Plein Air Landscape

I haven't done a Plein Air painting in a long time,
but the weather was so gorgeous this week,
I did this standing outside my studio.
  

The Meadow 

8 x 8 oil 

The challenge I gave myself was 

to think of it as painting with cut paper. 

The light kept changing while milky clouds came and went. 

I used some new colors (no neutrals!) 

and mixed them with a pallet knife. 

It was so calming to be painting outside,

especially since I was nervously waiting 

for my first Grandchild to arrive! 

Welcome 

Nicholas David Colella. (Nico) 

We're going to have a lot of fun together! 

Seeing Color

Last week our model laid on the floor surrounded by 

colored pillows and cloths. 

There were many challenges here, 

the least of which was using a limited pallet of 

quinacridone red, Indian yellow, and ultramarine blue plus white. 

(The foreshortening almost put me over the edge!) 

Limiting my pallet is helping me see color 

in a whole new way, 

and I just find that exhilarating!  

Homework

The best thing about taking a college course as an adult

is that there's homework. 

And you WANT to do it! 

"Cello Watching the Pats"

(homework sketch)

Each week, we are required to take a life drawing class

outside the class and/or draw from life at home. 

Cello makes a great model because she sleeps a lot.  

I'm being reminded that drawing from life is truly, 

the only way to learn how to see. 

Happy drawing, painters! 

Another Discovey

My newest and most exciting discovery is  

Frank Hobbs.

A professor of art at Ohio Wesleyan University,

his blogs are incredibly informative. 

8 x 10 acrylic by Frank Hobbs 

Most known for his landscapes, 

his latest acrylic figurative paintings from a trip to 

Cortona Palcoscenico, Italy are just amazing.

Have fun fellow painters! 

Coloring Book Exercise

This week, I introduced my new
Coloring Book Exercise
(aka Pattern Painting)

The idea is to create a dynamic painting
by filling in large outlined shapes with flat color.

The fewer number of shapes the better. 

No modeling. No blending. 

My 20 minute demo

Note: These are the last of my tomatoes. 

They'll be sauce by the end of today.  

 student work in progress 

This exercise is a great way to get students to stop 

blending! 

For more information, here is a link to my blog post 

from 2012 on the subject of Pattern Painting.

Discoveries

I am making all kinds of discoveries lately,

and my latest is the artist Euan Uglow.

Here is an in-depth  Paintings Perception article about him
with many images of his work. 

Curled Nude on a stool

by Euan Uglow

1982-3

20 x 39 inch oil 

His mathematical approach and perfectionism fascinate me
because it is the antithesis of how I paint.   

For now. 

Learning New Skills

I'm adding new colors to my palette and 

experimenting with new techniques. 

Catherine Kehoe shared this quote with us in class last week: 

"Do what you have to do now and learn all the skills and needs 

and little by little you will morph into yourself-to-be. 

What you are doing in paint now is preparation for the unknown future.

A great life."

— George Nick

"Cheers"

8 x 8 

"In the Moment"

6 x 8  

It's all part of this awesome journey!