Completed first online lesson of Grapes and Orange with Dan Edmondson

I think I'm happy with my first online lesson with Dan Edmondson. This was my first experience doing it this way, but I LIKE IT. I am able to work at my own pace, run errands, clean house, do laundry, fold laundry and come back in between to my lesson and painting. Wow what fun.

Here is the completed painting...

I have had nothing but trouble trying to get this photo or any photo to the blog, because the SD card drive on both my computer and printer are not working and I'm still not that familiar with the IPAD and it will allow me to type and post on my blog butit  won't allow me to upload a picture on the IPAD.  So I am back and forth and if I don't forget to log off the blog on the IPAD, I can't get into the blog on the computer.... AI YI YI

Even tho we have all this modern technology, sometimes it gets a little frustrating... Kind of like the frustration I get with the Julian Plein Air Easel!!  Let's face it, things are just not working right for me at this time, so I humbly accept it with a smile on my face and laughter in my belly and just keep on keeping on,  refusing to let these minor problems keep me from painting and posting!  Whew  I think I'll go take a nap after all this....

That dang stupid Julian French Easel

I have a plein air easel that is driving me INSANE! I can not get the thing to work! The legs will not stay open. It's legs are like a grasshopper, only I can't figure out how to make it stand up without collapsing on me. Now I can't figure out how to close it up! I have tried on several occasions to use it and I am so mad that I have lost my religion and too mad to paint. So there it sits in my garage. Someday I hope to meet Someone who can show me how to make it work. In the mean time I just hold the canvas in my hand use a tv tray and a lawn chair and out in the country I go. If anyone reading this knows the secret to using those dang easels or knows of a video showing how they work, it would be great. As it is now I feel like a character in a cartoon, that gets eaten by a pop up tent! Grrrrrr!

I would even take suggestions from anyone who knows of an easel that I don't have to sell the birth right of my first born in order to purchase!

Online workshop with Daniel Edmondson

I happened upon an artist the other night that offers weekly tips on painting. I fell in love with his techniques for one, but mainly his knowledge of color and expertise in completing a painting without getting hung up on the small stuff. We are all on the road to get better, but if you really want to get right down to it, we want to be able to look at a picture, objects or scenery and complete a painting that we feel good about and hope that others will enjoy as well.

I signed up for his online lessons and this is my attempt today at the first assignment.



I have emailed this to him and he will critique it and recommend some changes and I will post the finished painting after I make corrections...  I don't like the way the table and rug are looking.  I am going to rework that tomorrow.
There are 10 paintings that you complete in a session. The particular one I'm doing now is Still Life. The next one he is starting soon is Landscapes. There are 10 photos and he will do a demo of each photo and you will also have the opportunity to complete a painting as well of the photos.

Check out Dan's website and sign up for his weekly tips at http://www.oilpaintingworkshop.com/ or you can like him and follow him on Facebook Daniel Edmondson Fine Art.

"Challenge - 22" (July 18 To Aug 28) - 2011

Trying to start back to painting again.  Just got started and had to stop, but I am going to keep plugging away and maybe I will be able to get back into being more disciplined before its all over with. 

I came upon this challenge while I was on my trip and enjoyed the fact that you get to be critiqued.  I need critique!  Bad!  I seem to have almost forgotten everything I know.  But one thing I do know is that practice makes perfect and that is why so many artists are doing the painting a day challenge. 

I love to look at Karen Appleton's Blog.  I use to wonder how she kept from getting bored painting presents.  I mean how many times can you paint them.  But as I watched her paintings progress from one to the other, I began to see how the folds of the loops  should look in comparison to the other in order for the bow look as beautiful as hers do.  I might add that I can see how she has progressed since I first started following her.

I like to look at each artist's blog from beginning to now and see how far they have progressed.  The blogs are a wonderful way to keep up with one's progress.  I just need to paint more so mine will start getting better and not look the same with each post.  In other words Sharlette you need to get  MO BETTER, SHARLETTE!   MO BETTER!

Just a little practice on some lemons.  I'm starting out simple to get back into it.