Sunday Morning painting

Hello all
I painted again, yeah! I drove to Ponce Inlet, while Austin started his run towards the same. It's a little over the distance of half a marathon (13.4 miles) from our house. By the time I set up and finished the painting, Austin met me at the lighthouse there. He wasn't even tired! He did a whole half marathon - isn't he nuts!
Ich konnte schon mal wieder malen! Ich fuhr zu Ponce Inlet, waehrend Austin von unserem Haus anfing zu joggen. Zum Leuchtturm ist es ein kleines bisschen weiter als ein halber Marathon (22 km). Als ich mit meinem Gemaelde ca. 2 Stunden spaeter fertig war, kam er um die Ecke gerannt. Er war nicht mal muede! Er rannte den ganzen halben Marathon - ist er verrueckt oder was!

It was a beautiful Sunday morning, warmer than expected. Here is the scene across from the lighthouse. Lots of boats in the yard, and I chatted with quite a few tourists and visitors. Very pleasant.
Es war ein schoener Sonntag Morgen, viel waermer als erwartet. Hier die Szene, direkt gegenueber vom Leuchtturm in Ponce Inlet. Viele Boote zum reparieren... Ich konnte mit etlichen Touristen schwatzen.

I took out some of the vehicles and other boats, and am very pleased with the result.
Ich liess einige Boote und Autos aus, und bin sehr zufrieden mit dem Gemaelde.

Boats on Sunday Morning, oil on panel  - 11"x14"

Til next time! Bis zum naechsten Mal

Ruth

Some sketches

I posted that during the paintout I did some sketching, but forgot to include the photos.
Here are some of them, in addition to a couple from last month when I discovered the beauty of sketching.
In meinem Paintout Blog habe ich geschrieben, dass ich auch skizzierte, vergass jedoch, die Photos zu zeigen. Hier sind sie, zusammen mit einigen anderen von letztem Monat, als ich mit Bleistift anfing...

Across the street

At the Beach

at the beach

JB's fishcamp

JB's fishcamp with notes

Kathleen Denis in action

Lynn Whipple in action

Canaveral Paintout 2014 - part 3

Friday night was a big party at one of the biggest art supporters, the Weinaugs. It was great with good food, live music, a wonderful view and everybody was there!

Am Freitag abend/nacht war eine grosse Party fuer uns alle im Haus der groessten Kunstliebhaber in der Gegend. Ein tolles Haus mit wunderschoener Ansicht, tollem Essen, Wein und Bier, live Musik, und alle waren da!

 

Austin and I at the Weinaug's party with view from their dock.

Most of us spent the rest of Friday and Saturday framing and finishing up hanging our pieces in the wet room, which was located at the Artist Workshop in downtown New Smyrna Beach. 

The panels for each artist were set up really well, there wasn't a bad spot in the bunch. Altogether we 26 artists produced a lot, and a lot of great stuff, too!

Die meisten Kuenstler rahmten und fertigten alle Gemaelde an, die wir dann im "Nassen Raum", unserer Gallerie in New Smyrna Beach, aufhingen. Alle Wandteile waren gut aufgesetzt und jeder hatte genug Platz. Zusammen hatten wir viele gute Gemaelde unter uns 26 Kuenstlern.

In front of my wall

My wall of artwork with 3 sold stickers (left) and the middle painting with light wood frame also sold.

Meine Wand mit 3 rosa Verkauft Schildern, und das Bild in der Mitte im hellen Rahmen wurde auch am Ende der Nacht verkauft.

 

A small view of the wet room (left) and Plein Air Magazine rep with Dick Tucker, one of the organizers

On Saturday evening during the final gala the patrons got their first peek at the artwork, even though a lot of it had already sold during the week. My Canal Street painting was already sold and gone, I was very pleasantly surprised. During dinner I sat next to a woman who turned out to be a buyer of one other painting of mine. That was really nice to chat with her.
Am Abend war dann der grosse Empfang, und die Sponsoren durften als erste alle Bilder sehen und kaufen. Viele Gemaelde waren schon waehrend der Woche gekauft worden. Mein grosses Bild von Canal Street war schon weg, ich war ganz ueberrascht. Beim Essen sass ich zufaellig neben einer Frau, die eines meiner kleinen Bilder vom letzten Jahr gekauft hatte, ich konnte mich gleich mit ihr unterhalten, siehe unten.

Buyer Heidi with her purchase and happy me!

Altogether it was a great event, like every year, and very successful. I sold 4 paintings and couldn't be any happier! til next time. Ruth

Wie jedes Jahr (dies ist mein 3. Jahr), war die Veranstaltung super, und sehr erfolgreich. Ich verkaufte 4 Gemaelde und koennte nicht gluecklicher sein.

