May 11 - The Painted Turtle Continues

How do you like it so far? This is the second stage of the painting, where I decide the major colors of the focal point (turtle) and then start to adjust and tweak the background to match it and hold its importance.

Lots of glazing in acrylics, and I'm using the traditional ones on this trip, so they dry fairly quickly and give me room to work on glazes. Now while I painted this one, I was chatting with people and also painting. Yes, there are design flaws, but hopefully I can pull it all together to share with you tomorrow!

Yesterday the rain started around noon and it is overcast today. Great for painting with the Cool Box, no problem as the Boot Campers are doing Morning and Moonlight! Ah well, the Color System prevails... This is turning out to be a fun group--they've dubbed themselves the "Mudder Day painters"... The Repeat Offenders workshop two weeks ago call themselves the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Paints". Lots of laughter, lots of fun!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Sep 17 - Painting "to the Bone"

Starting this painting is significant for me, because it relives many sweet memories of a time when I didn't have to worry about feeling loved, because I had the love of my parents when I was this size, and that lifelong love is a sustaining strength now, even though they are both gone.

They say that artists paint what they know, and create from their center--their being--and that it is truly impossible to have a mature artist create a travesty or a sham--it reads clearly and comes through as false work--both weak and uninspiring. To be an artist means we are open and receptive to things around us, and we allow ourselves to be accepting of our environment. However, this sensitivity in creating art comes bundled with a vulnerability that can be assaulted and abused. This painting comes to you, unfolding as I am with the emotions of my life, raw and revealing as the canvas on which it is painted. As one of you commented, "Elin, you are writing and painting from the bone."

On the technical side, I am putting in the darks first to shape the design of values--just a rough mark-in to pull together the knowledge of good design into the work. I haven't placed the midtones yet, however, this painting will have the "small light, large dark in midtones" theme as it progresses. Of course the rim light around the girl and her chicken will be the lightest lights, and enhance the focal point which will be developed later.

The November workshop is filling with folks interested in three and a half days of "yellin' by Elin" here in Riverside. Sorry about the link only taking you to past workshops yesterday. Here is the correct link for the two workshops this fall:

http://www.elinart.com/pages/wkshpriv.html

Hope you'll join me for a COLOR BOOT CAMP!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.