The gallery, the Etsy shop and a nest update

It's Monday morning and I'm sitting here with my coffee, listening to the birds and thinking about the week ahead. Today is art class. I'll probably just have 3 people in the studio today since a few folks are traveling. The rest of the week will be spent in my home studio working on several paintings. I usually have more than one going at a time- keeps my energy up that way.

Another thing that boosts the painting energy is visiting my gallery rep. Last week I delivered 10 new landscapes to the Signature Art Gallery in Tallahassee. They've been selling my work for a couple of years now and I'd never been there! Shame on me. So, since I had a couple of larger canvases for them this time I thought it would be good to deliver instead of shipping. I'm so glad I did. It was a beautiful day. Yellow flowers (friends from the area will know what kind they are) were blooming all along I75 with the occassional purple ones thrown in here and there- very pretty- you know those complimentary colors work so well together. 😄

Finding the gallery was very easy and what a nice place! I met Mary, the owner, and we had a lovely time visiting. Walking around, looking at the other art there, I realized I wanted just about everything in the place. Every piece in the gallery was beautiful! I truly felt honored to have my work hanging there with so many wonderful artist's work. I could've stayed all day just studying the brush work and techniques in all the other works. 

One of the larger pieces I delivered.

The 2 floating walls where my work is currently hanging. They've made room for a few of the new pieces.

So my gallery is updated and now my Etsy shop is too.

Once upon a time I was doing Friday Painting Parties. I did them for about 3 years but due to a change in the studio space I stopped doing them. I had a number of workshop demo pieces left from those parties and I got tired of tripping over the box of canvases so I added them to the shop at a special price. This week, through Mother's Day, you can get one of these paintings at a bigger discount with the coupon code MOMLOVE20 for 20% off. It really is a great deal so check it out if you're so inclined. There's a mix of subjects and techniques - take a look at the Etsy mini shop on the sidebar to see more examples.

This was one of my faves to do. It's from a photo I took on the gulf coast.

We did a gold leaf sky on this one. What a mess in a workshop! We then used palette knife to paint the rest.

This one came from a series I did called Woodland. They're all sold now, this is the last.

Nest update!

So remember the nest in my mailbox? The babies grew up and fledged but sadly, at least one of them was lost to a predator - the kitty. I happened to be home when the little ones took off and suddenly I saw the cat hunkered down over something small while momma bird was screeching and flying circles overhead. Sad. All I can do is hope the others survived. 

Once I was sure no one was coming back to the mailbox nest I cut a piece of cardboard to fit the width of the box so I could slide it underneath and then carefully pull the nest out. It took some work but I finally got it out without losing much of their construction. Once I got it out I found an egg inside that hadn't hatched. Unfortunately, I broke it when I took it out to show my granddaughter but I kept the largest pieces and put them back in. Now I have a new nest to add to my growing collection. See, this is why I have to move that box of canvases I was tripping over. Seriously..... go to the Etsy shop!

From the front

Side view- you can see how much taller it is in the back.

And of course, I've added to the collection of nest paintings. In memory of the little one lost to the kitty I painted 2 Babies this past weekend from a photo I took of them in the mailbox.

2 Babies

5x5

Well, that's the update for now...... I have lots of paintings floating around in my head so I'm anxious to get back to the studio and get busy. 

Wishing you peace and creativity.

Projects, parties and inspiriation

Sometimes in my commission work I get to switch things up. Instead of doing a beautiful face in colored pencil I just finished a graphite portrait of this lovely home. I really enjoy working in pencil once in a while. It takes me back to focusing on light and dark values. Value is king after all. If you don't have the values down the work won't be successful. I'll be mailing this piece out to the client this week and soon will have another house to do for her and I also have another people portrait to do soon. I love my time at the drawing board!

This week I'm also prepping for the Friday Painting Party. We've been in the middle of a wicked heat wave so my brain went to the beach hoping my body will follow- hence this month's project.....

This is from a photo I took at last year's beach trip. I love to lie under the umbrella and watch these guys skitter across the sand, pecking and poking. To stay updated on Painting Party info please visit my Facebook page. I'm usually posting links to cool artsy stuff I find online too.

The photo below is from the park where I walk in the morning. Because of this very hot weather we've been having I go to the park as early as 6:15 so I can finish my miles before I melt into the concrete. I really don't mind because I love to see the early morning light on the trees. Sometimes I even get to spot an eagle looking for breakfast. This tree is the eagle's favorite look out spot so every time I pass it on my laps around the lake I look up to see if he's sitting up there. This particular morning the orange light on the tree trunk and the moon peeking through the gap made for an interesting shot. You know this is going to show up on a canvas sometime. I might even play with gold leaf on this one- we'll see. I'll share when it gets going.

