This is the final painting from Kelli Folsom’s Painting Roses Masterclass series. ( I bought this Masterclass as a stand-alone series, but now you have to join her Vital Art Sessions or Art Life School to see it).
It was so much fun to paint. For the background I experimented with ‘12 Shades of Grey’ that I bought from Jerry’s Artarama last year. It was a bit risky, since the tubes do not list their pigments, but I liked the background effects that resulted.
Yellow Roses, 11 x 14, Oil
After I enjoyed the lesson by Kelli Folsom so much (Terracotta Pot with Grapes, that I painted with my sister), I bought her Masterclass on painting roses. The first lesson was black and white studies of roses structure and form and the second lesson was on colors for roses.
This painting is from the third lesson. It included instruction on still life set-up, composition and colors. Kelli has such a warm, friendly and encouraging manner that it is a pleasure to listen to her, and her information is always useful. I loved doing this lesson!
Oil, 8 x 10, canvas panel
This was a painting where I painted one shape of color, then the next one and the next one and so on, and when I stood back across the room–a sunlit rose had appeared!
This is my third month-long Show at the Bellevue Gallery, which is attached to the Farmer House Museum in Bloomington, IN. I had 16 paintings on display for the month of October. There are 4 portraits, 4 landscapes, 4 flowers and 4 figures. Paul Kane, artist-in-residence at the Gallery, hung the Show and placed them in unusual dimensions to show that I was working in different directions. I think my next Show should be more uniform and cohesive?
We had a reception on Friday, Oct 18, which was mid-Show. Attendance was low, but we had a great time playing music and talking! I am very grateful to be able to display my paintings at the Gallery.
Hollyhocks, Acrylic, 9 x 12
These four paintings are all composed of the triad Cadmium Yellow Medium, Quinacridone Magenta and Ultramarine Blue, and each painted in a little over one hour. The first three were from photos I took in my garden this year, and the fourth was from a photo I took in England in 2013.
I began each one as an under-painting using the triad and the mini-blades. It is such an exciting and freeing way to start!
Acrylic on canvas, 8 x 10
I painted these cheerful sunflowers recently from a tutorial by Sharon Hofer www.creatingamasterpiece.com after using her video instruction as a basis to teach 4 middle school students the same painting. I think it’s such a lovely painting I decided to have a go too! It was completed in about an hour. My daughter likes it so much she asked to have it hanging in her bedroom, which is where it now lives.
Sharon Hofer teaches good methods in a clear style, and I feel could help anyone develop their art. I was lent the hard copy video by a friend, although Sharon has now changed to a subscription system, which means a bit more capital outlay to access the information.
I have recently read ‘Atmospheric Watercolors’ by Jean Haines and I started a background with her methods. It was very loose and I used cling film to create textures. Then I superimposed a drawing of these roses on top and developed them using the colors from the ‘Red-Green ‘ palette in ‘Watercolor Harmony’ by Joyce Washor. They are still tighter and more detailed than shown in eitehr of these books! I don’t know if I can ever paint ‘loose’! (The ‘rose’ in the top left corner is mainly just the cling film pattern; I liked how it looked, so I just left it).
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Thirteen of my paintings are being displayed for the month of September in the Bellvue Gallery in Bloomington, IN. It is a small one-room gallery attached to The Farmer House Museum. We had an opening night on Sept. 2, where I played my harp and my son played his violin. We’ll have a closing evening on Sept. 30, when we will play more ‘family music’. I am thankful for the opportunity to have my paintings displayed publicly for a month!
I took a photo of this flower in my mother’s garden, but I don’t know what it is. The leaves I painted here don’t belong to this flower. They were also in my photo and I liked them in the design.
I thought I should be including the sizes of the paintings. Since reading ‘Daily Painting’ by Carol Marine last fall, I’ve been painting in smaller 6 or 8 inch sizes.
Watercolor, 6 x 6 ins
This iris is from a photo I took earlier this summer. The irises were so beautiful in their colors and elegance. They look like ballerinas dancing to me.
marymayhewart 