Plein Air Painting and Insects

Gnats, ants, no-see-ums, mosquitoes can be the bane of any plein air artist.  As you get used to heading out to paint you will find yourself armed with an arsenal of sprays to protect yourself from these pesky things.

My first line of defense:  Cactus Juice - this is a completely natural product and is usually very effective against marsh gnats and no-see-ums and to a lesser degree against the ants.

My second line of defense:  Some insect repellent with a modest amount of deet in it,

My third line of defense:  Deep Woods Off

For the ants (fire and other) I usually have to use a product with Deet - and spray it on the ground around where I am painting, on my shoes and the bottom of my easel and the rest of my supplies.

I also have found that having some dryer sheets available can help with the gnats.  I sometimes put them under my hat to keep them out of my hair.

I have also heard some people use lemon thyme and some rosemary but these other products seem to do the trick for me,

Of course, that being said, sometimes I just give up - usually after I have about 300 gnats that have committed mass suicide in my painting.  And so it goes!

Daily Paintworks

So, once again I am giving Daily Paintworks a shot at selling smaller pieces.  My concern is that there are so many artists that use this site, how does one get a following and make sales?  Also, in terms of still life paintings there are ga-zillions of them!  And they are great too!  Some of my thoughts about marketing on this web site are as follows:

.  low prices - this is an option but how can I justify dropping prices below what other customers have paid for other similar pieces?

.  auction - I am currently trying this venue - starting at a low price and waiting to see where it ends.

.  finding a niche - my beach paintings seem to get a great response - maybe as an artist I should just be doing this???

.  I have noticed that my 4 x 16" horizontal pieces don't show well - not sure how to correct this but they are killer paintings and have a great presence.

.  market the paintings for sale on facebook - haven't done this much but should try this.

Any other ideas out there???

The Key to Improving Your Painting Ability

PAINT!!!!

Are you surprised?  If you are uncomfortable spending money on stretched canvas by the inexpensive panels.  If you think you can't spend the money on those, get some heavy paper and gesso it - use that to paint.  The operative thing here is: you won't get better unless you practice!

I have been destroying my early work that I no longer want, don't like, didn't like from the beginning or just think it wouldn't sell and I have no place to hang it.  But in doing that I could see just how far I have come.  I am not saying there isn't room for improvement - there is A LOT of room.  But in the 10 years I have been painting and the last 6 when I have made an effort to paint most days, I have seen a lot of improvement.  These days I am working on small still life arrangements.  I go to consignment/thrift stores (or ebay) or wherever and pick up things to use in still life arrangements.  Then I take my 6 x 6 inch panels (which I have made myself) and paint them.  This is a journey, believe me.  I like what I am doing and am putting them on daily paintworks for sale but I am always working to improve them.  I know, in time, I will do so.  I guess, I want to work toward a less blended, more brush strokey (is that even a word?) piece with a more spontaneous feel.  

I am attaching some images ot the three I have done most recently:

The first one is up for auction on Daily Paintworks, the second two are just for sale.  Seeing them like this on my blog, I actually love them.  That doesn't change the fact that i want them to have a more spontaneous look.  If you are interested you can go to http://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/barbara-benedict-jones-4356/artwork  and check them out.

So, get out there and PAINT!

Now what do I do?

It has been months since I have written anything here - it was all wedding, wedding, wedding.  It has absolutely dominated my life for 8 months.  My daughter and I have had lists, modified lists, emailed lists, excel spreadsheets, modified and amended over and over and projects - OMG.  Pinterest became the bane of my existence.  My beautiful daughter spent hours looking at pinterest (have to admit that I did too) and kept coming up with countless projects to make her day perfect.  I made pillows to decorate the beach house benches, signs for the ceremony, the receptions and the back of their chairs, pillows for the ring bearers and slipcovers for all the vases that decorated the tables.  Here are some of the images:

I will have a better image of the table decor when I get some images from my daughter.  I had a little help with the lettering on the signs - an artist friend of mine noted that I was pulling my hair out over all that I had to do and did most of the lettering - I did the Mr. and Mrs. and a couple words on the other signs.  

