June 21, 2014

It's finally arrived! Summer is officially here today....the season we've dreamed of and yearned for all through the cold, dark winter. And while the pessimists among us might note that it's all downhill from here... the days are growing shorter from here on in... the rest of us are determined to savor every moment. And, as you'll see below, we do that with paint.

We have a definite theme going today. We're all painting in the warm, golden-green shades of summer. Influenced by the lush foliage around us, we reach for yellows, greens and blues today, starting with our guest artist, Debbie. That's right, while John wasn't with us today, Debbie stepped in to represent the colored pencil contingent. Here, she's beginning a mandala that features a volunteer poppy from her garden.

 

Also no stranger to colored pen, Sara uses our theme colors to continue her study of these sun-drenched bottles. The soft organic shapes add to the feel of a lazy summer day.

Even Mark is in the floral mood. In one of his signature visual mashups, he surrounds a high fashion model with a field of daisies in a Matisse-like painting.

Marva's dreamlike landscape stretches back almost infinitely as she uses bands of colors to move us through a field of poppies and a waving sea of grass... all the way to distant blue mountains under vast open skies.

Elaine's also into the greens, golds and blues of summer, but she adds people to the summer scene. 

Susan's added people too. She's revisiting her 15th century church from a few weeks ago, and a few small additions have added so much. The small people add to the scale and grandeur of the church, as do the trees. The line of flowers grounds it and the addition of shadows and the hint of texture fully define this incredible architectural feat.

No less impressive is Ken's architectural rendering of the view from his window. Even with a traditional subject like this, the use of color really makes us take notice.

Vivian's witty cityscape relies on a ground of yellow to unify the many buildings into one cohesive landscape... no matter which way you look at it!

Although Hector thought he was the only one of us not using the colors of the day, we have to disagree. This golden ripe banana has the same feel of summer... without a single touch of green. This is one of our favorite exercises—the giant fruit—and Hector's nailed it!

Answer to last week's challenge. As you recall, we promised extra credit for anyone who could name the blue paints in the windows on the different floors of Ken's paintings. Here are the answers. How did you do?

Starting from the top floor, Prussian, Ultramarine,
Cobalt, Turquoise and Cerulean Blue.

Artist of the Day. We had two drawing books on our library table today, both compilations of twentieth century drawing. It's amazing the variety of style and feel different artists can get using the same tools.

Meet the Artist. Are you as enamored of nature as we are (especially this year)? Then you're in for a real treat this week. Drop by within the next few days for a retrospective featuring Marva, our most skilled landscape artist. See you then!