OMG! I AM NOT Plein Air painting near any of these

OMG!   I AM NOT Plein Air painting near any of these 'scenic ponds" anymore

Check out the size of this alligator.. It's absolutely Jurassic!

http://www.wltx.com/story/news/2014/05/05/huge-gator-seen-crossing-road-near-coast/8732793/

CAG sells another of my paintings 4 '14

Great White Hunter 8" x  12" Oil

Thank you ,  Charleston Artists Guild  Gallery for finding a good home for my painting of the

 "Great White Hunter"

What are those pink flowers? 4 '14

  "What are those pink flowers?" a friend from the West coast wrote.  "They're azaleas",  I wrote back... but wait I thought... I don't know if she will believe that answer.   It's a good question to keep in mind when one is attempting to paint a scene the viewer might never have experienced. I grew up in the wide open ( but arid) spaces of the west coast myself.  A large azalea on the west coast might reach two foot tall and three foot wide.  Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I might have suspected that  the profusion of vegetation was a bit overstated  if not outright fabricated.  Let me assure you, it is neither. 

Small Part of Brookgreen Gardens' Pine forest in Spring

The sheer size of the flowering plants  in Spring can be overwhelming.  In the older established gardens, the azaleas can reach twenty feet, and the flowering trees are taller.

The photo below will give you some sense of the heights...  They dwarf me.

CC  with azaleas at Magnolia  Gardens

And they are everywhere

 Magnolia Gardens path

There are acres and acres of woodland paths and walks like these at at Magnolia Gardens and Brookgreen Gardens

Brookgreen Gardens walkway

Even personal gardens are a mass of blooms.

Azaleas and Dogwood  at Pawleys

 It can all be a bit overwhelming.  The sheer profusion makes it hard to  know what to focus upon, much less even get a clean photo of it.. Painting the scene becomes an exercise in deciding on what is the center of interest, and trying to remove anything in the scene that  might distract the viewers' focus.

Brookgreen Garden's Gate

The photo  above shows the garden gate where I painted the scene below.  ( en plein air not from the reference photo).  Far from being overstated, I actually had to subdue a lot of color and edit out  many shapes to keep the painting  from seeming cluttered and even garish.

My painting of "The Garden Gate"

 Maybe that is why so few artists tackle full blown flower filled  Spring landscapes.  They require hard mental work and  are very tricky to pull off well.

Visit to Charleston 2'14

I needed to deliver some paintings to the Charleston Artists Gallery.  The sun is out, the skies clear, and the temperature is pleasant for the first time in weeks.  The quality of light was perfect for taking reference photos of the Charleston's beautiful architecture.  Pretty sure this one will wind up as a painting soon.

Plein Air Painters of the South East Paint Shem Creek 11'13

Usually, I am the one in control of  a paintings progress, but at last Saturday's  paint out in Washington Square  I got a taste of what it is like to be on the other side of the easel watching someone  else develop the subject.  I have to admit I was  feeling very frustrated by  having to leave before I could  see the artwork through to completion.

I was delighted to learn that the fine artists of Plein Air Painters of the South East  were planning on painting  painting together again at Shem Creek.  

My friend Annette Goings and I left very early so we could insure getting to the Shem Creek Shrimp Docks  while the light was ideal and the artists were still in the early stages of the composition .  Even so, there were still  several early birds who  had nearly finished  one painting  before we arrived , and were about to begin another.

Frank May

Frank May and Diane Cruickshanks May were bundled up against the cold
 on an exposed boardwalk

Diane Cruickshanks May

  painting the "Sea Horse" upstream from where they were set up.

"The Seahorse"

Jim Richards

James Richards and Lori Putnam had set up inside a sheltered gazebo to paint the

 "His and Hers" and the "Capt. Tang"

Lori Putnam

 This is how the shrimp boats " looked from  their field of vision.  They had nearly finished their paintings and were about to begin another when I arrived 

His and Hers and Capt Tang

Jim and Lori  and had nearly finished their paintings, 

Frank May  and Diane Cruickshanks May( Foreground)

when Frank May and Diane  Cruickshanks May showed up to begin working on their  second paintings of the morning .

