Wednesday, November 30, 2016

A Painting Workshop with Elio Camacho

A few weeks ago, my friends Carmen and Donna and I drove to Fernandina Beach, FL to attend a 4 day workshop with Elio Camacho.   Elio is one of my favorite painters and my very favorite instructor and I have been lucky enough to attend with workshops twice a year for the past three years.



 I started each day with this beautiful sunrise over the ocean, while eating breakfast at the hotel.


 This is one of Elio's 36x48" demos that he paints in just three hours!




Here Elio met a challenge to paint without darks.  He often states a painting should bring it's own light.  I think this one meets that requirement


 Another of his larger than life paintings.


This was a 25 minute demo he did for us on foam core.  He pushed the color even more than usual and got wild and crazy.


His brushwork is very exciting...something I am hoping to bring to my work.


Elio spent a year painting blue studies, then moved on and studied yellows and reds.  He likes to set up still life, to challenge his students, all in a single color.  He believes red is the most difficult color to paint.  If you can do a red painting, you can really see color.  This is a 20 minute demo he did for us one day.


We hated to leave the workshop after 3.5 intense and fun days.  To console ourselves, we had a final lunch of fried shrimp at our favorite eatery.


A final photo of Carmen and Donna, de-stressing with  ice cream in front of Island Art Association.  We thank the members for hosting us once again.  Then we hop into our car for the drive home.



One last classic Elio demo that he painted in about 15 minutes, out of his head.  I almost cried when he scrapped it off the next morning.

Needless to say, we are excited to return for his next Florida workshop in the spring.  You can find his workshop schedule here.




Carol Schiff
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Friday, November 25, 2016

Abstract Painting, Four Seasons Series - Winter, Small Abstract Oil Paintings, 4x12x.75" Oil on Canvas

This is the final installment of my Four Seasons Series, Winter.

With each painting, I tried to capture the feeling, of the season of the year, using only color.  It was a fun project to do.

Winter
 This is not a good picture of "Winter" The actual painting has much more color variation and saturation.  Try as I might, I could not get a better image.

Spring

Tried to capture that "spring" feeling of new grass, flowering trees etc.

Summer

Summer...hot and salty....time for the beach!

Autumn

Autumn, falling leaves against bright blue skies.
Thanks for viewing my art today!




Carol Schiff

Monday, November 21, 2016

Seascape Oil Painting, Daily Painting, Wave Painting, "Wall of Water" 16x20x.75" Oil SOLD

Lately, I have been painting seascapes.  I always love painting and viewing seascapes.  It's almost as soothing to me as a trip to the beach.

SOLD
 Of course, the first step for me IS a trip to the beach.  I  pick a day with my trusty camera and head for the sand.  I count myself lucky if I get a few interesting shots.

detail
For this painting, I used images from a trip to Barbados.




For the time being, I have hung this on my studio wall.  It transports me to the sea each time I see it.
Isn't art wonderful?!

Thanks for viewing my art today.

www.CarolSchiffStudo.blogspot.com




Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Teapot Painting | Still Life Oil Painting | Antique French Teapot by Carol Schiff | 16x16x1.5" Oil

 Today, I have something special for you.


Purchase here
450 minus 40 rebate
It is painted on gallery wrap canvas, with the sides painted black, which gives the option of hanging with or without a frame.

To purchase this painting, click on the link above and you will be charged $450. plus shipping charges.


Thanks for reading my blog today.




www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Monday, November 14, 2016

An Autumn Drive Up the Blue Ridge Parkway

Today's post is not about art....well not about my art.  It is the art of Mother Nature.  I want to show you some of the sights in the mountains this time of year.


 Who can resist these colors?


The Methodist Curch in Waynesville has the best pumpkin patch every year.





 Beauty is everywhere.

Even tiny little trees catch your eye.



We enter Smoky Mt Natl Park.


Now were are on the Blue Ridge Parkway.



As we climb in elevation, the show gets more intense.


Ohhhs and  ahwws  in every direction.


It is a photographer's delight.






My husband and I.

The show that never ends!



Back in Waynesville, the show is equally stunning!



Nature at it's best.  I much prefer this to the other show of nature we saw a few weeks ago....Hurricane Matthew!

I hope you enjoyed this little trip.

Thanks for viewing my blog today.

Carol Schiff

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Sky Painting, Small Oil Painting, Daily Painting, 8x8x1.5" Oil Painting

An early morning beach photo shoot was the inspiration for this piece.  Thank you to Pat Garvey for sharing his image with me.

Purchase here
 One of the biggest problems of selling art online, is representing your art with correct colors.  I didn't realize how big a problem this would be.

