Challenge for December: Joy to the World

 Joy to the World

Our Pieces of Eight Challenge for December was to paint something that gives us joy!

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Carmen Beecher’s Painting

Since having a health crisis in November, I have not been able to paint. My recovery will take a while, so I am posting one of my favorites from the 1990s, when I was doing magazine cover illustrations. Our dog starred in this one.

Carmenbeecher.com

Carmensart.etsy.com

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Kathy Garvey's Response to the Challenge:

I haven't painted this month because I am busy prepping all my tiny polymer clay robots for the Robot Love exhibit at the Foosenar Gallery starting January 16, 2021.  One of The Pieces of 8, Fay Picardi, encouraged me to contact the sponsoring group, about my several hundred "zip-robots" I've been making ever since my daughter took a temporary job as a baggage handler at the Melbourne Airport in 2018. So I sent them some photos. I was excited and surprised that they want all 250. (Thank you, Fay.) For more information on the Robot Love exhibit and events, check it out here at https://www.facebook.com/RobotLoveArt/.

Just a few of the miniature zip-robots I've been making this month. They are so fun to make that they bring me Joy!
Each one is inspired by a lost zipper pull recovered from our own MLB airport and doomed for the dustbin.  

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Donna Vines Response to the Challenge:

I have felt satisfaction, relief, happiness, pride and many other things when I have finished certain paintings but joy is a whole different feeling.  I think I have only felt that a few times and one of them is when I did a collage for my niece when she was expecting her first baby.  It had been a long, hard fought, painful and emotional battle for her and her husband but it was finally happening.  I wanted to do something for the baby's room and I had had some wonderful photos of our pet sheep with their lambs.  I smiled the whole time I worked on this little collage for Josiah.

Lucy and Max
for Josiah

Donnavinesart@etsy.com

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Jean's response to the challenge:

For the holidays, I tried a different creative approach. These are origami and not quite origami trees I made for 
Christmas cards. It all starts with a square, with folds and cuts. I ended up making an entire forest!

Happy New Year! Let’s hope 2021 will have more joy for us!

Challenge for November: Hyper-realistic Painting

 The goal of the Pieces of 8 challenge for November is to paint something hyper-realistic. And oh, there are so many definitions of what that could mean! Is it something that looks totally real, like you could pick it up off the paper? Or something that looks real but has an added dimension? As the term has many definitions, it's up to each artist to determine what "hyper-realistic" means to them and paint accordingly. 

Carmen Beecher's Challenge Entry

Glass and it's shadows and reflections are always a challenge!

Kathy Garvey's Challenge Entry

I totally love, follow and admire the works of great hyper-realistic artists like Marcello Barenghi. Accomplishing that level of realism eludes me. But, I'm practicing for this challenge. Here's my progress so far...

First attempt: I tried to recreate my eraser in my sketchbook
(before I realized I had zero interest in hand drawing text).

Second attempt: That's a real Oak leaf on right top. A real pond snail shell is on the left bottom.
My attempts at realism are opposite each. 

The results here make me realize I stop myself before going dark enough. Since this is watercolor, I need to be patient and add another 10 or so layers of color to match reality.  Patience is not a virtue of mine, but maybe, I'll keep at it for this challenge. If I improve, I'll post it below.

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"ELIZABETH'S KITCHEN"

by Denette Schweikert

I painted this picture from a photograph I took while staying with my son and family in Atlanta.  Since I paint hyper-realistically anyway, this is my hyper-realistic painting. 

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Donna Vines

Rocky

Realism is so not my thing but I do have one painting that fits the category.  My brother-in-law has always had cats and when I was visiting once I took some photos of the majestic "Rocky".  I decided that I would surprise him with a portrait for his birthday.  He really treasured this painting not because I painted it but because he really loved Rocky.

