"A Spoon Inside" - SOLD

I have a lot of fun arranging the cups for these stacked paintings. It usually takes a while before I land on something I like. I think before too long I'll have to get more cups.

"Suncatcher" - SOLD

I've been playing around with the idea of bling in my still lifes. These tomatillo "leaves" lend themselves to bling with all the little fine lines. I'm also still experimenting with the Ampersand Gessoed Hardboard panels I found I still had when I temporarily ran out of canvas panels recently. Because of their smoothness, they take detail well.

"Mouse Snack" - n/a

Here is another of Steve Worthington's mouse, Chubby. See his blog for other paintings of his mice.

I have posted some new workshops recently. Check them out here on my blog, to the right, or on the workshop page on my website.

"Crescent Moon Park" - SOLD

Two of the colors on Jennifer's palette were new to me: Indian Yellow and Thalo Red Rose. I got them ahead of time and played with them a little, but didn't see how on earth they would be very useful. So I was very curious to see how Jennifer used them in practice. Well ... the main thing she does is use a mix of them for her ground, and also for the drawing. I jumped right into this as grounds are something I use all the time. I enjoyed it, although for this particular painting I may have overdone it ... otherwise I like it a lot. Indian Yellow is also great for making darks AND lights, and I may end up adding it to my palette permanently.

Another thing Jennifer does is wait until the very end of a painting and then add what she calls "bling!" For this she uses a small brush with long bristles called a "liner," which I didn't have until the last day, when I did this painting. You can see my bling in the "highlights" of the trees to the right, and most of the single tree on the left.

This is the last of my paintings from the workshop - that I am willing to post anyway. It was a humbling experience, but I won't give up. I am back in Sedona next week to teach a workshop, and then almost immediately off to Germany, where I will have 3 weeks to paint outside!

Here's our class (sorry so small):

"Sedona Miniscape" - SOLD

On the third day we painted in Jerome, which is about 20 minutes from Sedona. The forecast said rain and that's exactly what it did ... all day ... well, until it started snowing. Some of us (not me) were able to find spots under overhangs to paint. I found a really cool little car at the bottom of a series of steps off the main road that I absolutely HAD to paint (you should have heard me when I saw it), but with the rain and all (excuses excuses, I know) it was just shy of a disaster. I was literally pouring out my box every 15 minutes or so. And then a truck came and parked right in front of the car. By that point my hands were so cold I gave up and went for lunch.

One thing I learned - when I started the painting, since there was water all over the canvas, the paint didn't lay down. It was very frustrating. After a while I wiped it down and started over. Because at this point there was a layer of oil over the whole thing, each new stroke went down much better.

The painting above I did one day after a failed attempt at the red rocks. I was walking around looking for a new subject when I found this little scene. Honestly it's my favorite from the whole trip.

"Slide Rock" - SOLD

So, as a recap, last week I took a workshop from the very talented Jennifer McChristian. The first day we spent talking about the importance of value studies, looking at a bunch of examples, going outside to see her do one, and then trying it ourselves. For this exercise we used black and white paint, which was difficult. I wiped all my attempts because they were so bad. Yes, BAD. But Jennifer did an amazing job. Here she is setting up to demo:

And here is Jennifer's value study. Keep in mind she normally does what I would call urbanscapes, and this was her first time painting in Sedona. She makes it look so easy.

My painting (at the top) is from Slide Rock State Park. It's called Slide Rock because the rocks under the water, a little up from where I was painting, are smooth enough to slide down. Every once in a while I heard a scream and lots of cheering - turning I saw a small child usually, with a pained expression, in the water, while family and friends cheered them on. Why the pain? The water was C - O - L - D!!!

"Drawn & Quartered" - SOLD

I'm just home from Sedona and too tired to write much. I promise I will post a full review of last week, tomorrow. And I'm sorry I didn't send out many emails last week - I was having some troubles - all fixed now.

"Seeing Double" - SOLD

Just a minute to post ... will tell you about painting in the pouring rain and snow later ...

"Pileup" - SOLD

Still here in Sedona and having a very ... fabulous time ... while cold. We went to a nearby town today to paint - Jerome - and spent the morning actually IN the pouring rain - dumping out my box from time to time. By the time I finished my clothes were soaked through and I was shaking from the cold. But we all warmed up in a restaurant with coffee, food and art talk. And when we finished and went back outside - you won't beleive this - it was SNOWING! In April. Wow.

I've actually done a couple of paintings I'm proud of, which I will post as soon as I can get a good photo. More soon ...

"Sad Egg"

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I ran out of Raymar panels recently right before a new order came in and ended up painting on some old Ampersand Gessoboards. It turns out they are quite perfect for eggs!

But this is from a week ago - now I am in Sedona learning A TON from Jennifer McChristian. Not only is she a fabulous painter, but she is incredibly friendly and generous to boot. And even though I wiped everything I painted today (all value studies, which I needed!) and was terribly frustrated, it was also very exciting and fun. More soon ...

"All Yolked Up"

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Tomorrow I am off to Sedona, AZ for a 5-day workshop with Jennifer McChristian. I am very excited and prepared to absorb everything I can from her about landscapes. In preparation I've done some extra still lifes so will continue to post while there. And if I manage to do justice to the red rocks I will post those too. I've got 2 buddies along, so fun will be had along with the learning. I am totally psyched!

