New Plein Air Oil painting and Carol Marine Exercises

 "Spring Runoff -Fish Creek", plein air oil painting, 7 x 12"
Click here to bid -starting bid at $200 unframed

This painting was done earlier this summer -very late snow pack melt here in Alberta, so the rivers and creeks have been high for a long time. Normally you wouldn't be able to take a canoe down this creek, but you sure could have this day.

I thought I would share some exercises we did at the Carol Marine workshop. We were taught to group our values so that we had a dominant value, a secondary value and a smidge value. We had to plan the value composition before beginning to paint and then execute the plan. We were encouraged to try a different plan with each study. It was almost impossible to do a dark dominant painting without making things up, so I didn't do that one. We began with 30 minutes to do the first one, then 15 and lastly 5. Luckily we were allowed to simplify the composition as we shortened the time!

30 minutes; dominant=mid value , secondary=dark value , smidge =light value

15 minutes; dominant=light value , secondary=mid value , smidge =dark value

5 minutes -that was FAST!; dominant=light value , secondary=mid value , smidge =dark value

 I think I will practice some transparent glazing with these as I like the compositions, and will post again later.

Enjoy!
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New oil painting from Carol Marine workshop

"Cracked Up", 6 x 6" oil painting on 3/4" masonite
SOLD

This is my last painting from the Carol Marine workshop. Carol had done a demo of a cracked egg in the morning, so thought I would take the opportunity to try my hand at it. I had the hardest time trying to show that you were looking into the shell on the left, rather than the outside of it, but I think I got it in the end. All a question of values and hard vs soft edges. A lot of learning in this painting. The shells were way harder than the yolk.

I have just joined Daily Paintworks and they will be holding auctions for paintings for me. I will try to list the starting price of the auctions here on my blog. This is a very good way to pick up some very cool unframed artworks at extremely reasonable prices. Payment is made through PayPal, so it is all very secure.

Enjoy!

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Two new oil paintings from Carol Marine's workshop

"Abandoned Beauty #1", 6 x 5" oil on 3/4" masonite
SOLD

I took a photo of an abandoned truck that I passed each day on my way to the Carol Marine workshop in Benalto -when in Rome, and all that. (By the way, I decided to camp nearby in my campervan -there is already paint spilled in there, so future paintings will be good -logic according to fishermen wrt blood in a boat!!) I would have painted it plein air, but it was right beside the highway and didn't trust the situation. So I worked it up from my photo, in my van, on the first night of the workshop.

"Abandoned Beauty #2", 6 x 6" oil on gallery canvas
SOLD

On the 4th day of the workshop we worked from photos, and Carol demonstrated a truck of her own. I thought I would revisit my photo of my truck to see what I could do using some of Carol's brushwork and simplification techniques. This is the result, which took less than an hour, compared to the 2 hours I spent on the first one. It is definitely looser, and was perhaps easier to do on the second try as I was now familiar with the shapes. My hubby likes the first one better -which one do you like better and why?

Enjoy!

To purchase either of these paintings, or to commission your own painting, please email me.
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New Oil Painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Lime Sorbet", 6 x 6" oil on board

Click HERE to bid

This is another painting done at Carol Marine's workshop. I found this wonderful ice cream bowl at Winners and just had to have it for the workshop. It was perhaps the hardest thing I have ever had to draw from life, next to the figure. This was done early in the workshop before I 'got' the edges thing, but it was great fun, once I got the drawing in (had to rub it out maybe 5 times). When I was done I gave the bowl to Carol for her collection -so you might even see it appear in one of her paintings!

Enjoy!

To purchase this painting, or commission your own painting, please email me.
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Carol Marine Workshop

"On The Podium", 6 x 6" oil on board

Click HERE to bid

This is my favorite painting that I did at Carol Marine's workshop last week. The workshop was fabulous! I learned much more this time than 2 years ago -I reminded myself of what I tell my own students: you can only learn what you are ready for. I chose to paint fairly difficult subjects throughout the workshop, just to push my learning level. This is the first time I have painted glass as a subject, and it was great fun to play with the distortions, and trying to figure out why glass looks like it does. The red box is one that Carol gave each of us to put our fears into, so I thought it would be appropriate to have it in this painting.

Enjoy!

To purchase this painting, or commission your own painting, please email me.
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FREE GIVEAWAY and new plein air oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Rushes and Reflections", 12 x 12", plein air oil on gallery canvas
$625 beautifully framed in a deep shadowbox frame, free shipping and handling

This is a new place close to my home that I just discovered, and I am in love with it! I know it will be the scene for many paintings to follow as there is just so much to play with. As a matter of fact, I am going to film a new plein air DVD on the long weekend, and I have chosen this location to paint. More to follow on that big news, so stay tuned!

I am off to Benalto (near Red Deer) to take my second workshop from Carol Marine. I will not have access to the internet where I am staying (camping actually) so I will have lots to share with you when I return. I may just repeat my "Workshop Lessons Learned" from the end of August into September 2009. If you are new to my blog, you might want to check them out. You can get there easily by selecting "Carol Marine" from the categories list on the side of my blog.

This is the LAST WEEK - If you 'share' my blog on your Facebook page (or 'like' it -always confusing what FB is doing with these things!), send me an email to let me know and I will include your name in a draw for a FREE PAINTING!!! Make sure you hit the 'share' button AT THE END of a post in order for the post to be shared properly. I will be making the draw when I get back on July 2nd, so don't delay!!

Have a great week of painting and I will talk to you next week.
Enjoy!

To purchase this painting, or commission your own painting, please email me.

