We could have gone to a traditional Thanksgiving Day family gathering, but we seem to be establishing our own quirky traditions instead. (Our family is quite flexible and forgiving.)
Rather than write on and on, I’ll let the photos do the work.
Please excuse me for bombarding you with 2 posts in one day. There are two pieces of news that cannot wait:
Now, as an apology for bothering you twice in one day, here is a nice painting on which to rest your eyes:
Red Leaf, oil on wrapped canvas (ready to hang), 6×6″, $50
What is a “boutique” anyway? It isn’t a bazaar. Is it like “luncheon” as opposed to “lunch”?
The dictionary uses the words “sophisticated” and “specialized” to explain a boutique. (Nope, didn’t look up bazaar – I saved that for you.)
Sophisticated? Me? har har har har har. . . I’m from Tulare County, a Realistic Regionalist from Ruralsville.
Specialized? Yeppers. I specialize in Tulare County images. Nikki specializes in high-quality hand woven items. Karen specializes in clay mono-prints (hunh?? Guess you’ll have to come see for yourself.) Anne specializes in lathe-turned wooden items. Sam specializes in gourds. We are specialists!
Here are more photos and commentary from the secret oil painting workshop that I gave for my advanced drawing students. There are perquisites to taking drawing lessons – I lend photos, do scanning and photoshop prep for turning drawings into cards, and give secret oil painting workshops, among other benefits.
We decided that the fruit on the left must be a pluot. This painter was not happy with her painting but the rest of the group thinks it is a fantastic first layer, because IT IS!!
This painter photographed the Tetons while on a road trip. I borrowed a photo to paint from, then lent her my painting because often it is just easier to work from other people’s paintings than a photo or live scene.
This one looks a little weird because the paint was so wet that it really caught the flash on the camera. This painter is very brave – I suggested just picking one pomegranate to paint, and she chose to do all three. This is the first time in at least 40 years that she has oil painted, and this painting will be gorgeous!
This painter is used to extremely detailed pencil drawings and is a little doubtful that her orange will look good. She really dislikes the color of the shadow side of the orange, so next time we will mix something that pleases her.
Oil painting is a ton of work, so I want my students to be very happy with the results. I also have told them that anyone who doesn’t like her painting or can’t finish it can pass it to me and I will complete it for her.
See? Perqs!
That’s right – SECRET oil painting workshop! I’ve only been an oil painter since March 8, 2006, learning by guess and by golly on my own, experimenting and bumbling along, taking and quitting a couple of classes, reading up, asking questions of other painters, watching some videos. What I know, which is precious little, I am willing to share, but only with my drawing students.
Why only them?
I know my students’ abilities and their individual methods of learning, and they know my abilities and style of teaching. The secret oil painting workshop is just for those who are interested (Duh) and for those who are comfortable enough with their drawing skills and the terms we use and techniques we practice.
Because I don’t give drawing lessons in December, we have several Tuesdays to work with. We will do two, but the dates don’t matter, because it is a Secret painting workshop. Two days are necessary because of the slow drying time involved with oil paints, and besides that, it is hard to focus on a project for enough hours to get ‘er dun.
There were 7 students, and at one point I said, “I FEEL LIKE A WAITRESS WITH TOO MANY TABLES!” Lovely people, each one, and a privilege to share what I know about painting. So often I have to say, “I don’t know but I’ve heard you can do this, that or another thing.” Just bumbling along together, and look what we achieved!
After seeing the photo on the digital camera, this painter commented, “I like my wrist”.
We thought this painter had cut out a photo of a lemon and decoupaged it onto a black canvas! Then she began enlarging it, and next week will be adding some sort of a shadow or something in addition to deepening the colors. Next year I will probably be taking painting lessons from her.
The pomegranate looks distorted because of the angle of the camera. The Sequoias need another layer or two and the orange just wants one more layer. Can you tell my students borrow my photos? 😎
Perfect Gift Boutique Post-Game? Remember when the terms “pre-game” and “post-game” weren’t used? It is a sports/television term. “Wrap-up” also works, as does the stuffier sounding “evaluation”.
The weather was beautiful, so the day after Thanksgiving was a busy one. It was a little hard to be indoors, but I managed to corral my independent streak and behave professionally. The opportunities to interact with and sell to the public are rare, so I need to be focused.
The second day had less traffic, so the conversations were longer. I met so many interesting people, sold lots of art (the hottest item was the calendar), and even did a bit of photography and a little knitting in between.
I know. . . blah, blah, blah, just show us some pictures!
There were eight of us showing and selling out work. We call ourselves “The Kaweah Artisans”, a loose association of makers mostly from Three Rivers, each working in different media.
Sam sits and sews in the sunshine. She is working on one of her fantastic gourds.
Carole works in metal and clay, making whimsical and often highly detailed decorative items. Very unique in the true sense of the word – no 2 are ever the same, and no one else does what she can do.
Told you it was pretty out!
The Three Rivers Arts Center is such an interesting venue. It has stone and wood details all over the exterior. It is beautiful in a rustic manner, using stone and wood that appear to be from the area. I don’t know who did all the work, but I find the place to be simply fascinating.