As a member of the Photography Club of Beaufort (PCoB), last week I, along with a good group of other photographers from our club (Brad the Man included!), participated in the annual Tri-Club Photography Competition. Clubs competing were the Camera Club of Hilton Head, Photography Club of Sun City and my ‘home club’, Photography Club of Beaufort. Competing is always a bit exciting, as you never…
Today I spent another 3 hours or so on the ‘Ballerina in repose’ oil painting, at Attic Studios, my ‘studio away from home’. Essentially today I ended up spending most of the time trying to mix the right colours and tones for the skin colour on her legs and arm. Skin tones are a challenge! I also spent quite some…
Now that I am back in Thailand and able to join the gang at Attic Studios again, I decided to challenge myself to a different medium than pastels. So I grabbed a canvas, spent some time thinking on what I wanted to paint and decided to go with oil paints. I haven’t painted with oils since March 2012, so you…
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of having my teenage niece and nephew stay with me for a week (along with their little 4-year-old sister and mom and dad), and it reminded me of the busy, cheerful house my sisters and I grew up in. There was always activity, people everywhere, and if you needed someone to talk to,…
Our trip to Vietnam… When, this spring, Brad and I went to Vietnam, I did not expect it would result in winning a 3rd place in any photography competition at all. It was a small group trip with 3 other, pretty ‘serious’ and well-respected, photographers; Brad, Rob Collins and Michel LeFebvre, and then there was me. We spent about 9 days…
Pleased with how my colour study came out, and now that my 32″ x 40″ paper is securely mounted to the easel, it is a new day and time to get cracking on the real deal. Day 2. Overcoming Blank-Canvas Anxiety with Air Guitar. Isn’t it the hardest to make that first mark on that virgin canvas? I always have a bit…
Since we’ve arrived back in the Low Country of South Carolina (Fripp Island, to be precise), I just love being surrounded by the marsh landscape. The marsh, the sea and the countryside here is just teeming with life. Crabs, fish, dolphins and of course birdlife galore. Wading birds like the little sandpipers that run all over the beach, resident Ibis…
Recently I read a BBC article about how artists’ brains are actually structurally different, compared with non-artists’ brains. Participants’ brain scans (full research report here) revealed that artists had increased neural matter in areas relating to fine motor movements and visual imagery. But the authors reported that training and environmental upbringing also play crucial roles in their ability. As in many areas…
Since I found myself without my pastels this week (I left them in Thailand. I think I did it on purpose, so I can go shopping for a new set. Perhaps some Terry Ludwigs?), I thought I would do a little experiment with watercolours. My parents gave me this cute travel set of Van Gogh water colours for my birthday…
As my previous (and first) post mentioned, I’ve started a new pastel. This one is a bit of a departure from my normal work method. You see, normally I draw my pastel paintings first, and work quite precise. This is especially true for my animal paintings (my frogs and birds for example). However, I’ve been watching some Youtube videos lately…