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"Carburn Park Lagoon", plein air oil painting

"Carburn Park Lagoon", plein air oil painting, 8 x 10"
This was done on a paint out with friends (and my students) Cheryl and Sheila. I just loved the way the light was hitting on the bank of dried grasses and the deep shadows created by the large evergreens. This is the first plein air painting since the workshop, and it is interesting to see that my style has changed a bit with the new things I learnt -particularily the treatment of edges. But perhaps those changes were due to the fact that I forgot my brushes and had to borrow some awful ones from Sheila! All in all I am very happy with the way it turned out.

Workshop Lesson #8: It is easier to cope with a fixed set-up, such as a still life arrangement under lights that is restricted in scope, compared with plein air painting with its huge possibilities and always changing lighting conditions. Learning to quickly assess a scene, commit to a composition and charging in are learnt skills that become easier with much practice. We all have our comfort zones, and often they are in different places. Its kind of funny because right now Carol is being challenged by plein air painting in Germany as she is recognizing the differences stated above.
Enjoy!

To purchase this, or commission your own painting, please email me.

"Blue Bird's Home", plein air oil painting

"Blue Bird's Home", plein air oil painting, 6 x 8"
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I was all set up to paint the mountains, but when I turned around, this scene really spoke to me. As I was painting it a brilliantly coloured blue bird flew in and out bringing food to the youngsters still inside. What a thrill.
Workshop Lesson #7: To get an interesting edge, make it, then break it (paint over it), and then make it again. This keeps things interestingly loose and lovely.
Enjoy!

To purchase this, or commission your own painting, please email me.

"Funky Kohlrabi", oil painting from life

"Funky Kohlrabi", oil painting from life, 6 x 6"
SOLD  
 
I bought this lovely looking vegetable before the workshop began and managed to keep it looking good until the last day of the workshop by wrapping it in wet paper towel and keeping it in the fridge. This was the most fun painting as the colour was just yummy, and I think I caught that excitement.
Workshop Lesson #6: Value and shape are the most important things to get right when painting plein air. Colour and edge treatment can be more discretionary and this is where personal creativity and vision will show the most. I just have to remember that if I change a colour from what is in front of me, I need to take into account its impact on the other colours around it, particularily when doing these little still life paintings with all the bounced light and colour going on.
Enjoy!

To purchase this, or commission your own painting, please email me.

"Through The Trees", plein air oil painting

This is our group painting at Anderson Farms just outside Benalto. That is Carol demonstrating in the teal sweater. This was a lovely day with great weather.

"Through The Trees", plein air oil painting, 6 x 6"
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This is my second painting from our plein air day, done very quickly at the end of the day. I was concentrating on making interesting shapes filled with interesting colour, with interesting edges and no detail.
Workshop Lesson #4: Look at the forest, not each individual tree! I have a tendency to get caught up in the shape, edge, value and colour of each object in my scene as I get to them without necessarily considering them all together as a unit -how each impacts each other and how each fits into the cohesive whole of the painting. This means that sometimes less important elements are treated with too much importance. I think this will be a key to my simplifying my paintings while maintaining a strong focus.
Enjoy!

To purchase this, or commission your own painting, please email me.

"An Apple A Day", oil painting from life

"An Apple A Day", oil painting from life, 6 x 6"
SOLD  
 
This is my second painting from the workshop. We watched a demo each morning, then Carol gave us an exercise, and then we all painted our still lives after lunch, while Carol ran around giving help to us ALL! I think I was beginning to get the idea of how to handle the edges -it was fun being so loose.
Lesson #2: Paint can't do everything! There are just some lighting effects that paint cannot express, and some colours we cannot mix as cleanly as we would like to. As artists we need to learn what those limits are, and then ask ourselves "What can I push to fill the gaps?"

"And Baby Makes Three", oil painting from life

"And Baby Makes Three", oil painting from life, 6 x 8"
Well I am back from 2 weeks holiday at our cottage -a bit cool and rainy at times, but a good rest and I didn't paint at all. Guess I needed a rest!
The above is the first completed painting that I did at the Carol Marine workshop I attended near Sylvan Lake. I did this after Monday's class while sitting at my campsite -photo at the top. The workshop was FANTASTIC and I learnt a ton -not only the things that Carol was teaching directly, but also things I realized on my own as I was doing my own work and reflecting upon it at the end of each day(sometimes these were reminders of things I already knew, but forgot to think about). I thought I would share these things with you, one each day, just to make sure you keep coming back! Before I do that though, I want to plug Carol's workshops. She is a very giving and open instructor, and she paints a mean still life. I will try to study with Carol again next year -you can only learn what you are ready for, building upon those things you already get -so I should be ready for the next lessons after I incorporate the ones I learnt this time. This is definitely one workshop teacher that you want to study with -her blog is great but it is so much better to actually watch her work and be able to ask her questions during the demo (she handled this really well, it is a very difficult thing to talk while you work, especially when you have a bunch of people watching!)
Lesson #1: I think the overriding lesson that I learnt at the workshop was to take pride in who I am as a painter and as a lifelong learner. I will never be able to paint like Carol, but I can paint like me! This might sound obvious, but if you are a painter, I know you can relate. I CAN learn techniques that will help me make my work better, so trying to work the way Carol does for this workshop helped me learn those techniques. Its up to me to put them into my own work after the workshop is over.
Enjoy!

My 'Carol Marine' beauty

This one of the demos that Carol Marine did at our workshop, and I was lucky enough to end up with it. I just LOVE it! I can't wait to tell you all about the workshop, except that I leave for 2 weeks holidays tomorrow, and I am not packed yet, plus a multitude of other things I have to do before I go. Unfortunately I don't have access to the net at our cottage -we don't even have an indoor washroom -so you will have to wait 'til I get back to hear, see, and learn all about it. I have decided to post some of the things I learned/discovered/struggled with at Carol's workshop -one each day, so come back Aug 30th to get the scoop.
Enjoy!