Tuesday, July 31, 2018

July Challenge, The Half-Face Makeover

This month we were challenged to cut out half of a face, glue it to a support, then do the other half in a creative technique of our choice.

The Cheeky Chick

When I first saw the photo of this young woman, I thought Angles, Angles, Angles. Just look at the parallelogram formed by the sides and bottom of the cheekbones and the chin. And that ain't all, baby. There are obtuse rectangles everywhere! 

So I started cutting out shapes. Angled shapes. And things just feel into place.


I had meant to create a futuristic looking face, using metals and angular shapes. But as I look at her,
 I see images of the Byzantine Madonnas or Modigliani's women. Iconic. What fun!

Fay Picardi



I have long been fascinated with Matisse and in particular with his portrait of Madame Matisse.  Why did he paint her in colors? Was that how he saw her or was she a woman of many moods.  Was she young or middle aged when he painted this?  It always reminded me of the Picture of Dorian Grey.  How he never changed but his picture did.  Is that what was happening?
When I came across this beautiful photo of Joan Crawford, yes Joan Crawford minus eyebrows and big shoulders.  I thought about how lovely and innocent she looked when she was young and for some reason it made me think of Madame Matisse.  
I glued half of the photo of Joan onto a support and painted the other half as Matisse painted his wife.  I thought how wonderful it would be if all that had happened to her showed in the painting and she could be the same inside.

Madame Matisse

Joan Crawford




Picture of Joan

Donnavinesart.blogspot.com
Donnavinesart.Etsy.com

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by Kathy Garvey
Once is never enough. Since faces are totally out of my realm, first I had to experiment in my sketchbook to see if I could work with the idea.

Then I had to try it out on my inexpensive 6x9 watercolor pad.


Only after that did I attempt it on a good piece of watercolor paper.

I'm not going to do anything with it as it is because I find the contrast between magazine paper and watercolor a little jarring. But, I did have fun softening that into the version below in Photoshop. 
 
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I did the challenge in oils, pasting the photo half to canvas and finishing the other side in blocks of color.
Color My World, 8x10

I notice that everyone else so far has done the right side of the face. My theory is that right-handed people tend to do that. I'm not left-handed, but my reason for creating the left side of the face is quite simple; it was the side with shadows, which made it easier to create different values defining the face.

This technique was so much fun that I think I'll do a whole face this way next. 

Carmen Beecher
carmenbeecher.blogspot.com
carmenbeecher.com








The first challenge was to find an interesting face that the view was straight on. Here's an ad with a pouty girl. Her expression caught my eye. So I folded it in half, and decided to see what happened when I tried to match it in watercolor.

It was pretty dark with not much detail, so I had to elaborate.
I worked on this while in the Keys, so I was inspired by a sea turtle we saw while out in the boat.
That's the fun of being an artist. Everything is dependent upon interpretation!
Jean Thomas
Pieces of Eight


"Symmetrical"  
Denette Schweikert

Friday, July 27, 2018

Rose Paintings, Floral Paintings, Flower Paintings, Small oil Painting, Daily Painting



I know, I know!  We are all so caught up in our daily lives, rushing around.  Take a deep breath, and relax awhile.

TAKE TIME TO SMELL THE ROSES!  Here are a few of my past paintings.  Maybe they will help.






















Enjoy the Day!



CAROL SCHIFF
www.CarolSchiffStudio.etsy.com
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Sunday, July 22, 2018

I never know when to quit

by Kathy Garvey

I was in the mood to paint, so I did. But I seldom call a painting finished because I don't know when to quit. This is my process for the past few days. Did I go too far? Not far enough? I never know!

So, I had some good watercolor paper and didn't want to just doodle on it. When I'm ready to paint and have no plan, I browse through my sketchbook. I decided to use this idea from November of last year based on one of my photos from May of the prior year. (I'm a hoarder when it comes to photos of flowers.)
I've also been having fun again with those so called calligraphy pens - The Elegant Writer. It bleeds...and in color...so it's no good for spending hours on a nice piece of calligraphy. But for painting, it's sort of a joy and surprise every time.

First you draw with the pen, then you wet it and it bleeds color. I like to also add additional watercolors to my brush as I paint over the pen. This was my first result.
Not enough. Added more, studied it, added more, studied it. That's my problem. It always seems to need more.


Now it needs something more still...a butterfly, lady bug, bumble bee. Yes, that's it. A bumble bee! I sketched one out and played with its position before adding it in.
Am I done? I don't want to mess it up, but I feel like it needs something else. I take it into Photoshop to experiment. Lots of experimenting later, I like the look of the oil paint filter and some watercolory washes around the edges.
Back to the painting and this is where I'm at. 
Did I go too far? Am I done? It's not signed yet. So, it's not done! And that's where most of my watercolors stand.

Friday, July 20, 2018

Sweet Orange Blossoms, 8x10 Oil on Canvas, Fruit Painting by Carmen Beecher

Have you ever walked through an orange grove when the trees are in bloom? It is the sweetest smell, rivaling any flower known for having a perfumed aroma. Nowadays I see the groves giving in to condos and housing developments, and it's a shame, because trees and fruit are much healthier than concrete block and pavement. I remember walking through orange groves as a kid and running into these fancy-looking spiders hanging between trees in their webs. It's a Spiney Orb Weaver spider, and it looks worse than it is.
Carmen

Monday, July 9, 2018

A Painting Workshop to Remember

Today, I am repeating a post, from a few years ago.  I think it is worthy of your attention, again.  Enjoy!

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 was a 20 minute demo he did for us.


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

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Colorado Landscape, Small Oil Painting, Daily Painting, Mountain Painting, Flower Painting

I am in to mountains these days.  I am, after all , surrounded by them since my move to NC.

Purchase here

 These mountains, however are in Colorado.....the famous Rockies.

detail
This is a 9x12 oil on canvas panel.

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th!




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

Monday, July 2, 2018

Flower Painting, Daisy Painting, Small Oil Painting, Daily Painting, Palette Knife Painting, 12x12x1.5" Original Oil

This is another painting from Savannah's Lafayette Square.  Surrounding the beautiful fountain, in the park, were a bed a daisies.

Purchase here


I decided to paint with a palette knife, to best describe the tangle of greenery.  

detail
I wanted a lively painting, that would give the feeling of the blooms.   I always think of daisies, as cheerful, so I started by painting the ground with cad red.......lots of contrast!

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


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. ...