Painting Thoughts

I ran across this statement from another blog I follow. It struck a chord so I thought I'd share it.

"Painting is tougher than the accurate drilling of root canals. Painter wannabees need all the help they can get. Composition, colour mixing, and the professional touch, to name just a few, can be troublesome minefields. The better mentors give options. Choose your mentors carefully. In my experience, some of the best love it so much they do it for a song. In some cases you might have to bring your own lunch."     Robert Genn

Speaking of mentors (the kind that do it for a song), I have been fortunate over the last couple of years to find such a person. Too bad the class is 140 miles away and I have to get up at 5am to get there in time. It was great while it lasted but circumstances have changed and I can no longer take advantage of it. I miss those weekly inspirational times and the wonderful people I met. However, I am glad I had the opportunity as long as I did.

Who was that you say?  Why Ron Mack of course! The same one that was in the Painting Indiana books.
I love his work! It just sings with light especially when viewed in person. If you ever get a chance to see his paintings at IHA or Hoosier Salon...... go for it. In fact we have lots of great artists in Indiana. This summer the Allen County Public Library is having Jerry Smith in for a 3 day workshop. I will be attending and am very excited to be a part.  http://www.jsmithstudio.com/ Check him out for yourself.

This is from a picture my daughter-in-law took while she was in Paris.  I liked the simplicity and color of the white cup and saucer.
It just reminded me of sitting at the cafe in the fresh morning air.

Maybe I'll throw it in a show?










That's all for now.....

         come back soon...

Workshops

I attended a workshop while in New Harmony given by Todd Williams. I met Todd last year while my friend and I were at the Plein Air Paintout.  We felt then that we would love to take a class from him. Patiently we waited the whole year. He is an excellent knife painter which was something I have wanted to add to my painting techniques. We were not disappointed. His demos were most instructional and his use of tissues and weird brushes to add final touches were breath taking to behold. LOL! Besides he is just a really great guy.

C.W. Mundy was also teaching a workshop. He is a well know Indiana painter whose work I also admire. It was fun to see him in action and to hear his commentary during a video presentation. Also a really nice guy.

OK... so you want to see some of the things I painted?  Remember now it was a time of practice so things aren't finished or parts are very rough. But I did use a palette knife and feel much more confident with it.

It rained  this day so
we painted from photos.

This is one of my
favorite places
in Brookville, IN

As you can see,
a palette knife
creates lots of
texture.

This is a brick fence with a wrought iron gate which I didn't put in. The Red Bud trees were almost gone.

An early start on the
front of a house.

A start on the corner of
a house.... don't think
this will work. Angles
are off.

The Wabash river floods
this time of year.
Again another start.

Bye for now.......

This and That

Guess I've procrastinated long enough. My painting juices are beginning to run again.

Maybe it's due to the workshop I've just attended or maybe it was the week spent in southern Indiana where the weather was full blown Spring. It was almost hard to come back to the cold wet dreary days in the north.

It's great to be around so many people with the same passion as myself. I suppose it would get old after a while but for a short season it's invigorating.

I started a painting some time ago and it's been staring me in the face on my easel for some time now saying... "finish me". So this week I buckled down to the task and finished it.

As I drove by the Swinney House in Fort Wayne late one afternoon and saw the light on the front of the house, it struck me that I would love to capture it in paint.

Well, here is the 

final result.

Be back soon.....