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"

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?

WIP- Day 3 Middleground of "Ricefields on the Ashley" 7"13

Sorry about how dark this photo came out.  The foreground tree is really is very dark in value, butit also has a lot  more variation in the foliage colors than you can see in this picture.  Today I focused on correcting the values and shapes within the clouds and the  middle ground of the ricefields.  Tomorrow I will work on the foreground near the bottom of the picture,  making the sky-holes in the foreground tree a bit more realistic, and adding any finishing touches I think are needed.  
See the two  earlier posts  in in this process beginning with the first on July 16th

WIP Day 1 The beginning steps for "Ricefields on the Ashley" 7 ' 13

Remember those reference  photos  I took  when I visited Magnolia Plantation on  July 6th? 

I started working on a new painting based upon one of the photos and a quick sketch I made at the time.

This is  how I painted the first pass.  I've put down a thin wash of Golden CAD Red Acrylic Ground atop a 16" x 20" Raymar panel.  This will add warmth and sparkle to the predominately cool hues of the final painting,  Next I used some Gamblin Ultramarine Blue Sketching oils to outline the shapes.  Then I filled the tree  shape with a thin wash of Ultra-marine Blue Sketching  Oil, and the ricefields with Gamblin's Red Earth Oxide Fast Matte Oil Paint.  For the Sky shapes I used Gamblin's Fast Matte mixed with the new Gamblin Portland Cool White.  At this point I have the basic shapes and values  and temperatures roughed out.  Now I have to wait awhile before I can start adding the local color atop the value map. That shouldn't take too long as all the paints I used are either thinned or have alkyds to speed the drying process.

More to follow.

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

Magnolia Gardens Photo Shoot 4'13

  The Charleston Artist Guild is collaborating with Magnolia Plantation on a  exhibition of paintings of Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.  Even though the exhibition won't happen until next Fall, I though it wise to visit the plantation  to start scouting out painting locations and to collect some additional reference photos .

 

Bruce volunteered to come along as chauffeur and part time equipment caddy.  ( He is incredibly patient about pulling off the highway for me to take a photo of something I've spotted along the road, and very helpful in holding my purse and camera so I have both hands free to do a quick sketch).

The fact is I enjoy his company and he is a good photographer in his own right..

 

 He introduces  interesting and different perspectives often pointing out  subjects I would have overlooked had he not been along.  e.g. it was his idea to visit the plantation's  slave village where I got this and several other  interesting photos

It is a good thing we went when we did.  Most of the camellias were already spent, and this years rains had knock off many of the azalea blossoms.  Still we did get  some very good classic shots of the grounds in bloom taken this one taken near the Administration Center Pond.

 I  have numerous reference photos of Magnolia Plantation from visits made in the Fall and early Spring but   the  none were in quite the same weather conditions.   Today was very gray and overcast, giving an entirely different look and feel to the grounds..

.. some spots were almost ethereal and others very stark compared to the exuberant photos I had taken of the same scenes  bursting with color in fall and early spring of previous years. ( see 11/20/10  "Magnolia Plantation and Gardens Photo Shoot 11 '10")

We both got some really beautiful photos

Brookgreen Night of a Thousand Candles 12 '11

One of my favorite things to do during the holidays is to visit Botanical Gardens at night.  Quite a number of them decorate with special holiday light shows and have all kinds of family oriented holiday activities .   We visited the Lewis Ginter Gardens in Richmod on this trip, but Brookgreen Gardens  in Pawleys Island SC  is still  my favorite.

 

Dec 3^rd  was the opening night of Brookgreen Gardens Night of a Thousand Candles.  I and my camera spent the evening documenting the spectacular beauty of the gardens at night.

Every year, for three weekend evenings,,  Brookgreen Gardens come to life  with holiday spirit amid the soft glow of more than 5,500 hand-lit candles and countless sparkling lights.

