Low Country Fall Color then and now: 11 '19

Willbrook Plantation Cypress 11 / 2019

I was looking at this photo, I took yesterday of the fall foliage colored cypress trees at Willbrook Plantation (see first attached photo. It reminds me of one of the first oil paintings I painted shortly after we moved here in 2006 (See 2nd attached photo). It was of cypress trees growing at the edge of one of Pawleys Plantation's ponds. I guess my aesthetic interests haven't changed all that much in 13 years.

Pawleys Plantation Cypress 2006

Sedona Series now on Exhibit 10 ' 15

Eight of CC's Sedona Series' Oil Paintings are now on exhibit at:

the Seacoast Artists Gallery  

3032 Nevers Ave. Myrtle Beach, SC

Painting of Sedona Golf Resort. 9 '15

In between marathon rounds of cooking, I've started oil painting  more scenes for the  Sedona series.  Bruce got so excited by my latest works that he handed me a box of golf balls and asked me to paint the scene on the side of the box of the Sedona Golf Resort..

Close up of photo on box

Hmmmmm.   There were several problems in the way of my painting the scene. First, it is not my photo and  in all probablibilty probably copyright protected.  but then again I am not painting it for sale to someone else, nor am I claiming that it is my original composition, so copyright is probably a mute question

Box photo relative to canvas

More importantly the box is only  4 inches by 5inches. and it wasn't in very good shape.  It''s hard enough to paint from a photo I have taken myself, where I've actually studied the scene, but from one that was so small I couldn't make out any detail . Hmmmmm.

Photo from the internet. porjected on my PC 's monitor

Fortunately, I was able to locate a photo on the internet that was taken from approximately the same vantage point.    It took me about five days but using the two sources together gave me enough information to get the job done.    

14"  x 11" Oil  Painting of  Sedona Golf Resort

Bruce is happy with his painting, and I can go back to working on scenes created  from my own photographs.

Bell Rock Meadows. 7 '15

Bell Rock Meadow painting

 I just finished my latest masterpiece. It was painted in oils with a palette knife from a photo I took of the meadows adjoining the Bell Rock parking lot. I've attached both the photo and a photo of the painting so you can compare the two. 

 ( PS I will sign it once the painting has dried).

Photo of the actual Bell Rock  meadow

Painting the Town 6"15

Devil's Bridge in Boynton Canyon 

Much of our time for the past month has been spent working the house for us being gone  during the week we are tin Sedona.  You know,  all the usual preparation:  clearing out all the leftovers in the fridge, deep watering the plants, arranging for a cat sitter, rearranging the garage so we could get the car in it ...  work work work ... It's not the way to get excited about  an upcoming trip.

Trail to Bear Mountain 

I decided to build some enthusiasm by looking through some of the photos I took on  several different Sierra Club trips to the area.  It worked!  I started remembering all of the wonderful hikes we had taken in the area, and getting excited about revisiting those places, and finding new  ones.

Chimney Rock 

 Looking at the photos  I realized many of them would make great paintings, but I have never painted scenes from Sedona, or any of the Southwestern desert.  Painting this landscape would require, me to explore a whole new color palette. In all probability.  I won't have time to do any painting next week   while we are in Sedona,  so any landscapes  I paint of the Sedona area are likely to be based on my reference photos.  I decided to try painting  a few landscapes from my  favorite Sierra Club trip photos.  That way I will be familiar with the color scheme, and set to go when I returned home with a new set of photos.

Bell Rock

Above are some pics of the Sedona Series that I have been working on since the end of May.  Unfortunately I don't have time to  do a porter photo shoot, so the color is off, and they look a bit cartoonish due to the low resolution. They are much nicer in person.

For the paintings I have completed so far, I am using the old photos I took of the Sedona  area landmarks prior to 1995. It will be interesting to see what has changed in that time. I will add more paintings to the series from the new photos I take on this trip. Once  they are completed, I properly photograph  both these and the new paintings and repost them.

SAG hosts MB Chamber of Commerce 6'14

On Thursday, the Seacoast Artists Guild hosted  a reception for the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce. Nearly 150 people came to the reception  which was in our gallery at The Market Common.

