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

 

Donnavinesart.Etsy.com

Donnavinesart.blogspot.com

 

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.

 

donnavinesart.blogspot.com

donnavinesart.Etsy.com

 

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?

------------------------------------

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

www.carmensart.etsy.com

www.carmenbeecher.blogspot.com

-----------------------------------------

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

------------------------------------

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


Donnavinesart.Etsy.com
Donnavinesart.blogspot.com

------------------------------------

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

www.CarolSchiffStudio.Etsy.com

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!  

purchase here

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!  

purchase here

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. 

Bottle and Pitcher

This 11x14 oil was painted during a workshop I took several months ago with Elio Comacho.  Elio is such a talented artist, anyone who is lucky enough to take one of his workshops learns so much.  He is so generous with his time, knowledge and talent. 
I really like the simplicity of the set up.  Each piece stands out so you can really appreciate the colors.
If you would like to see more of Elio's work visit his website,
www.colorrelations.com

 



Bottle and Pitcher
 

 

donnavinesart.Etsy.com

piecesof8art.blogspot.com

Animal Farm

I don't paint many animals and most of the ones I have painted are ones I know, I don't know why this is, animals are very interesting to paint and beautiful to look at. It maybe that I spend lot of time trying to capture the human form or that I love landscapes so much I just want to do those. When I look at my listings I see so many landscapes, still lives, abstracts, collages but not many living creatures.
Here are a few I have done.

Donna Vines

Rocky
I painted my bother in law Michael's cats Rocky and Rambo for him.  Rocky was the friendlier.  He would inch his way over to you if you stayed long enough.

 

Argilla Road Rooster
The chickens and roosters I knew from a small farm on Argilla Road in Ipswich were really free range chickens.  They had the use of the yard, the fields and the road.  They spent a lot of time crossing that road and that is where I became acquainted with them.

 

Rambo
Rambo was the more aloof of the two but he was always very busy guarding Michael's shoes.  He did a great job of it because Michael never had a shoe stolen while he had Rambo.

www.donnavinesart.blogspot.com

Well after two years of on again off again trying to fix my old blog so I could get into it again and long hiatuses of doing nothing then jumping into the fray again I think I am in!!!!!!
I still have no idea how or why but I seem to be able to use my blog again.  I did change the name to correspond with my Etsy shop was that the ticket?  I don't know.  All I know is I think I am back.
So much has happened but I won't go into it all.  I will just say hello again and start posting some paintings.

 

 

Hello from sunny not yet sweltering Florida!!
Donna Vines

Workshop Time

I am off to an Elio Comacho workshop and am so looking forward to it. I have not had much time to paint lately so this is just what I need. Here is one of the paintings from his last workshop. I can't wait to see what I bring home this time.
Donna Vines

A cold day in Florida

Living in Florida really has sooo much going for it.  Today it was a chilly 65 degrees LOL so I made a pot of tea to warm up these poor old bones.  While I was sipping my tea I noticed my wonderful little hula lamp so I got one of my teapot paintings and put it next to my lamp and thought this says it all.
Donna Vines

Baby it's cold outside

Morning Stack

How can anything that seems so simple be so hard.  Bowls are one of my favorite things.  I love their roundness, their color, their design, their shape, the way they feel....ahhh, they are just cute.  I thought I would set up several bowls and just paint away. 
First of all setting up several bowls and making them look interesting takes on a life of its own. Not everyone likes bowls or finds them endlessly fascinating, I know it's hard to believe but I have heard rumors and secondly you have to take lighting and composition into consideration. o.k. after several attempts, opinions, suggestions, changes and false starts this simple arrangement was agreed upon.
That was the easy part.  Round is hard!!! Their are lots of nooks and crannies to deal with, depth and shadow and lots of curves, oh dear. I had a lot of help with this painting and it is still not finished but I do love looking at it, not only because of the subject but because it reminds me that when I wanted to throw in the towel on this one I got a lot of  support to keep going.  thanks ladies.

Morning Stack