Art Challenge 2: ...Balance. (See the sidebar for more information).

We as a class this term, picked a new challenge. The last day of the term was our gallery showing. Some worked on this challenge in class, and some worked on it at home.....so some were brand new to us during our gallery showing. I will daily post our paintings student-by-student.

Delores: 

Delores's painting is very fun and whimsical. I love her limited palette. 

Thank you for sharing.

Art Challenge #2:....Balance. (See the sidebar for more information).

Colette: 
More of Colette's fine paintings. She had fun with this challenge.

You can see more of Colette's paintings posted on Sept. 26 & Oct. 20.

Thank you for sharing.

Art Challenge #2:....Balance. (See the sidebar for more information).

We as a class this term, picked a new challenge. The last day of the term was our gallery showing. Some worked on this challenge in class, and some worked on it at home.....so some were brand new to us during our gallery showing. I will daily post our paintings student-by-student.

Diana: 
I'm happy for Diana, as she has been wanting to paint wrecked cars that were stacked...it seems our little town doesn't stack ! But, with the help from a friend, she got a photo and now her desire to paint the idea (and it fit the Balance Challenge) is a reality. Her painting is wonderful...her best. It shows that you should paint what pulls at your heartstrings.

Check out her other paintings posted on Sept. 30.

 Thank you for sharing.

Byrnie: Byrnie is another one of my Intermediate artist/students (more of her artwork was 
posted Oct. 1 ). She too has been experimenting...she will try many techniques.  Here 
she painted with her palette knife....with great results.  She said it was okay to state her age...so, lets say she has seen just less than 9 decades. She has been doing art for a long time. All of us enjoy having her in class and she keeps us entertained.

Thank you, Byrine, for sharing.

Art Challenge 2: ...Balance. (See the sidebar for more information).

We as a class this term, picked a new challenge. The last day of the term was our gallery showing. Some worked on this challenge in class, and some worked on it at home.....so some were brand new to us during our gallery showing. I will daily post our paintings student-by-student.

Jean: 

Jean used her Asian figurines for her Balance Challenge. This is acrylic. A very peaceful and beautiful painting and great use of shadows.

Thank you, Jean, for sharing.

Blog Views: This week's views are from....USA, Russia, Germany and Malaysia.

Karen:
 Karen is one of my artist/students. Once in awhile, a painting comes around that does
 it's job...catches your eye, evokes an emotion and just plain gives the viewer a warm
 fuzzy. It gives me great satisfaction to have been around to watch the process. Karen
 experimented with spraying, allowing color to run, mix and blend etc and her results
 are beautiful. This painting should encourage you to free yourself to go belong your
 comfort zone.

You can see Karen's other paintings posted on Sept. 28 & Oct. 24.       

Thank you, Karen, for sharing.

                    

Quiz: 
What was the pigment Indian Yellow, which stopped being available (in that form) in the 
early 20th Century, made of?

Answer: 
The urine of cows that fed only on mango leaves.

Edges: 
Many painters don't make use of their brush edges...especially to their advantage. 
Every painting should incorporate different edges.....distant objects might need to be 
blurry, while your focal point may need to be sharp and crisp. Below are 3 ideas for 
brush edges.

Hard Edge:...
Most edges used are when one color comes up to and stops right next to another                       
color. This is what a lot of painters use, even if not appropriate. 

Soft Edge:...
Mixed: The edge of one color is wet and is mixed into the next edge color that is also 
wet. This makes blending graduation of  the two colors.

Optical:...
This edge makes the eye blend or causes the painting to have a unity because the 
underpainting pops up throughout the overall painting. Paint up to a color edge, but not 
right next to each other, leaving a space between the 2 edges. The underpainting shows 
in between. 

Readings: 
Check out the book, Painting Shapes and Edges, by Hazel Harrison.
I'm a true believer that if you carefully observe the shapes in your painting 
(starting with the main shapes, then breaking them  down to the smaller shapes) 
anyone can paint or draw anything. This book supports and explains that theory.

My Intermediate artist/students  are experimenting beyond the safe and comfortable painting stages...you know how hard that is to test oneself to think of going that path, let alone actually going beyond the thinking to doing?

Colette: Geraniums. How beautiful. She is an excellent painter and now she has pushed
                      her comfort zone...and still is an excellent painter.

Thank you, Colette, for sharing your great watercolor painting.      

Blog Views: USA, Russia & Sweden.    