   

The sculptures are even more beautiful at night than they are by day. They almost seem alive

  The  sculptures in the pools and fountains appear to be dancing

The  heritage oak trees take on an other worldly look and seem even more ancient and massive at night

 

It's a wonderful way to celebrate the holidays while collecting nocturnal  photo references for a local landmark

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens Photo Shoot 11 '10

As a belated Birthday gift, Bruce took me to see Magnolia Plantation and Gardens just outside of Charleston SC. But spent most of my time in the gardens.  The place is huge.... walkways wander off everywhere.  One could spend days exploring the place.

 It is a pre-revolutionary plantation and boasts the oldest established horticultural gardens on the continent.  The house and grounds have been in the same family for over 300 years.  Starting right off with the first owner,  formal flower gardens were planted and cared for as carefully as the rice fields.  Each successive owner added to  size of the gardens  and enhanced the number of species collected.  They were careful to balance art with nature by providing habitats to protect the native wildlife.

I took lots of photos of the statuary

and of the wildlife

                          Even at an off season like late November, the place is spectacular.

I was especially impressed with all of the subtle shades of gray and purple and green I saw in the  water gardens.  If I painted some of these scenes I would probably be accused of faking it.
can't wait to come back in the spring when all of the azaleas are in bloom

Street art at the Pawleys Island Art Festival 9 '10

Once a year, the Georgetown Cultural Council sponsors a series of events which include drama,  music, dance, literature,  and of course visual arts. This year's series included a mini workshop on how to do chalk painting.

The event was held on the grounds of the historic Litchfield Plantation.

Some of the results were spectacular.

(Above) A Picasso like abstract 

(Below)  A photo realistic portrait

And of course some beach scenes

Bookgreen's 2010 Art Craft Fair 6 "10

Above:  Welcome Center Portico Exhibits  Included  Anne Malarich's Photography

  

 

Brookgreen Gardens usually hosts its annual Art Craft Fair the first week in June.  We  attended last year as a collector and was impressed with the quality of the work.

Below:  Welcome Center Circle Tents Exhibits included Some Moles Fused Glass Art and Terry Lee Johnson's beautiful turned Wooden Bowls

We  planned on attending this year  with the mindset  of someone who might want to be an exhibit in next year's show. I reasoned that if nothing else, the attending the show would give CC  a chance to scout the determine if she wanted to apply next year.  And of course,  she can always use an extra reference photo or two for her local landmark series on this popular destination.

Above: Jeff Sturm Demonstrated his oil painting techniques

Below:  Watercolorist Nancy Van Buren  talks with a customer about her art.

That being said, we are truly glad we did make the time to go to this show.  We would recommend it to any art lover.   It is really one of the better art events in the community.

Georgetown Watercolor Society at Dunn Acres 5 '10

The activity for the monthly meeting of the Georgetown Water-media Society was plein air painting at Dunn Acres. Out hostess, Pam Dunn, and her husband Max opened their lovely restored rice plantation manor (below) and all of its gardens for us to paint in.

 The manor sits on bank of the Black River with beautiful views in each direction

( Above: looking east) ( Below: looking west)

The front of the manor faces a series of aquatic gardens that Max has constructed out of what was once an alligator infested jungle of swampland. Max told me that when they bought the property, the grounds were so overgrown that it took a bulldozer to reach the manor house. He has turned it into a series of aquatic gardens that any public arboretum would be proud to own. (I my eyes, it was more beautiful than most public gardens).

From the manor house, well laid out paths and bridges lead off to the cypress ponds which right now are lined with several colors of blooming iris. At other times of the year, Azalea, and roses bring welcome color and contrast to the dominate green.

 

In addition to the cypress gardens, there are several beautiful waterlily and lotus ponds.

There were so many beautiful spots it was hard to know what to paint.I finally focused upon a lovely little statue of a little girl sitting on a cypress stump.

You'll be able to see the  two finished paintings on my website as soon as the paint dries enough for me to photograph them. (See also follow on posts about   plein air pain(t) ing.)