Bruce and I had a great time,  There was lots of good music   food ,and friends

and ,of  course,  lots of good artwork.

My wall  displayed some of t my "Buy local " series

Passover Mini Series,Continued 4'14

As a follow on to yesterday's post, I did in fact finish the two last minis for the Passover Series of the ingredients for a Seder Plate

Charoset ( 5" x 7" Oil

Above is my portrayal of some of the ingredients that go into Charoset ( honey, apple, dates and nuts)

And below is the shank bone(s)

Seder Shank Bones ( 7" x 5" oil)

I am very goal oriented, and sometimes I find it hard to let go.    My head kept telling me that Passover was over, and I should put this project aside until next year, but my heart would not let me do it.  This is one time I am very glad  I followed my heart.

Miniature paintings for the Passover Holiday 4 '14

Several years ago, I decided to painted a   7"x5" miniature oil painting  of a  Halloween pumpkin  as a warm up exercise.   I thought it would make a nice table top decoration for the holiday, and without the pressure to create something "salable",  I wouldn't get frustrated if it wasn't 'a masterpiece'.   The exercise proved to be such an effective way to get the creative juices flowing that I soon had a sizable  collection of miniature paintings based around a holiday theme. They aren't for sale.  We just use them to make each holiday a bit more personal with some one of a kind art.

7" x 5" oil  "Matzo"

This year I decided to do an entire Passover series for Bruce based around the ingredients on a Seder Plate

7" x 5" oil  "Horseradish"

It proved to be a lot of fun

7" x 5" oil  "Parsley and Salted Water"

Some came out better than other, and a some may get  painted  in a different composition again next year

7" x 5" oil  "Egg and Salt"

A couple of the key ingredients , like the shank bone and the charoset, are proving to be so difficult their canvases that  may not get completed by the end of this Passover (The Passover holiday ends  tonight)

7" x 5" oil  "Wine and Elijah Cup"

The beauty of this project is that it doesn't matter.  Since there is now gallery or art show deadline looming,  The deadline is strictly in my head.  I can always work on finishing the set next year.

Forsynthia 4 '14

The forsythia bush at the edge of the Pawleys Plantation putting green is in full bloom. It is so beautiful when it is back lit. I couldn't resist trying to capture it on canvas.

Seacoast Artists Guild 2013 Fall Show 10"13

Last night we attended the opening reception for the
Seacoast Artists Guild 2013  Fall Show.  There is so many pieces of fine artwork in the show, and so many different media.  I don't envy the judges  trying  to narrow it down to a select few awards. 

 Today CC will  be attending the sales desk at:

3032 Nevers Street, Myrtle SC

Drop by for a visit and see all the fine artwork in the show.

Here are CC's  two entries into the show

Both Middle Saluda_Jones Gap (above) 

and  Lake Keeoway_Toxaway  (below) 

are from the State Park Series.

By the way, the show runs through October 21st and includes a  chance for you to be an art show judge.  Starting today, visitors to the gallery can vote for their favorite piece. At the end of the show,  the piece receiving the most votes will win an award.

Low Country Birds on Display 9 '13

CC put 10 more of her  paintings on display in the SAG Gallery at The Market Common.. all are oil paintings of low country bird scenes.

Newest Painting: Cheraw State Park 6 '13

One of the reasons we took a trip to Cheraw State Park is that CC is deeply engrossed with painting South Carolina's State Parks and  she hoped to get some good reference photos and maybe even a painting or two if the weather cooperated.  The weather didn't and the trip  turned out to be a travel "disaster".  We got hit by rain, tornado warnings, and both the RV and the tow vehicle broke down on the way home.  Never the less  she was determined that some good would come from this  adventure,

When we got home she started working  on a painting  from a quick sketch and a photo  she'd made of two people in a canoe in Lake Juniper at   Cheraw State Park last weekend.  The  blurry photo  is the way the camera saw the scene.  The second image is the painting she did  once she got  home.  As you can see, the scene was a lot more vivid in her minds eye

This makes the tenth painting that Cece has completed  for the State Park Series since April.

