Challenge for December: Do a Painting Using Only 50 Strokes

Carmen: This challenge is really challenging! A painting done using only 50 strokes. What a great exercise this is for making us simplify.

When I got to the last stroke my hand was itching to do just a couple more details, but I resisted.

Carmen Beecher

 "50 Strokes of Chicken"

 www.carmenbeecher.com

www.carmensart.etsy.com

www.carmenbeecher.blogspot.com

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Donna:  50 strokes, no problem...after the 4th try of 4 different subjects  I finally had something!!

There are lessons to be learned here but let's just say pick something simple, a stoke is a stroke be it long or a dab, roundish strokes somehow cover more. You will notice the original photo is upside down by this time I had learned that 50 strokes is not a lot, the pear would have to stand alone.

A pear in 50 strokes

donnavinesart.etsy.com
donnavinesart.blogspot.com

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Kathy: I kept trying with this challenge. I never managed to produce something I liked well enough to leave alone after only 50 strokes. Of all my attempts (3 different birds and a butterfly), this was my best and it kept the closest to 50 strokes.

Left: 20 strokes, Middle: 33 Strokes, Right: 50 Strokes

 I was supposed to stop there!

I had to finish this little chickadee and did not count how many strokes that took! 

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Fay: Above is a photograph of a great white egret in flight. It was taken by my late friend, Tom B. Sanders, and is used as the cover for a book of his photographs of  birds along with the poems of his wife, Bonny B. Sanders. I recently helped Bonny format and edit this book. I was so taken by this image, I decided to use it for my challenge, seen below.

This challenge does not meet the requirements of 50 strokes (or pieces of paper), but it comes close. There are 47 wing feathers, 6 additional pieces of paper for the head, shoulders, shadows on the wing span and legs. I added one outline of the eye in black, filled it in with yellow and surrounded it with the typical green found around the Great White's eyes. It took 2 strokes to make the black feet. If I have counted correctly, I am still under 60. I should have made fewer feathers. No going back now.

Fay Picardi

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Denette: Above is my fifty strokes although was more sixty strokes. It was interesting but not my cup of tea. 

Glad I tried it and learned a lot. Denette Schweikert. 

denette.net 

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Carol: I am an oil painter....in a slump!  However, I am away from home for 3 months.  In the interest of saving space, I left my oils at home and brought a collection of watercolor, pastels, and alcohol inks.  I wanted to stretch myself, and maybe ignite a new interest in my art.

This is a watercolor, and oil pastel painting.  My reference photo had many, many more trees, but I could not add them in under 50 strokes.

This is a second try; a scene from Sanibel Island.

I will try this again.

www.CarolASchiff.com

www.CarolSchiffStudio.etsy.com

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Mary: After several really bad tries, I used one color, alizarin crimson, and two brushes, a one-inch flat to begin and a number 10 round to finish.  Fifty strokes exactly.  Not the most interesting painting, but better than the first attempts.  It was fun to try, and just being with the Pieces is always fun!

Mary Warnick

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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

etsy.com/shop/snailflower

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

Challenge for May, Creating a Pattern from a Piece of Art

Kathy Garvey taught us how to create patterns from our paintings in Adobe Capture, and it was quite kaleidoscopic. It's a different kind of challenge.

This is the pattern I created:

 

Below is the original painting, a watercolor called "Cosmos (sold)."

 Carmen Beecher

carmensart.etsy.com

This was a really interesting challenge.  Here is my pattern with the original painting.  I would never have guessed I could make this pattern from this painting.  It was fun to play with.

donnavinesart.etsy.com
donnavinesart.blogspot.com

This was a sketch from one of my sketchbooks. So here goes with Adobe Capture.
I could see how these could be adapted to patterns on cloth.
Here is the pattern derived from the sketch, above.
Jean Thomas
Ozworks22@cfl.rr.com

I love making patterns so I was quite happy when the group agreed to give this challenge a try. Below are my patterns for this blog entry all created using a watercolor done on our recent trip to Silver Spring. The top image is of patterns created with Adobe Capture, a free and quite wonderful application available for your phone of Ipad. The second example is from Adobe Illustrator. I frequently use it or Adobe Photoshop for my patterns that I then print to fabric at Spoonflower.com. While Capture is fun and quick, it is limited to just a few kaleidoscope type options. The other two tools offer endless design possibilities. (Click on any image to enlarge it.)

