HAWAIIAN BREAKFAST NO. 2

I was really happy with the papaya painting I sent to my friend, Gary, in Hawaii (or I wouldn't have sent it to him!).  So I thought I might look at the the photos he sent of his papaya breakfast and paint one for myself.  This is where I am.  Not finished, of course.  I am not sure what I was trying for the table - it's a glass table and I think I should have ignored that.  

I used Prussian Blue for the bowl this time - I like that color.  So this will be Hawaiian Breakfast No. 2 :)  There is just something luscious and very enjoyable about painting that papaya!!

Aloha!

WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?

The week goes and I'm not sure how I spent all those hours.  Certainly not painting!!  

Tuesday, I had a lesson plan ready for the class - shiny silver stuff.  It was a simple silver shaker and we did the background first and then put in the midtones at the bottom of the shaker, incorporating the background colors.  (This came from a very good beginner book by Hazel Harrison called Watercolor Class.  It's a great book if watercolor is new to you because she shows you a lot of techniques and styles throughout.)

I thought a single shiny subject would ease their fears a bit and let them focus more on the darks needed and the shapes to bring out the shiny aspect of the object.  I did the dark shapes in class so they could see me do that and see how dark I got - they often have problems getting dark enough because they don't really load up the pigment.  It's good for them to see how much pigment and water I use.  When you're just beginning in watercolor, there is so much to think about - drawing or tracing something correctly; composition and where things sit on the paper; soft or hard edges; values!!  No wonder it seems overwhelming and stressful at times.  I hope having me there to talk to them and help them when they are struggling is teaching them to stress less and know what to do when a certain technique is needed.  Afterall, all we really teach are techniques - we can't teach someone to be an artist.  That's either in someone or it isn't.  

I'm not sure where Wednesday went or what I did.  But Thursday I drove over to Indiana to Deb's and she, I, Sharon and Linda all worked on our art together and talked and ate and laughed and had a good time.  It was a good day even though it rained :)  And I began 2 small paintings there which I may share later...

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.  Autumn has arrived to my part of the world with cooler temperatures and less humidity.  Perfect!!!

ONE WORD WEDNESDAY

Handsome

Photo by Jerry H. Carpenter

GEOMETRICS WITH SHINY STILL LIFE

I'm not finished with this.  Putting this much visual interest behind the still life seems to be taking too much attention away.  I think I'll just push it all back with a wash of cobalt blue and hope that helps.  I'm happy with the colors of the still life objects themselves.

When I began this one, the little objects just seemed so lost and needed something to give them more punch.  Perhaps I overdid it?

What would you have done?


Tuesday and Wednesday in class we'll be doing one single silver object in order to practice our shiny and reflective things.





The haulers came Saturday to my grandmother's house.  Everything that is going to be taken out - for now - is gone.  I looked for some mimosa pods Saturday but didn't see any - I read that you can start mimosa trees from the pods once they are hanging off the trees in the fall.  I'll keep checking or dig up a sapling soon.

YUKI HALL AT GCWS

Wednesday, we were very fortunate to have Ohio artist and teacher, Yuki Hall, give a demonstration to the Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society.  Yuki paints landscapes and cityscapes.  She says she struggled with trees in her landscapes so moved into painting cityscapes with buildings, cars and people because "it was easier" for her.  We were very pleased to see how she paints one of her half sheet paintings (which win awards in the Ohio Watercolor Society shows and the Cincinnati Art Club Viewpoint shows), from starting value sketches and plans to finished painting.

Yuki was born in Tokyo, Japan and spent the first 2 decades of her life in Japan.  Her approach to watercolor reflects her eastern influences (she took calligraphy and brush painting in school and hated it at the time but now sees that the foundation that was built then helps her with her calligraphic marks now in her watercolors).

Her intention with painting a scene is to paint the impression she had of the scene or the atmosphere of the scene, not the literal scene she saw or photographed.  

She does this in a very organized manner, starting with working on the shapes, from large to small; and then working with a solid tonal value pattern.  

She says her art got better when she began creating value sketches (just small ones in a small sketchbook) before going right into painting.  She often paints a small (fourth sheet or less) monotone painting of the scene before she does it in color, too.  This is another way of working out her shapes and values and these monotones are beautiful enough to mat and frame on their own.  

When she starts to paint, Yuki has her drawing on the watercolor paper, her paper tilted a bit so the paint and water run down, and then she begins with a large, pale wash of color over the painting, moving from warms to cools, and maintaining the whites she wants to leave pure white in the painting.  