The wedding colors were coral and navy and I will post some other pictures in future blogs.  In the mean time I am trying to focus my attention on getting back to my painting.  

Small works are on the agenda - one of the first ones I did *by accident", I had forgotten to bring a large canvas but had a 4 x 16 canvas with me.  After finishing the first one "plein air" I quickly did a second 6 x 6 which sold 2 weeks later.

You can see that the tide was coming in  - the smaller one was done second.  I find that once I have done a larger one and have thought about, planned out and painted it it is easier to do a second - all my paints are out and the colors have been determined.  

Art Marketing on Daily Paintworks

I have learned my lesson, FINALLY!

You have to crawl before you can walk.  I have quite a market for my larger paintings, in Ohio, the finger lakes (NY) and Hilton Head.  And all those paintings sell for quite a large dollar amount compared to the daily paintworks gallery paintings.  I am justifying my lower price by only pricing small works at the greatly reduced prices.  But today, I lowered the price of all my small (6x6) pieces to $99.00, without the frame.
I hope the DPW audience finds this appealing.

The art work I post that is standard size will be priced as I would price them elsewhere.  The last thing any artist should do is price their work below what the gallery is selling the work for.  No patron would want to see a wonderful painting priced well below what they have paid for their treasured painting of the same size.

If you are interested in seeing my gallery on Daily Paintworks you can visit it here:

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/barbara-benedict-jones-4356

The small work I just posted is "Nothing but a Whisper" painted on the beach yesterday morning.

barbarabenedictart.com

Small Painting Dilemma

I have been a member of Daily Paintworks since October and have been trying to produce small (6 x 6 inch) paintings to sell there.  Normally I paint in larger sizes, the smallest is 8 x 8 or 8 x 10 and they sell for $350 and $375 respectively.  So, when I joined, my dilemma was how to produce paintings at the greatly reduced rate of $99 or $129.

My solution was to do very small paintings.  The problem is that those small paintings take me almost as long to do as my larger plein air paintings.  So, I have decided now to post the larger ones at the correct (unframed) price and limit the smaller ones that I do.  Maybe I should sell all my paintings framed - that is very doable too, because when I sell them in galleries they are always framed.

I have been looking at Rose Schuring's site on the Daily Paintworks site and she is marketing her work at a higher price point.

The one thing I understand is that if a patron/customer of mine has purchased a 12 x 12" painting from me and paid $700.00 they will not understand my selling similar large sizes for a significantly less amount on the DP web site.  So, that is my question for the cosmos.  Will people purchase paintings at that higher price point?  Or do I need to continue with the small ones.

There are other considerations:

.  I need to ramp up my marketing.
.  I need to blog on a regular basis and probably post it to facebook
.  I need to post things to Daily Paintworks almost daily
.  I guess, the most important things is to post regularly and to do that I need to be ready to photograph my work as soon as it is finished.

So, this is my current project, titled The Quiet of Gray.  I have to darken the water toward the front and consider a few other changes but it is coming along.  I went out to the beach at Fish Haul Park and was captivated by the scene at high tide.  The water had come up into the grass and there was a softness to everything.  I guess you might say the grasses don't look to soft but the contrast and the almost continuous color of the beach tidal pool, the sound and the sky just enveloped me.

Plein Air or Not Plein Air that is the Question!

So, I posed this question on the facebook page for plein air painters.  Let me tell you why.  I have a home in Hilton Head which has a beautiful view of the marsh with a creek winding through it and out to the sound.  I paint this frequently from my yard, my deck or, in inclement weather, from my enclosed porch.  So, I just wanted to know what others thought.  I also have heard of people painting from their car or van.  I even heard of someone outfitting a small trailer (large enough to stand in) with a picture window so that they could paint in virtually any weather condition.

So, the first response  was that any painting I did, when looking at the actual scene was "en plein air".  The second responder agreed.  The third thought it was ok to paint from your car but the porch was not "plein air" and the apparent reason was you didn't have to deal with all the possible problems of painting "en plein air".   Personally, I don't get that she thought painting from the car was ok but the enclosed porch was not but, I welcome all opinions.