Poinsett Bridge 4"13

Pointsett Bridge is the seventh of the paintings that I have completed for my State park Series this month. Some of you may remember when I visited it last October (26th 2012) . It is located just outside of Greenville South Carolina. It was build in 1820 and is believed to be the oldest standing bridge in South Carolina.The graceful 14-foot Gothic arch stone bridge spans the Little Gap Creek, and was part of a toll road that ran from Charleston, through Columbia and into North Carolina.

Campbells Covered Bridge 4'13

Campbell's Covered Bridge is the fifth painting I completed for my State Park Series in April. Many of you may remember it from my post of Oct. 26, 2012 when we stopped to picnic at this is a well-preserved piece of Upcountry history. It is the only covered bridge remaining in South Carolina. Campbell's Covered Bridge is named for Lafayette Campbell, owner of a nearby grist mill who allowed his property to be used for the bridge's construction. Built in 1909, it bridges a lovely, meandering stream. The Campbell's Covered Bridge site is now owned by Greenville County.

Easter Weekend at CAG 3 '13

 It was my turn to Gallery Sit at the Charleston Artists Guild Gallery.  So glad I had refreshed my wall with Spring flowers.  The gallery  was busy busy busy with tourists and locals who were  there to celebrate the start of Spring and Easter weekend.

Chaney Bay 3"13

Remember that photo I posted of Chaney Bay in full bloom on 12/12/13? ( see  photo above)

I finally got around to painting it this week. Yellow is a difficult color for me to work with, but I really wanted to capture the 'stop ya dead in your tracks' dazzle of the yellow marsh daisies.

 I think I nailed it.  The painting will go on exhibit at CAG tomorrow.

Mary Stuart Hay Reception a Huge Success 3'1

Mary and her musician

The Charleston Artists Guild Gallery's  Reception for their  Featured Artist , Mary Stuart Hay was a huge success last night both financially and socially.  The gallery was hopping with art lovers from the moment the doors opened.

Mr Hay with guests

I always used to scoff at  my mother's insistence that the accordion should be my instrument of choice.  Well guess what we had for entertainment at the CAG Friday Art Walk Reception last night?  That's right,  an accordionist  belting out  European cafe music. I am no longer scoffing. The guy was more popular than the pied piper. I kid you not.. he had them singing "Amore" at the top of their lungs. 

Friday was also the  opening night of the Wine and food festival, and the streets of Charleston were filled with tourists milling from one part of town to another. 

Whenever our gallery got a little empty, the musician would walk outside and stand on the street playing; then he'd come back in followed by throngs of people. 

 I don't know who was the bigger success -- the featured artist Mary Stuart Hay, or her wandering minstrel.   It was a lot of fun.

Jane Woodward Demos at SAG Nov 4 Meeting '12

Jane Woodward

Even the General membership meetings of the Seacoast Artists Guild are well worth attending. On Nov 4th 2012, our guest speaker was the well know artist, Jane Woodward,  who gave a demonstration to the Seacoast Artists Guild on how to paint skies and clouds.

Nov 4 2012 evening cloudscape

As though to reinforce the lesson just learned,  mother nature treated us to  a magnificent  evening cloud-scape as  as the meeting ended.

CAG Miniature Holiday Art Sale '12

This year CAG put up two Christmas trees in the gallery.  One tree was for CAG members who had been jurried into exhibiting status,  and the other was for exhibiting members who are in the CAG gallery

Exhibitors are  allowed to hang small affordable miniature artwork on their respective tree.  You may remember that last year I put two serious holiday still lifes on the tree, and a playful Surfing Santa. The still lifes sold almost instantly, but the Santa did not find a home. Honestly I was kinda glad that he didn't, as I really would have liked to have him in my own home.

This year caught me short on paintings and Bruce talked me into putting Santa back on the CAG Tree.
Wouldn't you know it.  He sold within two days.  Now I may have to  repaint one for myself.

CAG Miniature Art Sale '11

The Charleston artist Guild has put up a Christmas tree and is allowing its exhibitors to decorate it with miniature  art.  First I painted two serious holiday still lifes oil paintings

  But then the project brought out a playful side in me , and I painted a Surfing Santa  for the tree. It seemed appropriate since everywhere I have ever lived, there have been surfers at the beach on Christmas day.