"Cup Ride"

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Someone recently asked me to post about viewfinders. Well, today I was reading my new landscape book (Carlson's Guide) and he says a viewfinder is good for beginners, but should be abandoned by more advanced artists. And while overall this seems like a great book, I couldn't disagree more about viewfinders. I think they are essential tools. You can decide what your composition will be before you start to sketch it out. You can measure and compare where things are in relation to the frame, which helps immensely with proportion. I never used one in college (add that to all the things they DIDN'T tell us) and can't imagine how I ever did so long without it. Keep in mind - your viewfinder should be the same proportions as your canvas/panel. There is an adjustable one available at most art stores called a Viewcatcher.

"Waiting to Cross"

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I've always had a huge appreciation for people who can paint people (like Karin Jurick & Margaret Dyer) but after painting this I have a RENEWED appreciation. It's hard to get everything just right. And I didn't, but I got close I think. And I enjoyed it. So I'll be on the lookout for more people to photograph & paint.

Meanwhile I'd like to put out a feeler for a potential workshop in Hawaii. I am considering putting together a small workshop (12 max) on the Big Island this November. Please let me know if this is something you'd be interested in, and how long the workshop would have to be to make it worth your while. Thanks!

"Spring Closeup"

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Several of you asked about how I usually put down a ground after yesterday's post. I thin a color with OMS (odorless mineral spirits) and brush it onto the canvas. Then I wipe it down with a paper towel. I do it this way for 2 reasons. One, I like the bits of color peeking through. Two, the paint strokes go on easier (further) if the canvas is just a little wet.

"Pre-Blackberry"

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We have tons of blackberry vines growing all over our property, and right now they're all sporting these little white flowers - as I see them: pre-blackberries. I used a plain canvas, without a ground, as an experiment since it worked well for landscapes. I like this one well enough, but I like them better with a ground. Maybe a personal preference.

"Who Is It?"

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This one is my impression of an egg on a cell phone. Get it? : )

Below are my kids from this workshop in Jacksonville. Today was the last day and I'm pretty sure they all ended up forgiving me for working them so hard. We had a great time! But do you see the one hiding in the top row, left? Tsk tsk!!

"Old Ford"

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This truck is from an old photo I took long ago on a wandering through downtown Austin. It was an overcast day and I am incredibly pleased with how it came out on this small panel.

Meanwhile, I am having a blast in Florida. The weather is perfect and my kids aren't complaining too too much about the work I make them do. As usual they drag me out after class and force wine on me, and tonight I had to arm wrestle one of them for the priveledge of buying dessert (I won - haha!). This is actually the second time this has happened. These kids are crazy! Here they are hard at work. I'm so impressed - when I say "squint" they squint!

"Pressure From Above"

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Even though I was sitting and waiting most of the day, I am exhausted from travelling. Isn't that always the way!? Tomorrow starts my workshop here in Florida, so before I collapse in bed I am posting an egg I painted last week on the same I day I did a similar one to this. I was enjoying the egg in the blue bowl so much I actually did 3 of them! (so expect one more)

"Green Machine"

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I saw this tractor for sale, parked near the road, on our way back from Inks Lake last time. I didn't have enough time to set up and paint it on the spot so I took a photo.

I have been a painting fool lately, trying out all sorts of things - so much I've got extra paintings. I've posted a few in my Ebay store for a fixed price: http://stores.ebay.com/carolmarine?refid=store.

I'm off to Florida tomorrow for a workshop.

"Bring a Friend"

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Another duck photo from Inks Lake. I can't tell you enough how much I am enjoying trying new things. I feel a whole world opening up. I know it was there all along, but I think it took getting to a certain point with still lifes before I could see it.

"Mustang"

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My husband was nice enough to take me out on a date tonight. That's why I am posting so late. I painted this car from a photo I took years ago when I was doing a lot of cityscapes. You may see more like this - it was fun to paint.

"Heart of Gold"

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I have just signed up to take a workshop from Jennifer McChristian in a few weeks in Sedona. She is one of my favorite plein air painters and I am thrilled for the opportunity to learn from her!

I thought it was fitting to paint an egg today. Happy Easter, everyone!

"Boulder Study"

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This is my favorite field study from my recent trip to Inks Lake, but I realize now there are some things I could have changed to make it better. And that's the toughest thing about landscapes for me - the idea of editing. With still lifes I just move things around until it's perfect, and then paint what I see, for the most part. But landscapes are never perfect - or at least I haven't seen a perfect one yet - but so far I've been a little afraid to just move things around willy nilly. I've just ordered Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting after 2 good friends recommended it.

"Inks Creek"

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This was done from a photo I took out at Inks Lake on our last visit. It had been raining quite a bit, and there were creeks running all through the campground.

So, I got a little burnt out on still life and have been trying some new things lately. I've been working a lot from old photos, and painting outside when I can. And I must admit I feel awfully exposed sharing these new things with you. Plein air (painting outside) especially is HARD! So please bear with me while I experiment. And thank you! : )