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A light hearted discussion of the days painting projects, demonstrations and general art thoughts. From me ... to you!
Showing posts with label plein air. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plein air. Show all posts
Sunday
August News From The Studio
Wednesday
Bad Blogger with new work!
Hello there faithful followers! I really must apologize for my lack of persistence with posting to this blog. I have been busily painting away, but blogging has escaped my previous enthusiasm. I hope that you will bear with me as I post occasionally when I have something of substance to say.
So here is more than you probably wanted to hear about being an artist blogger. Part of the truth is that there is so much more involved in it than just posting a photo -firstly, there has to be a photo! So that means I need to wait for the work to dry (plein air oils) or they will photography with unsightly shine. Then I have to wait for an available sunny day in mid afternoon to cart all my work out and take photos. This often means having to repeat the process once I find that my photo did not capture the accurate color or texture. Next the photos need to uploaded to Photoshop Elements where I get rid of any parallax because I unintentionally didn't get square behind the camera. Also, there is usually other colour and value corrections to be made. Sometime, I realize that the painting isn't finished, so it goes back to the studio for updates, which may take weeks to get to. Then I have to save it in a lower resolution for placement on the mighty internet. THEN I have to think of something clever or helpful to say to you, my wonderful friends, about the work. It is sometimes (often, my failing) really hard to talk about my work. It is a very raw and vulnerable feeling to put one's work out there for all the world to see and judge.
SO, that is why I don't post that often any more. Truth is, I would much rather spend all that time painting! We are told by marketing gurus (the artists who are making their living by telling other artists how to sell their art -hmmm, why aren't they just selling their own art??? But I digress..) that in order to be successful in online marketing, one must post daily to one's blog, several times a day to Facebook, daily on Instagram and update one's website on a weekly basis. Gosh, I am exhausted just thinking about that! They say followers are everything, and imply that the quality of the artwork is secondary to this big marketing machine. I have seen that many have gotten on this bandwagon, and many are being successful in producing good sales of their art online. I am on Daily Painters (ha, I am certainly not a 'daily painter' as in one who produces a small painting every day and puts it up for sale for cheap), and I have sold a few paintings there, but mostly I renege on posting there either. My small work is usually done 'en plein air' and my galleries would really frown if I offered it up at a fraction of the price for online consumption. So my prices are much higher than many of those daily painters. So I sell less. Oh well, that's the way it is.
I am much more interested in using this blog as a forum for ideas about painting and all art in general, rather than as a marketing tool. Don't get me wrong, I would love it if you would buy a painting from me! But I just don't have the stamina to work that hard at the marketing end of things. Luckily I am blessed with a wonderful, super supportive husband, who also happens to have a wonderful pension, so I don't have to sell my work in order to eat (maybe that is why I am not as skinny as I used to be...). You have caught me in a very wry sense of humour today, sorry.
To that end, I am delighted if you will share this art journey with me. Hopefully I can give you something of interest to enrich your life with. So here is a painting that I did while standing on the rocks in the water at my cottage this summer. Didn't even fall in, but I did inadvertently wash some art gear in the process!
So here is more than you probably wanted to hear about being an artist blogger. Part of the truth is that there is so much more involved in it than just posting a photo -firstly, there has to be a photo! So that means I need to wait for the work to dry (plein air oils) or they will photography with unsightly shine. Then I have to wait for an available sunny day in mid afternoon to cart all my work out and take photos. This often means having to repeat the process once I find that my photo did not capture the accurate color or texture. Next the photos need to uploaded to Photoshop Elements where I get rid of any parallax because I unintentionally didn't get square behind the camera. Also, there is usually other colour and value corrections to be made. Sometime, I realize that the painting isn't finished, so it goes back to the studio for updates, which may take weeks to get to. Then I have to save it in a lower resolution for placement on the mighty internet. THEN I have to think of something clever or helpful to say to you, my wonderful friends, about the work. It is sometimes (often, my failing) really hard to talk about my work. It is a very raw and vulnerable feeling to put one's work out there for all the world to see and judge.
