46th International Sketchcrawl

Sketched with Joel, Heather, and Casey in cold and sunny downtown Fredericksburg today.
Here are my sketches. The first two were done outside but when Joel's watercolors began to freeze, we moved inside and I did the third one from a second floor window.

6"x6"x6" Show

Here are the little oil paintings I am currently showing in LibertyTown's 6"x6"x6" Show:

 Autumn Field 3"x3" Oil on canvas

 Calm Sea 3"x3"  Oil on canvas

 Poppies 4"x4" Oil on canvas

 Southern France 3"x3" Oil on canvas

 Wheat Field 3"x3"  Oil on canvas

Whitecaps 3"x3"  Oil on canvas

Been playing with oils

I took a workshop the other day with Andre Lucero who lives in Goochland VA and is an wonderful landscape painter. He also does amazing portraits. I decided to try my hand at oils for the first time since college. They now make them water soluable so there is no smelly turpentine or linseed oil. Easy clean up too. We watched Andre demonstrate a plein air landscape then proceeded to do one ourselves. Here is my attempt:

It was really a lot of fun and I learned so much. I will probably do more oils but it takes some thought because it's totally backwards from the way I paint with watercolor.

Don Crow Workshop

I know, I know, it's been a while. But I'm back to my painting again and have been quite productive the past 2 weeks. I took a painting class through VCU with Don Crow and did a lot of self-exploration. One thing led to another and I got started in a new direction. I found that I was enjoying simple landscapes and was making them up rather than looking at a photo. This one was one of my favorites:

"storm's a-comin'"  11"x7" watercolor on Arches 300#  

 I incorporated the wash technique I learned from Iain Stewart in February and did a bit of wet-on-wet work using a credit card as a tool. Some of the fine details were done with a rigger brush.

The last working day of class I decided to use up some scraps of paper and made a dozen postcard-size landscapes. The sky was was done with a squirrel mop brush, applying color onto wet paper. The details were done completely with a rigger. I kept the palette in the pastel range for most of them and let the bottom color bleed into the damp sky. Nothing was planned ahead of putting color to the paper. I just let the marks and bleeds inform the picture. On some of them, I did nothing else. On others I added a bit of detail after the wash dried. I would love to hear what you think about them. They are so much fun to do and so very different from my usual illustrative, detailed style. They are all approximately 3"x5". Enjoy! (Be sure to click on them to see the image larger.)

 Landscape #1

 Landscape #2

 Landscape #3

 Landscape #4

 Landscape #5

Landscape #6

 Landscape #7

 Landscape #8

 Landscape #9

Landscape #10

 Landscape #11

Landscape #12

Show in Italy

As a member of FaceBook's Sketching Workshop, I was invited to submit a square sketch of a photo from a street scene in Pozzuolo, Italy. This is a community art project (local & international) in Palazzo Moretti. Thirty-two photos of a street view were transformed into 32 art pieces. Each sketch became part of a panoramic streetview exhibition in April and May, 2014, in Palazzo Moretti. Here is my sketch.

And here is the photo I was sent to work from...

Retired and lovin' life!

Some of you know this, but in Feb. this year I retired from my job as marketing director of a non-profit organization where I've worked for 12 years. Now I'm enjoying vacation mode and looking forward to more time to paint, garden and enjoy my family and friends. I've been working in my studio every day since I retired and am getting a lot done. Next up is a one-day workshop on Illustrated Journaling at Water Street Studio in Fredericksburg, VA. My friends Elizabeth and Lynette have graciously included me in their roster of instructors and I look forward to a long relationship with them. Here is the flyer for the workshop in case you would like to join us.

42nd International Sketch Crawl

It was far too cold to do an outside sketch crawl here yesterday. I was the only one who showed up anyway so I did a sketch of the coffee shop with my friend Risa. I'm probably going to add some color but thought I'd post the ink drawing anyway.

42nd International Sketch Crawl announce

The next sketch crawl is Sat. Jan. 25th. We're going to concentrate on architecture in downtown Fredericksburg. 10:30 a.m. at Hyperion Espresso. Join us!

January 11

Hi! Sorry I've been away for a while. Been busy. I've joined a new online sketching group and have gotten very involved. Here are some of my sketches for the portraits section. These are some of the other sketchers who shared a photo of themselves.

And here are some that were done of me:

!

41st Worldwide Sketch Crawl

Saturday I went to a local "pick-your-own" farm for their harvest festival. Got one sketch done on site before it started to rain.

I took a lot of photos so I made this page when I got home.

