Friends

Just before I came down with this lovely Sinus cold and began to hibernate, I finished this painting. I think of it as a study and may make a larger painting of it. I want to try it in a portrait rather than a landscape format to emphasis the height of the trees. I also think I would like to make the path narrower and not line it with rocks. It was fun putting in the people. Have an enjoyable day. Honor

Returning for down under

I am slowly returning from a bout of sinusitis and head cold. My husband tried hard not to pass it on but "that's life". As you can imagine, I have not been painting (my brain just would not cooperate) but I am able to keep up with all the new postings from other bloggers. They encourage me. I finally got up the nerve to post a still life I did at my last workshop. I think I still need to do some work on it. It was painted plein air which was the first time I did a still life outside. I am determined to do more. I welcome feedback as it helps me grow. Enjoy you day. Honor

Still Life with Fruit

Hi, Finished my 5x7 of a Pitcher with Fruit on Friday. I finally felt like I was more in control of my stroke. Jini James, who has been teaching me drawing and has been a great encourager for me, told me about using a Mongoose (synthetic) brush and what a difference. I also got a burst of energy and reorganized my studio area. All ready to start back painting on Monday. I went to an Art Fair in New Smyrna Beach and stopped by Brevard watercolor artist's show "Splash" ...it amazes me how many talented artists we are fortunate to have in this area. I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend. Honor

I WON!

Just received notice from Rachel that I won one of her paintings!!! WOW!! I am excited as I rarely win, so my luck has changed and in such a wonderful way!!! This morning, I went Plein Air painting with our local guild group ---- not quite so lucky as I am still having trouble with varying my greens and contrasts. However, I had a marvelous time, the weather was delightful and I to think - I almost didn't go thinking it would be too cold (68). After I returned home, I started a still life and used only C.Red Light, UltraM Blue, Alizarin Crimson and White. Needless to say it challenged me as I tried to duplicate exact colors.... I am going to repeat the exercise again and again and again until it becomes second nature to mix correctly. In the meantime, I am posting a painting I did of a tea set my brother brought back from Nam. I call it "Zen Moment". Have an enjoyable night. Honor

Workshop update

Just recovering from a three day workshop with Gay Faulkenberry. I felt better when I realized everyone was as exhausted at the end of each day. It was a valuable experience for me and I feel like I have made some commitments.
1. To establish a set palette and stick to it for at least six months so I master color mixing... duh!!!
2. I need to beef up my contrasts so they can be seen from a distance. It became very obvious in one of my paintings that I need to almost exaggerate the contrast especially when doing plein air and greenery. The canvas ended up a toned canvas.
3. I need to pay attention to warm and cool temperatures...
4. Most important, I need to paint everyday, maybe not complete a painting but PAINT.

Most of my paintings were studies and so I decided to post a still life I did a while back. I think doing still life for a while will help me immensely. Have an enjoyable day and include some fun in it. Honor

Oh My!

As I was arranging this set-up, the yellow pepper fell over and I was stuck by how the green and red one seems to be looking down on it. So I grabbed a knife and Voila!. However, I did not take into account that, as I painted away the yellow pepper would start to relax and the angle would change.... Too late, I took pictures but couldn't get quite the right angle on the camera. In addition, the angle for the camera and the way I looked at the pepper had to be very consistent when I turned my head back and forth between the easel and the still life. I persevered and I am happy with the results but learned some very valuable lessons in painting from life. I am off to the workshop tomorrow to learn even more lessons. Can''t say I am not exercising my brain. Have an enjoyable day. Honor

Oriole and Orange

Birds have always been a wonder to me. They seem so at peace with nature and to see an eagle or osprey soar on the currents is fascinating. I was at an outdoor jazz concert last week and an osprey soared for overhead for 4 minutes never flapping his wings against the cloud free blue sky. What a treat! I finally finished my birds but the blue bird didn't turn out as well so decided just to post this one. I wish I could say I took the photo but it came from the wet canvas reference image library which artists may access for reference photos. http://www.wetcanvas.com. I still have another painting of peppers but it will have to wait for another day or until I can get a good photo of it. I think I can detect an improvement in my photo skills but then a snag occurs and it is back to the beginning. Have an enjoyable day. Honor

Annie Leibovitz

Was fortunate to see Annie Leibovitz: Women exhibition at the Brevard Art Museum and I was totally impressed. Hope every gets to see her work at some time in their life. I am currently working on finishing three painting so am going to post a still life I did at Stacy Barter's workshop a while back and one I did at Susan Sarback workshop. They are two totally different approaches as at Susan's I only used a palette knife. I look back at my work and find I am more and more attracted to still life so may decide to settle down and focus on it for a while. Will wait to see my direction after my workshop this weekend. Have a marvelous day filled with peace and joyfulness. Honor