Mrs Judy Too and Winds of Fortune

 Within a half hour of our arrival, a dozen or more painters  had arrived and set up along the boardwalk.

Dee Beard Dean and Annette Goings

Dee Beard Dean  was one of the first to arrive.

Hodges Soileau and Dee Beard Dean

Hodges Soileau set up next to her 

Sea Horse from Hodges and Dee's viewpoint

Both artists had a similar line of sight of the  "Sea Horse", but each painting was unique

Sea Horse from Shannon's vantage

Shannon Smith had slightly different angle of view 

And an entirely different approach to the subject

One thing all of the painters had in common was that they each elected  to paint the shrimp boats as opposed to the marsh.   I am not sure if that is beacause it was a unique opportunity to do so for the many landlocked artists in the group, or if it is just because they felt that boats well better.  But it was interesting to not that almost everyone painted a shrimp boat as opposed to a marsh scene.

For More about the Plein Air Painters of the South East

Check out their website at: http://pap-se.com/

 or their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/papsoutheast

Nora Mackin Seascape 10"13

Nora Mackin Seascape 12"x 9" oil on board.

I fell in love with this beautiful Seascape by Nora Mackin the minute I saw it and had to have it.   Only  I had to wait to collect in  until the Seacoast Artists Fall Art Show was over so that the the work could have a chance at The People's Choice Award.  I voted with my pocketbook, and now it's a permanent part of our collection.

American Impressionist Society (AIS) 14th Annual National Juried Exhibition 10"13

Bruce and I  went to see the American Impressionist Society (AIS) 14th Annual National Juried Exhibition in Charleston.  Outstanding artwork.  All the big guns were there.  So nice to see their artwork in person.   ( And more than a little humbling as well.)   This crew really are Masters at what they do.  This is definitely a "must see" exhibition if you are anywhere in the area. 

The exhibition is scheduled to run through October 30

 For more information please contact M Gallery of Fine Art at 843.727.4500, m@mgalleryoffineart.com, www.mgalleryoffineart.com, or stop in 125 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29401.

Poinsett Bridge Revisited 9 '13

My reference photo of Poinsett Bridge taken in Oct '12

Some of you may remember that I painted a landscape of  Poinsett Bridge earlier this year.   ( see http://ccampbellsfineart.blogspot.com/2013/04/poinsett-bridge-4-13.html). The photo above is the way the site looked on the day we visited it.   It was a rainy day, and as you can see, while the local color was spectacular, it was definitely on the cool side of the palette.

My  first painting of Poinsett Bridge  complete in April of '13

 While I took some artistic license with arrangement of the vegetation, my original painting of Poinsett Bridge held true to the colors I had seen.   As nice as the painting was, I just didn't feel attracted to all the cool colors. So I decided to take a second stab at it.  

A  second painting of Poinsett Bridge completed  Sept '13

This one retains most of the original paintings composition, but uses a warmer palette.  I'm much happier with this version .  I guess it all comes down to personal taste.  Mine runs to the warm colors, so even when I paint a lovely cool colored painting, I am never thrilled with it.

Which do you prefer?

Santee River Delta 9'13

Highway 17 cuts across the wide Santee River Delta between Georgetown and Berkley Counties via two very long bridges. Between the two bridges is an island with a small parking  pull off for wildlife viewing.

Completed painting

In the morning, the Delta fills with fog.  I loved watching how the scene changes as the mists move around obscuring or highlighting the various elements in this lovely wilderness. The fog does however make it hard to plein air paint a scene that is constantly changing.  After several frustrating attempts,  I decided on this attempt I would take a different approach.

This painting was  started in the studio from a photo I had taken earlier  in the month .

Photo shows WIP onsite over the under painting  and the  main elements blocked in

I toned the canvas with a bright coat of cad red, then blocked in the main  nearby landscape features with ultramarine blue. After  the under-painting and main composition was laid in and dry, I competed the rest of the painting  on site. As usual, the fog continued to hide or reveal the distant elements of the scene, but the  values and colors of the closer landscape remained relatively constant enough for me to finish the piece to my satisfaction.

