CC's pastels on Exhibit at SAG 5 "16

I decided to put some of my Pastel beach scenes on exhibit at

 Seacoast Artists Gallery this month.

Sandpiper Trail 11 '15

Jef Sturm is a well established regional oil painter, who is known for his loos brushwork and vibrantly colored landscapes.  When a member of my local guild told me that Jef was mentoring open workshop sessions, I jumped at the chance to get some tips on how I could loosen up. 

A reference photo of Sand piper Trail in Huntington Beach State Park, SC

The first session Jef had me bring one of my reference photos and try to paint it within  three hour period,  I  chose a photo I had taken of a hiking train through toe maritime forest in Huntington beach State Park, SC,  I used a palette knife and got most of the painting completed within the three hours.  It is worth noting that the restricted time allowed to paint the scene forced me to put in less detail and use looser strokes. 



Completed 8"w x 10" h oil painting of Sandpiper Train in HBSP

Jef's objective for this session was to learn how I paint and take note of my strengths and weaknesses.  He watched how I, set out my palette, the media I used, how  approached the subject, and the way I applied the paint. This time he didn't make many comments, but the next session he wants me to paint a scene from one of his reference photos.

PS You can see Jef Sturm's work at:
http://jefsturmpaintings.org/

Lake Thurmond Hickory Knob State Park 11 '15

 My 12" x 12" painting of Lake Thurmond at Hickory Knob State Park 

This is third week  of mentoring from Jef Sturm, He had originally suggested we paint the same scene together this week, but when I didn't receive a  source photo from him I thought he had changed his mind. Earlier this week I had started a painting of Hickory Knob State Park from one of my reference photos .  I had finished painting all the landscape portions of the scene and was really anxious to  complete the  painting while the vision was still in my head.

Reference photo for Lake Thurmond at Hickory Knob State Park.

The day the reference photo was taken it  was raining.   All the landscape colors were vibrant, but the sky and the lake were just a dull boring gray. I was hoping that Jeff would give me some tips on making the sky more dynamic. He did  look at the colors I was mixing, but  I guess he like the direction I was taking it as he didn't offer any direction so I finished it off on my own.  ( see the final painting above).

Meanwhile Jef  and another artist  started painting from a photo of a woodland and stream that he was projecting onto the wall.  It was very  informative watching how Jef paints.  The traditional way most of us learn to paint with oils is from dark to light. We start by putting down the darkest shape in some sort of dark blue, then the next darkest in the next  coolest color, and layering lighter shades atop the darker.  

Jef  uses a medium he mixes himself to thin his paint:   5 part gamsol, 1 part stand oil, one part  Damar Varnish (shake together until completely mixed) .  He dilutes his oil paints with this mix down to the consistency of water.  Then he paints large transparent shapes of every major value using various hues to cover all but the lightest part of  the white canvas.He uses a very large brush to do this.  The medium dries fairly quickly so by the time he has finished covering an 11 x 14 canvas, the first hue is dry enough to start adding another layer of transparent color atop of it.  When he is finished it is almost like looking at a watercolor, except that because he is layering atop dry paint, there is no mud. and the colors really sparkle.

I tried mixing some of this formula myself and playing with it at home.  It is wonderful for water with reflections, skies and other areas you want the light to show through (like leaves back-lit against a sky), but is less helpful for creating the heavy texture I love so much in oil paints.  In the next session,  Jef and I are each going to paint from one of my source paintings.  This will help me to better understand his technique for working with such thin layers.  I am pretty sure I will use  his approach in some parts of my paintings an continue to apply impasto like texture with a palette knife  in other sections.  Every new technique I learn has the potential to reshape my style into something even more exciting. So I am really looking forward to the next session.

Attalaya Festival 9_14

Sunday saw Bruce and I visiting Huntington Beach State Park's Atalaya Festival. It is my favorite Fine Art Craft show in the area, and we always look forward to going to see it. Actually, this was our third attempt to see this year's festival. The minute we arrived on both Saturday and Sunday it had started raining. The festivals exhibitors are set up in the out of door courtyards, and inside the castles' tiny rooms. As soon as it started raining everyone rushes indoors, making it nearly impossible to really see the artwork.

