Virginia Artist | The Studio

Posts Tagged ‘Virginia Artist’

Mamie’s Tablecloth – A Free Pattern

Posted in Crochet, tagged Crochet, crochet tablecloth, free crochet tablecloth pattern, tablecloth pattern, Virginia Artist on March 5, 2013| 22 Comments »

A few weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon I picked up a crochet hook and some cotton yarn and started playing. This is what turned out. I like experimenting with stitches to see if I can make it work. I am not a professional pattern writer so this is very basic. You will need to join a round by slip stitching in the top of the first stitch. Adjust to make it work. I used Peaches and Crème 4-ply worsted cotton yarn. It took about 26 ounces.

And this is why it’s called Mamie’s Tablecloth!

Chain 5. Slip stitch to form a small ring.

Round 1: Ch 5. * DC in ring, ch 2. Repeat from * 5 times. Join with sl st in 3^rd chain of beginning ch 5.

Round 2: Ch 3, * 4 DC in ch 2 space. DC in next DC. Repeat around from *.

Round 3: Ch 4. * DC in next DC, ch 1. Repeat around from *.

Round 4: Ch 3. DC in next DC and in each DC around.

Round 5: Ch 5. Skip next DC. * DC in next DC, ch 2. Skip 1 DC. Repeat from * around.

Round 6: Ch 3. * 2 DC in ch 2 space. DC in next DC. Repeat around from *.

Round 7: Ch 4. * Skip next DC. DC in next DC, ch 1. Repeat around from *.

Round 8: Ch 3. * DC in ch 1 sp. Dc in next DC. Repeat around from *.

Round 9: Ch 5. * Skip next DC. DC in next DC, ch 2. Repeat around from * .

Round 10: Ch 3. * 2 DC in next ch 2 space, DC in next DC. Repeat around from * .

Round 11: Ch 4. * Skip next DC, DC in next DC. Ch 1. Repeat around from * .

Round 12: Ch 3. * DC in ch 1 sp. DC in next DC. Repeat around from * .

Round 13: Ch 5. Skip next DC. DC in next DC. * Ch 2, skip next DC. DC in next DC.

Repeat around from * .

Round 14: Ch 3. 2 DC in ch 2 sp. * Ch 1, 3 DC in next ch 2 space. Repeat around from *.

Round 15: Ch 3. 2 DC in same space, ch 1. * 3 DC in ch 1 space, Repeat around from * .

Round 16: Ch 3. DC in each DC around.

Round 17: Ch 4. Skip next DC. * DC in next DC, ch 1. Repeat around from * .

Round 18: Ch 3. DC in same space. * 2 DC in next ch 1 space. Repeat around from * .

Round 19: Ch 3. Dc in each DC around.

Round 20: Ch 5. Skip 1 DC. *DC in next DC, ch 2. DC in next DC. Skip 1 DC. Repeat around from * .

Round 21: Ch 3. 2 DC in next sp. 3 DC in each ch 2 space around.

Round 22: Ch 7. Skip 2 DC. * SC in next DC. Ch 7. Skip 2 DC. Repeat around from * .

Round 23: Sl St in next 3 chains. *Ch 7, SC in next ch 7 space. Repeat around from * .

Round 24: Sl St in next 3 chains. * 7 DC in next ch 7 space (shell made). SC in next ch 7 space. Repeat around from * .

Round 25: Sl St in top of next 3 DCs. * Ch 7. SC in 4^th DC of shell. Repeat around from * .

Round 26: Sl St in next 3 ch. * Ch 7, SC in next ch 7 space. Repeat around from * .

Round 27: Sl St in next 3 ch. Chain 4. * 5 DC, ch 1, 5 DC in next ch 7 space (10 DC shell made). Ch 1, DC in next ch 7 sp. Repeat around from * .

Round 28: * Ch 9. SC in ch 1 sp at top of 10 DC shell. Ch 9. DC in next DC between shells. Repeat around from * .

Round 29: Ch 3. 6 DC in next ch 9 space. * Ch 2, 7 DC in next ch 9 space. Repeat around from * .

Round 30: Ch 3. DC in each DC and 2 DC in each ch 2 sp around.

Round 31 – 32: Ch 3. Dc in each DC around.

Round 33: Ch 5. Skip 2 DC. SC in next DC. * Ch 5, skip 2 DC, SC in next DC. Repeat around from * .

Round 34: Ch 3. 3 DC, ch 2, sc in ch 2. 4 DC. * SC in next ch 5 sp. 4 DC, ch 2, 4 DC in next ch 5 space. Repeat around from * .

Finish off by working in loose ends.

Read Full Post »

The Ibis

Posted in Animals, daily painter, Travel, tagged acrylic, bird, birds, daily painter, Ibis, impressionism, Virginia Artist on March 1, 2013| 1 Comment »

Ibis in the Making 1

Ibis in the Making 2

Ibis in the Making 3

The Ibis is a long-legged wading bird with down curved bills often found in Florida. They are also known as the hurricane bird as they are generally the last to leave an area before a hurricane arrives and the first to return. I saw many of them on my recent visit to Florida but this reference photo comes from Cousin Linda who posted it recently on her Facebook page. Thanks Linda for the inspiration.

Ibis, acrylic on canvas, 36″x18″, $265.

