Linda's Mug

4 X 4

Oil on panel

And here's another "mug shot" of one of my classmates from the Hilton Head gang.  Finding time to paint is always tricky but this week has been a killer, between my regular schedule plus mandatory extra shifts at my job, and Christmas decorating.  Tonight after work, I started in on this little mug of artist Linda Popple and determined to get it done no matter what.  I could have tweaked it a little more but here it is.  For all the mugs by all the Hilton Head gang, go to Maria Hock's blog site.  Maria's challenge has been to do a mug a week and I'm hoping to keep up with it although it's going to be a hectic and joyful month.  I'm looking forward to making up for lost time with my son who is several states away in grad school but will be home for Christmas.  And of course, nothing is more important than that!

Regula's Mug

6 X 6

oil on panel

Regula, my highly informative and talented Hilton Head workshop-mate, is this week's chosen one to be gang painted. She tried to look rough for her photo but I'm sorry girl, you just don't pull off mean.  And I tried, but I just can't make you look mean - not with those beautiful eyes of yours!  To see all the entries from our group for Regula's as well as Karin's mugs, as they come in, go to Maria Hock's blog site where she has set up a slide show.  Also,  check out the object of our workshop and our affection, Karin Jurick and her blog.  She's joining in on this little project for us to do all our mugs, one mug per week.

Sea Leveled

6 X 11.5"

Oil on panel

From one of the bazillion photos we took while at Hilton Head.  It might have been chilly but the ocean was so alluring, it would have to been iced over to keep us away.  This is of my lovely friend Mona, taking in the beauty.

 

Mug Shot of Karin Jurick

4 x 4

Oil

This kills me to start right of with a hero. But my classmates thought it would be fun to do and compare all our styles by painting all of our mugshots.  The "shots' aren't ment to flatter - just to have jun with.  And it was, it was fun to do a small paintings with a bit of gusto - But I'll just see how much fun it is when it's my  turn to have MY mug up there.  I can't stand to have a photo taken when I look good! And Karin, I apologize - you really are a lovely girl.

Mug Shot

4 x 4

oil on panel

And again, out of the workshop came this exercise of painting from mug shots.  This was especially fun to do because it was small and I really started to loosen up, using lots of greens, blues, purples, and grays to express his sallow complexion and mood.  

People in the class really got into this one - and have decided to keep it up by doing a series of all our mugs.  A great way to keep connected and keep painting.  I'm looking forward to "seeing" everyone again.

Bamboozled

8 x 8

Oil on panel

After class on Wednesday, we were set loose to get photos in the area.  My friends and I took the opportunity to visit Savannah where we met this gentleman weaving flower bouquets and crosses from bamboo.  Employing the economic strategies of every good capitalist,  he offered his goods for a hefty price but eventually bartered down to a reasonable sum plus photo rights.  He was charming and I came away with a workable photo plus a lovely bamboo flower.

Day Two

On the first day of the workshop, Karin walked us through examples of her work from the original photo to fully realized paintings and what a enlightenment that was.  It's so easy to be constrained by what we see literally instead of allowing our creative imagination to bring life and one's own personality to our work.  Of course there was so much more shared that day, including her first demonstration.

The second day, we set to work painting the same image from her demonstration and this is my exercise.  How to paint water remains a daunting mystery to me but I'll get there.

Karin's groupies

Being in Karin Jurick's workshop brought with it the extra bonus of meeting this wonderful group of artists.  I only wish I had the time to get to know each one better.

Living the dream

This past week, I had the amazing experience of being in Karin Jurick's workshop in Hilton Head.  Just watching her paint would have been enough to satisfy me, but along with her wonderful demonstrations came great advice and tips about everything from how to take pictures to marketing your work.  I can't say enough about how awesome and inspiring this week was. 

Last night I received the Elizabeth Yerks Memorial Award at the Ventures in Creativity Show here in Ft.Wayne  for my painting "Movie Night'.  I'm excited to receive the recognition and totally motivated to improve my skills.  I pulled a couple of good friends into my picture as my husband took this shot because I'm terrible about cooperating for photos.

Plant Manager

Oil on Canvas

15" X 30"

My husband Scott is a teacher so in between the school year and his summer school schedule, he throws himself into creating beautiful flower beds and gardens for our yard.  He loves to snatch up bargain flowers that have been poorly tended to at the store and bring them back to life and color with his TLC.  So this is for him.

Facing It

Oil on Ampersand

8 x10

The latest Carol Marine painting challenge  was to do a self portrait which was great fun but takes a big of courage to spend that much time critically looking at yourself whether it's in a mirror or a photo.  The last time I did one was nearly 30 years ago and whoa - thus the title of this piece.  The fun part comes in using a little discretion and poetic license in deciding to include each wrinkle, sag, bag, or whatever.  And I employed the classic "chin in hand" stance used almost automatically by women (once we've accumulated enough life experience), in order to do that little instant face life maneuver.  But again, the main thing was it was fun.

Movie Night

Oil on Canvas

20 x 16

A friend took this picture of her husband and daughters, caught in a moment of watching television.  I was so impressed with the balance and composition, I asked to paint it.  All I changed was the cropping and some of the background detail.  Once again, I learned some management techniques to deal with the challenges of reflective light and shadows.  And her kids are just perfect little models.

Nick

Oil on Canvas

18 x 24

This portrait of my son Nick is finally finished, or at least as finished as it's going to be.  It's been sitting in my workspace for awhile and I've modified it several times.  That's what I love about oils - they're perfect for someone who's never quite satisfied with her own work.

Guilt Free

Oil

6 x 12 inches

On two gessoed panels, each 6x6

 

I'm so happy that wonderful artist Carol Maine has started a new challenge site on her blog, Daily Paintworks.   This week the challenge was to do several small studies of the same subject and allow only 10 minutes for each one.  This was one of those great exercises that I need to do often, to limit   time to grasp the image, light, and color and transfer that information to the surface without overthinking and over working the painting.  I was lucky to get an extra day off this week and get a chance to get my painting ya-ya's satisfied, at least today!