Rocky 

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Herb Series I

A few weeks ago I decided I wanted to try watercolor again and especially with a collaged background. I used a special water paper ground to prepare the paper on which I had already collaged artificially aged pages from a book about the use of herbs in the Middle Ages. Quite an enlightening book. Now all I had to do was make some art, in this case, Basil.

Herb Series I by Fay Picardi

Well, this is it: the most realistic you are going to get from me. Not Surrealistic, hyper-realistic or even Photo-realistic, but lots of fun. I will be redoing this painting because the background is too light and the movement of the watercolor is not to my liking. 

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My Fall Inspiration

My Fall Inspiration

Here are some beautiful fall leaves that I picked up around the cabin in Tennessee. These were a gift from Mother Nature! It was a real treat to see the leaves, especially since we have been so restricted in most of our travels. This is my realistic painting in Watercolor.  Jean Thomas

Something Fishy This Way Comes

by Kathy Garvey

I have been busy working on projects unrelated to art and in wanting to get back to it, explored my old online portfolios. I was surprised how many fish there were. I haven't done a fish in ages. Here are a few, all from 2010. 

I just noticed that they are all facing right! I also noticed they are all done in Photoshop and Illustrator which I have been trying to wean myself off of because of the monthly cost. But, these make me remember how much fun I have with them.

I hear Procreate is a much more affordable creative tool and it works on an Ipad. I've downloaded it and just need to learn it. And when I do, I could maybe point one to the left and see what happens! Perhaps there are more fish in my future.

 

Challenge for October, Small 10x3 Inch Artwork

It is a lot of fun to completely change the usual format for a painting. Our challenge this month was to create 10x3-inch art.

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Donna Vines Collage

Just after we got our challenge for October I received a special card.  As soon as I saw it I knew it would be my 10x3 collage for this month.  I loved the muted colors and simple design. 

Black Vase 10x3

mixed media college

donnavinesart@Etsy.com

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Carmen Beecher's Painting

Alaska Landscape

It was a magical time when my cousins took us on a tour around their state, beautiful Alaska. This particular day was cloudy but a break in the clouds created a beautiful path of light in the valley. Just the kind of drama I like in a painting.

carmenbeecher.com

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 Very Horizontal and fun!

Just trying to capture some beautiful fall colors. Driving in the neighborhood, the trees are turning more vivid by the day! Here are the colors applied to some Thanksgiving pumpkins that I imagined via Procreate... Jean Thomas

Kathy Garvey

A 10x3 format works well for a single line doodle. The shape this one took, the long time it took me to fill it in, and the randomness of it made me think it had something to do with the times!

"Doodling in the Time of Covid"
10x3 inch Watercolor on 140 lb Cold Press Paper

The 10x3" format also lent itself to one of my favorite inspirations, Liguus Tree Snails. 

"Hide and Seek"
10x3 inch Watercolor on 140 lb Cold Press Paper
www.snailflower.etsy.com

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I Like Dreaming

My inspiration for this challenge is a charming oil on wood landscape of the Bay of Naples. I definitely don't have the talent or the patience to replicate something as well executed as this little gem, but I was inspired to start reminiscing about this and other favorite views from my travels.

Dreamin'

by 

Fay Picardi

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From Mary Warnick

This is a 10x3 Watercolor of the beach view from my window.

Florida Road, Original Oil Landscape Painting 10x8 Oil on Canvas Panel

This is one of my favorite places, North Captiva Island. It represents Peace. Relaxation. Beauty. Seclusion. Exquisite Beaches. Expensive Food (nothing's perfect). 

Carmen

Draw the Fall

by Kathy Garvey

I'm just back from a trip to Maryland and Virginia where the leaves were just starting to change colors and fall to the ground. It's one of my favorite times of year. And I love leaf shapes. I gathered some pretty ones on my many walks. 

Later,  I slid them into the pages of my sketchbook to flatten them. 

And when I had time to draw, I gathered them up and played with arranging them on my pages. 

But I didn't sketch. I took the easy way out and just traced around my leaves. 
Next, I drew some of the veins in, and then filled in the sections with designs.
Easy, fun, satisfying. 

