Workshop Summary

We had a full house at the Water Street Art Gallery 5 Hour Power
"Painterly Painting" Workshop yesterday and what fun we had! Some folks got up extra early and drove 4 hours round trip to attend the class. The group was nicely diverse in their backgrounds, but to a person they were passionate about painting, some having painted for years, others just beginning their journey. I have to say, I was truly impressed with everyone's work.

We covered a lot of ground and did three paintings in our 5 hours. Needless to say I think everyone was tired, but satisfied at the end of the day. When asked when would they be painting again, one said "tonight!" Mission accomplished.

We learned so much about the importance of knowing your subject, starting with a strong composition, incorporating good value range, to name just a few things. Each student went home with a full color portfolio that included all the lessons we learned during the workshop.

Keeping it simple, less is more and perfectly imperfect were our thoughts for the day. We used primarily one brush (#10 bright or flat) and 4 colors all day on fairly small canvases. Take a look at these pictures to see just how much they accomplished with these limited supplies.

Yellow House - Study

Here's a study I did tonight based on a crop of a photo Gil graciously sent to me to paint. It's oil on an 8 x 10" canvas panel. I really like this scene and the way the yellow house and the end of the white house in shadow juxtapose purplish-blues next to one another. The simple geometric forms of the blocks of color are fun too.

I'd like to do a larger version as it would give those colors a wonderful opportunity to sing, don't you think?

"Glass"

Had to do a quick little painting in my newly reorganized studio. I was too tired to start anything complicated. I liked the shape of this glass and thought it would make for a fun exercise using limited colors and brush strokes. It's acrylics on Canson Montval paper - the painting area is 7 x 5". I had fun.

Studio Reorganized

So, I have this amazing sister-in-law who, besides being an incredibly gifted photographer, she has a tremendous knack for organizing. She makes things organized look like decor. Not my forte', which is strange because my mom is one of the coolest organizers I've ever known. Everything's labeled and tidy. It's a gift.

Anyway, it was high time to get the studio organized in such a way that I could actually see what I had to work with. But, I didn't want to spend a fortune either. A trip to Home Depot scored 3 chrome expandable racks - the kind you put in a kitchen cabinet. Next, a visit to the paint section found me some cool metal paint buckets - perfect for sorting my acrylics by color. I also wanted to get my brushes separated more and a couple of grids that go on top of a paint can for wiping off excess paint worked nicely over the tops of the shelves to keep the brushes upright.

One more stop at Hobby Lobby and I found glass jars complete with brushed steel lids. These were used to sort my oils by color.

It felt so good to clean things out, throwing away unnecessary junk. Now I'll have a nice fresh start to enjoy painting in this fresh environment.

(P.S. The paint spots on the floor add something to the studio, don't you think? Nobody said the creation process had to be neat, did they?)

On a separate note, I just wanted to say "thank you" to all those who came out to Water Street Art Gallery last night, it was a super evening! Really has gotten me even more excited about the workshop Friday.

A big congratulations to Larry Clingman a local artist who just had a huge show in Neosho, MO. If you haven't seen his work in person, make time to do so. You won't regret it. Larry's work is classic and timeless. And, he's on his way to the Richard Schmid Auction in Colorado as two of his paintings were selected by Mr. Schmid to be in the top 50 Auction!

Finally, last but not least, I have to thank a fellow artist, Gil Adams, who recently "introduced" me to two extraordinary artists: Kathryn Stats and Burton Silverman. Kathryn's work, both in color style and brush work, speaks loudly to my heart. She captures the essence of the scene, the light, the color, the textures with exuberance and joy. "Overview" is one of my favorites. Look for it in her "Landscapes" gallery. And, while you're at it, don't forget to look at her florals. It's a very different thing to paint landscapes from florals. She's mastered both.

Mr. Silverman, well, all I can say is that clearly his lifetime of painting makes his works look effortless. His drawings are incredible. An important reminder to keep drawing. There's no way around it, good drawing skills are a fundamental to good painting skills. Thanks for sharing Gil.

So maybe between getting the studio reorganized, and seeing these inspiring artists, I'll get started on some new work of art myself!

Water Street Art Gallery Opening Night

Just a reminder: Tonight's the Opening Night at Water Street Art Gallery, 16 S. Water Street, Sapulpa, Oklahoma from 6:30 - 9:00. There are lots of new works of art by over a dozen regional artists. Should make for a great evening!

Sneak Peak at 5 Hour Power Workshop Lesson

So, if anyone's still contemplating whether they should sign up for the "Painterly Painting" workshop, there are a few spaces still available. Reserve your space today by emailing: celeste@celestevaught.com. A full day of learning and exercises are planned. That being said, I've created a comprehensive, full-color portfolio for each participant that will be included at no additional cost in the course. With so much to learn in a relatively short time, the idea was to give each student something to take home as a refresher and inspiration to keep painting!

Here's a sample from page 11:

EXERCISE #4: Thumbnail sketch for Painting #2 - Sunflowers in White Vase

Utilizes Rule of Thirds Composition









EXERCISE #5: Painting #2 - Sunflowers in White Vase Learning Burnt Sienna Value Mapping

Why not come to the class and learn this wonderful technique to help you build to a successful painting?

Old Station on Cincinnati - SOLD

I finally finished my larger version of this quaint old Phillips 66 Station located at 18th and Cincinnati. I believe it's a salon now, but you can still see the garage in the background as well as the concrete islands where the gas pumps stood. This painting is my interpretation of the lovely glow of the setting sun and the intriguing shadows of such steeply pitched roofs. Observers who've seen this have likened the style to Hopper. Wow, what a compliment! I'm a big fan of his interesting compositional style.

This version was done in oils on 16 x 20" stretched canvas.

Cyclamen - SOLD

I originally painted this Cyclamen on a 36 x 48" gallery wrapped canvas from life a year or so ago. I wasn't completely happy with the tones and decided to work it again to introduce some pop and jazz it up a little. I like this much, much better now! I hope you do too. It can be a challenge to take a good photo of such a large painting. This is definitely a must see in person piece.

Gallery Opening

Join us for Opening Night at Water Street Art Gallery, Friday, August 21, 2009 from 6:30-9:00 p.m. On hand will be the gallery anchor artists showing new works as well as art instructors discussing their classes being held in the Gallery Classroom. We hope to see you there!

Old Gas Station

Gil Adams, a fellow artist, graciously sent me a wonderful early evening photo of an old gas station here in Tulsa - one of those quaint little buildings with steep pitched roof. In fact, it's right across the street from the Phoenix Cleaners, a building I've loved to paint a few times.

Tonight I just had to experiment with color to try to get the sense of how the light can feel on a glorious early evening with the golden sunshine and long shadows. I wanted to really exaggerate the colors here and make it a very reddish-violet scene.

This oil study was completed on 9 x 12" prepped hardboard panel. Thanks Gil! The study was fun and I think I might try a more refined version...well, somewhat refined.

Clementines and Crepe Myrtles ● SOLD

Part of what I love about making art is creating unusual color combinations. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. This one went through some phase variations to bring it back to this point with the "sparkle" I was looking for. Crepe Myrtles are about the best looking flowers in the yard right now, and I added a bit of orange to the flowers to increase the color harmony throughout.

Acrylic on 10 x 8" stretched canvas, painted from life.