Our Challenge for April, Complementary Colors

For April, we were challenged to produce art using opposite colors on the color wheel (plus white if needed). Click on any image to enlarge it.

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Carmen's response to the challenge:

I chose red-purple and yellow-green. A mix of those colors plus white produced the neutral color in the background.

Butterfly Tree

 Carmen Beecher

www.carmensart.etsy.com

www.carmenbeecher.com

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Kathy's response to the challenge.

I gave this three tries.
My first was a 10x10 watercolor in purple and yellow using a game I like to play for inspiration. 

My second effort, a tiny 6x6 inch watercolor in blue and orange.

Still in progress a large 20x23 inch acrylic in a blue chosen to complement Pantone's new coral.

A Snail Fantasy (20x23 acrylic on watercolor paper)

Kathy Garvey

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spoonflower.com/profiles/kgarvey

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Donna's response to the challenge:

This challenge to me seemed made for Cezanne, Gauguin or Matisse.  For some reason I think of pure straight color when I think of them.  To really experiment I decided to do a copy of a famous painting I had done before, Madame Matisse.  I just loved the simple use of color. 

Below on the left is Madame Matisse in Blue and Orange with a little white. (On the right is my prior rendition.) I made her eyes and mouth a little bigger this time to show off the color differences.  I was really surprised when what seemed to be a simple use of color was much more complex. Scary isn't she!!

Donna Vines

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Mary's Response to the challenge:

Red and green are traditional complementary colors - opposite each other on the color wheel. I experimented with some others, such as blue-violet and and yellow-orange (opposite tertiary colors), but I liked the radishes best.

Radishes (in progress) by Mary Warnick

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At last, I am posting for the April challenge. I was recently introduced to Alex Katz, an self defined post abstract artist who is all the rage in Paris right now. Lectures, exhibits, interviews. I saw his work in the Orangerie and at the Louis Vuitton Fondation. His Homage to Monet 2009 inspired my response to this month's challenge. 

 Alex Katz, Homage to Monet, 2009

After Alex Katz, Silver Birch in Spring, 2019

Fay Picardi

Beach Oil Painting, Florida Painting, Small Oil Painting, Daily Painting, 6x8" Tropical Painting

I recently returned home from four wonderful days on Amelia Island, Florida.  The ocean is often very calm there....not a good surfing place.  One evening we stood on the beach and watched dusk descend over the water.

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It was the first time I have been inspired to do a landscape in quite awhile.  I felt very relaxed, just painting this peaceful scene.  Hope you like it!

Have a great day!

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

Love and Hope

By Cindy Michaud

Art Print "Love Grows" by Cindy Michaud

Love Grows When it is Given Away....

Art with a Heart! Selling these special prints is my way of helping my son and his wife become parents via adoption. Choosing adoption today means incurring fees totaling $40,000 in addition to the costs associated with baby-needs. 

This Grandma-to-be imagined two colorful blossoms encircling a third, tiny one.  Share my excitement and help put a dent in the expenses by purchasing one of these high quality, hand signed prints that will come matted in an appropriate color.  The almost 5 x 7 design will easily slip into your 8 x 10 frame for display or gifting.

The print has two versions, each with its own special message. The price of $35.00 includes USPS shipping; $30.00 of each sale will go directly to the fees incurred as Alex and Daniel prepare for their new addition. Click here for more information and to visit the Shop page.

"Catchfly" or The Joys of Sketchbooks and Retreats

by Kathy Garvey

Two years ago I went on a great, but way too short, one week retreat in a cabin at WildAcres in North Carolina. I had a beautiful fully furnished cabin, three glorious meals a day and all day long to wander the woodlands…all while being entertained by the Kumandi Drummers who were also on retreat that week.  And, I had a new sketchbook that could handle wet media! (Click any image to enlarge it.)

While there I photographed and sketched plants and critters (like marmarated stinkbugs) we don't see in Florida. When I got back, I started painting from them.

The great thing about a sketchbook is you can revisit it whenever you want. And this week, while packing my Stillman and Birns sketchbook for another retreat, I did just that. I remembered loving the shape of these beautiful little flowers that I had trouble identifying. Then I discovered it's common name was "Catchfly"...Yuck! I started working with one of my little ideas for them.

(I totally forgot that I had already done just that. Below are my images from 2017. And I called them Evening Lychnis because it sounds so much prettier than Bladder Campion or Catchfly!)

I was really surprised after remembering the first versions above to see the difference two years has made in my depiction of the same little sketch. Below is the mixed media version I just started and finished this week.

And here it is after a round of playing with the same painting in Photoshop.

I'm really looking forward to my upcoming retreat at the beautiful Furnace Mountain Zen Retreat Center in Kentucky! What wonders will I find scouring the Kentucky woods? 

You can visit the websites for both marvelous places.

http://www.furnacemountainzen.org/

http://www.wildacres.org/

For information about Artists Residencies at Wildacres, visit
http://www.wildacres.org/workshops/residency.html

Artichoke Giclee' Canvas Print, Still Life Giclee Canvas Print, Artichokes of Roma by Carol Schiff, daily painting

I have been very busy adding giclee' prints to my Etsy site.  It has given me an opportunity to review some of my sold paintings.  I have enjoyed visiting with these "old friends" and though I would post a few.

Today  I wanted to show you this painting from a trip I took to Roma a few years ago.  I rented an apartment in Campo di Fiori, which is historical piazza.  One morning, I was surprised to see the piazza had been turned into a farmer's market for the day.  These were real farmers selling their fresh, beautiful produce.  I took lots of photos and when I returned home this was the first painting I created.

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The painting has sold, but I am happy to offer it as a giclee' canvas print in numerous sizes. If you look closely, you may be able to see a few Italian words that I hid in the painting.

The giclee's are high quality canvas and inks, professionally printed, gallery wrapped and finished with a semi-gloss protective coating.  They come to you ready to hang.  This piece is available from 8x10x1.5" to over 24x36x1.5".

Happy Day!

www.CarolSchiffStudio.etsy.com

Seascape Oil Painting, Coastal Painting, Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, 12x16"

My favorite path to the sea, during my stay in Florida last winter.  Heaven!!

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The frame is not included, but shown only as an example.

This is a 12x16x.75 original oil painting, with some texture in areas.

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Carol Schiff
www.CarolASchiff.com
www.ArtPal.com/carolaschiff

Panoramic Seascape Painting, Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, Impressionist Seascape, 8x16x.75" Oil

I am trying to break my current addiction to painting flowers, so I dug through my files and found a great image of the ocean.  I have a new (for me) size canvas, 8x16" that I thought would work well for the image.

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detail

detail

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I have to admit, I enjoyed painting this scene.  My choices of subject matter are always based on emotion and on this day......the waves filled my need for action.

Thanks for reading my blog today....If I were in Florida, I'd be off to the beach.

www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com