Bis naechtes Mal, Euere Ruth

Canaveral Paintout 2014 - part 2

Here is the second part of my narration of events
Hier ist der 2. Teil meiner Erzaehlung

On Thursday I decided to set up on Canal Street again, my most favorite place in New Smyrna Beach, and tackle one of my biggest canvases yet, a 20"x16"! This was my second ever this size, and my self-built pochade box just about held it.
Am Donnerstag setzte ich meine Staffelei auf Canal Street auf, mein Lieblingsplatz in New Smyrna Beach, weil es dort historische und alte Gebaeude gibt, und das ganze ganz heimelig ist. Hier fing ich meine groesste Leinwand an, und meine selbstgebaute Staffelei und Malkasten hielten es grad noch aus.

Underpainting at location

Beginning of color lay-in. Note the sketchy-ness of the palm trees. Yum!

I decided to go fast and a bit more sketchy than usual, because even though I found a nice shady corner, it was very hot. I painted the viewpoint of some storefronts along Canal St, in the bright glaring sunshine. I really liked how the palm trees came out, very sketchy and artistic. It took me about 2 hours to finish this, and then I was exhausted.

Ich entschied mich, schnell und etwas skizzenhaft zu malen, denn obwohl ich in einer schattigen Ecke stand, war es sehr heiss. Es dauerte ca. 2 Stunden, um das Gemaelde fertigzubringen.

 Let's get some soda! - 20"x16", oil on panel SOLD

In the early evening we all met at JB's Fishcamp as every year, and painted in that small area, with the sun going down. I decided to sketch a bit, instead of hauling out all my oils and whole setup. In the evening we had all displayed one painting for the auction, which went very well. My palm painting from Monday was sold, and I was so excited! One of the organizers bought it.

Am Abend trafen sich alle Maler und Organisateure und das Publikum bei JB's Fishcamp, ein uriges Restaurant am Halifax Fluss, und dort malten wir alle, bis die Sonne unterging. So konnten interessierte Leute uns alle auf einmal in Action sehen, denn sonst malen wir ja an ziemlich verschiedenen Orten weit voneinander entfernt. Ich skizzierte nur ein bisschen, da ich keine Lust drauf hatte, alles rauszuschleppen. Mein erste Gemaelde vom Montag mit der Palme in Herbstfarben wurde auf der Auktion verkauft, yeah!

Showing my sketch to my fellow artist Kathleen

On Friday morning I was signed up to do a demo. I had everybody meet in almost the same spot as I was the day before. There is an empty lot off of Canal, with an old house at the end. I had painted it a few years ago and it sold at Wolfe Gallery, so I decided to paint it as my demonstration piece, because I really liked the shadows on it.

Am Freitag Morgen traf ich mich mit dem lokalen Publikum (ca 12 Leute) in einem leeren Grundstueck, von wo man einen guten Blick auf ein altes Haus hatte. Dieses Haus hatte ich vor ein paar Jahren gemalt und in der Gallerie in Deland verkauft, so entschied ich mich, es nochmal zu malen als Demonstrationsstueck. Die Schatten auf dem schneeweissen Haus sind echt toll.

I started with explaining and showing my setup, my brushes and color selections of my limited palette, and then demonstrated how detail is not as important as large value shapes that are correct. Rather focus on the shadow and lights being correct than every brick and every leaf. That gives your painting impact from across the room and also captures the atmosphere and light - not to mention get you started correctly from the beginning, in case someone decides to park in the middle of your scene, as it happened during the demo.

Ich fing die Demonstration damit an, mein Setup, Farben und Pinsel zu erklaeren, und dann zeigte ich, dass es nicht so wichtig ist, viele Details zu haben, als dass man sich lieber auf die grossen Formen und die wichtigen Schatten/Lichtspiele konzentriert. Das gibt mehr Impakt, wenn man das Bild von weiter weg anschaut, und ausserdem macht es dann  nichts aus, wenn ploetzlich jemand in deiner Szene parkt (wie es uns ging), denn du hast nun schon die wichtigsten Dinge eingefangen in den ersten 5 Minuten. Schatten und Licht.

Rhapsody with Blue (Demo) - 14"x11" oil on panel

The painting went very well and I finished the whole canvas within about an hour and a half, with constant talking. I am very proud of this one and really like how it came out.

Ich fand, dass die Demo sehr gut ging, und obwohl ich ununterbrochen redete, hatte ich das ganze Gemaelde schon in weniger als 1.5 Stunden fertig.

