Collage Lemons

My sister Barbara has been living in Spain for the last two years.  She lives inland from the coast about an hour and a half.  The terrain there is a lot like Tucson Arizona.  It has some hills, trees, dessert and the temperature is just about the same with warmer days and cool nights. 
One of the things she loves about being there is the lemon groves.  She has one right next to the house she is living in.
I created this sunny little collage for her to take back with her just to make her smile.  I used a photo from a painting I had done of lemons.

Lemons

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This 9x12 painting is from one of our challenges.  We were to paint a black bird without using any black.  I was o.k. with the original but when I looked at it for a few more days I realized I really wasn't happy with it.
I wanted the bird itself to be bigger, to be rougher, to be more unformed and feathery.  I really didn't want a tight bird painting but a loose, suggestive one.  So, this is what I came up with.
He is fuller, looser and has an attitude.  That is what I originally missed.

Crow

 

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A little coffee a little cream

I love painting landscapes but set ups are so much fun.  I am pretty lazy about them though.  I usually fuss around forever trying to set something up and am never happy.  It is so much better if someone just says paint this!
I painted this at an Elio workshop.  He always has several pieces in a set up and I usually pick a few things or an area I like and paint that.  For me the simpler the better.  At the time this seemed a simple set up but the creamer has a difficult shape and position.  Also the creamer and mug were white so all of the color had to come from the background and table cloth.  I used as much shadowing as possible to keep it interesting.  It turned out to be one of my favorite pieces.

 

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Alcohol Inks

One of the best things about art is that it has many forms and mediums.  I came across a medium new to me called alcohol inks.  They were so much fun and quite a welcome change from oils or collage.  I found the experience frustrating but very freeing.  You really cannot control much except for the colors you use.
The paint has to used on a smooth surface so it slips and slides.  You can control where it goes by moving the tile or using alcohol to try and direct the flow.  Sort of like herding cats.  I really enjoyed it once I realized that most of it was out of my hands.  It was fun putting colors together than trying to guess what I had created.  You can also use stamps or anything else you have lying around to give it interest.
Here are three very different tiles.

I used a music stamp on this tile.
 



This tile reminded me of a landscape with trees and water.

This was just pouring and moving the tile around.


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Pieces of Eight Challenge #8 - Value

VALUE...
       So many ways to interpret this word! The Pieces weigh in!

Cindy...

Cindy Michaud

www.cindymichaud.com

So I did a "value study" on top of a painting that I decided had no other "value."  The blue tape lines are protecting the frame which I realized was glued to the board!  This will be the underpainting for  an overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  I lifted some of the black/gray/white paint to reveal the reddish color underneath.  This value study should make an easy recipe for adding color....keeping the tones consistent to this underpainting.  Sometimes folks say they like the painting just as it is.  And you?

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Carmen...

 

Ghost Ship

 20x20

 I did this value study for my painting of a foundered sailboat. The colors in the finished painting are very muted, as were the colors of that post-hurricane day. It's always interesting to visit the beach after a hurricane, but you never expect to see a sight like this.

Carmen Beecher

www.carmenbeecher.com

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Kathy...

I thought about "Value" a lot for this challenge. (And I worked on the idea so much, it's enough for another blog entry.) But in reality, I rarely think about value when I'm creating. My focus is almost always on a strong graphic and interesting patterns. Because I sketch in just black and white, I automatically have my "darkest darks balanced with my lightest lights." And the patterns I enjoy so much tend to create in between values. A recent page from my sketchbook gives an example. (Click to enlarge.)

Silver Spring, Florida -  Leaves around Cabin,  from sketchbook Nov. 14, 2017
See more at www.snailflower.etsy.com

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Donna...

Value is one of the things I struggle with the most.  I have a terrible habit of "drifting" while I am painting.  I get caught up in the subject and not what I really see and before you know it I have changed something.  Many times it is the value.  This teapot was blue but like all paintings it was really darks, lights and shadows.

Teapot


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Carol...

Value can mean many things.  Today I am thinking about how much I value my blog readers and the people who have supported my art over my past 10 years, that I have been selling art on the internet.

25% - 60% Off original paintings

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Many of you have asked about my moving sale.  After 40+ years of living on the Florida coast, we are pulling up roots and moving to the mountains of western North Carolina.  From the Atlantic to the Blue Ridge!

purchase here

It is both exciting and frightening.  Leaving family and friends behind is heartbreaking, but the mountains are calling us.  It's now or never and we decided on now!  

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As a result, I am trying to drastically reduce my inventory.  Thank you dear readers, for your support of my art in the past, and your response to my sale.  The results are heartwarming!  

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Today I am posting a few of my favorites that are still available.  With the upcoming holidays, .

it's the perfect time to get a head start on your gift list or your wish list, and I promise you, it will be a great VALUE!

CAROL SCHIFF
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Fay...

   

     As a basis for the poem Quilting from the Outside In in my collaboration with George Snyder for the Transformations project, I used this photo by Bob St. Claire. After almost 20 years, beat up and faded, it is still one of my favorites. Whenever I look at it, I am taken back home to the mountains where my ancestors settled in the 1700s.

     For this project, I have revisited this photo to enjoy working with it again. Value has never been my forte. In fact, even when concentrating on it, I still have trouble making those subtle distinctions in shading. I’ve been thinking more practice might help. So I started by making a black and white copy of the photo.

     Now onto the value study. I chose an old piece of cardboard, which was not a wise choice. However, I proceeded and here it is. I’m somewhat satisfied that I have captured the depth. In any case, I have enjoyed the journey and hope in the future to try fabric collages with an abstract version of these comforting old friends. 

Wallace Nutting

Most people don't know who Wallace Nutting is.  Unless you are exposed to his photographs or love historical furniture his name is not well known.  I came across his unique art form when I was thumbing through a box of old photographs and postcards. They were quite old, before the era of color photography yet they were so colorful, they almost looked otherworldly.  Most were just blank but a few had the signature Wallace Nutting on them. After doing a little research I discovered that he was a pioneer of hand colored photography.
He was a minister who retired in his early 40's because of ill health.  He had two hobbies, photography and bicycling.  He combined the two, taking many photographs of the New England countryside.  He hand colored them to make them more interesting using oil paints, solvents, small brushes and solvents.  They became so popular at his peak he had 200 "colorists" working for him.
I used his method to do some hand colored photos on my own.  It is a long time consuming process but the end result can be really special.
This is one of my favorites.  If you zoom in you can see where the color is applied.
Below is Sunset in Rockport NFS and Pretty Things, which is a necklace and shells.

Pretty Things


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Copper Dream

Copper Dream is just that.  I had attended an eye opening workshop given by Carol Nelson.  She is a very talented painter but best of all a fearless experimenter.  She uses many, many different types of unconventional materials and just goes for it.  All of her art is wonderful no matter what medium.  She really has a magic way of seeing.
After trying several experiments I just let go and put several things I really liked together and this is what I came up with. I just loved the way it looked.  This 6x8 is made with acrylic paints, torn papers, copper paint and India ink.  I just love looking at it.
To visit Carol Nelsons website go to:
CarolNelsonFineArt.com



Copper Dream



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Mountain View




It is getting to be that time of year again.  No matter where you live you try to get away for a week or so in the summer.  If you live in the mountains you may think of the seashore.  If you live near the ocean like I do, you dream of the mountains.
This little 5x7 oil is a vista in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, one of the most beautiful and magical places I have ever been to.
Donna Vines

Mountain View

 

 

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