Little Red Barn 9 '13

Little Red Barn photo

It seems that when it comes to plein air painting I am a bit lazy.  Or maybe, it is that I just don't like having to hunt for something to paint. Why waste the golden hour scouting unfamiliar locals, when one can just drive down the road and find something interesting  to paint?  The majority of my plein air paintings has been painted  on or near Highway 17. And I have a huge stash of reference photos to remind me of promising subject matter that  I have spotted in my travels along  this major coastal thoroughfare. 

Little Red Barn painting

 Case in point: The Little Red Barn is located on Highway 17 in Pawleys Island (across from Hobcaw Barony) . It is less than five miles from my house.  Waking up early in the morning to a stormy sky, I knew there was a high probability the barn would soon be awash in really dramatic light. I managed to capture the lighting on the barn and foreground  foliage before a  passing shower sent me packing. 

Like many of my plein air paintings, it is not a perfect rendition of the actual scene. In my rush to capture the dramatic light on the main subject, I  hurried through the sky and the background. The trees on the right were not fully completed before I had to leave. They look more like oaks than pines.  I haven't decided yet whether I want to leave those tree tops as is, or reshape their tops in the studio.  Most likely, this  little 9" x 12" will become the study for a larger studio painting.

CAG at Magnolia Plantation 7' 13

Spent a wonderful day exhibiting at Magnolia Gardens History Fair with the Charleston Artists Guild

Photograghy at Margnolia Plantation and Gardens 7'13

One of the benefits of being a member of Charleston Artists Guild  is free admission to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.  As a result, I have been there many times.  Yesterday, however was my first in mid-summer.  I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful it is at this time of year.

When I wasn't hanging out at the CAG exhibit booth, I spent much of my free time in areas of the Plantation I had not visited before, like the Audubon Swamp Garden.

  You can get really close to the raucous juveniles and the rookery on the boardwalk through the swamp so it was not too late in the season to get some interesting bird photos.

 I also followed the bike path along the river and through the rice fields.

 The views along  that path were  spectacular as well.  Pretty sure some of these reference photos will become paintings as well

New Painting of Cheraw State Park 6 '13

 

Last weekend my husband and I took a trip to Cheraw State Park. I am still deeply engrossed with painting South Carolina's State Parks. and hoped to get some good reference photos for the series . The trip turned out to be a travel "adventure": we got hit by rain, tornado warnings, and both the RV and the two vehicle broke down on the way home. Never the less I was determined that some good would come from this adventure, When I got home I started working on a painting from a quick sketch and a photo I made of two people in a canoe in Lake Juniper at Cheraw State Park last weekend. The blurry photo  above  is the way the camera saw the scene. The second image  below is the painting I did once I got home. As you can see, the scene was a lot more vivid in my minds eye.

 

Grand Opening of SAG Gallery at The Market Common 5 '13

This evening the Seacoast Artists Guild officially opened its new gallery at The Market Common. President Woody Bower kicked the event of with a ribbon cutting and a word of praise to all those who worked so hard to make this event possible.

 

Joining Woody in the Welcoming remarks was The Market Common Representative, Brooke.

 Both had especially high praise for our Publicity Chair, June Groft, who spear-headed the project from Day one.

The event was well attend by the artists, their families and friends, as well as the general public.

The live demonstrations put on by artists

Muralist, April Bensch ( with Maria Delaney)

Sculpture Marlene Askin ( with Margaret)

Painter, Sharon Sorrell

and Wood Carver, Richard Cash and Jeweler Doug Elder all drew special attention from the TV and local news media.

Of course, refreshments prepared by our hardworking behind the scene staff were a favorite with everyone

Congratulations, Seacoast Artists Guild members.  You did a great job.

Check out what the local press had to say about the event

http://www.carolinalive.com/news/story.aspx?id=893565#.UYUgRUrhfpy