Two Green Pears {a new still life}

On Peggy’s Hutch – 8" x 10" (20.3 x 25 cm) – Oil Canvas Panel

Hello~

This past weekend was spent in Monterey, VA at my friend Peggy’s house. We were four artists all inspired to spend the time exploring, chatting, playing cards and painting. It was a magnificent time and I feel very fortunate to have been included.

Over the weekend I met for the first time the very talented Tricia Ratliff. She is another career changer that has recently decided to pursue art full time. It was so special to meet in person someone so full of energy and with such dedication to her art career, that I kinda feel my head spinning thinking of all the possibilities she has inspired in me… Tricia is also an art instructor and disseminator of ideas through her blogs! Here is her one on art and ideas, and this one is of her paintings.

Have a wonderful evening, ours looks to be clear and warm. Spring is definitely in the air!

Liz

PS. Thank you for all the kind comments about yesterday’s post! It means a lot to me to receive your support.

First Year Anniversary as a Full Time Artist!

I am an artist... I am here to live out loud. Emile Zola

This is how I feel today. It has been a glorious day, great weather, good friends, and lots of time spent painting outside. Today is also my one year anniversary of being a full time artist! I feel so fortunate to be living this life, and having the support and encouragement to pursue art as a career.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me and being there!

Liz

Lemons {a new still life painting}

Still Life with Lemons, Bowl and Dishcloth
8" x 8" (20.3 x 20.3 cm) – Oil Canvas Panel
SOLD

Hello ~

The week has gone by so fast! How is it already Thursday? Well, never mind… I hope your week has been going well. Mine has been disproportionally filled with yard work, clearing debris caused by the three snow storms we had this winter.

Before starting in on the lawn work, some time was dedicated to painting where I completed this little gem. I love the kitchen dishcloth motif and playing with how stripes give a sense of space in a painting. It was nice revisiting this theme again. It was painted only with natural light, so during the first setting I was racing the clock and ended up painting in such darkness it was almost impossible to see the palette. I kept at it as long as I could because I did not want to lose that initial impression and excitement.

I am going to wish you a great weekend a bit early, as I am headed out of town for a few days on a painting trip with three other artists! So have a wonderful evening and thank you for stopping by and spending time here :)

Liz

PS. Here is an interesting site dedicated to the spaces artists and creative types work in, found via dear ada

Tulip {a daily painting}

Tulip – 8" x 6" (20.3 x 15.25 cm) – Oil on Linen Panel
Available

It is starting to warm up and today while working in the studio the windows were open to let in the fresh air. An added benefit was that noises of spring were filtering in all afternoon, birds chirping and children playing across the street.

Such sounds are making me giddy and excited about the changing season. During the winter months I stopped creating the small “daily paintings” to focus on larger paintings. Though now with the changing season I feel like mixing it up again and incorporating the small format again into my weekly routine. I will probably paint one small format painting once a week to keep things loose.

Thanks for visiting me today. I hope you had a nice weekend,

Liz

As the days are lengthening,

I am loving the warm glow of the afternoon sun.

What have you been noticing?

Today was an excellent day spent in my figure painting class taught by Danni Dawson where I wiped down everything I placed on the canvas. It just was not going well and in the end sometimes it is just better to call it a day and plan to start over again next time. I am trying out a heavy weave linen canvas that is posing all sorts of technical challenges, though I will keep trying until mastery is achieved. So every time I wipe down my work I feel like I have gained something new. {here is a nice post about Danni’s latest painting that was hung in the Art League Faculty Show}

Also for today, I want to thank Kara Holloway from the Love List for the nice interview about my work. I feel so special being a part of the “Artist + Muse” series.

Have a nice evening,

Liz

Work in Progress...

{detail of new painting}

Hi there,

How are you today? and did you spend your weekend well?

Ours was filled with moments of joy, spending time together and with friends, playing a game of 8 ball, spending time in the studio and sleeping in on Sunday {something we hardly ever do}. It was a luxurious weekend...