One of the more interesting aspects of this Festival is that it is held entirely within the walls of Atalaya, a Moorish-style “castle” built in the Great Depression as a winter home and sculpture studio by Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington, the New York philanthropists who also created Brookgreen Gardens across U.S. 17 from the oceanfront park.It is one of the most unusual buildings in South Carolina with its lush palm–lined courtyard, wrought iron window grills, and Moorish architecture presided over by a watchtower, Atalaya is a designated National Historic Landmark. Normally,the grounds are closed to the public except by guided tour, so being able to wander about at will inside the compound is a treat in itself. Sunday's weather was far less threatening and we actually had enough space to explore the historic building and to enjoy the fine art and craft on display..

It was indeed a fine collection of art. Over 100 artisans participated in the three day event. The Atalaya Arts and Crafts Festival is renowned throughout the Southeast as one of the best art events of its kind. A wide variety of artists from across the country eagerly enter the rigid jurying process each year, which ensures that the quality is always very high and diversity is broad.

Here's Bruce looking at the artwork of my favorite Pastel artist, Greg Barnes.

The Atalaya Arts and Crafts Festival is renowned throughout the Southeast as one of the best art events of its kind. A wide variety of artists from across the country eagerly enter the rigid jurying process each year, which ensures that the quality is always very high and the media is broad. Painters, potters, sculptures and fiber artists from all over the Southeastern states were on display.

In addition to the fine visual art on display, the event will also had a variety of musical entertainment, demonstrations by exhibitors, and an opportunity to sample some of the seafood delicacies for which the low country is known.

For more information on this event see:

http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/huntingtonbeach/huntingtonbeach-a-fest.aspx

Oconee State Park just Sold 2 '14

Thank you Seacoast Artists Guild for selling my painting "Oconee State Park" to a good home. It was one of my favorites.

Happy Valentines Day 2 '14

Happy Valentines Day, Everyone.

I took this photo in Huntington Beach State Park, SC last Spring.,

People Choice Exhibit Opens Today 10'13

 The 2013  People Choice Art Exhibition opens today. 

This is my entry.

Oconee State Park

This annual Charleston  Artist Guild  Exhibition is sponsored by First Federal Bank.

You can see this  piece and all of the other fine artwork

 between 9 am to 5pm daily from Oct 2nd through Oct 17th at:

First Federal Bank Building

34 Broad Street, 

 Charleston, SC

There will also be a

  

 an

Awards Reception:

October 10, 2013 - 6pm - 7:30pm

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?

MY new wall at CAG 7 '13

Yesterday was Changeout Day at the Charleston Artist Guild. All 70 + artists brought in their new artwork. I was happy to find that I had been assigned to a large stand alone wall space. It was perfect for displaying the two large State Park Series paintings I had brought in.  Drop by today and be amongst the first see all of our new artwork

Keowee-Toxaway Shores 7/13

This afternoon, I finally finished my  painting of Keowee-Toxaway  Shores (from my SC Parks  Series).  I had blocked in the composition about three weeks ago but "other stuff"kept me from working on it .e.g.  this morning's  top priority tasks were getting the other 12 finished paintings in the State Park Series photographed,  framed, and  gallery ready.   When I finally got back to my easel this afternoon, I wasn't even sure if  I could remember the scene.   After 10 minutes of watching the video clips I took on site, the excitement I felt when I was when I was first seeing the scene came flooding back .  I love technology!

Staying on Course 5 '13

My Business Plan calls for me two enter a National Competition this year, so I submitted two of my new State Park Series paintings in the Ray Mar 7th Annual Art Competition. Only twelve artists out of hundreds are juried into the competition each month. Then only the "Best in show" those 12 selections make it into the competition for cash prizes . While a cash prize is nice, even being selected as a monthly finalist is a Big Deal. Galleries and collectors take notice and reputations sky-rocket, so the competition is really fierce. I'm just glad that my work has progressed to the level that I feel comfortable entering it into a national Competition.

Poinsett Bridge 4 '13

Pointsett Bridge is the seventh of the paintings that I have completed for my State park Series this month.   Some of you may remember when I visited it last October (26th 2012) .  It is located just outside of Greenville South Carolina.  It was build in 1820 and is believed to be the oldest standing bridge in South Carolina.The graceful 14-foot Gothic arch stone bridge spans the Little Gap Creek, and  was part of a toll road that ran from Charleston, through Columbia and into North Carolina.

