Painting again!

Six months after carpel tunnel surgery I have now been able to hold onto a paint brush!  Here is a start to a painting I have been working on.  Had to quit on it for a few months as the painting was causing my hands to swell a bit. 

Captiva Farmers Market

    Its getting close to the end of season!  Two more shows and I can start playing in the clay.  There are soooo many ideas that have been running around in my head lately that I have been putting them to paper so I don't forget.  So look for some really different pottery and sculpture.
 
This photo is from Captiva Island Fl.  I've been doing the artisan market for a few months and have really enjoyed being there.  Here are a few photos of some of the pottery I have been offering.


 

Beachy Glazes

  It has been awhile since I have posted, though in my defense it has been a strange year.   The carpal tunnel issues have been resolved and I finally have some relief from symptoms.  Painting and pottery creation have been pretty much at a standstill.  Thank goodness I had enough bisque to start and finish season!   I've begun throwing pots again and playing with glaze combos.
  Pictured below is an example of some of the new "Beachy" glazes I'm developing.  Picture doesn't really do them justice.  I think I'll have to get out the camera for pictures.  Cell phones.. No matter how good the cameras have gotten just don't capture the colors.

Seagull

Seagull  5X7 Oil on Linen

Here is a quicky..  I love to paint the little 8x10's and 5x7's in an impressionistic style and the "Seagull" was no exception.  About 2 1/2 hours start to finish.  Gotta love Liquin!

Dancing in The Light

Dancing in The Light

  Its been such a long time since I put brush to canvas.   Though in reality I still was painting in my minds eye.  So was never far away from it.  Those who know me best know how much I have missed pushing paint and the pain I went through to put this to canvas.
  I started the under painting 2 years ago and was unable to finish it.  Now..  here it is..

   A 24"x30" painting of a study I did 4 years ago. 
(better picture soon)

Throwing Laguna Frost Clay

I mentioned earlier about taking John Britt's glaze workshop.  During the class he mentioned that Laguna Frost can only be thrown about 6" high and that a pot thrown higher had to be heavy.  To which I responded with a comment that its not so..  Sorry John, but I learned on Frost and since I was self taught I didn't have anyone to tell me that I couldn't throw it high and thin walled.  I just kept at it till I got a knack for it.
  Below are a few of the smaller Frost pots I threw this week.  I always weigh out the clay so I know how far I can push the envelope size wise.  The two vases on the left are made from 20 ounces of clay and they did not receive any trimming.  They are 9"-10" tall.  The key lime green pot was 22 ounces of clay and it has a trimmed foot.
  I've had other potters ask me how I get the larger thin pots to stand up and not deform in the kiln.  The answer is geometry and understanding the stresses a piece goes under in the kiln.  The thicker rim allows the piece to maintain its shape while the shape of the pot itself lends it to keep its shape.
  All three pots are really light and balanced. 

Glazes and Kiln Opening

   Its been a busy season here in Florida so not much time to post photos or chat about pots and paintings.
  But....  Today I finally got a chance to take a breather and thought I would share a few of the pieces when I opened the kiln this afternoon.  Lots of fish and berry bowls this time around with a few new colors.  The glaze I developed for Highwater P5 has been working well on the Frost porcelain clay, which made me extremely happy.   Glazing is not my favorite pass time and I get a bit grumpy if things don't turn out the way the should.  Okay..  The way I think they should.  ;)

Took a glaze workshop with John Britt in St. Pete not to long ago.  I didn't get questions that I had answered, not that he couldn't answer them.  Its just the questions were a bit more advanced within the scope of the course.  I gathered this because the first question I asked he replied to the class.. "What she is saying in english.... "  I gathered form his comment that most of the others taking the workshop were beginners with no real understanding of glaze work.  So no questions asked unless it was basic to clarifying or solidifying a concept where I was a bit fuzzy in understanding. 
 I took a few good tips and some insights home with me.  So I felt it was money well spent.

Here is the opening... 

Pots for the Great Trail Festival

Some Pots That Will Be At the Great Trail Festival in Malvern Ohio

 Was thinking when I went to the YSU Festival of the Arts, that I had plenty of pots and paintings, since I had double of what I had the year before.  I was slammed and pretty much sold out of paintings and pots.  So..  Potting my little heart out to get ready for the Great Trail Festival with no time to update blog or website.  While I'm not caught up but I think I have a handle on it, I think.

At any rate these pots are a product of much testing and glaze development.  I'm quite pleased with the outcome.  Makes all the testing worth while.

I'll be demonstrating on the potters wheel, as usual.  Come check it out if you get the chance!

