Oil Painting Workshop in South Carolina

I was going to blog all about the fabulous oil painting workshop in Kiawah Island in South Carolina that I attended but just read our teacher’s blog.. He really spelled out the week.  I learned so much. Since I am primarily an acrylic painter but now will be expanding to oils.  Here is his link:

My Kiawah 4-day Oil Painting Workshop Experience

Here are the final oil paintings that I created during the week:

One Fish 20×16″  I loved the creaminess and richness in color of the oil paint.

Plantation Path  20×16″  This was the second oil painting I did trying to apply what I learned from our teacher about the warm and cool shadows. I kept it gestural rather than realism.

“Salt Marsh Sunset”  24×24″ canvas  This one started as an underpainting but I really liked the energy and did not want to take away from the abstractness of the scene. Another tip I learned was that if you want very bright colors, do not use white to lighten. White will lighten a color but change it to a cooler pastel. This painting only used pure color.

Sunflower Bouquet  24×24″ canvas. There was a container with sunflowers in the dining room that I borrowed to paint this still life. The paint is rather thick and gooey. STill wet a week later!

Three Palms at Sunset   24×24″ canvas. This one also has thick paint with no whites.

Inspiration:

Happy Earth Day

Not only is it my wedding anniversary (16 years) tomorrow, this weekend I am celebrating Earth Day. Not only am I working hard in my garden, planting flowers and scrubbing furniture, I had completed these older paintings in the last few months. All are available except for the Mother Earth painting which resides outside in my garden.

“Bird of Paradise” 36×24″

“Koi and Lilipads”  is 15×30″ and makes a nice colorful accent on a wall.

“Leanne’s Bouquet” is 30 x 22″. Happy Spring!!

 

Earth Day

Flamingo Preening

Tonight is the opening but the show will be up all month. Hope to meet you.

“Flamingo Preening” was started while teaching seniors to paint. We are working on southern birds as a theme this month.  It is 30 x 24″ standard gallery wrap. It will be in the art show in Atlantic Beach.

Recent sales of older paintings

A warm thank you to the collectors who have purchased my paintings. I feel so fortunate to be able to sell my work and that the buyers speak so positively of my vision.

Water Reflections on the Ocean

Recently, I worked on a series of water reflections on the ocean. Trying to achieve the fluidity of water and the color of the reflections from the sky on the top of the water.

“Message in a Bottle” a 40×30″ gallery wrap painting. There is a bottle floating on the surface with a note that says “I Love You”. Originally, I had way too much detail and decided to smooth out more highlights, especially the golden reflections.  Available.

Pink Clouds” is 36×36″ gallery wrap with a more abstract approach. I wanted to keep it with bold strokes and not overwork it. There is a little sailboat on the horizon and subtle pastels throughout.  I think this would look great above a fireplace or a room where a vision of the ocean brings you calm thoughts.  Available.

This is one of my favorites. “Surface Reflections” is 30×40″. The coloring is more greenish as I discovered while bodysurfing. Its abstractness yet visually still a bit realistic was the vision I had. Always, when I have an inspiration or working in a series, the challenges of how to accomplish the final painting. Its rather like drawing up a story board in layers. When starting, I use very large brushes and energetically add to the canvas broad shapes of colors. Each color is custom mixed for each painting and guessing how warm or cool I want the color to be. I like putting warm tinted gessoes and acrylic over areas that will eventually be cool.  Each phase needs to be pondered and then the steps to mix colors that give me the details that will eventually emerge. The use of transparent colors mixed with a glazing medium are what make the more realistic effect.Each layer has to dry before the next. It is part of the challenges that make being an artist so rewarding.

“Water Reflections” is a 36×36′ thick gallery wrap. None of these paintings need framing since I paint the edges as well.

Island Mermaid

“Above or Below the Sea” is an original mermaid painting that I painted after returning from St. Kitts. Oils are so slow to dry and I am learning that wet on wet blending is more difficult than imagined. I worked on this for over a month and a half because of the drying time to add more paint. Oil paints are more vibrant and thick than acrylic ( which is my preferred medium. )

Originally I was going to add seaweed and coral surrounding her but liked how this painting can be viewed two ways: She could be sitting on a rock above the surface…or could be sitting on a rock on the sea floor. Which way did you visualize her?

More oil paints on the horizon!

Oil Paints

In a couple of weeks I will be taking an oil painting workshop in Kiawah Island near Charelston so decided to bring out my oil paints to paint this mermaid. What I discovered was that oils have its pros and cons over acrylics. I liked how buttery the paint is, how opaque and creamy, how the colors blend so nicely.  The cons for me were that it took 3 to 4 times longer to complete the painting because of the drying time and the gaps in letting some areas dry a bit to be able to work on an area. Another part I did not enjoy was the smell and messiness. I was constantly using rags and wet wipes to clean my hands.

“Sunrise Mermaid” is very large  48×36″ so a lot of pricey oil paint were used.

Southern bird with metallic golds

“Preening” was started as a rather small (for me) canvas 24×24″. My senior students wanted to have a class on birds so we all did similar subjects as I painted the tutorial and they followed along with me. Again, I wanted to leave modern, gestural brush strokes and not try to go for realism. Many layers of different gold acrylic paints were used in the background as well as several coats of glazes of transparent colors like red iron oxide. This photo does not reflect the metallic golds…which shine.

Underwater Fantasy

“Rachel” was completed this week finally. She is 48×36″ thick gallery wrap. Since I made the scene up, there were many challenges. I wanted to show how light hits objects under the water and included the reflections of the water on her skin and the coral rocks that she is perched on. A red octopus slithers up through the crevas to visit.

 

Here are some details:

Rachel loves her jewelry and shell bra…

Various stages from sketches to final on this acrylic painting.

Rocks

Recently, I completed three canvases of rocks in a stream. I also did a demonstration at the Atlantic Beach Arts Market. One already sold but I have these two available. I liked the simplicity of the scenes and the reflections in the water. Every year, my painting style evolves and I find it more interesting to keep the emotion and the gestural brush strokes rather than working out the realism.

Rock Reflections 36×24″ gallery wrap.

Rocks 24×24″ gallery wrap