Jason's Forest - New Hampshire - Winter of 1976

It’s fun to look back at old paintings with fresh eyes.

The details for the January 16th & 17th color workshop are now posted on the “Color Workshop and Info” page. Celebrate the New Year by treating yourself to a weekend of playing with paint!

Happy Holidays!

holstein morning by steve mcginty,  11×14 oil, $1,000 framed in a dark frame, $900 unframed (shipping included) 

I painted this painting from Main Street in Midway. The beginning of the hill on the left is Memorial Hill. ~ steve

‘Unloading The Catch’
15″ x 22″ on 140 lb. Archival Paper
Price $275.00
Contact me for availability
 
 
I love an old fishing boat. I guess you know that by now. This scene was captured in Newport News, Virginia last week. The wind was blowing a gale out there and it pushed many boats in to the port. There were several boats that I’ve never seen there before and I took advantage of the opportunity.
 
This boat moved to the fuel docks soon after I started the painting. Fortunately, I took a few pictures and had a reference to finish the painting.
 
Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

 24″ x 24″
Acrylic on Canvas
Price $775.00
Contact me for availability
 
This piece was painted last week in downtown Newport News, Virginia. After painting a few smaller pieces on paper I decided to go to the larger canvas and give it a shot. The results were pretty good. I like the reflections and shades of blue in this one. It looks like the boats are wearing hats, or baseball caps.
 
Anyway, thanks for stopping by and have a great Tuesday. Happy holidays to all.

15″ x 22″
Acrylic on 140 lb. Archival Paper
Price $275.00
Contact me for availability
 

That’s all for now. Have a great Monday and Happy Holidays.

MELE KALIKIMAKA!

Well time flies ! I have been learning to use technology…but it seems that technology

takes up quite a bit of time to maintain!!!

I have redone my website please visit it!

www.kauaiarts.net

or

www.jeniferprince.com

I am now also on Facebook and please email me if you would like to be included in my Art Updates (New Work).

Life has been beautiful here on Kauai…and I am so very very grateful to live and paint here…

May you all have Happy Holidays and a Great New Year!!!

Jeni

The reject.

My inspiration.

The final result.

 15″ x 22″
Acrylic on 140 lb. Archival Paper
Price $375.00
Contact me for availability
 
This post is an example of how my reject process works. This particular piece was originally a vase and flowers on a full sheet that measured 22″ x 30″. I tore it in half and clipped it to my easel.
 
I scanned the harbor looking for some inspiration. Ah, oh Bailey Boy was just a short distance away so I focused in and grabbed my brushes.
 
As you can tell the final result is a bit different than the original picture, not that I could fool you into think I’m a realist, and I made some changes to simplify the composition. And that is important to my process. Using my imagination keeps me loose and not fixed on the subject which can result in a tight painting. Once I start the painting I will only look back at the scene a few times to check proportions, or look for a few details.
 
Hope you like it. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by. There are a few eBay auctions that will mature in a few days, so be sure to click the eBay link and join in on the fun.

The winter semester at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art in Van Nuys, California starts next month, and the Landscape Painting Class will be in full swing again beginning Saturday, January 16th, 2010. The class runs for eight consecutive Saturdays, and class size is kept small so students will receive plenty of individual instruction. LAAFA is offering an Early Bird Special if you sign up before January 4, 2010.

In these classes you will learn how to paint what you see, not what you think you see. Learn how to interpret in terms of paint, using light and color to create form. Color relationships, design/composition, simplifying, and the benefits of painting on location will be discussed, as well as how to design and build a painting that carries an emotional impact. Make an investment in your art – gain confidence and knowledge that will inspire all areas of your creativity.

At the Edge (The San Gabriels), 16″ x 16″, Oil on panel, Private Collection, © Eric Merrell

As artists, we need to be able to interpret what we see and understand what we paint. Ample time is given to demos by the instructor as well as individual painting time. All experience levels are welcome. Limited space is available – call 818/708-9232 or visit www.laafa.org to register your space today!

For more information, please visit www.ericmerrell.com and click on Workshops.

 One of my favorite recent paintings, “The Perfect Day” is on view @ PAAM thru January 17th in the “Small Works Member Show”.  

Happy Holidays!   