But, I ask, if painting from my enclosed porch is considered "plein air" painting then what if I set up a bouquet of flowers in natural light and paint it?  What if the bouquet is outside and I am inside?
I think that is going a little far.

I don't think this argument will ever be settled and I venture to say that if any painter has a paintable view from a window in their home they should just go for it.  Call it plein air - the only thing which being in the enclosed porch effects is the comfort of the painter.  I still have all that great light bouncing around and can still see the cloud patterns moving across the marsh and the incredible sky evolution.  So, I guess it is up to the individual.  But I do know that there is nothing quite like standing outside, in a field or by a stream and listening to the birds, beavers or whatever and being in that moment, splashing paint all over the canvas and feeling completely one with nature.

This is a small section of the panoramic view from my house and was taken late in the day on which we had a very high tide.  Small wonder I take advantage of my porch view when the weather is adverse.  Plein air or not plein air - you be the judge.

Getting into the Swing of Things Again

Well, I have done two paintings in the last two days.  The one I did today is the first in a number of flower paintings I intend to do for my upcoming show at the Coastal Discovery Museum, Hilton Head, SC and the other in Gates Mills, Ohio in May and June.  I hope I can assemble a lot of inventory for the shows as well as the gallery up north.  Inventory doesn't really sound like the appropriate word for assembling a large number of paintings but, it works.

This is my piece today - the pitcher was a tired silver pitcher I found in a thrift store and the peonies are silk but they have the feel of the real thing.

Oh, and I got some good news yesterday - I happened to call Chestnut Hill Home (a store that carries my work) and they had sold 5 of my paintings - yay.  With the wedding coming up I could use some extra cash.

Maggie Siner Day 3

We have models now - two of them and Maggie has arranged them with great emphasis on the dark winding up through the picture plane.  Once again we start with our gray grounded canvas and then, in an abstract way, define the line of the dark through the canvas.  Really more like identifying the dark as it travels around the painting's plain.

Then wipe it off until nothing but a pale reference shows and start painting.  Once again we were to start mixing the color of the correct value and placing a mark on the canvas.  This should be done all over the painting - not just filling in one spot but a mark.

I think I forgot to mention in my last post that when trying to identify the color of an object or area one should look at something else.  I can't remember the logic in this other than it had something to do with the peripheral vision and seeing the true color as it relates to the colors around it rather than just the local color.

So below is my painting of the model - Ms. Siner's comments were:

Her face looked like it had been run over by a car but that could be corrected with a couple of strokes.
(I am not a people painter and the strokes she is referring to would be her strokes, not mine)

She loved the way the darks ran up through the painting on from the bottom and up along the scarf and she loved the focal point of the scarf and it's draping.

It is interesting and challenging for me to paint a model.  I would love to try it some more in the future.

The next and last exercise we did was to look at a portion of a still life and paint all the warm areas with a turped down orange and all the cool areas with a turped down blue.  This was very challenging, largely because most of us chose sections of the still life arrangements that were just too large. I don't really have a photo of this because I just tossed it when I left but In know that everyone found this difficult and not a lot of fun.  Plus it was late in the day and we were tired .  

This was followed by a talk on colors and the relationship between colors.  How when you put a color next to another color it will effect the first color.  (the cool/warm factor)  

All in all, the workshop was great - I might even take another from her - I would certainly consider trying to go to Provence to paint with her - speaking of which I know there are two more slots open.  Moi, you say - unfortunately/fortunately all my efforts will be directed toward my daughters wedding. Maybe next year.

Maggie Siner Workshop: Day 1 and 2

I am not sure what I expected but probably not the petite, flurry of energy and life, person that Maggie Siner is.  She started out the workshop with a slide show featuring, not her work, but the work of other artists through the ages.   From early Eastern Chinese (maybe Japanese, not sure) ink drawings, to Rembrandt and then impressionists, her intention was to show how brush stroke and value create great paintings.  The gesture can lead the viewer into and throughout the painting creating a sense of mood, whether it is drama, excitement or calm.  The gesture informs the viewer.

