Green Eats - Apples, Grapes, Acrylic Notion and Workshop Sort Of

I worked with acrylics again the other afternoon. I did not use the Golden Open acrylics in combination with the regular acrylics. I used regular acrylics. The Golden Open are a different medium and need their own study. I will work with them, but I wanted to do something familiar to have a positive outcome after the wipe off with the little seascape. There were several artists that had problems last week as I mentioned and so I was in need of painting something I was very familiar with. I didn't know that was my motive for painting apples until I read Carol Marine's post. You might remember, I sketched some apples this week, too.

Green Eats, apples and grapes is 5 x 7 inches, acrylic on canvas board. The color in this is not very good as it was taken in artificial light. I will try to get a sunny day photo tomorrow to post on my web page. This gives you an idea that I was getting back in the swing of painting.

I also did a bit of blog reading and looking around to get inspired. I ran across a wonderful artist posting in the Plein Air Forum on wetcanvas.com, Marc Dalessio and read an interesting post on his blog. On the blog he mentions getting ready for a painting excursion to Bagan, Myanmar, with some fellow plein air artists. On his web page you will see some wonderful paintings and see that Marc is from Los Angeles and is working in Europe.

Our regular routine gets a little stagnant and ideas are hard to come by. It would be wonderful if we could all take a week or month off and go to someplace exciting and just paint for a month. For most of us, that is not possible. I suggest, though, that you plan a day, a few days, or some time to paint with a buddy. It is great and rejuvenating. If you are with like minded painters, you learn, teach, and critique a little.

Every year since about 1995 when I met Sue Modrak at a workshop in Montana, we have tried to get together for a few days. Our first major art get together was at the International Association of Pastel Societies Convention in Albuquerque in 1999. Since then we have gone to Michigan to Sue's or she has visited us here in Bastrop or New Mexico. It is usually for five days. We do art non stop, well almost, for 5 days. We get in some plein air, visit art galleries, museums, classes, whatever we can to immerse ourselves in art. It is less expensive than a workshop and evenings are free for visiting, eating and reminiscing.

This year Sue will come here in a couple of weeks. We will have the workshop day with Rebecca Neef that I mentioned, paint with Regina Burchett that day and another at Regina's new studio and maybe get to San Antonio. At any rate we will spread some pastel dust, sketch, paint with whatever medium we have on hand and have a good time. We will be exhausted, but happy.

If you can't travel any distance, just call and meet a fellow artist at a park for a few hours of plein air painting or invite a friend to your studio and set up and paint a still life. This is one of the things Regina and I have done over the years here as often as we have been able to. It is like a one day workshop. You can really enjoy the time and it is time well spent. Over your cup of coffee you can dream of sitting on a beach in the Pacific. Have fun.