Sunday, October 23, 2011

Nectarines And Wine

                                          Colored Pencil on Ampersand Pastelboard  16 X 20

In Getting ready for my showing at several of the Wineries and Wine Festivals this year here is the second Still Life finished last week just before Powhatan's Festival Of The Grape, our local wine festival.  Turn out yesterday was somewhere near 7500 - 8000 wine lovers, and great weather.  Not bad for such a small rural county in VA.   My most local and newest art association Fine Arts Of Powhatan had our 2nd show at the festival.  I donated my tent and screens for the event so Powhatan could see the fine artists in their midst.   I myself had my 3 recent wine themed paintings there, this one included.  It's a good thing it didn't sell because I hadn't had it photographed yet.

It of course is on pastelboard and finished with UV Archival Varnish to protect it like all my other pieces on this board.  I did get the usual comments of "That can't be colored pencil!"  This still life was set up in my kitchen on my granite countertop with a few nectarines I had around with one of my favorite blue wine glasses.  A pale blue draped fabric covered the background board which I thought was a nice complimentary color to the yellow of the napkin and the Fess Parker Chardonnay (which I love).

Now on to my last of the series, for a while, which has to be done before my next winery show.  I'll leave you all in suspense, but realize that since I've started my "part time day job" to pay for this Art Habit I have it may not be a short wait.  Now back to coloring.

Gloria

Monday, October 3, 2011

Additional Painting To My Wine Series

                       Waiting For Harvest 16 X 12 Colored Pencil On Ampersand Pastel Board

In full swing of Art Festival/Exhibit Months, it seems my goals to get new work completed for the Wine Shows to come meet with distraction on a daily basis.  I attended the Exhibit at Glenview Mansion in Rockville, MD on Sunday of the CPSA (Colored Pencil Society of America) Disctrict Chapter in DC, of which I am a member.  The mansion is a beautiful and artsy place to exhibit with so many shows going on besides ours.  I have three paintings in the show and received nice comments from the other members on them.  A must see if you are in the area.

Now for the painting seen above, it's finally finished and I'll do another similar with red grapes soon but it will have a distinctly unique feature, stay tuned.  Both of the references for the 2 grape harvest pieces are from my 2009 trip to Castello di Colognoli, in Tuscany.  This of course the white grapes on the vine waiting for the harvest, thus the title.  The photos were taken late in the afternoon just after dinner and the warm setting Tuscan sun was setting.  The feeling of being there comes back to me as I work on these, remembering the sweet taste of these white grapes.  But I've started a wine still life to give me a break from all the grape drawing, and Still Life are one of my best sellers.

I've got frames to order and at least 2 more paintings to finish by then ......so back to it.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Wine By Candelight - New Painting For New Kent Winery Exhibit

                                           Wine By Candlelight   12 X 12    Colored Pencil

Today I'm posting a newly finished colored pencil piece painted onto a gallery wrapped hardboard support by Ampersand that I primed with Colorfix sanded surface primer.  The photo reference is from a set up I did in my kitchen.  This wine themed piece is the first in a new Wine series I'm doing for several fall art shows coming up.  Some of the exhibits are at wineries and or wine festivals.  The first is this weekend (Sept. 18th) for the Central VA Classic Car Show at New Kent Winery, in New Kent, VA.  My husbands antique 53' MGTD isn't yet ready for the show but this piece is.

The surface of this board was primed with gesso by the factory, and to be used for acrylic or oil, but I lightly sand the top and sides then primed it again with the Colorfix Fine Tooth primer in the color Soft Umber.  This primer seems to be a little rougher than the bluish grey I have of the same type.  I did not render the sides of the gallery wrap hardboard style, the gesso color I used as the background of the table surface shows thru (so it coordinates).  Followed by my usual coats of fixative and then 6-8 coats UV varnish to finish the piece.   So all I have to do is attach the hanging wires and it's all set to go to the show.  Now to finish 2 other framing jobs before the show.

I've just come back from a Plein Air painting weekend at The Peaks Of Otter Lodge, here in VA so I hope to scan and post some of my pastel studies I completed from that event soon.  Then use a few of these studies to create some studio works for a show in Roanoke next year.  So much to do, so little time.  So everyone get creating!

