The Real Lesson

Back to Basics Class #2

The planned lesson this week was about defining 

and recognizing common painting vocabulary:

main source light / ambient light / cast shadows

 form shadows / shadow core / reflected light etc. 

I chose, what I thought would be a simple up 

for a quick demo. 

 I found myself in trouble right away, 

by making the shadow sides of the bananas way too dark. 

Then I noticed the reflected light off that red cloth 

actually made the bananas glow! 

As challenging as demos can be, 

they are great teaching and learning tools. 

Watching me struggle, figure it out, and make adjustments

was the real lesson here, I think. 

For all of us! 

How Much Fussing?

I'm all "over the boards" subject wise, these days,  

just painting whatever comes my way.

While cleaning up files and organizing photos,

I found an image of my son and Cello from last summer. 

"I Got It!" 

6 x 8 

My intention was to 

 to keep it intuitive and loose,

without fussing too much. 

Big question is:

How much fussing is too much fussing? 

Staying Inside / Good Books

Four Poster

6 x 8 

I used this frigid day to stay inside

with a warmly lit interior. 

Having fun playing with paint, 

trying to get my groove back.

This is the best time of year for that!

Speaking of staying in;

I read two great books while away.

Wonder by R.J.Palacio

and

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

It's the pre-qual to The Glass Castle. 

Riveting story of her grandmother's life 

and how her mother was raised.

 

Open Spaces

The South Street Gallery in Hingham, MA 

is hosting a show called 

"OPEN SPACES 

The Last Farms, Fields, and Meadows"

A portion of the painting sales will help support programs of the

Mass Audubon. 

Page's Field 

16 x 20 

I feel truly blessed to live in a place where open spaces abound

and am thrilled to be a part of this effort.

The Opening reception will be Friday Feb. 1. 

I enjoyed painting this mid-summer landscape while it 

was 5 degrees outside. 

I think that's why I worked on it so long  

I Love Teaching

Teaching is so good for me. 

It makes me organize my thoughts.

It makes me think on my feet. 

I get to interact with like minded folks.

And I learn so much! 

I started my six week Back to Basics class today 

and got all of the above in a big wonderful dose!

Session One: 

"Drawing for Painting"

I did a demo focussing on the position of objects 

 and their relationship with each other.  

And how to use your brush as a measuring tool.

I'd set up a life using objects from 

PKR's fabulous value kit.

Note: 

Drawing simple spheres and blocks is not so simple. 

But once I got the drawing in, I was on a roll

 so it turned into a full blown discussion about value.

 That took the lesson much further than planned,  

so they only had 45 minutes to get to work. 

They dove right in with incredible results.  

Here are just two images of their work 

I managed to get with my I phone in all the excitement. 

   

This is going to be a great class.  

Tremendous enthusiasm and hidden talent.  

I'm inspired and energized again.

PHEW! 

Hello again!

 I've just returned from a wonderful week away in a warm climate.   

As lucky and grateful as I am for this business trip we take every year,

I always feel a bit anxious about being away from the studio,

having just geared up again after the long holiday break!

I know. Poor me. 

I did this quick 6 x 8 sketch of Cello before I left.

Cello 

6 x 8 

I think I may have missed her more than the studio! 

Back to work for real now.

Back to Basics class starts Tuesday.

The Alzheimer gals on Wednesday.

Let's get 2013 started already!

Cupcakes, of course

Bing Cherry Cupcake 

6 x 6 

gallery wrapped canvas

I'll admit. 

I never  enjoy painting "to sell".

But in this case I really want to support the James Library 

so I'm digging in. 

And really?

These days, any painting is better than not painting

so I ended up enjoying this. 

Dessert Paintings

Chocolate Cake 

8 x 8 

I went to Michaels and bought three gallery wrapped
canvas's for the "dessert" paintings I'm doing for
the Valentines event at the James Library in Feb.

I'd forgotten how thick the tooth is on these.
I chuckled all day
 thinking about Karin Jurick's recent description of
painting on canvas.
It's like buttering a cold waffle. 

Exactly!

Don't Try This at Home!

Painting chocolates is a lot more difficult than one would think.

How many shades of brown can there be? 

Box of Chocolates

8 x 8 

I put out all my "browns" and proceeded as if 

I was painting with chocolate! 

Dangerous, to say the least. 

NOTE: The James Library 

is hosting a Valentine Event on Friday February 8.

They have asked our GJWP group if we would do 

some themed paintings  

for display and sale that evening. 

  This is my first attempt. 

Taking a Tub

 I couldn't get out of my own way today. 

A few wipers before I got what I was after.
(A Matisse-like pattern painting) 

"Taking a Tub" 

9 x 12 

 acrylic outline/ oil on board

Note: We recently stayed in a hotel room

 that had this awesome tub. 

Had to take a bath in it, 

then couldn't wait to paint it. 

Meanwhile. 

I just googled "taking a tub" and found this! 

Now I want to paint all of those tubs! 

Paper White Finale

The traditional holiday Paper White bulbs,
"planted" right after Thanksgiving
are enjoying their final days.

Timed right, they bloom on Christmas morning  

making the house smell magically festive for the whole week.  

Paper White Finale 

9 x 12 

After packing and putting away everything "holiday",

I like to enjoy them in a sunny window

as the only decoration.

Bring on 2013!

Note: My pals over at GJWP 

did some awesome interiors last month 

for our Matisse challenge. 

They have inspired me so I'm thinking 

it's a wonderful time of the year to be warm inside

painting interiors! 

New Years Day

After all the hub bub of the holidays,  

we like to do nothing but relax at the beach to bring in the New Year. 

While on the couch reading the new Bon Appetite magazine 

I saw this ad and got inspired to paint. 

I had a small Winsor Newton watercolor set and  

my cool Isabey brush from france. 

Then I magically found 

eight small pre-cut  pieces of watercolor paper! 

 It was so fun to just play and

what a great way to relax! 

(and get geared up to get back to work in studio tomorrow!) 

"Statistically, we are not all the same"

eight 3" x 2" watercolors

Happy New Year one and all.

Can't wait to see what's going to happen next!