Winter. Spring. Summer. Pumpkin....

Looking forward to painting these colorful farmer's market pumpkins...

Oh how we love pumpkin season. Winter, Spring, Summer, Pumpkin.... 
We anxiously anticipate it every year. Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer

Happy Fall Friday! I too love the pumpkin season. Am often stocking up at TJ’s so I can enjoy gluten free pumpkin pancakes and muffins year round. Am also eagerly anticipating making my own favorite pie recipe next week: "Santa Fe" Pumpkin Chiffon: Chocolate crust, spicy pecan sprinkle and tequila cinnamon whipped cream...I know. Yum...

Now back to art. Thanks to all the talented artists who joined me for an adventurous mixed media workshop last Saturday! Also special thanks to everyone who supported local artists at the Park Hill Art Club Fall Show last weekend. I sold several recent posted paintings such as my sunlit horse and VW bug--Thank you very much buyers!

A busy art season continues tomorrow where I’m back at Curtis Art Center teaching a one day Artfully Autumn Painting workshop.  Am excited to help students with some of my favorite colorful subjects like owls, ravens, autumn leaves, pumpkins, gourds, vines, etc.

Last Friday I visited the fascinating Wyeth show at the DAM which featured the families' love of pumpkins, Halloween and other spooky subject matter.  

"Pumpkinhead" Self Portrait by Jamie Wyeth

 

Loved this giant looming raven painting by Jamie Wyeth.

As I look out the studio window today I can see winter looming. But that's OK. Colder weather means I can really get cozy and focus on studio or class painting and build my inventory for the warmer months. If you're looking to stay creatively active this winter come join me and my awesome students in one of my Denver painting group classes I offer on Tues, Wed, or Thurs mornings. We'd love to meet you! For more info please write to me or visit my classes page on my website. Thanks everyone!

Painting in the Heart of Autumn

"Sunny Bug" 8x10 oil on linen pane--SOLD---Thank you!

I love when other artists take the time to review a painting workshop they've taken or demo they've attended so I promise I will post my review of  Peggi Kroll Roberts' workshop soon. Spoiler alert (and probably no surprise to many of you): It was phenomenal from start to finish!

Since I took two "light and shadow" workshops (see Tim Horn in previous post) back to back I've been considering at a wider variety of subjects such as this cute but rusty VW bug parked outside one of my classrooms. (My first car was a burgundy VW Rabbit that barely survived the 1,269 mile road trip to Denver long, long ago so also I have a soft spot for vintage VWs.)

October is flying by so I quickly wanted to share a few November events coming soon! 

2 Fall Weekend Workshops @ Curtis Arts Center in Greenwood Village, CO
I rarely teach on the weekends but I’m offering 2 fun Saturday workshops—Fall Colors (any painting media) and Mixed Media. Please visit my website class page or email me for more info.

Silent Art Auction & Reception: Nov. 7
Curtis Arts Center is also hosting their annual Silent Fine Art Auction on SAT. Nov. 7 from 6P to 8P where collectors can bid on affordable fine art from instructors, students and other artists in the area. 

Park Hill Art Club Fall Art Show and Sale: Nov. 13-15
This popular 3 day art sale features a huge variety of art (bin and framed) from hundreds of members and instructors (include myself). Please visit the PHAC site for more info. Original art makes a unique and personal holiday gift!

November "Daily Painting" Class: Tuesday AM from 9A to Noon 
This is casual open studio where I work with each student at their own level in oil or acrylic painting. At Blackridge Artists School. Be sure to also check their upcoming workshops!

Many thanks to my all my hard working fall students and wishing you all a colorful and creative autumn week!

Explore. Dream. Discover. Paint….

"Blue Nutty" 6x6 oil on linen panel SOLD Thank you!

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. 

Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. 

Explore. Dream. Discover.’  

Mark Twain

Happy Monday everyone!  I think one of the best things about "almost" daily painting is the “Why not? Let’s give it try!” approach you can have each day in the studio.

Lately, I’ve been gravitating toward some bold graphic looking art and thought painting on a black background (black toned canvas in this case) would be perfect for this. Also, since I often favor such bright intense colors (as you may have noticed!) the black acts as a striking dark neutral balance.

Want to see more examples? Daily painters who do a marvelous job at this are Karin Jurick and Cathleen Rehfied. Carol, a student in my class last week, also painted an exciting abstract on a black canvas.

In today’s little nuthatch (one of my favorite backyard bird models) oil painting I’ve used a 6x6 Raymar linen panel primed with black acrylic gesso then sketched with white pencil (note white chalk would work as well.) I loved the effect and will definitely add this to my daily "bag of tricks" and try again soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy your own creative exploring, dreaming and discovering…

Denver Fall Painting Classes & Workshops
Since my Thursday AM class “sold out” so quickly (thanks again painters!) I’m planning to announce another weekly painting class soon. Probably on Tuesday afternoons so please stayed tuned for that.

Also I’ve added 2 weekend painting workshops for this November. For more info about these please go to my Denver art classes info page on my website. Or feel free to write to me directly. Thanks and happy painting!

Daily Painting by the Book

Exercise from Oil Painting: The Workshop Experience 6x8 oil on panel

 A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party, a company by the way, a counselor, a multitude of counselors. (Charles Baudelaire)

Happy August Friday everyone!  Busy working on some small commissions and getting ready to teach my “almost” daily painting (DP) class which starts next Wednesday. I’ve been looking forward to this class all year!

I’m also teaching another DP class in September which I’m pleased (and flattered) to report say “sold out” quickly. So thank very much artists (returning and new) for your loyalty and interest in my new classes!

