"A Seat For Beauty", new oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"A Seat For Beauty", 9x12" oil on panel
$495 beautifully framed

I know I have been derelict in my duty to post, but I do have a good excuse this time. I came down with shingles a week ago and it really knocked me out. I am happy to say that I caught it early and was put on antiviral meds, plus I was directed to a new cream that has done wonders on the healing of the rashes. I am now on the mend, and hope to make more of an effort to post. Not that you aren't already inundated with things to see online, but I hope I can bring some beauty into your lives with my paintngs.

I am taking an online class with the wonderful Dreama Tolle Perry, and our assignment for this week was a blue chair in France with geraniums growing from it. Well, it turns out that I was right there in that place taking photos with Dreama as part of my France workshop in 2014. So I chose to paint from my own photo, which is quite different from the one the class painted. If you can possibly swing it, I HIGHLY recommend taking Dreama's online course which will open again in September. I have taken 13 days painting with Dreama in person, and I must say that this course is an even better experience than the live workshops. You get to see everything she does close up, but more than that, Dreama has opened up her heart by adding so much more besides painting, going into attitude, perseverance and painting with JOY. Go to her website and take a look.

Enjoy!
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"Le Pigeonnier", plein air oil by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Le Pigeonnier"' 9 x 12" plein air oil done in Frayssinet, France June 27,2014

$250 unframed 

I was delighted to get some time to go exploring with my oils during my workshop with Dreama. This was done on the most perfect of days, after the extreme heat and humidity had been rained off in a tremendous storm the night before. This little silo is actually not a grain silo at all. I was told that back in Medieval times, pigeons were raised for food, and these buildings, which dot the Provence countryside, were created to entice the pigeons to roost there. It sounds funny now, as the last thing most people these days is to encourage pigeons to roost on their property!

Everywhere you look at Le Vieux Couvent, you will find treasures -either provided by nature or by the loving hands of our host Corinne. 

This is our studio space which is assessible 24/7, but not used much by me (except for attending Dreama's amazing demos) as I was far too bushed to paint much after an incredible multi-course dinner, which didn't end until 9:30pm. If it was nice outside, that's where you'd find me.

We have our huge goodbye party/feast/show & tell tonight, and then we leave first thing in the morning. I will be sad to leave this little slice of heaven, but the next journey awaits!

Au Revoir and as always, Enjoy!

Dreama Tolle Perry Workshop Review

"Dreama's France", 12 x 12" oil on board
SOLD

I am so far behind in posting this blog that I am totally embarrassed! I realize that the last paintings I posted were from June, with the exception of my Tuscany trip. So I will make the effort to get you caught up to speed on what I have been doing, and maybe even the 'why' of it : )

From May 13-15 I had the great privilege to finally take a workshop with my painting hero, Dreama Tolle Perry. She was as lovely to learn from as she appears on her blog. LOVE her work, and she really made each person feel special and uniquely gifted, no matter the level of ability. I hope I learned as much about being a great art teacher as I did her painting techniques!

For the first 2 days we did paint alongs, so I will share both of those here. The one pictured above was from our second day, but I liked it best, so it got posted first. The second painting is below. I am not that much of a flower painter, but I do love them and have painted them often, just way less often than plein air landscapes -flowers are uniquely difficult to paint from life, and that is the way I prefer to paint.

"Dreama's Flowers", 12 x 12" oil on board
SOLD

The third painting I did, "Italian Colour" was posted on Aug 30th - if you want to have a look click here. That one I did totally on my own, using her method. Had to make sure I had it to use on my own photos before I left the workshop!

I have done several more using her technique of a wet colourful under-painting with opaque oils on top. You can see them here and here. I have done a couple of others as well that I will be posting in the near future. I have tried to adapt her style to my own plein air subjects in order to make the technique my own, and I must say I am encouraged by the results. However, more likely than not, I prefer to work on my signature red-orange ground.

Next post I will take you to Haida Gwaii, so stay tuned.

Enjoy!
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"Simpler Days" plein air oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Simpler Days", 12 x 12" plein air oil painting on panel
SOLD

I did this painting of the "Art & Soul Gallery" in High River on the day of our official grand opening. I had just been to a Dreama Tolle Perry workshop (more about that later!) so I did this in her style. Sad to say, less than one month after, this beautiful house sustained substantial damage due to the flooding in June. Here is what it looked like after the flood hit:

That's the gallery in the upper left of the photo. It took almost 3 weeks for the residents of the town to get back in to see the damage and begin to rebuild their lives. This is what the gallery looked like on the day after High River was once again opened and all the water drained off.

 

The silt laden water FILLED the basement and came up 2" on to the main floor, requiring the bottom of all the drywall to have to be removed as well as all the flooring. Luckily not much artwork was damaged! I just lost a few frames but all the paintings were unscathed. Here is some of the cleanup crew. WHAT A MESS!!!

I am not sure if or when the gallery will reopen, but will keep you informed. In the meanwhile I now have a house FULL of framed art, if you need/want anything! Great gifts for the wedding season : )

Enjoy!

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