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!

Postcards from Sullivan's Island

I recently decided to create a series of small, 6"x8" oil painting and call them "Postcards from Sullivan's Island". When I paint these small paintings they act like my thumbnail sketches only done in oil paint. While painting these paintings I can decide which paintings I would like to create a larger version of. It is always a challenge to paint small. I use bruches that are about 1/2 inch in width so I won't get too picky.

Hope you enjoy the journey to Sullivan's Island, SC.

These paintings are now at Sandpiper Gallery on Sullivan's Island, SC

Happy drawing & painting!

Charleston County Public Library Features the Artwork of Isabel Forbes

The Charleston County Public Library in Charleston, SC, will present the exhibit, Make Your Life a Work of Art: Paintings by Isabel Forbes, on view in the Saul Alexander Foundation Gallery at its main branch, on view from July 1 - 31, 2010. Forbes, an artist from the Upstate, will offer oil paintings in this one-person exhibition. The title of Forbes’ exhibit, Make Your Life a Work of Art, is a reference to the artist's use of scenes from her life as she travels between the SC Upstate and the Lowcountry. An award winning artist, Forbes is a graduate of Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, FL. She worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for over 27 years before making the transition into fine art full time. Inspired by her surroundings, she paints the everyday scenes of her life. "After moving back home to Spartanburg, SC, having been away for over 30 years, I saw things with a new eye. Now when I travel back to the Lowcountry, I'm able to rediscover things I previously took for granted." Forbes' is a founding member of the Charleston Outdoor Painters Association (COPA), an exhibiting member of the Charleston Artist’s Guild, a board member of the Artists Guild of Spartanburg and is represented by Sandpiper Gallery in Sullivan’s Island, SC and Edward Dare Gallery in Charleston, SC. The Saul Alexander Foundation Gallery is located in the Charleston County Public Library’s main branch, 68 Calhoun Street. For further information about the exhibit call 843-805-6930. Further information about Isabel Forbes is available on her website at www.isabelforbes.com

Sullivan's Island Cottage - Ion Street

Thumbnail drawing

Block in

Refining the block in...

more refining...

The finished painting.

I love visiting Sullivan's Island, SC. The town has done a great job of keeping big development under control. If you walk or ride a bicycle around the neighborhoods you can see lots of quaint cottages/bungalows. I'm looking forward to the Spring so I can actually be there to paint some of the great scenes on the spot (en plain air).

Above you can see the process of this new painting, "Sullivan's Island Cottage. I start out with my "Thumbnail Drawing". This small sketch works like a road map. I've hear many an artist say, getting value right is more important that getting colors right. Colors are more of a personal decision - values are needed in order for a painting to "read".

This painting can be seen at the Sandpiper Gallery on Sullivan's Island.

Happy drawing & painting!

Shem Creek Shrimpboat

"Days End on Shem Creek", 9x12, oil on canvas panel

Shem Creek in Mt. Pleasant, SC is a wealth of great painting subjects. Sort of feels like stepping back in time. More and more technology is taking over alot of handwork so it is really fascinating to see fishermen mend shrimp nets, separate the days catch, clean fish and weight out fresh catch to sell. I always like to stop by Wando Shrimp Co. to buy some shrimp and fish to bring back to Spartanburg.

This painting is currently available at Sandpiper Gallery on Sullivan's Island, SC.

This is a place I will return to paint over and over!

Happy drawing & painting.... & Happy Holidays.

Beyond the Line - Drawing for Painters Workshop

March 18, 2010 I'll be teaching a one day class about called "Beyond the Line - Drawing for Painters". The idea behind this class is to show painters why I think it is important to draw a "thumbnail" drawing before I begin a painting.

The drawing in picture #1 really is more about determining my values. This will help me to push back areas I think aren't important and make sure I'm clear about my center of attention. A lot of time is spent with the painting so why not take 30 minutes and to get my head wrapped around what I'm about to tackle. I don't always draw a value sketch and when I don't I seem to fight with my painting more.

The picture #2 is my finished 11x14 oil painting on my easel. I really had some fun with this because many issues were thought out first. Give it a try and see how a value drawing can support your painting.

My one day workshop is March 18, 2010 at Burton Gallery & Emporium in Clarkesville, GA 706-947-1351.

The building in my painting is the Sea Biscuit on the Isle of Palms, SC. The food is wonderful, but it is a small place and if you don't get there early plan on waiting.

You can see this finished painting at the Sandpiper Gallery on Sullivan's Island, SC.

Happy drawing & painting!

Practice seeing

6"x8" oil on linen panel

Thought I'd have the "Late Sunday Morning" done by this week but remembered I have a "miniatures" show at a gallery in NC I need to create work for. I also decided I want to get out of the studio and paint those buildings on site for a day. Finishing that painting will have to wait until mid November.

So this week I worked on enlarging miniature things and in the process practiced really seeing....

When I draw or paint I discover things I've never seen before... I noticed alot of things in my travels during the day, but seeing, that's another matter. For the minitures show I thought is would be fun to find everyday items that I use and take for granted. A clothespin for example. Have you really seen a clothespin?

Alot of my work is painted from photographic reference. I certainly would never knock using photography as a tool. Thomas Eakins used photographs as a tool as did many other Masters. The problem happens when the artist hasn't had enough experience drawing or painting from life. You see things while drawing/painting from life you just don't see when working from a photograph.

If you use photographs as a tool try to find some things around the house to paint from life and really see what you might be missing.

Happy drawing & painting!

Village Tower

OK, finally here is the finished oil painting. The size is 30"h x 15"w and is oil on canvas.