Autumn leaves

Okay. So I didn't complete the 30 in 30 challenge. But I did learn some stuff from it. I learned that it's ok to commit to something and not be able to accomplish it. I'm not beating myself up over it. I made a bet of a glass of wine with a sketching friend and neither of us completed 30 paintings. So we'll buy each other a glass of wine next time we're together. Another thing I learned is that it is very hard to keep the freshness in a painting when working from a sketch in my sketchbook. The sketches are always so much more lively and spontaneous. I want to learn how to make that happen in my paintings. Anyway, I've moved on and today as I was at work with little to do, I walked outside, gathered some fallen leaves and brought them in to my desk to sketch. All I had with me was a very small Moleskine sketchbook and a #2 pencil so that's what I used. I found it difficult to get the values right. The leaves were so similar in value that they all sort of blended together. But at least I sketched something. Maybe my October challenge will be to just sketch something each day. Might be more doable.

30 in 30 -- an update

In case any of you are paying attention, I have fallen way behind in this challenge. One good thing has happened though. The painting below of the Pyrenees from Carcassonne has just been accepted in the October Regional Exhibit at the Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts. That might not have happened had it not been for this challenge.

2 more for 30 in 30

I've been working from my France trip sketchbook. (You can see the sketchbook pages if you scroll down to the post where I uploaded them.) These are much looser than I usually work so I feel like they aren't finished. Let me know what you think. I've got about 3 more that still need some work and I'm starting new ones every day.

 Castle Beynac on the Dordogne

View of the Pyrenees from Carcassonne

Art Attack 2013

Had a great time Saturday painting with about 60 other artists in downtown Fredericksburg. It was a PERFECT day--clear blue sky, temp in the 70s, and a big crowd. I did more talking than painting but everyone was interested in my sketchbook. I actually did 3 small paintings working from sketches (which I hardly ever do). I haven't had a chance to scan them but will post them soon. Meanwhile, here's a shot of me working that my pal Robyn Ryan took:

No 7 of "30 in 30"

Here are the next 4 painting in the "30 in 30" challenge...

 This is my very first attempt at a seascape. The colors are a little distorted on my computer but you get the idea. My friend Risa too the photo that I worked from in Collioure after I broke my foot and couldn't tour the town.

 This is a castle on the Dordogne River this is owned by Americans! It's not open to the public but I kept seeing it (from the ramparts of Castle Beynac, from the river on a boat, etc.). Very Disneyesque!

Loved this watering can in the Jardins de Cadiot. It looked like it got a lot of use.

This is a window somewhere near Beynac. I love to paint stone walls.

Day 3 of "30 in 30"

Here's a little sketch I did last night. I ran out of daylight so had to go with something inside. I've enjoyed these end-of-summer flowers so thought I'd try a sketch of them. I may make this into a larger painting. There is a lot I see "off" with this one but it doesn't really bother me since it is just a quickie.

I would like to work more on the glass vase and the shine on the table. Looking at it online, the reflection of the books doesn't really "read" and the perspective of the table is wonky. Not that it has to be perfect, but if one part is like that, it seems to me the rest should be as well. Maybe I just need to do it again and make it all more wonky. Perhaps left handed. This one will serve as a decent study.

30 in 30 - Days 1 and 2

Here are my paintings for Sept 1 and 2. The first one of my garden shed was done standing up at my new En Plein Air easel. I felt like I was slipping on ice -- no control. This is going to take some serious getting used to. The house painting is of my neighbors house across the street. They are moving to TN so I gave this to them last night as a farewell gift. I painted it sitting down.

30 paintings in 30 days!

Can I do it? I just accepted a challenge to make 30 paintings in 30 days in September. If I can do it, I may have to change the name of my blog! no, wait, I can't do that--I just bought 500 business cards with this address. Oh well, maybe when I re-order. But first I have to prove to myself that I can do it. I'll post my work here, of course, but don't hate me if I miss a day here and there. Doesn't necessarily mean I'm not painting, just maybe didn't have time to upload.

I just bought a new easel (www.enpleinairpro.com) and I am hoping to use this challenge to practice painting standing up. I haven't picked a theme but one may evolve as I go along. I'm also thinking about the 6"x6"x6" show at LibertyTown and the Small show at FCCA so I'm going to work accordingly.

Wish me luck! Here's the link to the challenger's blog if you want to follow all of us:

http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.com/2013/08/join-me-for-september-30-paintings-in.html

 

Illustrated Journaling Workshop

I'll be teaching a workshop at LibertyTown Arts Workshop in October. Join us!
(Click on image to enlarge so you can read it)