22″ x 30″
Acrylic on Canvas
Click here to bid

This piece was painted last week in downtown Newport News, Virginia. I have been painting on paper lately as a way to recycle some of my reject paintings. I have a ridiculous amount of watercolors that didn’t make the cut that I’ve been saving for the past year. They have made it in the dumpster a few times, but I quickly change my mind thinking I’ll be able to reuse them at some point. Since I’ve discovered and have enjoyed painting with acrylic on paper recently, it’s a great way to recycle the paper. I love it when I put a rejected piece on the easel and end up with a new painting that I like.

Oh yeah, this painting is now available on my eBay site, so click the link and check it out.

Spanish Step, Oil on canvas 30"x40: The star of the show!

We’ve lived in our house for 5 years, and most of that time I haven’t noticed the coat closet beside the front door, except as a place to store the center leaf of the dining room table. However, when you schedule your Holiday Party/Gallery Opening on the only rainy Saturday evening of San Diego’s year … suddenly you realize how lucky you are to have that coat closet!

Kudos to all the fearless souls who braved the unusual weather (more than an 1.5 inches of rain Saturday night) to join us for our gala. I could tell what the current weather was by how wet people were once they got to our front door, and with the crowd we drew, some people had to park a ways down the block! Fortunately once folks got here, the fireplaces were going, and there was plenty of champagne and wine and food. And of course artwork! We hung a combination of 48 equestrian, still life and plein air paintings in the house, and there were several more works still on the easels in the studio. You can see a gallery of the paintings here as well as candids from the evening.  I featured Donna Richardson’s newly finished portrait of her recently retired Pan Am Gold Medal winner Jazzman. Paintings that also garnered a lot of attention were “Spanish Step” a new 30″x40″ oil of Andalusian stallion Oniris at liberty and The Water Lesson Series.

I had painted several plein air watercolors at Saumur this autumn. Normally I offer them for sale as soon as they’re completed – and they sell very quickly. I purposely held them back for the party. I have just a few left: they’re now framed and ready to hang, and those  can be shipped in time for Christmas if you purchase within the next few days.

In the month before the party, so many details involved with planning…. Ordering frames, driving the hour to the factory to pick up frames and framing supplies, labeling those paintings. Cataloging the paintings by size, medium and price. Ordering greeting cards. Ordering books. Curating the show: where in the house/gallery would the paintings best fit? During the last week, Axel and I transformed “Casa Miller-Steiner” into “Gallery Miller-Steiner.”

I decided to have the party catered, so that I could spend the time chatting with my guests. We chose Monika Morris of Tenders Caterers, who has a philosophy of good, natural foods prepared irresistably…. Let’s just say we didn’t have any hungry people at the end of the evening and we didn’t have many leftovers! And thanks to Julie Blair, who took lots of photos of the merrymaking!

I spent Sunday recuperating, and Monday I’ll deliver the artwork that was purchased – it didn’t seem right to send paintings out into the rain on Saturday night!

Holiday Art Tree

The Hall of Miniatures

"Favorite Mug"11x14 and "Red Pitcher" 8x10

Three new paintings: "Spotlight", "Spanish Step", "Water Lesson 1"

 15″ x 30″
Acrylic on 140 lb.. Archival Paper
Click Here To Bid
 
This piece was painted last week in Downtown Newport News, Virginia. This fleet of red boats were docked directly across from me and my easel. Rarely do I walk up and down the docks to search for a subject. Usually there is so much activity that I just set my easel up anywhere and find my subject once I’m ready to paint. I find if I plan too much everything goes down the tube, so I guess less is more .
 
Thanks for stopping by. This painting is available through eBay auction which will start tonite at 7 PM EST.

Bobbie Goodrich

Sedona Workshop – “Inspire, Capture, Create!”

This 5 day workshop with Bobbie Goodrich be held again in May 2010. Click HERE for details and the availability of online registration.
Our group totaling 9  convened  at the Sedona Arts Center  Monday morning.  In the afternoon we headed out to the Bryson Ranch for a fantastic photo shoot lasting until sunset. A large group of magnificent horses ran free for several hours in a beautiful pasture with the gorgeous fall colors in the backdrop; while we stood by in awe and attempted to capture their spirit and energy thru our lenses. It was an unbelievable experience being upclose and personal to all the action.  Exhausted and elated we headed back to our lovely B&Bfor the night.  Tuesday we drove to Out of Africa wildlife park in cottonwood, where we were driven on a mini safari. Photographing lions, zebras, tiger, white rhino, giraffe and other endangered species was a blast, especially for those who have notbeen on african safari.  Back in sedona for the gorgeous evening light we headed to Crescent Moon park to photograph the magnificent red rock structures with the water below reflecting Cathedral Rock ’s sandstone towers. Wednesday morning we headed out early for a sunrise shoot to capturing more exquisite redrock structures that symbolize  the beauty of the west. Wed, Thurs & Friday included 3 full days of postproduction  in the digital lab at Yavapai College, Sedona Center. Everyone had their own desktop Mac loaded with NIK software and photoshop to  provide an in-depthlearning experience!!   This successful weeklong workshop will be held again in May 2010.

