Dec 19 - New Card for Collectors

So much has happened in the last two months that it is hard to put it all into words. Suffice to say that I am going into the 2009 holiday season with a renewed spirit and being more upbeat and happier than I have been in many years! Right now I'm typing to you from (drum roll!) northern New Jersey (Ridgewood) where I'm spending the Christmas week with family and friends--at the opposite end from the 85 degree California weather! It is wonderful! Snow tonight--and I haven't had that for many a moon, and I'm looking forward to the pleasure of the cold, crisp crunch (reminding me of the skiing I used to do!) and comfortable with the knowledge that I don't have to live with it, nor shovel it.

Here's the new design for the postcards that I'll be using for the winter and early spring business cards. Those of you who have DVDs from me have the earlier, lighter green ones. These are all new paintings from 2009, and feature the first painting from the fourth, new DVD "Misty Light and Twilight". I'll have them when I return--amazing Internet!

I did bring my acrylics for this ten-day trip, and will be painting some still life works (the pears in the market here were SO beautiful!) and perhaps some SNOW scenes. Plein air is not an option because outside it is in the high 20s--and I don't have the gear for keeping them thawed. I've painted snow scenes plein air before, however I don't think Sparky would enjoy sitting around with his short little legs in a snowbank. Yes, he is with me, flying under the seat on the 747.

There are plans afoot for a three-day Color Boot Camp over President's Day Weekend (February 13-15) in 2010. Interested? Email me...

I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas/Holiday time with people who care about you, and that you'll keep going with me as I stretch new wings into 2010.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Apr 11 - Workshop Demonstration in stages

In doing these Color Boot Camps, I need to demonstrate times of day for the attendees. Here's the first step of the acrylic for backlight, and I'll present it here in stages, so you can enjoy the process as well as the finished demo. This is a 9 x 12 surface (under the workshop lights some glare upper right).

I start by saying how important values are for backlit subjects. So in putting a large dark area down and covering the canvas this much at the get-go, I've "darkened the stage" for the drama that is to come. It's a mix of thalo green and burnt umber. Those swirly marks are my "designing mind" planting the location of the focal points that are to come. More on this one tomorrow.

Here's another image from the April workshop, this one done by Christine F., who was absolutely pleased that the Color System created this 18x24 oil canvas without modifying her painting style or subject choice! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did seeing it unfold so quickly to this point in just one afternoon. It validates my faith in the Color System to help artists change their work for the better. I'd like to also quote a recent "CBC" attendee who posted this email to the ColorSystem group on Yahoo Groups:

I finally did it! After lurking in the shadows of this list, reading all the posts while drooling with envy, I WENT TO BOOT CAMP!!! And am I GLAD I did. It was way more valuable than I could ever have imagined. I learned, and learned and then learned some more. Elin is a fantastic teacher with an abundance of enthusiasm, knowledge and generosity. I enjoyed every moment...I suggest strongly that you get yourself to Boot Camp. And if you can't get there quickly, at least start by studying the color flash cards. Your life as an artist, and your paintings will never be the same! Thanks, Elin, FOR EVERYTHING.

Congratulations to new Collector Donna Matson from Los Angeles/Palm Desert on her purchase of my painting "Solitude" from the PAAR Whitewater Preserve Show. See the painting here (new window).

You can see my entire blog HERE.

My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE. (Spaces only in the Maine-in-September workshop now.)

Color System information can be found HERE.

If you need to email me directly, please click here.

February 23 - A New Idea for an Equine Painting (LESSON TIME!)

Yippee! We're off and running again, this time with a wonderful image (above) from a nice lady who bought one of my saddles off ebay. Her horses are knee deep in snow in Colorado and she took this picture as they wait for her to come feed in the evening light. Oh boy! This is great source material, however it does have some design issues. Like any regular person with a camera, Pam put ther horse right in the middle of the composition, creating a static equality around all three sides that the viewer (that's you!) might not have noticed. Heck, we all take pictures and we all put whatever we like smack-dab in the middle, right? Problem with that is it effectively cancels out any possibility for dynamic movement or tension--what I call the "Made ya Look" syndrome.
So me the artist takes this great photograph and has to rearrange it a bit for interest. This will be a 16 x 20 acrylic, and hopefully good enough for a show or two. We'll see as the painting progresses. Here is the source image, and here are my sketches (called thumbnails, although they are about 4 x 6 inches) showing some rather more interesting design possibilities. Note I am not "drawing the horses", but am positioning the SHAPES of the horses, fences and bushes to create a better composition.



Hurray! We're off on a new painting adventure!
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