The time in the studio was focused primarily on one of three paintings that are in various stages of completion. I have been churning in a particular area of this painting, so I am taking a break from this particular painting today and tomorrow, with the hope that clearing my mind and focusing on another piece will give me an opportunity to get my head around the technical issue that has reared its head... The detail above is the focal point of the painting, daffodils, a true sign that Spring is on its way... So far they are only in the grocery stores, but it can only be a matter of weeks before the parkway has fields of them.

Have a wonderful afternoon, Liz

{my current reading pile}

Hello,

Do you keep a pile of books that are your current focus? I have always done this. Though lately I have been putting everything into a small tote bag and carrying it everywhere I go also. This keeps my handbag from becoming too large and heavy {looking out for my back} and makes sure I have reading material for all sorts of occasions, like arriving at my PT a little early or having an hour between appointments.

The top book is the one I have been reading from most this month, and when in the studio I am trying out some of the suggestions the author makes. I am still exploring and trying new things out, hopefully soon I will have some new work to share.

Also last week the talented Veronica Funk was kind to nominate this blog of mine for the Sunshine Award. Thank you Veronica! Please visit her great blog and wonderful website when you get a chance.

Now it is my turn to nominate 12 blogs.

I selected from the variety of artists I visit, as I appreciate all styles and methods of creativity. I am so glad these artists take the time to share with us on their blogs. Please take a moment and check them out!

1. Steve Drew

2. Manon Doyle

3. Paige Abbott

4. Dana Chabino

5. Jeffery Boron

6. Mary Sheehan Winn

7. Celeste Bergin

8. Erin Spencer

9. Gary Keimig

10. Paula Villanova

11. Sara Winters

12. Trish Siegel

Two more figure drawings

Hello~

With all my time focused on painting and learning new techniques I have been a little behind in posting the drawings from Robert Liberace's drawing class. The first one is now completed, previously I had posted a work in progress image. Our model was from Brazil with beautiful olive skin and I was working on a creamy colored paper. Once I added some tone to capture here skintone value, the drawing came together. The drawing was completed over three class sessions.

Seated Figure

{half sheet of guttenburg laid - general's charcoal pencils}

Male Torso

{ 11x14 inches Strathmore 400 Series drawing paper - general's charcoal pencils}

This drawing was a completed today in one session because of all the missed classes due to the snow storms that hit DC starting two weeks ago Friday. Our model had been scheduled for more sessions but due to class cancelations this is the only one that he is able to attend. The drawing started out as only a study of the arm and hand {hands are drawing obsession right now} and as the day proceeded I started to add more of the torso.


I have a few paintings in the oven and if things go well I will share them with you soon. Until then, have a nice weekend! Liz

{a chocolate set from my mom}

Today I've been musing about how best to store still life items in the studio... My current way is similar to the mad antique shop that is best seen in travel books but not something to live with. I've found inspiration from Susan Abbott's studio. It is beautiful, I especially like her shelves.

How do you organize your still life props? Do you know of any other great studios? Please share the link as I would love to see.

Liz

Three Apples on a Crate {a new still life}

Three Apples on a Crate – 8" x 16" (20.3 x 40.6 cm) – Oil Canvas Panel
Available for sale, please email for information.

Hello there!

Time has been flying by these few weeks. DC has had three snow storms {here are some pics of the area} and I have been spending lots of time in the studio. A lot of the effort has been in trying out new ideas, experimenting, and scraping down the ideas that have not worked out. While away from the blog I was also working on this apple painting.

With this painting I was playing with the idea of using a complementary color as a base underpainting of the main objects. Being that my apples were green, red was used for the underpainting. Using different color temperatures on each apple (quinacridone red, cad. scarlet, and cad red were the reds used). I wanted to see the affect the color temperature had on the resulting greens. So far from this painting I have not yet realized any specific conclusions to the color experiment, so I will keep working with this process.

{a work in progress shot}

the final apple with its red underpainting

Currently the studio is set up with two still lifes and a desk for drawing and watercolor. This way I can move around and focus on what is best for the moment. I have just enlisted S. to help me re-arrange the studio one more time so I will have room to add another still life stand. Yippie! Having more than one project going on at a time is really giving room to explore and try new things out. With each project emphasizing something different.

I missed visiting with you during the past two weeks, so I hope to avoid such long absences in the future.

Thanks for stopping by and reading, Happy Valentine’s Day!

Liz