Monday, August 22, 2011

Landscapes in Colored Pencil - Bodie Island Light 24 X 18

I finished this colored pencil painting just before my vacation last week and needed to settle on it a while, you know like we all do with newly finished work.  Set it aside, look at it, put it in a frame to check it out, look at it some more and then leave it for a week to see - is it really done.  Well, I guess so as I photographed it today, and here it is.  Done except for the 6 - 8 final coats of UV Varnish which I'll do tomorrow.  I like to shoot it after I spray it with matte fixative but before the varnish as I think the added coats make it harder to photograph.  It's done on Ampersand Pastel Board.  So it can hang without glass, protected by the UV Varnish.

The lighthouse in lower Nags Head, NC is a familiar site for vacationers to the outer banks.  And is one of the reference shots from our Trip at the end of May.  The view is from the marsh lands looking back to the light from the deck platform.  Catching the reflection in the marsh water was a unique shot of this often photographed lighthouse.  One of the many pieces I will be working on for a gallery in the outer banks.  I hope you enjoy my take on it.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The Wave - A study on water

                                                    The Wave a 8 X 10.5" study

I've been working on this study  for a few weeks off and on, trying to get the look of the ocean, it's color and action.  This was an exercise for a larger piece coming next and my first try on Canson Edition paper.  Not sure I like this paper as it doesn't take the layers my normal Stonehenge does or for that matter what my HP Watercolor paper does.  But a Study is just that but I do see some uses for this paper in adding it to my artists journal as is is supposed to handle mixed media too!  For this I used 100% colored pencil, no wc pencil under painting.  But I will have to try that out when I add it to my artist journal.

After dealing with many on going internet issues (2 months with Verizon checking my lines, modems and such) I hope to get caught up on blogging and other communications.  But today I'm planning on getting my newest water themed piece of and running.  Line drawing, and transfer to board on the agenda.  Will show you the progress in a few days. 


What art have you created today!

Gloria


Monday, July 25, 2011

The Artist's Journal Workshop by Cathy Johnson- Great Book Review

I have to recommend a book I just received and hadn't been able to put down until I finished it.  The Artists Journal Workshop - creating your life in words and pictures by Cathy Johnson.  It is a real motivator for me an avid sketch book/journal collector.  (Albeit a collector of many empty journals.)  OK I'm not that lazy as many of you may think, it's a long and sorted traumatic story dating back to my childhood when my brother found and read my diary!  Since then I always liked the ideas of journaling thoughts, sketches, and such but I was always afraid someone would read it and not understand my rantings.  Writing has always afforded me a way to work thru feelings, list to do's or want to do's (I'm a crazed list maker, just ask my family) and of course being an artist there is the need to sketch.  Whether to work out a new painting layout, practice my skills, doodle, document a trip or just plan recap my day.

With this book Cathy shows you how she and 27 other insightful artists do just that.  No I'm not a paid North Light Books employee, but I wouldn't mind if they sent me free books to review.  It is just a wonderfully done book, showing you how to get over the blank WHITE page, tips and techniques to get you to make this a habit, suggests materials to use, how to put together an efficient and small journal kit for travel and a more complete one for at home.  No this is not an Art Journal, you know the unique pieces of art in and of themselves made from old books or all collage based.  Although I think an artist's personal journal shows that art is their daily life, and thus a work of art for them.

This was just the book to get me moving again and start to fill some of the journals I have collected.  Next on the to do list is to organize a sketch crawl.  More on that at a later date.

I have been working on a colored pencil wave image, not large and more for practice than anything for a larger piece.  Now back to the colored pencils, oh maybe I should get dinner started..........

What art have you created today? 

 

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Siberian Iris I and Cat Portraits

                                                         17 x 8 Colored Pencil Botanical
After teaching some fellow artists my techniques in colored pencil I'm showing you one of my works my class worked on.  A long format piece that lends it's self to the almost life size rendering of the irises I brought to my home garden from my grandmother's garden in PA when we moved to our current VA home.  My Mom kept her mother's irises going and then passes them on to me, and I have since passed many on to my sons.  They are prolific and beautiful at the same time.  Although I have worked my way into other subject matter my garden still holds many botanical subjects waiting to be captured in colored pencil.  This will be part of a series, although not right away, as I get easily distracted with new subjects.

I have completed a cat portrait recently also just to prove I could.  It's not for sale as the image was not my own.  But I did enjoy doing it.  My son Chris tells me I should get into pet portraits, something I'm not sure I'd like to do as getting reference shots of living things that don't sit long is a challenge for me.  Now if I could just get my dog Daphne to not shy away from the camera I may just do her portrait.  Her dalmatian spots may drive me crazy but I would so like to capture her playful manner.  Below is my sample portrait at 8 x 6 it's not large but was my first attempt at fur.
 
Keep your pencils near as inspiration is everywhere!
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...