Thursday, November 30, 2017

Pieces of Eight Challenge #8 - Value

VALUE...
       So many ways to interpret this word! The Pieces weigh in!

Cindy...


Cindy Michaud
www.cindymichaud.com
So I did a "value study" on top of a painting that I decided had no other "value."  The blue tape lines are protecting the frame which I realized was glued to the board!  This will be the underpainting for  an overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  I lifted some of the black/gray/white paint to reveal the reddish color underneath.  This value study should make an easy recipe for adding color....keeping the tones consistent to this underpainting.  Sometimes folks say they like the painting just as it is.  And you?
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Carmen...

Ghost Ship
 20x20
 I did this value study for my painting of a foundered sailboat. The colors in the finished painting are very muted, as were the colors of that post-hurricane day. It's always interesting to visit the beach after a hurricane, but you never expect to see a sight like this.

Carmen Beecher
www.carmenbeecher.com
www.carmensart.etsy.com
www.carmenbeecher.blogspot.com

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Kathy...
I thought about "Value" a lot for this challenge. (And I worked on the idea so much, it's enough for another blog entry.) But in reality, I rarely think about value when I'm creating. My focus is almost always on a strong graphic and interesting patterns. Because I sketch in just black and white, I automatically have my "darkest darks balanced with my lightest lights." And the patterns I enjoy so much tend to create in between values. A recent page from my sketchbook gives an example. (Click to enlarge.)
Silver Spring, Florida -  Leaves around Cabin,  from sketchbook Nov. 14, 2017
See more at www.snailflower.etsy.com


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Donna...
Value is one of the things I struggle with the most.  I have a terrible habit of "drifting" while I am painting.  I get caught up in the subject and not what I really see and before you know it I have changed something.  Many times it is the value.  This teapot was blue but like all paintings it was really darks, lights and shadows.

Teapot


Donnavinesart.Etsy.com
Donnavinesart.blogspot.com
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Carol...
Value can mean many things.  Today I am thinking about how much I value my blog readers and the people who have supported my art over my past 10 years, that I have been selling art on the internet.

25% - 60% Off original paintings


Many of you have asked about my moving sale.  After 40+ years of living on the Florida coast, we are pulling up roots and moving to the mountains of western North Carolina.  From the Atlantic to the Blue Ridge!

purchase here


It is both exciting and frightening.  Leaving family and friends behind is heartbreaking, but the mountains are calling us.  It's now or never and we decided on now!  


purchase here

As a result, I am trying to drastically reduce my inventory.  Thank you dear readers, for your support of my art in the past, and your response to my sale.  The results are heartwarming!  

purchase here
Today I am posting a few of my favorites that are still available.  With the upcoming holidays, .
it's the perfect time to get a head start on your gift list or your wish list, and I promise you, it will be a great VALUE!

CAROL SCHIFF
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com





Fay...

   


     As a basis for the poem Quilting from the Outside In in my collaboration with George Snyder for the Transformations project, I used this photo by Bob St. Claire. After almost 20 years, beat up and faded, it is still one of my favorites. Whenever I look at it, I am taken back home to the mountains where my ancestors settled in the 1700s.





     For this project, I have revisited this photo to enjoy working with it again. Value has never been my forte. In fact, even when concentrating on it, I still have trouble making those subtle distinctions in shading. I’ve been thinking more practice might help. So I started by making a black and white copy of the photo.





     Now onto the value study. I chose an old piece of cardboard, which was not a wise choice. However, I proceeded and here it is. I’m somewhat satisfied that I have captured the depth. In any case, I have enjoyed the journey and hope in the future to try fabric collages with an abstract version of these comforting old friends. 








Monday, November 27, 2017

ABSTRACTIONS!!, Abstract Paintings, Daily Paintings. daily painter

SOLD
 Although I have been painting, I find myself at the awkward place where I have let myself run out of photographed pieces.  The weather has been rather gray which makes it hard to photograph the colors accurately.  So today, I am posting some abtract paintings.  Most of these are sold, but they may be available as prints on canvas, if desired.
SOLD
 I have had the urge to try some more abstracts, but have really been trying to focus on impressionism, in the hopes of sharpening my skills.  My abstract desires, are like a "guilty pleasure" that I have been resisting.

SOLD

SOLD
 If I had doubts about my leanings toward cool colors....it is pretty obvious to me now.

SOLD

SOLD

SOLD
 A favorite local landmark that has since been replaced with a high rise medical building.

SOLD

SOLD
 This one was all about texture.  I mixed sand into the paint which gave it a stucco type finish.


SOLD

SOLD

SOLD

Another local landmark.

SOLD
This painting had more views by far, than any other I ever posted.......but didn't sell for years!



SOLD

My ode to the Keys.





Thanks for viewing my blog today.

Carol Schiff   
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Abstract Seascape Painting, Small Oil Painting, Tropical Ocean 8x8x1.5"

Fresh off a trip to the Florida Keys, I returned inspired by the gorgeous water colors. I started a new series I call "Coral Reef". This is the first piece of the series entitled "Wakes".
purchase here

 I was captivated with the colors of the sea as we rode out to the coral reef.



The boat wake followed us out seven miles from shore.




It was my first trip to the keys in many years, and a had forgotten the lure of the tropical beauty.

Thanks for viewing my blog today

Carol Schiff





Sunday, November 19, 2017

I am having a sale in my Etsy shop, and I want to use words like "HUGE," "PRICES SLASHED," and "NOT SOLD IN ANY STORES," but all you really need to hear is the magical: "FREE SHIPPING." Those are the words that always make me jump to attention. Not only that, but I am discounting all original art 20%.

