windows into the shed.

This is the type of scenery that really draws me in. I am a confirmed "tree" lover and most of my paintings will have at least a couple of trees. If not that, then it will be a scene of rocks and water -- as in North Georgia streams -- the kind you want to take your shoes off and go wading in! Here is a photo of one of my paintings in this type of scenery:

I hope you can come to Blue Ridge and High Country Art on Saturday and watch me create paintings. I love to talk while I am painting and answer questions. It makes me feel good to discuss the process of painting and share my passion with others. People are part of what makes creating art possible. Your pleasure in viewing what I have created is one of the things that keeps me creating. Of course, it goes without saying that I must enjoy the creative process. And . . . believe me I do! I can't wait to see what the next painting will turn out to be. We don't always know. We may have a vision of what we intend, but sometimes the painting itself tells us the direction it wants to go in. I always listen.

Come see me this Saturday from 11:00 a.m. until 4 or 5:00 p.m. in downtown Blue Ridge at High Country Art & Antiques Gallery! Say Hello!