september angus by steve mcginty, 7×12 oil, $ 875 framed (in a dark frame), $785 unframed

This gnarly, old willow tree has often caught my eye out painting in the North Fields. ~ steve

15″ x 22″
Acrylic on 140 lb. Archival Paper
Click here to Bid

  
This piece was painted in downtown Newport News, Virginia last weekend. The boats were black and I decided to ad some color for interest. The majority of the background was from my imagination to give a sense of place to the piece.

This piece is available through auction. Just click on the image, or link below and you will be redirected to my eBay site.

 That’s all for now. Hope you have a fabulous day and thanks for stopping by.

15″ x 22″
Acrylic on 140 lb. Archival Paper
Click here to Bid
 
 
I painted this piece last week in downtown Newport News, Virginia. It was a blustery and chilly day that forced a lot of fishing boats in from the Atlantic Ocean. It’s great for me but I’m sure it’s a hassle for the fishermen.
 
These two boats were docked directly across from me and made great subjects. The fish house was added from my imagination but thought it balance the composition out nicely.

This piece is available through auction. Just click the image, or link just below and you will be redirected to my eBay site.

 
Hope you find it interesting. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Suisun City Landing, 9 x 12″
soft pastel on Wallis with watercolor underpainting
© 2009 Marianne Post

Earlier this week I blogged about heading into the studio to “resolve” a plein air study done along the slough in Suisun City. You might recall that the day was pretty cold and my study reflected the coolness of the moment. In the studio, I wanted to change the temperature of the light, to warm it up a bit and also enlarge the piece from 8 x 10″ to 12 x 16″.

notan

Pictured above is what initially came off the easel. I let it sit until the afternoon and when standing back and looking with fresh eyes, the first thing I said to myself s “what’s wrong with this?” I certainly didn’t like the bland mass of water in the foreground. I took out my notan and immediately saw (again with fresh eyes) that even at that point I was struggling with the cropping and the resolve of uninteresting shapes. I suppose my subconscious felt like it could deal with it in the painting process and my excitement to get on with the painting overpowered my left brain.

So I got out my “croppers,” pieces of L-shaped mat board to try different croppings. By eliminating a good portion of the water, more interesting shapes appear. Likewise, in cropping the sky mass, the focal point point becomes much stronger.  The light masses in the sky and water lead the eye right to the building. I should have realized in the notan stage when things weren’t going well there to take  a few extra minutes and resolve the issues at that point. After all, that is the purpose behind that whole step of my process. In the long run I could have saved time and pastel. But the learning experience, as they say, “is priceless.”

15″ x 22″
Acrylic on 140 lb. Archival Paper
Contact me for availability and price

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

north fields barn by katrina madsen berg, 16 x 20 oil on canvas, $695 framed

A couple years ago, after the Midway Art Association’s Plein Air Paradise, Deb Tolbert and I went off one evening to paint in the North Fields.  She has been known to paint in some rugged spots, and so she was prepared with her guerilla box and boots.  Me, a paint-in-the-back-of-the-car-without-an-easel-or-proper-supplies-kind-a-gal, was wearing flip flops as we trudged through the cow pies and mud.  

The view was fantastic, the animals not to far off were cautiously watching us for a while.  My favorite part of the evening, however was getting to know Deb a bit more.  You can imagine my elation when she decided to be part of the wba.  ~ katrina

16″ x 20″
Acrylic on Canvas Board
Contact me for availability and price
 
This piece was painted last week in downtown Newport News, Virginia. I guess you have realized I love painting fishing boats. Perhaps it’s because I worked on them for a few years back in the day. These vessels have so much character and mystic to them. I really enjoy the bow and wheel house part the most. It may change, but for now I’m obsessed with painting that part of the ship.
 
The day after Thanksgiving I ventured out to the western part of Virginia to try to get inspired to paint mountains. After driving five hours and touring several towns, I realized that my heart was at the docks in Newport News, Virginia. It was about 5 PM and I decided at that moment that I was going to drive five hours back home and be at the docks the next morning. Sorry mountains, I’ll be back.
 
That’s all for now. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.