Kathy Garvey

etsy.com/shop/snailflower

www.spoonflower.com/profiles/kgarvey

Here Comes Another One (or two or more)

Not one of the techies in the group, I nonetheless gave Adobe Capture a try. Got a bit carried away. There are thousands of possibilities with just one photo. Here are two of my designs based on Kathy's extraordinary leaves and Denette's incredible painting. Lucky me.

 Try zooming in on the designs. I love how intricate they are. 

  Design 1

Design 2

Fay Picardi

Art Sale Saturday, Feb 10, 9-4

 

We will have a free raffle for a gift basket full of artsy items. We also will have oil paintings, watercolors, clay art, fabric art, pine needle baskets and smiling faces! Come on down!

BIG PIECES OF 8 ART SALE! SAVE THE DATE!

I am having a sale in my Etsy shop, and I want to use words like "HUGE," "PRICES SLASHED," and "NOT SOLD IN ANY STORES," but all you really need to hear is the magical: "FREE SHIPPING." Those are the words that always make me jump to attention. Not only that, but I am discounting all original art 20%.

The sale starts November 20th and ends December 20th. Just remember 20-20-20, the dates and 20%. These are one-of-a-kind paintings and you can shop in your jammies and avoid the crowds.

Click here to visit my Etsy shop.

Carmen

Art and Fashion

Several  months ago, I was contacted by an Israeli fashion designer, Assaf Pelleg.  He was designing his 2017 Spring/Summer Line, and wanted to use one of my paintings in his work.  I agreed to work with him, and we found two of my artworks that were of interest to him.

For several months, I heard nothing!  Then, suddenly, an email with the completed designs.

I am thrilled with the results!  

This is the fun part of what I do.  I sometimes struggle for days, over a specific artwork.  Just this week, I have worked on a piece for 3 days, and scrapped it this morning!  Then there are the boring hours, after hours, of internet work.  Taking photos, editing them, posting them.  Sometimes it seems the reward, is not enough to justify the effort. 

 But then, one day, a painting effortlessly falls off my brush, or a student sends me his power point presentation about how he was influenced by my art, or someone on the other side of the world, likes my work enough to place it in his collection.

That is the payoff!

Thanks for reading my blog today!

Carol Schiff

www.CarolSchiffStudio.etsy.com

www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

The Big Holiday Sale!

Three more days till our big sale! This is the eighth year for this event, and we have moved from Carol's garage to Ralph's Art Supply on Highland Avenue in Melbourne. The sale starts at 3 on First Friday, Dec 5th and you will have another opportunity the next day, Saturday. Dec 6th, from 10 to 4.

We are so excited to be at Ralph's this year, and we have lots of original paintings, ornaments, pillows, clay art, jewelry, prints, and, best of all: affordable prices! If you're looking for something different, this is the place!

My paintings shown here will be on sale. I painted them joyfully from our group's trip to Silver Springs.

Carmen

Countdown to The Big Sale

The Wetlands

Can you tell we're excited about our sale on December 7th? It is always fun, and this year we have so many more things to offer. We will have decorative birdhouses and outdoor birdhouses, painted furniture, jewelry, and a collection of fine art at affordable prices. We just lose our minds and slash prices at this time of year, as our repeat customers will tell you. We promise refreshments and repartee.

The address is 3532 Samuel Place, Melbourne (map is at right), and the hours are 9 to 4. Watch for the signs along the road.

Posted by Carmen

Annual Holiday Sale December 7th!

Gift Shopping at its finest! December 7th, 9 to 4


The Pieces of Eight sale will be bigger than ever this year! As an event within an event, my husband made birdhouses for each of us and we each decorated ours, without anyone seeing the others. On Sunday we had a big reveal, and I am so thrilled with the creativity shown by every member. These birdhouses are amazing!

There will be deep discounts on paintings like my Coconut Palm, above left; painted furniture; handmade jewelry and many more lovely gift items. Here's my birdhouse and my jewelry:

Posted by Carmen Beecher