Monday, July 27, 2015

Colors of Summer


Colors of Summer 
20 x 20 

I'm having fun exploring the affects of one color next to another, 
while still considering the value of those colors!  

"Color gets all the credit.
Value does all the work."

I love that. 






Saturday, July 25, 2015

More Beach Days

I can't get enough of this subject -  
I never know where it's going to take me.  


Happy Beach Day 
24 x 30 

At first I thought the figures were too small for such a large canvas. 
Then a friend pointed out that it helps show how massive the beach is! 








Thursday, July 23, 2015

Designing Your Painting First!

For our last class of the summer session this week, 
we talked about composition
 and the importance of designing your painting before 
even thinking about picking up a brush!  
I had them each arrange (and light) their own still life set up.
We then used view finders, the Value Viewer app, and did good old marker thumbnails
making design decisions along the way. 


The goal was to spend MORE time designing,
than painting. 
They had one hour. 



I was so glad someone chose the cherries!

Blue bowl, blue bottle, blue cloth.....
it all worked! 


I love teaching at NRAS! 
Such charm (and many memories)
We blew a fuse trying to jury rig the outlets and the air conditioners,
so Laura had to go down to the "spider room" to trip the breaker. 

I love these old New England buildings!  

The work was, as always, amazing 
and it was a great way to finish a terrific summer session. 
I loved working with all of you! 

Next session: 
Mondays September 14 - October 26 
1:30 - 4:30  







Monday, July 20, 2015

Secrets

We love to get up really early most mornings.
My husband says watching the sunrise is like having 
"a secret on the world."



"Secret on the World"
12 x 36 

I'm working out of my "satellite studio"
while at the beach and find
having limited supplies, different lighting etc...
challenging and inspiring!

Planning ahead helps.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Sunrise

I'm on the beach at sunrise 
most mornings with 
Cello and the sea gulls. 

Sometimes the pink light washes over the houses,
 making everything warm and bright.  

I tried to express that impression with color 
on this one. 



"Sunrise Spectrum" 
12 x 12 




 Note: 
Here is the initial pass.
Then I let it rest for a day or two. 


The color of sky was bothering me 
so I fooled around with it on the Brushes App 
on my I Pad.  
I changed the color of the sky 
four times and played with the roofs. 



An I Pad experiment

Fun stuff. 



Saturday, July 11, 2015

Red Sky in the Morning



Weather conditions seem more poignant near the ocean. 
When a storm is brewing in the West as the sun comes up in the East,
the sky can be bright red. 

No sailing today!  




"Red Sky in the Morning"
12 x 12 

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Beach Houses

Living on the beach in the summer, 
I'm inspired by how the salt air and reflections off the ocean 
affect the light on the architecture. 


"Good Morning!"
12 x 12 


The sun hits these houses as soon as it rises over the ocean. 
Sometimes the night sky hasn't even left yet! 

It's my favorite time of day. 


Tuesday, July 7, 2015

I Couldn't Wait to Tackle This

I caught the image for this over the weekend
and couldn't wait to do the painting. 
After teaching the "Painting from Photos" 
lesson in my Back to Basics class this morning, 
I went to the studio, cranked up the AC 
and went to work. 

"Girl Talk"
11 x 14

So fun. 

NOTE: 
Here is my very quick demo I did from a photo in class. 
I got so excited about the work the students all did, 
I forgot to take pictures of them! 


I think this will be a study for a larger piece.
It's a great subject
and I learned a few things.