Sedona Series now on Exhibit: 10 '15

Eight of my paintings from my Sedona Series went  into the Seacoast Artists Gallery today

 (at 3032 Nevers Street, Myrtle Beach, SC). 

 I  still have a couple more paintings from this series at home, as the oil is too wet to hang.

Sedona Series Layout: 10 '15

I have been working all week on getting the Sedona Series ready to be hung at the Seacoast Artists Gallery tomorrow.  As usual, the gallery notified me a couple of weeks ago, how much space I was allocated, and where that space would be.  It is now up to me to decide how many paintings I should put in that space , and  how to arrange that set within my  wall space.  

Of course the Gallery does have rules about the minimum amount of space they allow between paintings, and how close to the floor or ceiling one can hang art work,  but that still leaves a lot of room for arrangements.  I spent  most of the day today trying different layouts out on my living room floor to see which paintings looked  together by color and shape.  After a testing out a dozen different arrangements, I have finally settled upon this one.   It will allow me to hang  at least eight of the ten paintings from the Sedona Series, and still have enough flexibility in sizes that if one sells, I won't have to  rehang the entire wall just to replace it.  

Sedona Series Updated Photos 10 '15

Airport Mesa Overlook

One of the last things I do before framing my paintings is take a high resolution photograph of each one.  This requires mounting the unframed painting on a black velvet background, setting up photo lamps on stands aimed at 45 degree angles to the painting and mounting my camera on a tripod.  The camera is then  raised to be even with the center of the painting and perpendicular to the paintings surface.  The goal is to get a high quality photograph which is as close the painting's actual color as possible. This is what the the Sedona set looks like.

Where's the Bear?

Oak Creek's Slide Rocks

Bell Rock Trail

Bell Rock Meadows

Kachina Vortex

Moon Watcher

Cathedral Rock Reflections

Devil's Arch

Passover Mini Art: 4 '15

Let's face it; there is always some outside distraction  competing with art for my attention. Holidays are especially distracting, first because they are fun, and secondly because they are an important part of living a full social life,

It is not that I  enjoy the holiday more than painting,  or that I welcome the distraction it offers as an excuse to avoid painting.  The problem is once that I  start sharing my attention with other activities, I seem to fall out of  'the Zone Not only am I no longer able to focus on all the essential elements of a good painting, but I have a really hard time getting started again once the holiday is over.

 My solution to this dilemma,  has been to create  a series of Mini Canvas  paintings  that can bes et out as part of the decor for the holiday.  It doesn't have to be great art, just something fun that keeps me from freezing up.

This month Passover is the BIG Distraction.. It is one of my husbands favorite holidays. The Seder meals are  something he really looks forward to, so I created a little mini canvases showing each of the traditional elements of the meal like:

Kosher matzah,

Fresh horseradish and Romaine lettuce are the bitter herbs..

Hard boiled eggs , salt, and a lamb shank,

Parsley will be served as a vegetable,

And  the dates, an apple, honey and nuts which will be made into a fruit past call Charoset.

By the time the holiday is over, we  will have a completes set of Passover art, and I will not be as anxious about picking up a brush.

Another perfect day at CAG 5 '15

Spent a perfect afternoon in hanging out in the Charleston Artists Gallery talking to the crowds of art lovers who are in town for the Spoletto Festival.  I also hung  some of my new paintings from my "Buy Local" series .Here's a preview of one of them:

House of Blues 11" x 14" Oil

Gallery Hosting at Seacoast Artists Gallery 5 '14

My oil painting Golden Glory is in the gallery's front window

I had a great time today hosting at the Seacoast Artists Gallery in the Market Commons. Some people view gallery sitting as a chore.  Not me!  I loved seeing all the new artwork that went up May first.  And interacting with all of the guests who came is was a real pleasure.  I always come back from a day at the gallery recharged with creative energy.

