Inktober - Day 10

I needed an indoor sketch for today so I searched for some of my broken shells that I've collected down at Springmaid Beach when I go down for the watercolor workshops that I take in March. That area was hit hard by the hurricane the other day and part of the pier there was destroyed. :(

#inktober #inktober2016

Stained Paper Collage - Day 5

The final day of class I worked on two collages. The night before  we had gone back to the studio after dinner and I started a sunrise from one of my photos. I finished it the next morning. This is a 7 1/2 inch square.

Here is a photo of the class with Jerry Brommer posing with one of our collages and one of him speaking to the group.

Then I did this 11 x 15 of Tinturn Abbey that I had visited in Ireland last year. I used a small painting I had done on site as well as a photo I had taken for inspiration. As you can see, this one isn't finished yet. We only had until about 2 pm to work on Friday because  they were having Gallery night on our floor and they had to set up and hang all the paintings. When I finish it at home I will post the completed collage.

Gallery Night at Springmaid Beach Water Media is always so great. We have cocktails and walk around to see the work that was created by all the students in the different classes that week. They hang them in groups by instructor. Since we had so few people in our class we each were able to put in most of our paintings. Here are a few photos of what our group did.

My sister, Michelle, who came with me.

Me with my paintings.

It was great to see how different each person did their collages using different subjects, papers, and collage materials. We learned from each other as well as Jerry Brommer. People were so willing to share information and materials.

It doesn't show much in this last photo, but on Friday after going in the indoor pool I went to take a shower. I slipped getting into the shower and landed in the tub hitting my leg, lip, face, and eye. I was a little red and puffy in this photo, but now I look like a prize fighter. My face is all black and blue and swollen. I know I am lucky because I didn't break anything, my teeth are still in my mouth, and I am not too sore. The biggest lesson I learned this week was to use the grab bar in the tub. lol

Stained Paper Collage - Day 4

Today we continued working on collages form our minds or our references. I decided to work from a reference photo of a pond with a waterlily. This is 8 x 10.

We did get to walk on the beach at sunrise. It was drizzling a bit on the way back and there wasn't much color in the sky. I did catch a big wave.

Stained Paper Collage - Day 3

For day 3 of the stained paper collage workshop with Gerald Brommer we moved on to more realistic paintings. He told us to work on whatever we normally paint, or anything we would like to do, but use the same collage ideas for that subject. Since I usually paint landscapes that was the first thing I planned to do. I brought along a batch of photos of assorted subjects I thought I would like to do in collage...I probably had about 15 photos from locations, some photos of paintings I had done, and a few small paintings I had done. It was decision time.

I decided to do the Senaque Abbey in Provence that I had visited when we were in France. At the time of year we visited the lavender fields were no longer in bloom, and I was so disappointed. I brought reference photos I had taken of the building and copies of paintings I had done of lavender fields at home. I put them together. This collage is 11 x 15 and took most of the day to complete. As certain stages the collage has to dry before you can add details in the form of paint or ink.

Here is the painting the way it looked partway through.

And here is the finished collage.

I also started a second painting that I will show you tomorrow. 

Today here in Myrtle Beach, SC we had clouds in the morning and rain all day long. Luckily we are inside working and only need to run from the conference center across about 20 feet to the restaurant for meals. The rain did hold off long enough this morning for us to walk on the beach before breakfast. Again because of the clouds there weren't any good colors at sunrise, but at least today there was a touch of pink in the sky if you look closely.

Judy Morris Workshop - Day 2

Here is the beginning of the first painting I am working on in class. The reference was a photo I took in Chinatown a few years ago. I did the street sign above the lanterns, but I wanted to add the word "Chinatown" across the bottom. I went on the computer to look at fonts and Chinese words. The problem was that I couldn't enlarge the pattern for the words without a copier that enlarges...which we didn't have in the class. I ended up freehand drawing the words on tissue paper and using a light box to copy it onto my paper. Then I painted it with white latex paint that Judy had which is colored the exact color of Arches paper. When you paint over it some of the color remains on the latex outline and you get a subtle lighter color where the letters are.

Our lesson for the day was on texture and pattern which Judy calls "eye entertainment." The texture and pattern draw you in and make you take a closer look. She uses stencils and patterns to trace and paint through. She brought along several for us to share.

We discussed color chords. Two of the more popular ones are the desert triad which consists of indian red, cerulean, and yellow ochre. The other is the transparent triad which contains quinacridone gold, permanent alizarin, and french ultramarine. Both of these are nice but I wanted something a bit brighter. I used winsor red, permanent alizarin crimson, burnt sienna, and french ultramarine.

I also sketched out a second painting based on a photo I took from the apartment we rented in Paris. I wanted to use words as texture, but I wanted them to have meaning to the painting. So I headed to the computer to print out a few phrases. Here is the sketch of this second painting. I believe it says "a beautiful morning in Paris, hello.

Judy also did a demonstration on applying gold leaf to paintings. This is her latest addition to her watercolors and it has a wonderful effect.

It was a very busy day. Class was from 9 am to 4 pm. Then we went for a swim in the indoor pool, showered, went to dinner, then a presentation, and back to the studio until 10pm.

Welcome to Myrtle Beach

I am presently at a workshop at Springmaid Beach with Judy Morris in Myrtle Beach, SC. Today was checkin, meet the instructor, happy hour, and then dinner. We got here early so we had a bit of time to sit out and sketch for a while. The is the view down by the beach. I did a double page in my small moleskin journal.