Canaveral Nat'l Seashore Paintout 2016

Good Morning!
Guten Morgen!

I participated in the Canaveral National Seashore Paint Out that was going on Oct 3-8. Unfortunately it was cut short buy Hurricane Matthew. But the first three days were really great. 
Ich nahm am Canaveral National Seashore Paint Out teil, der vom 3. bis 8. Oktober ging. Leider wurde das Festival wegen Hurrikan Matthew kurzgeschlossen, doch die ersten 3 Tage waren echt toll.

Monday started out a bit drizzly and after setting up my easel it started raining so I decided to watch one of the artist demos that was going on. After lunch the sun came out and I painted in the back of Eldora house at the National Seashore Park. However with the rain the bugs and gnats were absolutely horrible so as soon as I finished the painting I headed home.
Der Montag fing mit feinem Nieseln an, und als es dann wirklich regnete, als ich gerade meine Staffelei aufgesetzt hatte, entschloss ich mich, eine Demo eines der Kuenstlers anzuschauen, die ueberdacht war. Nach dem Mittagessen kam die Sonne raus und ich malte hinter dem Eldora Haus im Park. Da es jedoch nun schwuel war, kamen die kleinen Fliegen raus, die mich total anknabberten, und sobald das Gemaelde fertig war, verliess ich den Park.

Scott Hiestand's demo under the pavillion at the Park.

Tiny painting for Wednesday's reception.

View to Mosquito Lagoon, side of Eldora House  14"x11" oil on panel

On Tuesday the weather was much better and I could start my demo that was taking place in downtown New Smyrna Beach in front of the Museum of History. I had a good crowd of about 15 people. Even though it was a bit drizzly on and off I could get my points across, showing how to compose a scene at an overwhelming location (which is the essence of Plein Air) and also some easy-to-understand principles of perspective. The resulting painting itself was not the best but everybody in the audience gave me good feedback about my teaching and illustration methods.
Am Dienstag war das Wetter viel besser, und ich konnte meine Demo anfangen, die vor dem Historischen Museum in New Smyrna Beach stattfandte. Ich hatte eine grosse Zuschauermenge von fast 15 Leuten! Obwohl es immer noch ein bisschen regnerisch war, konnte ich meine Lehrgaenge an die Leute kriegen: Komposition und Perspektive. Das Gemaelde, das ich am Ende schnell produzierte, war nicht das beste, doch ich bekam positiven Feedback von der Menge. Und es machte mir auch viel Spass!

In the afternoon I painted an alley off Canal Street that I had painted before. In the evening most of the artists gathered at a restaurant for a nice meal and to do a night painting. I was still on jet lag from our trip so I decided to catch up on my sleep. 
Am Nachmittag malte ich eine Gasse in Downtown New Smyrna Beach, die ich schon mal vor Jahren gemalt hatte. Am Abend trafen sich fast alle teilnehmenden Kuenstler in einem Restaurant fuer's Abendessen und um danach ein Nachtgemaelde zu malen, doch da ich immer noch Jetlag hatte, entschied ich mich, meinen Schlaf aufzuholen.

Alley Aglow 14"x11" oil on panel

Location for the painting

Start of painting on light yellow.

Wednesday was the calm before the storm. It was absolutely gorgeous with puffy clouds. I headed to the beach at Flagler, and watched a demo. I then painted a quick one at the boardwalk there, before heading over the bridge to watch another demo. It was by Key West artist Kathleen Denis, which was awesome!
Der Mittwoch war absolute herrlich, Die Windstille vor dem Sturm, wie es so genannt wird. Sonnenschein mit tollen Wolken. Ich fuhr zum Strand und schaute eine Demo an, dann malte ich schnell dieses am Boardwalk. Danach ging's ueber die Bruecke, wo ich Kathleen Denis' Demo anschaute, die total super war!

Morning Breeze at Flagler approach, 11"x14" oil on panel

Kathleen painting.

After lunch I stayed at the artist workshop and painted my first cloud painting in the backyard looking towards the west. The reception in the evening unfortunately was not well visited because everybody in the area was making their preparations for the storm, and a lot of the artists that were from out of town packed up and left. Everything was cancelled starting Thursday morning. 
Nach der Mittagspause blieb ich bei der Gallerie, wo unsere Gemaelde ausgestellt waren, und male mein allererstes Wolkengemaelde, in den Westen blickend.
Die Rezeption, die am Abend stattfand, war leider sehr schlecht besucht, da alle Einwohner und Gaeste entweder ihr Haus fuer den Sturm vorbereiteten, oder evakuierten. Alle anderen Events fuer den Rest der Woche wurden abgesagt.

