The Challenge for June: Turn Your Back

This month we are challenged to pick a subject, study it carefully, then turn our back on it and draw or paint it. With no peeking.

Kathy's response to the challenge:
Source Photo: Grabbed this photo found on one of my favorite Facebook sites: "Birds." 

Process: Studied it. Turned my back.  Drew with some fun Tombow Dual Headed Brush Pens on 6"x4" Strathmore Toned Blue paper ... all from Ralph's Art Supply.
This is pretty much my default behavior. I usually study a plant, animal, etc. and then stylize without looking at the source, especially if it's a photo. Since I put him a little too close to the right of the paper, added a few weedy stems for him to add to his nest.

Kathy Garvey 

For more little birds, visit my Etsy shop. 

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"Adeline and Jake"

by Denette Schweikert

This is a "painting" of my grandchildren who live in Seattle.  As you tell, I don't do well painting without seeing a photo right next to me.   

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Carmen's response to the challenge:

I stared at this photo and thought I could remember all the elements in it, but in looking at my painting, I was surprised that I forgot all about the proportions of the building and the tree. Both are too tall! Also, I didn't remember that the treeline tapers down to the left of the tree. 

It's amazing what you don't remember even though you were concentrating. It can shake one's belief in eyewitness testimony!

Carmen Beecher

carmensart.etsy.com

carmenbeecher.com

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 Mary answer to the Challenge.  I loved this challenge as it really teaches one to be more observant.
I didn’t love my result, I need more practice.  For some reason the pictures will not upload.

A little more crow

In keeping with this months challenge I also did a collage featuring crows.  I used Van Gogh's "Wheatfield with crows" as an inspiration for two reasons. First so many people know it and secondly I have always been fascinated with the way you can paint a squiggly line in the sky and it is suddenly a bird.  Everyone who sees it knows it is a bird, yet it is just a V shaped line.
I decided to try Wheatfield as a collage.  I used a lot of busy papers because that is Van Gogh to me.  Motion, movement, color.  The birds are not black but are musical notes and written or printed paper.  They fly through the air carrying messages of song, love, hope.

Wheatfield with Crows after Van Gogh
Notice the busyness of the paper.

All of the crows have a musical or written message on them.

The original is below the collage. Notice that the colors are transposed.

Donnavinesart.Etsy.com
Donnavinesart.blogspot.com

Is it Abstract?

By Kathy Garvey

Since "Abstract" is the title of our monthly Pieces of 8 challenge for January, it's been on my mind.  So, while out walking with my camera and taking pictures this morning, I thought I would use one of my photos of sidewalks (yep!) to make an abstract when I got back home. And then this blog entry was going to be about how something realistic can become something abstract. But, that's not totally what happened.

I started with this photo. (I'm fascinated by cracks in sidewalks!)

After straightening it in Photoshop, I applied some favorite filters and modified the color. Then I applied some patterns to it. All three versions definitely fit the category of "Abstract" to me. (Click on any image to enlarge it.)

That could have been the end of it, but Photoshop is just so fast and so much fun, I took the middle one into a new document, flipped it, rotated it, copied sections and created a new abstract that I liked more.

And that's when my own "interpretation" of this abstract happened. I saw two birds. So, I added "stuff" so that everyone could see two birds.

And that's how my abstract of something real (the sidewalk) turned into something that's not so abstract! Now, time to make that look more like a tree they are sitting in, right? 

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Watch for our group write up on Abstract coming soon! We have a monthly blog challenge and this month it is titled "Abstract." That's it. You could interpret it how you wanted. I don't usually do abstracts except when I'm playing with Photoshop. However, because my frequent designs of birds and flowers aren't realistic but stylized, sometimes people tell me they are abstracts. So, for our blog, I made note of that and put in an image I created that is an actual abstract…in my mind, that's something that might suggest an idea but is open to interpretation. That, with entries from all of my fellow pieces, will appear at the end of this month. January 31st to be exact. 

OK! Couldn't resist...

Happy Day

Last week we decided that instead of painting indoors at The Guild, we would do a photo shoot, weather permitting.  Well the weather did permit and then some.  We spend a glorious day at Sebastian Inlet State Park.
Sebastian Inlet is a natural wonder just about 10 miles down the road from Melbourne. The park has a fishing pier, a huge tidal pool that is just great for kids, the beach and some of the best waves in the area. Being out there today just reinforces how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful area. 
Here are a few shots of our day.  We ended our photo shoot by having lunch at The Sebastian Inn, a great little spot right on the beach.
We missed you Carmen, Cindy and Denette.  We'll just have to do it again.
Donna Vines

Hungary birds keeping an eye on the fishermen
 

View from the fishing pier across the inlet

 The Beach, heavy sigh...

 



Lunch at The Sebastian Inn
 

Inspiration

After our outing on Monday of this week I transfered my photos then started going through them looking for some I might like to paint.  As I was scrolling through I thought about how lucky we were to live in such a beautiful area.  The beach, the ocean, the wildlife, there is so much to see and enjoy.
I thought I might share a few photos from our glorious day at Jetty Park in Cape Canaveral.
Donna Vines

Strolling the beach

Bobbing on the waves



Just hanging

NO TIME FOR DREAMING...