SO, that is why I don't post that often any more. Truth is, I would much rather spend all that time painting! We are told by marketing gurus (the artists who are making their living by telling other artists how to sell their art -hmmm, why aren't they just selling their own art??? But I digress..) that in order to be successful in online marketing, one must post daily to one's blog, several times a day to Facebook, daily on Instagram and update one's website on a weekly basis. Gosh, I am exhausted just thinking about that! They say followers are everything, and imply that the quality of the artwork is secondary to this big marketing machine. I have seen that many have gotten on this bandwagon, and many are being successful in producing good sales of their art online. I am on Daily Painters (ha, I am certainly not a 'daily painter' as in one who produces a small painting every day and puts it up for sale for cheap), and I have sold a few paintings there, but mostly I renege on posting there either. My small work is usually done 'en plein air' and my galleries would really frown if I offered it up at a fraction of the price for online consumption. So my prices are much higher than many of those daily painters. So I sell less. Oh well, that's the way it is.
I am much more interested in using this blog as a forum for ideas about painting and all art in general, rather than as a marketing tool. Don't get me wrong, I would love it if you would buy a painting from me! But I just don't have the stamina to work that hard at the marketing end of things. Luckily I am blessed with a wonderful, super supportive husband, who also happens to have a wonderful pension, so I don't have to sell my work in order to eat (maybe that is why I am not as skinny as I used to be...). You have caught me in a very wry sense of humour today, sorry.
To that end, I am delighted if you will share this art journey with me. Hopefully I can give you something of interest to enrich your life with. So here is a painting that I did while standing on the rocks in the water at my cottage this summer. Didn't even fall in, but I did inadvertently wash some art gear in the process!
"Tied Up", 12x12" plein air oil on board
$575 beautifully framed
I was really interested in the way the light hit the water and made it a golden glow in contrast to the cool shady areas, and in the reflected light on the trees. I am always a sucker for light effects, and I try really hard to capture them using colour and opacity/transparency to tell the story of what I felt as I was looking at the scene. Hope that comes through! I also did another 2 paintings at the cottage, but one is drying after a repaint, and I thought I would save the other for another time when I can think of something else interesting to tell you about.
As always, I invite you to comment on this post, and to share it on social media using the Share link below.
Blessings
Sharon
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Blessings
Sharon
Thursday
Plein Air: Fall in the Mountains, by Sharon Lynn Williams
$495 beautifully framed
I had the pleasure of painting in the mountains of Canmore, AB with two of my best painting buddies this week. The fall colours were astounding and the sky cloudless, which made it easier on the artists.
$575 beautifully framed
This was actually the first painting of the day. This is called "Little Sister" because it is the lowest of the Three Sisters, but it is the biggest mass-wise of the three. No wonder I keep getting them confused!
These are my 'partners in crime': Dee Poisson on the left and Patti Dyment on the right. Both are great painters and make me laugh!
Enjoy!
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Wednesday
AHA Blog Talk Radio session by Sharon Lynn Williams
$575 beautifully framed
I am about to relive my trip to France in June of last year - Please join me on Artists Helping Artists Blog Talk Radio (AHA Radio) as my travelling buddy Brenda Pinnick and I recount our wild adventures heading off into the French countryside looking for adventure and wonderful painting spots. We will cover what it takes to 'just do it', what to take, what to do, and how to do it. Heading off on an adventure with someone you have only met online, to places you have never been, in a foreign country, with only a cursory knowledge of the language -some might say crazy, but we say 'what a ride!'
Above is the first painting I did on our 3 day trip, just outside Toulouse. We each painted facing in different directions, which was what we tended to do. Great that we could find places that inspired both of us!
I thought I would share some of my paintings from that journey as well as some photos I took along the way, just to whet your appetite to jump in and do it yourself.
$575 beautifully framed
This is the scene I was painting in the photo above, taken as I was completing the underpainting.
When we planned this adventure I just picked a central place that was equidistant from Albi (home of the Toulouse museum) and other places that I had heard were interesting sites. I chose a small hotel in a small town called Castres, and had very small expections. You can imagine our delighted surprise when the GPS led us onto old cobblestone streets leading to our hotel, with this view! I didn't then know that Castres is called the Venice of France, with good reason. Our hotel was wonderful as was the town, and we felt very safe wandering the streets at night.