I think in our subconscious we all get that but it doesn't always bubble to the surface of my brain when I need it most.

So, she started us out with a diluted saucer of india ink and a bamboo brush and had us make strokes on a large newsprint pad (without looking) expressing our feelings about various things.  The two here are fear and breath.  Then we were to draw various objects she had set up, both were done with continuous strokes.

Then on to 3 color value studies using the same brush and diluted india ink.

Then we toned our canvas with turp and raw umber and wiped it off until it was dry for a 3 color value study.

She had laboriously arranged a number of still lifes around the room from which we could select our subject matter.  And yes, for anyone who has seen info about other workshops she had the dreaded hand (don't have a picture) among the still life objects.  I didn't opt to paint it.

Then lastly she let us use color.

She did demo in a fashion.  Her initial demonstration was about finding the pattern of dark in the painting.  She would start from the edge of the painting (always) and move through the painting in an abstract way sketching out the dark.  Then she would wipe this down until only a suggestion of it remained.  Down the road she started working on value.  She would put strokes of paint in the correct color and value randomly (meaning in their correct place but working throughout the canvas) on the canvas, identifying the lightest light 

and the darkest dark and all other values.  She was not filling in shapes at this point, just establishing color and values.

The next day we worked with models and did an exercise which completely frustrated me.  I will talk about that tomorrow.  And, I think I should add here, that I am showing you what I did for informational purposes - not that it truly demonstrates her ideas or methods.  I was just a student endeavoring to improve my painting ability.  But, her methods changed me and I think will help further the evolution of my painting ability.

Heading to Jacksonville for a Maggie Siner Workshop

Today I leave for Jacksonville and the Corse Gallery.  The opening ceremony (have been watching the winter olympics) for this 3 day workshop is tonight.  If you have never seen her work go to her web site
Maggie Siner  and check out - there is a sense of mystery and poetry to her work - I love the way she grays down much of the painting and puts the punch of color in to jump at you.  I will keep you posted about this workshop as I go through it.

I will say this though, the supply list was lengthy and I can not see us using all of the stuff she requires.  I wish these artists would tailor their supply list to the workshop they are doing - if it is 3 days only don't ask for someone to go out and purchase stuff that just won't be used.  Oh, well - I guess the only things I suspect I won't use are the 3 sheets of watercolor paper - and maybe the india ink and Japanese brush.  I may have to eat my words if I end up using everything.  :-)

I have a beautiful day for traveling!

Valentine's Day

Well, a change in the weather made Valentine's Day in South Carolina lovely.  My husband got to play golf and I got to do some organizing for my dessert party (after a wonderful dinner at The Studio on Hilton Head).  I love this place for a number of reasons - first they have a great selection of vegan and vegetarian items.  Secondly, and for my carnivore husband, they have a great selection of meat prepared (according to him) perfectly.

Because I try to be vegan at home and will eat seafood when dining out or when invited to a friends house for dinner, Ed gets a slab of meat and he has to prepare it.  And given that he is anything but a gourmet chef he usually throws it in a non stick scan pan on the stove and cooks it with a cover.  So, when given the option of having lamb chops with a port wine sauce or duck with some sort of sauce he jumps at it.

Back to my dessert party, though.  I served a povlava.  For those of you unfamiliar with this dish it is native to New Zealand and is a meringue that is crunchy on the outside and soft in the center.  Normally it is served with piles of fresh fruit and whipped cream - my addition to the dessert was to create a cointreau whipped cream and sprinkle the whole thing with grated dark chocolate.  I wish I had taken a picture but I didn't.

We popped a bottle of champagne and had cappuccino made with my wonderful Nespresso machine and frother.

As so, another Valentine's Day comes to a close.  Now I have to organize to leave for Jacksonville tomorrow for a workshop with Maggie Siner at Corse Gallery.  YAY - I bet this will jump start my painting!

A New Painting Method

I am primarily a plein air painter.  That being said the weather this winter has not been too cooperative.