The sale starts November 20th and ends December 20th. Just remember 20-20-20, the dates and 20%. These are one-of-a-kind paintings and you can shop in your jammies and avoid the crowds.

Carmen

Photoshopping a Silver Spring Camellia

by Kathy Garvey

I just got back from a few days in the wonderful cabins at Silver Spring State Park near Ocala, Florida. I love walking in a park and then coming back and playing with my photos in Photoshop. This is the journey of one photo. The process took about two hours.

A lone camellia in bloom in one of the gardens near where you take the glass bottom boats captured my attention. It wasn't til I got home and looked at it on my laptop that I noticed the little bug. I love bugs, so this is the first photo I decided to play with. (Click on any image to enlarge it.)

My first attempt just did what I usually do; crop, play with filters, and add custom patterns to different areas.

Then I decided to crop more and be a little more creative by adding some custom brushes and of course more filters and a few borders.

Next, I experimented with adjusting and softening the colors.

And then I tried colorizing the results. I liked these two colors.
It's a long way from the original, but the one below, which merges the two colorized versions with a gradient mask, is my favorite.





Friday, November 17, 2017

Dolphin Painting, Wildlife Painting, Small Oil Painting, Daily Painting, 6x8" Original Oil

This was a fun painting for me.  Maybe it's the subject matter, but I smiled the whole time.

Purchase here
 Last summer, we spent a few days in Key Largo, with our grandson.  The one thing he was really looking forward to was swimming with the dolphins.  He loved every minute of it and later told me he had met a life long goal by doing so.  (He was 13).

While I was watching, I snapped this shot of one of the dolphins, and have had it on my list of subjects to paint for months.

Sometimes, many times, I find myself putting off certain subjects, afraid that I am not accomplished enough to do them justice.  Such was the case here.





I am happy I finally gave it a try, and was pleased with the results.  I will have to push myself more in the future, when I find myself backing off a subject that I am unfamiliar with.

Hope you have a great day!


 Carol Schiff

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Impressionist Fruit Still Life, Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, 8x10x1.5" Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas

In a blatant attempt to get away from flower paintings, today I am posting a still life of fruit,

Purchase here
225. + shipping
 I have been accused of having to many grayed down hues in my art, so recently, I an trying to focus on more vibrant color....no more pasty pastels!

detail
 I would like to report, that my tube of white paint is lasting longer, but it is too soon to tell.


Regardless, I am pleasently surprised with the color I achieved here, so hopefully I am on the right track.

Thanks for reading my blog today, and a special thank you to all who have supported my art and my blog with their purchases.

www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Memories of the Whitewater Grannies

This is the tenth anniversary of the first Pieces of Eight artists' retreat, when we went to Carol Schiff's home in North Carolina. The highlight of the trip for Denette, Donna, Carol and me was our whitewater rafting adventure in the Nantahala River. We had some trepidation at first, but soon became confident and--truth be told--smug. We had a great time until we hit something called The Slot, which is a little waterfall that eats rafts. I saw Donna fly by me and reached out to catch her, not realizing I too was airborne. We were rescued by a kindly man in a boat we had earlier complained about going too slow! Shame on us! As we met again on the shore, Donna said, "We have bonded over a near-death experience!"
Below are our Before and After photos. Notice we have no helmets? Safety precautions were sadly lacking but we were clueless.
Carmen

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Packing up the studio!

Moving Sale!!

25% Off original paintings


Many of you have asked about my moving sale.  After 40+ years of living on the Florida coast, we are pulling up roots and moving to the mountains of western North Carolina.  From the Atlantic to the Blue Ridge!

purchase here


It is both exciting and frightening.  Leaving family and friends behind is heartbreaking, but the mountains are calling us.  It's now or never and we decided on now!  


purchase here

As a result, I am trying to drastically reduce my inventory.  Thank you dear readers, for your support of my art in the past, and your response to my sale.  The results are heartwarming!  

purchase here
Today I am posting a few of my favorites that are still available.  With the upcoming holidays, .
it's the perfect time to get a head start on your gift list or your wish list.

CAROL SCHIFF
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Sunday, November 5, 2017

Lemons Redoux


This week I was in a collage frame of mind.  I wanted to start using some of the wonderful papers I have been hoarding but to start off slowly because it has been awhile.  Going through completed, started, half done and never to be finished projects I  found this great little photo of a painting I had done of lemons.  What would it be like to have an oil painting, a photo and a collage of the same subject??? Well here are the results.
The top is the completed collage, then a detail and lastly the collage with the photo on top.




donnavinesart.etsy.com
donnavinesart.blogspot.com

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Abstract Giclee Print, Daily Painting, Teal and Green Abstract

I have been in an experimental mood lately.  My oils have been gathering dust as I pour acrylics and alcohol inks.


Purchase here

This piece is done on yupo paper, which really isn't paper at all, but a  very slick plastic type of surface favored by watercolorists.  It is an alcohol ink piece.

The original is not available, but I am offering this as a giclee print in several sizes.

We are in the process of moving and my mind seems scattered these days.  I will try to continue to post during the process, but please bare with me.  Eventually, we will be settled and my posts will become more regular.

Have a great day!

Carol Schiff

Ghost Ship, 20x20 Oil on Canvas by Carmen Beecher


After Florida was hit with Hurricane Irma, this sailboat was found washed up on Melbourne Beach. Authorities eventually discovered that the boat came all the way from Key West, hundreds of miles away. Aboard, oddly enough, were two mannequins, a large velvet rose, and a sign that declared, "beatings will continue until morale improves." 

Carmen

Ballard Park, Original Oil on Canvas

  I had not painted outside in two years, so this was quite a challenge. It was one of those paintings I had to improve upon in the studio. ...