Calm before the Storm  14"x11" oil on panel

The storm came to our area late Thursday afternoon and stayed till Friday afternoon. Everybody made it out okay, however the roof at the Artists Workshop studios where the wet room was housed, blew off and extensive repairs have to be made. The organizers are trying to reschedule the missed events for the beginning of November and I will make sure to let everybody know when the live auction, the community quick draw, and the final gala will take place.
Der Hurrikan kam dann am Donnerstag nachmittag und blies ziemlich kraeftig bis Freitag nachmittag. Jeder war okay, doch das Dach der Gallerie wurde sehr beschaedigt und die letzten Events werden nun bis auf November verschoben, bis das Dann dann hoffentlich repariert ist. Ich werde auch jeden Fall darueber schreiben!

Til later then, bis spaeter dann
Ruth

Germany and Italy Vacation Part 3

We went from city to city using the local trains. Next stop was Bologna for one day. Bologna is a university town and filled with young people. It was fresh and lively, without all the tourists like the other cities, but still had very old and stark buildings.
Wir fuhren von Stadt zu Stadt mit den regionalen Zuegen. Der naechste Stop war Bologna fuer einen Tag. Bologna ist eine Universitaetsstadt und ist voll mit jungen Leuten. Uns hat dieser Kontrast sehr gefallen, die junge Stimmung in der sehr alten Stadt.

Night sketch of a church in Bologna.

View of Bologna from the tower in the center of town.

Next was Florence, which is such a magical and artistic city. We stayed there for 3 days and walked a lot, and saw a lot. The duomo was absolutely fantastic, and the city just wonderful.

Naechster Stop was Florenz, was eine magische und kuenstlerische Stadt ist. Wir waren dort fuer 3 Tage und liefen wieder viel herum und sahen viel. Der Duomo war absolut fantastic, und die ganze Stadt einfach malerisch.

Small city scene, sitting on the steps of a church.

View of Ponte Vecchio from another bridge.

View FROM the Ponte Vecchio, where we had our apartment, towards the rising sun.

Blick vom Ponte Vecchio, wo unsere Wohnung war, auf die aufgehende Sonne.

Duomo at night

Boboli Gardens with a spectacular view of the whole city.

Last stop; ROME!

This city is huge and hectic. You would not want to have a car there, they are nuts on the streets! Also, it's more widespread, so we relied on more tours in this town to see everything, from the Colosseum to Palatine Hill, to a nice city walk at night, and of course the Vatican on our very last day.

Letzte Stadt: ROM!

Diese Stadt ist riesengross und hektisch. Waren wir froh, dass wir kein Auto fahren mussten, die sind ja verrueckt auf den Strassen dort! Die Stadt ist auch viel mehr auseinandergelegen, so dass wir uns auf mehr Fuehrungen verlassen mussten, um alles zu sehen: Das Colosseum, der Palatin, eine naechtliche Stadtfuehrung, und natuerlich am letzten Tag der Vatikan!

Arch of Constantine at the Colosseum, while waiting for the tour.

Der Konstantinsbogen am Colosseum, waehrend wir fuer die Fuehrung warteten.

A small city scene while eating pizza.

Eine kleine Stadtszene, wo wir Pizza assen.

At the National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II

Colosseum

View of the city

Ciao! I hope you liked the photos and sketches.

Please send feedback, I would love to read your comments.

Ciao! Ich hoffe, diese Tour von Photos und Skizzen hat euch gefallen.

Ich wuerde gerne eure Kommentare lesen, schickt sie mir bitte!

Ruth

Germany and Italy Vacation Part 2

We arrived in Venice after taking the night train straight from Octoberfest. What a beautiful city! The first day there I did most of my sketching, 5 of them in one day! Lots of walking over the hundreds of bridges and cobblestone streets. We must have walked 10-12 miles every day we were in Italy. I got blisters on my feet, but it was worth it!
We kamen in Venedig direkt vom Oktoberfest an mit dem Schlafzug. Was fuer eine wunderschoene Stadt! Am ersten Tag war ich wie wild aufs Malen, ich brachte 5 Skizzen fertig! So viel zu laufen ueber die hunderten von Bruecken und Kopfsteinplaster-Strassen. We denken, dass wir an die 20km jeden Tag in Italien gelaufen sind. Ich bekam ein Haufen Blasen an den Fuessen, doch es war's wert!

