Merry Christmas and a New Years Goal

Kinseys Tree Farm

It has been a long time since I have posted, I know....That's why the title. I want to begin again this year and post regularly to keep everyone updated. I hope to have information to share with you about things that will help you in your painting journey. For now, I want to wish everyone the best of all holiday seasons and post a couple of paintings from last years plein air days at Christmas, they were so much fun! I have also posted new paintings of animal portraits that have been keeping me busy this year during some of the rain we have been having. It is great to balance the beautiful days painting outside with studio days and enjoy all of it. I guess that is my tip for this last month of 2015, as we go into the winter months, have things to do that bring you joy when the weather is bad. Using your photos and sketches, you can travel anywhere you want to go, kind of a mini vacation from the comfort of your studio. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR. Please watch for more updates in 2016! 



Pink Tags at Kinseys



Black Lab

Swimmer Boy



Spring Workshop April 26 & 27, Hiawassee, GA

I have just set up a spring workshop in Hiawassee, GA. This is a beautiful place and will be a good time of the year before everything here gets so hot. The views there are spectacular. I particularly wanted to offer a workshop over a weekend for people who work and would like to do a plein air workshop. It should be great fun, so if you are interested, give me a call to register. The instruction fee for the two days is
$230 with a $100 deposit required to hold your place. This workshop is for Pastels and Oils. The Ramada Inn is a great place to stay, and the views from there are great. I have posted here a couple of paintings done in the spring at different locations in North Georgia.

First Green of Spring

Spring Flowers at Camp

More From the Workshop

I have a couple of pictures of my students hard at work......

Things Going On

I am just back from a lot of travelling and am glad to be able to update this blog before I begin doing the most hated thing I do every year, taxes. I participated in Southeastern Wildlife Expo this year in Charleston and have to say it was an amazing event. I am proud to have been included in a most exceptional group of artists and enjoyed being around the work there. It was very well organized and run by the SEWE
event staff. Everyone had a great time there. Five days after I got home, I took off again for my annual trip to the beach at St. George Island, FL. The weather was spotty at best, with some rain and some sun. Even with the rain, my friends and I were able to get a few paintings done that we were happy with. Most of the group left and I moved over to the Coombs House Inn in Apalachicola for my workshop which began on Monday March 3. My friend Mary Rose O'Connell from Boston flew in to Tallahassee, FL and I picked her up on Saturday. She had never been to the area and was impressed with the town and the landscape around it. We painted together with another friend on Sunday before the workshop group all arrived and it was beautiful. I have posted a few pictures here from the couple of weeks work. 

My AMAZING Students and Friends

Students painting



     

Dune Study



The Crane beginnings



The Crane 8x10 final



Dune Study 2



Class Demos, 1 in oil, 1 in pastel

At my last Wednesday classes, I did a demo in each class. I teach oil and pastel and decided to do the same painting in each oil and pastel to demonstrate the differences/similarities in each medium. The oil was done in the morning class and the pastel in the afternoon since my pastellists are in the afternoon class. I do this at home for my own information to see how the handling works for each. I find that I learn a lot each time I do it. Pastel can be anything you make it, but usually there is a lot more color in my pastels than my oils. It just works out that way. I have found lately that I am getting closer to having the same feeling in each of the mediums which was my intention from the beginning. This exercise is fun and interesting as each medium takes on a different look even though the approach is similar. Working in different mediums is a way to stretch my knowledge and pushes me to try new things. When I am blocked, quite often I will change mediums to move through the block. I encourage my students to try things and play to grow.


Sunset in the Snow-Pastel



Frozen Pond - Oil



   

Southeastern Wildlife Show getting close



Gathering Storm



No Fishing



My project since the end of 2013 has been to get paintings ready for Southeastern Wildlife Expo in Charleston. Knowing that they expect thousands to come through has been additional incentive to have a large bank of work representative of my painting style. The mix has been fun to put together, and most of what I am taking is new work. Usually when I work on a show, I paint a lot and in the process I learn a lot.

This effort has not been any different. Trying new and different things stretches my brain and skill level which is always a good thing. I am working on surfaces that I love, Classens 66 linen. My husband has been stretching the linen for me and it is a wonderful surface to paint on. I am finding more and more that the surface used is as important as important as the paint and brushes you use. I have played with abstraction and glazing which can be seen in my large square painting, "No Fishing" (42x42). A dark and moody sky presented a challenge in "Gathering Storm", another large painting at 30x40. I have just updated my website with more images that will be in Charleston. I will be there February 12 - 16 so come by. All in all, I am having a great time painting the good and the bad, ever grateful for my passion and the desire to follow it.







 

Winter Painting

 I am finally getting some time to keep my New Years resolution which was to update my blog and website more regularly. I marvel at those artists who are really on top of their blogs, newsletters and all other forms of social media. It is a great way to share and market so I really need to get busy. Somewhere in the middle of the marketing, I have to find time to paint. For me this requires a clear head and a block of time to devote to my creative soul. Lately I have been getting ready for the Southeastern Wildlife Expo in Charleston, and have several paintings that are nearing completion at the same time.  Looking at the ones posted here,  I realize that there is a common theme in most of these paintings.  Grasses, water and reflections are always around.