Canaveral Nat'l Seashore Paintout 2014 - part 1

Wow, it's been a while! I did paint a bit during the summer, but the reason I'm writing is that I just finished the weeklong paintout here in New Smyrna Beach and at the Nat'l Seashore. Always nice to see the veterans, but also to meet the new people. Great artists everywhere, 26 total!
Wow, es ist nun schon lange her, dass ich geschrieben habe! Obwohl ich ein bisschen im Sommer gemalt habe, ist der Paintout in New Smryna Beach hier und am Nat'l Seashore Park der Grund, dass ich nun endlich wieder was schicke. Es waren 26 Kuenstler, mit einigen Oldtimers, und ca. 8 neuen.

On Monday I did a palm painting at the foot of Turtle Mound. I always struggle with "pure" landscapes, and didn't think much of it, but everybody loved it, and it actually sold for more than asking price at the auction on Thursday! yeah!
Am Montag malte ich eine Palm auf dem Weg zum Turtle Mound (ein kleiner Huegel am Strand, voll mit Palmen, und einem Holz-Fussweg). Ich fand das Gemaelde nicht ganz so doll, doch es wurde fuer viel mehr als ich den Preis gesetzt hatte, auf der Auktion am Donnerstag gekauft. yeah!

Fall at Turtlemound - oil on panel, 8"x10" SOLD

Painting setup at location.

On Tuesday I did 2 cute houses that I have been eyeing for so long, every time I drive around in New Smyrna Beach. It was on Rush St., off of Canal St, and included a small new Italian Ice Creamery. I loved how the sun hit the stark white small houses, and of course the wires off the electricity pole.

Am Dienstag malte ich diese zwei Haueser, die ich schon lange im Auge hatte. Sie stehen ein bisschen abseits von der historischen und sehr malerischen Downtown Gegend. Die Sonne malte tolle Schatten auf die schneeweissen Haeuser, und die Telephonstange mit den Kabeln gab mir dann den Rest.

My usual process on toned panel, drawing and laying in shadows with burnt sienna,

then adding highlights and shadows in color, and then laying over the local colors

before finishing with small details. 

Meine uebliche Malweise.

Tuesday Afternoon - oil on panel 14"x11"

Wednesday I painted at the Seashore again, right at the entrance, the new Welcome Center which was built after the original home that housed people stranded on the beach in the previous century. I am especially proud how the American flag turned out, it's really just a couple of brush strokes, but I had to study it for a while how it moved in the wind.

Am Mittwoch malte ich wieder im Park, das neue Willkommenszentrum am Eingang, das nach dem vorherigen Haus modelliert wurde, wo Leute Unterkunft fanden, die schiffbruechig am Strand angeschwemmt wurden im letzten Jahrhundert. Vor allem bin ich auf die Flagge stolz, die ich fuer einige Zeit gut beobachten musste, um sie dann schoen im Wind flattern zu lassen, mit nur einigen kurzen Pinselstrichen.

Scene at location, and of course I had to stand in the heat in full sun to capture that angle. 

Thank God I can paint fast!

Hier die Szene, wo ich natuerlich wieder in der prallen Sonne in 28 Grad Hitze stehen musste, um diesen Blick einfangen zu koennen. Zum Glueck kann ich schnell malen!

Welcome to the Seashore - oil on panel 14"x11"

More in the next post. Mehr spaeter...

Deleon Springs art festival, Disappearing Island, and Copperhill, TN

Lots happened in the last month.
Viel passiert im letzten Monat.

Early April I was asked again to be one of the judges for the Deleon Springs Art Festival, which was, as usual, very charming. The community there is so nice! Jan Obendorfer, my fellow artist/judge, and I gave away 3 awards to some very deserving artists, one who made awesome handstitched quilts, another who created very detailed drawings of homes and gardens, and another with really cute birdhouses.
Im fruehen April wurde ich wieder eingeladen, also Juror beim Deleon Springs Kunstfestival teilzunehmen. Es war wieder ganz toll, und wir gaben 3 Preise an sehr verdienende Kuenstler aus.

I actually designed and printed this welcoming banner at the shop in DeBary, where I work, at the awesome Graphic Source!

Jan, one of the winners, festival organizer Amy, and me

Then about 2 weeks ago we went with our friends to Disappearing Island in New Smyrna Beach, where I painted a "portrait" of their boat. I will touch it up a bit more at home, before giving it to them. They really liked it!
Vor 2 Wochen luden uns Freunde ein, mit ihrem Boot zur "Verschwindenden Insel" in New Smyrna Beach zu fahren, wo ich dann ihr Boot auf die Leinwand bannte, da das Meer mir noch viel zu kalt war. Ich werde noch ein bisschen auftuschieren, bevor ich es ihnen gebe, doch sie waren sehr happy damit!

