Whooo hoo... It looks like a real studio 4 '13

Whoo hoo.  It's all put together, ( with no thanks to the manufacturer's  whacko directions).  Thank you, Bruce.  I could never have figured out the inaccurate directions that it came with  it, but you did (and you don't even speak Chinese).

Wow! That was fast 4 '13

Amazing!  Jerry's Artarama delivered  my new St Remy's Easel the day after I purchased it from them online. ( Friday),  It'll take me longer to figure out how to put it together, than it did to ship it from North Carolina.

My new St Remy's Easel 4 '13

Got tired of struggling to keep my canvases from falling off of my flimsy aluminum tripods and bought myself a decent wooden easel which will support a canvas up to 60" x 80"...Now just to find room for it in my studio..

Working Large Workshop: Thursday 3"13

 Bill jumped right into instruction on the first morning of the workshop with a demonstration of how he  proofs his concept on a small  canvas before  working on a large one.  Above you can see how he taped  a reference photo to the side of his easel, then loosely sketched out the design in a thin blue wash onto a toned canvas.   He then filled in the design with large blocks of additional color which were build up from dark to light.  This gave him the first rough layer of the final painting.  

Stopping there, Bill asked each of us to put a thin wash of color upon the canvas supports we had brought with us, and select a reference photo  ( from his collection or one our own) to use as the basis for our first painting.

 I had already selected my reference photos and toned my canvas with red iron oxide prior to arriving at the workshop, so I set up my  workstation and began painting.  By lunch time I too had my design roughed in and was ready to start applying  the first large blocks of color.

But first things first.... a group lunch at the Saluda Grill.

After lunch, Bill gave us a demonstration of how to wrap a canvas onto a stretcher frame.

That was a learning experience for me.  Not at all difficult ( if you are 6'+ like Bill).  It gave me more confidence for  how I can work if I can't find the size canvas I need locally.

Lots and Lots of new Spring Paintings

My wall at Island Art Gallery

I will post some close ups when they are dry enough to handle.

Most of the paintings I have at Island were painted in  autumn  or winter with seasonal color to match.    Actually most of my paintings  are painted in very warm  tones  or very cool grays, as I prefer those ends of the palette.  But who wants to purchase a painting of fall or winter foliage, when all around them out of doors azaleas and camellias and dogwood are exploding into glorious shades of pinks and purples?    This past month  I  decided it is time to drag out my photos of Brookgreen Gardens  taken last Spring and start some new paintings. 



Tulips,iceland poppies,  ranunculus, wisteria, azalea have all been blooming on my canvases.  Guess I can paint in Spring colors if I put my mind to it.

C Campbells Fine Art Open Studio Reception 5 '10

I ( Cece) belong to a fair number of social organizations: a book club, a gardening group, four local artist guilds, dine around, not to mention the country club, etc. I am constantly being asked for an invitation to view my paintings. I'd love to invite each and every one of them over for dinner. It would be fun, and great word of mouth publicity, but that much entertaining would unquestionably interfere with my painting schedule. Such a dilemma! What to do? What to do?

Then I remembered the popularity of Open Studio Receptions in California to show off one's work. The event is a cross between a social open house, and a art gallery solo exhibit reception. The focus is on the art, and how it is created, without the hard sales pitch.

I sent out 60 invitations in April for a May 23rd 3 - 6 pm Open Studio Reception. This first set of invitations went to people who had expressed an interest in seeing my work. I also mentioned the event at each of my social organizations, and asked anyone who would like to receive an invitation to put their contact information on a list. From this , I followed through with another 15 invites. Frankly, at this point I was getting a little nervous, as there is no street parking where I live (my neighbors came to the rescue and offered their driveways for the event).

I'm not likely to tackle an event that large in my home very often, so I decided to go all out. The paintings were clustered into themes ( e.g. Local Landmark Series, Pawley's Plantation Series, etc.) Below Pawleys Plantation Series and one of State Park Series.
















My husband, Bruce helped me hang as many of the paintings from each series as the space on the wall would allow.
















Above: Graphics and Abstract Art
Below: Part of the Local Landmark Series




















Power point presentations were run in a loop on two televisions to visually convey things that the visitors might want to know (e.g. On one TV I had a presentation showing a photograph of each painting followed by a photograph of the area each represented. )




















In the Carolina room, all of the California Plein Air Series were on display, and Plein air oil painting equipment was set up for guests to inspect.




















In the Art Studio Miniature Paintings were on display, and each of the different work areas were set up with the equipment I would use and examples of the results.
















Above: Water media work area and paintings.
Below Oil Painting Work area



































Above: Still Life set up with miniature still life example
Below: Art Photo stand with illustrated directions







































Above: Composition Sketch White Board




















Above: Desk and business work area
Below Mobile Media cart




















Well you know what they say about the best laid plans. The skies had been clear and beautiful the entire week before the reception. Sunday morning we awoke to dark skies, and warnings flashing the the TV that people should stay home due to the possibility of tornadoes, hail and wind. By the time the Open Studio Reception was to begin there was a torrential downpour coming down. Needless to say we did not get  a huge  turnout, but given the circumstances, more people came than I would have expected in the storm.

We all had a good time, and all I gave lots of tours. All our guests were very enthusiastic about my work, and took a lot of business cards to spread the word.. And the good news is that I now have all the materials (right down to the Parking signs with my Business logos) ready should I choose to have an Open Studio event of any size.