Posted in daily painter, Small Town Life, tagged daily painter, Landscape, plums, Small Town Life, Virginia Artist, West Virginia on August 24, 2009| 3 Comments »
Up on Twin Mountain in West Virginia yesterday we walked along the orchard road. Along with the apple trees there is a long row of plum trees.
The plums are dark purple but they show up blue on the trees. Really beautiful! And the trees are loaded.
Aren’t they great??? Just waiting to be ready to make into jelly!
Posted in daily painter, Small Town Life, tagged art supplies, daily painter, oil painting on August 22, 2009| 2 Comments »
There are so many advantages to living in a small town that it’s hard to complain when you run into one of the disadvantages.
But one of the biggest disadvantages for artists is that there is not a convenient art supply store here. I don’t really think a lot about it though until someone asks me where I buy art supplies, a question I got Thursday during one of the demos that I did.
Thank goodness for the Internet and UPS and FedEx! There are several really good art supplies with terrific catalogs. The one I order from the most is Jerry’s Artarama in Raleigh, NC. They have a super store there and in a couple of other locations around the U.S. but I order from them online at www.jerrysartarama.com . They often have wonderful sales and when they do I stock up on the items I use most, canvas panels, paints, and frames. There are a couple of other good suppliers as well and I’ll talk about them in future posting.
Posted in daily painter, Small Town Life, tagged Art Walk, daily painter, daily painting, flowers, impressionism, oil painting, Small Town Life, Virginia Artist on August 21, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Impressionist's Poppies
There are many days as a painter when I spend a great deal more time on marketing and promotion than I ever do on painting. Yesterday was one of those days.
I spent the morning with a group of ladies from the Garden Club in Front Royal, where I did a demonstration for them and talked about painting and what it is like to sell art for a living. They were a delightful group of ladies and we were hosted at a the lovely home of Jean Orsi. While doing the demo on the screened in porch at the back of her home we got an unexpected surprise. A HUGE black bear went running across the yard and over the fence into the woods behind her home. What a shock! And he was big! I wish I could have taken a photo but I had brushed in hand instead of my camera. Darn.
Many thanks to Darlene Goldman for inviting me to speak to your lovely group of ladies. It was great fun for me.
Set up to Demo
And since yesterday was the 3rd Thursday, it was Art Walk Night in Front Royal and I set up to do a demonstration at Delilah’s Art & Gifts on Main Street. It was very hot outside last night so I set up inside. I couldn’t decide what to paint so since I had the palette from the morning’s demo, I decided to do another version of the poppies that I had painted for the Garden Club.
The good news is that we had a lot of people come out for the art walk last night. It was a great crowd. And thanks to all who came into Delilah’s.
It’s always fun when little ones come with their parents. I was painting and this young lady came in with her folks and she was obviously a little tired but when I asked her if she would like to try painting she immediately said yes!
So her dad helped her stand on the stool and she took the brush and went to work.
She wasn’t bashful at all about putting the brush to canvas….
And I always like getting a little help with my work! Thanks!
Posted in daily painter, Small Town Life, tagged daily painter, daily painting, impressionism, Landscape, Shenandoah Valley, Virginia Artist on August 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Speaking to Linden Rotary Club
I spoke to the Linden Rotary Club yesterday morning. They meet at 7 a.m. at The Apple House. It’s a great group of folks doing great service work in our community and worldwide.
I also did a demonstration for them of this painting. It is a version of a view of Signal Knob.
Most people are surprised to hear how much time is actually spent painting and how much time it takes to promote and market the work. It takes a lot more time to get the word out there to sell the work than to actually create it.
Thanks to Debbie Grove for inviting me to speak to the Linden Rotary Club. I appreciate your support.
Posted in daily painter, tagged daily painter, daily painting, flowers, impressionism, Virginia Artist on August 18, 2009| 1 Comment »
Sunflowers
Sunflowers is an oil on 10″x8″ canvas and is available for $195 framed.
I’ve been having computer difficulties this morning. Always a pain when the computer is not working.
Posted in Art Class, daily painter, tagged Art Class, art lessons, cat, daily painter, daily painting, impressionism, oil painting, Virginia Artist on August 17, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Cat in the Window was an art class lesson for the Wednesday Oil Painting class. Here is the start.
And the progression.
And the finished painting. It measures 10″x8 and is an oil on canvas panel.
If you are interested in learning to paint, see the tabs at the top of the page for Art Lessons or Workshops.
Posted in daily painter, tagged daily painter, daily painting, impressionism, Landscape, River Festival, Shenandoah River, Virginia, Virginia Artist on August 14, 2009| 1 Comment »
River Reflections
Sticking with the river theme from the last day or so, today’s painting is River Reflections. It is an 8″ x10″ oil painting and is available for $145 (unframed).
And don’t forget the River Festival tomorrow in Front Royal.
Posted in daily painter, tagged art lessons, daily painter, daily painting, flowers, impressionism, oil painting, tonal study, Virginia Artist on August 12, 2009| 1 Comment »
Sometimes it is good to practice things that are most difficult to paint. And every painter has something that is a challenge. For me it is flowers. They are really difficult to paint without them appearing flat.
One way I have learned to practice to try to improve my technique is through tonal studies. I paint the set-up in tones of black and white, usually with acrylic paint. Then I allow that to dry.
Next I add some color, using oil color and a glazing medium, I paint thin layers on top of the tonal study.
I continue to adjust the colors until I get it to a place I like. Often, once it is at this point, I will set it aside and look at it for several days, deciding what else it needs to complete the painting.
And that is where I am with this study. I continue to tweak it. And maybe one day, when it is really finished, I will post another photo of it.
Posted in daily painter, tagged Abstract, abstract art, daily painter, daily painting, Landscape, Shenandoah River, Virginia Artist on August 10, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Sky-River-Land
While working on a couple of pieces for the upcoming River Show at the Blue Ridge Arts Council I kept thinking of an abstract piece that would represent the look of the river and it’s surroundings. This is what I came up with.
It is a nonrepresentational abstract on 24″x12″ gallery wrap canvas. The three smaller canvases each represent sky, river, and land.
I haven’t done abstracts lately but I really enjoy the freedom of the work. Maybe I’ll do some more this week.
Posted in daily painter, tagged daily painter, daily painting, impressionism, Landscape, oil painting, painting, River Festival, Shenandoah River, Small Town Life, Virginia Artist on August 8, 2009| Leave a Comment »
"River's Edge"
“River’s Edge” is an oil on 12″x24″ canvas. It is a view across the Shenandoah River with the mountains in the background. This is another painting that I have just completed for the upcoming River Show at the Blue Ridge Arts Council that is being held in conjunction with the River Festival on August 15th in Front Royal.
The Studio 