Minna by the Creek

 

NFS - 23x16in. - oil - "Minna by the Creek"

Here is another one of sweet Minna. Her grandma came to pick both paintings up yesterday and seemed very happy. This one is my personal favorite so far.

Minna

 

NFS - 22x15in. - oil. - "Minna"

I keep feeling compelled to make my paintings larger, but the bigger they get the harder they are to photograph! So I'll mention again that these look so much better in person.

This is Minna (pronounced Mee-na). She is three and full of spunk and confidence. Her grandma met me at a park and then disappeared for an hour, which turned out to be perfect. Minna and I explored the park and the creek that runs through it. I got to know her, and saw her in all kinds of light, which I find is VERY helpful when I am painting.

Norah

 

NFS - 19x12in. - oil - "Norah"

This is my new friend, Norah. She is completely adorable, as you can see. And very shy. It took me a while to get her to smile.

Avery

NFS - 16x16in. - Oil. - "Avery"

Avery was a wonderful model. She loves the camera and the camera loves her. For this pose she was in the shade of a big tree, with a lot of darkness behind her. I played around with the reference image on my ipad and decided a light background would work best. The only problem was the dress was suddenly mostly the same value as the background, so I tried an outline and found I really liked it! I have found my ipad to be indispensable for these portraits.

Audrey

 

NFS - 22x12in. - Oil. - "Audrey"

Audrey lives across the street from us. When they first moved in she was just a baby, so we have been watching her grow up. We had a lovely photo shoot at a park in town recently. At one point she walked up into a closed little staircase that was all dark except for the bottom step. The light that reflected up on her was just spectacular. So much color! (click image to see larger)

Hattie & Margot

NFS - 12x20in. - Oil - "Sisters"

Here are the two sisters, Hattie and Margot, together. I asked them to sit together but looking in opposite directions. When I said - "ok, now look at each other," they spontaneously broke into big smiles! I hope they always get along this well. : )

I feel compelled to say - all these portraits look better in person. And that - I'm learning so much. And did I say - loving it?!

Hattie

 

NFS - 9x12in. - Oil. - "Hattie"

This is Hattie, Margot's older sister. I am learning SO MUCH doing these portraits. And (did I say?) thoroughly enjoying it! 

A REMINDER: My Portland, OR workshop (July 11-14, 2024) will open for registration tomorrow morning at 10 am PDT, for any of you who might be interested. You can either go to my workshops page, or use this link (that won't be active until the appointed time).

Margot

NFS - 16x12in. - Oil. - "Margot"

This is Margot. We had a group photo shoot a few weeks ago, with Margot and her sister, Hattie, and the other two kids I've painted so far - Rietta and Ryan - all grandkids of some good friends of mine. They ran around at the playground, and whenever they were in particularly good light, or a fabulous setting popped up (like this little playhouse window) I said - hold it right there! Otherwise they just played together. I was mostly an observer, and it was so neat to see their personalities emerge. People are just fascinating, and kids are great because they haven't learned to fake anything yet. I am loving this!!

Ryan

NFS - 10x10in. - Oil - "Ryan"

This is Ryan, the brother of Rietta (from the last portrait I posted). He is 9 and was a little harder to photograph because he was constantly moving. I got probably 20 good shots of his sister for every one of him. Haha! Such a boy. : )

WORKSHOP UPDATE - I didn't do a great job explaining the workshop I'm doing next year. For one thing I forgot to say where - it'll be in Portland, OR. And I should have said - the link to sign up won't be active until Aug 10 at 10 am PDT. I will post a reminder on the 9th. If you would like an email sent to you the day before, with a link, just email me (me@carolmarine.com) and I'll make that happen.

Rietta

 

NFS - 10x10in. - oil - Rietta

Recently I have been borrowing kids from my friends. I have found GREAT joy in painting them! More on that later. For now, I have a

WORKSHOP PRE-ANNOUNCEMENT!

One week from now, on August 10th at 10am PDT, (note the time zone!) if you're interested, you can sign up for a workshop that will happen next year, July 11-14, 2024. Here's the official description:

In this workshop we will be focusing on the fundamentals of still life painting, in a small format, using oil (acrylic or gouache also ok). My teaching philosophy is: say it, show it, and then you try it; repeat. Towards that end I'll be demoing daily and talking about how and why I do what I do, and then helping as you paint. We will do fun exercises that include ten-minute-apples and "one stroke" paintings. These will help you jump-start a potential daily practice (a great way to improve!) and take a step away from fussy, lifeless paintings. If you want to paint poems rather than dissertations, this workshop is for you!

SIGN UP HERE

Eat the Apple

 

Click Here to Bid (starts at $1) - 10x10in. - oil - "Eat the Apple"

This is the second experiment from my "Just Try Sh*t: Composition" ArtByte (online tutorial). To review: I copied a painting with a composition I liked, then set up and painted my own composition using what I had learned. This was my second try, and I'm quite happy with it. I was trying for a more unusual composition than what I normally do, and a more sketchy style.