The website for the festival is      www.greattrailfestival.com
 For the dates and times.

Bad Glaze.. Play nice!

This glaze has been pitching me fits.  The new clay didn't like it at all and I had to test and reformulate about five times before the two played nice together.  

Still Potting and Painting!

Stoneware Mug 6"

12" Vase with sculpted Sea Horse
Porcelain

Well yes.. I'm guilty of not posting for a bit.  But for good reasons.   We are getting a new addition on the house so everything that was stored in the old building is in the lanai and the spare bedroom. So painting has been put on hold.  The pottery can be done outside but who ever ordered the 50 deg. weather please stop it.  Too cold to play in wet clay, though I have had enough bisque to kiln fire some glaze ware.  Here are the resulting pieces.
  Contractor said he would be starting in about two weeks..  Can't wait to get life back to normal!

 

8"x6"x4"  Altered Vase, Sculpted
Porcelain

Quality Time in the Wild.. For lack of a better title at this time.

Quality Time in the Wild
30x24 Oil on Linen Hardboard

I'm calling this one finished.  The painting has been on and off the easel for about 5 months.  Had a lot of difficulty with the size, as its a very large piece for me, since figureing out how to paint a large shape and make it painterly can be a challenge.   You can make it so busy that it competes with the focal point and throws the whole painting off.  There are probably two other paintings under this one.  Now off to find a frame.
Speaking of frames..  I'm going to go to gallery wrapped canvases for my bigger paintings.  The expense for the frames is brutal!  

Vanderbilt Beach Palms -Plein Air

Vanderbilt Palms
8x10 Oil on Hardboard
Plein Air   SOLD

Vanderbilt Beach is a great place to find a lot of different subjects for plein air painting.  I had a great spot for painting, under a teki  hut.  Which gave me great lighting for the few hours I worked on this.
Trying hard to get out more and paint.  Have a few paintings in the finishing stages right now.  One may even be finished tonight.  Stay tuned.  :-D

Plein Air at Shangri-La Springs

Pottery in Oil
8X10 on linen hardboard

Its been a good long while since I did any Plein Air painting.  It really did feel good to get out and paint.

There group of painters from the Estero Fl. area that get together on Wednesday to paint outdoors and I was happy to join in the fun.  We painted for about 2 1/2 hours at  Shangri-La Springs, Bonita Fl.  This painting is done in oil and is a 8X10.  Sometimes the simplest subjects make the best paintings don't they?  I know I needed a simple painting to start off with. 

YSU Festival of the Arts, Youngstown Oh.

Have to give a shout of thanks to all my customers who helped make the show a success.  I always feel so honored that my art graces their walls and homes.

Sunflowers to Bluebirds

Bluebird
5x7 Oil

The Bluebirds are  back!  So I took a few hours from painting sunflowers to painting Bluebirds.


Their such wonderfully colored birds with a kind eye and I do love to paint them.

Sunflowers, Sunflowers, and more Sunflowers

 Sunflowers are the subject for "A Painting A Day" Facebook page that a friend started.  So here are a couple of quick studies.  Most took only a 1/2 hour or so..
The two lighter paintings which gambit to a lighter sepia tonal color scheme are the result of cleaning up the palette.   Always a good exercise to use a limited palette but I think what was left on the palette was just a bit to sparse in terms of darks.  But they still look pretty.  :)

5x7 Oil

8x10 oil

11x14 Oil

11x14 Oil

Copper and Fruit #3 in the Still Life Challenge

Copper and Fruit
Oil on 8x10 Canvas

  Here is #3 from the challenge.

  Took about 6 hours to complete the painting and its one of the most involved pieces I have ever done. First because of the amount of subjects. Secondly due to the limited palette I used. (T. white, Alz. Crimson, Ult. Blue, Cad. Yellow Lt. and Burnt Umber.) . Thirdly, since the fruit was fake it was much harder to paint.

   If the painting looks a bit flat its because there are no highlights at present.  I will add them later when the paint is dry to the touch.

Thanks Robbie for the CUTE FRUIT and neat copper bowl.  ;)

Vase #2 in the Still Life Challenge

Vase
12x9 Oil on Linen Hardboard

Number 2 in the challenge. Have three more to get done tomorrow and I'll be caught up.

I've started using a new style of painting.. I have made my own slo-dry medium and have more time to paint wet-in-wet.  I think I do like it better than the liquin.  Its something I have been planning and drafting in my head while I do my pottery.

This challenge came along at a good time.  Helped me get off my butt and get some paint on the canvas.