(Note that some people refer to this type of art as a "Zentangle".
Way before that word existed, it was just called doodling!)

Find some leaves and give it a try for yourself!

Talkeetna Cafe, Alaska Landscape Oil Painting on Canvas Panel by Carmen Beecher

                                 

This is an out-of-the-way spot in Alaska, Talkeetna, a little town at the base of North America's tallest peak, Denali. This cafe was rustic, beautiful, and served delicious food. 

Carmen

 

Coq au Vain

by Fay Picardi

Here he is, the rooster that incorporates three challenges; the gold, the crazy color and the chicken one. Just check out the strut, not to mention the eye, and you will see why I have called him the Coq au Vain. The collage looks simple, but paraphrasing Dolly Parton, "It takes a lot of time to look this easy." 

(This is a repost. The one posted with the rest of the challenges was somehow erased.)

Bwauk!! Late chickens and some other fun, by Jean Thomas

 I was working on these chickens, really I was. Lately though, I'm not good at drawing in the car, which is where I've been lately. The chickens in hats were inspired by my old "chickens in underwear and high heels" sketch. (don't ask where that idea came from!) I saw a picture of some women in big hats and that was the inspiration for the three. Hope to make you smile. 

                                                        Chickens in Hats

Chickens in Pants

Bonus Sketch
This guy was inspired by a new ink pen I received.

Happy Fall!

Challenge for September, Chickens

 The theme for this month's challenge is, simply, Chickens.

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Carmen Beecher's Chicken

Are YOU Talking to ME?

I love the comical look that chickens can have, and this one made me think of Robert di Niro's classic scene in Taxi Driver. Sometimes the title comes before the painting.

CarmenBeecher.blogspot.com

CarmenBeecher.com

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Kathy Garvey's Chickens

Rulers of the Roost  6"x16" Watercolor on 140 lb Cold Press Paper

I went and photographed chickens for this challenge, and sketched up my plans, but then ran out of time for painting as I'm prepping for a trip and will be out of town before the challenge ends. Since I haven't painted chickens in over twenty years, I had to dig deep to find a stand in for the challenge. Here it is...from 2001! 

More Watercolors and Home Goods at  www.snailflower.etsy.com.

Fabric Designs at http://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/kgarvey.

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Donna Vines Chicken

Miss Chicken 

12x14 collage

I used this beautiful paper that reminded me of eggs in a nest as the nest.

I wanted to do a collage chicken for my challenge.   Up until now I had only done landscapes or stationary objects, doing this was a great lesson in the difference between a living subject and a teapot. I am o.k. with my first attempt but am going to try again using my lessons learned. 

donnavinesart.etsy.com

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"CHAIN AND ROPE" 

by Denette Schweikert

8" X 10" 

This has been really fun painting.  I think I took the picture on a family trip in the coast of New England twenty years ago. Going over old photos, I have found so old gems that I am starting to paint. 

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Gelli Plates mania

 New toys are a dangerous thing to an artist and there is no such thing as too much of a good thing!! I got my new Gelli plates a few days ago and I have been playing ever since.  I have been making lots of new papers trying everything from rice paper to copy paper.  I have also been experimenting with lots of different textures, design and next is lifting magazine photos.

I can justify all this because A. I have lots of papers from rice, tissue, cotton and copy  B. I need these papers for my collages and I know I can squeeze them in with my reams of other papers which I have for my collages  C. I have lots of unused acrylic paint and..... D.  I wanted the darn Gelli's.

There are lots and lots of YouTube videos out there to help you with anything you might want to do or try.  They are a lot of fun and the results are always interesting if not beautiful.

The tools of the trade
  Gelli plate, brayer and acrylic paints

tissue paper with two colors

tissue paper with bubble wrap texture 

the gelli plate is clear and clean when you get it and cleans off pretty easily

this piece is for a special project.