View of our apartment (second window top floor) in Venice.

Blick auf unsere Wohnung im 2. Fenster im obersten Stock in Venedig.

View from our apartment to the plaza below and the canal.

Blick von unserer Wohnung auf den Platz und den Kanal.

This was shot from our window. Von unserem Fenster aus gesehen.

Plaza of St. Mark. St. Markus Platz.

View of the Grand Canal, sitting on the steps of Santa Maria Della Salute

Blick auf den Kanal von der Treppe der Kirche Santa Maria Della Salute gegenueber.

St. Mark's Basilica while having wine on the Plaza San Marco

St. Mark's Basilika, waehrend wir Wein schluerften in einem Cafe auf dem Markus-Platz.

Sketch while having a late night dinner around the corner from the apartment.

Eine Skizze waehrend einem spaeten Abendessen, nicht weit von unserer Wohnung.

Sketch of statue while waiting for a concert to start, a string orchestra playing Vivaldi and Bach in a church in Venice. They played great!

Skizze einer Statue, waehrend wir auf ein Konzert warteten von einem Streichorchester, die Vivaldi und Bach in einer Kirche in Venedig spielten. Es war super!

Rialto Brige. Rialto Bruecke.

Having dinner at the fish market. Abendessen beim Fishmarket, Venedig.

A small sketch done while Austin was on the phone.

Eine kleine Skizze, waehrend Austin am Telephon sprach.

More is coming! Es kommt noch mehr!

Ruth

Germany and Italy Vacation Part 1

Hello everybody
My husband Austin and I just got back from our Europe trip in September. We visited my parents and relatives for one week, went to Octoberfest in Munich, and then toured the main cities in Italy for the last 10 days. It was awesome, partly because the weather was magnificent, and partly because I could sketch like crazy! I did over 20 sketches in these 3 weeks, and am showing all but 2 here (not all can be great).
Hallo, Ihr alle!
Mein Mann Austin und ich sind gerade wieder daheim angekommen, nachdem wir im September durch Europa gereist sind. Wir besuchten meine Eltern und Verwandte fuer eine Woche, gingen zum Oktoberfest in Muenchen (der einzige regnerische Tag!), und besuchten dann die bekanntesten Staedte in Italien fuer die letzten 10 Tage. Es war echt toll, teils weil das Wetter total mitgespielt hatte, und teils weil ich wie wild malen und zeichnen konnte! Ich fertigte ueber 20 Skizzen an, die ich hier fast alle zeigen werden (ausser 2, aber nicht jedes kann ein gelungenes Werk sein!)

View of the city of Bad Mergentheim from my parents' balcony.

Blick auf Bad Mergentheim vom Balkon der Eltern

Center of the city.

Quick sketch while having ice cream at the Ludwigsburg Palace.

My parents with us in Ludwigsburg.

At one of the many fountains in Bad Mergentheim, Germany.

Oktoberfest!

Next part will be Venice, Bologna, then Florence and Rome!

Als naechstes kommt Venedig, Bologna, dann Florenz und Rom!

Ciao, Ruth

Canaveral Paintout 2016

Hello! I was very busy the last 3 weeks which I'll talk about in a later post, but here is an announcement for the

Canaveral Seashore Plein Air Paint Out

on Oct 3-8 

There will be about 25 artists from all over the United States painting in our local region (the park at Canaveral Seashore and in downtown New Smyrna Beach). There will be 2 formal artist demonstrations every day you can attend for free, and during the week you can find and watch the artists painting local sites. All paintings will be taken immediately from the easel and hung at the Paintout Gallery at the Artist Workshop studios on Barracuda Drive in New Smyrna Beach. So by the end of the week, there will be hundreds of works of art depicting the local area - be sure to stop by and view them!

I am doing a demo on Tuesday morning Oct 4, at the Historic Museum on Sams Ave in NSB. Please stop by and say hello and watch me explain composition and perspective while painting a demo piece in oil.
This is a great local event, and you can be sure to learn a lot and just immerse yourself in great art by watching the artists paint on the spot, and viewing all the final pieces in the gallery. Hope to see you there!

Ruth

Feedback and important lesson points

Here's a quick summary of some key points from the class I taught.

