Egg-centric - SOLD

This workshop (in Atlanta) had the complete opposite space issue than the one previous to it - we had more than enough. So much I had to whistle sometimes to get their attention. In the photo below you can see the space I used for demos in front, and all my kids ranged throughout the room.

Below are my demos from class, including one where they took bets to see how few strokes I could use to paint a pinky/red knockout rose. I think the total was 47 (for those in the know, please correct me if I'm wrong).

Here are of my few kids looking awfully serious. This was during the 5-minute value exercise, so they were concentrating, understandably.

And here is the whole, silly group! I told the one hiding I wouldn't call her out on it, so I won't. And I'm not one to break a promise. Nope, not a peep from me. I won't even mention it.

It was a great 3 days!!

Bowls Four Breakfast - SOLD, & workshop photos

I'm workin' 'em hard here in Sedona - crackin' the whip. At the end of each day they whimper and cry and slink away, but they always come back for more. I'm sure it's my charm. Below are a few photos, minus the whip ...

Considering Balance

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I am home from my latest workshop and on the road to recovery. : ) A little more wine should do it. I say that but actually this one was superbly organized. If you're looking for a good workshop experience check out Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio. Every student had their very own shadow box, plenty of lights and tons of room. Every day a whole slew of food was laid out along with coffee and tea. We even had a camera and  projector so everyone had a good view of the demos. Here's a view of about half the classroom:

And below are a couple of my foreign (Canadian) students. It was tough getting past the language barrier, what with them saying MAUVE so weird (among other things), but we worked through it.

And here's a family photo - me and my kids. Aren't they cute?!

Climbing Out

So, my mother looked at this and said "what are they?" I didn't even consider that the eggs might not be recognizable as such. But now that I think about it, I can see how it's much clearer when they're cracked open.

Here are some photos of my kids last week in San Antonio. The space was great, and besides keeping me out too late every night, my kids were pretty great too. : )

Here they mostly all are (1 left early). We laughed, we cried, we learned a lot and generally had a lot of fun!! I am still catching up on email from the last week and a half, so if you've written me, I thank you for your patience!

Reflecting Persimmons

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My buddy Sarah gave me these lovely persimmons right before I left last week for Illinois ... which is where I met my latest batch of troublemakers. We were a bit cozy in the space, which worked out since it was especially cold outside. Here they are acting like good little artists:

And below is my entire group of kids. Can you tell which one gave me the most trouble? But really, it was a great group! We had a lot of fun, despite Kristen's antics. : )

Following Green

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So I survived the 6 mile race, (whew!) and am here to report (will post about the run tomorrow). My class in Sedona last week went swimmingly. Ok, aside from the force fed wine and dessert. The first day we woke up to snow. This was the view from my hotel balcony:

The snow eventually changed to hail, and everything melted by the end of the day ... except for way up high in the mountains. It was a good day to be inside painting.

I always seem to forget something when I travel, and this time I forgot my camera. So I had to settle for iphone pics. Above are my kids slaving away. And below are some of the paintings produced, including 4 of my demos (sold), one row up from the bottom.

We took a group photo, but it was with a better camera than mine and is being emailed to me - will post later. So I'll end with a very serious question: how many artists does it take to change a lightbulb? My kids and I were brainstorming an answer. Please tell me your ideas and I'll post some good ones tomorrow, including our favorite from last week!

Faith Surprised

Above is my interpretation of Faith Te, one of our Daily Paintworks featured artists. And below are pictures of my kids in Jacksonville this last week. It was a good group, kind of quiet actually. I told them they could chat during the demos but they insisted on watching ... of all things!

Below are my demos from class (all sold). I thoroughly enjoyed doing still lifes again and am looking forward to  doing more once I get set up. I am having to replace everything in my studio and have made some interesting discoveries so far, which I will be sharing shortly.

And below are all my kids from Jacksonville. Someone always asks after I post these pictures - why not more guys? Honestly, I don't know. Maybe they are afraid of me? Don wasn't (orange shirt, below).

I've had several inquiries about purchasing this painting, so I decided to go ahead and auction this one.

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Moo

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I apologize for not posting more this week. Except really it wasn't my fault, it was my wild and crazy kids! They kept me out 'til all hours, every night. Making me play miniature golf and drink "pretty darn good" ice cream drinks (the rum made it pretty darn good!). So while they look awfully studious in these photos (below), they're actually quite devious:

The space here at the Peninsula School of Art was perfect. I have never been to a more well-organized school. The buildings and grounds are beautiful, the nearby towns are super cute, and all the restaurants are awesome! And no, no one is paying me to say this. : ) Below are my demos for the week (all sold):

And here are my latest kids - so cute but so baaaad. And I mean that in the very best way. : )

BUILD-A-BLOG class this weekend (sorry for the late notice): Aug 13-14, 1-4pm, CST.

Colored Glass & Cherries

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We are all done with the workshop today. And despite the unruly Canadians I had a lovely time. The weather was pretty perfect, the scenery was beautiful, and ok, I might have exaggerated their behavior a little. Maybe they were actually pretty nice and wonderful. Maybe I said all that other stuff just for effect. Maybe they look awfully cute sitting around eating lunch outside:

For the group photo we had to set the camera on a car and use the timer, which produced not only a cool reflection in the foreground, but also tilted us a bit. I will miss my cute, fun, tilted Canadian kids!

"Apple #854" & more workshop photos --- SOLD

Ok, I haven't painted 854 apples, but sometimes I feel like I have. : ) This apple was my demo yesterday. I give my students first dibs ... and at this point I've still nothing to put on ebay. Below are a couple of photos from this week's class. There are 17 students, the most I've ever had on my own. They say herding artists is like herding cats, but so far I haven't had nearly that much trouble with this group. : )



My kids, hard at work.

More Canada Photos

Here's one of my demos from last week - a dark blue cup with white dots. It was a tough one and I didn't manage to get a great photo. My students bought up every one of my demos. I ended up teaching on Saturday as well with just a few students (since I missed Monday). For lunch, since there were just a few of us, we drove into town and had a very nice lunch. Below is a photo of us outside the Rusty Pelican (Jim, Judy, me & Shelley). Shelley was hesitant to smile much as she thought the other photo I posted of her made her look at bit manic. : ) She is probably the most generous person I've ever met as she invited me back to her house on the lake to relax on Sunday with her & her family. I had a lovely time and she was so nice as to send me back to Red Deer with an extensive care package - enough food for the rest of the week! Thank you Shelley and family!



Tomorrow I start a new class with 17 students. I just hope the students are as fun and enthousiastic as the first group!

More Canada Workshop Photos

My students have purchased all of my demos so far, and I didn't photograph them in time to post, so here are more photos from the workshop. Above: my kids busy at work.



Above: a few of my new buds. There are about 12 workshops going on at once here this week at Red Deer College during their "Summer Series", and there will be all new ones next week. Every Thursday they have a student show to share all the work with everyone here. These are some of my students at the show, admiring all the great art.



Above: some of my student's paintings in the show. It's a terrible photo - they were sitting on a window sill with tons of light coming in from behind. I couldn't get them all because there were people in the way.