ART IN THE MOUNTAIN DEMO - CHILD & SLIDE SHOW

PROFILE DEMO FOR WORKSHOP

Along with demonstrating how to create an accurate profile, I also demonstrate how to work on different paper surfaces.  I usually work on Tyvek paper for the profile.   

 Tomorrow I will post the final slide show which combines the profile paintings and the children paintings from the group.  They are in various stages of completion but everyone recognized the importance of putting time in to get a good drawing.  Since we had only one day for profiles and one day for children, they will have to finish them at home.  Of course, that is the goal of the workshop to find some new information to take home and grow and develop from there.

We have one more beautiful day here in Bend as the flight home isn't until 8:30 PM.

THE MANY FACES OF MORRIE!

It was fun to see all my versions of Morrie lined up against the wall.  I worked on two other images for my demos but my collection of Morries serve as examples of how you can change things around with one image.

Today we finished up the first paintings.  This is a very talented group of artists.  Some have a lot of experience painting and some are very new to the watercolor medium, with others somewhere in the middle.  For many, this was their first portrait attempt.  You are in for a treat.  Here is the slide show of first paintings of the workshop.

ART IN THE MOUNTAINS FIRST DEMO!

If you have never been to Bend, Oregon, be sure and put it on your bucket list!  What a beautiful place.  Art in the Mountains workshops are held in the Phoenix Inn Suites right at the foot of a vibrant downtown full of interesting shops and wonderful restaurants plus a gorgeous park where the Dechutes river flows through.  We arrived in time to view a major bicycle event.  I was able to get some wonderful photos of speeding cyclists in a pack.  I don't know if I will ever use them, but it was exciting to be so close to this kind of action.  I did a little outdoor sketching and painting, one of which is decent enough to post a little later.

Sunday  night there was a reception for me to meet the students and them to meet me.  This was such a nice idea.  In fact, there are all sorts of special little touches here that make this venue special.  A small art store is set  up in the workshop as there is no other art store in the vicinity.  Wednesday a masseuse comes in at lunch time for those that want a 10 minute relaxing treatment!  Tonight we will have a class dinner and they also take an informal class portrait that is sent to everyone.  Tracy Culbertson has thought of everything!  

 I have a great group of hard working students and at the end of today we will have a critique of the first painting.  My goal is to photograph them and create a slide show.  Above is the quick demo I did Tuesday.  More to come!

LOOSING IT!

Frustrated with all the failed starts lately, I decided to create a very loose, fast painting.  It may need some fine tuning but I like how the details seem to appear but they are only suggested.  I think I would like to work more in this vein.  Tyvek with liquid watercolor and squirrel brushes seem to be a winning combination.

Next week I will be teaching at Art in the Mountains, Bend, Oregon.  Can't wait.  It should be a spectacular week.  We leave Saturday, so tomorrow is packing day.

FIRST STEPS!

I was sitting at Gallery Concord yesterday and decided to start preparatory sketches for my next painting.  

THE PERFECT STORM!

I think I have found the perfect material that combines all the ways I like to work!  I think of it as the perfect storm.  The Inktense Blocks allow me to draw, paint with both subtlety and intensity, and incorporate the look of pastel.  Pastel has been a favorite art material for years but I do very little because I don't like all the dust that can be breathed in and it seems vulnerable too smearing unless matted and framed.  I like that watercolor or acrylic on paper can be so easily stored.  Watercolor crayons look pasty when  dissolved with water and Watercolor Sticks look gorgeous when dissolved with water but stick and drag when trying to draw with them.

This is a painting I partially covered over with collaged torn newspaper.  I drew the basic abstract shapes with a permanent marker, painted in the white shapes with gesso, then proceeded to finish the painting with  the Inktense Blocks and gesso.   I purposefully distorted the image.  I think I may have gotten a little carried away with the distortion, but it was a fun image to play with.  

On another note, it has been brought to my attention that airline prices to Europe are almost half of what I paid a few months ago.  There is still time to sign up if you are interested in my Belgium trip through French Escapades.  Drawing and painting in Bruge is going to be fabulous!

FINAL RESOLUTION! With Slide Show!!

 I am so happy to have this painting finished!  I kept procrastinating working on the painting because I didn't like it but couldn't seem to move on until I finished it one way or another.  I decided to order the new Inktense blocks.  They looked so intriguing and I thought they might be great for travel sketching.  I had a gift certificate with Amazon and they were available through that website, so I treated myself!  After playing with them a little, I decided to use them to finish up this painting.  I also used white gesso in various dilutions  and I am pleased with the result.  I have created a slide show of the morphing of this painting.  I have included a few detail images .   On my monitor, the colors look fairly close to the actual painting, especially the detail images.

Now, onto the next painting!