I tried for over an hour to edit this piece correctly, and was only partially successful.    Blues seem to be the colors that always give me problems in my photography.

The image above is washed out compared to the actual piece, which is sitting here next to me.  My problem was trying to get the blue gray on the lower right corner to read correctly...which is right on with my monitor.  But that means I have lost some beautiful warm rust and mauve hues in the dark cloud.



In this detail, the mauves and orangey rust shades are correct, but the blue on the right side is way too strong. Also the pale yellows are not warm enough.  What to do?  I have no answers.

Even if I am able to get the colors correct on my monitor, they may not be what you are seeing on your monitor.

So I do my best to represent what I see and offer my customers a full refund if they are unhappy.

I think most buyers understand this issue as fortunately, I have not had a painting returned in almost 10 years.

If any of you have a solution, I would love to hear it.

After writing this post, I tried again to edit my image, and finally have settled on this as the best representation of the painting.  It is better, but still does not reflect all the color variations.

Still missing mauve and purple colors in the dark cloud area and aqua tints behind the pelican.


Thanks for reading my blog today.

Carol Schiff
www.CarolSchiffStudiio.blogspot.com

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Apple on Tree Landscape, Small Oil Painting, Daily Painting, 9x12x.75" Oil Painting SOLD

During our stay in the mountains last month, we visited the apple orchard several times.  The apples are great, but the bakery is my favorite.......apple cider doughnuts, apple cake and apple fritters...YUM!

I like to think this apple ended up in one of my favorite goodies.








The weather is beautiful and we really appreciate the sunny, cool days.  Perfect fall weather.  We really appreciate it after spending a week in Florida with humid weather and a major hurricane.

Have a great day.

Carol  Schiff
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com



Saturday, November 5, 2016

Italian Girl With Flowers, 11x14 Oil on Canvas, after Sorolla by Carmen Beecher



Sold

I've had no time for painting this week, so I am posting a throwback to 2008, when our painting group, Pieces of Eight, decided to copy Impressionist masters as a learning exercise. I love Sorolla, so I copied one of my favorites, with the above result. Below is the original by Sorolla.


I also copied John Singer Sargent, the master portrait artist. The best thing I've ever done is team up with seven women with the same passion for painting that I have. It has been such an enriching experience in so many ways, and I have learned so much.

I'm working on a huge project that is going to take months, and I'll tell you all about it when it's done.

Carmen

Friday, November 4, 2016

Daily Painting, Fiddlehead Fern Painting, Small OIl Painting, 11x14 Oil NFS

This small oil painting came about because of a trip I took to North Carolina in the spring. I live in Florida, so we don't get a lot of spring flowers, and when I saw this bed of ferns coming to life, I had to paint them.

NFS
I was surprised how quickly they grew, with obvious growth from day to day.

I decided to use a dark background to really highlight the ferns and keep my palette restricted to greens, blues and purples. I have been pleased with the results of this painting, which is a departure from my usual style. Blues are very difficult to photograph accurately and although the background color appears to be a deep blue, the actual color is close to a black,

This piece is available  at the link above as an original, or here as a giclee'  canvas print in the size of your choice.

Thanks for viewing my blog today.  I hope you take time every day,  to smell the roses.


MY PRINTS


www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

My Trip to Three Sister Vineyards


Do you remember my announcement that my painting has been selected for a wine lable?  Well here it is, in all it's glory!  It is a pineapple infused chardonnay, and my new favorite wine.


 Thank you to Three Sisters Vineyards for choosing my work for their label!


Naturally, I had to make a trip to the vineyard, and I am so happy I did.



Three Sisters Vineyard in Dahlonega, GA is a great experience  for everyone. This weekend, they have food trucks and live music.









The grounds are charming.



The new barn for events of all kinds, including weddings.



The perfect place to enjoy your bottle of wine.....just outside the tasting room.


Touches of Fall are everywhere.  We Floridians eat that up!



Inside the tasting room, we were warmly greeted by the family.  Did I mention this is a family business?  Can you tell everyone is enjoying their selections.



There is no end to the charming views of this historic property.





184 acres of North Georgia Mountain vineyard beauty and the oldest continuously operated vineyard and winery on the Dahlonega Plateau.


Overlooked by Three Sisters Mountains





It was not easy pulling my husband away.  Neither of us wanted to end this wonderful and relaxing afternoon.

A special thanks to Doug and Sharon for sharing their fabulous piece of heaven.

Carol Schiff


Ballard Park, Original Oil on Canvas

  I had not painted outside in two years, so this was quite a challenge. It was one of those paintings I had to improve upon in the studio. ...