November 2021

Another month has flown by! November highlights include a plein air workshop with Kathie Odom, plein air painting with my friends, lots of time at the Roswell Square Gallery, my birthday and Thanksgiving. As you can see in the photo above, I got Edgar Payne’s “Composition of Plein Air Painting” for my birthday from my boys. JuJu and Otis know me so well :) JuJu enjoyed shredding the wrapping paper as much as I’m enjoying the book.

WORKSHOP with KATHIE ODOM

This was one of my favorite moments from the workshop. We met at Three Hearts Farm in Newnan on Saturday morning, then followed each other about a mile down the road and parked just on the other side of a big old barn. Seeing everyone pop their trunks and set up their easels side by side was SO FUN! I’ve never experienced anything like this before. It really does build camaraderie and makes the experience so much more enjoyable when you can share an experience like this. Can I paint en plein air by myself? Sure, but there’s something very rewarding about painting with like minded folks.

 

Kathie set up her easel and knocked out a gorgeous painting that was purchased by one of the workshop attendees. She was fun to be around, knowledgeable and encouraging. Meridith, the owner of Three Hearts Farm, was warm and welcoming. Her farm is beautiful and I loved her sweet kitty, Jackson. David Boyd, President of PAPSE, was the organizer. He also painted with us. I took a workshop from David a few years ago. He’s a very good instructor and will be back at The Booth Art Academy next year. I’m already signed up for that workshop.

I’m so glad I snapped a photo of Kathie’s painting at this stage. It will serve as a reminder to stay loose and expressive with my brush strokes. In summary: gorgeous scenery, perfect weather, friendly people, learning new techniques, cows, a farm kitty, and painting for three days … perfection!  

Here are my paintings from the workshop:

PLEIN AIR

Two days after completing Kathie’s workshop I met up with my friends Lorraine and Loretta for plein air painting at Hyde Farm in Marietta. I’ve lived in Atlanta for more than 20 years, and I’m amazed by how many spaces and places I’ve never seen before. And Hyde Farm is definitely one of the coolest. As soon as we began walking towards the area with the farm houses and chicken coops I had a flashback to my great grandparent’s farm in McBee, South Carolina. Here is a photo of their farm:

And here are photos of Hyde Farm:

I was instantly drawn to the barn with the wagon, so I jumped on that quickly.

And here’s my nearly finished painting:

This was the day that I realized it was time to eliminate some of the paints I’ve been lugging around. My instructors talk about “their” palettes, but it’s taken me a long time to make informed decisions about my palette preferences. One thing’s for sure though … I cannot continue to carry around a suitcase with every color under the sun. So, the next day I dumped out all of my paint tubes and essentially went with Kathie Odom’s palette, which she borrowed from Richard Schmid. And if it’s good enough for Richard Schmid, it’s good enough for me.

I’m now using the smaller of the two art bins you see in the photo above. If it doesn’t fit in the small bin, it doesn’t go. 

Here are some more paintings from my plein air meet ups:

 

 

Painting en plein air has been incredibly helpful for my growth as an artist. It forces me to work quickly because the sun and sky are constantly in motion. We meet for 3 hours, so the goal is to get as much done as possible under that time constraint. I still have so much to learn, but I see progress and that’s very motivating. Unfortunately the spectacular fall weather is coming to a close, so I’ll have to work from photographs or do some master copies. Still good practice, but far from ideal.

ROSWELL SQUARE GALLERY

I’ve been giving free painting demonstrations at the gallery on Saturdays. It’s a lot of fun and another way of pushing myself to learn new things and to develop my teaching skills. Most of them are abstract painting demos, but I’ve also given two Claude Monet water lily painting demos. I’m already thinking of ideas for next year … Van Gogh irises? Wouldn’t that be fun!?

THANKSGIVING

We spent Thanksgiving in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, steeped in a fog of turtle soup, boudin balls and martinis. My father died on Thanksgiving Day 1997, so Thanksgiving always feels kinda sad. Spending the holiday in Louisiana helps take my mind off the sadness because it’s so different - different scenery, different food, different traditions with Scott’s family. I’m slowly beginning to enjoy the holiday more and more. We visited the LSU Museum of Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, had incredible food at Commanders Palace and La Petit Grocery, and of course, the killer skyline views from the Pontchartrain Hotel never disappoint.

Top of the LSU Museum of Art, overlooking the Mississippi River

LSU Museum of Art

Rooftop of the Pontchartrain Hotel

Traveling also provides an opportunity to work on figure drawing in airports and on planes. Similar to plein air painting, you have to respond quickly because people are constantly shifting and adjusting. Good practice!

 

 

OTIS AND JULIUS

And lastly, a few photos of my sweet boys who *love* this time of year. Between falling leaves and the Christmas tree, JuJu and Otis are happy little monkeys. 

Evening treats in bed

COMING IN DECEMBER

Planning for 2022, a workshop with Elizabeth Robbins, more demos at the Roswell Square Gallery and a lot more art. Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving! See you in a few weeks with another update.