I sit on the floor, surrounded by boxes and bins filled with paintings. There is a pile of drawings draped over more bins, ready to spill onto the floor. Paintings and drawings in pastel, charcoal, graphite, pen and ink, watercolor, egg tempera, and oil. I start to sort them chronologically, … Read More
First off a huge THANK YOU! to everyone for your well wishes, orders, connections, and help these past couple of weeks. I have officially sent off my tuition deposit, I’m still looking for a place to live, as well as a job. So far, I have managed to clean out … Read More
I have some incredible news to share with you. In fact, it’s so exciting, I can hardly believe it’s true. As many of you know, I came to art later in life. Although it’s something I always enjoyed, creativity wasn’t allotted much time, as I focused on pursuing a ‘serious’ … Read More
It’s the end of September and that means it’s the end of another 30 Day Challenge to draw or paint from life every day for 30 days. Sponsored by Strada Easel, this is the third challenge I’ve completed. As you may recall from this post, I hemmed and hawed over … Read More
One of the reasons we create art is to provide the gift of beauty to others. Once it leaves our hands, the influence of that artwork is unknown. It’s hard to know what the unknown gift of art will be for another. What are the stories they bring to the … Read More
Earlier this fall, I went on a short trip to Las Vegas to do some painting at Red Rock Canyon outside of Las Vegas, Nevada with the intention of developing a painting from plein air to studio. (Scroll to the bottom of the post to see the finished studio piece.) … Read More
What is egg tempera? If you have heard the term, you may have wondered, are people really painting with eggs? The answer is yes! Here, I’ll show you how it’s done. Egg tempera, one of the oldest known painting mediums, has been found in ancient Rome, Greece, Egypt and India. … Read More
Choosing a pastel palette for en plein air painting can be a challenge for novices and well seasoned studio painters. How do you know what you need? How do you whittle down your palette from hundreds or even thousands of colors to a single box? Getting Started with Pastels I … Read More
Can you feel the wind blowing across the prairie? It was a cold, blustery day for sure! Each Friday, the Plein Air Artists of Colorado Fort Collins group meets at a designated location to paint “en plein air” (outside). This past Friday, we met at the Soapstone Prairie Open Space … Read More
It’s quite obvious. Anyone who has ever lived or spent time living seaside knows that saltwater causes rust. (Those of you who live and paint near the ocean are saying, “yeah, duh.”) I should know this too. I mean, technically, I did know. But, I didn’t really think about it, … Read More