She mixes large puddles of "greys" which are made from a variety of colors, often Cobalt Blue, Yellow Ochre or Raw Sienna, and Brown Madder or a bit of a dull red.

She contines to work from these large puddles when she puts in her first wash, and again when she puts in her stronger mid-values.  (She always paints on dry paper so the first wash has to dry before she begins her mid-tones.)

Yuki says that tonal value is the most powerful tool for her in creating depth on 2-dimensional paper.  This is why doing a value study is such a crucial part of her painting and planning processes.

   

After the mid-tones are drying, Yuki goes back in with her darks, using darks as a way to tie her shapes together in the painting.  She doesn't think, "I'm painting a car now," but thinks, "That big shape there can tie in with that big shape there and go across the bottom of the painting."  (See how she uses a scrap of paper as a test piece before putting a color down on her paper?  I like that idea and wish I would incorporate it into my work.  She did this especially when moving to a new color mixture and when going into the painting with her darks so she had a dark enough mix on her brush.)

Yuki did a beautiful job and shared many paintings and value sketches with us.  We are all pleased to have this very talented artist share her work with us!.  And if she left me with only one thing, it was that you need to see and think shapes and tie those shapes together, rather than do coloring-book filling the object type of painting.  Tying those shapes together with darks or with a certain color, works wonders for a painting.  

And, as Yuki says, 
"The true quality of watercolor will be most evident when it is allowed to take its own course.  As with poetry, less is more."

Thank you, Yuki, for driving down to Mt. Adams and sharing your work and her technique with us!

ONE WORD WEDNESDAY

Playful

Photo by Jerry H. Carpenter

WATER STRIDER

A small, fourth sheet, watercolor of a water strider.  The reflections and shadows attracted me when I saw the photo by Sweetie.






Tomorrow, the GCWS is having Yuki Hall, a well-known artist and teacher, from Ohio, give our monthly program.  It will be well worth attending, if you're in the area and want to attend as a guest.  We'd love to have you!  1021 Parkside Avenue, Cincinnati (the Mt. Adams area) from 10-12.  

AUGUST ENDING

Can you believe that August is almost over? 

SHINY STILL LIFE PAINTINGS

My Tuesday and Wednesday classes are working on the shiny still life set-up.  

I did 3 versions.  
I didn't like the first version but worked on it a bit more Wednesday.  

I didn't like the second version but worked on it a bit more Wednesday. 

I started a third version - a better composition, I think.  
But have a few miles to go before this one is finished.

ONE WORD WEDNESDAY

Memories

While going through my grandmother's house, clearing things out, we came upon a lot of family photos.  I hadn't seen these in a long time.  My dad and me.  

In the right one, behind us standing on the porch, my aunt.  

In the left one, the woman's face is blurred but I think it's my mom?  

The house is my grandmother's house - so many memories.

It's my job to scan all the old photos and then make copies or copy onto a flash drive those photos other family members want.  It's going to take a while.

GARY'S PAPAYA - SLICED AND READY TO EAT!

Here's Gary's Papaya, finished!  
It will be winging it's way (you didn't know papaya's could fly, did you?) to Paradise (a.k.a. Hawaii).  

Gary, I hope it adds a little smile to your days.

GARY'S PAPAYA

My blogger buddy, Gary Everest, sent some photos to me for reference after I painted one of his breakfast papayas.  So I have a few more photos of these beautiful fruits now.  And here is my first take on one - I changed the color of the bowl and juiced up the background a la Carol Carter :)

Not finished as the center needs a bit more ooph and the spoon needs to be painted.  

Hope you like it so far, Gary!  
And thanks for the photos :)

ONE WORD WEDNESDAY

Droplet

Photo by Jerry H. Carpenter

SHINY STUFF FOR CLASS

I did such a lousy job on the first painting (although the background drape was nicely done) for the class, I had to start over.  Not sure this one is any better!

The composition bothers me and I should have taken more time with that.  I will make the bowl of sugar darker and I see where the bottoms of everything look off - elipticals take more precision than I used on this one.

This one isn't finished.  It needs more darks to bring out the shapes of the objects.  (I may just cut out more of that bowl - don't like it.

I used Mineral Violet (Holbein) for the background (with a touch of cerulean),  and pure Mineral Violet for the foreground.

NOT A HYDRANGEA

Well, I was going to get back to the Dancing Hydrangea painting - but I didn't.  
Instead, I painted this.
I'm calling is
This is Going to Hurt

It's in process - no telling where it might go and it's on 300# cold press paper so I can make a lot of changes as they present themselves to me.  Unfortunately, the colors are off and I can't get them just right - the reds are not as bright red as they should be and the blues are not as grey-blue.  Sometimes I just can't get the colors right with my minor changes on my camera or simple photo program. 