I had a studio near the Old Village in Mt. Pleasant for a couple of years and I saw this great old water tower everyday. I've been wanting to paint it for awhile. One day as I was walking in the Old Village back toward my studio I looked up and saw this perfect composition. Boom! Like a hit on the head.

This painting isn't the typical "pretty" painting. What is attractive to me is the design. Underneath my paintings my goal is to have a good design, if it happens to be a beautiful thing, like a tree in bloom with a lovely bird feeder, that's icing on the cake.

Those types of paintings might not be the most "salable", but I have to paint something I believe in.

I entered this painting into the Oil Painters of America 2009 Eastern Regional Juried Exhibition Of Traditional Oils. I'll keep my finders crossed as this is a highly competitive exhibition.

Happy drawing & painting!

Paint NC Plein-Air Invitational

Startown, NC

This painting was done in the back seat of my car. On the way to Germanton, NC I stopped at a little town just below Hickory, NC named Startown. This sweet little church was on Startown road. As I painted this I thought this would be a perfect place for an American Idol contestant to be from.

Germanton, NC

Once I arrived in Germanton, NC I found this great farm just accross the street from the home I stayed at for 3 nights. (More on my gracious hosts in another post.) The farm, Buffalo Creek Farm, was a fun place to paint and one of the owners, Robin, shared alot of interesting farm stuff I didn't know. I painted this on a foggy/rainy day. Luckily, I found a great shelter and painted the back of the barn/house. This farm had llamas, guinea fowl, goats, rabbits, turkeys, Great Pyrenees dogs. Some animals had special duties on th farm. The guinea fowl are said to be good for controlling the Lyme Disease-bearing deer tick. The Great Pyrenees dogs protect the livestock and are rarely out of sight or hearing of his flock. It is a calm animal that moves slowly to avoid disturbing the livestock and possesses a better than average sense of hearing, sight and smell. Llamas bonds with its herd of livestock, it takes over as a protector. Friday, I "forged" their Buffalo Creek to paint their restored log cabin and one of their llamas kept his eye on me as I crossed the pasture.

I used the second shed pictured here as shelter to paint the barn/house - see my easel next to the ladder.

Friday I forged this stream to paint in Buffalo Creeks back pasture.

This llama was keeping his eye on me.

This is were I painted on Friday. If you look closely you can see my easel setup to the right. They had two outhouses which I did use. Hint: overalls are not the attire to wear when using outhouses...

The Reception

Friday night Germanton Gallery held a reception for 30+ artist they invited to be a part of this paint-out. It was a fun evening and I meet some really nice artists from all over the country. One artist, whose work I admired, was Robert Brown from Charlotte, NC.

Next post I'll put up some of what I painted while in Germanton and tell you more about my adventures.

Happy drawing & painting!

Painting NC Plein-Air Show

I am thrilled to be apart of this event. If you love to see artists in action, this event should be a great opportunity to see some great plein air paintings. The Germanton Art Gallery represents some of my favorite artists and it is my understanding some of them will be present. After the recption on Friday, April 3rd, many of us, including one of my favorite artist, Scott Burdick, will be painting in the downtown area of Germantown Saturday and Sunday. Hope you can venture up to see us. After the show I will post the plein air paintings I make during this event. Happy painting!

I am painting "day trips" into NC Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday I travel to Germanton, NC to paint through Sunday. Rain or shine this should be a good time! Monday's painting - March 30, 2009. This sign is on Hwy 176 on the way to Saluda, NC. The painting, 12" x 9" oil on panel, "Valley Courts Sign", was painted on a cool and breezy day. I needed a bungee cord to keep the panel from blowing into my pile of paints.

Today's painting (March 31, 2009), 8" x 6" oil on linen panel, "That's a Dandy" was painted at FENCE. It was a very overcast day so I chose something simple. They have wonderful nature trails, which I also explored. This is a must come back to plein-air location!

Sketchbook "Thumbnails"

I am painting for a May show at the Chapman Cultural Center in the Spartanburg Artist Guild gallery with Garry Turpin. The theme is 'Town & Country". I am painting urban scenes and Garry is painting "beyond the city limits scenes". This sketch was used to get my creative juices going for the 18"x24" oil on canvas painting.

The top sketch was painted on location (plein-air painting) downtown Spartanburg using a portable watercolor palette and a Moleskine sketchbook. I love this sketchbook. The paper is made for watercolor and the whole feel of the book inspires me. There are many kinds of Moleskine notebooks but for watercolor sketching I use the Moleskine Large Watercolor Notebook: Size: 5.25 x 8.25",Pages: 72 pages of acid-free paper.

If you love sketching try of one the Moleskines out. You'll love it! Happy drawing!

The Block In(s)

Step #3 Local Color Block In

Today, I blocked in the halftones of the shapes and attacked my center of interest. I try my best to see this as a collection of shapes and not people in a waiting room. If I get all my shapes drawn correctly the painting will have a better chance of working. As I draw my shapes with paint, I am also working on color, value and edges.



Set #2 Tonal Block In

Monday I decided to block in all my dark and light shapes using terra rosa. Sometimes I'll skip this step and go straight to the block in with the halftone colors (the major color of the shape). Using a single color helps me see the overall design of the shapes.

Here is a detail of the main character in this "play". All of this is a work in progress.

Settling In... Homecoming

Well... after many life changes I'm beginning to settle in.

Been awhile since I've posted anything because of all the changes, but I'm creating new work and will be posting it on a more frequent basis.

This fellow was at a park down the street where I grew up. I've called it "3 Amigos". My dog was one of my best friends growing up! I created it with soft pastels. I draw with pastels, but I guess generally it is called pastel painting.