Love what you do

Approaching storm, south Lido Beach

North Siesta Key Beach, in progress

There's a commercial now for Blackberrys that uses three different scenarios of people overcoming obstacles, a musician, a clothing designer, and a young couple. In the end they are all triumphant and the slogan is "Love what you do." I found my ADD mind saying,"Do what you love." We all know you can't always do that. Sometimes you have to do things you don't really love or like because that's just the way it is. But you can love WHAT you do. Painting is like that. If you don't really care about what you are painting, it shows. When you paint what gives you chill bumps, other people can feel it too.

People have asked me if I find it difficult to sell a painting if I really like it. When I am working on a painting or a series of a subject, I live with that image. It is the last thing I think about at night and the first thing I think about in the morning. What does it need to communicate my idea? What is my next step? How much more work is left? Then, wah-la, it is finished. The point is made. I am onto the next image. Painting is really more about loving the process than loving the product. Once the painting is complete, it is ready for someone else to love. I have a "new baby" to care for.

I have to go now, I hear one calling...

Paint the whole world on an 8 x 10

You know who you are! You go outside with your paints and easel and BAM! Everywhere you look it is beautiful. Great light, great sky, glowing colors... it looks so good you just want to paint it all! But wait! You have to put it on an 8 x 10! What's a painter to do?

First, what attracts you most? What do you really want to paint? The sky? The trees? The grass? The water? The alligator? (no, really!) With your idea in mind, use a viewfinder, even cheaper, use your fingers and make a viewfinder, a keyhole, if you will and look JUST at the area you want to paint. Forget the lovely flowers on your left or the white bird- an egret?- that keeps strutting in front of you sticking his neck WAY out. Go away, distraction! The light will change in less than 2 hours and you have to get to work!

Make a sketch if you can, of just the large shapes. OK- you are going to put that on your canvas. Draw with charcoal or thinned paint. Go for the big blocks of local color. Here's your mantra for the day: SQUINT! Reduce the landscape into large masses of values and color. Get the essence, not the entirety ( I made that up!) Sure, it looks simple. The guy behind you is thinking, "I can do that". Yes, he can. That's why he is watching you and not painting himself. He "thinks" he can. He hasn't tried it.

Wow- that part took almost an hour. You still have to make it look like a landscape. Put in your lights. Put in your darkest darks. Hmmm, all you have to do now is tweek the midtones and then a few highlights- a tiny dab of sunlight here and there.

Time is growing short. The light has started creeping onto areas that were dark before. The shadows are much shorter. You are getting warm. A bee lands in your paint. Of course, he is in your most expensive imported white paint. You can paint around him. Naw, better flick him out. He looks like a ghost bee now on the ground. Maybe he can rub off the paint in the grass. Why did he want to dive in it in the first place??

You hear a rustling behind you. The looker is back. "Hmmm," he says,"I can see what you are painting now. Not bad." Thanks, you mumble, scraping off your palette. Note to self: in a little more than 2 hours, I painted "my world". Here's my world and welcome to it....

F-f-f-un Painting in F-F-F-Florida

Painting at the Myaaka River

Marc Hanson's Demo at the Beach

That's not snow you see there, it's sand, but we look like we could be painting at the Antarctic! Marc brought the cold weather from Minnesota with him so we could experience his same painting conditions. All week in SW Florida it has been 20 - 30 degrees colder than normal. Factor in the wind from the gulf and it feels even colder. Susie Covert called us the "Guerrilla Girls" for braving the out of doors.

Marc was here for a one week workshop in plein air painting through the M Gallery. He has a show there this month also. This was not a workshop for true beginners. We dove right in to working with value, composition, and brushstrokes. Marc kept us working with a timer. Some pressure, huh? Actually, it really kept you thinking about the painting. After all, "our job is to create a good painting" one of the many reminders Marc gave us. His other often quote was,"It is getting warmer, don't you think?" Not! At least it was a way to paint like the midwesterners without having to be there!

The teacher in me was really pleased at Marc's presentations and demeanor. He really tried to encourage us to think about what we were expressing and not just paint what was there. Jack Beal used to call it, "See, Put." You are in control, not the weather, not the paints, not the brushes, etc. My favorite painting of the week was at night- eeks- on a dock looking across the water. Talk about shivering! It was pretty amazing to watch and listen to him talk about keeping the values close. I like my painting looking across at the skyline and can't wait to try more- when it warms up, of course!

It's a wienie bit chilly out this am. After it warms up some, I will retrieve my paintings from the trunk of the car and try shooting a few to post. Marc gave us some advice on that too. Hope I can retain all this knowledge when I am out painting later this week. I am inside with my watercolors right now. Ahhh- it's warm here in the kitchen....

Now go play with some paint!
Durinda

New Paintings for Autumn Art Show

Tuscany Tables

8 x 10

oil on canvas

Lunch in Florence

20 x 24

oil on linen

Two new pieces that I am planning for the Autumn Art Show, Nov. 19 - 22, at the Lookout Mountain Studio, 116 N. Watauga Lane, Lookout Mountain, TN. My "gals" in the Tuesday weekly classes will be showing oils, pastels, and watercolors. Those exhibiting are: Ann Curry, Evelle Dana, Martha Elder, Sarah Fowler, L.J. Huffaker, Betty Moses, Barbara Murray, Jeanne Rudisill, Anne Platt, and Wendy Williams. Some of them have been painting with me for nearly five years now. Their paintings are topnotch, if I do say so myself. I expect over 50 paintings in the show. This show is a great way to add to your collection and by directly from the artists. This is the Third Annual for us and always a pleasure to see the guests and patrons. Let me know if you need directions or have any questions. I would love to see you there!

