Get Away

Hubby and I took a little trip to northern Michigan. Visited friends in Traverse City and then spent a couple of days around Petoskey. I didn't get time to paint, just did a couple of sketches.

Took some pictures though... maybe one of them will wind up in paint?


I always like the Boardman River in Traverse.

And of course the south shore. Not many boats out yet.

This is the porch outside our lodging at Boyne Mountain. Notice the fireplace is facing the inside as well as the outside. Nice! Too cold to even enjoy.

.....more pics

Took myself a hike and found this neat river.

The river flows right out into the Bay

I was sketching when this fella decided to watch.

I haven't seen this many Trillium since living in upstate New York. Found this article interesting.

"Picking a trillium seriously injures the plant by preventing the leaf-like bracts from producing food for the next year. A plant takes many years to recover. For this reason in Michigan^[1], Minnesota^[2] and New York^[3] it is illegal to pick and/or transplant trilliums from public lands without a permit from the State."

And some people get around in one of these modernized golf carts.

Guess that's a wrap....

Bye ya!

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.....

This and That

Looking forward to warm weather and painting outside again.

I attended the IPAPA (Indiana Plein Air Painters Assoc.) annual meeting several weeks ago in Indianapolis.

It's always good to see familiar faces. We traded small unframed paintings and I came home with a Jeff Klinker original. It's hanging on my newly developed "Friends Wall".

That's all for now......

Portraits

Its been a long winter.

Thought maybe I'd get outdoors in the snow and paint but alas.... it didn't happen.

Took a bit of a detour and dabbled in some portrait painting.

Maybe I need more practice before I'm willing to post anything. Most is not finished anyway.

I found this quote to be helpful....??  I'll keep practicing.

"Imagine breaking down even the most complex painting into just a handful of shapes. Painter Ron Hicks has found that the process of portrait painting can be intimidating, if not overwhelming, to even the most practiced painters because a lot of detail is often confused with what makes a successful portrait. For Hicks, it is just the opposite. Hicks believes that a powerful oil portrait--or painting of any subject, for that matter--is not in the details, but in the fundamental forms of a composition. A well-executed portrait is one that describes a person's face or bearing with just a few shapes. Just as you can probably identify a friend or loved one from a distance because you know the general structure of their face and head, you can paint a portrait by representing those same large masses."     by Ron Hicks

Guess I'd rather be in Paris?

More later......

Painting Together

I found this post in one of my Reader sites: "Artist Daily"

"As much as the stereotype of the solitary painter working alone and shutting him- or herself off from the world makes artists seem mysterious and cool, I've found that artists tend to be fairly social creatures, and their cool factor isn't lessened by their sense of community.

But I think it is mostly about enjoying each other’s company. Working creatively takes a lot of personal perseverance and being able to come together as a group with friends and fellow artists makes the struggles seem less insurmountable and the successes a lot more worthwhile. And there is always the opportunity to learn from each other—that’s what I enjoy the most. Open and honest dialogging on what we are all passionate about. 

Sometimes you compare and contrast working methods and come away with a better understanding of how the process can work for you and how you can achieve your own vision knowing what others have tried.

You can also get exposed to new ways of working and share discoveries you have made about your medium of choice or working method. "

As I read this I was reminded of our little group of artists that have been meeting almost every week for the past 5 years. There are about a dozen of us with a variety of medium and level of ability. It's a time I very much look forward to.

Been working on some drawing lately. Like anything else practice is necessary to become better so here are some practice pieces...... Next time maybe there will be improvement?


I like tennis so this is a combo effort.

I finished up these pieces a while back.

There are more of this barn.

I really loved it and have had fun painting it

from several different views.

Guess I'll be signing off now....

bye