I could have taken a thousand photos just like this one! We both have impressive stashes of paintable photos that would last a lifetime, IF we never went out another day in our lives.
I had to show you my set-up from the front - palette by Open Box M, umbrella by Best Brella, carbon fibre tripod by Benro, breathable nitrile gloves (Atlas Nitrile Touch 370S -the BEST gloves for painting IMHO) and painting shirt from my hubby!
"Ferrieres, France", 12 x 12" plein air oil
SOLD
This was painted on our last painting day of the trip, a small town in the middle of a VERY hilly circle tour we were on at the recommendation of our hotellier. Now I know why the French are very good at racecar driving on narrow twisty and steep roads!
On our last night in Castres we splurged for a special dinner at a wonderful little restaurant. The presentation of the meal was art in itself and the taste was even better. And the wine...
So many wonderful memories! Be sure to tune in to hear the show which will be archived at the link above to hear more with the lovely Leslie Saeta and Dreama Tolle Perry, the hosts of the show.
Enjoy!
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Saturday
"Just Around The Corner", French plein air oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams
$300 unframed (Please note: listed price is only good until the painting is mounted and framed
Please click here to purchase
This is the final painting that I did inFrance. As the title implies, it was the first spot we saw as we left Castres on a circle tour that took us through the hilly countryside. I am not sure what kind of trees are in the back of the foreground, but they were very different from the trees on the distant hillside. They were the colour of olive trees, but a different shape -maybe a Russian Olive??
I really enjoyed painting in France, but am glad to be home now to the familiar. I have some paintings to post that I did at the cottage in Ontario and from my artist in residency at Bow Lake, but those will have to wait until I am home for a bit. We just came back from a 5 day trip to Purcell Mountain Lodge where I was able to do 5 plein air paintings, and tomorrow we are off to helicopter in to Mt. Assiniboine for 4 days of painting. Unfortunately the forecast is for rain for most of our stay, but I am praying that that will change!
Enjoy!
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Friday
"Ferrieres,France", plein air oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams
SOLD
Brenda and I found an amazing place to stay between Albi and Carcassone, places we were hoping to visit, called Castres. I chose it because of its location, but when we drove in we were amazed. Apparently it is called the Venice of the Tarn, because the Agout river runs right through the middle of town, and beautiful bridges have been placed, so that it looks quite like a street in Venice. Our wonderful little hotel was right on the canal, and everything was within walking distance.
One day we decided to do a road trip in the area and came upon this wonderful little hamlet called Vabre in Ferrieres, and I was enchanted by the view. The little creek was there, but the bridge was not, it was in a cute little town near Frayssinet, so I decided to include it here to replace a rather unpleasant grading -Ah the benefits of being an artist!!
Enjoy!
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Thursday
"Frayssinet", plein air oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams
$300 unframed (Please note: listed price is only good until the painting is mounted and framed
Click here to purchase
This is the last plein air painting I did while in Fraysinnet during the Dreama Tolle Perry artist retreat. This house was just a few blocks away from Le Vieux Couvent where the workshop was held. I was attracted to the light and what it did to the amazing rose bushes growing against the building.
It was sad to leave everyone at the end, but I knew that there were more adventures in France ahead. Many of us are still keeping in touch, which is really nice. I came away with a TON of photos to try in my studio this winter. I don't know if I will ever give up plein air painting, but I hope to learn to do as good a job in the studio. This will also allow me to work larger, which has been a goal for many years.
Enjoy!
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Friday
"French Countryside" plein air oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams
"French Countryside", 12 x 12" plein air oil
$575 beautifully framed
After Dreama's workshop was finished, Brenda Pinnick and I rented a car and headed out west of Toulouse for a plein air adventure. It wasn't very long until we came upon this spot and had to stop to paint! The light is wonderful in France and I was just hoping to capture it and the wonderful colour of these fields. When we were finished and wondering our paintings were truly done, Brenda challenged me with "What is the most outrageous thing you could do?" I threw in the screaming yellow green in the mid ground, and she was right -it was just what the painting needed. I will have to remember that one :)
Enjoy!
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