Behind the studio
Posted in Art Work, and Other Artist Work
For those who are local – I have new minis at the CCAA Exton Mall Gallery. I stopped in this morning and there is some wonderful art there! Beautiful watercolors, pastels, acrylic, oils, photography, and new pottery on displays. They have a new jewelry artist whose work with stone and gems is just gorgeous. It's definitely worth a trip to check out what is there.
Posted in Art Work, and Peeking Behind the Easel
I've started a new painting and thought you might like to follow along from start to finish. The first thing I do after deciding what I want to paint is think about the composition and mull over colors. Sometimes, I'll sketch out an idea to help refine what I want to do.
Once I have a mental picture of the painting, the next step is gather up the photos, sketches, and other reference material. These help me see the shapes of what I am painting. Some artist project their references and trace the shapes. I haven't tried that – I like the process of drawing out the picture. For this painting I am using photos I've taken of irises and relying on years of observing irises up close in my yard.
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The next step is choosing the size canvas and base coating the background color. I like to paint the whole background to get rid of the white and to help balance colors and tones from the start. I chose a dark green that will help create depth later in the painting. After the base coat is dried, I begin sketching right on to the canvas. I use a pastel pencil or chalk because I can wipe away it away with a wet towel. This way I can redraw as much as I need to until the composition and the shapes are to my satisfaction. Here's the start of the painting:
Now comes the best parts – painting! Stayed tuned for the next step and a further peek behind my easel. : )
Posted in Art Work, and Peeking Behind the Easel
I love Moo cards! I'm not an affiliate nor do I get money from them. I just love their business cards! Why? Because you can put a different photo on each card – as many or as few photos are you would like. They are also reasonably priced, good quality, and fast. You can purchase as few as 50 cards or as many as you would like. They also print postcards, stickers, and minicards.
I like being able to quickly show my art work by pulling out my business cards when talking to people. I also think it's fun for my customers to have business cards with my artwork right on the card. If you are an Etsy shop owner, they made it really, really easy to quickly upload photos right from your shop to your cards. If you haven't heard of them – here's a link to take a look: Moo Cards This my new set of cards that arrived this week.
Posted in Art Work
Early July brings freshly picked blueberries around here. Whether they are the tiny Maine blueberries, the giant sized Jersey berries, or the freshly picked local berries, they are all delicious and taste like summer. If you have an artist in the family, you can count on finding them with their camera photographing the berries before anyone gets a chance to eat them.
I enjoy painting fruits and vegetables, and blueberries are one of my favorites. I love their color – blue – purple, sometimes a blush of pink or green. My favorite is their star-like ends.
You will often find a painting of blueberries in my work.
This matted painting on watercolor paper can be found in my Etsy shop.
Posted in Art Work, and Reference Photos
I have a new miniature painting up at my Etsy shop. I used some sea shells I have on hand from various family members. I laid them out on my work table as models to paint from directly. I painted the shells on a background of the beach and seashore where they were first found.
Here is the new miniature:
I have a larger, newly started beach painting that will also include shells. I hope to have that painting done by next month. So stay tuned.