What's inspiring you lately?

What have I been doing?

Boy do I have some updating to do!! I've done a lot of work since posting last so I'll share a few pics...

These are brand new landscapes inspired by aerial photos I took as I was flying into Tampa airport. These pieces are very textured. I used Super Heavy Gesso and many layers of drybrushing. Size wise they're 11x14 and 12x12.

This one is the newest tree piece and the largest one I've done- it's 48x36 and it has tons of texture. I covered the entire canvas with layers of tissue paper.

Then..... there's the colored pencil work. I've been doing some commission work and of course doing portraits of my grandbabies. Pouty Face is the one I just finished this past week and I think it's one of my faves. Harlen is such a character I know I'll be doing more with his beautiful face.

This gorgeous animal is Winston and he was a commission piece for a dear friend of mine. He was a real joy to paint and a real challenge too. That hair!!!

Yep, still partying. Friday Painting Parties are still happening. In fact I'm now doing an afternoon session along with the evening. Last month we did a scene from Tuscawilla Park - Ibis Morning, a line up of birds along the waters edge.

This month we're doing a landscape....

Just one more bit of news for now- a show at Gateway Bank! Check this out. The reception is passed but the show is up until May 26th.

There's a sampling of what I've been up to. Leaving for now but I'll be back! I swear! I'll be adding new work to the pages up at the top and I'll post more of the portrait work including photos of the work as it progresses. See you soon. 

Goings on

What the heck happened to February? It was a busy month and looks like March is going to be even busier! Lots of projects to work on. Getting started on the project for this month's Friday Painting Party.....

We're going abstract this time. Some of the ladies want to loosen up and try something different so I'm having them play with tissue paper to texture their canvas and then we'll play with color and design.

This past weekend I went back to Macon to pick up the work from my show. While there I met with the gallery director at the Macon Arts Alliance Gallery, Heatherly Wakefield. She checked out the show before we took it down and made a selection of pieces for me to take to her gallery so she'll be carrying my work there. How cool - I now have a gallery rep in Georgia! Since I brought some work back to the studio I had to rearrange, of course. I did a new arrangement on the studio wall...

So what else is happening this month? Working on my entry for the CPSA International Exhibition which is coming up this summer right here in FL. The convention activities will be in Daytona Beach and the exhibition itself will be in Ormond Beach at the Ormond Art Museum. I'm so excited! This is the first time the CPSA show and convention will be in Florida. The deadline for entries is March 31st so if you're one of my colored pencil followers, get coloring.

And...... I'm teaching a 2 day workshop down in the Villages the first week of April so I need to get busy prepping for that. It's all about painting landscapes in acrylic. It'll be a fun time. There are some very enthusiastic painters down there. :)

So, that's what's going on in my studio.... what's happening in yours?

Still Hot!

January is sliding away FAST!!! So much going on.... prepping for the studio workshop aka Friday Painting Party and working on paintings for my upcoming show in Macon GA at The 567 Center for Renewal February 7-28.

Right now I'm working on some 8x10s. These might be small in size but they are BIG in texture. I prepped the canvas with a layer of crumpled tissue before painting. I love the way the texture breaks up the brush strokes and the color.

Bogan Park Afternoon

8x10, acrylic and gold leaf on canvas

Did you notice I couldn't resist adding gold leaf? Of course not. The show is called the Golden Landscape. Not every single piece in the show has gold leaf but a lot of them do. The palette used on the others includes a lot of golden color. Apparently I'm still in my red/gold phase. I don't seem to get tired of these hot colors.

In case you missed it.....

This is the project we're doing next week, Jan. 24th, in the Friday Painting Party. We have 2 sessions to choose from. The afternoon runs from 1-4 and the evening is 7-10. We'll be doing the birdhouse in both, we added the afternoon session for the folks who don't want to drive at night or would just rather be in their pj's after supper. (I can relate, that's how you'll find me most nights)

You don't have to have any painting experience to take this class and we provide absolutely everything you need to start and finish the painting during that time. Just bring yourself and your favorite beverage. We'll take care of everything else. Class size is limited so let us know as soon as you can if you plan to attend. Cost is $50 and payment in advance guarantees your seat.

Hope you're doing something creative and holler at me if you want more info about the Painting Party or weekly classes. Oh... and stop by the Facebook page to see what else is going on. 

Peace!

Carlynne