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Michelle's Studio Notes

Blog retired

Thanks to everyone who took t he time to visit my blog.  For the time being this blog is retired. I hope to create a new blog in the very near future.

Sketching

I try and spend time sketching whenever possible.  The act of drawing forces up to really pay attention to proportions as we try and get the relationships correct, especially when working with faces. 

Painting in the studio with a broken ankle

Well... this is what it looks like when I paint these days!  The ankle is healing and I'm finding creative ways to move and work in my studio.  Thank goodness it wasn't a broken wrist!!!

Teaching update

Hey everyone,
Yesterday I broke my ankle (it involved an incredibly graceful move going down the stairs to the studio...)  and will go in for surgery today.  I'm not exactly sure what this means for my classes in the next couple of weeks.  For today 2/29 my good friend Rhonda will substitute for me in the youth classes.  Check back here for updates.
XOXO
Michelle

Tweaking

I'm in the last stages of this painting, tweaking the values, cleaning uup details, removing the center fold onthe table cloth... It's all the final touches that bring it all together.

Roses

A little drawing practice inspired by Valentines...

Strange and wonderful

When dismantling a dish with spring bulbs I had forced, I noticed the roots of the bulb had threaded themselves through individual beads in the bead mix I placed in the dish for the bulbs to sit on.  Amazing!

Good News

This painting was selected to show in the Greenhouse Gallery Salon International in San Antonio Texas in April.  I'm very pleased!

On the easel

This is a challenging piece, but quite fun to work with all of the patterns and detail.  In a previous post I talked about the use of rounded forms in creating the illusion of depth and space.  Playing with the space between the objects becomes as important as the objects themselves, working with light and shadow and temperature.  There is still a long way to go before it's finished but I will enjoy the process tremendously.

Great Art Documentaries

I just stumbled across a series on BBC called Private Life of  a Masterpiece.  A wonderful series in which a particular famous work of art is showcased and it's history is told.  Very enjoyable!

Progress

I hope to finish these two in the next couple of days.  Especially the second painting.  Time to move on to new projects!

Rounded forms in still life

 A thought occurred to me as I was painting the other day that rounded forms in a still life create the greatest opportunity for the illusion of depth on a 2D surface.  The photos were taken in various museums, I apologize for not having names for the first two paintings but the last was painted by Chardin. 

In this detail of a floral the roses are very important in establishing the illusion of 3 dimensions.

Inspiration

I picked up some new fabric to use as backgrounds for my still life set ups.  There are some gorgeous prints out there! 

The problem with melting snow

What happens to 14" of snow when the temperature suddenly rises above freezing and it starts to rain?  Lots of WATER.  I was working away in my studio when the sounds of splashing water begins to interfere with my concentration.  "What the heck is that?!"  Outside the window I can see water streaming down from the eaves of the house into the window well of the daylight basement. YIKES!!!  The gutters are plugged with ice.  So what's a girl to do?  Hubby is somewhere in Boston, so that handyman is not available, and since my 20 year old son is not the outdoorsy type, we both must tackle this one together.  Using a ladder, hand trowel, some heavy duty tin foil, twisty ties and an aluminum venting pipe we are able to clear most of the ice out of the downspouts and divert the running water away from the house.  Thus avoiding (hopefully) a flooded basement.  All in a days work.

Lots of time in the studio

Recently I made the decision to cut back on teaching and spend more time in the studio.  So far it's going very well.  The goal is a minimum of 30 hours of painting a week.  In addition there will be about 5 hours a week marketing etc.  I'll still put in a full day teaching but that is a good thing, it gets me out of the house and among other human beings.

Arts Umbrella classes cancelled

Well... as you can see, it's still snowing.  So no classes tomorrow. 

and MORE PAINTING!!!

It's funny but the more I paint the more ideas I get and the easier it gets... 

good day for painting

It was a perfect day for painting!  Cold and quiet outside, warm and comfortable inside.

The painting in progress is a still life of the bouquet of roses my hubby gave me yesterday.  I was having one of those days...  He sure knows how to cheer a girl up!  They really brightened my day and inspired a new painting.

photos from the studio

Here's some things you might see in my studio today if you came for a visit:

Still life objects

A set up for a painting

and a look out the window...

It's SNOWING!

On the easel

 These paintings are in progress (almost finished).  The first two will be submitted for juried salons. The last one is undecided, I'm happy with parts of it but as a whole not quite as thrilled.  We'll see.

Life is very good right now.  I've cut back to one day of teaching and spend the rest of the work week in the studio painting.  It's such a pleasure to finally commit to a full time schedule in the studio.  I have to do it in 4  10's but that works well for me.

The week in Boston

January 2 through the 6th I was able to tag along on my hubby's business trip to Boston.  What a lovely town.  Lots of historical buildings and the Museum of Fine Arts is stunning.

The Della Robia's were absolutely GORGEOUS!

A wonderful surprise was the public library which had some amazing murals and an entire room for the fine arts.

Can't wait to go back for more exploring.

Master Copies

 One of the best ways to practice painting is to make master copies.  Copy to the best of your ability paintings created by artists you admire.  The first two paintings below are just that.  I find exceptional images on the Web Gallery of Art site www.wga.hu/  they are high resolution and great to work from.

The best part is hanging the results on your wall!

Happy Holidays

Here's what is on the easel at the moment.  I love what happens to the hydrangeas and japanese maple in the fall.  Begs to be painted.

The portrait is a master copy I'm working on for practice.  Really love these old tranquil paintings

And below is a nook near the fireplace in our living room dressed up for the holidays.

These are some paintings that will hang in the smalls works show at Kaewyn Gallery during the holidays.  Stop by and take a look.

Workshop with David Gray

 Took a workshop with David Gray this weekend hosted by WIFAS.  It was fabulous!  He's a genuinely great artist with a very straight forward approach.  The key word was CHROMA.  We looked at the quality of the chroma of colors in light and shadow.  This will be a concept I need to really pay attention to.

David's demo

My paintings from the weekend