Where Has the Time Gone????

As I write this I see it has been MONTHS since I've posted anything.  Well, far from nothing has been going on.  It has been a busy Summer.

After my trip to Columbus GA to study with Bo Bartlett I was off to "Paint NC".  This is an invitational plein-aire painting event hosted by Germanton Gallery in Germanton, NC

I turned around and bumped into myself while painting!

6x8 study to begin the day.

 This event was followed by a trip to Clayton GA to speak with the N. Georgia Arts Guild. They were kind enough to invited me to speak about my artwork and painting process.

Once back home in Spartanburg I worked with the SC School for the Deaf & the Blind as an Artist in Residence to help the art classes prepare a piece of are for their "Very Special Arts" program. The kids at the school were really great to work with. They even taught me a little sign language.

Me & some of the students with their completed project.

May came and with it always comes the Spoleto Festival USA! This is an incredible performing arts festival in Charleston, SC. Several of the galleries hosted a Spoleto Sole and scheduled their artists to paint on Broad St so visitors walking from one performance to another could see some art being created. Edward dare Gallery represents my work in Charleston so I painted near the gallery the first weekend of the festival.

June was a adventurous month with a trip to Jamaica to celebrate the wedding of Kent Cecil and Marisa Axelrod. This had to be THE most beautiful wedding I've ever been to. While in Jamaica I had wonderful opportunity to spend a day & a half with my former room mate from Ringling College of Art & Design, Janis Rankin. Janis is a wonderful watercolor artist and also manages a magnificent villa in the mountains of Montego Bay, Jamaica called The Anchorage Villa.  This place has breathtaking views of Montego Bay and also once the home and studio of the late Michael Lister who painted the people and places of Jamaica.

June also brought a great opportunity to work with a Wofford College art major. I was asked to work with a student who won an art Fellowship. Once a week we meet to discuss the paintings she is creating for a show in November. Teaching is a wonderful give and take experience, I'm getting alot out of this too.  Several times we've done some plein aire paintings, even in this blistering Summer heat!

July was the beginning of helping my Mom move in to a new phase of her life.... moving from a 3000sq foot home she's been in for over 38 years to a 1000 sq foot retirement apartment at White Oak Estates.  The move is a big one for her but she has many friends already living there just waiting for her to move in!

In between all of this I have been painting so blog and website updating have taken a back seat.  Life just keeps happening so just keep on painting.

Happy drawing & painting!

Bo Bartlett - Day 4

I'm back home after the workshop in Columbus, GA. I had so much swirling around in my head so I look the day off to think about my experience.

The last day we applied color over our grisaille.  Here is the head shot of the figure painting I was working on.  I didn't complete it so I can see the entire process from the uncolored areas.  A really great exercise for me.

Here is Bo's painting-

Here is Bo's palette-

Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Sienna, Cad Red Med, Cad orange, Cad Yellow Med, Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Cad Green, Raw Umber, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue and Cobalt Violet

In addition to working on our paintings we went for a walk to see the third venue of work that downtown Columbus was exhibiting their native son's work. This venue had paintings, journals and sketches along with other pieces of memorabilia.  The three places exhibiting Bo's work will be up for a few weeks so if you are anywhere near Columbus, GA I suggest you visit!

In addition to great technical painting and drawing direction Bo offered amy inspiring life lessons to apply to both our art and our lives.

The Group

Happy Drawing & Painting!

Bo Bartlett - Columbus, GA

I'm writing from Columbus, GA where I've traveled to participate in a 3 day workshop with Bo Bartlett. Bo is an internationally known artist whose home town is Columbus, GA.

Tonight downtown Columbus hosted a 3 venue Artwalk of Bo's paintings, drawings, studies, sketchbooks and journals. Facinating!

I first "discovered" Bo's painting at the Greenville, SC Museum of Art. They have a large painting titled "Lamb" which was an inspiration for a painting I created for a Piccolo Spoleto event in 2000.

Tommorrow is the first full day of the 3 day workshop. Figurative work is my first love and it has been sometime since I spend 3 entire days devoted to it. At the end of each day I'll post what my day was about.

Here are pics from the Artwalk tonight.

Happy drawing & painting!

Lowcountry Fishing

While I painted this in my studio I was dreaming of warmer days down in the SC Lowcountry. We have had record snow here in the Upstate of Spartanburg, SC and, although I've seen some beautiful snowscapes... future paintings (maybe in the Summer!), I must admit I love warm weather.

This painting (oil on canvas, 10"x20") can be found at The Sandpiper Gallery on Sullivan's Island, SC

Berlin's, Downtown Charleston, SC

This is an abbreviated step by step of a recent oil painting. The easel shots were taken with my iphone so the color cast is a tad bluer than in reality but this gives an overall idea of how a painting is developed.

Block in: I paint over the entire canvas to get a feel for where my colors and values are.

Big to small shapes: Once I'm comfortable with the overall composition I begin to develop areas of the painting. I usually start with the focal area and work out from there.

I continue to bring areas in to focus...

This is the finished painting. Berlin's, 18"x24" oil on canvas.

Corner- The Skillet

Here is another oil painting from my favorite diner here in Spartanburg, SC. Best grits in the world.

The inspiration for this painting came while I was waiting on someone to meet me for breakfast. The morning sun was coming through the window and I was struck by the sight. This is something I've probably seen many times but because I wasn't in a rush I noticed the simple beauty of light and venetian blinds!

I'm finally able to veralize what I'm after when I choose subjects to paint. My goal as a painter is to help people see the beauty of the mediocre and hopefully evoke a sense of wonder at something they have seen a million times - me included.

Happy drawing and painting!