Birthday Post--More paintings from workshop

My most favorite vacation and gift is a great workshop week with a favorite artist. So even though my bday is today, I received my gift two weeks ago at Spring Maid Beach and the workshop with Skip Lawrence. So today, you get the present of another posting of the continuing  results of my workshop.

Early in the workshop I decided to paint in an abstract manner. Not in imitation of Skip's style, which is totally his own developed over many years of experience but in my own style of painting developed over only a very short career of painting. I love texture and added tissue to the paper with gel medium before I started the painting. Another layer of texture was added with watercolor crayons after the painting was dried . Some of the darker passages were too dark. Skip suggested adding scribbles of color over the top of the too dark color to bring  light into the dark hole behind the tree shape. I found that I really like using the crayons and have them on my wish list at Cheap Joe's. Waiting for a good sale. They are not cheap. ;-)

This is a close up showing the texture in the tree and leaves in front of the tree.

--NEXT--

This final painting of the week turned out to be totally different from everything I had done during the previous days. I wanted to try Skip's technique of painting with watercolor paints without adding much water at all. Not much texture. I used a photo from my Ireland trip for inspiration. It turned out to be  one of those tricky paintings that you can look at in two ways like the face and vase drawings. Some people see this as an interior of a room. It never occurred to me to look at it that way. I  painted it seeing  a group of out buildings on a farm in Ireland. I have to blink and change my perception to see it as an interior.

It is watercolor on paper, 14x14. I will mount it on a deep sided canvas to make it appear more substantial. Unfortunately the photo does not do the painting justice. There is a subtly that shows in person and makes the painting more interesting.

Thanks for reading again. Now it is time to get to work down in the studio.

Hugs, for today.

Skip Lawrence Workshop: Evaluation? Great!

The Happy Crowd -- Skip Lawrence's Painting Class, Spring Maid Beach March 2011

Dan and I returned from our trip to Spring Maid Beach and my workshop with Skip Lawrence last Wednesday. What a great week. It was full of painting and learning and lots of laughter. The workshop was not a "how to" but more of  a "why paint" and "then get to painting" workshop. The workshop did not have a regular description printed or posted anywhere and this disturbed some of the participants. We all like predictability and this workshop turned out to be unpredictable.

When asked what we would be doing in the workshop, Skip said "This is a PAINTING WORKSHOP." We will work on finding our own voice. Yikes! I said, I have nothing interesting to say. I am such a mellow person, no drama in me! How can I find something interesting to say? While I am still working on the interesting bit but I did have fun painting the way I wanted to and did not have to learn another artist's technique or tricks of the trade. Read Skip's last blog entry  and you will get a good idea of what he told us through the week. There was lots of good advice from Skip for each of the participants every day and lots of laughter too.

Skip and Margie at the final show on Friday night.

As Skip writes, "Proceed from a place of no fear.  Take every chance, listen to your intuitive voice, prepare for marvelous disasters, and do not evaluate success with the same old rules"

My first painting of the week. Inspired by the sunrise we saw from our balcony. Painted from my place of no fear. What a great way to start a wonderful week.

So I did as Skip suggested and worked through the week in totally new ways. My week was not without trials and errors but I think I had some success by the end of the week. As I walked around the room of 20 some artists working away at their art. I heard much the same thing, "This is hard! Working toward our own vision in our paintings. Skip kept at us -- prodded, and coached and encouraged us in our work. He could see just what our paintings needed. I recommend one of Skip's workshop to anyone.

One of our assignments for the week was to add a piece of nature to our paintings. Some of us really went out and made beautiful collages with natural elements. I added on single seed pod to this painting of a waterfall. It was a bit of nature that might have floated down the water way. Unfortunately it was very fragile. It did not survive the trip home.

 I have more paintings to show you tomorrow.