What I wanted to get across:

A good composition and a good pattern of light and dark is the foundation of a good painting! Details are just the highlights at the end! Don't rush into laying down color on the canvas - you need to first spend a couple of minutes thinking about the composition and value pattern - it's worth it!

You don't need to be an expert in perspective to get the key points right. Determine your horizon level and some of the vanishing points, remember where all the lines are heading, and it will make your viewing point more convincing and correct.

_______________________________________________________

Feedback:

Audrey S.

This workshop was excellent!  I learned some things I could immediately put into use.  It was obvious that Ruth cared that her students learned what she was teaching.   Her style of instructing was such that I felt comfortable, relaxed and confident that I’d be taking home some good information.  I’m thankful for the experience.  Ruth is a pleasure! 

Your classes have been excellent.  I really enjoyed them and feel like I got a lot out of them.  I was wondering if you had time next week for a private lesson.  Your description of other classes is exactly what I’ve experienced  (I really hope that I taught more than just "paint like me, and then you have ONE nice painting", but then when you start your next painting, you will be lost.).  Yours was more helpful than all the others I’ve had put together.I really appreciate it and I look forward to seeing you sometime soon.

Georgia J.

Can not believe that I thought for years that flat brushes weren't for me and that a notan wasn't that important. thank you  Also I really enjoyed your enthusiasm and patience. Doing a demo was very helpful!! Best to you in your art career!

Bethany B.
Your class was fun!  Something I learned was how to apply oil paint in an impressionistic way for interesting skies and water!  Thank you Ruth! 


Joanna M.

I really enjoyed your class at the Artists' Workshop.  Obviously I learned quite a lot about 

getting the perspective correct and about really making sure the composition works.  I now see that there are many great photos that simply will not make a good painting - so, I liked your question "Why do you want to paint this?".

 For me, however, the biggest learning point was really understanding  that you need to do the quick sketch and then the notan so that the dark/light values are in place.  I always tend to just jump into the painting without taking the time to think it out.  I am already seeing a difference in the composition as I am completing my painting I started of the little cottage.  Yes, I really like my greens now that I am mixing and not using just sap green and thalo green from the tube! I don't know that you could change much about the class.  If it is longer than 4 sessions you might have to not specifically do composition and perspective but rather just do students individually painting with your assistance.  You might also possibly do a plein air class that is 2 or 3 days.  I personally liked the 4 session class with the specific topic. Thanks so much for your time and comments during the class.  I will see you at the Paint Out in October!

Audrey R.
I was hoping at some time I could get together with you on a 1:1 for a few hours.  I would like to talk to you more about composition.  Is this possible? You explain things in such a way that resonates with me.  Thanks.

_________________________________

Thanks to all my students, it was fun!

Ruth

Composition and Perspective Class August 2016

Hello!
I just finished teaching my first short-term class at the Artist Workshop in New Smyrna Beach. It was focused on Composition and Perspective, something that I believe everybody has or still struggles with.
Hallo! Ich habe gerade meinen ersten 4-woechigen Kurs im Artist Workshop in New Smyrna Beach vollendet. Ich unterrichtete die Prinzipien von Komposition/Layout und Perspektive, womit ziemlich viele Kuenstler Probleme haben.

In the first class I talked quite a bit about the principles of perspective and did some quick small sketches illustrating those on several reference photos of mine and the students. I also introduced the notan sketches as a small and quick way of deciding on a composition and seeing right off the bat if anything needs to be moved. Patterns in simple black and white are quick to do and tell so much. In addition, it gives you a map of what parts to keep dark because they are in the shadows, and what parts need to be light overall because they are in the sunlight. 
There were 11 students attending!
In der ersten Woche sprach ich viel ueber Perspektive und skizzierte einige schnelle Uebungen von Photos. Ich fuehrte dann auch die Notan Skizzen ein, was eine schnelle, kleine Uebung ist, um eine gute Komposition zu erringen. Mit diesem einfachen schwarz und weissen "Muster" sieht man gleich, was falsch ist oder was man herumschieben muss. Dazu gibt diese einfache Skizze einen Hinweis auf was man im Schatten und was man im Licht halten muss.
Ich hatte 11 Schueler(innen)!