A big audience of little girls. Ein grosse Publikum von kleinen Maedchen.

Floridays, oil on masonite, 10"x8"

The last weekend Austin and I took my teenagers to a whitewater rafting trip to the triangle of TN, GA and NC in Copperhill, TN. We braved the raging waters, which was so much fun, and also went horseback riding through the woods. I spent an hour one morning to paint a scene with the nice Blueridge Mountains being lit by the morning sun through the rising fog. The painting turned our really nice, and I felt the mini-vacation was complete.

Letztes Wochenende fuhren Austin und ich mit meinen Teenagers auf einen Whitewater Rafting Trip nach Tennesse, wo wir neben dem Fluss-Schnellen-Fahren auch einen tollen Ritt durch den Wald machten, hoch zu Ross. Ich konnte eine gute Stunde an einem Morgen damit verbringen, den Nebel einzufangen, der ueber der Wiese lag.

Fog on the meadow, oil on masonite, 10"x8"

Til next time, yours, Ruth

Bis spaeter dann, Euere Ruth

Epcot, Art in the Garden 2014

This is a chain letter from most of the artists that participated in the Epcot Plein Air paintout in March 2014.

I wrote:
Hi guys, I thought it might be fun to post one little memory and your favorite piece you created in this thread, since we all didn't get to visit each other too much at the actual painting sites. It was so much fun meeting and painting with you all. I'll start

Ruth Vines

as usual, great fun. You all are so nice, and I love chitchatting with you. 

My favorite moment was when a 7-year old girl came up to me and told me about her painting ventures, and when her mom pulled up her artwork on her iphone to show me, I was surprised to see she actually sits outside and paints plein air (without knowing the term). She was on the balcony of their apartment and painted the fountain in the middle of the pond with exuberant colors. She was very sweet to talk to. I told her mom to keep at it and keep getting her good art supplies.

Attached is my favorite piece I created there on the last day, on the bridge from France to Great Britain. (Crossing into Spring). I did 3 larger pieces altogether.

Barbara Perotti

My favorite time was when a young girl came to me wanting to learn all about painting.   I noticed her birthday pin and gave her a painting lesson as a gift explaining everything I was doing.  Her parents were so thrilled they tried to pay me.... I just laughed and said I wanted her to have something special to remember on her big day.

The photo below is from a couple who asked if they could take my picture.... they caught me in the middle of a painting.

Steve Andrews

On the day of the rain I had my watercolors out and was doing little 5 x 7 figure studies of people walking with umbrellas.  One of them was of a man and women and a child and the woman's dress made her look a bit like Mary Poppins.  I put a straight brim hat her and she really looked like Mary.  I gave it to the real Mary Poppins the next day as she was walking to her spot to meet children.  She was very nice and thankful and I said as she left "I hope you enjoy it Mary Poppins."  At her next appointed time she stopped and handed me a note and said "thank you for my very nice painting".   "My pleasure Mary Poppins".   The note is on a shelf in my studio right now.  

The red daisies were jumping at me.  The photos not great.  

Charles Schaefer

My most memorable experience this week end>

The children coming around are the most fun part of this event, I had an 8 year old tell me the history of pointillism. She knew more about the history of art  then I did...  she was quite nice to me when she knew she was teaching me and said " but I cannot paint like you " with this  big beautiful smile. Yes, she made the week end for me. And, YES, I did give her a small painting bookmark to take home. 

Trish Vevera

Being my first time at Epcot, I was unsure as to what to expect.  I did mostly watercolor and crayon/wax/pencil  drawings to be used as studies for future larger paintings.  At the beginning of this study I was asked how I did what I did.  I was showing a family-mother, father, son--and explaining my procedure.  I said I sectioned off each colored area and filled in the colors as needed.  I just "scribbled" in the color and then used the water to spread it to create different values.  I sectioned off red and asked the son to scribble in the color;  he scribbled alright--- all over the page.  His mother about died!!  I said not to worry, I can fix it. Perhaps you can see some stray red marks and a pink cast to this drawing/watercolor.  I enjoyed my experience at Epcot (except the rainy Sat afternoon) and will be better prepared for future endeavors.

Olena Babak

Hello All,
I have been traveling a lot this past month and Epcot was one of my
favorite destinations on the "traveling artist" road.  It has been so
wonderful to have a chance to meet all of the artists and people who
made it possible for us to take a part in the Garden Festival.