So - when faced with a problem find a solution, right?  Right!  So, we found a 40" television - a Westinghouse (who'ld of thunk it) for $250.00 to use as a  3rd TV for our superbowl party and now, post superbowl, I have turned it into a large monitor for my Ipad photos. All I needed was an adapter for the Ipad and a HDMI cable and voila!  I can paint using that photo reference rather then heading outside into the bone chilling and damp cold.

Do I hear a collective groan and sense some eye-rolling here?  Anyone who follows my blog, has visited my website or knows me realizes that I am in South Carolina for the winter and the weather is nothing compared to Cleveland (or virtually any of the northern cities) this year.  But, none the less, when you can't get warm inside the house (our house in S.C. has no insulation and is heated via a heat pump) then it is very difficult to stand outside in the damp, windy and cold weather outside.

So, here is the first painting done with my new method.  The title is Goldenrod on Cape Cod and it is 6 x 6 inches.

It is available on http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/barbara-benedict-jones-4356

Post Freeze and Painting "en Plein Air" in the Winter

It seams as though many of my posts are about getting started after a hiatus from painting.  This one is no different.  For a plein air painter winter can be daunting and this winter has been one of the worst.

There isn't anyone in the country who is not on intimate terms with cold this year.  For the holiday season we were up in Cleveland with snow, cold, snow, cold and more snow.  Normally we have some days over freezing that are sunny.  Of course, a sunny day is an anomaly in Cleveland.  But, rare as they may be, they do exist and I can usually find one day to head out to paint.  This winter it just didn't happen.  When I am able to do it I survive by wearing waterproof hiking boots, long underwear, neck cozy, latex gloves, hat and heavy coat.  I also try to have some hand warmer packets handy.  I might add that I rarely try to do anything larger than 9x12 in that weather because my objective is to set up, paint and finish in a relatively short time frame.

Now that I am in Hilton Head again my body has adjusted and cold is anything below 55 degrees.  We arrived on the 4th (Saturday night) so Sunday was all about putting things away (and my husbands birthday!)

Then the next 4 days I was focused on identifying a wedding venue for my daughter.  (Since before Christmas this has been my primary focus.)  Which brings me to Friday 1/10 and the venue has been identified, the contract is in the works and I can take a break from an exhaustive search, thousands of phone conversations with vendors, extensive research on line and the utter and complete exasperation of both my daughter and myself.  Done, whew!!!  Of course, we have to secure a band which is another less daunting search and means I will probably be constantly listening to "Get the Party Started" both on line and in my brain.  But, this too shall pass.

So, today, I will paint.  I think a 6 x 6 for Daily Paintworks.  I might even do two.  It always takes a little self-motivation to get myself in gear.  I am nothing, if not, a world class procrastinator.  Oops, forgot that I have to get my application for the Art Market at Honey Horn done - it is the only outside show I do.  But that shouldn't take to long.

Thought I should say a little something about plein air painting when it is cold in the south, too.  Cold being anything below 65 (don't roll your eyes you Northerners!)  For garb refer to what I wrote for plein air painting up North at the beginning of this blog.  Yes, those warm blooded Southerners dress like it's 35 to paint in the cold weather down here.  Honestly, I don't don the long johns but I do wear all the other stuff.
When in Rome........................

Happy painting!

Seashell Lights and Christmas Festivities

This Christmas has be chaotic, to say the list.  Decorating for the holidays necessitates being in the holiday mood and it took me awhile to get into the spirit.  But when I did - well, I hung garlands on anything that would stand still long enough and baked 7 kinds of cookies, frosted chocolate and sugar cookies and shopped and wrapped my little heart out.

Here is a photograph of the a few of the frosted cookies - definitely not a professional job but my friend and fellow artist, Melissa Harris and I had fun frosting them.  Did I mention we also shared some champagne while doing this???

But the decoration I most love is my strand of seashell lights that I arrange on some evergreen garland every year.  It adds an organic element (like the buzz words usage) to my decorating.  All my garlands, tree and wreaths are artificial because we are hear for such a short time at Christmas.  Below is a picture of them and i will tell you how I made them - it is very easy!