Maybe art therapist, Jenna Reynolds,  can tell me what it means!  Or you're welcome to have a shot at it.  

HYDRANGEA DANCE

A new one has begun.
This one is a half sheet = 
15" x 22"

ONE WORD WEDNESDAY

Shell

Photo by Jerry H. Carpenter

FINISHED THE MACRO HYDRANGEA

Can't remember what I titled this one - guess it wasn't that memorable.  But I went back in with more intense color and more defining of the center so I think it's really finished now.

(I checked the previous version and found the title:
Inside Out)
This is a small one - only a fourth sheet:
11 " x 15"

GCWS EVERGREEN FALL SHOW

The postcards were distributed last week during our regular meeting of the watercolor society.  My hydrangea painting, Center of Interest, is on the front, along with Jean Vance's painting (I don't know the title).

The show runs late September - late October, and is our regular fall show at the Evergreen Retirement Center.

Art Opening and Reception is Sunday, September 22 from noon - 4 pm
230 West Galbraith Road, Cincinnati OH

The show will continue through October 27 and you can view the work any day between noon - 4pm

VIEWPOINT 45 SHOW

If you cannot get to the Viewpoint show, it's online - you can sit back with a nice cuppa and enjoy!  They have all the winners listed, too.

GCWS PROGRAM WEDNESDAY

We had a very interesting and informative guest artist/speaker for our regular Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society meeting on Wednesday morning.  Jenna Reynolds holds a Master's Degree in Family Therapy and is a board certified art therapist, marriage and family therapist working at her own business - My Little Red Haus - in Cincinnati.  She shared her experiences over the years about the children she works with, sharing some of the artwork the children had created as a way to demonstrate the symbols children often use to "speak" to a therapist.  

I am so glad there are strong women like Jenna who are helping these smallest of victims of abuse and neglect!

In her talk, Jenna gave us some history of art therapy, which began in the 1920's as a result of the very different artwork created by schizophrenic patients in hospitals.  She talked about her own working history, beginning with her education and then her first job working for the Cincinnati Children's Home in Madisonville.  She now has her own business and therapy site called My Little Red Haus.  

Jenna told us how symbolism plays a major role in children's artwork and there are two types of art therapy (both of which she uses in her therapy sessions):  
1) Art as Therapy and 
2) Art Psychotherapy.  

Art as Therapy is what most of us do:  We go to our art studios and get away from everything when we're in a creative mood; time evaporates and we feel calm and happy, especially when our artwork gets positive responses.  

Art Psychotherapy is driven by the therapist as far as materials used and what is created.  Materials for art psychotherapy range from the Fluid (like watercolor or finger paints) to the Resistant (like clay and other manipulative materials).  A therapist may choose a more fluid material for a client who is closed up and guarded as a way to open them up; the therapist may choose something more resistant for a client who needs more structure and tactile experience.

There are typical drawings a therapist asks a child to draw at an initial setting, including the House Tree Person drawings = 3 drawings of things that all represent the person.  The Bridge Drawing tells the therapist how the client feels and what their goals are - if they are moving forward or backward; if they can plan for their future.  

Jenna works with children of all ages and their families.  She does one-on-one personal counseling and art therapy, too.  She really opened my eyes about the role of an artist in a therapeutic setting.

BLUES AND VIOLETS

I did a bit more on this small painting (fourth sheet Arches 300# hot press paper) of a hydrangea petal.  I want the center to really pop out so it needs more work. Unfortunately, I haven't been in a painting mood.  Tired.  Either dealing with a migraine or the after effects of one :( I will keep waiting for fall when this nonsense ends (when the weather changes); and wondering why my summers are so ugly now - something I am allergic to that is causing this, but what?  I've been tested for everything in the past.

To celebrate Sweetie's birthday, the girls treated him (and me) to a day at the Taft Museum of Art to see the daguerrotypes on exhibit.  Very interesting - the images are small but so crisp!  Worth seeing.  Then we walked 6 blocks to the Rock Bottom Brewery and had a good lunch.  It was a beautiful day - sunny with a nice breeze, not too hot.  Then last evening we went to my Mom's for a birthday dinner for him (he likes to spread his birthday celebrations out throughout the whole month! ha ha) with cupcakes and cheesecake and yummy food (plus cucumbers and tomatoes from her garden).  My sister crocheted him an afghan!  It's sooo cool!