BJ''s Seder Paintings 4"14

Several years ago, I decided to painted a   7"x5" miniature oil painting  of a  Halloween pumpkin  as a warm up exercise.   I thought it would make a nice table top decoration for the holiday, and without the pressure to create something "salable",  I wouldn't get frustrated if it wasn't 'a masterpiece'.   The exercise proved to be such an effective way to get the creative juices flowing that I soon had a sizable  collection of miniature paintings based around a holiday theme. They aren't for sale.  We just use them to make each holiday a bit more personal with some one of a kind art.

7" x 5" oil  "Matzo"

This year I decided to do an entire Passover series for Bruce based around the ingredients on a Seder Plate

7" x 5" oil  "Horseradish"

It proved to be a lot of fun

7" x 5" oil  "Parsley and Salted Water"

Some came out better than other, and a some may get  painted  in a different composition again next year

7" x 5" oil  "Egg and Salt"

A couple of the ingredients , like the shank bone and the charoset, are proving to be so difficult their canvases that  may not get completed by the end of this Passover (The Passover holiday ends  tonight)

5 " X 7" oil painting of "Wine and  Elijah's Cup"

The beauty of this project is that it doesn't matter.  Since there is now gallery or art show deadline looming,  The deadline is strictly in my head.  I can always work on finishing the set next year.

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

Applewood Gallery Paintings 10'13

Out with the old series

This afternoon,  my husband, Bruce helped me replace some of my paintings  from the  local landmarks series with some of my beach scenes. We love how the bright colors and playful subject matter stands out on the bright red Applewood Gallery wall.

In with the new.

Master Pastel Artists at the 14th Annual AIS Exhhibition

Congratulations to Clive Tyler and Aaron Schuerr for winning awards in the 14th  Annual AIS Exhibition..  I have seen time and again how  outstanding pastel paintings are often overlooked  when hung in exhibition with oils.  I paint in both oil and pastel, so am always thrilled when I see pastel paintings getting their fair share of  recognition when being judged against masterful oils.

To see all the paintings in this wonderful show go to:
http://www.americanimpressionistsociety.org/show2013/

Food for the soul 9 '13

I spent the morning filling out the registration forms  for art shows, and taking photos of the paintings I plan on exhibiting this fall ... you know -- doing  all that important but tedious stuff that is the business side of art.  Just when I felt my soul about to implode from boredom, my hubby arrived home with some photos he'd taken of  a spoonbill feeding in the Litchfield marsh. A quick painting one of them put the blues behind me.

It's going to the birds 9 ' 13

I have a great exhibit grid in the SAG Gallery at the Market Common this month.

I put 10 new paintings on display. They're right by the main window so everyone walking by can see my artwork .  All ten are oil paintings of low country bird scenes.

WIP Day 5: Ricefields on the Ashley 7"13

You are now looking at a photo of the finished painting: "Rice Fields on the Ashely".

"My Grocking" is done! This morning. I differentiated the bushy  foliage on the lower right of the foreground so that the willow is distinguishable form the tree behind it.  I also,  adjusted the saturation of the yellows in the middle ground (rice  fields grasses have more cad-yellows than before), and added a touch of blue to the sky just above the tree line on the horizon.  I even signed it (after I took the photo). At this point I consider the painting process complete.

The next step is to  wait until it is dry enough to have a professional photo taken of it*, then varnish and frame it,

* Note All of the photos for these mini lesson  posts were taken with a hand-held camera, under my studios ceiling lights, while the canvas was still wet..  The professional photos will  use a spots to give an even lighting over the entire painting, and a polarizing filter to ensure there is no reflective glare from those lights

See all four earlier posts of this process beginning with the post on July 16th

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.

 

Art is going up at SAG / Market Commons 4 '13

In preparation for the grand opening next weekend, Bruce helped me install my paintings on my wall at the Seacoast Artist Guild Gallery at The Market Common in Myrtle Beach. Thank you sweetie, you are so much better at hanging art than I am.

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.