        Since November 27, it's been hustle, hustle, hustle. Thanksgiving is over, today is the last day of Hanukkah, and there are only 20 more days for Santa to get ready for Christmas. What an exciting time of year!
         Speaking of exciting. The Pieces of Eight will be having our annual art sale on Saturday, December 7 from 9-4. at the home of Carol Schiff. Please do come.
          Below is the birdhouse which I created for the sale. For grass, I have substituted quotes birds from well known poems. My favorites is the one by e e cummings. "I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing, than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance."
          I hope to see you Saturday.
                                                                  Fay Picardi
      

Why I love Morguefile.com!

I love the web! There are so many great resources for artists! I could spend all day being inspired by the graphic designers and illustrators on behance.net, or looking at wonderful watercolors and creative doodles on pinterest. One of my favorite places to visit is morguefile.com where photographers post pictures that anyone can use for inspiration.

As an example, a few weeks ago I was building some new brushes in Photoshop and testing out some others. I made this playful graphic. I had placed a little tiny bird brush in it and it was obvious the design needed something more substantial.

I searched morguefile.com for beautiful little birds and found this truly precious one by "rezdora70."

Notice in the capture above that when you find an image you like, you can see the photographer's information, file size, how often the file has been downloaded and what if any restrictions there are on the photo - usually none - other than you can't use it standalone. If you decide you want it, you just have to click the very obvious button that reads "Download Image."

After downloading, I opened the image in Photoshop, flipped it horizontally, desaturated and applied a few favorite filters. He fit right in and completed the image. Thank you, rezdora70!

Sometimes I download beautiful birds I find on the site with plans to work them into something later. This little black capped chickadee by a photographer called "AcrylicArtist" was one of them.

My original thumbnail sketch was just some random designs on a large square under this cute bird's feet. After downloading, I just viewed this image on my monitor and started sketching with a micron pen on watercolor paper. When I doodled a worm as one of the designs in the square beneath him, I felt I needed something else that lived underground. I searched morguefile.com again for a little field mouse and found this adorable one by "xandert."

Here's the pen and ink so far, thanks to both AcrylicArtist and Xandert! .

I am so thankful that there is such a wonderful and free resource for artists. Keep morguefile.com in mind when you're looking for photo resources that you don't have of your own. It's very inspiring, easy to use, and a great place for sharing. The photographers ask nothing, except maybe to be notified if you are so inclined. Click here to check it out: http://www.morguefile.com/.

Ever Amazing Everglades

Ever since Kathy returned from her "artist in residency" last summer in the Everglades I have wanted to go down. A chance to plein aire paint, see the park and spend some time with friends recently presented itself and I grabbed the chance to go.  Sooooo, intrepid women that we are Carmen, Kathy and I loaded up our tent, our paints, our gumption with a bit of food and headed out on our road trip.

We were not disappointed, when we weren't laughing we were learning new things, and after we learned we painted.  Despite the fact that we arrived to discover there was no electricity and no water at the campsite, we perserved and became very resourceful.  Here is part of our story in photos:

The wildlife was spectacular...and as Kathy promised, staying inside the park made it all up close and personal.  This was only a sample of the animals we got to observe...and it being mating season we got in on a little more unusual activity courtesy of the 'gators!

We did a lot of photography so readers can expect some everglades-themed paintings soon!

Cindy (L) and Carmen (R) put in some hours painting plein aire.  Here we are seated by the lake that abutted our campground at Long Pine Key.

Kathy even spotted some of her beloved Linguus Snails that she has been studying.

Back at the campsite Carmen and I found time to work on our travel journals filled with sketches, watercolor and special momentos of the memorable time we spent together in the
Everglades National Park.  Stay tuned for art work from this trip.

Cindy Michaud
see more at: www.cindymichaudart.blogspot.com

Mr & Mrs C Fly Away

I was gaining weight painting all that food so decided to take a break and finish something non-edible.  Under the creative instruction of Fran Hardy I had learned how to prepare this panel to be car-surface smooth with about 100 coats of gesso and acrylic.  It seemed the perfect place to put my cardinal friends.  Somedays the fine detail work of drawing is really very relaxing and I enjoyed working on this devoted bird pair.  After watercolor, acrylic, graphite and a touch of oil I guess it must be labeled multi-media.  Anyway I varnished it and grabbed it on the way out the door to a book signing.

Now here is the stumper: sometimes we artists work for weeks, even months on something that takes every bit of creative energy and emotion we have to give....and it hangs around and hangs around.  Other days we dash off a little something just for the pure fun of it, experimenting and playing with it...and it is sold before it dries.  Not that I am complaining...just wondering.

Anyway, such was the case with "Mr & Mrs C."  I barely put it on the easel before a lovely lady from Blowing Rock shared the story of her backyard cardinals and had to go home with the piece.  Wonderful.  And very good for the ego and back account.  But sometimes I have to think that as every pot has a lid, every painting has an owner...it's just a matter of connecting.  And maybe a matter of having a little more fun while painting and a little less angst!  Go figure.

Cindy Michaud
http://www.cindymichaudart.etsy.com/