Vintage man

I had the class work from black and white, vintage photographs. I like the way that old photos fade. The students don't get all caught up in detail and can simplify their paintings to just shadow shapes. They also can choose their own colors and ended up using some fun, unexpected colors. All of them did a great job. This is my demonstration, about 8x10 inches done in watercolor.

acrylic demos

I have a student who enjoys working in acrylic and I try to do demonstrations for her as often as I can. We have been looking at how colors relate/reflect... warm, cool... light sources... It is so interesting if you take the time to do your value drawings, take color notes and study the image before you paint. We have been painting from life in the studio.

eggplant, 7x5 inches garlic, 4x4 inches

Student Refresher

It has been a great week having all my students back for a new year of fun! Last week the adult class did a still life watercolor of pears in a basket. This is my demo about 10x10 inches.

The student age class did some drawing refreshers. I wanted to make sure they could still see shapes, shading and highlights. They started with contour drawings and moved to shading & highlighting.

And today the adults did the

drawing refresher (contour, value, shading...) and a lemon painting (about 7x10 inches).

It is going to be a good year!

I'm Baaack!

Just got back from Breckenridge, Colorado and Iowa, Columbus and Cincinnatti... The Colorado trip was great and just beautiful. The colors seemed so much more vibrant at that altitude... Maybe it was just the lack of oxygen in my head... Anyway, frisbee golf in Frisco, Vail Pass biking, hiking, fly fishing... all so fun to do. I did a few paintings, plein air and have many photos to keep me busy painting in the future. The first image (9x12 inches) is coming down the road from the scenic outlook near Breckenridge and the second (7x10 inches) is the view coming up Four O'Clock road to our condo.

Getting my classes and studio set up for the coming school year. I will be back painting on the 8th of September. I can't wait!!

where has the time gone?

Summer! I love this time of year... taking it slow, just like a "country time lemonade commercial" (remember those...).

Anyway, this summer has been far from slow. It is flying by with touring colleges, teaching art camps, visiting friends and family, driving the kids to work... It is all good, just busy.

I did want to mention that I was invited to be featured artist at a great little gallery (Blue Heron) in Volant, PA from August 1st to the 28th. I will do a demonstration on the first from noon to 2 pm and donate the painting to raffle for the gallery. I will be a the gallery till 4pm that day, visiting with whoever stops by. The gallery has a nice variety of items.... and the town has a trout stream, shops...

So, till I get some real painting time in....

Another Butler Model Session

This was done in watercolor, from life, in about an hour and a half. It was nice to do more than a head portrait. (Notice how I didn't have to worry about her facial features... so I could concentrate on the body proportions) I had some people ask me how can I work so fast. It really is practice. I teach my classes quick drawing techniques, simple plumb lines and shapes to look for... and it must have sunk in for me. I do demos for my classes. I figure they don't want to watch me paint the entire class time so I have been "practicing" drawing fast so that they can get to their own work. Every few days I am doing a demo... that makes for good practice! And again, a quick note, our model was very sweet and a big thank you to her!

Check out my Etsy shop

DSFDF PA hillside

I decided to do the latest DSFDF challenge since I missed the last one. I had no plan, pulled out the paints and picked a warm red for the sky. The rest just happened, lots of changes, and I added some branches to break up the space. A little study for a larger painting someday. It is only about 5 by 8 inches, done in watercolor in about 20 minutes.

my etsy shop

Weekly Portrait Session

Sometimes painting is like breathing. It comes so easy... and other times, it can be a struggle. Today was a struggle. The air was humid, the washes would not dry.... so many excuses... any valid? I don't know, but I still captured the feeling of the model and her pose. Maybe just not as clean as I would have liked. And a quick note - It was nice to meet someone like our model today. Very sincere and grounded... best of luck to her in her adventures!

stop by my etsy shop

Back Painting Again

Well, it seems like forever, but I was able to get to a portrait session today. Even though I didn't get the whole session in... late again! This watercolor took about an hour of painting time. Sometimes I think, especially with watercolor, a time limit helps to keep the focus and not to overwork the painting. It was really easy to pick colors today... got away from my purples... Check out my etsy shop.

Butler Session

This watercolor is from the latest model session at Butler Arts... I am enjoying these sessions and am learning how to apply my paint fast and which colors work. We end up with about 1.5 hours of paint time. I am trying to use less water so that the paper dries and I can layer without turning to mud. I offered to model last week (which was really fun) and am getting my summer class schedule out so I have not been painting much.... miss it, But as an artist/studio owner, the marketing has to come first. This summer I also plan to do some bigger paintings and less demos since I will have the time. Stay tuned! Oh and I also got my etsy shop open, but still need to list more of my work. It never ends, but at least I am not bored...