Tea Cup

Tea Cup
5x7 Oil on Linen Hardboard

Lately I have not been up to the challenge of painting.  To much other arty projects going on.  Mainly pottery.
But when Val started I daily painting challenge page on face book I realized I really wanted to start painting again.

This challenge is a 10 day still life.. Day one for me but I think its day 6 for others.  Always a bit late.  ;)
Took about an hour.. course my tea was a tad cool.  But was fun to just push some paint!

Pots fresh out of the kiln!

 Just a few of the pots that came out of the kiln this past week.  I did a few over that I was not happy with how the glaze turned out.  I'm satisfied with the way they turned out this time about.

Did some sculptured fish vases too..  They sure take lots of time to make but the end effect is well worth it.

The Cape Coral "Wild About Wildlife"

 I was honored to have my painting "Bluebird" awarded 1st place at the Cape Coral Art League.  The show was titled "Wild About Wildlife."  Couldn't pass the show up because how often do you see a show that the theme revolves about animals?
  There were many lovely paintings.. as you can see by the one below mine in the picture.  Thanks again to the Cape Coral Art League for putting on a great show!

Berry Bowls, Pitchers, and Sugar Bowls.

Berry Bowls

Small Pitchers and Sugar Bowls

These are a few of the pieces that came out of the kiln Monday.  Of course I'm a bit excited that only 3 pieces did not quite turn out the way I wanted.  But you will have that.   Oh.. and all the lids popped off!!!!  Wow... Last year it seemed like every lid had to be chiseled off.

I will be posting a few more in a few days.

Koi Fish

Porcelain Sculpture
"Koi"

These fish sculptures are such fun to do.  Everyone is different as the expressions change with each one.  
Since I just pulled these out of the kiln on Wednesday night after church.  I didn't get photos because I was so tired. By the time I remembered that I didn't have any pics these 4 were the only ones left.  




I lined the fish up like they were swimming amongst the tea cups.  They looked so cute even the guys had smiles on their faces as they went by the booth.  I always strive to get an emphatic connection from the viewer with my paintings, sculpture should be no different.

Koi- An Altered Vase

Stoneware
Altered Wheel thrown pot
4"high x 9"long

An altered stoneware pot, first thrown on the wheel, then pinched, prodded and cut to form a fish.

  The stoneware I use is very very dark, almost chocolate in color.  This effects the glaze color a bit.  So it will be interesting to see just how much brighter the orange and whites will be.

Little Piggy Banks Ready For Market

Stoneware and Porcelain
Altered pot technique

  When I paint I have the finished painting in my mind and follow it to the end.  But with altering pots it doesn't quite work that way.  When you bang it on the table, pinch, pull or cut it up the end result never quite matches the mental image in my head.  (I think that is why I'm so captivated with the pottery.)
  In saying that, these little piggies have been pitching me fits since September. The results really didn't match how I wanted them to look.  But the outcome is no less appealing to the eye and touch.  As a friend said.. "Oh, how CUTE! They are just adorable!"  And I have to agree.  :)

Wolf

Wolf
Oil on Linen Hardboard
16x20

When I started the art journey I always wanted to paint a wolf or two.  So I had collected a few reference photos and had them in my "When I am a better painter box."  The rule being that when I pick a photo from this box it has to be painted.  Thing was that this time I had a fearfully large 16x20 canvas to put it on in front of me.
So while I finished this with some trepidation I'm almost happy with it!
Because its so much larger than the little 5x7's and 8x10's that seem to pop of the paintbrush so easily.  I'm a bit nervous about putting down brush strokes.  A small brush can explain the dramatic little details on smaller canvas, but those shapes and strokes get lost in the bigger paintings.  I'm sure there is a way to 'explain' the stroke the way I want in these larger formats.  Just have to keep at it.  Practice...

Bluebird

Bluebird
8x10 Oil on hardboard

Finally got the painting to where I was satisfied with it.  The part of the painting that pitched me fits was a 1x1 inch square area.  It only took 4 months for me to get it how I wanted it.  ::Sigh::

But it is done!  ;)

Great Trail Festival

Been busy potting the last month.  Here are a few examples at what I'll be taking to the
Malvern Great Trail Festival   
Aug. 23-24 and
Aug.30-31 & Sept. 1

Lots of reds with lovely blues this year to go along with my colors from last year.  Just can help adding more colors.  Its the artist in me that makes me do it.  ;)

Hope to see you at the show!  Click on the link for directions and other info!

Youngstown Festival of The Arts 2014

It was an awesome show!!   Just want to thank everyone who visited my booth as well as those who took treasures home with them.  Its nice know that my art is appreciated and displayed proudly.  Thanks again!!