Looking back now I can't help but to smile about all of the beautiful
flowers that graced the countries and people that came through and
enjoyed the food and the festivities of the park.

I really enjoyed the time spent talking to people, answering their
questions and listening to their stories.  It is so rewarding to know
that what you do is appreciated and even inspiring to some.

One of my favorite visitors was a girl, probably around 10 years old,
with her mother who chatted with me right up to the beginning of the
storm we had.  The little girl has set her mind on being an architect
and was telling me all about the style of the buildings in Canada.
She named them as Chateaux and Gothic Revival and also explained to me
all about the Haida houses and villages.  In the end she picked up a
few paintings of the buildings I did and she complimented me on
capturing their style.  I was thrilled to hear this from such an
educated and bright young lady.

I was grateful to have a chance to connect with someone so young that
shared my interests in architecture and art.

Charles Dickinson

Hi everybody, I have such good memories of this year's paint out. It was great to see
everyone. One of my favorite moments was an 11 year old boy with his family from
Michigan who loved art and drew constantly. For a half an hour we discussed our interest
in art. I mentioned to him when I was his age I drew so much and held onto the pencil so
tight I would get calluses on my index finger. He said he gets that too and showed me the
bump on his index finger. It's an artist thing I said. He was a wonderful boy, I wish him all
the joy drawing can bring.

Kathleen Denis

Life has been one very difficult episode after another since my return home. If only i could live at Epcot and paint all the time, stay at the hotel we were privileged to stay in, eat the delicious foods prepared for us and do my favorite thing, paint all day. I felt like Cinderella returning to reality from the castle.  

As a newby, everything about the entire event was spectacular. Yes even the storm - we got to eat more food and get to know each other better!!!  

Talking to all the children was very special indeed but one situation really topped it off for me. One of my dear friend's daughter was celebrating her 25th birthday at Epcot and she came by to see me. It was a very special time because she had art scholarships from high school and did't do much with them.  She was so excited to see what I do and I spent some good quality time encouraging her to get back to her art career.   I think she will follow through with this. Hopefully so!!!

Miss y'all and look forward to painting with y'all again! Kathleen

Randy Pitts

Thanks for being patient. The story that stuck out from my three days happened on the first day. I was painting the cart with the donkey in Italy, it's a gelato stand I think, when a family with a son and a daughter came up to look. They asked if they could look, and of course I agreed. It became apparent quickly that the mother was either an artist or an art teacher because she was describing in detail to her daughter exactly my approach to the painting. The cool thing was the daughter was following along, and knew what her Mom was talking about. We chatted for a few minutes and I asked the girl liked to draw and paint, and she said "everything". It's nice to know there are still parents willing to give a kid the gift of art. I have to say the kids are all very enthused when they get to look at what you are doing. It really is a privilege to paint in front of them because they are genuinely fascinated with the process.
Randy
Here are two from the weekend

Cathy Berse

Good Morning Ruth,
Sorry this took so long to get to you. It has been crazy busy here. But here goes......I love coming to Epcot because of the kids. Their smiles, and enthusiasm are contagious. Painting with all of you also ranks right up there. I sold a piece to a family who told me the day before they would come back because they had dinner reservations that night . I was very pleased to see that the next day they did come back. They bought the piece for their daughter who was about 10. I had a little 2 x 2 inch canvas and told her she could paint a little piece for her very own also. I let her use my paints and explained plein air and oil paints. 

I got a big smile in return .....it was great!
love and hugs, Cathy

Bob Harper

Greetings to my fellow plein air expatriates! I must say that this event was a Magical time! As one of my plein air instructors expressed to me with exuberance over three decades ago, "your not just experiencing the subject your painting, your experiencing Everything around you, and it will come out in your painting"! This quote was as true as ever as I was enjoying the atmosphere of Epcot, especially after months of painting in Solitude in the mountains with four foot of snow on the ground!

I loved being around fellow artists and I greatly enjoyed painting at Epcot and visiting with all the people that liked to watch and visit while I painted. I had several families with children that stopped to watch and I would ask the kids if they painted. Many said they did and some said they didn't but one day wanted to paint! On many occasions I would show them how to hold a brush and let them paint some flowers on the canvas. Needless to say they were thrilled!

The United Kingdom was as great place to paint! Besides being a pretty place to paint the British band would play several times a day and Alice in Wonderland and Mary Poppins would stop by to see my progress! How many plein air painters can say they had a visit from Alice or Mary Poppins while they painted!

Bob Harper

Thank you all for sending me paintings and stories! Hope to see everybody next year!

Ruth