Quote: "You are making a difference, whether you know it or not. So have no doubt about
                     that".  Neale Donald Walsch.

This quote was on facebook...it made me realize just how learning is taught. My learning standbys have been...Doing, Reading, Taking a Class and also...Looking at My Artwork (it will teach you tons) etc. But, my students have taught me so much and have inspired me beyond the right I have to receive. I have kept learning and doing because of them. My Intermediate Watercolor/Acrylic artist/students have been with me for a long time now...they are not only my  teacher they are my friends.

Thank you....Byrnie, Karen, Stephanie, Colette, Diana, Delores, Kathy, Barbara, Liz, Jean, and all my many Teachers....you know who you are...because..."You are making a difference, whether you know it or not...".

Quiz: What was the pigment Indian Yellow, which stopped being available in the early 
                 20th Century (in that form), made of?

Yes, I know it has been a week since I last posted. I would love to post everyday and I would if I had things to post. I just got the riot act from 2 of my students that they had looked several times this week and were disappointed to see no new postings. Sorry if you too were disappointed.  I don't want to post my work as I don't want this to be about me. If you have ideas, let me know.

Viewer Comment: I got this comment from a viewer and I hope her words touch  a lot of you...share your artwork. It doesn't matter what media...who you are...far or near...beginner or seasoned artists...just share.

Joni-- I wanted to tell you how much I'm enjoying the artwork and backstories on your blog. Please tell the folks to keep sharing their paintings, and thanks!
Sarah G

Viewer Contribution:
Today, was the last day for my 2 day Tapestry class. The below tapestries were done by 2  very beginning students. Their samplers are little gems and they did excellent. 

Nancy:  This is her first tapestry. She said her mind was so full of the newness of
learning that we could have had a weenie roast in class and she wouldn't have noticed !!

Tessa: This tapestry is also Tessa's first tapestry. As you can see, the two had their own ways with the lessons and color choices....excellent for the rest of the class to see.

Thanks, Nancy and Tessa,  for sharing.

Quote:  "Why fit in when you were born to Stand Out".  Dr Seuss.

Blog Views: This week...USA, Russia, Germany and Colombia.

Viewer Contribution: Mel McRobert is sharing a new Plein Air painting he did at the beach. I love he sent along the view photos. You might remember his other  Plein Air painting he shared with us on September 9.

He said:

" Here is a small plein air painting I did last

 weekend at the beach and the weather was great!

This was done at Nehalem Bay State Park. With this painting I premixed my

colors and started with the sky and painted down to the front.

I'm trying to learn to keep it simple and to finish under an hour. I am

happy how it turned out (but it went one hour and 40 min)."

Thank you, Mel, for sharing.

Joni Leaf:
I'm sharing  my Art Challenge paintings/studies on trees.

Title...United To Weather Life's Storms.
I live in an aspen grove and this is an acrylic painting of the aspens in the yard. There use to be  another tree, but we had to have it cut down because it got hit by lightning and it was seriously leaning toward the house. I look at these trees everyday surviving the seasons and they seem to tell me a valuable life lesson...you can survive the bumps in life of you have the support of others.

 Here, the sun shines everyday, even if it is snowing 10"...so that is why  I painted a yellow underpainting.  A lot of the texture of that underpainting and the applied paint was made by using plastic wrap...paint, crinkle plastic wrap, press down, weigh it down, let dry and pull off the plastic wrap....oh la la....texture.

This is a study of trees...different species using different brushes.   

Liz Hubbard:
         Liz is another artist/student of mine. She is a sheep rancher...something like 500 sheep?!! It was a natural for her to paint some sheep. She started painting this gem while in my class and I just now got to see it finished. It is a watercolor. She has put it on her business card. Very nice painting.
Liz is also a dyer and handspinner...to see her work for sell...check out her site....www.etsy.com 
(hubbard handspun) or click her name to the right. 

Thank you, Liz, for sharing.

Jean Nelson: Jean spent  a lot of time painting while she traveled in her RV. She loves

color and has a great portfolio. She has been away from taking classes, but she is back and was very nice to show us all of her paintings. 

Thank you, Jean, for sharing.

Art Challenge:

Byrnie Bakly: This lady is a wonder, has had art in her life for many years and keeps the class in stitches. Her art challenge was to paint, draw and study the many positions she arranged her mannequin.   

This is a watercolor still life by Byrnie. Thanks for sharing.