Campbell's Covered Bridge 4 '13

Campbell's Covered Bridge is the fifth  painting I completed for my State Park Series in April.  Many of you may remember it from  my post of Oct. 26,  2012 when we stopped to picnic at  this  is a well-preserved piece of Upcountry history.  It is the only covered bridge remaining in South Carolina.   Campbell's Covered Bridge is named for Lafayette Campbell, owner of a nearby grist mill who allowed his property to be used for the bridge's construction. Built in 1909, it bridges a lovely, meandering stream. The Campbell's Covered Bridge site is now owned by Greenville County.

Long Shoals State Park Still a WIP 3'13

I spent most of the morning working on the larger of the two paintings,  This one looks close to finished to me.  I', going to sit on it a few days before I decide whether to sign off on it.

Fisinshed 3"13

 I made some minor adjustment to the rock shapes and shading.

This is about as good as it is going to get.
Now I just need to name it and sign it.

Finishing touches. 3 '13

Above is  my reference photo for one of the two paintings I worked on in the Saluda workshop. It was the basi sfor the smaller of the two paintings I started last week in the Working Large Workshop.

  Above is how the painting looked at the time the workshop was over.  I had  roughed in the composition and covered the canvas with large areas of color.

I spent  the day working on this painting  I modified the shape of the rocks to more closely resemble a small gay-scale I had done of the scene.  Then I started  laying in some saturated colors and enhancing the highlights on the large rocks.  I am going to let it dry a couple of days while I study it for any minor changes, but right now I'm pretty happy with the results. 

Chaney Bay 3 '13

Remember that photo I posted of Chaney Bay in full bloom on 12/12/13? ( see  photo above)

I finally got around to painting it this week. Yellow is a difficult color for me to work with, but I really wanted to capture the 'stop ya dead in your tracks' dazzle of the yellow marsh daisies.

 I think I nailed it.  The painting will go on exhibit at CAG tomorrow.

Brookgreen Gardens Night of a Thousand Candles 12 '12

Once again we attended Brookgreen Gardens Annual  "Night of a Thousand Candles" Festival.
I always look forward to this holiday light extravaganza.

 I attend this festival every year in hopes of obtaining some great reference photos to use as the basis for holiday themed Nocturns I did get some good photos of the garden at night,  but this year I was a bit disappointed in the event.

For one thing, the Gardens oversold the event and it took patrons forty five minutes of stop and go driving just to get from the front gate to the parking lot.

Then the  the gardens themselves seemed a lot sparser this year than last. I understand the need for pruning overgrown plants, but why not wait until after their major event of the season is over, or at least fill the barren beds with  some annuals .They had also changed the light displays so that they seemed  quite similar from one garden area to the next.  Bruce liked that, but I thought it monotonous. I liked it better in previous years when there were more areas with colored lights

Of course there were the usual selections of wandering bagpipers, Celtic musicians, bell ringers etc.

and some beautiful  holiday floral displays.But many of those were things I could have enjoyed just as well by daylight. So I am hoping that next year the garden flower beds will be planted  and lit as well as their indoor displays were this year.

My Wall at CAG Nov.'12

I have three of my pastels of the local dunes up in the Charleston Artist Guild

Table Rock State Park, SC 10' 12

Third phto op adventure of the day Table Rock State Park, SC

Table Rock as seen from SC Hywy 11

The giant 3200' granite boulder known as Table Rock dominates the landscape of Pickens Co, SC. Cherokee Indian Folklore told of a enormous and powerful god who used the rock as his dining table, and the smaller peak in the foreground was the stool he used to sit on while eating at the table.  Settlers perpetuated the legend by naming the stone "Table Rock"

Table Rock as seen from State Park Road to Resort

The closer you get to the peak, the more impressive its mass. There are no roads to the top, but there are some hiking trails which will get your there ( if you are young and fit enough).

For my part, I was content enough to have a picnic by the lake at the base of the rock and think about how to capture the serenity and peacefulness of the moment.