Protect the Apple

 

Click Here to Bid (starts at $1) - 10x10 - oil - "Protect the Apple"

This was one of my experiments for the online tutorials (ArtBytes) that I released a couple of months ago called Just Try Sh*t! This was for the last exercise in the Just Try Sh*t: Composition tutorial, where I copy a painting with a composition I admire, and then do my own using whatever a took away from that copy. This was my own (after the copy), or at least my first attempt. I ended up trying a second time, and created a video of it. I'll post that version soon. I am putting these both in auction starting at $1, seeing as they were experiments.

Salt the Tomatoes

 

Buy Now - $250 - 10x10in. - oil - "Salt the Tomatoes"

Lately I've been working on portraits, and need room on my shelves for new paintings. So I'm looking to find homes for a few that have been hanging around for various reasons. This is one I did as a study for a larger painting a while back. I'm not sure why I kept it, except that I like it.

Bonding Time

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil - "Bonding Time"

I got a great series of photos of these two (on a bench in a square in Florence). At first the kid was having a meltdown (probably hungry). The dad was trying so hard to make it ok, but the boy was leaning away and having none of it. Then finally the dad got through, they had a little chat, and a hug. But the final photo was the very best arrangement of limbs and light. And that bird! So I chose to paint it even though dad's on his phone and you missed all the bonding. Ah well.

Out in Flannel

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil - "Out in Flannel"

Let me just start with - flannel is hard to paint. I've tried before and failed miserably, but I thought this actually turned out. This is another one from Freiburg, Germany. A lovely town we've been to many times.

Also, I've added new prints to my prints page. : )

A Strolling Kind of Day

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil - "A Strolling Kind of Day"

While we were in Germany in May, my husband and I took a day trip to Zurich. Some friends of ours took us around town, including to this lovely little market under the trees. Many thanks to Annemarie who was very patient with me while I took pictures!

NEW PRINTS AVAILABLE

I have added a few new options to my prints page. But you can request ANY painting (ok, almost any) to be made into a print. Just find a painting in my gallery, click on it, and you will see a 

"request a fine art reproduction" in the popup.

Apparently we had a bug in the ordering process that we have now fixed, so if you tried and had trouble, please try again. And if you still run into trouble, please let me know - it really helps! Thanks so much.

Bring the Dog

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - Oil -  "Bring the Dog"

Here is another painting from my trip to Europe last month. This scene is one I photographed in Freiburg, Germany. They were pausing on the bank of a little "creek" running through town, with a lovely restaurant with outdoor seating on the other side. I think the little dog was just thinking about lunch.

I am now selling prints!

I'm starting with these five, popular paintings, and will add more soon. I did tons of research and found a gorgeous, heavy weight, matte paper, and bought a top of the line printer. The prints are fabulous! You can purchase them from the new prints page on my website. : )

Map Glow

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil - "Map Glow"

It took me a while to settle back into regular life after 20 days in Europe! I spent the first half in Germany visiting my mother-in-law with my husband. We took a couple of day trips (to Freiberg & Zurich) to collect photos for painting, which you will see eventually.

I spent the second half in Florence, Italy, teaching 12 wonderful human beings about painting people and cityscapes. The weather forecast was dismal, but the reality was better. We managed to get out a few times to collect photos, and sometimes the sun even came out. The food was amazing, and the wine was spectacular. Florence is lovely. But the absolute best part was the people I spent the time with! And the hosts (Debra & Ivano) who made it happen. Thank you!!!

This painting is from Florence. I took a LOT of photos, but I knew this one was special when I took it.

Hot Death

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in - oil - "Hot Death"

I bought this tiny skull online recently after seeing a few of my favorite artists drawing and painting them on Instagram. It thought it might be a fun thing to add to still lifes. It was harder than I thought it would be - this is my second attempt.

This painting is my final share before heading off to Europe! I hope everyone is enjoying the spring weather wherever you are. : )

Stagger the Heat

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - "Stagger the Heat"

Today I am releasing a new series of ArtBytes (online tutorials) that I have been working on for years. It started as something I was doing just for myself, but I got so much out of it I decided to share it with you! It's called Just Try Sh*t, and as of today there is a free intro and 4 "chapters" in the series (drawing, value, color & paint, and composition - $15/ea), with more to come later.

Each "chapter" in the Just Try Sh*t series contains 12-15 exercises that are intended to get you out of the box you're stuck in. Because - if you always do what you always do, you're always going to get what you always get. So come and try some SH*T with me!

If you are not happy for any reason you will get a full refund. If you are happy you will have access to your ArtBytes forever. : )

Also, I just launched the Just Try Sh*t Facebook Group so that anyone doing these exercises can share their work with other JustTrySh*tters!