Monday, July 25, 2011

Images from the Door County Paint Out

The two hour painting frenzy was only topped by how many sold via auction while the paint was still wet! Everybody was crowding around the tent but I managed to snap a few photos of my favorites.












From what I saw, every painting sold, with a minimum of $500 being bid up to $2000. It was quite impressive and gives us artists hope that people are still buying art. What a great event!


Door County Plein Air Festival


This past weekend was the 5th annual Door County event. Over 40 nationally recognized artists paint for the entire week leading up to the Dockside Quick Paint which takes place from 9-11am on Saturday. It appeared over 60 "regular" artists, including me set up easels all over Fish Creek, WI.

It was quite a site. I got there at 6:30am and there were already a lot of artists set up and many others scoping out their territory. Luckily I got there a day early and looked around for where I wanted to paint. My primary spot was already taken by two people! So Plan B...and I set up just before another woman set up right next to me!

Even though it was a mostly cloudy morning, I opted for a shady locale. Below is my 2 hour creation: "Just Birdy", 11x14 Oil.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Sweat & Oil Paint

Today is supposed to be the hottest day of the year here in SE Wisconsin...105*. So I ventured out early (8:30am) to paint. I've started wearing latex gloves and as I got going, I noticed moisture on my palette. I quickly discovered it was sweat dripping out from the inside of my painting hand glove! It was hot, and I had to constantly be aware of the sweat and wipe often. I was set up out of the hatch of my car so it offered some shade, but it was still a cooker. Sun worked its way around to affect my panel by the end...next up is a good plein air umbrella. Either way, things turned out well and I know there's a little "special medium" worked into the oils for this painting- "Hot as Hell on Hwy H"; 12x16 Oil

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Schmid Influenced

During my workshop with Tom Nachriener, we discussed Richard Schmid. One of my fellow students also brought her Landscapes book by Schmid. What a stunning set of images! I decided to purchase his Alla Prima book, since I felt my work was "better" if I tried to finish it quickly. This typically means in less than 2-7 days for me.

Shown here is a studio piece I just completed using some of the broken brushstrokes and direct painting methodology Richard describes. 18x24 Oil- Peninsula State Park.





Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Where have I been? Painting of course.

Okay, it's hard to keep up with this blog. While I've done a lot of art related things over the past 3 months, I haven't posted anything. A couple of followers would inspire me! Oh, I have to post, regularly first! Duh...

Anyway, I've been painting and teaching away all spring and summer. Last week I attended a workshop at the Peninsula Art School in Fish Creek, WI. Tom Nachreiner was the instructor and it was really fun and educational. He's a great artist to learn from. Here's my day 1 piece.




Creek in Scuppernong Park, Eagle WI
8x10 Oil

Maybe I'll leave the post as is, and force myself to come back and add more pix from this great workshop.