Read Full Post »

Janice at Work

Posted in Art Class, tagged Art Camp, Art Class, daily painter, Virginia Artist on February 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Last week when I wrote about of abstract painting in class (Check it out here.) there was one student who I did not picture and I sure didn’t want to leave her out. Janice works mainly from family photographs and she does a terrific job. Currently she is working on a painting of her dad with his grandson. As you can see here it is an adorable composition. Keep up the great work Janice!

And for those of you who are curious, you can see that everyone works on a painting of their choice in class. Not only will you develop your painting skills but you will have a painting of your choosing. Come join us. Contact kwalker@doubledogdesigns.com for information or to sign up.

Read Full Post »

Tips for Better Paintings: Value Scales

Posted in Art Class, Tips for Better Painting, tagged Art Class, art lessons, Value, Value Lesson, Value scale, Virginia Artist on February 23, 2013| 4 Comments »

One of the first things I talk about in my art classes (and then I harp on about it continually) is that it is so important to use a variety of values in your paintings. Most new painters tend to work in the middle values. In other words, if you look at a value scale of 1 -10 (light to dark) most people paint in the range of 4 thru 7. And if the blues, yellows, greens, reds, etc. that you use are all in that middle range then your painting will appear flat. You MUST get some really light and really dark values into each painting for it to be successful. And the way to do this is to practice.

I was reading through a Walter Foster Publication called The Daily Book of Art and found an interesting quote. Joseph Stoddard said that his friend and artist Marilyn Simandle told him that “color gets all the credit, but value does all the work”. I couldn’t have said it better myself. 🙂

Read Full Post »

A Class of Abstracts

Posted in Abstract, Art Class, tagged abstract art, acrylic, Art Class, art lessons, Blue Ridge Arts Council, daily painter, daily painting, Virginia Artist on February 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »

At the Wednesday morning Adult Art Class Kathy came in with this large canvas and an idea for a large representational abstract. She hasn’t tried abstract before so we all decided to try something different.

The other Cathy in the class also painted a representational piece with a floral design.

My painting was a non-representational abstract painting. It reminds me of Easter so I decided to call it that. Easter is an acrylic on canvas and measures 18″x24″. While everyone thinks that abstract is easy and anyone can do it, to be successful it requires some thought and planning.

Read Full Post »

Valentine’s Bouquet – Two Interpretations

Posted in Art Class, daily painter, Serendipity, tagged Art Class, art lessons, daily painter, daily painting, flowers, impressionism, oil painting, roses, Valentine's bouquet, Virginia Artist on February 21, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Last Thursday, Valentine’s Day, one of my students brought this lovely bouquet of flowers to me at class. So we immediately set it up on the table and put a solid paper behind it to make it work for us as a painting.

Step 1- Lay in a shape

Step 2- Place some major flower shapes in the vase

Step 3- Continue developing the flowers and work in a background

Step 4 – Finish flowers with details

Cathy’s version of the Valentine’s Bouquet

And the final photo in this post is Cathy, my thoughtful student who gave me the flowers and this is her version of the same bouquet. This is a great example of how different things look when you are sitting just a few feet apart but looking from a different angle. Every painter’s interpretation is different. Thanks again Cathy for the beautiful flowers.

Read Full Post »

Kids Paint O’Keeffe

Posted in Art Class, tagged acrylic, Art Class, art lessons, Calla Lily, daily painter, flowers, Georgia O'Keeffe, O'Keeffe, Virginia Artist on February 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Georgia O’Keeffe, well-known for her very large paintings of flowers, said, “I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty.”

Last week one of my longtime art students requested that we paint an O’Keeffe flower. We chose the Calla Lily. And didn’t the kids do a wonderful job with their interpretation?!

Read Full Post »

Pat’s Bridge

Posted in Art Class, tagged Art Class, covered bridge, covered bridge painting, impressionism, Landscape, oil painting, Virginia Artist on February 14, 2013| Leave a Comment »

This is Pat. She is the most delightful person and a really enthusiastic painter. Pat’s painting of the covered bridge turned out GREAT! Keep up the wonderful work!

Read Full Post »

Great Classes Last Week

Posted in Art Class, tagged acrylic, Art Class, art lessons, impressionism, Virginia Artist on February 4, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Kids Display Fruit Still Life

We had some great classes last week for adults and kids art. Join us on Wednesday from 10:30-Noon or 5:30 – 7 for Adult Class or on Thursday from 4:15-5:15 for Kids Class or 5:30-7 for Adult Class. Painting is all about the desire to learn. You can paint if you just want to give it a try. Contact me at kwalker@doubledogdesigns.com to learn more. See you in class!

Read Full Post »

Mamie’s Portrait

Posted in Dogs, Pet Portaits, tagged acrylic, daily painter, Dogs, impressionism, pet portrait, Rescue dogs, Virginia Artist on January 26, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Miss Mamie, Acrylic on canvas, 12″x12″.

Reference Photo for Mamie’s portrait

I just completed a portrait of Mamie to hang on the portrait wall with the paintings of other dogs that have lived at this house with me. Clockwise from top left you will see Eleanor Roosevelt (Rosie), Truman, Jefferson, Lincoln, Boo, and Jed Bartlett. Now Mamie Eisenhower can be added to the wall.