My heart is still in Tuscany following my workshop there in late Sept and Oct. There is a painting everywhere you look! I am making plans now to return next October so if you are interested, let me know! We will be creating a sketch journal using a variety of media. This experience will inspire you for a very long time.

On the home front, Bill and I are moving back into our "old" neighborhood at the golf course this week. We lived there 18 years in a house we designed and had built until 3 years ago when we decided it was time to downsize. Now we see we need to upsize a little, not much, but this house is just the right size. I am looking forward to having Thanksgiving there.

Happy Fall, Ya'll!
Durinda

Toughing it out in Tuscany!

Our Paint Group at San Fedele

http://picasaweb.google.com/DurindaCheek/TuscanyWorkshop2009

There is so much to say about our wonderful time in Tuscany for the one-week workshop. Yes, the weather was perfect. Yes, the food was delicious. Yes, the wine was flowing. Yes, the accommodations at San Fedele were excellent. Yes, the directors of Il Chiostro, Linda and Michael along with Michael the Younger, were very attentive and genuinely cared about us. Yes, we had a great time, visiting hilltowns, a winery and wine tasting, grape stomping, and seeing David in Florence. Oh, and yes, we did paint! We also enjoyed the company of the painters with Barrett Edwards who worked in oils.

And for those of you who didn't make it this time, I will be returning next fall. If you are interested, better speak now! I can't imagine a better place to enjoy the scenery, the people, and the food in Tuscany.

Enjoy the first slide show. I shot 698 photos so can't possibly post them all. Now it's back to the studio and paint some of these lovely scenes!

Ciao, Ya'll!

Durinda

Ringgold Gap Festival and Art Exhibit, Oct 2 & 3

Confederate Money Only, General Grant

Oil on Canvas

On Friday, October 2 and Saturday, October 3, a festival celebrating Gen. Cleburne, a confederate civil war leader will take place at the Ringgold Confederate Park on 41 south. A bronze statue will be dedicated to him at 10:00 am Saturday.

The festival includes historical lectures, music, vendors, and living history camps with artillery demonstrations. Go to: www.ringgoldgapfestival.com for more information about the weekend and an article about Gen. Cleburne written by Dr. Smith Murray. You will get the background of why he is being honored and what happened here in 1863.

As part of the festival, an art exhibit will take place inside the historic Ringgold Depot. Raye Brooks, owner of Ringgold Art and Frame Gallery, invited several local artists to participate. I chose the Whitman house in Ringgold and using the information on the historic marker, portrayed the scene when Gen. Grant is offering to pay Mrs. Whitman for his lodging there after the battle of Ringgold Gap. She refuses his Greenbacks and asked for Confederate money instead. He turned to his men and said, "She isn't whipped yet."

What appealed to me was the fact that since Grant later became our president, he did act as a gentleman. And, Mrs. Whitman showed him how feisty a southern lady can be. Sounds like they had mutual respect for each other. Fortunately, the Whitman house was not burned by Sherman on his way to Savannah. This is unusual for me to paint a historical work. The first was Polo at the Fort that I did for the Sixth Cavalry Museum in Ft. Oglethorpe (www.6thcavalrymuseum.com) Using composite resources and researching is a lot of work. Of course it comes down to the artist's interpretation.

Participating in the show are some of my Studio artists: Ann Currey, Martha Elder, L.J. Huffaker, Betty Moses, Barbara Murray, and Wendy Williams.

Since Ann Currey and I will be flying back from the workshop in Italy that Friday night, I hope to be conscious and coherent enough to come to the festival Saturday. I hope that you will be able to support the festival and see the local artwork in the depot.

Artfully yours,

Durinda

Traveling Tuscany Coming Up!

I am starting to pack for the Tuscany workshop at San Fedele. I leave on Wednesday out of Atlanta. My whole group will be traveling together- Ann Currey, Faye Woolfork, Lisa Hutcherson, and Cam Busch. We will change planes in Paris and then arrive in Florence on Thursday around noon. From Florence, we will join the others who will be spending the week, an oil plein air group led by Barrett Edwards from Naples, Florida. A short bus ride and we will be in San Fedele.

To say that I am excited is an understatement. This will be my third trip to Tuscany and my first to stay at the converted and updated monastery of San Fedele. It is in the heart of Chianti country. Yes, this is the season for the grape harvest and wine festivals! See, I told you you should come! We will be using our watercolor paints, watercolor pencils, and Sharpie markers to capture all we can. I made our watercolor sketchbooks by cutting paper and matboard and having Office Depot bind them. I will be demonstrating some different techniques with the materials and encouraging everyone to not only sketch, but journal in the book as well.

And just when things couldn't get any better... we were notified that we are invited to exhibit our own paintings in the village that weekend and take part in a Quick Draw painting event on Sunday. So now I am packing a small framed painting to take with me for the show. Cam and Ann will bring along a painting too. I think I had better get another card for my camera! It will be a week of adventure and art. Who could ask for more? Oh yeah, great food, wine, scenery, and new art friends. I guess I will just have to "make do". ; )

If you missed this trip and are interested in one for next fall, let me know now so you can get on the list!

Ciao for now!

Durinda