The second week I started a demo from one of my photos. I explained how to transfer the notan sketch with thinned paint onto a colored ground. There were NO details, but it gave a lot of impact already - by the virtue of having stark lights and darks.
In der 2. Woche fing ich an, ein Demogemaelde zu malen. Ich erklaerte, wie ich die Notan Skizze mit verduennter Oelfarbe auf den getonten Grund malte. Es gab KEINE Details, aber so eine einfache Zeichnung macht einen grossen Eindruck, vor allem von weit weg. Und das ist, weil es auf die einfachsten Elemente und einfaches Schwarz/Weiss Muster gekuerzt ist!

Perspective sketch

Notan drawing with sharpie

Transferring notan onto painting panel toned in yellow

In the second and the third class everybody started their own painting from their chosen reference photo, and I guided them individually at their work stations, and also did quick impromptu demos/lessons on items that popped up and everybody learned a bit more from that.
I demonstrated how to do the initial drawing, laying in the mass of shadows, and then adding the colors. In addition I talked about and showed on each photo/artwork how to work the perspective, made a quick diagram to help the students, and discussed in detail if we could improve the composition by leaving items out or moving them. I did a notan (black and white quick value sketch), and a perspective diagram on everyone's photo to get them started individually and to talk through as many pieces as possible.
In der 2. und 3. Klasse fing dann jeder sein eigenes Bild an von ihren Photos, und ich half jeder einzelnen an ihrer Staffelei, und malte auch schnelle Demos im Stehgreif, was jeden interessierte und was so als Frage aufkam.
Ich demonstrierte, wie man die anfaengliche Zeichnung anfertigt, die Schattenmassen einlegt, und dann mit Farbe ueberarbeitet. Zusaetzlich skizzierte ich schnell fuer jede Schuelerin die Perspektive fuer ihr eigenes Bild, mit Diagrammen, und diskutierte mit jeder, wie man das Bild besser machen koennte, indem man einige Elemente verschiebt oder ganz auslaesst.

In the beginning of the last class the students watched me add more detail and smaller flecks of color/paint throughout to get the boat painting to a closer finish (which I did at home, see final painting below). All the students had at least one painting finished or did the last brushstrokes in this last hour. We then gave a quick overview and critique on each painting and discussed what we learned.
Am Anfang der letzten Woche schauten mir die meisten zu, wie ich Details und mehr Farbe auf mein Gemaelde setzte, um es fast fertig zu machen (was ich daheim dann total fertigbachte, siehe unten). Nachdem alle Schueler dann ihr eigenes Gemaelde beenden konnten, schauten wir alle an und gaben Kritiken und Diskussionen an diesen konkreten Exemplaren, was wir gelernt hatten.

Restful Solitude  oil on panel  20"x16"

Ruth

Awaiting the Journey - new oil painting

Hello again!
About 2 weeks ago Austin and I took our bikes on a marathon ride (exactly 13 miles from our house there, and then back) down to Ponce Inlet in 95° F heat. At the Sea Love Boat Works they had a lot of cool boats propped up to work on, so I decided this week to go down there and paint a scene.
Vor 2 Wochen radelten Austin und ich einen Marathon (genau 21 km von unserem Haus dorthin and dann natuerlich 21 km wieder zurueck) nach Ponce Inlet in 35° C Bullenhitze. Dort waren bei dem Hafen viele Boote und Schiffe gelagert, und etliche Szenen, die mir sehr gefielen. Diese Woche entschied ich mich dann, dorthin zu fahren und ein paar Boote zu malen.

The Szene / Die Szene

With the manager's permission I set up in the shade of a boat, because even in the morning it was very humid and hot again. The shade was great, and in a little over 2 hours I did this painting, which I think is my best this year! I had a lot of fun painting the scene, and touched up just some minor details at home.
Nachdem ich Erlaubnis bekommen hatte, setzte ich meine Staffelei im Schatten eines Bootes auf, denn sogar am Morgen war es unheimlich heiss und schwuel. Der Schatten war jedoch ideal und nach etwa 2 Stunden war mein Gemaelde fertig, was ich das beste dieses Jahres von mir finde! Es machte viel Spass, und daheim musste ich nur ein paar Details verbessern.

Awaiting the Journey - 16"x20", oil on panel, For Sale

And here are some progression shots, since I haven't shown that in a while. I started on a red background, which was a great choice!

Und hier ein paar Bilder, wie ich das Gemaelde zustande gebracht hatte. Ich fing auf einem roten Untergrund an, was eine tolle Idee war.

Til next time, Yours truly Ruth

Bis zum naechstenmal, Euere Ruth