Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Giclee Print on Sale, Wildlife Art Print, Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, "Playful Otter" by Carol Schiff, 12x16x.75" Art Print

Otters are one of those cute little animals that we all love to feel have human characteristics.  The way they float on their backs, using their bellies for  a table.  I once read they link paws when they sleep, so they will not float away from each other.

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80 less 25 rebate

This is for a 12x16x1.5" canvas giclee print of my original painting.  It will come to you wired and ready to hang.  The print extends around the sides of the canvas, no frame is required.


CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Monday, May 28, 2018

Same Photo, Different Trip through Photoshop

On a recent trip to Huntley Meadows in Virginia, the geese were posing for photographers with awesome cameras - the ones with giant lenses that make you wish you could see what they see.


I just had my little Fuji XP 120 but I liked this photo for the rippled water and the beautiful reeds in the background.

I took it through Photoshop once using some textured brushes to make it look more like a sketch.


And then again by merging it with the colorful trees bordering the pond.


They will both work when printed to cards, and my little camera takes perfect images for working in Photoshop.

Friday, May 25, 2018

Abstract Sunset, Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, Textured, 14x18 Oil on Canvas



When I think of Florida, I think of the sun rising over the sea.  It's such a special time to spend on the beach.

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Usually, I find myself there alone, with only the soft waves and shore birds to keep me company.  I very special time to  connect with nature and prepare for the day ahead.

detail

With this piece, I used my palette knife to give movement to the painting.



Sunday, May 6, 2018

Life is good in North Carolina, Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, Blue Ridge Highway, 6x8" Oil,

Last fall, we took a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It was a crisp, sunny day and my camera was busy clicking away.

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It's hard to go wrong with a blue and yellow painting.....it just shouts "Cheerful".  The background was painted  with a brush, but I used a palette knife on the flowers and grasses.  That's when it started to be really fun!



I feel like I was able to capture the feel of the day......I hope it made you smile!

Carol Schiff

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Poppy Painting, Small Oil Painting, Flower Painting, Daily Painting, 6x8" Oil on Panel

You know how much I love flowers.  I love to grow them, and paint them.  Since my move to the mountains, I don't have space to grow to many....so I may be painting them more often.

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How could I resist these beautiful poppies?



If you have taken pictures of flowers, that you would like to share with me, I would love to see them.

Carol Schiff

www.CarolSchiffStudio.etsy.com
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Challenge for April, My Favorite Little Piece of a Painting

The challenge is to take a small piece of a painting, and do a new painting based on the small piece.

I visited the Biltmore Conservatory, here in Asheville, and found inspiration, in every direction!

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This painting captured the spirit of the gardens, but I felt
it was too fussy for my taste.


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So I went back to my photo reference and focused on a small area, tightened up my painting and came up with this.

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But wait!  I still had more to say.  I returned to my photo reference, picked up a larger brush, and decided to go abstract.  I started by placing spots of color.  As I painted, it tightened up until it resembled flowers.  I stopped before I said too much.

Which do you prefer?



Carol Schiff
www.CarolSchiffStudio.etsy.com
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com


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The painting I chose was more of a seascape than a figurative painting, so I emphasized the child in my new little painting. Below is the original.

Carmen Beecher
carmenbeecher.com

Challenge for April




This was a strange idea for a watercolorist.  I often do several small studies for a large painting, so this was the opposite.  "Dahlias" was painted some years ago and hangs in a friend's bedroom.

For the small painting I chose one flower from the original to paint.  I sent it to my Granddaughter for her birthday as soon as it was photographed.

Mary Warnick


I looked through all of my old paintings and I could not seem to find one that inspired me but I did have an idea.  What if I tried painting one of my collages.  That really intrigued me.  Collages can look like a painting from a distance but when you get closer you see all of the different elements that make up a collage.  You want a painting to be seamless almost effortless the opposite of what a collage is. 

The torn look of lights and shadows are done with different colors of the same paint in the painting. With different colors of the same paper in a collage.

When you look at the painting it is almost jarring.  I did not do the writing but maybe I should have because it adds a lot more to the spirit of the collage than I realized.

donnavinesart.Etsy.com

Flying Aardvark
Watercolor and Ink
6" x 6"
This image came from a friend's large ink drawing. She cut it up and gave everyone a couple of squares. It was black and white and entirely abstract. This little creature jumped out at me, waiting to be created in color. I love how one can take an abstract image and "see" things to bring out in it. Also, it is a learning experience to look at part of something you created and recreate it in a different way.
Jean Thomas
ozworks22@cfl.rr.com

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I'm still working on this challenge because I'm really slow at calling my acrylics finished. The original is a painting of some beautiful orchids growing in a tree in my brother's yard. It's 20x20 and I started it two years ago and am still not finished playing with it.


I found a section in the lower right corner that I thought would make a good small abstract. Below is the current state of that section painted on a 14x11 art panel.

Kathy Garvey

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Several months ago I posted this finished collage of Majorca. 


My favorite  of this work is the section with the sailboats. In the original, the large sailboat is from the face of a clock and the shadow is a parrot.


In my recent collage of that detail, I used rose petals for the sails, a washed silk dress for the water, an designer dyed alligator handbag for the sand and an excerpt from Leonardo da
Vinci's notebooks for the sky. I love choosing not only the colors and forms for my collages, but 
also using juxtapositioning of surprising and diverse subject matter. 


Fay Picardi

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. ...