First of all, the shells are scallop shells, carefully and painstakingly collected every summer on Nantucket Sound in Cape Cod.  This would probably work with other shells but the scallop shells have a wonderful translucent quality.  In Hilton Head the shell that is the most common is the Oyster shell and it is very opaque - perhaps with the new LED lights (that are basically Christmas lights on steroids) it might work - I may see what I can do with those in the near future.

To continue, I used a small strand of little (old style) white lights and hot glued a shell on each side of the light.  That would be two shells per light.  I don't think you could hang them on your tree - there are quite heavy but they really look beautiful nestled among evergreen boughs.  I know I said I use the artificial greens but often I try to buy fresh ones and use them in this display with fresh fruit (kinda Williamsburgish).

The painting behind is one of my still lifes and I just love the orange/read background with the pinks of the peonies and blue vase.

Selling Artwork and Prints - Marketing Thoughts

I am jumping around a little in my posts.  I was going to make my next post about my palette but since I just sold two prints via Fine Art America I switched gears.

Of course, there are a number of avenues for selling your artwork.

1.  Outside art fairs - I have done these and still do one but it requires a lot of work and you have to be comfortable selling, chatting and meeting possible art purchasers.  You need to purchase a tent, some method of display, get a transient vendor license, chair, some method of letting customers use a charge card and of course some vehicle to transport all of this to the show.  I purchased my tent and a small trailer on Craigslist.  But it was a considerable investment.  The other problem for me is that I need help setting up my tent.  I can do all but the heavy lifting by myself.  I know you can buy relatively inexpensive easy-up tents but if the weather turns bad you best have a very sturdy tent.  I will talk more about this in future posts.

2.  Galleries - I have been very lucky with the few I am in.  I haven't approached any others but have been thinking about expanding my marketing efforts in that direction.  Just be prepared, you have to have product - and it needs to be freshened on a regular basis.  I have only had pieces on consignment, and I always prepare a contract for them to sign.  You should also keep an inventory of what paintings are where and keep it up to date.

3.  Prints - I used to have someone photograph my work and then make prints.  At the art fairs I would sell one or two prints per time but this is something I no longer do.  First of all, I am down to just one fair and secondly I have been selling work on Fine Art America.  The only trick to this is to have a great photograph of your work.  You need a Tripod!!!  And you need to photograph it before varnish and in natural light.  The last thing you want is to hear that your print maker cannot make prints from that photograph because of shake or pixel problems.

4.  Fine Art America.  You can belong to this site for a fairly small amount of money per year - I think it is $35.00.  You artwork is displayed, you price it out, it is an easy upload and customers view it.  If someone is interested in purchasing a print of your painting they just order it.  It is that simple.  I have easily covered my cost.  The one suggestion I have for this site or any site like this - do not upload all your work at the same time!  Upload no more than one per day - this is because when it is uploaded it is displayed that day as new work - if you upload all of it you have exposure like that on day one.  If you upload a piece every day you have exposure for a number of days.  The other site that is popular is Imagekind.  I am planning to start using that site as well.  Double my exposure and hopefully increase my earning potential.

5.  Daily Paintworks - This is a site used by many artists and is for selling original paintings.  I am using this venue for small work.  Since I just joined a month ago I have no read on how successful it will be but one of my friends sells work regularly.  She says it is very important to integrate a blog and other venues for exposure to make this work.

6.  Of course you need a web site - and please, please, please, if you get a domain name use your name.  As creative as some names can be just use your own name - you are building a brand.  I use the site Fine Art America On Line for my web service.  The site was hugely easy to build (and I am not the most technically proficient) and their tech support is GREAT!  They have a daily display of work and draw from new work you display on your opening page.  I change my opening page often to take advantage of this marketing tool.

7.  Have rack cards made - I always keep them handy - at shows, attached to the back of my paintings at the galleries, in my car and with my painting gear when I go out to paint "en plein air".  And I am not shy about handing them out!  I have my name, mobile phone number, web site and in the future will include the other places where I market my work, such as Daily Paintworks or Fine Art America.