Come paint the colors of fall with me in November!

New: Fall Weekend Denver Painting Workshops
Speaking of classes, I’ve just added two new fun November weekend painting workshops at the Curtis Art Center: Artfully Autumn/Fall Colors and Mixed Media Masterpieces. You can find more info about these painting workshops here.

Painting Exercise/Study of Goerschner landscape 6x8 oil on panel

Summer Art Reading
I read new art books all the time in the summer but I also like to revisit favorites like this week’s Oil Painting: The Workshop Experience by the late Ted Goerschner. (Usually on Amazon used for just a few dollars.)

I love art technique books with painting exercises you can practice as you read along. (How to See Color and Paint It is another good one.) These "step by step" paintings can be great warm ups or just an easy way to try a different approach. 

Today I’m sharing the 2 small landscapes I painted “along with” Ted in his book which also includes clean color and design tips as well as some valuable "before and after" critiques of student landscape paintings. And of course, Ted's high chroma light and shadow paintings are enjoyable on their own.

OK, gorgeous day for a sunny patio happy hour here in Denver but I still have some work in the studio before I can call it a day. Cheers! Enjoy your summer weekend everyone!

The Art of Painting a Zorse

Zorn Palette Oil Painting Horse Study 8x10 on linen

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Da Vinci

Happy March everyone! First, you may be wondering: What's a zorse? I'll get to that in just a bit...

Are you ready for spring? I sure am. In May I’m teaching a six week Confident Color oil painting workshop (where I’ll be sharing my thoughts to strengthen skills like color mixing, harmonizing, dominance, etc.). 

I’m always researching, reading, and thinking about color...I've been thinking a lot about color exercises that have helped me over the years. And of my favorites is exploring a modest limited palette—such as three primary colors (technically pigments) and white.  We juggle so much as painters—shape, design, edges, values---So using a limited palette helps at least simplify your color choices.

"Mosey Mare" 8x10 oil on linen

For today’s small equine oil studies on linen I chose the “Anders Zorn” primary palette—Basically an opaque warm red ( cad. Red light or napthol), a dull light yellow (yellow ochre),  and black and white (I used Utrecht Titanium which is oddly a mix of Titanium and Zinc when you look closely on the back but I still like it.)  Typically, I might have used this Zorn palette for a figure or fall landscape but I thought it would be good match for horses. I love the violets it creates...Anyway I’m calling these Zorn horses—or just zorses for fun. (Can you tell I’m a product namer on the side?)

I don’t know about you but I’m really looking forward to spring painting this year. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful spring’s right around the corner week!

Learning & Teaching: New Workshop Announcement

"Garden Jumble" oil on linen (work in progress)

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. Ghandi.

First, hi to all my new recent students--It's been wonderful working on some exciting painting projects this past month. As always, thanks for sharing my studio.

Speaking of teaching, I'm very pleased to announce I'm teaching 3 painting workshops (6 weeks each) starting this May at the lovely Curtis Arts Center in Greenwood Village. This is a great option if you are looking for an adult group class or specific theme workshop. The Curtis Center has a very nice comfortable class room as well. I thought long and hard about the themes. I hope you like them as much as I do. Here's the workshop line up. Again, each session is 6 weeks on Wednesday mornings.

• May 6: Confident Color for Oil Painters
• June 24: Colorful Nature (Painting Florals)--Subject focus so your favorite medium!
• August 12: "Almost" Daily Painting--Primary focus oils but other media OK

You can find more info about my workshops on my Scarlet Owl Studio website or please feel free to email me with any workshop questions.  

Curtis Art Center Classroom--comfy and well lit!

I've already started thinking about class agenda, exercises etc. We'll have fun but be prepared to work hard and learn lots!

The only thing I love more than painting and teaching is learning. I took a few days off this week to enjoy an excellent color workshop with western landscape master painter Jay Moore which took place at Jay's amazing studio in Parker, Colorado.

Met some wonderful talented artists, enjoyed many "aha" moments, and watched Jay paint a gorgeous landscape demo from start to finish. Really what more do want from a workshop?  I can't recommend Jay enough for a class or workshop--especially if you love landscapes.

Garden of Secrets

Garden of Secrets-WC-22x30

All Colorado Art Show: June 25-August 10, 2011
I"m pleased to announce that my contemporary floral watercolor painting posted today--Garden of Secrets-- was just juried into the 28th Annual All Colorado Art Show at the Curtis Arts & Humanities Center in Greenwood Village, Colorado. The juror was Ms. Jill Desmond is a Modern and Contemporary Curatorial Assistant for the Denver Art Museum. She'll be doing a juror lecture about evolution figure painting, which should be very interesting, on Thursday, July 14, at 6:30P.

I painted this large full sheet 22 x 30 watercolor from sketches and photo references I took last summer at my nearby Washington Park, where each year they plant a wonderful garden, including these towering cana flowers.  The always lively garden is one of my favorite places to paint in the city--Just be sure to watch out for the sprinklers if you've got watercolor paper!

The show opens June 25, 2011 and runs through August 10, 2011. If you are in the area, please be sure to stop by the reception on Saturday, June 25 from 5P to 7P. And a quick congrats to my student Diane for also getting into the show!

Watercolor Landscape Book
This reminds me to mention a great watercolor book that I may not have mentioned before and that is the late William Condit's Transparent Watercolor which you can usually find on used on Amazon for less than $10.  Mr. Condit was an extremely talented Colorado watercolor painter and the book also features some of his watercolor mentors. Particularly if you enjoy watercolor landscapes, I think you'll love this gem.