Blue Jay in Winter

I've been living in New York for the past few months instead of Florida, so this is apropos. Thanks to Kelly Strope from PMP for her inspiring photo. Thank you for stopping by.

Santa's Boots

This was a fun, yet challenging painting from a photo by Neil Empsall from paint my photo.
Merry Christmas and thanks for stopping by.

Chickens in the High Rent District

The window in this photo is uniquely European, which explains the title. I painted this from a paint my photo reference  https://pmp-art.com/shelley-hammerton/gallery/214529/mille-fleur-cockerel. I'm guessing French. Thanks for stopping by and happy holidays.

Golden Tomatoes

Tom the model - Zorn palette

This is my latest open studio painting of a fabulous model named Tom. This occurred right after Irma and the studio's power had just come back on and it was hot! But Tom posed standing, in full work man's regalia, down to the gloves. I feel bad I didn't try the full Monti, so to speak, but I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew. I'm lovin the Zorn palette and even managed to get a yellowish hat. Thanks for stopping by.

Flowers on the Windowsill

Head Studies - Zorn Palette

I've been painting portraits on Wednesday afternoons at the Southern Atelier's open studio. http://southernatelier.org/  It's been 3 or 4 years since I've painted from life and I'm really loving it. I started using the Zorn palette. I'm using it for simplicity, unity and the convenience of only carrying 4 tubes of paint. I have a great travel set up, which includes a sterilite plastic container that holds my paper palette, (It fits perfectly in the freezer) medium, towels and paint, and a separate plastic container for my brushes, mirror, knife, etc. That all fits in a bag, along with my smock. I have a drawing board on which I tape a sheet of Canson oil paper.  In my limited Zorn palette experience, I've already switched out my Windsor yellow ochre for M Graham's. The WN is too green and has no tinting power. The top painting is with MG. What a difference in color! Thanks for stopping by.

Polish

Unfortunately my 30 day challenge bit the dust. It was a hopeful idea, as I had to go back to work after having the summer off. I sing the teacher blues in the key of f flat. But we're back and one of my favorite parts of teaching is suddenly realizing that everyone is engaged and doing what I'm asking them to. It's amazing and rewarding. (I was teaching 1 and 2 point perspective.)

Dutch Egg Cup

We weren't "egg cup" people, so I wasn't sure what to do with the egg and the cup because the egg is so much smaller. Maybe it's a cup for ostrich eggs, or small dinosaur eggs. Although probably not. Thanks for stopping by. This is day 4 in the 30 day challenge.

Green Bag

I started packing this bag with paper goods to recycle and thought it looked like a still life, so I set it aside to paint. Guess I can recycle it now.:) Thanks for stopping bye. (Day 2 in 30 day challenge.)

Rainy Day Pool and Pond

I'm starting a new 30 day challenge. The goal is to paint a quick, small painting a day. This wasn't as quick as I planned, but hopefully I'll get faster as I go. I could also choose subjects that aren't so complicated. This is my living room view. I just love it.

Shed View

All this junk piled up in my father's shed spoke to me. there were Rose of Sharons and Hydrangeas nearby, but the junk - tools beckoned and I heeded the call. Thanks for stopping by.

Fixin the Lawnmower

I painted this odd still life in New York while visiting my parents. My dad was trying to fix the lawn mower and I guess this stuff was part of that process. Who can tell? Maybe it was purely decorative.

What's on the Easel?

Two portraits I've been working on for a while. The top is a selfie and the other is a little girl from paint my photo. I've just started one of her sister too. The first fairy has been an incredible challenge, for some reason and I'm still not finished with it. I think the lack of strong lighting could contribute to the difficulty. At any rate, I decided to do a better underpainting for the sister. (What cute sisters!) I think the second one is called Serious Fairy. The selfie is the first one I've done in about 20 years. I must have worked on it 5 times before today and today, I just started throwing paint at it. Whatever...

Peonies

This is a study I did this morning at a color lab workshop at the Southern Atelier in Sarasota run by Charlie Miano. He stressed thinking of the flowers as balls. First we did thumbnail sketches in pencil, then with color. Then we thinly painted the balls in local color, and added details/petals on top. This was a 2 and a 1/2 day workshop, but I was only able to attend a 1/2 day, really 2 1/2 days because I got to see his demo yesterday. Check out the Southern Atelier at southernatelier.org

Anna Maria

I took a series of photographs at Anna Maria Island a few years ago and have painted a bunch of pictures from them.  I"m always attracted to the little groups of people and the scenarios they compose. I also love how the beach walkers add to the scene. The beach is simply a voyeur's paradise. Thanks for stopping by.

Painting Portraits from Life

I am taking a portrait class with Charles Miano at the Southern Atelier and attending weekly open studios as well. I am so blessed to be able to study with Charles, as he's a wonderful, inspiring teacher and a fabulous artist. I'm painting with oil with walnut oil on Canson oil/acrylic paper. Painting with the walnut oil keeps the paint fluid while you work as opposed to gamsol, which drys rather quickly. There's a learning curve to be sure, but a I'm enjoying the medium and getting the hang of it. I also like the Canson paper. It has a nice feel and it's reasonably priced. Thanks for stopping by.

My Studio

I've been working on a couple of pictures and now that I'm off for the summer, I'm spending more time in my studio. So here's how it's organized now. I have a few easels around the room, kind of like in "stations." Space is definitely an issue because the room's only 12 x 12, so I'm constantly moving stuff around. I have my paint hung under a shelf and that's real convenient because I can see it all and the tubes don't get sticky. I hate that! Thanks for looking.

Chelsea's Cosmetics

These are some items I grabbed from my daughter's vanity. She's very elegant and glamorous.

Horn Player

I painted this from a photo by Debra Duke from the paint my photo site: https://pmp-art.com/debra-duke/gallery/26506/tooter It's a great site with tons of inspiration. Thanks for looking.

Rainy Day Woman and a Model

School's out for summer... I'm taking a portrait class with Charles Miano at the Southern Atelier and I'm really excited because I haven't worked from a live model in about 2 years. There's also an open studio that I'll attend, as well. Talk about pig heaven! The black and white painting is from a photo by Bobby Cook from the paint my photo site. Thanks for looking.

Annabelle

I've thought about trying the Zorn palette, (white, black, yellow ochre and cadmium red) for a while and finally did it. The black and white makes convincing blue eyes.

More Black and Whites

Grace # 30 in 30

Well I did it! I completed my 30 in 30 challenge. I made it easy on myself by painting with black and white on canson paper and I used a paper palette. I bought the canson oil paper in Walmart and didn't have high hopes, but I love it. It's great for alla prima painting and I recommend it, if you're looking for a way to free up your process. The same is true for the paper palette. I limited myself to black and white, so I could focus solely on values and brushstrokes. I started painting photos from the Paint my Photo web site when I ran out of inspiration and photos that I took. That's been a lot of fun. It's where I found all the pirates and this little girl too. What's next? I was thinking about trying the Zorn palette, about repainting most of the same paintings in color. What I hope to maintain is the free spirit and openness I've gained in terms of subject and paint handling. (here I think there are 2 or 3 still life paints I haven't photographed and posted yet.) Thanks for reading and looking.

30 in 30 Days 23 - 26

30 in 30 #'s 21 and 22

30 in 30 Black and White Days 16 - 20

30 in 30 Days 12 - 15