Some things I have also considered but not done - yet.

1.  Having an open studio and inviting all my neighbors and those that have attended any show I have done in the area.  This can be a little tricky, since, in both Cleveland and Hilton Head I live in gated communities.

2.  Advertising in one of the magazines - such as Hilton Head Monthly, CH2 (both in Hilton Head) or Currents in Cleveland.  This is very expensive though and I don't know how fruitful it would be.

2.  Call your local libraries and see if you could have a show there or a local hospital etc.  Get exposure.

I will try to think of other things and hopefully this will spur you and me to get creative about other methods of marketing our work!

Oil Painting Brushes and Cleaning Oil Painting Brushes

Ok, I have a confession to make - I am lazy.  I have friends who buy very expensive brushes for painting and have had them 20 years and they still look like new.  Not me.  I buy inexpensive brushes and throw them out when they are totally splayed or keep them to scrub in background color 

I usually buy the Dick Blick store brand of brushes but I have been known to purchase brushes on ebay too.  I have to say that the ebay ones I have purchased (keep in mind they are not the expensive variety) have been pretty bad - experience is a dear teacher.   Once in awhile I look with envy at a friends Rosemary brush but I know, in my heart of hearts, it would be money wasted on me.  

My preference is for synthetic bristles because for some reason the boars head bristles (or whatever the natural hair is) always shed in my painting.  I have a collection of all shapes but seem to use flats more than anything else.  This is a matter of preference - I have friends who only use filberts - whatever floats your boat.

Now to my nemesis - brush cleaning.  I have a tendency to forget to clean my brushes for a day or two (or three or four).  This is problem because I use a quick dry medium and the brushes are occasionally beyond the point of cleaning.  But, more often than not I can revive them.  I have experimented with all sorts of cleaning methods.    

1.  Tried using Murphy's Oil Soap - after first letting them sit in turpentine.   Then grinding them into the palm of my hand.   Letting them sit in the turp was very damaging to the brush and given the carcinogenic nature of paint the grinding into my hand was not the best idea either.  I don't think the Murphy's Oil Soap added any years to their foreshortened life either.  

2.  Next I stopped leaving them in the turp but gave then a few swishes in the turpentine and wiped them off with a paper towel.  Then I took them home and washed them with Murphy's Oil Soap but used a rubbermaid glove to protect my hand as I scrubbed them out.  

3.  The next step in my brush cleaning evolution was to us 1/2 of an old tennis ball to rub the brushes in.  I didn't change my cleaning product.

4.  My current cleaning method is to use the tennis ball with a store bought brush cleaner -  The Master Brush Cleaner and Preserver.  I love this - you can leave it in the brush and reform the brush to its original shape.  I still use the tennis ball.  You can also work up a real lather with hot water and leave it in to try to get some of the deeply embedded paint out.  When I leave a small residue of paint in i never bother to remove it.  When I am trying to clean the deeply embedded paint out I just leave them for a few hours then reclean.  Of course, we are talking cheap brushes to begin with so even my best efforts are sometimes in vain.

I have a friend who uses baby oil - and she loves that.  I think it would be a very slow process but I shouldn't knock it until I have tried it.

I know you can use mineral spirits - it does a good job but it is so messy. 

So there you have it - brush cleaning from someone who hates to clean brushes.  If anyone has any more tips or ideas I would welcome them.
Masters Brush Cleaner

Art History and Other Stuff

First of all I want to share with you this link that was posted to Facebook this morning.  It reduces Janson's History of Art to some very simple illustrations.  I particularly love Van Eyck, Monet, Renoir and Manet.

http://www.boredpanda.com/how-to-recognize-painters-by-their-work/

Now that I have done that and you have a smile on your face - I would like to talk about getting back into the swing of things (painting wise, that is).

Transitions are hard - When you take on a project than have to switch gears to an entirely different project it is difficult.  It is for me, at least.  For me, an absence from painting for a week or two, makes it that much harder to start again.  The longer the absence the harder it is to get motivated.  The seasonal change which starts to limit the ability to head outside to paint is one of those obstacles.  