His actual birthday was August 2 but I think we'll have one more outing to celebrate :)

A GOOD SHOW AND A PAINTING SOLD

The opening reception for the Viewpoint45 show last night was great!  By 7 pm, the room was wall-to-wall people and Sweetie and I had walked around earlier to see the paintings and choose our top 5 :)  

The artwork was top notch, the food was very good (and beautiful) and there were plenty of people around to share in the night.  

I, of course, being the stay-at-home curmudgeon that I am, did not want to find something nice to wear that fits me or go out and mingle with lots of people.  But this was Sweetie's extra birthday present from me - that I would go to the opening!  So we went, we saw and...

Caw Girl sold!!!  

I am very pleased.  It means more to me to sell a painting than to win an award!  The woman who bought it said it was her favorite painting in the show :)  How cool is that?

Sweetie took some photos of these two considering the painting.  Don't you just wonder what they are saying?  Maybe she's saying, "I remember when I looked like that!"  ha ha  The painting got a lot more attention after the red dot went on it - two younger men came around the corner and said, "Well, she's Saucy!"  I didn't hear that, but Sweetie did.  Made me laugh.  It was one of only two nudes - one was Ken Landon Buck's swimmers.  There were plenty of traditional portraits, landscapes, some abstracts and a beautiful sumi ink painting by Setsuko LeCroix that got the People's Choice award.  It was one of my favorites, too.

Here are some shots of the walls and how the paintings were hung - all were lit well in the gallery space and even the smaller paintings had presence, due to being hung on a facing wall on it's own (like mine was).  And there were a lot of smaller paintings that were very beautiful.

The gallery is open Monday-Friday 9 am - 4 pm and Saturday 10 am - 3 pm through August 30th.  Get over to see it, if you can.  (The couple who purchased Caw Girl have agreed to let it hang for another week before taking it home.)

Cincinnati Art Galleries
225 East Sixth Street

Hope you are having a great weekend.  Raining here, but that won't dampen my spirits today!

VIEWPOINT45 INVITATION

Cincinnati Art Galleries, LLC

Come celebrate as Cincinnati Art Galleries hosts    The Cincinnati Art Club's VIEWPOINT 45      Opening Exhibition  Friday, August 2nd   5:00 - 8:00pm 225 East 6th Street, Cincinnati OH Exhibition continues through August 30th        Monica Anne Achberger   Room with a View  Oil    10 x 10 inches    $675   Martin Darr Mogadore Reservoir  Oil    17 x 23 inches    $1,200    Phillip Erbaugh  Rim Trail, Bryce  Oil    16 x 20 inches    $1,000    Steve Hart Rust Belt  Oil   24 x 36 inches    $2,500       David Hunt Vellum 2  Acrylic    14 x 20 inches    $600      Setsuko H. LeCroix Cherry Blossom Asian Sumi Ink    30 x 22 1/2 inches    $1,100         Monique Wolfe   Hog Heaven Watercolor    18 x 22 inches    $3,800 This year John A. Ruthven, internationally acknowledged master of wildlife artist, will serve as the honorary judge for the competition. About Us Cincinnati Art Galleries is downtown's dealer of 19th to 20thcentury original American and European oil paintings.  The gallery is well known for buying, selling and appraising single items or entire collections.  Cincinnati Art Gallerieshas over 30 years expertise and is member of the Fine Art Dealer's Association of America.    225 East 6th Street    Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Is small the new large?  Seems like these paintings that made it onto the postcard are small paintings.  Mine didn't make it onto the postcard, but maybe because it was a nude.  But here it is, matted and framed to look important...

Maybe I'll see you there Friday evening.

A FEW MORE PEARS

I haven't had time to get back to the macro hydrangea but I did a little more on the rows of pears.  Sme of the pear bottoms got a bit wonky (I wasn't careful when putting down the masking fluid), but they can be fixed when I put in the shadow shapes.  I was more interested in the backgrounds, anyway.

 


I hope you get some time to paint today - or maybe this weekend.








As for me, I'm off to the house again today to do more sorting, packing, and throwing away things no one wants to keep.  My sister is going to spend time at the courthouse doing a title search.  We need to find out why they are telling us the title is not clear. (Something my aunt did while she lived there, but we don't know what, and we were sure she had paid off the small loan she took out years ago.)  Leaving my aunt the house as a life estate with the house going to others upon her death has made it more difficult than it should have been, legally, but it will get done.  It's just not going to be a cake walk (but if it was, I'd have plenty of pears to put into that cake!)