I am back up North and the weather has vacillated between freezing #$% cold and quite mild.  For a number of reasons I haven't been able to head outside to paint - Thanksgiving, travel to Chicago, rain, then there is the inertia factor.  Now I am looking at an arctic chill that will drop our temperatures by 50 degrees.

So, yesterday I tried working from a photo reference.  It just didn't turn out they way I had hoped - I would show you  a picture but I would be embarrassed.  So, today I will scrape most of it down and try again.  My evil twin is telling me that it is "unfixable" and keep playing on the computer or start working on Christmas Cards or vacuum, dust, shop - anything to avoid the inevitable coming face to face with my failure to bring yesterday's painting to completion.  A sort of crazy subconscious fear sets in, "What if I can't fix it?".  Or rationalizations occur 1.  the picture wasn't a good one  2.  I wasn't in the mood, 3. I didn't move in close enough  4.  I was painting on too small of a surface.  You get the picture............no pun intended.

So, hopefully today I can overcome this mental dawdle and try to push some paint around, scrape some paint off and fix the darn thing.  If I do, I promise you I will show you a picture of the "bad" painting and the "fixed" painting in my next blog.  

Enough for now - I think I will get the vacuum out.

Post-Thanksgiving Day Wrap Up

This was one of my favorite Thanksgivings!!! If you are reading this chances are you don't know me but have seen my art or been interested enough to read my blog for a multitude of reasons. But, I am going to take this opportunity to talk a little more about myself. 

As a native Chicagoan my husband, daughter and (this time) her boyfriend head to Chicago every other year for Thanksgiving.  We are delighted to be able to stay with my brother and Susan near the Magnificent Mile (Michigan Avenue) and usually head out to his daughters for the day.  This year there were 22 people there - a sort of yours, mine and ours plus some.  Which gets me to why this was one of my favorites.  

This is a picture of my family:

1.  I am always so thankful to be able to spend time with my family, something that living in Cleveland prevents.

2.  My nephew surprised us all by coming home from New Mexico where he is stationed in the Air Force.

3.  Another family member has been able to overcome some health issues and was able to join us - YAY!!!

4.  Staying with my brother and Susan is the ultimate experience in gastronomy and hospitality.

From Susan I have learned just how to make guests feel comfortable - lovely toiletries in the bathroom, his and her robes available for our use, bottles of water by the bed - no need is left unattended.  

From my brother Bob, I am treated to culinary delights.  This guy should have been a chef.  Susan reads through cooking magazines and dog ears the dishes she finds interesting and Bob prepares them.  Every time I dine there I come away with a huge feeling of inadequacy in the "feeding the family" department.  I have cooked for 40 years and only occasionally get into the "gourmet" mood.  My poor husband suffers from the "slab of broiled meat, veggie and potato" menu almost daily.  (I am a kinda vegan - pescatarian).  BUT ---- when we come home from my brothers I COOK!!!  I chop, peel, mash, season, research and prepare some amazing food.  He eats like a king.  Fortunately, this only lasts a week or two then I revert to my old self.  

The other luxury I am treated to at my brothers are IRONED SHEETS - yes, you read me right.  IRONED SHEETS.  I thought the last one to uphold this tradition (aside from my mother) was Jacqueline Kennedy.  My brother irons the sheets and I love it.  So much so, that when I get back to Cleveland I have, upon occasion, ironed the sheets.  Crazy!  This phase only lasts through one sheet ironing session, fortunately.  I do iron pillow cases and often the top third of the top sheet to give the illusion of ironed sheets, but, that is where I usually draw the line.

So, I only took one picture at my brothers (should have taken one of each meal but...) and it is of an array of brussel sprouts waiting to be prepared for roasting.

So, now we are back in Cleveland - I am starting to check through epicurious for a hearty vegetarian recipe for dinner tonight and trying to figure out if I have time to stop by Sur La Table to pick up some wonderful culinary accessories. 

Hope your Thanksgiving was great too!